The AMHF, through the personage of our director Peter Robinson, is honoured to have received two awards at the Newspress Australia Awards on Friday evening (19 April).
Peter was awarded “Feature of the Year” for his story, Star Crossed, that detailed Mercedes’ decline in quality during the 1990s. You can read Peter’s award-winning story here.
Highlight of the evening was Peter being bestowed with the Lifetime Achievement Award. It was then announced that in future, this award would be known as the Peter Robinson Lifetime Achievement Award.
Well deserved!
Congratulations Peter and thank you to Newspress for hosting Australian automotive journalism and media.
Phil Scott on Peter Robinson
Read Phil Scott’s speech before announcing Peter’s Lifetime Achievement.
Peter Robinson’s speech
Thank you.
Gosh, longevity obviously has its benefits.
Amazingly, for over 62-years, I’ve been paid to write about cars and the people who create them. It’s all I’ve ever done to earn a crust.
I began in a pre-analogue world of manual typewriters, when copy paper came with carbon paper between each sheet, and ended in a digital world I can’t pretend to understand.
My first car launch – way back in November 1962 – was before many, probably most, of you were born. I was working as a junior at the Australian Motor Manual.
It was a crummy magazine, but it was the start we all need.
The location, the not-so-salubrious, long gone Broadmeadows hotel on the old Hume Highway. The car, the locally assembled Renault R4, a little front drive (Renault’s first) five-door wagon. Its 747cc engine produced 16.5kW and drove via a three-speed manual gearbox. Top speed? Just 113km/h and it took about 40 seconds to reach 100km/h.
Yes, it was another era.
We hacks had a sandwich lunch while Renault’s executives told us their plans. Later a small bunch of R4s were loaded with three passengers and we were taken for a 15-minute ride. That was it. None of us had a turn at the wheel… test cars came later. And then only for the weekend.
Later, I caught sight of Ian Fraser, Wheels magazine editor. I was way too shy to introduce myself to a hero. Instead, I edged just close enough to hear the great man speaking. You see, Wheels was my favourite car magazine from the time I first bought a copy in 1957. I still have those magazines.
Fifty-seven years later my last car launch – for the Toyota RAV-4 – was in Santa Barbara, California. And it was for Wheels, all the staff otherwise engaged in Car of the Year testing. That was 2018. See what I mean about longevity.
In between: Well for as long as I can remember I’ve lived on Planet Car. Nothing, no other job in the world, could compare to being a motoring writer – especially when car magazines were the chief source of comment and opinion and entertainment on the industry we love.
I learned the importance of telling stories, of not writing to impress other motoring journalists – or pandering to car company CEOs or their PRs. Our industry is all about product, product and product, and the readers come first, second and third.
Last week a corner of a UK racetrack was named Cropley Curve after my friend and colleague Steve Cropley. And now this honour for me.
Somehow, just days apart, two Australian kids, one from Broken Hill and the other a farm near Wallan, kicked a couple of goals.
Bloody hell – how wonderful.
