Donald Osborne
car historian and TV personality

Donald Osborne ASA, is a classic car historian, consultant, accredited appraiser, author, curator, the principal of Automotive Valuation Services and a Consulting Director of the Audrain Group in Newport, Rhode Island.  

He became known internationally for his recurring segment “Assess & Caress with Donald Osborne” on CNBC Primetime’s show “Jay Leno’s Garage” in which he shared his knowledge of collector car attributes and values.  

Mr. Osborne is the author of ‘Stile Transatlantico / Transatlantic Style- A Romance of Fins and Chrome’, for which he was nominated as a Dean Batchelor Award finalist. His writing has been published in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Art & Antiques, Octane, Magneto, Linkage, Sports Car Market, Road & Track, and other publications.  

Long before his television fame, Osborne’s passion for automobiles was rooted in a deep appreciation for design. Trained in the arts and performance, he developed a keen sense of how beauty and purpose can intertwine—a perspective that would shape his entire career. He combined this aesthetic sensitivity with rigorous research, becoming a trusted authority on European and American cars of the 20th century.

He has served as a concours judge at events across the United States, Italy and Japan, including the Pebble Beach Concours d’Eleganceâ  Donald can currently be seen on YouTube on the Jay Leno’s Garage and Audrain Museum Network channels.

Beyond his professional achievements, Osborne is a passionate advocate for seeing cars as more than transportation. To him, they are rolling works of art, embodiments of their eras, and vessels of human creativity. His written work—including books, essays, and columns—captures this vision, inviting readers to view automobiles not just as objects, but as stories.

An avid enthusiast and active participant of all things related to art, music, architecture, culture and food, he divides his time between the United States and his second home, Italy.