Cars Yeah With Mark Greene

Filippo Perini is the Head of Design at Italdesign in Italy. Italdesign is a world leader in the provision of development services for the automotive industry. Born in 1965 Filippo worked as a freelance designer for Alfa Romeo, Fiat Auto, and Aprilia as a consultant for the Federation of Scientific and Technical Associations. In 1995 he joined the Alfa Romeo Centro Stile and in 2001 he was appointed Director of Exterior Design of Alfa Romeo. He worked on the Alfa 159, 147, and 8C Competizione concept car. He was the Senior Exterior Designer at Audi and at Lamborghini he was the Head of Exterior Design. From 2006 to 2015 Filippo managed many successful projects as Director of the Automobili Lamborghini Centro Stile before his current role at Italdesign.

Paolo Feraboli is the Founder and Director of Automobili Lamborghini Advanced Composite Structures Laboratory (ACSL) in Seattle, Washington. He and his team are responsible for the development of new CFRP technologies and structure/chassis concepts for Lamborghini. Paolo is also the Founder and CEO of Gemini Composites, a design firm focused on product development, including design, analysis, testing, and manufacturing components for the automotive and numerous other industries. Since 2013 Dr. Feraboli is also a Research Professor at the Nagoya Institute of Technology in Japan. He is the recipient of the 2010 Young Investigator Award for Composite Materials and the founding Chair of the CMH-17 Working Group on Crashworthiness.

Ken Okuyama is the CEO of Ken Okuyama Design in Yamagata, Japan. Ken was the Chief Design Director for General Motors, a Senior Designer for Porsche AG, and the Design Director for Pinifarina. Among his many automotive designs are the Ferrari Enzo and Maserati Quattroporte. He’s designed numerous projects including motorcycles, Furniture, robots, and architecture. In 2007 he founded his company where he and his team provide design consulting to companies around the globe in numerous industries. They also design and produce limited production automobiles, eyewear, and interior products under the Ken Okuyama brand. Ken is currently director of Yanmar Holdings Company Limited, he’s authored many books and he is a visiting professor at several universities.

Renzo Porro lives in Italy and he is a mechanical engineer whose 38 year career at Fiat included testing, design, research, and sales. He was involved in many of their successful models including the Fiat 128, X19, 124, Uno, Ducato, Lancia Delta and Thema, and the Alfa Romeo 156. His last post at Fiat was as their deputy Vice President of Engineering and Vice President of After Sales Services. Upon retiring he’s worked as a consultant for Sumitomo Electrics of Japan and TRW here in the United States. Renzo also founded three engineering companies that design automobile parts. One of his passions is sailing and he wrote a book on sailing techniques that is considered a must-read for those who love to sail. Renzo’s son Raffaello Porro has been a past guest on Cars Yeah.

Harry Krix is the Co-Founder and Chairman of the new Atlanta Concours d’Elegance taking place at the Chateau Elan Winery and Resort on October 8 and 9th. This inaugural event is sure to become one of the countries premier concours where unique, rare, and valuable collections of vintage and classic automobiles will be displayed on the fairways of Chateau Elan. Don Panoz is the honoree and there will be numerous events and features during the two-day concours. Harry was the Operations Director at Amelia Island with Bill Warner. Harry is an active member of IMSA, SCCA, and BMW CCA. He’s been involved in a number of high-level automobile restorations, race car prep, and served a crew chief on a number of sports car racing teams.

Bill Wallet is the Founder, Co-Chairman, and COO of the new Atlanta Concours d’Elegance taking place at the Chateau Elan Winery and Resort on October 8 and 9th. This inaugural event is sure to become one of the countries premier concours where unique, rare, and valuable collections of vintage and classic automobiles will be displayed on the fairways of Chateau Elan. Don Panoz is the honoree and there will be numerous events and features during the two-day concours. Bill’s professional career includes being the CEO and Founder of BlueBridge Group Consulting in Atlanta, Georgia where they focus on developing and implementing strategic Go-to-Market strategies based on accelerating market adoption and revenue.

Steve Natale owns a successful marketing company with his wife Mary. He is an automotive photographer, blogger, and writer for multiple automotive magazines and he is a regular contributor to a variety of automotive website. Steve’s been working in the automotive industry for over 35 years and his past business ventures include a used car rental company, a truck rental company, an automotive repair business, a restoration shop, vintage parts dealer, and an automotive dismantling business. Steve travels the world attending vintage car events, museums, and collections.

Doug Herbert is a nationally recognized top fuel drag racing champion. He is the first driver to run over 300 MPH during NHRA eliminations, and his career best speed tops 330 MPH. But in 2008 Doug put his racing career aside when he lost his two young sons, Jon and James, in a tragic car crash. After experiencing a tremendous amount of loss and grief, Doug decided to create a free driving program that teaches advanced safe driving techniques, and founded B.R.A.K.E.S. (Be Responsible and Keep Everyone Safe), a non-profit 501(c)(3) Teen Pro-Active Defensive Driving Program. For over 8 years Doug and B.R.A.K.E.S. have been traveling to various US cities to help prevent injuries and save lives by training and educating teenage drivers and their parents.

Born in 1954, Peter Larsen has been a life long gearhead. He lives in Copenhagen and is currently writing on a book about Joseph Figoni. He serves as a Pebble Beach class judge and he also judges at the Concours d’Elegance at Chantilly outside Paris and at Schloss Dyck in Germany. Peter has a wide taste in cars, having owned automobiles as varied as a Bizzarrini, Facel-Vega, Duesenberg Model J and a number of Maseratis, including two Ghiblis and a 5000GT. His enduring fascination has been with French cars in general and Talbot-Lago in particular, including ownership of two T26 Grand Sports. He and Ben Erickson co-authored the book Talbot-Lago Grand Sport: The Car from Paris and Jacques Saoutchik – Maître Carrossier.

Wade Kawasaki is the President and Chief Operating Officer of the Coker Group, overseeing twelve Coker Group brands and six operating companies. The Coker Group is a family of brands that includes The Coker Tire Company and many other companies offering products in the automotive marketplace. Wade is also the Founder and CEO of Exports International, an exports management company specializing in wholesale distribution of American made automotive specialty aftermarket products. He is also the Chair-Elect for SEMA, the Specialty Equipment Market Association Board of Directors and will become their Chairman in 2017.

Sam Moses is a journalist and author who began writing as a seaman apprentice on a Navy cruiser in the South China Sea. Two days after his discharge he was on the Isle of Man writing about motorcycles. He filed race reports from the Mojave Desert which landed him a job as Motorsports Writer for Sports Illustrated for 18 years. He began racing in 1965 at Watkins Glen on a motorcycles and today he runs in vintage events in his Oldsmobile Cutlass, the “Skoll Bandit”, the same racecar in his book Fast Guys Rich Guys And Idiots , originally released in 1985, which he recently remastered for release. I caught up with Sam at the Pacific Northwest Historic races where I enjoyed watching him mix it up on the track.

Colin Crabbe is an automotive archeologist and past Grand Prix entrant who spent his life in perpetual motion. He was a privateer and noted dealer in historic racing cars. He raced some wonderful cars including a Maserati 250F at Goodwood in June 1965, an Aston MartinDP214, and a Ford GT40 at Brands Hatch. Vic Elford and Ronnie Peterson drove for his F1 Team in 1969 and 1970 in a Cooper T86 and a McLaren M7B and a March 701. In the 1960s Colin ran a mail order business, The Complete Automobilist, that supplied hard-to-find parts. He was the last of the serious privateers in Formula One and has spent his life traveling the world, tracking down, restoring, and racings some the rarest, fastest cars ever made. His book, Colin Crabbe: Thrill of the Chase is an autobiography of his exciting life around racing and automobiles. This is part two of a two part show.

Colin Crabbe is an automotive archeologist and past Grand Prix entrant who spent his life in perpetual motion. He was a privateer and noted dealer in historic racing cars. He raced some wonderful cars including a Maserati 250F at Goodwood in June 1965, an Aston MartinDP214, and a Ford GT40 at Brands Hatch. Vic Elford and Ronnie Peterson drove for his F1 Team in 1969 and 1970 in a Cooper T86 and a McLaren M7B and a March 701. In the 1960s Colin ran a mail order business, The Complete Automobilist, that supplied hard-to-find parts. He was the last of the serious privateers in Formula One and has spent his life traveling the world, tracking down, restoring, and racings some the rarest, fastest cars ever made. His book, Colin Crabbe: Thrill of the Chase is an autobiography of his exciting life around racing and automobiles.   This is part one of a two-part show with Colin Crabbe.

Paul Chenard is an automotive artist and writer who lives in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada with a passion for the history of automobile racing. His goal is to capture the “feeling” that enthusiasts have when watching a race. His art and writing has been featured in Classic & Sports Car, Classic Motorsport, Motor Sport, Octane, Sports Car Market, and many other publications. He has written, illustrated, designed, hand-assembled, and published a limited edition book “Silver Clouds: The 1934 Grand Prix Season which quickly sold out. Today he’s working on two more automotive books and Paul travels as a roving artist at events including the Pinehurst Concours d’Elegance and historic racing venues.

Fueled with passion for cars, Marcus C. Morton, the founder of Pit Stop Auto Detailing and Vehicle Storage, operates one of the country’s finest facilities in sunny Scottsdale, Arizona. His vision started 8 years ago with just a mobile detail and car wash truck. His strong leadership has propelled the company to be one of the fastest growing companies operating a fleet of mobile trucks and a 10,000 square foot facility where his company maintains some of the world’s most sought after cars. Under his care of luxury, exotic, and classic cars, Marcus has become a valuable resource for owners of these fine automobiles from all over the world.

David Wiener is the President of David Wiener Ventures where he operates a variety of business ventures including M&M Activities where he consults corporate clients. David has launched numerous businesses, products, and brands since 1982 including SoundTube Entertainment, Landspeeder, and he’s worked with major corporations including Ferrari, Nike, The Gap, Cannondale, MTV and many others. He is President and CEO of 7Tunnels, an encryption technology company and he spends a great deal of time creating fine art pieces, many with an automotive theme. His Respect The Music Foundation works with students, adults, musicians, recording engineers, scientists, doctors, journalists and others to develop effective programs and charitable services.

Dieter-Heinz Kijora owns HG Motorsports in San Diego, California. There he and his team collaborate to deliver the best service in the industry. Fueled by passion they ensure unmatched service for every client they serve. HG Motorsports provides maintenance, service, functional high-performances installations, track prep, and fabrication for high performance automobiles. His legacy goes back to his grandfather Heinz who crewed for the legendary Augie Pabst Racing and later owned Heinz-Gietz Autohouse, a Mercedes Benz dealership in La Jolla, California. Dieter’s mission is to transform a driver’s passion in to a high-performance vehicles by striving for excellence.

David Cooper founded Cooper Technica in 1989. With studios in Chicago and Lyon, France he specializes in complete restorations of rare and valuable vintage automobiles with a focus on pre-war and early post-war European sports and touring cars. Meticulous research and historical documentation is completed with an emphasis on functionality. David apprenticed under a master craftsman for eleven years after a decade in engineering and marketing in the corporate world. He is a third generation trained fabricator, machinist, and machine designer. David is a frequent lecturer, radio guest, consultant, and concours judge. He writes columns for Sports Car Market, Veloce Today, he has authored several books.

Chris Bangle is well known as an automotive designer who started his career at Opel in 1981. He is an Art Center College of Design graduate whose design career has spanned over 35 years. He moved from Opel to Fiat in 1985 and in 1992 he was named the first American Chief of Design at BMW. There he brought fresh looks to BMW, Mini Cooper, and Rolls Royce. Chris left BMW in 2009 and moved to Clavesana, near Turin Italy, where he founded Chris Bangle Associates, a design consultancy and management company he operates with his wife Catherine. This is part two of a two part discussion with Chris Bangle. Listen to show number 560 for part two here on Cars Yeah.

Chris Bangle is well known as an automotive designer who started his career at Opel in 1981. He is an Art Center College of Design graduate whose design career has spanned over 35 years. He moved from Opel to Fiat in 1985 and in 1992 he was named the first American Chief of Design at BMW. There he brought fresh looks to BMW, Mini Cooper, and Rolls Royce. Chris left BMW in 2009 and moved to Clavesana, near Turin Italy, where he founded Chris Bangle Associates, a design consultancy and management company he operates with his wife Catherine.