The Car Lab is a content creation agency primarily focussed on assisting the Australian automotive industry in the development and execution of product enhancement and customer engagement through storytelling.
An editorial background to story telling
Complete content strategy and production services
One-stop shop for content creation
Since 2019
The Car Lab was established in 2019 by Andrew Maclean, a motoring journalist with more than 25 years of experience in cutting-edge print and digital media, who has worked for Australia's largest publishers including News Limited, ACP Magazines and Fairfax Media.
The Car Lab utilises its editorial expertise and access to the country's leading writers, photographers, editors and designers to build highly engaging strategies and content, whether in copywriting, video production, social media, custom publishing, press or marketing material and media or consumer events.
About Andrew
Having grown up with petrol in his blood from a young age, Andrew was never far away from fast-moving machinery and became a journalist in 1992, first publishing a monthly newsletter for his local go-kart club before becoming a freelance writer covering the West Australian motor racing scene for Auto Action.
Realising his aspirations were limited on the other side of the country, Andrew moved to Melbourne where he worked at ACP Magazines – publisher of esteemed titles such as Wheels, Motor Magazine, Auto Action and Street Machine at the time – before joining Melbourne’s Herald Sun as a full-time motorsport and motoring reporter, and playing a pivotal role in the establishment of a national association between all of News Limited’s Australian motoring sections.
Automotive Journalism
After six years at The Hun, Andrew changed lanes and joined the burgeoning Ford Performance Vehicles division as its inaugural Communications Manager, assisting in the brand’s transition from Tickford and subsequent launch of iconic vehicles such as the born-again Ford Falcon GT.
He spent three and a half years in corporate communications, and was responsible for managing press, internal stakeholder and customer communications while also being integrated in future product planning and engineering validation programmes.
Moving north to Newcastle, Andrew resumed his automotive journalism career, first as the Editor of Auto Action and then being promoted to the Editor of Motor Magazine before joining Fairfax Media and becoming the Editor in Chief of the Drive Network, where he oversaw the production of Drive.com.au, The Motor Report.com.au and a weekly motoring section published in The Sydney Morning Herald and Melbourne’s The Age.
The Car Lab offers content, photography and production services for brands, dealerships, suppliers and editorial publications in the automotive industry.
