David E. Davis
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David E. Davis, Jr. is an automobile journalist and magazine publisher. His career in the automotive industry spanned from race car driver, factory worker and car salesman to ad salesman with Road & Track and copywriter for Corvette advertisements before becoming a writer for Car and Driver magazine in 1962. He wrote for that publication until 1967 and later became its editor and publisher from 1976 to 1985 before leaving to found Automobile magazine. During this time, his "Driver's Seat" columns for Car and Driver, and "American Driver" columns for Automobile, became wildly popular and influential in the industry. Time magazine called Davis the "dean of automotive journalists."
When Automobile was acquired by Primedia, he also became the editorial director of the company's Motor Trend magazine. He eventually left the company and went into semi-retirement.
During a 1985 60 Minutes special report on the Lamborghini Countach, he said "I believe that anyone who is worth their salt should drive a V12 once before they die." A statement that mirrored his earnest appreciation, at times even for the ridiculous, for great automobiles. In 2004, Davis received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from the University of Michigan, and served as its spring commencement speaker. He received a standing ovation for the speech, which delved into the triumphs and tragedies of his personal life, including a race car accident at age 25 which left his face severely disfigured and required extensive plastic surgery. After that, he said, "I suddenly understood with great clarity that nothing in life — except death itself — was ever going to kill me. No meeting could ever go that badly. No client would ever be that angry. No business error would ever bring me as close to the brink as I had already been." He often describes the incident in speaking engagements and columns as thoroughly life-changing, and says he was "born again."
Mr. Davis is now Editor-in-Chief of Winding Road an e-zine for high-performance vehicles. It is published by Absolute Multimedia, Inc. of Austin, Texas, publishers of 'The Absolute Sound' and 'The Perfect Vision.'
Mr. Davis lives in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
