R.I.P. David E. Davis

Details of memorials for David E. Davis.

Regards,

Jim Walker
365 GT 2+2 #12451

Cremation has taken place. Jeannie Davis has made arrangements for services for David next month at Ann Arbor's First Presbyterian Church at 1432 Washtenaw Ave., near U of M's central campus. Services will be held April 28th at 2:00 p.m.

A celebration of David's robust life will follow at David E. Davis' offices at the Ypsilanti car warehouse (884 Railroad St., Ypsilanti, MI).

In lieu of flowers, the Davis family asks that contributions be made in David's name to the Knight-Wallace Fellows, 620 Oxford Road, Ann Arbor, M48104 (http://www.mjfellows.org/). As a journalist of national renown, David E. served on Knight-Wallace's board of directors -- and enthusiastically supported its efforts to train and nurture exceptional journalists all over the world. KWF is an affiliate of the University of Michigan and is a non-profit entity.

 

^Thanks, Jim.

 

I'm right there with you. I am 35 now and I remember from the age of 10 or 11 asking for Automobile Magazine subscription for Christmas. RIP fine Sir.

 

Today's NYT Obit
March 29, 2011, 11:04 am
David E. Davis’s Mission: To Banish the Boring From Auto Writing

By JAMES G. COBB


Was David E. Davis Jr. the most interesting man in the world? Probably not, though his writing, at its best, could argue the case. Certainly he had more claim to the title than a Mexican beer’s fictional pitchman whose “beard alone has experienced more than a lesser man’s entire body.” In the case of Mr. Davis’s meticulously groomed facial hair, that could well be true.

Andrew Sacks David E. Davis Jr.

Mr. Davis, a consummate story teller and connoisseur of experiences over five decades as an auto writer, editor and publisher, died Sunday evening at age 80 in Ypsilanti, Mich., after suffering complications from surgery for bladder cancer.

Mr. Davis’s influence extended far beyond the titles he worked for (Road & Track, Car and Driver), helped to create (Automobile, Winding Road) or served as a consultant (Motor Trend). In the 1960s, when auto writers largely fed a diet of nuts and bolts to like-minded gearheads, he elevated the craft into a celebration of freedom, speed and style — a template that still inspires much of the best auto writing today.



“Cogito ergo zoom” was one of his memorable catch phrases — I think, therefore I go fast.

Rather than extol the virtues of Tri-Power carburetors or MacPherson struts, Mr. Davis put the reader in the shotgun seat of a Porsche speeding across the desert on a coast-to-coast road trip, or in a Land Rover crawling toward a partridge hunt in Wales. The two of you would stop for a succulent meal at a fine inn frequented by those in the know; you’d share tales over rare spirits and aromatic cigars, then perhaps tuck in for the night at a medieval castle whose owner, the Earl of Manwich, was a dear old chum.

Adventures on Route 66, on California’s Highway 1, along the Grand Corniche to Monte Carlo — it was a heady mix for a child in a small Kansas town who’d happened upon the school library’s collection of Car and Driver magazines circa 1967. Drawn in by photos of exotic cars rarely seen on the Great Plains, I devoured the accompanying words. I’d read each month’s issue cover to cover, then re-read it all while awaiting the next issue.

For a seventh-grader in the heyday of James Bond, obsessed with “The Avengers” and puzzled by the model of the sports car Emma Peel drove as she tracked down foreign agents, Car and Driver was a revelation. Mr. Davis and his staff seemed to live the 007/John Steed lifestyle, sans spies, and they got paid to drive an ever-changing array of cars. I had suddenly developed a career goal.

I never made it to Car and Driver or to Automobile, the glossy magazine that Mr. Davis created in the 1980s (though I was a charter subscriber). I ultimately entered the world of auto journalism through the side door, as editor of The Times’ auto pages.

It was in that capacity that I finally met Mr. Davis — everybody called him David E. — when I found myself assigned to a seat next to him at an auto industry function in the late 1990s. I was aware of his intolerance for the mundane and anxious to make a good impression on a man who had, years before, made a profound, though indirect, impression on me.

(Joe DeMatio, deputy editor of Automobile, noted in a tribute posted at MotorTrend.com that one of Mr. Davis’s mottos was “No boring cars!” and added, “The slogan could just as easily have been applied to everything else in his life: No boring stories. No boring meetings. No boring road trips. No boring wardrobes. No boring friends. No boring employees. No boring food. No boring parties.”)

Certainly David E. would not tolerate a boring dinner partner.

Our conversation started haltingly, and when I asked about his latest adventures I’m sure he quickly surmised that I knew nothing about hunting and even less about firearms. But his eyes sparkled when I mentioned my exceptionally intelligent and adventurous beagle, a topic he quickly embraced. Bound by a common canine affection, we talked of hounds and hares, of setters and pointers, of fox hunts and shooting brakes for a memorable two hours.

Our paths crossed after that from time to time, and while I certainly wouldn’t be so presumptuous to call David E. a friend, he always greeted me warmly and asked about the dog.

Both, sadly, have gone on to new adventures.

 

D.E.D.,
you will be missed, but not forgotten.

George

 

Eddie Alterman gave a fine speech at a gathering of DED fans on Saturday at "The Warehouse", attended by many of the locals who have have admired him and his work for decades. Among other attendees was his wife Jeannie Davis and some other family members. It was quite meaningful for all those in attendance.

Regards,

Jim Walker
365 GT 2+2 #12451

 

http://www.autoblog.com/2011/04/03/car-and-driver-offers-up-the-best-of-david-e-davis-jr/

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I remember reading C&D's Editorial sections in High School, and always looked forward to reading DED's columns. Peter Egan from Road and Track is the only other writer I felt the same way about. I met DED at the LA Auto Show back when the very first issue of Automobile Magazine came out, I had him Autograph it. Now I have to go look for it in my archives. What a terrific writer, his stories always took you away to new adventures. He will be very missed. R.I.P. David E. Davis, Jr. there will never be another like you.

 

Back in the late '60s, I worked in the same ad agency, Campbell Ewald, as DeD did, but never figured out what he did, I think it was client contact--he could schmooze with the GM execs because he often schmoozed with them at their country clubs, etc. I heard him speak first at the Greenfield Village Museum around 1864 and was impressed that at least here was a guy who could talk as well as he could write. I think he was a good talent spotter (tho he never hired me for his magazine). I remember he had something to do with Corvette ads around '56, at the time the Corvette was becoming a real sports car. When I worked in the same agency I cut out all his columns from Car & Driver and gave it to him and I think , or hope, that inspired his book Thus Spake David E.
I was never able to find out if he went to college but I think he sure as hell sounded like a man who had at least a couple degrees from Yale. If he was self taught, he was a remarkable teacher. We should all be so skillfull at learning what we were not formally taught. I even submitted a short story to him at Campbell Ewald and he dutifully marked it up with red ink, pointing out all its flaws.
I would have loved to hear his opinion of the series Mad Men because he was in advertising during the era depicted--when you seduced your secretary, had been blow out parties for all the creative types, and enjoyed all sorts of shenanigans not permitted in today's "politically correct" era. I never met Hemingway but knowing David E. was, to me, sort of the same thing.

 

In DED's book, "Thus Spake David E.", there's a great shot of him enjoying my friend George Shelley's beautiful 4.4 liter 121. I don't know how to post pictures, but perhaps someone with the skill (and the book!) could do it....

Jack

 

David E.'s memorial service was today. It was very well done and very well attended, a fine tribute that he would have appreciated - complete with recessional at the church by the piper playing Amazing Grace.

Regards,

Jim Walker
365 GT 2+2 #12451

 

RIP

 

RIP

"Freedom and whiskey" DED

 

RIP. Always enjoyed reading his stuff. His last sentence of his last column in Car & Driver was something to the effect that a Fiat 500 was in the Davis Family's future.

 

I'll drink to Mr. Davis, Car and Driver, and this great quote! (see my garage and profile)

C&D was a huge influence in focusing my early automotive enthusiasm...specifically, turned me on to a then-mysterious Italian make and added to the unforgettable impressions and memories that led eventually to ownership.