This week The Laker/Lutz News is expanding our business coverage with a new automotive section that we’re calling “autoMOTIVES.”
We emphasize the word “MOTIVES” because we believe this section’s outstanding content will educate and motivate you to keep up with the latest automotive trends, and help you decide what is the best vehicle for you and your loved ones.
Our editor is Nitish Rele, an accomplished automotive writer who lives in New Tampa and is under contract with several automobile manufacturers to test drive and write stories for industry publications and blogs.
Rele has been writing product reviews, test drives and reporting automotive news for more than 20 years. He will be doing the same for The Laker/Lutz News, but with a heavy emphasis on local automotive and dealer news for our readers in Pasco and north Hillsborough counties.
Rele is also the founder and publisher of Motoring Tampa Bay, a comprehensive auto enthusiast guide in print and online since 2009. Also notable, Rele was at The Tampa Tribune from 1989 to 2009 and was the weekly automotive columnist for his last 11 years there.
Rele received his master’s degree in journalism from the University of Missouri in Columbia, Missouri, and has been a Tampa Bay resident for nearly 30 years. I’m proud to add that he is a longtime, regular reader of our newspaper.
“Buying a vehicle is one of the biggest expenses a family incurs,” said Rele. “Our goal is to give readers timely and informative automotive news and professionally sanctioned test drives to help local people make informative decisions about their next vehicle.”
It is interesting to note that according to our 2017 readership buyer’s survey, 38 percent of our readers plan to purchase a new or used vehicle in the next 12 months —or 13,557 vehicles.
“We want to educate readers early in the buying process — when you are still considering your top vehicle choices and deciding how much you want to spend,” said Rele.
“Our goal is to give you information to make intelligent automotive decisions, and to help you find your next vehicle close to home at a dealership that is convenient and which provides service, body and warranty work.”
The Laker/Lutz News is able to add automotive news to its coverage because of the support of our inaugural advertisers — Christian Brothers Automotive, Maus Family Chevrolet, Parks Ford of Wesley Chapel and Wesley Chapel Toyota/Lexus/Honda.
All are locally owned, family businesses, just like we are at The Laker/Lutz News.
My staff and I sincerely thank these advertisers for their support, and if you have an opportunity to visit these neighborhood businesses, please be sure to thank them for bringing automotive news to your community newspaper.
Published December 12, 2018
