Richard Langworth’s death raises questions about auto history’s future

March 19, 2025 Steve Readings 0

Indie Auto reader Zachary Morecraft suggested in the “Story Idea Bank” that we do a piece on Richard M. Langworth, who died February 20 at the age of 83.

Langworth was such a towering presence within the American auto history field that I am surprised his passing has not generated more attention. Wikipedia (2025) lists three-dozen auto history books that he authored or coauthored — and that doesn’t look like a complete list. Langworth’s website says he wrote 2,000 articles in magazines such as Collectible Automobile and edited the Packard Cormorant from 1975-2001 (Langworth, 2025).

Despite such a prolific career, Langworth was modest in discussing his contributions. He once stated, “I am no professional historian, but on this subject I had the luck to find all of the sources alive and sentient and still lucid” (Langworth, 1994, p. 62). And on the “About” page of his website, Langworth wrote that since leaving Automobile Quarterly in 1975 he has been, “as my wife likes to remind me, unemployed ever since” (Langworth, 2025).

Langworth (2025) described most of the automotive books he has worked on as “potboilers” but listed a half dozen that “have stood the test of time.” These include Kaiser-Frazer: Last Onslaught on Detroit (1975), The Encyclopedia of American Cars (auto editors of Consumer Guide, 1993, 2006), and Packard: A History of the Motor Car and the Company (Kimes, 2002).

Langworth’s first book displayed talent and dedication

My favorite Langworth book was his first one. Kaiser-Frazer: Last Onslaught on Detroit is a top-notch example of “old-school” automotive history. Unlike many newer books, this one isn’t filled with big color photos and fanboy frivolity. Instead, Langworth presented a nuanced analysis of the short-lived automaker.

Langworth did not have the theoretical chops of a scholar, but he was a terrific researcher and writer. He later stated that his Kaiser-Frazer book was well received “because of the plethora of primary sources. They all were still alive! They had vivid memories, strong opinions, and scores of inside stories” (Langworth, 2019).

We are lucky that a writer of Langworth’s talent and dedication wrote this book because it provides a solid foundation for more contemporary works. Here we have the literary equivalent of a six-course meal, with a detailed narrative, lots of revealing photos, production figures and even trim code identification tables.

Also see ‘Richard Langworth’s website offers background on his auto histories’

Last Onslaught clearly reflected Langworth’s abilities, but his description of its development suggests that he was also in the right place and the right time. At that point he was an associate editor at Automobile Quarterly, which Langworth quite rightly described as being “in its golden age” (Langworth, 2019).

Langworth didn’t receive any extra pay for writing the Kaiser-Frazer book, but he did have access to a travel-expense account. He also received encouragement from his bosses, Don Vorderman and Beverly Rae Kimes.

When Langworth (2019) asked if he could write a book about Kaiser, the response was: “It won’t sell. But go ahead. Take as long as you like.” He said that everyone was “astonished” when the book sold 20,000 copies in two printings.

If Langworth were a young auto history writer today, where could he find a similar level of support in launching a career? Automotive Quarterly is long gone and Consumer Guide Automotive seems to be focused on pumping out infotainment such as Muscle & Chrome (2018) and Luxury & Speed (2019).

Even the best auto history writers can be questioned

Langworth went on to write so many automotive books and articles that I find myself constantly coming across his work as I research articles for Indie Auto. The quality of his research has mostly withstood the test of time, but I have occasionally found gaps in both his information and analysis.

For example, in a book about the Chrysler Corporation, he and Jan P. Norbye (1985) described the events surrounding the development of the downsized 1962 Plymouth and Dodge that don’t factually align with more recent historical accounts (go here for further discussion). This is inevitable in a field that is not stagnant.

Also see ‘The downside of auto historians writing about their friends’

In addition, his analysis could reflect the blinders of the postwar era. For example, I have questioned an argument made by Langworth and Norbye in a General Motors book: “It is easy to say that overpaid Detroit executives — insulated in their Grosse Pointe estates and downtown ‘glass houses,’ driving the midwest’s wide boulevards and die-straight highways — built super-dinosaur cars to suit those conditions. But until the 1970s, people everywhere were buying those cars” (1986, p. 315; original italics). Langworth stopped by to defend his position (go here and here). We didn’t come to an agreement, but I appreciate that he was willing to debate.

I wasn’t the only one who could detect an ideological tilt in some of his writings. A Packardinfo.com commentator noted that “neoconservatism led to an alliance with the insular Hillsdale College, and these views occasionally crept into even the [Packard] Cormorant” (su8overdrive, 2025). From 2014-25 Langworth was a Senior Fellow at this Hilldale’s Winston Churchill Project (Wikipedia, 2025).

Langworth’s website has a discussion about his life

Langworth’s website has an essay written by his son Ian (2025). He mused: “I will always remember my father in his true habitat: in an office, hunched over a keyboard, typing with profuse concentration and surrounded by the hundreds of books, magazines, and other memorabilia that inspired and helped define him. His office wasn’t messy, just crammed full of meticulously organized knowledge with every reference at his fingertips.”

Below the essay one can find a large number of comments, some written by Langworth’s auto history colleagues. For example, John Biel (2025) noted that, in his role as Editor-in Chief of Collectible Automobile for 27.5 years, he worked with Langworth but they never actually met in person. That’s an interesting glimpse into the publishing world even before the advent of email and the Internet.

Also see ‘Wheel spinning happens when car buffs and scholars don’t collaborate’

Meanwhile, Dean R. Moore (2025) noted that he once took the Last Onslaught to his high school English teacher “to prove to him that car books can qualify as literature (I had previously tried a far inferior car book). He was impressed noticeably by [Langworth’s] writing style.”

This brings us back to Morecraft’s comment in Indie Auto. He stumbled on Langworth’s Chrysler-Imperial book, and proceeded to track down his other books on Hudson, Studebaker and Kaiser-Frazer. Morecraft quite rightly concluded: “(W)e lost a titan in the field.”

Fortunately, we can continue to benefit from Langworth’s enormous body of work. However, I still wonder: Will it be possible for the next generation of young writers to find the support needed to take the auto history field to the next level?

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