NEW ERA OF AUTOMOTIVE JOURNALISM BEGINS WITH LAUNCH OF WINDING ROAD DIGITAL MAGAZINE

Industry’s Most Celebrated Editor, David E. Davis, Jr., Brings Voice of Automotive Authority to New Medium

 Ann Arbor, Mich. (May 9, 2006) – Winding Road™ – the first authentic digital-only magazine for car enthusiasts – today officially launched to more than 150,000 subscribers. One of the automotive industry’s most influential voices, David E. Davis Jr., serves as the magazine’s editor-in-chief. The magazine was founded by Absolute Multimedia, Inc. CEO Tom Martin in 2005. Quick success in subscriber acquisition validated the model, and Winding Road’s transition from ‘test’ to ‘launch’ was marked by Davis’ hire. Winding Road marks its nationwide launch with the release of Issue 9.0, which can be acquired through a free subscription at www.windingroad.com.

Winding Road has shed the boundaries imposed by print and forged an innovative creative solution leveraging proven and existing digital technologies. A Winding Road subscription offers readers an easy-to-read electronic and/or downloadable print format, limitless access to the companion Web site and timely e-mail notification when a new issue is available. Further delivery enhancements are in development, and soon to be implemented. Winding Road’s Web site breaks with convention through a full-screen landscape of 1024 x768 pixels. The magazine will provide fully Interactive multimedia functionality to engage readers with video and animation elements that enhance their experience.

The magazine is positioned as a magazine ‘For Drivers’, and will seek to deliver experiential insights into a wide spectrum of interesting vehicles- ‘wall-to-wall cars’ is how Davis captured the spirit of Winding Road in his American Driver column in Issue 9.0. “We will be most interested in cars that are in some way special- special in their performance, special in their technology, special in their design.”

Winding Road will build on the idea that a significant number of people feel that their computers can ‘take them somewhere’ in the digital universe, and according to Mr. Davis, “we’re here to give them a lift”.

Identified as one of the hottest editors in the United States by Adweek and lauded as “the dean of automotive journalists” by Time magazine, Davis’s is a legendary figure in the automotive industry- his career has spanned five decades– from car salesman to advertising executive to Road & Track ad salesman, Car and Driver Editor & Publisher, Motor Trend Editorial Director, and Founder of Automobile Magazine. Davis teamed with Winding Road’s publisher, Robert C. Weber, a 25-year magazine publishing veteran, at Automobile Magazine for nine years during its most profitable and successful period.

“Together, David E. and I have broken plenty of new ground in our careers,” said Weber. “But Winding Road is an altogether higher proposition. It will be the Tipping Point in the digital universe- we have ‘cracked the code’ for the creation and delivery of a digital magazine.” “It’s improbable to think that one magazine will shift an industry, but Winding Road stands to fundamentally alter the automotive enthusiast magazine sector.”

Winding Road also marks the emergence of Reilly Patrick Brennan as Editor. Like Weber, Brennan has partnered with Davis at Automobile Magazine, before stints managing General Motors trackside  communications for their Corvette and Cadillac Racing and NASCAR programs. Davis is genuinely enthused with Brennan’s prospects, “our readers are in for a treat- Reilly’s unique vision and passion will take them on some extraordinary automotive adventures”.

Winding Road is owned and produced by Absolute Multimedia, Inc., a leading publisher of special interest publications based in Austin, Texas.

About Winding Road Magazine
Winding Road™ is a new monthly all-digital magazine for car enthusiasts.  Led by the legendary David E. Davis, Jr., Winding Road reviews the latest cars and classics, covers news about cars in design and production, and reports on automotive events. The magazine is owned by Absolute Multimedia, Inc., and officially launched in spring 2006 to more than 150,000 subscribers.

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