From the day his father brought home a new 1969 Firebird 400, Don Keefe has been a
Pontiac fan. He wasn't quite five at the time but the image of that Carousel Red and
Parchment Firebird was burned into his psyche and in the years since, has been the
inspiration for both his passion and his career.

BIOGRAPHY

A talent for the written word over math sent his sights on a path of becoming a car
magazine writer. “I had a lot of well-intentioned but misinformed people telling me
that getting on the staff of a major car magazine was as likely as becoming a movie or
rock star,” he recalled. “As I worked my way through college, I realized that it was
actually more possible than I had been told and I set my sights on that goal.”

After receiving a Bachelors of Arts degree in Communication/Journalism with a minor
in history from St. John Fisher College in Rochester, New York, Don did indeed
achieve his goal. In August of 1988, he moved to northern New Jersey and joined the
staff of CSK Publishing in Hackensack, becoming an associate editor for seven of their
titles and Senior Editor for High Performance Pontiac magazine. Essentially, one staff
of writers wrote for all the magazines, specializing in one or two. It was a great way to
learn the ropes and he gained an immense amount of experience in a relatively short
time.

Don remained with CSK as a staffer until February of 1991, when he moved back to
suburban Rochester, New York. He continued freelancing for CSK and other
publishing companies such as Hemmings and Dobbs Publishing. In 1994, he then
moved on to Pontiac Enthusiast magazine, where he eventually worked his way up to
the Editor-in-Chief position in 1996, remaining there until 2000. In that time, Pontiac
Enthusiast enjoyed its height of popularity and the highest circulation numbers it ever
recorded.

During his tenure at Pontiac Enthusiast, he served as a production consultant on the
Monkees reunion special, “Hey, Hey it's the Monkees!,” which aired in February of 1996
and was also interviewed on camera for The Dream Machines, which aired on
The History Channel in 1998. He also began writing for Collectible Automobile
magazine in 1999 and has remained as a Contributing Editor to this day.

Upon leaving Pontiac Enthusiast in October of 2000, he returned to freelance writing,
with a monthly internet column on Pontiacracing.com. Additionally he prepared
historical materials for Pontiac-GMC’s 75th Anniversary in 2001 and wrote six episodes
of Speed TV’s The American Musclecar. He also has done photographic work for
Barrett-Jackson and Mecum auctions and continues to write catalog listings for
Mecum. Don has also served as a Marshall for the “Eyes on Design” Classic Car Show
in Detroit.

In late 2000, Don was asked by High Performance Pontiac Editor Tom DeMauro to
return as a Contributing Editor, which he gratefully accepted. He remained there until
the magazine was shuttered in 2014. In 2006, Don took the reins of POCI's Smoke
Signals magazine and remained there for nine years, completely redesigning the
magazine twice and increasing the total circulation by 18% before leaving in 2015.

Later that same year, he took a huge gamble and started a new Pontiac-only print
publication, Poncho Perfection. The magazine filled the gap in the market left by
the loss of Pontiac Enthusiast in 2010 and High Performance Pontiac in 2014. Taking
a select group of writers and photographers from those two titles, as well as some
new talent gathered along the way, he brought his decades of experience to a
magazine that was purely his vision, unrestrained by the organizational limitations
placed on him before. Poncho Perfection was published until 2024, when Don
decided to shutter the publication to pursue a new opportunity.

In addition to his magazine experience, Don has also written four books for major
automotive publishing companies, Grand Prix: Pontiac's Luxury Performance Car (2007) for Enthusiast Books, as well as How to Restore Your Pontiac GTO: 1964-1974 (2012) and Pontiac Concept and Show Cars (2016), both published by CarTech.

Don released his most recent book, which came out in October of 2024. Entitled
1960-74 Pontiac Performance: The Era of the Super Duty, H.O., & Ram Air Drag &
Muscle Cars, which was also published by CarTech. It was the result of two years
of intense research and new interviews and also included more than 100
unpublished vintage photos.

Don has also been recognized for his work over the years with some prestigious
awards. In addition to more than 15 Golden Quill Awards from Old Cars Weekly,
he has also won a 2017 International Automotive Media Competition Silver Award,
as well as a 2018 Automotive Heritage Award Gold and an Automotive Heritage Award “Best Marque-Specific Award,” both presented at that year's Concours d'Elegance of America.

ADDITIONAL MEDIA