Cars Yeah With Mark Greene

Tim Considine is the author of the book Twice Around The Clock - The Yanks at Le Mans, a huge multi-volume, unapologetically chauvinistic personal history of over 320 American drivers and the American cars that have participated in the epic 24 Hours of Le Mans. His book is a frank, sometimes blunt, personal account that makes history human – and these volumes unique. Each of the three books is close to 120,000 words in length with approximately 300 black and white and color images, per volume, from around the world, interspersed throughout – many never seen before. It is the culmination of Tim’s research and interviews conducted for over 26 years and written over the last six years and covers from 1923 through 1979. Tim was my guest back in June of 2015 and you may know him from his time on TV on the original Mickey Mouse Club, Shaggy Dog, My Three Sons, and many more. His son Chris, CEO of CXC Simulations, has also been a guest here on Cars Yeah.  

Mike Tatro is a car collector whose automotive enthusiasm has filled his garage with over 100 cars. He is a retired business owner who enjoys his days with a number of automotive activities. He is the Chairman of his local chapter of the Golden Gate Lotus Club, a member of the Shelby Club of America, the MG Club, the Austin Healy Club, Porsche Club of America, the Datsun Club, and the BMW Club. He loves to work on cars and his collection, which he calls ‘CarMichael Vintage Vehicles’ is an eclectic group of vehicles which houses in an 18,000 square foot garage/warehouse near his home. That collection includes 105 cars, 7 motorcycles, 2 wooden boats, and a motorhome.

Ron Baker is the founder of Driven, a marketing organization where he has found a way to weave his passion for cars into his career. He has created over 500 car events for major automotive manufacturers. He has produced car related television programming – 5 series in total spanning 9 years on the air. Ron has also created numerous promotional and training presentations and written marketing programs and developed technology to enhance the consumer experience at car shows. He also developed the broadcast facility at Cobo Hall, Detroit, for the North American International Auto Show. Ron is a driving instructor who teaches performance and defensive driving courses as well. He continues to race, campaigning a 2-litre formula car and he is an accomplished musician who performs professionally. 

Randy Kerdoon is a multi-award-winning sportscaster who has been on the airwaves for 30 years on KFWB, Fox-11, and currently KNX 1070 Newsradio in Los Angeles, California. He has earned numerous broadcasting awards including a “Best of Radio”, a Gold Medal and Golden Mike awards. In 2014, he decided to wrap his passion for cars into a podcast that he calls “Talking About Cars” where he interviews a wide variety of guests who love classic cars. I was honored to be a guest on his show during my attendance at The Classic Auto Show in Costa Mesa, California where I was interviewed by Randy and past Cars Yeah guest Bob Beck. Randy loves old cars and he currently has two collector cars, a 1957 Pontiac Custom Safari 2 door wagon and a 1964 Dodge Polara hardtop.

Andy Leach is the owner of Cal Automotive Creations where he and Ron Cizek, and their team build custom cars. His father got him into cars at the age of 14 and his first car was a 1937 Ford that he learned how to weld and form metal on. He worked with Troy Trepanier at Rad Rides by Troy for 5 years where he honed his talents. Andy and Ron built a 1940 Ford they titled Checkered Past and won the 2013 Ridler Award which was an incredible accomplishment given it was the first car out of their newly formed shop. I had the honor of meeting Andy at The Classic Auto Show in Costa Mesa California where I interviewed him on their Celebrity Stage along with his friend Wayne Carini, another past Cars Yeah guest.

Burt “BS” Levy is known as the World’s Fastest Novelist. He is an award-winning motorsports journalist, an infamous author, a lifelong British car nut, and notorious racecars ride mooch who has earned over 80 amateur and vintage race wins. He is the author of the celebrated cult classic 1950s sports car novels The Last Open Road, its sequels Montezuma’s Ferrari, The fabulous Trashwagon, Toly’s Ghost, The 200 MPH Steamroller and his utterly hilarious short story collection, A Potside Companion. Today Burt returns to Cars Yeah to share his latest venture, The Last Open Road audiobook. A true automotive entrepreneur, Burt is sure to fill our ears with his humor and iconic “BS”, so hide your car keys and listen up. Burt was first on Cars Yeah way back on August 3 and 4, 2014, and he was my first two-part show being guest on episodes #47 and #48.

Mike Dennison is the President of Powered Vehicles Group and CEO of Fox Factory. For more than 40 years, FOX Factory has been an industry leader in the design and development of high-performance shock absorbers and racing suspension products for bicycles, on-road and off-road vehicles and trucks, side-by-side vehicles, all-terrain vehicles, snowmobiles, specialty vehicles and applications, and motorcycles. Prior to FOX Mike was entrenched in Silicon Valley’s high-tech industry, spending almost 20 years with Flex Ltd., a diversified technology manufacturer of products from printers and smartphones to audio systems and wearables. As CEO Mikes oversees relationships with Ford Performance, Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta, Carroll Shelby International’s Raptor development programs, and countless other projects that allow him to live his automotive dreams. 

Ben Clymer is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of HODINKEE. Widely considered a leading voice in the watch industry, Ben founded the company in 2008 as a means to write about his passion for wristwatches, a passion that started when he received his grandfather’s Omega Speedmaster. Ten years later, Ben has grown HODINKEE into the foremost destination for all things in the world of horology - a robust media and retail platform that brings its readers and consumers the best wristwatch content and products in a way that is approachable, authentic and honest.  Ben is an avid photographer, watch collector and classic car enthusiast. He has been recognized as part of the Hypebeast 100, Digiday’s Changemakers, and Crain’s New York’s 40 Under 40, while HODINKEE has been named as one of Time’s 50 Best Websites, and Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies Of The Year. 

Dean Cusano is the CEO of Motorcars Incorporated in Plainville, Connecticut. He is involved in the Automotive Restoration industry and a certified judge for Concours d'Elegance by Jaguar Cars. Dean has been responsible for the restoration of over 215 E-type Jaguars and has been a worldwide distributor of Vintage Jaguar Motorcars for over 35 years. Dean is the North East Regional Director for Jaguar Clubs of North America and serves on many automotive Concours Judging teams in the North East. Dean is the Lead Judge and also the initial creator of the “Dream Show” in Farmington Connecticut for the Hometown Foundation that is based in Cheshire Connecticut. Started in 2013 the Dream Show has grown to one of the largest Cause-related Motorcar shows in North America. The Hometown foundation has donated over 2 million dollars to benefit various charities ranging from Special Olympics and Unified sports and programs for the developmentally disabled to Pet Rescue programs.

Rupert Banner is the Group Motoring Director for Bonham Auction House based at Bonhams, New York and is responsible for overseeing the International Motoring Department. He is an auctioneer, business acquisition extraordinaire, cataloguer, researcher and valuer with 25 years' experience in the auction industry, at all three major international houses. In 1994, he began converting his lifelong automotive enthusiasm into a career, which has included 13 years with two other major fine art auction houses and for the last dozen years at Bonhams the most car-centric of the three. He has handled numerous major collections auctions including celebrities, large collections, and automobile museums. Throughout his career, he has retained an overriding passion for cars from the dawn of motoring, campaigning a variety of jalopies on the British London to Brighton Run each November since the 1980s. Bonhams will hold an auction at this year’s Greenwich Concours d’Elegance.

Michael Arnolt is the son of Stanley H. Arnolt who customized sports cars, including the legendary Arnolt-Bristol. In all, 142 Arnolts were built for the track and the street. The Greenwich Concours will be celebrating Arnolt cars including the Arnolt-MGs, Arnolt-Bristols, and Arnolt-Aston Martins at this year’s event. Michael is a journalist working as a newspaper reporter and columnist and he has been integral in helping his mother run the family business after his father passed about 10 years ago. Michael is also a high-level competitive racquetball player.

Mary Wennerstrom is the Chairman of the Greenwich Concours d'Elegance that takes place the weekend after Memorial Day each year in Greenwich, CT. She is also the director of the legendary Madison Avenue Sports Car Driving and Chowder Society that meets monthly at Sardi's Restaurant in Manhattan. Mary helped her mother-in-law, Genia, and her father-in-law, Bruce Wennerstrom with the Greenwich Concours since it began back in 1996. Genia passed away in 2011, and then Bruce passed in late 2015, and Mary has taken the reigns since that time. Raised in Greenwich with her 6 older brothers, Mary was exposed to cars and racing at an early age. When she met her husband, Leif, her love of cars grew even more. Together they continue the legacy of the concours and the chowder club that Bruce and Genia so greatly cherished.

Jack Griffin is the Co-Founder of Garages of Texas, a property where automotive enthusiasts own their own space. Garages of Texas provides owners a luxury garage suite that is an optimal place for their cars and themselves, a perfect place for both man, woman, and machine. Jack has over 40 years of experience in real estate development, brokerage, and motorsports. For 12 years he was partner in charge of developing suburban office building properties in Texas for Trammell Crow Company developing over two million square feet of office buildings. Motorsports has always been his passion including touring, collecting, restoring, and racing old cars. He’s raced at venues including Daytona, Sebring, LeMans, Mosport, Road America and many other tracks around the world. Jack’s collection has been featured in magazines and he is a past Board member at his local Porsche Club. You can see more of Jack with me on the Cars Yeah TV show.

Linda Vaughn is perhaps the most photographed personality in automotive and motorsports history. This year she was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame. She’s entertained fans and has been a premier marketer of automotive good for more than 55 years. From her first days as Miss Atlanta Raceway representing the iconic Hurst brand through her annual appearances at America’s top automotive and racing events, she engages her fans with a beautiful smile and energetic personality. In her new book, published by CarTech, The First Lady Of Motorsports Linda Vaughn takes us on a journey through her career in motorsports and promotions sharing her personal photographs and stories. I had the pleasure of spending some time with Linda at The Classic Auto Show in March where she appeared with a panel of Women on Wheels.  One lucky listener will win a copy of Linda’s new book Linda Vaughn: The First Lady Of Motorsports.

Bob Beck is a lifelong automotive enthusiast who has built vehicles that gained prominence in automotive magazines, shows, and books. His career after college started as a High School auto shop instructor. Later he worked for major vehicle manufacturers at the corporate level including BMW, Nissan, Isuzu, GM, and most recently as the Collector Car Representative for AAA in Southern California. Bob has been an NHRA drag racing announcer at multiple tracks over the last 40 years and he has been an announcer for the California Hot Rod Reunion and Holley National Hot Rod Reunion for the past 20 plus years. He is a regular contributing personality at Speed Scene Live TV and he does guest spots on the nationally syndicated Horsepower for an hour radio show and on Talking About Cars with Randy Kerdoon. Bob is also the host of the Great American Auto Scene show.

Joe Mattioli is the co-managing partner of Mattioli Weber Consulting, where they specialize in strategic planning, marketing campaigns, branding, and efficiency. He has over 40 years of experience as a CEO, managing mass population events, developing and executing regional and national marketing programs and partnerships for a diverse range of organizations and events including national brands, sports venues, and race teams, concerts, fairs and festivals and the development, production and sale of broadcast properties. Joe’s diverse background also includes running professional sporting events and teams and overseeing programs that include professional athletes. His past also includes guiding the Pocono Raceway to success with events including NASCAR, IndyCar, Sports Car, and Motorcycle events. 

Alexander Rossi is a five-time Indy car winner. He won the 100th Running of the Indianapolis 500 in 2016, the first rookie to win the 500 since 2001 and the first American rookie to win since 1928. This year he returns to Andretti Autosport for his fourth season in the NTT IndyCar Series. Alexander moved to Europe at the age of 17 to chase his Formula 1 dream and he made five starts for the Manor Marussia team in 2015 and became the third American driver to race in Formula 1 since 1990. He has won races in the GP2 series, now known as F2, and the World Series by Renault and has completed in the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the Rolex 24 at Daytona.

Jeff Lambert is the President of Race Sponsorships.net, an organization that helps grassroots racers obtain sponsorships through their sponsorship proposals. He is also the President and Founder of Armed Forces Racing which is a non-profit 501C3 that provides veterans with an opportunity to compete in motorsports, more specifically drag racing. He offers veterans the opportunity to experience the excitement of building a drag car and to drive it while building friendships with other veterans. Jeff is a veteran of the United States Navy and served aboard the USS Carl Vinson as part of the Crash and Salvage crew. He is a drag racer who has earned two track championships.

Mike Smith is the Ferrari Club of America Sacramento Chapter President. He joined the Ferrari Club of America ten years ago after reaching a life goal of owning a Ferrari and what he found was great camaraderie and this year he’s been elected Chapter President for his second 2-year term. His career history has been in business management and insurance that afforded him his Ferrari dream. The Ferrari Club provides lots of options including drives, tours, wine tasting, tech sessions, track events, Concours, and community charity events. A very cool aspect of the Ferrari Club is that you don’t have to own a Ferrari to join.

Jill Trotta is an ASE Certified Technician/Advisor with over 25 years of experience in the industry. She is the Vice President of Marketing, Industry, and Sales at RepairPal. She has played an integral role in their Certified program and along with her team they have evaluated over 6,000 independent repair facilities. Passionate about consumer education Jill has appeared on radio, TV, and in print sharing her knowledge and she is a regular on RepairPal.com, Geico.Com, and many others. Jill was awarded the Kukui Humanitarian of the Year award and she was named the Women in AutoCare Woman of Excellence and serves Vice-Chair on the Executive Committee of Woman in AutoCare. Most recently she was recognized as the leading expert in the industry on Price Transparency.