DETROIT — Keith Crain, chairman of Crain Communications Inc.— the parent company of Tire Business — and editor-in-chief of Detroit-based Automotive News, will receive the Washington Auto Show Lifetime Achievement award on Jan. 25.
"Keith is an undisputed leader in the auto industry with legendary longevity and an encyclopedic knowledge of the car business," said John O'Donnell, CEO of the Washington Area New Auto Dealers Association. "Only Keith buys enough newsprint to list all the things he's accomplished, places he's been and people he knows."
Crain moved to Detroit in 1971 to become publisher and editorial director of Automotive News when the paper was acquired by his family's company, Crain Communications. He now is chairman of the company.
His achievements include breaking the news of Lee Iacocca's firing by Ford Motor Co. CEO Henry Ford II in 1978 to a pivotal role in creating the North American International Auto Show in Detroit in 1989.