Martin Padgett, Editorial Director

Martin Padgett is Internet Brands Automotive Group’s Editorial Director. He ensures the quality of content across the Group’s portfolio of automotive destinations, which include The Car Connection, Motor Authority, and Green Car Reports. Padgett oversees the editorial development of each site, as well as vehicle reviews and evaluations that are unique to The Car Connection, including its numeric TCC Rating scoring system. He also guides deeply sourced industry reporting at each site, from first drive reviews of the latest supercars and electric vehicles, to in-depth analysis of topics that range from EV charging to the future of gas-powered trucks and SUVs. With a career that spans more than 30 years, Padgett has reported on the automotive industry since he joined Car and Driver magazine in 1991. Prior to joining the startup site that would become The Car Connection, he wrote for other prominent automotive outlets including AutoTrader, Edmunds, Automobile Magazine, Stuff, Outside, and BusinessWeek. As a juror for the prestigious North American Car and Truck of the Year awards, his insights and evaluations play a vital role in recognizing excellence within the automotive industry. Padgett is a native of Washington, D.C. He graduated with a BA in history with honors from Duke University. He earned an MFA in narrative nonfiction writing from the University of Georgia’s Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communications in 2018. In 2023, he completed his PhD in U.S. Constitutional history at Georgia State University.

Articles

Mercedes wants your next Amazon delivery to arrive in an electric eSprinter van Martin Padgett April 9, 2022

Driving a battery-powered commercial panel van may not sound exciting to you—but to Mercedes-Benz and the likes of Amazon and UPS, it promises to be a bellwether moment.

As the Mercedes...
First drive review: 2022 Mercedes-Benz EQS fuses electric-car wizardry with S-Class serenity
Acceleration and charging pull up short, but Mercedes’ EQS oozes with sophisticated interfaces and finishes.
Martin Padgett July 26, 2021

CES: Fisker Ocean gets a $37,499 price tag, but still no word on batteries or build site
Henrik Fisker wants to deliver a $30,000, 300-mile electric crossover (after tax credits), but hasn't said where the Ocean will be built or whose batteries will power it.
Martin Padgett January 6, 2020
Vision-T is the next Hyundai Tucson, with concept plug-in hybrid powertrain
Hyundai perhaps also hints with this concept that it's looking to offer plug-in hybrids on a wider range of models.
Martin Padgett November 20, 2019
Review: The 2020 Ford Escape SE Sport Hybrid makes perfect sense—for now
With the new 2020 Escape, Ford brings back its popular hybrid version—but should you wait for the plug-in yet to come?
Martin Padgett September 19, 2019
2020 Ford Escape Hybrid preview: Gas-electric now, plug-ins later
With its new pair of Escape Hybrids, Ford re-enters a gas-electric landscape—and puts down a marker on future battery-electric vehicles, too.
Martin Padgett September 6, 2019
2020 Lincoln Aviator Grand Touring plug-in hybrid is a placeholder, not a game-changer Martin Padgett August 30, 2019

Sometimes, in the long development cycle of new, greener vehicles, automakers hit an awkward stopping point. Pencils down—it’s time to turn in your work.

Sometimes that stopping point...

Aston Martin may be first with 800-volt charging
Automakers look ahead to the day when fast-charging changes the electric-car landscape. Many have debated and some have announced 800-volt electric cars, especially Porsche, with forthcoming versions of its Taycan electric car. Prior to last weekend’s Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, Aston...
Martin Padgett August 28, 2018
Audi details battery for 2019 e-tron electric SUV
When the Audi e-tron battery-electric SUV goes on sale next year, its 432 battery cells will drink from a 150-kw charging firehose–a rate quicker than the Jaguar I-Pace or a Tesla Model S. The high-energy battery pack, detailed by Audi in Berlin on Wednesday, has an apt, caffeinated analogy...
Martin Padgett April 20, 2018
Mercedes-Benz takes the electric car plunge, but diesel is here to stay
Daimler AG executives said Tuesday that diesel power for Mercedes cars is here to stay, even as electric cars and electrified mobility spreads throughout its passenger and commercial vehicles, and even its global partnerships. Electrified vehicles include everything from 48-volt mild hybrids...
Martin Padgett March 9, 2018
2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV: Production Car Spied Before 2016 CES Reveal
The 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV will appear in production-ready form at CES, a new report says.
Martin Padgett December 1, 2015
2016 Toyota Prius Preview Video
One of the most important new cars of the 2016 model year isn’t some 600-horsepower sports car, or a big crossover wagon. It’s the hybrid that started it all, or at least made hybrids what they are today. Recently in Las Vegas, and also at the 2015 Frankfurt Auto Show, Toyota gave the...
Martin Padgett September 15, 2015

2016 Smart Fortwo Video Preview Martin Padgett April 4, 2015

If smaller is better, then you can’t really do much better than the Smart ForTwo. The Fortwo is the city car originally designed in partnership with Swatch, back in the 1990s.

This year...
Hyundai Sonata Hybrid Carries Over, Eco Gets 32 MPG--But Where's That Plug-In?
The 2015 Hyundai Sonata is nearly entirely new--save for the steadily improving Hybrid edition. Hyundai says the Sonata Hybrid will stick with its existing gas-electric drivetrain and body style through the 2015 model year, while the rest of the range takes on a more subdued look and more refined...
Martin Padgett July 3, 2014
Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Electric Drive Supercar: First Drive Video
It was a Mercedes-Benz icon before it became a performance flagship. Now it's a messenger for the future: the gullwing's going electric. The SLS AMG Electric Drive electric car is closing in on series production, converting the octane-addicted supercar to fit a greener vision of the future. We've...
Martin Padgett March 4, 2013
Green Car Reports To Name Best Car To Buy 2013
Electric cars, hybrids, plug-ins, diesels, CNG- and gasoline-powered vehicles--they can all be green cars, and all are a part of the growing movement to cleaner emissions and better fuel efficiency. Just one of them will be Green Car Reports' Best Car To Buy 2013. On December 10, we'll announce the...
Martin Padgett November 13, 2012
2013 Lexus ES 300h Hybrid Bows At 2012 New York Auto Show
Toyota made a vow to build every one of its vehicle lines in hybrid form, and it's adding another model to the growing hybrid list at this year's 2012 New York Auto Show with the introduction of the 2013 Lexus ES 300h. The first Lexus ES hybrid seems to share much with the latest Toyota Camry...
Martin Padgett April 4, 2012
Aptera Shutting Down For Good
Aptera has just released a statement, saying it will shut down operations today. As recently as two years ago, the southern California-based Aptera had plans to introduce an electric car and to sell up to 10,000 copies a year. It had even hoped to received approval for some of the same federal...
Martin Padgett December 2, 2011

Now Ford Has A Prius: 2012 C-Max To Go Hybrid-Only Martin Padgett June 9, 2011

The upcoming Ford two-row C-Max Hybrid and plug-in C-Max Energi hybrid are still on track, but today Ford says it's canning the planned seven-seat, gas-powered C-Max minivan from its future product...
2011 Miles In A 2011 VW Jetta TDI: A Not So Quick Drive
In some new cars, you can't learn enough over the course of a first drive. There's not enough time to experience every handling nuance, or every electronic helper, in a hundred miles or less. With the 2011 Volkswagen Jetta TDI, you'll find the opposite. Spending more than 2000 miles behind the...
Martin Padgett April 28, 2011
Write For Us And Win A Trip To The New York Auto Show!
High Gear Media is heading to New York in two weeks to cover the next big auto show on the docket--and you could be heading there, too. We're partnering with Hyundai and the New York International Auto Show to award one lucky winner a trip to the auto show's press days, where the winner will write...
Martin Padgett April 7, 2011
High Gear Media Wants You--To Write And Win A Trip To New York
Electric-car fans, here's your chance to see the latest EVs and plug-in hybrids, up close at New York's Javits Center. High Gear Media is joining with Hyundai and the New York International Auto Show to give you the chance to attend the upcoming show and to write about it for a High Gear Media...
Martin Padgett April 7, 2011
2011 Porsche Cayenne S Hybrid Gets...A Tax Break
All kinds of green cars are eligible for tax breaks, but the 2011 Porsche Cayenne Hybrid could be one of the most expensive vehicles ever to get the IRS' nod of approval. The Cayenne S Hybrid earns its buyers up to $1,800 in federal tax credits, the automaker says, making it the first Porsche ever...
Martin Padgett December 7, 2010
GE Buying 25K EVs--Starting with the 2011 Chevrolet Volt
GM is set to deliver its 2011 Chevrolet Volt to its first batch of owners, but it's just booked a big order sure to keep the extended-range electric car in short supply for the near future. As its CEO Jeffrey Immelt promised two weeks ago, corporate giant General Electric said today it would...
Martin Padgett November 11, 2010