Fred Mackerodt, a larger-than-life fixture within the New York automotive scene for more than three decades, passed away on Christmas Day. He was 85.
A Graveside Service will be held at 11:30 a.m. on Friday, January 5, 2024, at All Faiths Cemetery in Middle Village, NY, followed by interment. A Memorial Gathering for Fred will commence at 2:00 p.m. on April 6, 2024, at Stone House Farm, 940 Craigville Rd., Chester, NY 10918.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Blooming Grove Humane Society, www.humanesocietybg.com or to the German Society of New York, 6 E. 87th Street, New York, NY 10128
Long-time IMPA members and industry colleagues Wade Hoyt and Marty Schorr offered the following recollections of a career which touched many IMPA members past and present:
Fred Mackerodt (1938-2023) had a sequence of successful careers, first as a magazine editor and then as a publicist. With no formal training in either trade, he was unaccountably accomplished and widely admired by those who knew him. His approach to nearly everything was unconventional but effective. During one amazing period in his PR career, he represented two competing car brands simultaneously — Honda and Pontiac!
As the editor of Hi-Performance CARS magazine, he cajoled freelancers like myself into contributing articles for paltry fees that were often unpaid for long periods by a parsimonious publisher. One frustrated contributor stormed into the publisher’s office, Fred in tow, accompanied by an uncle who was a suspected mobster. The uncle obliquely suggested he would toss said publisher out the window of this tall office building. A check was cut on the spot.
Although Fred was a generous man, his business practices as a publicist were frugal. When doing press relations for Honda, he didn’t use the services of a fleet management company. He kept his press cars in a public parking garage on Manhattan’s upper West Side, where journalists had to go to pick them up. On one occasion, I discovered a set of golf clubs in the trunk of an Accord I’d just driven home. When I phoned Fred to tell him that I had his clubs, he said, “I don’t play [adjective] golf! Those [pejorative plural noun] in the garage gave you, somebody else’s car! You gotta bring it right back!” And I did.
At one point, Fred rented an 8- or 10-room apartment in a fading 1909 building called The Belnord, which occupies an entire block on Broadway from West 86th to 87th Streets. It was not only his home, but was used for business entertaining as well. A fully recovered alcoholic, Fred had a big pantry full of liquor, which he never touched. I was amazed by his willpower, but he once told me: “If I touch one drop, it will kill me, because I know I can’t stop at one drop.”
He later bought a working farm in Orange County, NY. When a mutual friend called to tell me that Fred had “bought the farm,” I feared for the worst. But that concern turned out to be decades premature.
As his business continued to prosper, Fred acquired a succession of “previously owned” sports cars, boats and airplanes. He was a nonchalant pilot. On one media outing to a small rural airport, the ground crew had to roll out a battery cart to jumpstart his twin-engine Beechcraft. Although his passengers were properly horrified, Fred blissfully carried on with his usual aplomb.
As The Belnord apartment building slowly became gentrified, the owner began to convert it into co-ops. Fred was offered increasing amounts of money for his sprawling flat, but he held out until the management finally agreed to trade him a much smaller unit, rent-free for life! It became his city pied-a-terre after he became an unlikely gentleman farmer.
Fred was literally and figuratively a larger-than-life character, generous to friends and strangers alike. I’m tempted to paraphrase an earlier writer: “Alas, poor Frederick. I knew him: a fellow of infinite jest….” And that’s the way I will always remember him, despite his final, sad descent into angry dementia. 0
- Wade Hoyt
Fred Mackerodt’s entry into the automotive field started in late-1964, early-1965, when I hired him as my Managing Editor at Hi-Performance CARS Magazine. Back in those days you filled positions by dealing with employment agencies and placing Help Wanted advertisements in The New York Times.
Fred responded to the advertisement I placed and was the only applicant to have an understanding of magazine production as well as have a serious interest in cars and motorcycles. At the time his mode of transportation was a Harley-Davidson Sportster! I felt lucky to have him.
Imagine my surprise a few months later when I went down into the 34th Street & Sixth Ave subway station and came face to face with a life-size poster of Fred Mackerodt! He was the subject of the latest “I got my job through The New York Times” advertising campaign. Under Fred’s smiling face, “Automotive Magazine Editor.”
Fred and I became good friends, a relationship that has lasted for decades. He was a great editor, and in 1973, when I left Magnum-Royal Publications, Fred, who had moved on and was pursuing a freelance writing career, was hired to be editor of Hi-Performance CARS.
At the moment I first saw THE NEW YORK TIMES’ poster, I should have realized that Fred’s destiny was public relations. And, that’s exactly what happened some five to six years later when he started Fred Mackerodt Incorporated (FMI). His first account was Honda, later acquiring Pontiac. FMI would grow over the years, eventually representing all General Motors’ brands. When Fred retired in 2012, FMI account executives Pierre Kanter and Eric Dolis purchased the company and today it’s part of the NAVS network (North American Vehicle Services), and represents in excess of a dozen automotive manufacturers.
It all started when Fred Mackerodt was Managing Editor of Hi-Performance CARS Magazine and the Poster Boy for, I got my job through The New York Times!
- Martyn L. Schorr
Fred’s passing elicited numerous comments on Facebook including:
Evelyn Kanter (IMPA president)
I first met him when I was a consumer reporter at WABC-TV Eyewitness News in the 70s and he was representing a brand new import from Japan nobody had heard of before – Honda – and continued to be a valuable source of information and fleet cars when he moved on to GM. He was always generous with both professional knowledge and personal hospitality, intertwined with his special mix of faux impatience and real humor.
Jim Donnelly
Fred was always understanding, patient and helpful to me when I was starting out as a young automotive journalist. He always encouraged me to believe in my work and to stay at it. He was a good man. Rest in peace.
Douglas Love
Fred was truly one of a kind, and I am sure he will be missed by many. He spent extensive time at CR’s test track in Connecticut, discussing new cars and keeping lines of communication open.
Dan Neil
Thirty-three years ago, Fred gave me the best piece of writing advice ever: “Quit before you become a hack.” That was his love language.
Eric Dolis
I started working for Fred right out of college. I grew up near his farm and my good friend who helped out there introduced us. At the time, I didn’t fully grasp the position outside of knowing I’d be able to drive the latest new cars. I figured this was going to be something fun to do short term while I searched for my “real” job. 16 years later, I’m still doing the same thing and couldn’t be happier.
I got to know Fred both personally and professionally. Professionally he could be tough, but I learned more from him in month than I did in 4 years of college. His wealth of knowledge both in automotive and business was staggering. He lived many lives before I got to know him, but luckily he was a great story teller (and so are his friends). From his days as an automotive editor in the 60’s and 70’s to the his life of flying planes and helicopters, every story had you cracking up or fearing for his life. Many of his friends often told me they were shocked he made it out of the 1980’s. Lucky for me, he did.
He often ended his wild stories with the phrase, “God protects the stupid.” Here’s hoping he’s getting the chance to thank the Big Man for watching over him all this time. He will be missed, but his stories and legacy will live on.
Bob Tripolsky
First met Fred in ‘74 when we were both auto writers. First worked together when I joined Pontiac PR and he was already handling their press fleet. A few years we brought him and his great team on board to bring our newly launched Saturn products to our NE media friends.
Will always remember his response whenever asked how things were going. His typical response … “everything’s copacetic!” RIP my friend.
Mike Albano
Fred taught us the value of relationships. No doubt he managed his relationships in a unique, sarcastic New Yorker way but they were all important to him.
He took a chance on several of us and introduced us to the automotive PR business. Fred taught us so much. Thirty years later many are still in the business, still friends and still reciting Fred’s old tasteless jokes in a bad Brooklyn accent. It will always be part of his legacy and the stories remain a special bond for those that knew him.
On Christmas morning we learned that Fred had passed away. I will always value the memories and our relationship.
Gina Proiia
Fred taught us the value of relationships. No doubt he managed his relationships in a unique, sarcastic New Yorker way but they were all important to him.
He took a chance on several of us and introduced us to the automotive PR business. Fred taught us so much. Thirty years later many are still in the business, still friends and still reciting Fred’s old tasteless jokes in a bad Brooklyn accent. It will always be part of his legacy and the stories remain a special bond for those that knew him.
On Christmas morning we learned that Fred had passed away. I will always value the memories and our relationship.
John Davis
When we started MotorWeek in 1981 it wasn’t long before I was introduced to the unforgettable Fred Mackerodt. Freddie filled every room he entered with his wall-to-wall smile, and his instantaneous jokes that no matter what the subject never failed to get you laughing uncontrollably. No one was better at breaking the ice than Fred. It also gave him a way of measuring you up to see if you deserved one of his cars. Thank goodness I passed that test. During my time on the IMPA board I got countless bits of valuable advice from Fred. He was a character for sure, hat and all, but an unforgettable tutor to no nothings like us and always with a grin. Thank you Fred for everything and God Speed!
Barbara Novak
I worked at Popular Mechanics magazine 1984-2004 and was the Executive Assistant to the Editor in Chief, Joe Oldham for the entire time. Working at the magazine was an amazing experience filled with once in a lifetime experiences.
One of the highlights of the years at the magazine was when Fred came into the office to discuss business with Joe. The stories that those two told were priceless and at most times hysterical.
I had the privilege of visiting Fred’s farm in Blooming Grove, NY for a New Year’s Eve celebration. The stories that Fred told us about the historical significance of the farm were amazing.
Fred was a very special person, filled with wit, knowledge and humor. He will be missed terribly.
Thanks for the laughs Fred, they will never be forgotten.