Welcome to MPG

 About MPG

The Los Angeles-based Motor Press Guild (MPG) is a non-profit professional association dedicated to promoting education and information exchange within the motoring press. Members include staff and freelance journalists, photographers, broadcasters and similar media professionals, as well as public-relations representatives from vehicle manufacturers, industry suppliers, aftermarket companies, consumer groups, governmental bodies and other motoring-related firms and organizations.

MPG currently has some 640 members, most of whom work in Southern California. However, MPG members are also based in other regions of the U.S., especially the Midwest and Northeast.

 Activities

MPG offers a variety of activities and services to benefit its members:

• Monthly luncheon programs — MPG’s principal activity features prominent guest speakers who bring “insider” information and insight to subjects ranging from vehicle-related environmental legislation and international trade issues to new technical developments and corporate happenings. Held on the first Tuesday of each month from February through October, these meetings also provide convenient opportunities for valuable face-to-face “networking.”
• Monthly newsletter, MPG MilePost.
• Track Days — Scheduled each November, this highly popular event puts members “up close and personal” with the newest cars and trucks both on-road and at the controlled yet challenging environment of famed Willow Springs International Raceway. Manufacturer exhibits and social activities are also featured.
• Roster & Media Guide — This comprehensive annual “address book” lists both MPG members and key industry contacts. An online version with e-mail links is available in the Members Only section.
• Access to the Members Only section of the MPG website, where full texts of past luncheon speakers (MPG MilePost archives) photographs, and membership and industry contact information appear.
• Year-end banquet at the Petersen Automotive Museum. Besides a chance to stroll through the Museum’s many exhibits, members and guests are treated to a special “motoring celebrity” speaker.
• Special events — periodic seminars and/or workshop programs offering more concentrated exposure to a subject than monthly luncheon meetings allow.

 Dean Batchelor Award

Each year the Guild presents the Dean Batchelor Award to an automotive professional who exemplify Dean’s superior standards. Designed by Gene Garfinkle and John Pyle with sponsorship by Ford Motor Company, the resin-cast Dean Batchelor Award symbolizes the “So-Cal Streamliner” race car that Batchelor designed and helped build in 1949.

View our Dean Batchelor Award Page for a list of past winners and additional information.

 Membership

MPG membership is open to active journalists, editors, photographers, illustrators, broadcasters, producers, public relations practitioners and  other professionals working in the greater automotive industry. An application is required, along with documentation of activity within the last 12 months (examples: bylined published work, press releases, photos, or video/audio tapes of broadcast material, or other appropriate evidence).

There are three membership classifications in MPG: Full-Journalist, Full-Public Relations, and Affiliate.

To qualify for Full-Journalist, you must be a working journalist who covers the automotive industry or related fields such as motorsports, the aftermarket or the OEM supplier market, etc.

Full-Public Relations members must perform PR within the automobile industry which is considered to include the aftermarket, motorsports, OEM suppliers, and other related businesses.

Affiliate membership is open to appropriate professionals who work in the automotive industry, but do not meet the requirements of Full-Journalist or Full-Public Relations. Examples would be engineers, designers, marketing personnel and advertising personnel, etc. At the discretion of the Membership Committee, individuals in the automotive advertising field who have substantial contact with the working automotive press may be deemed eligible for Full-Public Relations membership.

Full-Journalist and Full-Public Relations members are eligible to vote and hold office in MPG. Affiliate members may participate in all MPG activities and committees, but may not vote or hold elective office.

Dues for all members are $60 per year (payable by check or money order to “Motor Press Guild”), and must accompany a membership application. Failure to renew dues in a timely manner will result in a member’s name being struck from the membership rolls; such persons may rejoin at any time, but only after submitting a new application and the necessary documentation of recent professional activity.

Please visit the “Join MPG” page for further information, as well as how to obtain a membership application.

 2003 Board of Directors

Ben Stewart, President
Mark Williams, Vice President
Mark Vaughn, Secretary
Jack Gerken, Treasurer

Lisa Barrow, Board Member
Tim Considine, Board Member
John Rettie, Board Member
Ron Sessions, Board Member
Barry Winfield, Board Member

 2003 Committees

Membership Review:	Carl Sheffer, Chair
	Chuck Koch
	Chuck Schifsky
Membership Development:	Barry Winfield, Co-Chair
	John Rettie, Co-Chair
Media Guide:	David Bird, Chair
	Leslie Bird
	John Rettie
	Ron Sessions
Publicity:	Lisa Barrow, Chair
Finance:	Eric Dahlquist, Chair
	Jack Gerken
Speakers:	Mark Williams, Chair
Special Events:	Tim Considine, Chair
	Larkin Hill
	Eric Dahlquist
	Jeannine Fallon
L.A. Auto Show Keynote:	Matt Stone, Chair
	Lisa Barrow
Internet:	Ben Stewart, Chair
	Jim Dvorak
Dean Batchelor Award:	Chuck Koch, Chair
	John Dinkel
	Chris Poole
Track Days:	Nicki Forbes-Robinson, Chair
	Allison Altzman

 Contact Us

 Motor Press Guild
 c/o Allison Altzman
 26331 Peacock Place
 Stevenson Ranch, CA 91381

 Phone: 1-661-287-4259
 Fax: 1-661-287-4371
 E-mail: info@motorpressguild.org