Graham Robson was a mainstay of The Star. When I began to understudy with Gary Anderson to learn the job, I was impressed that writers of the caliber of Graham and Karl Ludvigsen, both legends in automotive journalism, considered our magazine to be worthy of their work. In the year I worked with Graham, I appreciated his good humor and excellent writing, and I am proud to say we became friends as well as colleagues. Some people can never be replaced, and Graham was surely among that select group.

Just a few days after Graham passed away, we heard the news that The Star had been honored with six awards from the Automotive Heritage Association. Karl and Graham accounted for five of those six awards, with Gary Anderson picking up the sixth. If you’re not in our line of work, it’s hard to express how much these awards really mean. For us, these awards are like the Olympics.  Among those six honors are two of the highest that the AHA can bestow – the coveted Best in Category awards. Most of us hope to earn one someday, and The Star got two in one year. 

As I write this column, we’re still enjoying the last days of summer, but by the time you read these words, we’ll be well into autumn. I look forward to meeting you at Mercedes Freude in just a few days. We’ll have a lot to celebrate and to talk about.