Tom Sharpe
Tom Sharpe is a motoring specialist who provides weekly car coverage for the Rotherham Advertiser and its sister newspaper titles, combining road tests, industry reporting and performance-focused features. His recent work ranges from electric and low-emission SUVs like the Chery Tiggo 9 to restomod Mazda MX-5 builds, UK manufacturing announcements and driver coaching at manufacturer experience centres.
Weekly motoring pages for the Advertiser titles
Tom Sharpe serves as motoring editor across the Advertiser titles, supplying weekly motoring content that anchors their car coverage. His pages carry the In-Gear branding, providing a dedicated space for car news, reviews and features within the lifestyle section.
His motoring pages span at least 15 years of coverage, with bylines on car and driver features appearing from 2010 through to 2025.
Road tests and performance features
Sharpe devotes substantial space to road tests and performance-oriented features that emphasise driving character and engineering detail.
In his coverage of a heavily modified Mazda MX-5, he focuses on how a familiar sports car platform can be transformed into a high-performance restomod “rocketship”. At the Porsche Experience Centre at Silverstone, he reports on the work of professional instructors who coach owners to extract more from their cars on track and specialised test facilities. His review of the Chery Tiggo 9 positions the SUV’s zero-emissions flexibility within everyday use, bringing electric and low-emission technology into the same practical road-test framework as his combustion and performance pieces.
Industry news and manufacturing coverage
Beyond individual models, Sharpe tracks the corporate and industrial decisions that shape the automotive landscape for drivers.
His report on Nissan boosting its British manufacturing plans covers investment in domestic production and the implications for future models built in UK plants. Earlier in his career he fronted multimedia coverage of a Formula One debut for a locally connected racing team in Bahrain, using the launch of the Advertiser’s website as a platform for extended reporting on motorsport and international events.
This mix of factory investment stories and high-profile motorsport projects keeps his motoring pages connected to the broader economic and sporting context of the car industry.
Role in the wider automotive media
Sharpe combines his newspaper motoring work with senior responsibilities in the automotive business press, giving his coverage a trade-level perspective on dealership and industry trends. He holds a managing role at a business-to-business automotive title and is involved in hosting a regular news show for that brand, extending his focus from consumer-facing motoring pages to the professional side of the sector.
His occasional contributions to other trade publications further reinforce his access to industry sources and his familiarity with the operational realities of manufacturers, retailers and fleet operators. This dual vantage point - consumer motoring editor and automotive trade journalist - underpins his reporting with both driver-centric detail and an awareness of commercial pressures around the cars he covers.
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