If, like me, your passion for all things automotive was developed during the ’80s and ’90s, then Jean (Lindamood) Jennings was a familiar name.

Jean was an editor at Car & Driver during the 1980s, one of the most influential automotive publications at the time. Being a woman in a predominantly male industry, she was a pioneer in her field, bringing her unique insights to the industry and offering a fresh take in a typically testosterone-fueled genre.

Automobile magazine, with its emphasis on photography and more experiential writing rather than just raw metrics, was founded in 1986 by Jean and editor-publisher David E. Davis Jr. along with several other C/D staffers.

Personally, I had stacks of Car & Driver and Automobile magazines during my youth, with Jean’s stories being part of my regular reading fare. Jean would remain at Automobile until 2014; two years later, she would start the website Jean Knows Cars as the industry began the inexorable shift from print to online.

Jean began her career as an automotive mechanic at the Chrysler Proving Grounds until she was laid off in 1981 and eventually landed a job at Car & Driver. Her taste for adventure and humorous writing style made her a reader favorite, injecting much-needed wit in what was oftentimes a dry and technical subject.

She won the Ken Purdy Award for excellence in automotive writing from the International Motor Press Association in 2006, and was inducted into the Michigan Journalism Hall of Fame in 2021. Hearst Autos chief brand and content officer Eddie Alterman wrote in his nomination for Jean: “The best automotive journalism is participatory and immersive, entertaining and thought-provoking. Few have ever done it better than Jean Jennings, and almost no one has done more to make the discipline more inclusive and more relatable.”

Jean also guested on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, convinced Jerry Seinfeld to write for Automobile, and was an automotive correspondent for Good Morning America.

Sadly, she would succumb to Alzheimer’s disease on December 16. Jean Jennings may be gone, but her writings will remain with her fans forever.