RIP David E Davis Jr.

[nrc]

David E. Davis, Jr., died on March 27, 2011, while recuperating from cancer surgery. He was 80 years old. Davis was widely acknowledged as the dean of automotive journalism, the man who turned Car and Driver into the world’s largest automotive magazine, and the founder, in 1986, of Automobile magazine.

http://blog.caranddriver.com/david-e-davis-jr-1930%E2%80%932011/

I've never been sure of what make of Davis. I wasn't a fan of his "Steinbeck on wheels" persona and I hated the affected snobbery of Automobile magazine. But I have to admit that Davis, along with the rest of the Car & Driver crew from the '70s had a big impact on me as burgeoning auto enthusiast.

I subscribed to C&D before I could drive and I still have that subscription today. But I haven't really liked C&D for quite a while and I've been coming to terms with the idea of giving up the subscription when it lapses this summer.

Credit to C&D writers of the 70's and 80's for helping me learn a lot about cars, driving, and what's important about those things to me. But I just don't care what they think anymore. Today's writers don't make it particularly interesting and their attempts to be "irreverent" as they avoid offending anyone who might buy an ad are just sad. Even if I didn't always like Davis, at least he made things interesting, and his editors in the day certainly made them irreverent.

So thank you, and godspeed David E Davis Jr., and probably Car & Driver.

[datachicane]

Yep, C&D back in the late '70s-early '80s was some fine stuff. Automobile was too slick and self-aggrandizing for my taste, and I dropped it after the first year (I still have those issues stuffed in a box somewhere). R&T and MT never did anything for me, but then they never had writers like P.J. O'Rourke, either.

Yates, OTOH, :yuck:

[Elmo T]

but then they never had writers like P.J. O'Rourke, either.



I've been rereading some of his books - lots of fun road trips with Davis.

I will be on the lookout for a nice write-up on Davis from PJ.

[chop456]

Not automotive-related in the least, but Modern Manners - An Etiquette Book for Rude People by O'Rourke is one of my favorite books. :thumbup:

[extramundane]

I've never been sure of what make of Davis. I wasn't a fan of his "Steinbeck on wheels" persona and I hated the affected snobbery of Automobile magazine.

You don't appear to be alone. Must be something in the Ohio water. ;)

http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2011/03/rip-david-e-davis-jr/

[nrc]

You don't appear to be alone. Must be something in the Ohio water. ;)

http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2011/03/rip-david-e-davis-jr/

I agree with a lot of that, but I think it's going a bit far to hang all of automotive journalism's infatuation with Hondas and BMWs on DED. I also don't recall DED ever being particularly down on Ferraris. Certainly not enough to forswear ever owning one.

[Ziggy]

Ditto nrc.

As a long time reader of Car and Driver, like since 1969 or so, I remember when it was "Sports Car Illustrated", I never cared for this guys stuffy persona either. And this was when i was very young.

Just the same, he was somewhat responsible for some pretty good automotive journalism. Of course, one I found out about Henry Manney and Peter Egan I went full bore into Road and Track.

I quit Car and Driver when Mario got hired at Lotus in 1976. Autoweek and Road and Track did a heck of a lot better job in covering that era. (and what a great era it was)

Thanks Mario!