By Stacey M. Brown
When Frank Washington wrote about how the newly released 2022 Mercedes Benz E450 was much better than its replacement, some may have thought the aboutthatcars.com editor was throwing shade at the automaker’s previous version of one of its prized vehicles.
But in proper Frank Washington form, he explained that, under the hood, “the twin-turbo V6 has been replaced with an inline 3.0-liter turbocharged six-cylinder engine. It made 362 horsepower and 369 pound-feet of torque at a ridiculously low 1,600 RPM.”
Later, when explaining that “value” was the word that best described the latest Toyota Prius Prime Limited, Washington exclaimed that the vehicle’s fuel efficiency numbers were impressive.
“In hybrid mode, the Prius Prime gets an estimated 55 mpg in the city, 53 mpg on the highway, and 54 combined mpg,” Washington wrote in one of the many auto columns for the Black Press of America.
Those columns are just one part of what his family, friends, and readers will miss. Washington’s family confirmed his death to the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA).
His career in journalism and communications spanned several decades.
According to his LinkedIn bio, Washington’s career gave him a unique view of media relations, public relations, event planning and publishing, the World Wide Web, editing, and reporting.
His writings include articles for Advertising Age, Ebony, www.ebonyjet.com, Fortune, Newsweek, Newsweek Japan, The New York Times, and Time magazines.
Washington also spent much time covering the auto industry for African Americans on Wheels, Auto Executive, Automotive News, Automotive News Marketer, Savoy, Ward’s Auto World, Ward’s Automotive Reports, Ward’s Dealer Business, the Detroit News Online, and the Detroit News.
In 1989, he became Newsweek magazine’s Detroit bureau chief after serving as the city’s correspondent for one year.
In addition to automotive journalism, Washington reported on the 1992 Democratic presidential primary.
His editors also sent him to South Central Los Angeles to report on the civil disturbance there following the police beating of motorist Rodney King.
He authored Newsweek’s cover story, “Fire and Fury,” and the publication’s follow-up story, “Rethinking Race and Crime in America.”
The story became one of the entries for which Newsweek won a National Magazine Award. The series was also honored with a First-Place award from the National Association of Black Journalists for outstanding coverage of the Black condition.
Frank continued as managing partner/editor of www.AboutThatCar.com, and his nationally syndicated column appeared in the more than 230 African-American-owned newspapers represented by the NNPA.
Additionally, Washington produced segments for ABC’s Good Morning America and the Mutual Broadcasting (Radio) Network.
He also gave his opinion on The Today Show on NBC, the MBC Network, Newsweek on Air, and many radio news talk shows.
Washington was the editor-in-chief, the editor-at-large, the managing editor, the advertising and marketing editor, the bureau chief, a correspondent, a staff writer, a reporter, a producer, and a contributing editor.
Washington’s brother, James, is the publisher emeritus of the Dallas Weekly and president and general manager of the Atlanta Voice.
