Csaba Csere

Who is Csaba Csere?

Csaba Csere is a former technical director and editor-in-chief of Car and Driver magazine.

Csere is an American of Hungarian descent. He earned a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1975. He went on to join Ford Motor Company's Advanced Engine Engineering Office. He joined Car and Driver magazine as its technical editor in 1980. He specialized in stories about technical issues and first-person experiences in competition machines ranging from NASCAR stock cars to Formula One cars. In the process, he raced in fifteen 24-hour events and performed an automotive backflip at over 200 mph on the Bonneville Salt Flats.

Csere became editor-in-chief in 1993 and concentrated on integrating Car and Driver's TV, Internet, and radio efforts. He presided over a controversial redesign of the magazine, launched in December 2006 and refined during 2007. The cover featured capitalized headlines, often with an exclamation point, and featured bands of color. Inside, there was prominent use of yellow. Additional content was to be found on the Car and Driver website. The redesign was roundly criticized in the 'Backfires' section of the March 2007 issue. In that column, the editor admitted to receiving 164 letters against the redesign and 13 for, but stated: