Tom Lankard

Tom Lankard first wrote about cars in the early 1970s with a monthly column in Road & Track on government regulatory issues. He began writing as a fulltime freelancer in 1983, initially as a contributing editor to AutoWeek, then as AutoWeek's National Affairs Editor. Before that, he served for six years as director of the California State Office of Traffic Safety. He practiced law in Washington, D.C., and worked for two Southern California Congressmen. His motoring background includes roadracing motorcycles and teaching at a BMW-sponsored high-performance motorcycle school. His articles have appeared in Automobile Magazine, Automotive Industries, Automotive News, Car and Driver, the Cleveland Plain Dealer, the Detroit Free Press, and the San Jose Mercury News. He has been reviewing new cars for magazines and newspapers since the late 1980s and for Websites since 2000. He is a juror for the North American Car of the Year and North American Truck of the Year awards. He works out of his home in California's northern Central Valley.