NORCROSS, Ga. -

On Wednesday, EasyCare tapped the former publisher of Motor Trend as a new vice president and executive director for Motor Trend Certified Vehicles.

Picked for the position is Ira Gabriel, who will focus on the growth and continued success of Motor Trend Certified Vehicles, a program that includes units that have been thoroughly inspected and upgraded to carry additional consumer benefits provided by EasyCare.

EasyCare highlighted that Gabriel joins the company with a background of more than two decades in the automotive industry.

Gabriel began his career in 1988 at Petersen Publishing and went on to hold prominent positions in marketing, sales and management. In 2001, Gabriel was named publisher of Hot Rod, one of the company’s flagship performance automotive titles.

In 2006, Gabriel became the publisher of Motor Trend, which with a total monthly readership in excess of 12 million people worldwide, is Source Interlink Media’s largest property.

During Gabriel’s tenure managing the brand, Motor Trend won numerous awards, launched interactive applications across varying platforms and was recognized as one of YouTube’s premiere partners for its original automotive video content. His team at Motor Trend was also responsible for the development of the Motor Trend Certified Vehicles program and for choosing EasyCare to power the program nationally.

“Ira’s expertise in the industry, knowledge of and passion for the Motor Trend brand, and his executive experience and leadership will allow us to build significantly on the initial success the brand has enjoyed,” stated Larry Dorfman, chairman and chief executive officer of EasyCare.

“We are truly excited about having Ira focus his efforts on the growth and continued success of the Motor Trend Certified Vehicles program,” Dorfman continued.

Chris Argentieri, president of Source Interlink Media, added, “The Motor Trend Certified Vehicles program is an important extension of our overall branding strategy.

“We created the program under Ira’s direction, and having him take this leadership position with our partners at EasyCare will allow him to really focus on expanding the brand nationally,” Argentieri went on to say.

“This is a great opportunity for everyone involved. We look forward to working with Ira and EasyCare to take the Motor Trend Certified Vehicles program to new heights,” Argentieri concluded.