Wed, 25 March 2015
Klaus Schnitzer is an internationally renowned automotive photographer and writer. He is a professor in the department of art and design at Montclair state university and is the director of the photography program. Assignments take him all over the world and have resulted in books, feature articles and more than 110 cover photographs for national and international publications. His work can be found in numerous private collections as well as the Museum of Modern Art and numerous other museums around the world. His name appears on the mastheads of Bimmer, Roundel and Sports Car International magazines along with many other worldwide publications, advertisements, and commercial accounts. |
Tue, 24 March 2015
Rob Ida owns Rob Ida Concepts in Morganville New Jersey. His family history and involvement around cars goes back to his grandfather Joe Ida who opened a Tucker dealership in Brooklyn New York. His father Bob was a hot rod and racecar builder. Today, Rob and his talented team can build you the car of your dreams and he is a national award winning custom car designer and builder. They provide full design and creation of one-of-a-kind vehicles, modified automobiles, and customs. They specialize in American cars from the 30s to the 70s and their current Tucker Torpedo project, a car that has never been built but was presented to Preston Tucker when he built his first car. |
Mon, 23 March 2015
Bruce Meyer is a life long classic car enthusiast and one of the most vocal ambassadors of the collector-car hobby. He has built a world-class collection of important motor vehicles, he is a racer holding several records and an inspiring philanthropist. As an active participant he enjoys driving in events around the world and serves on the board of many museums including the Nethercutt Collection, the Petersen Automotive Museum, The Mullin Automotive Museum and the LeMay Museum. He is the founding chairman of the Petersen Automotive Museum and their Checkered Flag 200 group. Bruce is a serious cheerleader for the car hobby and industry. |
Sun, 22 March 2015
John Light is the Powersports Division Manager at Evans Cooling. Evans is a company his father Thomas and uncle Jack started over 25 years ago. They develop, manufacture, and sell waterless coolants for all kinds of combustion engines and they work with some of the biggest automotive companies and names in auto racing. Their products solve cooling problems, reduce maintenance costs and can reduce fuel consumption and emissions and they eliminate the need for disposal of harmful contaminants. |
Thu, 19 March 2015
Toby Peterson owns DeLorean Motor Company Northwest, a full-service shop that has a franchise affiliation with DeLorean Motor Company. In business since 2007 and located in Bellevue, Washington he also services other classic exotics including Lotus, Ferrari, and Porsche. He and his wife also own an online DeLorean parts sales and development business called DeLorean Parts Northwest. Toby has owned the same DeLorean for 27 years and is active in the Pacific Northwest DeLorean Club. Toby’s goal is to help DeLorean owners in the region to keep their cars in good shape and continue “living the dream |
Wed, 18 March 2015
Harrod Blank is one of the key figures behind the art car movement in the US. His website Art Car Agency is a place to find the most unusual automobiles ever created. He has designed and built several of his own art cars using a hodgepodge of found objects. The Camera Van (above) is covered in 2,750 cameras of which ten function. A VW Bug based oh My God! Car that has to be seen, to be believed. Then there is Pico De Gallo, an interactive VW music mobile. Harrod has created 3 documentary films, all broadcast on TV: Wild Wheels, Driving the Dream, and Automorphosis, as well as two books featuring his photography, Wild Wheels and Art Cars. He is currently working on a film and book project on the Burning Man arts festival, in addition to creating the Art Car World museum in Douglas, Arizona. |
Tue, 17 March 2015
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Mon, 16 March 2015
Steve Wood owns Panavia in Cambell California. Panavia is an automotive engineering firm specializing in design, engineering, and building cars of your dreams. They build Cobras, Daytona Coupes, GT40s, Mustangs, Bosses, Tigers, Vipers and Sting Rays plus special builds to suit their customer’s wishes. Steve and his talented team also do upgrades on vehicles, high performance modifications, engines, and custom fabrication. His cars have been featured on Jay Leno’s Garage and to quote Steve, “We make the American Dream happen!” |
Sun, 15 March 2015
Steve Johann owns Sound Image Solutions and he is the producer of The Hog Radio Show. Started in 2007, Steve and his co-host Walt Fletcher cover the world of motorcycling and rider lifestyle. He has interviewed many of the most well known enthusiasts in the market. His website is an extension of the show and features news, articles, and content covering the world and lifestyle of motorcycling. |
Thu, 12 March 2015
Billy Hammon aka Jet Boat is the CEO of Action Vehicle Engineering. Combining over 30 years of car experience and 20 years in the film industry his vehicles are legendary. He’s worked as a mechanic in multiple racing events including the Indy 500, Daytona 500 and 24 Hours of Daytona. He’s been a part of numerous automotive commercials and films. We all played with Hot Wheels as a kid. Billy plays with full size, real life Hot Wheels that he builds. Billy partnered with Mattel to create full size Hot Wheels cars and coupled with Mattel, Billy has been a part of 3 world records including the world’s longest jump of 332 feet, the longest corkscrew at 92 feet and a double dare loop built for the 2012 X-Games. |
Wed, 11 March 2015
Jim Hyde owns The World of RawHyde Adventure Motorcycle Training, Tours & Special Events. He started the business in the spring of 2002 with a goal of providing adventure destinations for motorcycle riders around the world. Jim and his talented crew provide numerous motorcycle tours, training, and trips in a wide variety of locations around the world. From intermediate to advanced challenges they will guide and coach you through some of the most fun you’ll ever have on two wheels. RawHyde is officially endorsed by BMW Motorrad North America and they are an official BMW training center. Their goal is to provide participants with fun and exhilarating adventures on motorcyles. |
Tue, 10 March 2015
Henk Holsheimer is a designer and artist, with a strong focus on conceptual thinking and idea generation. With years of experience as concept manager for the LEGO Group and through collaboration with partners such as IDEO, Audi, BMW, and others his automotive design competencies derive from a lifelong passion for car design and its history. Henk lectures at art and design universities and curates art events and exhibitions. In 2010 he published the book ‘Constructed Styles, LEGO bricks in urban art’. His automotive artwork and design has been on display in museums, in magazines, galleries, and in private collections and in 2005 he created the poster for the Concours d’elegeance at Villa d’Este. Henk lives in Munich where he continues to create automotive art and design. |
Mon, 9 March 2015
Louie Shefchik is the owner of J&L Fabricating in Puyallup, Washington. Since 1981 Louie and his talented team have been restoring and building vintage racecars, hot rods, concours, and collector cars for automotive enthusiasts who demand the best in craftsmanship and expertise. Louie’s passion for cars goes back to 1972 when he was 15 and filled a mechanic’s position on Salt Walther’s Indy Car team. Today J&L celebrates over 30 years of design, engineering, building, and fabricating parts for some of the most famous racecars ever built. They also offer trackside support and transportation to racing events around the country, and the world, giving their customers an arrive-and-drive convenience further enhancing the vintage racing experience. |
Sun, 8 March 2015
Dennis Gage is the producer and host of the wildly popular television show My Classic Car. For twenty years he’s traveled around the globe sharing automobiles, collections, car shows, and more with enthusiasts. His show has been on TNN, SPEED and can now be seen on the Velocity and MAVTV networks and is enjoyed in over 90 million households. Dennis is also the Executive Producer of the motorcycle television programs, Trippin’ on Two Wheels and Corbin’s Ride On and the reality series, Texas Hardtails and the independent film, Novem. |
Thu, 5 March 2015
Matt Stone is a freelance journalist, author, broadcaster and former Editor at Motor Trend Classic magazine. He’s been a professional automotive journalist and photographer since 1990. He’s a Chief Class Judge at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, a member of the LeMay America’s Car Museum Steering Committee and past-President of the Motor Press Guild trade association. He’s written several books including: Winning: The Racing Life of Paul Newman, McQueen’s Machines, My First Car, and History’s Greatest Automotive Mysteries, Myths, and Rumors Revealed. |
Thu, 5 March 2015
Holly Martin of Metal and Speed, is a photographer who specializes in innovative automotive and mechanical photography. She also drives racecars. Her passion for automobiles, metalwork and the mechanical arts is captured in her photography and she is an artist with a background in painting and mixed media. She loves classic cars, hot rods, customs, motorcycles and her portfolio has something for every car and racing enthusiast. Her work has been featured world-wide in numerous publications including the Robb Report, Hot Rod magazine and others. She is the head photographer for Danny Thomson and his Challenger II and she often shoots at Bonneville and El Mirage Dry Lake. |
Wed, 4 March 2015
Steve Moal of Moal Coachbuilders in Oakland, California, comes from a long line of skilled metal workers going back to his grandfather William who emigrated here to the United States from France. Steve’s shop carries on a tradition carried forward by his father George and today Steve and his wife and sons design, engineer, fabricate, and assemble custom coachcraft vehicles for the most discerning automotive enthusiasts. His skilled team of artisans create, and build distinct and spirited high-performance motorcars that are recognized around the world as works of art. |
Mon, 2 March 2015
Scott Riekstins is the owner and operator of Green Auto Detail in Kirkland, Washington. He’s been detailing and caring for automobiles since 1989 out of his mobile detailing van. In 2009 Scott made a commitment to going green and today he focuses on using eco-friendly cleaning products and processes while cleaning vehicles. This reduces the impact on the environment and his customers, not to mention Scott himself. Scott’s detailed all kinds of vehicles including some famous cars from the movies including James Bond’s Aston Martin DB5 and the iconic Chuck Barris Batmobile. |
Sun, 1 March 2015
Vic Elford was one of the fastest drivers of the sixties and seventies and is a racing icon in Porsche’s history. He is arguably the most versatile all around driver of all time and he’s raced and won pretty much every motoring event in Europe and the U.S. The Monte Carlo Rally, the Daytona 24 Hours, Targa Florio, the Nurburgring 1000 Kilometers, Sebring and the European Rally Championship. Then he moved to Formula 1, Can Am, Trans Am, off road racing in Africa and even Nascar. In addition to Porsche Vic’s raced for almost every marque and set speed records and lap records around the globe. He drove for Steve McQueen in the movie Le Mans and Vic’s authored books, narrated Michel Keyser’s film The Speed Merchants and still participates in many motoring and vintage racing events. |
Thu, 26 February 2015
Thomas Bryant spent 36 years working at Bond-Parkhurst/CBS/Hachette as an editor in various positions. He started as a junior editorial assistant on the magazine Pickup, Van & 4WD that was getting started in 1972. Thomas later moved to Road & Track as an Associate Editor, and then in 1986 he became the Editor of Road & Track Specials—magazines that focused on exotic cars from around the world. Two years later he was promoted to Editor-in-Chief of Road & Track magazine where he had always longed to be. Thomas remained in that position for 20 years, until his retirement in the summer of 2008. |
Wed, 25 February 2015
Scott Jacobs is an artist whose passion for Harley Davidson motorcycles is reflected in his paintings. Whether it’s a Harley-Davidson motorcycle, a classic car, a fine bottle of wine or a delicate flower, Scott’s attention to detail supersedes all expectation. Every detail is perfection, right down to the reflections within reflections. Scott was the first artist to be officially licensed by Harley Davidson. His work has been featured in VQ Magazine, American Iron, Art Business News, Easy Rider Magazine, Airbrush Action Magazine as well as a host of other publications. His work is commissioned and collected by celebrities, he’s painted numerous portraits, and his work appears in galleries and collections around the world. |
Tue, 24 February 2015
192: Shinoo Mapleton from Sector 111 Talks About Lotus, Arial Atom, Briggs Automotive Company and Alfa Romeo plus the Drakan Spyder
Shinoo Mapleton grew up in Detroit and admits his first memory is looking out at cars from his preschool window. He started Sector111 in 2003 and operates in Temecula California. It is a company focused on lightweight sports cars including Lotus, Ariel Atom, Briggs Automotive Company and Alfa Romeo. He is a lifelong auto fanatic and earned a mechanical engineering degree at GMI-Engineering Management Institute (now Kettering University). He started in the industry in 1985 working at Pontiac Fiero Assembly and then he move onto 3M Automotive. and continues to chase his automotive dreams. |
Mon, 23 February 2015
Chris Powell is the owner of Chris’s German Auto Service in Bellevue Washington. He’s run his shop for over 31 years caring for Porsche automobiles. Chris spent some of his early years in racing with Bruce Leven and Bayside Racing and he got his hands on some very serious Porsche race cars including: the RSR, 934, 935, 924, GTR, Lola Porsche, and the 962. The team ran at the 24 Hours of Daytona and 12 Hours of Sebring and they won at Sebring in 1981. Chris is on the Porsche Club of America’s National Technical Committee and enjoys helping Club members with their cars and technical challenges. |
Sun, 22 February 2015
After twenty-five years as an award winning historic race car competitor, mechanic, and preparation shop owner, Peter Krause shifted gears to rev up a new career utilizing the latest GPS and high definition video equipment to quantify racing driver performance. This intersection of this technology, coupled with Krause's intimate knowledge of the psychology, art and science of "going fast," propelled him into the top tier of driver coaches, perhaps more accurately, driver performance analysts, in North America. Peter maintains a 1,200 square foot learning facility at Virginia International Raceway, complete with simulators to "virtually coach" and plasmas on the wall to review data and video. |
Thu, 19 February 2015
Bruce Canepa is the Founder and CEO of Canepa Motor Company and Concept Transporters in Scotts Valley, California. Bruce is passionately involved in all aspects of his companies from vehicle design and development to historic and collector cars sales, restoration, and racing. His company is renown for expertly combining sophisticated design and superb craftsmanship in new vehicles and Pebble Beach level restorations on collector cars, vintage racecars, hot rods, luxury cars, motorcycles, SUVs, you name it. The automotive projects that come out of his companies are recognized as the best of the best. Bruce has raced in all sorts of cars over the years and today runs in most of the premier historic events around the world. |
Wed, 18 February 2015
The name “Big Daddy” Don Garlits is synonymous with drag racing. Don’s been dubbed the “King of the Dragsters” and is the patriarch of Top Fuel Drag Racing. His 17 World Championship titles and racing milestones are so numerous it would take me this entire show to list them all. Don’s won the prestigious NHRA U.S. Nationals a record 8 times and he’s raced for over four decades. His famous Swamp Rat series of 34 hand fabricated black race cars carried him to 144 national event wins. Today Don is the CEO of the Garlits Auto Museum in Ocala, Florida. The museum is a treasure trove of drag racing history and a destination for every fan to experience. The fastest Don's ever gone in a dragster? 323.04 mph in Swamp Rat 34 at the 2003 Gator Nationals. That's a quarter mile in 4.72 seconds! |
Tue, 17 February 2015
John Wright is from Waterloo, Ontario. He is a journalist who writes stories about cars, racing, and people in racing. He writes for Vintage Race Cars, Victory Lane, and the Canadian publication Old Autos. He did some racing in a Formula Vee and then a race prepared MGB.
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Mon, 16 February 2015
186: Danny Thompson Talks About Setting Land Speed Records and The Challenger II Plus His Father Micky Thompson
Danny Thompson comes from a family whose name is synonymous with speed. His father, Micky Thompson, is the famed driver and innovator of the Challenger, a man who broke land speed records on the Bonneville Salt Flats. Step by step, Danny Thompson has maintained and expanded his family’s celebrated history in motor sports. Danny raced motocross winning his first 18 races. He then moved on to raing cars in the Formula Atlantic Series, Supervees, and CRA Sprint Cars. He won the opening night of the Mickey Thompson Off-Road Grand Prix and drove for Chevrolet as a factory driver. He’s served as the President of the Mickey Thompson Entertainment Group and later as a consultant to entertainment, promotional, and safety firms. |
Sun, 15 February 2015
Jim Kearney operates KDD, Kearney Driver Development. He is a driving coach who’s mission is to help drivers become faster, more consistent, and competitive. He spent 32 years racing in Formula Vee, Formula ford, F2000 and SSC. He is a four-time SCCA Northeast Division FVee Champion with numerous top ten finishes. He’s a published writer with his words appearing in Sports Car magazine and Speed Secrets Weekly to name a few. Jim’s Napkin Manifesto, “Little Things Do Add Up.” Is a testament to Jim’s philosophy about driving fast and tuning the helmet, not engineering the race car. As drivers gain confidence, performance rises and happy drivers go faster. |
Thu, 12 February 2015
Ian James is an ex Pat Brit who moved to America from England in 1999 after a successful open wheel career racing junior open wheel formulas. He has been racing successfully ever since in the United States. He is a race winner in the former American LeMans and Grand Am series and well as the continental sports car series. Ian has a truly diversified career and a keen ability to adapt to all types of vehicles. He currently races for Alex Job Racing in the Tudor Sportscar series driving the heart of Racing 991 GT America Porsche where he's been a drive for the past four years. Team Seattle is a group known by their Racing for the Heart program where they have raised over five million dollars for Seattle Children's Hospital. |
Wed, 11 February 2015
John Dagys is an international motorsports journalist and photographer who specializes in the coverage of sports car and endurance racing. For the past ten years, he's traveled the globe reporting on professional auto racing series including the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship, FIA World Endurance Championship and pinnacle events such as the 24 Hours of Le Mans. John founded Sportscar365.com in 2013 that is an independent news source for sports car racing. He also serves as a corespondene for FOXSports.com. |
Tue, 10 February 2015
Adam Martin is the Vice President of The Hagerty Institute for Collector Vehicles, Business Development, and Automotive Data & Intelligence. He’s an overachieving classic car enthusiast affectionately known as enthuse-i-Adam. He’s an executive Committee member of the Checkered Flag 200 Club at the Petersen Museum. Recently Adam and Lucy, his 1968 Chevrolet Camaro Sport Coupe were featured in a video on Petrolicious where you can enjoy Adam’s long time passion and enthusiasm for the collector car hobby. Adam always brings Enthuse-i-Adam to everything he does. |
Mon, 9 February 2015
David Ray is the founder and group leader at Hooked on Driving. It is a community of enthusiasts who share a passion for driving and they operate in 7 key regions of the U.S. Their focus is providing high performance driver training in the controlled environment of a race course – with NO competition or training for competition. It is all about providing drivers with coaching so they are better and safer drivers. David’s competed in the SCCA regional racing program and the NASA 25 Hour Thunderhill 5 times. He won two Regional Championships in T2 and the Illgen Enduro in two different classes. He’s an SCCA instructor, a driving coach and he was Chair of the new track committee of the San Francisco Region of the SCCA. |
Sun, 8 February 2015
Emme is a driver, racer, reviewer, and rabble-rouser. She is the principle driver and trophy winner for the Mega Monkey Motorsports 2 seat 1600 desert racecar, where she has podium finished in class 5U, class 11, and ultra-4. She is one of fewer than 20 American women to participate in the Rallye Aicha des Gazelles, a 9-day, all female off road rally in Morocco where they use no GPS. Emme reviews cars with the guys at the Fast Lane Car, one of the top automotive channels on YouTube. She holds an MFA in Costume Technology from North Carolina School of the Arts and she is a graduate of Yale School of Drama. She lives in Washington DC and works at a well-known regional theatre. Emme also autocrosses her Mazdaspeed Miata whenever she can. |
Thu, 5 February 2015
Mackena Bell is the first female owner/driver team in NASCAR history. She runs out of Thomasville, North Carolina and started racing when she was 11 years old in an Outlaw kart. In 2014 she drove the Rick Ware Racing number 23 Chevrolet Camaro. Last year Mackena made her debut in one of NASCAR’s premier touring series at Phoenix International Raceway and she is one of only a few women to compete in the Nationwide series. She is the only woman to graduate from NASCARS’s Drive for Diversity Program who races in the Nationwide series. |
Wed, 4 February 2015
Chris Sneed owns and operates Sneed Speed Shop in Pfafftown, North Carolina and Sneed 4 Speed, an on line performance parts store. At his shop he and his team focus on helping clients win championships in their racecars. The shop’s services include a body shop, mechanical support, dyno tuning, and parts manufacturing. One of their specialties is the Mini Cooper and they race their own Mini. Chris and his brother have won 25 out of 29 races and 3 regional championships along with multiple endurance races. He won 3 NASA championships in 2010 and 2011 and raced in the World Challenge in 2013 and 2014 where he won the Hard Charger award in his first race on the streets of Houston |
Tue, 3 February 2015
Stephen Hackett is a Porsche Sales and Leasing Consultant at Bellevue Porsche in Bellevue, Washington. Last year he was awarded one of the top 100 sales people worldwide at Porsche and he got to enjoy a week in Cannes France where he met the Porsche factory driver Walter Rohr. Stephen spent and drive Porsches. Stephen is one of those unique sales people who’s passion for what he sells is as impressive as his authenticity. |
Mon, 2 February 2015
Bob Hatch is the owner of Hatch & Sons in Hudson Massachusetts. He’s been buying, selling, restoring, and trading fine motorcars since 1970. After selling his company in 2005 he grew restless and he purchased the original building he started his company in, refurbished it and started anew with his son Jimmy and grandson Chris. Today they buy and sell the finest European automobiles in the world while focusing on excellence in quality and perfection. Bob has owned more than 125 230, 250, and 280 SL Mercedes Benz automobiles and Hatch & Sons are known as the authority on these beautiful classic cars. I’ve been fortunate to have seen their work and it is absolutely incredible. |
Sun, 1 February 2015
Lisa Smith is the Managing Partner of Suixtil-USA, an international brand of stylish menswear with a vintage look and feel built on the 1950s car racing heritage. The Suixtil logo was seen on many of the great drivers including Juan Manuel Fangio, Jose Froilan Gonzales, Jean Behra, Jo Bonnier and Sir Stirling Moss. Lisa has been an automotive enthusiast, especially vintage cars, her entire life and she was often found in her father’s restoration shop with a wire brush in hand helping dad. She is the well traveled blog editor of DecorGirl.net and she’s an interior designer and leaves tomorrow for the Cavallino Classic to spend some time with a whole bunch of Ferraris. |
Thu, 29 January 2015
Michael Allen earned his Ph.D. in Psychology in 1986. But the title Michael is most proud of is “Car Nut.” He has been an automotive enthusiast his entire life. After purchasing a Porsche Boxster he attended his first track day and was hooked. Through the years Michael found himself frustrated with the lack of non-competitive High Performance Drivers Education content in car magazines. In December of 2013, Michael and his wife Ziva decided there was a missing niche for like-minded driving enthusiasts and decided to take on the challenge of filling that gap. They launched Auto Track Monthly, an on line magazine that is your one-stop-click source for track day and high performance driving information. |
Wed, 28 January 2015
Nathan Adlen is the Co-Host and Senior Editor for The Fast Lane Car and The Fast Lane Truck. Born into a wrecking yard family in Los Angeles, Nathan has been connected to the automotive industry throughout his life. Nathan evaluates and reviews vehicles from the cheapest to the most prestigious with equal enthusiasm. |
Tue, 27 January 2015
Chris Erickson founded the Secret Car Club in Rancho Santa Fe California, just north of San Diego. This is a private car club that was created with the intent to remove all of the less attractive aspects of a traditional club. There are no meetings, no elections, no dues, nor the drudgery and politics prevalent in most organizations. So, do you need to know the secret handshake or password to get in? Listen to find out. Chris grew up in a family that restored and enjoyed British cars. He is a real estate broker for Willis Allen Real Estate in Rancho Santa Fe California and a board member of the La Jolla Concours d’Elegance. His passion for British cars and trucks continues with a preference for MGB, Triumph, Land Rover and Jaguar. |
Mon, 26 January 2015
171: Glenn Vaughn Talks About His Restoration Shop and The Days of His Father Ken Vaughn and Phil Hill
Glenn Vaugn has been in the automotive restoration business for decades. He’s worked with thousands of clients on a wide variety of automobiles and much of his work has been displayed on concours lawns around the world. You’ll recognize his name from the famous Hill & Vaugn restoration business and a partnership and friendship his father Ken had with Phil Hill. Yes, that Phil Hill, the F1 Champion. |
Sun, 25 January 2015
Rich Fowler operates the website MotorSportRetro.com. It is a celebration of Motorsport from the 1950s to the recent past. His content entertains and informs with a unique collection of stories, videos, and images covering Formula One to Motocross. Rich lives in Sydney, Australia and has been a motor racing fan forever. He races in vintage motocross and enjoys track days in his Porsche 911 and vintage racing events. When he's not at the track he spends his spare time in the garage. Rich and his talented team provide his followers with a rich assortment of motorsport retro on a daily basis. |
Thu, 22 January 2015
Jimbo Balaam is the owner and operator of Jimbo’s Auto Detailing in Southern California. Over the past 7 years he has successfully built his business by providing his clients with exacting care and attention for their special vehicles. When he started his business he found plenty of on line information about detailing but very little about how to run a proper detailing business. Those skills he learned through hard work and effort. In addition to detailing Jimbo created The Auto Detailing Podcast podcast where he interviews successful detailers and business owners along with providing product information for other professionals in his field of automotive care. |
Wed, 21 January 2015
168: Kelly Collins Talks About a Life Racing Cars and Being on the Podium at the 24 Hours of Le Mans
Kelly Collins is recognized at one of the most diverse and talented race care drivers on the track. He has won championships numerous times and driven for manufacturers including: Chevrolet, Pontiac, Porsche, Nissan, Honda, and BMW. He has participated in almost every kind of racing venue imaginable. He’s ridden in: Motocross, and driven in the Barber Dodge Pro Series, IMSA, the FIA GT Championship, US RoadRacing Championship Series, American LeMans, Grand-Am Sports Car, and more. He’s enjoyed multiple victories at Petit Le Mans, Rolex 24 at Daytona, and 12 Hours of Sebring and he’s been on the podium at the 24 Hours of Le Mans four times. In 2001 he was teamates with Dale Earnhardt and Dale Jr. at the 24 Hours of Daytona. He’s been a Skip Barber Racing School instructor and a precision-driver in many Hollywood movies. |
Tue, 20 January 2015
Stefan Schleissing owns GTS Classics in Austin Texas. At GT Classics he and his team make the finest in seating for classic cars. His family history around cars is extensive as is his rich history in racing and rallying. Stefan has restored, raced, and rallied classics cars including the Porsche 356, 914-6, 911, Lotus, Devin, TVR’s , Sunbeam Tigers, and Mini Coopers. GTS Classics has an extensive model range of classic car seats for touring or racing cars and they will customize your seat to suite your requirements for your classic car, hot rod, Restomod, racecar or rally car. His latest project, besides new seat models, is his 908 kit car. It will be a road going street legal brother to Steve McQueen’s iconic 908 race car. |
Tue, 20 January 2015
Bruce Thomson feels compelled to paint. He attended the Ontario College of Art, graduating from the Industrial Design Program where his favorite subjects were automotive. It was at this time that Bruce saw a painting of an F1 car in a store window and thought; “I could do better than that”. And he did. Thus began his obsession with the visual archiving of automobilia through sketching, illustration, and painting. Not satisfied with this, Bruce attended the Royal College of Art Vehicle Design Program in London, England where he sketched, conceived, drew and learned from some of the most talented and creative people in the design field. On graduation, he worked for Ford of Europe in Köln Germany, before returning to Canada to work as a Professor in the Industrial design Department at Humber College in Toronto where he teaches, amongst other things, automotive design. |
Sun, 18 January 2015
Michael Dorvillier is the Chairman of the La Jolla Concoursd’Elegance. This is a fantastic event that takes place overlooking the Pacific Ocean above the La Jolla Cove just north of San Diego. The event is one of the The La Jolla Historical Society’s major fundraising events. A Registered Principal and Financial Advisor with Symbio Financial Partners and LPL Financial, Michael is a passionate antique car collector who is committed to the ongoing success of the La Jolla Concours d’Elegance. Born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Michael moved to New Hampshire in 1979. He graduated from the University of New Hampshire in 1989 and relocated in Southern California to start his professional career in finance. |
Thu, 15 January 2015
A.J. Gordon overseas the daily news stories, interviews, and articles for CarsStories.com at The Petersen Automotive Museum. It is their enthusiast portal which currently attracts over 50,000 unique visitors per month. Prior to joining the Petersen Automotive Museum, A.J. worked in radio at Los Angeles stations 955 KLOS, AMP Radio, Jack FM, and The World Famous KROQ K Rock. He produced interviews for radio stations' websites and coordinated concert live-streaming.
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Thu, 15 January 2015
163: Bill Thomas From William Thomas Roadster, LTW Motorsports, Performance Garage Club and Drakan Spyder
Bill Thomas has over 26 years in the automotive business and he is an ASE, Automotive Service Excellence, Certified Master Technician. His love of classic British sports cars moved him to open William Thomas Roadsters in Hunterdon County, New Jersey where he and his team restore and care for British cars. Bill also operates Performance Garage Club in Frenchtown, New Jersey where they created a wonderful automotive storage facility. It is a place where members can keep, and work on their special vehicles or just hang out with friends. But wait, there’s more. Bill’s Draken Cars East is another venture he’s embarked upon where he’s building a custom formula car concept roadster that is really cool. And then there is LTW Motorsports where Bill provides track car services from tech inspections, proper set ups, storage, and more. |
Wed, 14 January 2015
Michael Knab founded and operated an advertising agency in Chicago for over 30 years. Among his his many well known clients was Revell Monogram, the toy model company. His passion for automobiles lead to launching the Diecast Zone, one of the first online hobby community sites. The audience was geared toward collectors of precision scale model cars and trucks. Soon Michael created Legacy Motors, which became the leading online retailers for scale model cars, trucks, motorcycles, and military vehicles. From there he created an art gallery called Legacy Motors Automotive Art Gallery. Today his focus is dominated by his online art gallery representing the best automotive artists of today at Legendary Cars Life.com. |
Mon, 12 January 2015
Anyone who’s watched motorsports on television over the last 30 years will recognize the face and voice of today’s guest here on Cars Yeah. Bob Varsha’s career in automotive broadcasting goes back to 1980 when he was invited to cover the Peachtree 10K Road Race. He hosted MotorWeek Illustrated on CNN and covered Formula One racing on ESPN. He has been a television host on a multitude of sporting events from gymnastics to track & field to skiing. While on Speedvision he covered F1, sports cars, motorcycles and the Tour de France racing. He’s been the voice at Barrett-Jackson auctions, IMSA sports cars, the MotoGP World Championship and the 24 Hours of Le Mans. He sits on the Board of Advisors for the Motorsports Vehicle Technology Program at Lanier Technical College in Gainesville, Georgia, and he is an honorary member of the Road Racing Drivers Club. |
Sun, 11 January 2015
Brian Ghidinelli owns and runs MotorsportReg.com, an online registration service and marketplace that makes it more fun to organize and attend motorsports events. He has helped more than 700 clubs, racetracks, and sanctioning bodies organize, promote, and manage over 3,500 events annually. He’s a racer, a championship winner and finisher of a 25-hour endurance race. Brian serves on the board of directors for Thunderhill Raceway Park and he’s been quoted, featured and photographed in numerous automotive magazines and newspapers. Brian lives near Sonoma Raceway in San Rafael, California with his wife, dog, racecar, motorcycle, and shifter kart. |
Thu, 8 January 2015
Michael Culver is the Chief Executive Officer, Managing member and Chairman of the Board of Skip Barber Racing School. Headquartered in Braselton, Georgia, Skip Barber is the world’s largest racing and driving school, operating in more than 20 race tracks across the U.S. and Canada. Michael raced for 12 years after taking a 3-Day Racing School in 1990 and he has won several Skip Barber Formula Masters Motor Racing Championships and he competed in the 24 Hours of Daytona. Prior to taking control at Skip Barber Michael had over 20 years as an entrepreneur in investment banking and as a manager specializing in aerospace and motorsports. |
Wed, 7 January 2015
Dirk Layer is a guy who never really planned on a career in the automotive field, it was always about his love affair with cars and racing. But along the way he has found his life engrossed in collector cars, racing and much, much more. He’s driven at Le Mans, podiumed at the 24 Hours of Daytona, the 12 Hours of Sebring, was a race winning Pro, competed at numerous vintage races, autocrosses, driven Grand Prix cars plus GT and Sports Cars. He’s been a racing instructor and featured in automotive enthusiasts publications. Dirk’s been involved in numerous restoration projects and he is a professional broker, consultant, buyer, seller and appraiser of exceptional collector cars when only the finest will do. And he’s judged in many concours events, including Pebble Beach. Dirk has wrapped his passion for fine cars and the track in to an inspirational life in the car hobby. |
Tue, 6 January 2015
Ingrid Steffensen discovered a passion for high-performance driving and a desire to write her first non-academic book about how a professor and dance mom found her inner speed demon at the racetrack. Fast Girl: Don’t Brake until You See the Face of God and Other Good Advice from the Racetrack is a funny, fast-paced, romp through the noise and stink of the male-dominated sport of amateur sports car racing. She went on to become an instructor with the BMW Club and when she’s not teaching men how to drive like Juan Manuel Fangio she can be found writing for a wide variety of publication including the New York Time, Popular Mechanics and others. Ingrid is a woman who stepped outside her comfort zone, shrugged off the shackles of suburban conformity, and changed her entire perspective on life through the unlikeliest of means: racecar driving. |
Mon, 5 January 2015
Bob DeKorne has been involved in marketing classic car insurance since 1998. He has been fortunate to attend nearly every major concours event in the country, as well as every major classic car auction for the past 17 years. His career brings him into some of the finest private collections in the world, as well as many of the major automotive museums we all love to visit. He’s part of the Heacock Classis Insurance team and has been an automotive enthusiast since he was about three years old. His earliest childhood memory was sitting on dad’s Zundapp 150 motorcycle every time he got his hair cut. |
Sun, 4 January 2015
Chuck Beck has built numerous projects from dragsters to race cars to street cars and more. He is renown among automotive enthusiasts for his 550 Spyder, a replica of the iconic Porsche 550 Spyder from the 50s. He started producing the cars in 1982 and built 2,500 of those wonderful cars. In 1990 Chuck jointly developed the Shogun concept car and produced a competitive racecar with his replica of the Lister. In 1998 he developed the Beck 904 prototype, a replica coupe based on the original Porsche Carrera GTS that was launched in 1963. After selling his company Chuck continues to spend most of his time in the shop building cars and more recently a Lamborghini powered motorcycle. |
Thu, 1 January 2015
Rob Angelo is spearheading content creation for a variety of different brands through his new media production company and YouTube channel, Roads & Rides. In addition to creating branded automotive content for high profile clients, Rob is also collaborating with numerous partners on various other projects. In 2014, he held a variety of positions ranging from Director, Assistant Director, Cinematographer and Producer on multiple automotive based TV commercials and shows. While at NBC Digital he worked on award winning interactive experiences for The Voice, Jimmy Fallon, and Saturday Night Live. Rob has also created and produced segments for Jay Leno’s Garage where he received an Emmy Award. |
Wed, 31 December 2014
Sylvain Tremblay is the owner and a driver at SpeedSource. He’s raced since winning the first race he ever entered-an SCCA autocross at the age of 16. Over the years his love of racing turned in to a business, and in 1995 he established SpeedSource. Today he runs the Mazda Prototype factory program. After finishing second in the Grand Sports Championship several times in the late 90's, in a Mazda RX-7 Twin Turbo, Sylvain put together a winning season in 2001 scoring 7 wins on the way to the Triple Crown Championship. In 2004 he took home his second professional Championship when he won the Grand Am Cup Sport Touring title. |