Cars Yeah With Mark Greene

Anthony Jannarelly is the Co-Founder at Jannarelly Automotive, a Retro-Futuristic sports car manufacturer in Dubai. He has been an automotive designer and engineer since 2008. His past includes time as the Design Director at W Motors where he designed and followed the development of the W Motors Kykan and Fenry with Ruf and Magna Steyr. He is a speaker in the automotive trend industry, known for his expertise in automotive design, furniture design, and conceptual art in video games. Jannarelly Sports Cars targets automotive enthusiasts who love the joy of motoring and owning beautiful objects, with the free spirit of the golden age of the 60s, in its purest form. 

Jim Valentine is an automotive artist who creates spectacular mosaics. He grew up near Watkins Glen Racetrack and so began his passion for auto racing. His education includes a degree in electronic engineering and he worked for McDonald Douglas on jet fighter airplanes. After moving to California, he worked in art including photography, bronze metal sculptures, and stone carving. Jim even made golf putters where the head of the putter was a car. After a trip to Mexico, he got the idea to work in the medium of mosaics and after a trip to Home Depot to get a tile saw, he created his first art piece that sold right away. That was 16 years ago. Today, his Exotic Mosaics business features car marques and automotive images.

Michael Andrew is the Director of Red Line Oil. Red Line Synthetic Oil began creating lubricants for the racing industry in 1979. Today they manufacture more than 100 quality products including motor oils, gear oils, assembly lubes, fuel additive and their popular WaterWetter cooling additive. Prior to leading Red Line, Michael was Manager of Midstream Business Development and JV’s for Phillips 66. He has been in the Oil & Gas industry for nearly 20 years and has held positions in offshore operations, sales, optimization, strategy and business development. Michael graduated from the United States Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, NY with a BS in Marine Transportation and received a commission as an officer in the US Naval Reserves and a USCG unlimited tonnage merchant mariner license. 

Mark McCracken is founder and CEO of Makemodel.com, an automobile-focused trivia game that challenges players to guess the make and model of the day's featured vehicles based on very closely cropped photos. A seasoned professional, his career in automotive marketing began 20 or so years ago as an executive producer and co-owner of Motorsports Weekly TV, an Emmy-winning regional cable show that looked at the lighter side of racing. Over the years, he’s had the opportunity to work with some of the top companies in the automotive aftermarket industry, inventing new and relevant ways to connect brands to consumers. Like so many of us, he picked up the car hobby from his father who took him to auto shows and taught him how to do basic maintenance on cars. 

Steve Feldman, aka Steve’s POV, is a YouTuber who has taken his passion for cars, more specifically Japanese cars and created a huge following throughout the automotive community. His day job is a Realtor with Keller Williams selling residential, commercial, and investment properties in the Los Angeles area. His Steve’s POV YouTube channel started as a hobby about four years ago, with hopes of making more business contacts but it quickly gained traction, especially in Japan. Steve studied international business, speaks Japanese and lived in Japan in the 90s where he ran his own business. Today, his show has nearly 160,000 subscribers and over 40 million views. Yoku yatta, Steve!

Tim Frost is the president of Frost Motorsports, consultants to the Motorsports Industry. He has over twenty years in the sports and entertainment industries, performing feasibility studies, market demand studies, economic impact analysis, valuations, and financial consulting of motorsports facilities and motorsports industry participants. Tim has authored articles on a variety of valuation issues and speaks at local and national seminars. He has testified and been qualified as an expert witness in U.S. District Courts for arbitrations, and depositions. He has lectured in the Masters of Arts in Sports Administration Program at the School of Continuing studies of Northwestern University and he is the Publisher of the National Speedway Directory and developer of the Track Guide mobile app.

Ky ‘Rocketman’ Michaelson battled the government, gravity, a profound learning disability, and dyslexia, to become the first civilian to launch a rocket into space. His adventures are the subject of a documentary titled ‘Rocketman: A Documentary,’ currently in production. Inspired by his love of racing, he was an inventor and designer as a kid bulding a diving bell, a bicycle with wings, and a hot dog cooker dubbed  “Ky’s Little Cremator”. He built race rocket-powered snowmobiles, motorcycles, boats, wheelchairs, roller skates, and jet packs. He stunned crowds at Bonneville in his rocket race cars. Ky set 72 state, national, and international records, and worked on over 200 films and TV shows with stuntmen and women. He and his Civilian Space Exploration Team were the first to launch a rocket that reached space.

Geoff Bolam is an automotive artist who comes from a long line of artists, going back 5 generations with a distant relation to the great William Morris. An early fascination with cars and machines was nurtured by his father Denis, a Marine Engineer, who taught him how to work on cars. Trained as a graphic designer. he was a freelance illustrator and lettering artist who became a creative director and design consultant in central London for nearly 20 years. Geoff started painting for pleasure in 2005 and made the transition to full-time painting in 2014. His unique style is painting oils onto aluminum panels using various surface treatments including etching, polishing, and wire brush techniques. His work has been featured in numerous automotive magazines and for the last 3 years, his art has been selected for the RAC’s ‘Art of Motoring’ exhibition, which showcases the ‘finest artists working in the genre’. I had the pleasure of meeting Geoff and enjoying his art at Automobilia Monterey this past summer. 

Stanislav Kaplan has been a gearhead from the day his family landed in America, having come from Ukraine. He’s raced motorcycles and cars and participated in drifting events. He ran body shops and service shops and served as a service writer and manager at automotive dealerships including Ferrari, Maserati, Rolls-Royce, Bentley, Lamborghini, Bugatti, Aston Martin, and BMW. Today Stan produces and hosts the Exotic Car podcast and Kaplan Marketing Group, known as KMG where he helps small to medium companies promote, market, and grow their brands. He is also in charge of the public relations for the Porsche Club of America, Los Angeles region. 

Greg Maskell is the owner of Maskell’s Customs and Classics in Shepparton, Australia. Since 2003, Greg, his wife, Julie, and their talented team have shared a “Nothing is Impossible” attitude when it comes to restoring and caring for their customers' cars. Everything is done in-house to ensure quality and they cover repairs, restorations, design, and manufacturing for all things automotive. Greg started working on cars at the age of 17 and has designed and built multiple award-winning vehicles. His first challenge was a full restoration on a 1961 Ford Thunderbird convertible and since then, he’s been creating fantastic restorations for himself and his dedicated and enthusiastic customers.

Michael Marcangelo is the Marketing Manager at Prestone Products Corporation. Prestone is the number one branded consumer choice for antifreeze and coolant, brake fluid and power steering fluid in North American. They offer a wide range of vehicle maintenance products and have been protecting vehicles since 1927. Michael is responsible for driving growth across select retail and traditional channels. His lengthy experience in marketing brings a wealth of knowledge in strategy building, plan development, and implementation, as well as advertising support.

Johnny Unser is a spokesperson and technical advisor for Cooper Tires. For over 15 years he has worked with various departments within Cooper Tires including design, testing, motorsports, advertising, marketing, and sales. If the Unser name sound familiar, it should. Johnny is the son of the late Jerry Unser, the first Unser to race at the Indianapolis 500. Johnny’s uncles, Bobby Sr., Al Sr., and cousin Al Jr. all continued the tradition compiling nine wins at Indy. Johnny began racing after college and qualified for the Indianapolis 500 in five consecutive years. He is a veteran of five Indy 500’s, has won championships in the American IndyCar series and he won the 12 Hours of Sebring. He competed in the 24 Hours of Daytona eight times and finished second in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. He also won the grueling ALCAN 5000 mile rally three times. Johnny recently opened Unser Racing and Entertainment in Denver, a premier indoor karting facility and corporate conference center.

Jimmy Dinsmore is a nationally syndicated automotive journalist who for years has reviewed new vehicles, offering up a unique look and an interesting voice in his weekly national column titled Driver’s Side. He writes from a consumer viewpoint sharing his real-world view of vehicles. Jimmy has co-authored the book Mustang by Design, published by CarTech and it covers the 40-year career of Gale Halderman, the original designer of the first Mustang. Mustang by Design takes you on a journey from a design standpoint and features many inside stories correcting much of the misinformation surrounding this iconic pony car. One lucky Cars Yeah subscriber will win a copy of Jimmy’s book Mustang by Design compliments of Jimmy and CarTech books.

Amanda Gutierrez is the Vice-President for Automotive Restoration at McPherson College, offering the only accredited bachelor’s degree in historic automotive restoration in the United States. Amanda leads the team in strategic planning, fundraising, promotion, academics, and career services. Her work takes her around the country engaging with car collectors, restoration specialists, and industry leaders. In 2012, Amanda led the effort to create a strategic plan for the program, engaging automotive experts, alumni, faculty, and administration. The result was a vision to compete at Pebble Beach with a car restored by students. Amanda is a neophyte car enthusiast whose highlights so far include racing a 1963 Corvette in a regional “Run What you Brung” drag race, accepting the 2015 International Historic Motoring Award's Industry Supporter of the Year in London on behalf of the college, and driving the 1953 Hughes-Kircher Special in the Colorado Grand this year.

Dennis Savage is the Producer of the YouTube channel Bring ‘Em Back to Life. He spends his time traveling around the country interviewing salvage yard owners creating what he calls ‘Memory Candy’ through the old cars and trucks he finds and their caretakers. Dennis was raised riding in Model T’s and A’s, homemade doodlebugs, touring cars including a Pierce Arrow, and his Grandpa’s 1934 Rolls Royce. He and his fiancé Renee eloped in a ’57 Chevy he named ‘The Blue Angel, and that started a 50-year love affair with Tri-Five Chevrolets. Dennis loves the challenge of getting an old car running again and then making it go… and stop!

Rich Pepe and his best friend Frank DiPaola founded the Carmel Mission Classic, a Concours event that is held during Car Week in August at the 300-year-old Spanish Mission in Carmel, California. He is a retired New York City Police Department officer who has worked as an EMT, in law enforcement and the highway patrol. He caught the car bug early in life and his quest to go fast came in handy while working in the highway patrol. He started organizing car shows in the parking lot of St. Columbanus Church. That lead to the Carmel Mission Classic and they have raised close to a quarter million dollars for the Knights of Columbus and their charities. Pretty cool for two kids from Brooklyn. He also put together the unique Peekskill Vintage Grand Prix on the banks of the Hudson River. Today, Rich works at Deutsche Bank overseeing Health & Safety for all of the bank's offices located throughout the United States, Canada, and Latin America. Rich’s motto is, “Cars are made to be driven.”

Kevin Williams is the CEO of RGK Innovations, the maker of the Brush Hero, an innovative cleaning tool that is powered by water. Brush Hero was designed to be the best wheel brush ever and it can be used to clean muck off a multitude of surfaces. You’ll also find cleaning and detailing supplies on the Brush Hero website. This is Kevin’s 4th start up and his second in the automotive space. Prior to RGK, Kevin ran the international businesses of the largest canoe and kayak manufacturer in the world, developed environmental training systems in China, built the world’s first hot dog vending machine, and ran a 15 truck mobile tire installation business titled TireVan. RGK is a decentralized company with staff in five states and in five countries. 

Ed Golden is the owner of Golden Customs NY, the East Coast's premier fabrication specialists. Located an hour north from New York City in Pine Island New York, he’s been designing and building custom vehicles for over 30 years. He and his team do all the work from paint and body to custom interiors and audio systems, custom engine and driveline work, and complete automotive electronics. No doubt you’ve seen Ed on many of his television appearances including Overhaulin, with Jay Leno, Mike Rowe’s Returning the Favor, Car Wars with Funkmaster Flex, and on Gold Rush with Dave Turi, where he built a SEMA show truck. 

Mike Furnari is the Chief Business Development Officer at HyreCar. HyreCar is a car sharing marketplace for ridesharing. It’s a company that helps people find a car quickly by renting a vehicle that they can then use to earn income as a hired driver with Uber and or Lyft. The HyreCar motto is ‘Building Roads to Financial Freedom – One Driver, One Vehicle, One Road at a Time’. Mike participated in Seed, Series A, and Bridge fundraising rounds to expand HyreCar and he is also the primary point of contact with fleet operators including Uber and Lyft, and other strategic external relationships for the company. Prior to joining the executive team, Mike managed a fleet of vehicles on the HyreCar platform.

Patrick Thiele is a co-founder, along with his business partner, Gianni Cabiglio, of Corsa Lusso:The Enthusiast Coffee, an automotive-inspired lifestyle brand. Patrick manages daily operations, retail and e-commerce oversight, and business development opportunities.  As a lifelong motorsport enthusiast, Patrick grew up around a variety of cars, motorcycles, and boats, and learned at a very young age that his passion involved driving anything with a motor. Patrick also works as a consultant in the international trade industry, specializing in sales of food, hardware, equipment, and vehicles. When he is not working, Patrick enjoys traveling, snowboarding, drinking great coffee, and driving fun cars! We met at the Revival Road party and Pete Stout’s Rare Shades event at Bruce Canepa’s shop.