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Michael F. Hollander (1946-) is a public relations professional, automotive historian and motor sports journalist.
In 1979, Hollander worked with the then-fledgling CompuServe Information Service to provide motor sports news on a real-time basis worldwide. By Sept. 1, 1983, that service evolved into the Auto Racing SIG and later into The Motor Sports Forum. The service initially relied on volunteer reporters and phone calls to race tracks to get racing results, later creating a cadre of both professionals and amateurs that continues to report the news today. In 1995, Hollander brought the service to the web, as The Motor Sports Forum. The service was discontinued on CompuServe not long after that service's purchase by AOL. In addition to The Motor Sports Forum, the newswire contributes to print and online news outlets worldwide.
Hollander has authored two books, The Complete Datsun Guide, and The New Mazda Guide, both for the TAB Books division of McGraw-Hill. The Datsun book led him from a career path in aerospace to one in marketing and advertising. He worked as product information manager and later as product information director on the Nissan advertising account at William Esty Co. Inc., Advertising and at Chiat/Day Advertising. He is currently the manager of information resources for PCGCampbell, the 10th largest privately-held marketing communications company in the United States. Current accounts include the Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum, presented by the Auto Club of So. Calif., Yokohama Tire Corporation and the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance.
He was one of two reporter/photographers to cover both the 1975 and 1979 Cannonball Baker Sea-To-Shining-Sea Memorial Trophy Dash, an outlaw street race later made into several motion pictures including The Cannonball Run with Burt Reynolds and Dean Martin. His work appears in the upcoming film, 32 Hours, Seven Minutes.
Hollander is the national vice-president of the American Auto Racing Writers & Broadcasters Association (AARWBA) and serves on the board of the Motor Press Guild (MPG), respectively the largest organizations of motor sports and automotive journalists. He has been honored with numerous awards for his work, including special recognition in 1995 to the Car Craft magazine Drag Racing All Star Awards; the AARWBA Dusty Brandel President's Award in 2007; the International Automotive Media Association Awards; and the AARWBA writing, photography and broadcasting contest sponsored by the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and IndyCar Racing. He is the past chairman of the Datsun Owners Clubs Association (DOCA) and the former editor of its magazine, Datsunews. He is the editor at large for MotoRacing and also writes for Automotive Performance News . He's been quoted in The New York Times, USA Today and AutoWeek. Early in his career, he provided racing reports on both NBC and ABC radio networks and on other radio outlets.
He is a veteran of the United States Navy, where he earned a Combat Action Ribbon, the Navy Unit Commendation with one bronze star, the Good Conduct Medal, the Vietnam Campaign Medal with four bronze stars, the National Defense Service Medal and the Vietnam Service Medal from the Republic of Vietnam. After tours to Vietnam on the USS Coral Sea (CVA-43), the USS Oriskany (CVA-34) and the USS Prime (MSO-466), he attended the Navy Data Systems Technician school in Vallejo, Calif. and then taught at the school for four years. He also attended the University of California in Davis and graduated from Solano College with an AA degree.
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