CBS Local Launches Auto Portal With High Gear Media

CBS Local has launched an auto shopping guide on the Web site of WCCO-TV Minneapolis, using vertical content and services from High Gear Media, a Palo Alto, California-based auto specialist publisher launched two years ago by Daily Shopper founder Hesky Kutscher.

The CBS Local deal marks the first local effort for High Gear, which has 90 vertical auto-related car sites of its own. It also has distribution on site such as NASCAR.com, Yahoo Autos and Huffington Post. Its own vertical sites include TheCarConnection.com, MotorAuthority.com, GreenCarReports.com, AllCarsElectric.com and FamilyCarGuide.com.

VP of Product Management Jeff Birkeland tells us the CBS Local site will launch with 1.2 million pages of “very curated” content including content from a six-person full-time staff and freelance auto writers, as well as 200 community sources. He believes the level of specific, high-level auto writing is much higher from general content creators such as Associated Content and Demand Media.