Veteran motoring journalist Dave Moore died suddenly this morning while with colleagues on a vehicle launch in Central Otago.
A former president of the New Zealand Motoring Writers’ Guild, he had a long and respected media career.
Creative director for the Christchurch Press newspaper for over a decade, he moved into automotive journalism at the paper, eventually becoming group motoring editor for Fairfax Media.
He also contributed to various magazines and received multiple awards for his writing, including a Qantas Media Award.
Moore was a member of several Car of the Year judging panels, and was one of two New Zealand-based judges on the Global Car of the Century panel. He was a regular speaker at industry and car club events.
His most recent work has been with Radio Live.
Driven motoring editor at large, Liz Dobson, was with him when he collapsed at breakfast this morning, and said both the Audi NZ team and Wanaka's ambulance staff worked to revive him.
"Dave was a constant figure in my motoring career for the last fourteen years, he was a passionate advocate for small cars, and a great dinner raconteur, his quick wit and good humour was well known and appreciated by both journalists and vehicle distributors,” said the president of the guild, Robert Barry.