2012
Lee Iacocca Award Winner!
Bud Wells
Bud Wells, the Gunnison Car Club’s Iacocca Award Recipient for 2012, has been writing about cars for almost as long as he’s been driving them. In the mid-1970’s he oversaw the creation of the Denver Post’s automotive news section. That assignment quickly led to him becoming the Post’s car reviewer. Some of his memorable moments behind the wheel include testing Porsche Cayennes on the frozen lakes of the Yukon and driving a Mercedes-Benz in New Orleans the weekend of Hurricane Georges.
Bud, who’s driven over 1,800 cars and trucks in his long career as a journalist, was honored by the Colorado Automobile Dealers Association in 2009 when that group unveiled “The Bud Wells Board Room” in its headquarters.
In addition to his newspaper work, Bud has written a number of automotive books. “The Colorado Car Book” is his authoritative look back at the 100-year history of the automobile in our state. The McDermott family’s Chevrolet Gunnison dealership is featured in that work.
Bud and his wife Janice have been married for 56 years. He is the father of five, grandfather of thirteen and the great-grandfather of eight. When Bud isn’t writing about cars he’s probably busy teaching his large extended brood how to drive them.