Introduction
Larry Griffin – The Hemingway of the Highway
Who was Larry Griffin?
Larry was a writer, an adventurer, a journalist, a photographer, and a quiet kind of legend. He began his career in the mid-1970s at Road Test magazine — a smaller publication that, by the time Larry arrived, was already beginning to fade. But it was here that he produced the formative work — both as a writer and behind the camera — that brought him to the attention of the industry. It was David E. Davis Jr. — the father of modern automotive journalism and advertising — who recognized Larry’s genius and drafted him to Car and Driver. Davis was a larger-than-life figure: erudite, immaculately dressed, a bon vivant who chased and demanded the best of everything — in cars, in writing, in food and drink, in people. Under his leadership, Car and Driver became the most widely read and most respected automotive magazine in the world — and something greater. It was more than reviews and road tests; it was a celebration of the automotive life and the freedom and adventure that cars brought: the machines, the journeys, the destinations, and the people who chased them. And Larry’s work was at the heart of it.
Larry lived and worked in a time before the internet. And like so many artists of the print era, the internet — and the modern world — have mostly forgotten him. No videos. No podcasts. No social media presence. Just old bylines on fading pages, and the memory of words that once reached deep into people’s lives.
But to those who knew, he was among the finest journalists of his generation — automotive or otherwise. His prose was vivid, deliberate, and dense with meaning — the kind of writing you didn’t skim, you read. He was an adventurer. An explorer. The American West was where he searched for peace — drawn to its open spaces and the quiet strength of men who worked hard, lived simply, and didn’t say much but meant what they said. He was an optimist, a dreamer, and a man who saw beauty everywhere. He wrote about cars, yes — but also about the spaces between destinations, the people met along the way, and the joy of the journey.
He educated, inspired, and entertained — always encouraging us to join him on the road, to see what he saw, to feel what he felt.
I created this website to honor the memory and the work of Larry Griffin — to preserve his writing, share his vision, and introduce his voice to a new generation of readers. It’s a place to gather the stories, the photographs, and the ideas he left behind. A place to remember a writer who inspired us to journey down the open road and who helped us see that road — and ourselves — more clearly. And above all, to ensure that Larry Griffin is not forgotten.
If you knew Larry, worked with him, or were moved by his writing, I invite you to share your memories here — so that the story of who he was can continue to grow, and be passed on.