David E. Davis
Encyclopedia
David Evan Davis, Jr. was an automotive
journalist
and magazine publisher widely known as a contributing writer, editor and publisher at Car and Driver
magazine and as the founder of Automobile
magazine.
Davis influenced the format of automotive journalism by introducing premium publishing features and he influenced the profession by mentoring a gamut of automotive photographers, illustrators, designers and journalists – including Jean (Lindamood) Jennings, Robert Cumberford, Bruce McCall
, P. J. O'Rourke
, Jim Harrison and David Halberstam
– as well as younger colleagues and journalism students.
Known for his own straightforward writing style and his colorful personality – at six-foot-three inches tall, bearded, portly and always immaculately dressed – Davis had once been featured in the New York Times On the Street fashion section. Automotive writer Todd Lasso called him "a raconteur, an impresario, a bon vivant in a tweed, three-piece suit." As an editor he maintained an "atmosphere of creative turbulence."The New York Times described him as "a combative swashbuckler who encouraged criticism of the cars it tested, even at the risk of losing advertising."
His collected writings were published in 1999 "Thus Spake David E.: The Collected Wit and Wisdom of the Most Influential Automotive Journalist of Our Time".
Davis said his success in automotive journalism came from "his ability to marry southern storytelling to big-city presentation." The Truth About Cars
said "automotive journalism in the post-Vietnam-War era was entirely and singlehandedly defined by David E. Davis, Jr." Time magazine called Davis the "dean of automotive journalists."
, on November 7, 1930 – in a house without running water, on a hill called Tyree's Knob. His aunt was Harriette Arnow, author of the best-selling novel, The Dollmaker
. Davis graduated from high school in Royal Oak, Michigan
, having failed his journalism class. He later briefly attended Olivet College
. He worked in a series of jobs: as a race car driver, Volkswagen salesman, mens clothing salesman, ad salesman with Road & Track
and assembly line worker in a car factory. He would develop his "simple, declarative [writing] style" working on aviation technical manuals.
Davis overturned while racing his sports car (reported variously as a MG TD or MG 1500) at age 25 in Sacramento – badly damaging his face. He lost his left eyelid, the bridge of his nose, the roof of his mouth and most of his teeth. In addition to the accident essentially scraping off half his face, the ambulance attendant had thrown away pieces of his nose. Davis required extensive plastic surgery – and was later able to hide his disfigurement under his full beard. He described the crash and its aftermath as pivotal:
Davis lived in Ann Arbor, Michigan with his second wife Jeannie Luce Kuhn Davis. His three children from his first marriage to Norma Jean Wohlfiel Davis were Peg, David E. Davis III, and Matthew who is a European contributor for numerous publications, including Autoblog
. He had three stepchildren – Eleonore Kuhn Snow, Vincent and Anthony Kuhn.
He died unexpectedly at St. Joseph Mercy Hospital in Ypsilanti, Michigan
on March 27, 2011 shortly following bladder cancer
surgery.
magazine, at age 32. By the time he joined Car and Driver, Davis had "worked in four automobile factories, sold cars in three imported-car dealerships and one Packard showroom." At the magazine, he became friends with automotive luminaries including race car drivers Juan Manuel Fangio
, Dan Gurney
and Carroll Shelby
. Davis left Car and Driver in 1967 – reported variously as either having been fired by Leon Mandel or having resigned as a result of a difference of opinion with management over his criticism of the Blaupunkt radio in his "Turn your Hymnals to 2002" column.
At Chevrolet's advertising agency, Campbell-Ewald
, Davis wrote copy for Corvette
advertisements alongside future crime novelist Elmore Leonard
. He was named Vice President/Creative director. He is co-credited along with James Hartzell
in creating Chevrolet’s tagline, "Baseball, hot dogs, apple pie and Chevrolet" – a campaign that Car and Driver
and other publications ranked as the best automobile commercial of all time.
He returned to Car and Driver in 1976 to serve as the magazine's editor and publisher – and moved its headquarters from New York to Ann Arbor in 1977. He resigned as Editor/Publisher in 1985 when Car and Driver was sold to CBS.
In 1986, he founded Automobile
with financial backing from Rupert Murdoch
– using the credo No Boring Cars. Davis introduced full-color photography and thick stock, increasing the magazine's literary standards to distinguish it from the other three U.S. automotive magazines, Car and Driver, Motor Trend and Road & Track. Murdoch sold the magazine profitably in 1991 to K-III Publications, which became Primedia
– which was later sold to Source Interlink Media, the current owner of the magazine. When Automobile was acquired by K-III, Davis also became the editorial director of the company's Motor Trend
magazine. Automobile celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2011.
Davis later left Primedia and in semi-retirement started the online automotive magazine Winding Road
. In July 2009, he returned to Car and Driver
as a contributor. Until his death, he continued to contribute to numerous automotive venues, including international publications such as the British magazine CAR
.
Davis mentored a spectrum of automotive journalists, including Eddie Alterman, editor-in-chief at Car and Driver and Jean Jennings, current president and editor-in-chief at Automobile. At the University of Michigan
he was member of the board of the Knight-Wallace Fellowship, a journalism program, and he encouraged Ford Motor Company
to underwrite a fellowship for automotive journalism at the school. In 2004, he received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from the University of Michigan
, serving as its spring 2004 commencement speaker.
Unintimidated by the companies whose products he reviewed, Davis originally resigned from Car and Driver after refusing to rescind a comment he made about a BMW 2002's weak radio reception and dash; saying its Blaupunkt radio "could not pick up a Manhattan station from the other side of the George Washington Bridge." Ford
withdrew much of its advertising when he parked a Ford Pinto
, before its well-noted fuel tank controversy, in front of a junkyard. James R. Healey, auto columnist for USAToday, recalled that while speaking at the Washington Automotive Press Association, Davis likened General Motors
managers to the piano player in a whorehouse, "aware of what was going on upstairs but unable to do much about it even if they were so inclined." He ended the speech by saying that the Company was standing on the "shoulders of midgets". The company subsequently pulled much of its advertising. In 2010, he published a column in Car & Driver titled "If the original Henry Ford
was still alive, he would be building Subaru
s."
Davis was periodically estranged from the editor of Automobile, Jean Jennings, who described him as "the most interesting, most difficult, cleverest, darkest, most erudite, dandiest, and most inspirational, charismatic and all-around damnedest human being I will ever meet. I have loved him. I have seriously not loved him." He also maintained an ongoing friendly rivalry with automotive writer Brock Yates
, who said "to know [Davis] is to acknowledge his short fuse and his penchant for unpredictable, snorting charges at friendly targets."
David Cole, chairman emeritus of the Ann Arbor
-based Center for Automotive Research
called Davis "a provocateur, in some ways kind of like the Bob Lutz of auto journalism." Bob Lutz himself said Davis "was one of those rare individuals who filled a room with his presence." Michael Jordan, executive editor at Edmunds.com
, said that "at Car and Driver in the early 1960s, Davis made himself important, yet he also made automotive journalism important." Eddie Alterman, editor-in-chief at Car and Driver, described Davis as "the dashing, witty, high-spirited, and deeply knowledgeable writer/editor who brought the automobile to life."
His office was filled automotive art and featured a clipping with Ernest Shackleton
's 1914 ad to enlist participants in a voyage to Antarctica: "Men wanted for hazardous journey. Small wages. Bitter cold. Long months of complete darkness. Constant danger. Safe return doubtful. Honour and recognition in case of success." Outside his office hung an ad reading "Protest Against the Rising Tide of Conformity."
In everyday situations, rather than the conventional "How are you?", Davis was known to ask "Is your life a rich tapestry?"
Automobile
An automobile, autocar, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor...
journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
and magazine publisher widely known as a contributing writer, editor and publisher at Car and Driver
Car and Driver
Car and Driver is an American automotive enthusiast magazine. Its total circulation is 1.31 million. It is owned by Hearst Magazines, who purchased prior owner Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S. in 2011...
magazine and as the founder of Automobile
Automobile Magazine
Automobile magazine is an automobile magazine in the United States and is owned by Source Interlink. It was founded by a group of former employees of Car and Driver magazine, led by that publications’s former editor, David E. Davis, and originally published by News Corporation...
magazine.
Davis influenced the format of automotive journalism by introducing premium publishing features and he influenced the profession by mentoring a gamut of automotive photographers, illustrators, designers and journalists – including Jean (Lindamood) Jennings, Robert Cumberford, Bruce McCall
Bruce McCall
Bruce McCall is a Canadian author and illustrator, best known for his frequent contributions to The New Yorker.Born and raised in Simcoe, Ontario, Canada, he was fascinated by comic books and showed an early aptitude for drawing fantastical flying machines, blimps, bulbous-nosed muscle cars and...
, P. J. O'Rourke
P. J. O'Rourke
Patrick Jake "P. J." O'Rourke is an American political satirist, journalist, writer, and author. O'Rourke is the H. L. Mencken Research Fellow at the Cato Institute and is a regular correspondent for The Atlantic Monthly, The American Spectator, and The Weekly Standard, and frequent panelist on...
, Jim Harrison and David Halberstam
David Halberstam
David Halberstam was an American Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, author and historian, known for his early work on the Vietnam War, his work on politics, history, the Civil Rights Movement, business, media, American culture, and his later sports journalism.-Early life and education:Halberstam...
– as well as younger colleagues and journalism students.
Known for his own straightforward writing style and his colorful personality – at six-foot-three inches tall, bearded, portly and always immaculately dressed – Davis had once been featured in the New York Times On the Street fashion section. Automotive writer Todd Lasso called him "a raconteur, an impresario, a bon vivant in a tweed, three-piece suit." As an editor he maintained an "atmosphere of creative turbulence."The New York Times described him as "a combative swashbuckler who encouraged criticism of the cars it tested, even at the risk of losing advertising."
His collected writings were published in 1999 "Thus Spake David E.: The Collected Wit and Wisdom of the Most Influential Automotive Journalist of Our Time".
Davis said his success in automotive journalism came from "his ability to marry southern storytelling to big-city presentation." The Truth About Cars
The Truth About Cars
The Truth About Cars is a website covering automobiles, automotive products and the auto industry. Its features include the GM and Ford “Death Watch” and Chrysler "Suicide Watch" series. The site began publishing in 2002, and features a mix of automotive reviews, editorials and news...
said "automotive journalism in the post-Vietnam-War era was entirely and singlehandedly defined by David E. Davis, Jr." Time magazine called Davis the "dean of automotive journalists."
Background
Davis was born in Burnside, KentuckyBurnside, Kentucky
Burnside is a city in Pulaski County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 637 at the 2000 census. In 2005, Burnside became the only town in Pulaski County or any adjoining county to allow the sale of alcoholic beverages in qualified establishments...
, on November 7, 1930 – in a house without running water, on a hill called Tyree's Knob. His aunt was Harriette Arnow, author of the best-selling novel, The Dollmaker
The Dollmaker
The Dollmaker is an American made-for-TV movie, starring Jane Fonda. It was first broadcast on ABC in 1984. The movie is based on the novel of the same title, written by Harriette Arnow and originally published in 1954.-Plot summary:...
. Davis graduated from high school in Royal Oak, Michigan
Royal Oak, Michigan
Royal Oak is a city in Oakland County of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is a suburb of Detroit. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 57,236. It should not be confused with Royal Oak Charter Township, a separate community located nearby....
, having failed his journalism class. He later briefly attended Olivet College
Olivet College
Olivet College is a coeducational, liberal arts college located in Olivet, Michigan, United States, south of Lansing and west of Detroit. It is affiliated with the United Church of Christ and the National Association of Congregational Christian Churches, and accredited by the North Central...
. He worked in a series of jobs: as a race car driver, Volkswagen salesman, mens clothing salesman, ad salesman with Road & Track
Road & Track
Road & Track is an American automotive enthusiast magazine. It is owned by Hearst Magazines, and is published monthly. The editorial offices are located in Newport Beach, California.-History:...
and assembly line worker in a car factory. He would develop his "simple, declarative [writing] style" working on aviation technical manuals.
Davis overturned while racing his sports car (reported variously as a MG TD or MG 1500) at age 25 in Sacramento – badly damaging his face. He lost his left eyelid, the bridge of his nose, the roof of his mouth and most of his teeth. In addition to the accident essentially scraping off half his face, the ambulance attendant had thrown away pieces of his nose. Davis required extensive plastic surgery – and was later able to hide his disfigurement under his full beard. He described the crash and its aftermath as pivotal:
Davis lived in Ann Arbor, Michigan with his second wife Jeannie Luce Kuhn Davis. His three children from his first marriage to Norma Jean Wohlfiel Davis were Peg, David E. Davis III, and Matthew who is a European contributor for numerous publications, including Autoblog
Autoblog
Autoblog is a neologism and misnomer used to describe a particular type of website which uses software designed to automatically add content in a blog format. The owner of an autoblog is generally referred to as an autoblogger. Engaging in this practice is called autoblogging.Autoblogging does...
. He had three stepchildren – Eleonore Kuhn Snow, Vincent and Anthony Kuhn.
He died unexpectedly at St. Joseph Mercy Hospital in Ypsilanti, Michigan
Ypsilanti, Michigan
Ypsilanti is a city in Washtenaw County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 22,362. The city is bounded to the north by the Charter Township of Superior and on the west, south, and east by the Charter Township of Ypsilanti...
on March 27, 2011 shortly following bladder cancer
Bladder cancer
Bladder cancer is any of several types of malignant growths of the urinary bladder. It is a disease in which abnormal cells multiply without control in the bladder. The bladder is a hollow, muscular organ that stores urine; it is located in the pelvis...
surgery.
Career
After selling an article to Motor Trend in 1957 for $50, Davis became a contributing writer in 1962 to Car and DriverCar and Driver
Car and Driver is an American automotive enthusiast magazine. Its total circulation is 1.31 million. It is owned by Hearst Magazines, who purchased prior owner Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S. in 2011...
magazine, at age 32. By the time he joined Car and Driver, Davis had "worked in four automobile factories, sold cars in three imported-car dealerships and one Packard showroom." At the magazine, he became friends with automotive luminaries including race car drivers Juan Manuel Fangio
Juan Manuel Fangio
Juan Manuel Fangio , nicknamed El Chueco or El Maestro , was a racing car driver from Argentina, who dominated the first decade of Formula One racing...
, Dan Gurney
Dan Gurney
Daniel Sexton Gurney is an American racing driver, race car constructor, and team owner.The son of a Metropolitan Opera star, he was born in Port Jefferson, New York, but moved to California as a teenager...
and Carroll Shelby
Carroll Shelby
Carroll Hall Shelby is an American retired automotive designer and racing driver. He is most well known for making Mustangs for Ford Motor Company known as Mustang Cobras which he has done since 1965...
. Davis left Car and Driver in 1967 – reported variously as either having been fired by Leon Mandel or having resigned as a result of a difference of opinion with management over his criticism of the Blaupunkt radio in his "Turn your Hymnals to 2002" column.
At Chevrolet's advertising agency, Campbell-Ewald
Campbell-Ewald
Campbell Ewald is one of the largest marketing communications agencies in the United States, offering innovative capabilities both traditional and specialized, including advertising; insights and solutions planning; integrated content strategy and development; social, relationship, retail and...
, Davis wrote copy for Corvette
Corvette
A corvette is a small, maneuverable, lightly armed warship, originally smaller than a frigate and larger than a coastal patrol craft or fast attack craft , although many recent designs resemble frigates in size and role...
advertisements alongside future crime novelist Elmore Leonard
Elmore Leonard
Elmore John Leonard Jr. , better known as Elmore Leonard, is an American novelist and screenwriter. His earliest published novels in the 1950s were westerns, but Leonard went on to specialize in crime fiction and suspense thrillers, many of which have been adapted into motion pictures.Among his...
. He was named Vice President/Creative director. He is co-credited along with James Hartzell
James Hartzell
James W. Hartzell was an American advertising copywriter. He created many successful advertising campaigns. He is principally recalled for originating the 1974 "Baseball, Hot Dogs, Apple Pie and Chevrolet" campaign that Car and Driver and other publications have ranked as the best automobile...
in creating Chevrolet’s tagline, "Baseball, hot dogs, apple pie and Chevrolet" – a campaign that Car and Driver
Car and Driver
Car and Driver is an American automotive enthusiast magazine. Its total circulation is 1.31 million. It is owned by Hearst Magazines, who purchased prior owner Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S. in 2011...
and other publications ranked as the best automobile commercial of all time.
He returned to Car and Driver in 1976 to serve as the magazine's editor and publisher – and moved its headquarters from New York to Ann Arbor in 1977. He resigned as Editor/Publisher in 1985 when Car and Driver was sold to CBS.
In 1986, he founded Automobile
Automobile Magazine
Automobile magazine is an automobile magazine in the United States and is owned by Source Interlink. It was founded by a group of former employees of Car and Driver magazine, led by that publications’s former editor, David E. Davis, and originally published by News Corporation...
with financial backing from Rupert Murdoch
Rupert Murdoch
Keith Rupert Murdoch, AC, KSG is an Australian-American business magnate. He is the founder and Chairman and CEO of , the world's second-largest media conglomerate....
– using the credo No Boring Cars. Davis introduced full-color photography and thick stock, increasing the magazine's literary standards to distinguish it from the other three U.S. automotive magazines, Car and Driver, Motor Trend and Road & Track. Murdoch sold the magazine profitably in 1991 to K-III Publications, which became Primedia
Primedia
PRIMEDIA Inc. is privately held American media company fully owned by TPG Capital.Consumer Source Inc. is the sole operating division of PRIMEDIA and helps millions of consumers find apartments, houses for rent, and new homes for sale through its Internet, mobile, and print products...
– which was later sold to Source Interlink Media, the current owner of the magazine. When Automobile was acquired by K-III, Davis also became the editorial director of the company's Motor Trend
Motor Trend
Motor Trend is an American automobile magazine. It first appeared in September 1949, issued by Petersen Publishing Company in Los Angeles, and bearing the tag line "The Magazine for a Motoring World". Petersen Publishing was sold to British publisher EMAP in 1998, who sold the former Petersen...
magazine. Automobile celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2011.
Davis later left Primedia and in semi-retirement started the online automotive magazine Winding Road
Winding Road
Winding Road is a digital automotive enthusiast magazine owned by NextScreen LLC, of Austin, Texas, which also publishes various consumer electronics related titles digitally and in print. Winding Roads monthly digital magazine focuses on enthusiast-oriented vehicles, and passionate drivers...
. In July 2009, he returned to Car and Driver
Car and Driver
Car and Driver is an American automotive enthusiast magazine. Its total circulation is 1.31 million. It is owned by Hearst Magazines, who purchased prior owner Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S. in 2011...
as a contributor. Until his death, he continued to contribute to numerous automotive venues, including international publications such as the British magazine CAR
Car Magazine
Car Magazine is a British automotive enthusiast magazine published monthly by Bauer Automotive. International editions are published by Bauer Automotive in Brazil, China, Greece, India, Mexico, the Middle East, Poland , Romania, Russia, South Africa , Spain, Thailand and Turkey...
.
Davis mentored a spectrum of automotive journalists, including Eddie Alterman, editor-in-chief at Car and Driver and Jean Jennings, current president and editor-in-chief at Automobile. At the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
he was member of the board of the Knight-Wallace Fellowship, a journalism program, and he encouraged Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...
to underwrite a fellowship for automotive journalism at the school. In 2004, he received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
, serving as its spring 2004 commencement speaker.
Personality
Davis was widely known for his "larger-than-life," "polarizing personality." Joe DeMatio, deputy editor at Automobile Magazine said Davis "was very opinionated and did not hesitate to ruffle feathers, even if they were those of his own bosses."Unintimidated by the companies whose products he reviewed, Davis originally resigned from Car and Driver after refusing to rescind a comment he made about a BMW 2002's weak radio reception and dash; saying its Blaupunkt radio "could not pick up a Manhattan station from the other side of the George Washington Bridge." Ford
Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...
withdrew much of its advertising when he parked a Ford Pinto
Ford Pinto
The Ford Pinto is a subcompact car produced by the Ford Motor Company for the model years 1971–1980. The car's name derives from the Pinto horse. Initially offered as a two-door sedan, Ford offered "Runabout" hatchback and wagon models the following year, competing in the U.S. market with the AMC...
, before its well-noted fuel tank controversy, in front of a junkyard. James R. Healey, auto columnist for USAToday, recalled that while speaking at the Washington Automotive Press Association, Davis likened General Motors
General Motors
General Motors Company , commonly known as GM, formerly incorporated as General Motors Corporation, is an American multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Detroit, Michigan and the world's second-largest automaker in 2010...
managers to the piano player in a whorehouse, "aware of what was going on upstairs but unable to do much about it even if they were so inclined." He ended the speech by saying that the Company was standing on the "shoulders of midgets". The company subsequently pulled much of its advertising. In 2010, he published a column in Car & Driver titled "If the original Henry Ford
Henry Ford
Henry Ford was an American industrialist, the founder of the Ford Motor Company, and sponsor of the development of the assembly line technique of mass production. His introduction of the Model T automobile revolutionized transportation and American industry...
was still alive, he would be building Subaru
Subaru
; is the automobile manufacturing division of Japanese transportation conglomerate Fuji Heavy Industries .Subaru is internationally known for their use of the boxer engine layout popularized in cars by the Volkswagen Beetle and Porsche 911, in most of their vehicles above 1500 cc as well as...
s."
Davis was periodically estranged from the editor of Automobile, Jean Jennings, who described him as "the most interesting, most difficult, cleverest, darkest, most erudite, dandiest, and most inspirational, charismatic and all-around damnedest human being I will ever meet. I have loved him. I have seriously not loved him." He also maintained an ongoing friendly rivalry with automotive writer Brock Yates
Brock Yates
Brock Yates is an American journalist and author. He was longtime executive editor of Car and Driver, an American automotive magazine. He was a pit reporter for CBS' coverage of certain NASCAR Sprint Cup series races in the 1980s, including the Daytona 500...
, who said "to know [Davis] is to acknowledge his short fuse and his penchant for unpredictable, snorting charges at friendly targets."
David Cole, chairman emeritus of the Ann Arbor
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Ann Arbor is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Washtenaw County. The 2010 census places the population at 113,934, making it the sixth largest city in Michigan. The Ann Arbor Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 344,791 as of 2010...
-based Center for Automotive Research
Center for Automotive Research
The Center for Automotive Research is a nonprofit organization based in Ann Arbor, Michigan that conducts research, forecasts trends, develops new methodologies, and advises on public policy....
called Davis "a provocateur, in some ways kind of like the Bob Lutz of auto journalism." Bob Lutz himself said Davis "was one of those rare individuals who filled a room with his presence." Michael Jordan, executive editor at Edmunds.com
Edmunds.com
Edmunds.com is a provider of automotive information via Web sites, books, and other media. The company is headquartered in Santa Monica, California and maintains an office outside of Detroit, Michigan...
, said that "at Car and Driver in the early 1960s, Davis made himself important, yet he also made automotive journalism important." Eddie Alterman, editor-in-chief at Car and Driver, described Davis as "the dashing, witty, high-spirited, and deeply knowledgeable writer/editor who brought the automobile to life."
His office was filled automotive art and featured a clipping with Ernest Shackleton
Ernest Shackleton
Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton, CVO, OBE was a notable explorer from County Kildare, Ireland, who was one of the principal figures of the period known as the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration...
's 1914 ad to enlist participants in a voyage to Antarctica: "Men wanted for hazardous journey. Small wages. Bitter cold. Long months of complete darkness. Constant danger. Safe return doubtful. Honour and recognition in case of success." Outside his office hung an ad reading "Protest Against the Rising Tide of Conformity."
In everyday situations, rather than the conventional "How are you?", Davis was known to ask "Is your life a rich tapestry?"
Quotes
- "No Boring Cars!"
- "Cogito Ergo Zoom!" – I think therefore I go fast!, tagline at Automobile.
- "No more bullsh-t!" – what Davis once said his coat of arms would read, if he had a coat of arms.