A motoring legend with a heart of gold

Andrew Hamilton, Motoring Correspondent with The Irish Times for more than 35 years, died this week. Here we publish an appreciation, his final article for the paper and a collection of excerpts from his work.

Andrew Hamilton died last week a few weeks before his 65th birthday. His sudden passing is marked here with only a brief excerpt from over 35 years covering the world of motoring. In that time he witnessed an industry dramatically change, yet ironically remain the same.

He often spoke humorously of the excited young executives he met year-on-year, proposing radical new plans to change the face of motoring; measures invariably similar to ones he'd seen announced decades before.

His interest was always for the cause of the common motorist. Though he admired the highpowered racers for what they were, he constantly called on the industry to spend more time improving the lot of those who spend their money on so-called 'regular cars'.

Andy was far more interested in how Fiat was going to upgrade its Panda or Ford its Fiesta than any Ferrari or new Porsche. He loved to travel and his work brought him around the globe. Yet he never became one of the travel bores.

He also loved to socialise and entertain, never happier than when surrounded by friends at a quickly convened lunch, glass of white wine in hand, introducing strangers to one another and basking in the warmth of new friendships created.

His writing style was a welcome oasis from the wandering asides, hyperbole and metaphor-riddled coverage that dominates the motoring media these days. Andy preferred to keep car reviews as just that: comments on the cars.

His reviews concentrated on the everyday life of a motorist, not entranced by the top speed or 0-100km/h time. It could have been the greatest supercar around, but if it left you steaming in traffic or crippled after a long journey, he was just as interested in letting the readers know these vital points as how it handled when thrashing round the Nurburgring.

Andy was a much-loved colleague and an everpresent brightness in the firmament of Irish motoring journalism. Indeed, the path of his star was truly global, and his natural gregariousness made him friends in the international motor industry at every level.

From the mechanics looking after the test cars to the high-powered executives making billion dollar decisions; all knew and spoke highly of "Andrew Hamilton of The Irish Times". The roads on which we drive are somewhat less interesting since his passing.