Wards Drops Weekly Reports Newsletter after 95 Years

WardsAuto has stopped publishing its weekly Ward's Automotive Reports (WAR) which was launched in 1924.

The flagship newsletter tracked vehicle production levels—initially by talking with assembly workers after they completed a shift—and other key industry data and news. Wards will continue to offer such information as part of its Wardsintelligence.com data center.

Initially called Cram’s Reports, WAR was renamed in 1935 after its founder Alfred Ward, who owned Ward’s until 1957. The company added Ward’s Automotive Yearbook in 1938 and several newsletters and magazines in later decades.

The self-described “Bible of the auto industry,” WAR was known for its precise data, colored paper (initially yellow, then brown) and distinctive style. Stories were written in the present tense and sources weren’t named directly until the 1980s. The annual subscription rate jumped from $50 in 1970 to $2,000 last year.

As with many of its competitors, Wards has migrated to digital publications in recent years. WAR switched from hard copy to PDF a couple of years ago. The company took a similar tack with the monthly Ward’s Auto World magazine, dropping the print version several years ago, before discontinuing it altogether and rolling it into Wardsauto.com.