Daniel A. Jedlicka biography
Jedlicka also reports on significant auto industry issues and trends, talking with industry leaders ranging from top executives of auto companies to key designers and engineers. His AutoTimes section, started in 1992, appears twice weekly in the Sun-Times and covers such things as industry trends, new vehicle reviews and classic car and letters columns.
Jedlicka joined the Sun-Times in February 1968 as a financial reporter and was named auto writer later that year. While continuing his auto writings, he served as assistant financial editor from 1970 to late 1973, when he began his auto column.
Before joining the Sun-Times, Jedlicka was a reporter for the City News Bureau of Chicago, Champaign-Urbana (Ill.) Courier and Chicago Daily News, and a feature writer for the Evening News in Harrisburg, Penn. He also was a medical writer for the American Lung Association of Metropolitan Chicago and a copywriter for several Chicago public relations firms.
From 1973 to 1984, Jedlicka was syndicated by the Field Syndicate and from 1985 to 1990 by the North America Syndicate. In late 1975, Jedlicka served as host and technical advisor for three one-hour television specials, "Auto Test '76," which aired nationally on PBS and were the first nationally televised auto road test shows. He has appeared on radio and television shows, including NBC's "Today, " ABC's "20/20" and "The CBS Evening News."
His auto articles have been printed in national magazines, including Esquire and Harper's. He was profiled in January 1984 on CBS-TV's Chicago-area "Two on Two" show. He also has been a host, consultant and writer for Fox-TV Channel 32's 1991 New Car Preview show and its 1992, 1993, 1994 and 1995 Chicago Auto Show Previews.
Jedlicka judged the 1991 and 1992 Chicago International Concours D'Elegance classic car show in downtown Chicago, serving as head judge in 1992.
In 1995, Jedlicka was chosen the recipient of the Better Business Bureau of Chicago and North Illinois' Consumer Education Award, given annually to a person or organization who has gained distinction in the consumer education field. In 2006, he was presented a Lifetime Achievement Award in the media category and inducted into the Legends of Motorsports Guild at the annual Conquest World of Wheels custom car show. He also has been a member since 1995 of the North American Car and Truck of the Year Jury, composed of a select number of auto journalists from throughout the country.
Jedlicka also has been the head car reviewer for Microsoft Corp.'s MSN Autos Web site since January 1997.
He is a 1987 graduate of the Bob Bondurant Race Drivers School and, in the late 1990s, of the BMW advanced M-Class high-performance driver's school and BMW-Skp Barber Advanced Driving School. He was a member of the U.S. team that participated in the 1987 1,000-mile Mille Miglia high-speed rally/race in Italy and has been a stock car race winner at the Chicago area's Santa Fe Speedway.
Jedlicka tackled a new subject in his 1975 book about radio personality Larry Lujack, "Super Jock, the Loud, Frantic, Nonstop World of a Rock Radio DJ." He also is the author of "Dan Jedlicka's 1985 Auto Guide." His columns have been reprinted in U.S. government publications and economic textbooks, and his name appears in Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary.
He has owned 25 high-performance cars, including classic Ferraris, Maseratis and Porsches. His current classic car is a 1969 Porsche 912.
Jedlicka is a member of the Chicago Newspaper Guild and American Federation of Television and Radio Artists.
He graduated with a B.S. in communications from the University of Illinois in 1965. While there, he was president of the U. of I.'s Sigma Delta Chi chapter. He received a William Randolph Hearst national newswriting award for his work at the Champaign-Urbana Courier while a U. of I. student. He has taken graduate courses in English literature at DePaul and Roosevelt universities in Chicago.
Jedlicka and his wife, Suzanne, reside in the Frank Lloyd Wright historic district of Oak Park, where he has been active in civic affairs. They have two children, Michele and James.