TALES OF 40 YEARS #25 – HOSSAIN CAN YOU SEE?

Tony Hossain was probably one of the most creative editors OLD CARS WEEKLY had — and one of the most unappreciated. Tony was young, so to him a Vega GT was an “old” car and the ’65 Chevy convertible that came down to him through his family was a relic. Tony really frustrated me when he went on the first Great American Race and decided to ride in an air conditioned press car, instead of the Walt Cunny’s Duesenberg II that we were kind of sponsoring. This really meant only that Tony was a lot more intelligent than me, because when I did the race the following year I roughed it in Packard touring cars and the rumbleseat of Frank Kleptz’s ’31 Chrysler Imperial (the desert winds nearly tore my hair out). Tony was editor of just about every publication we did at one time or another (and of several at once for awhile). When he left Iola, he put in a short stint at COLLECTIBLE AUTOMOBILE, then moved to Detroit to work for Chevrolet’s ad agency. During his early days in Detroit somebody stole his 1982 Camaro, but things got much better afterwards and he went on to become a vice president at the ad agency. In that role his talent really showed and his passion for Chevrolet was a gigantic plus. In case you were wondering, Tony is still in the advertising game today and doing well.