R.I.P. AW on Speed: March 21, 1996-Dec. 19, 2004.(Column)

Byline: Dutch Mandel

It is difficult to discuss with you the loss of one so dear, because we all feel empty when close friends are taken away during their prime time.

To those of us with a Barcalounger, a few minutes to spare and a remote control, AutoWeek on Speed has been that friend. Sure, like all young pups, the television show proved contentious at first. Call it youthful exuberance. But as it matured, it blossomed, like those vintage cars in our Escape Roads segment, AW on Speed got better with age.

Ask yourself: Aren't we all a bit richer for watching it?

As the network grew, and as it hipped up its moniker from The Speed Channel to just Speed, so grew the show and its audience. Speed went from being plugged or beamed into 5 million houses to the 68 million today.

Our show was a hotbed of talent within the car world. We featured championship racers Robbie Buhl and Sam Posey who hosted segments, and we were an incubator for burgeoning television talent. Who could forget the screen presence of Dan Pund, Dan Neil, Todd Lassa and John Stoll? Okay, you could. But our Mark Vaughn established himself as a witty, telegenic and insightful-if somewhat whacky-TV personality.

The show highlighted seminal events, people and moments within our universe. As the network broadcast Australian channel boat racing and rallycross, we brought viewers first looks at the Jaguar Museum in Coventry, international auto shows and concours from places as exotic as Geneva and as mainstream as the Midwest. You were transported to California's famous Thunder Alley, you met Indy's Tony George, you spent time at the Specialty Equipment Market Association trade show in Vegas and searched for aliens in Volks-wagens in Roswell, New Mexico. You went to driving schools in snow ...