Cars Yeah With Mark Greene

Amber Blonigan founded Gi Automotive in Beverly Hills, California in 2004. Amber is one of the most accomplished females in the high end automotive and aftermarket industry. Her business is a premier automotive repair and service center focusing in high-end marques including BMW, Lamborghini, Mercedes, Porsche, Ferrari, Rolls Royce, Aston Martin, Bentley, and McLaren catering to both luxury and exotic automobile owners. Amber’s passion for cars pushes her to strive to provide her customers with the best experience possible when caring for their prized automobiles. She owns and drives exotics and at Gi Automotive, they offer maintenance, repairs, plus performance and restyling upgrades. 

Randy Carlson is the owner and founder of Carchaeology.com, Oldbug.com, and Californiacar.com. He has been a very active member of the SoCal automotive scene since the 1980’s providing a platform for buyers and sellers. Randy is an old car, odd car, and Volkswagen know-it-all. He is an appraiser and automotive TV show host and his awards, appearances, and magazine features keep growing. You’ve seen him on Discovery Channel’s Sticker Shock, on Jay Leno’s Garage, the web series Barn Find Hunter, and in The Bug Movie. Randy’s also played a part in Lords of the Car Hoards, Rusted Development, Monster Garage, Herbie Fully Loaded and in numerous magazines as well. 

Alex Ostanin is the Co-Founder and CTO of Hudway. Also joining us today is Nadia Noskova, Chief Operating Officer. They provide hardware and software solutions that enhance driving safety and comfort while staying connected behind the wheel. Products include their Glass, Cast and the Hudway Go app that are used by over 4 million drivers and riders worldwide. Their Hudway Sight is an AR heads-up display for cyclists and motorcyclists that attaches to the rider’s helmet within the drivers’ line of sight and a brain that mounts on the back of the helmet to transmit information to the lens. In addition to his launching the hardware products for Hudway, Alex also founded a legal consulting company in 2004 that specializes in bankruptcy and crisis management. He is a skilled driver who loves to rally race in Europe and Russia. 

Roberto Guerrero is a professional race car driver who started racing at the age of twelve when he captured two Colombian National Championships in the country where he was born. His father, Roberto Guerrero Sr., competed in the 1948 Olympic Games in cycling representing Argentina. Roberto raced Formula Fords, Formula 3, and raced for the German Maurer-BMW Team in European Formula 2. He joined the Morris Nunn Formula 1 Team and raced for two years in the Formula 1 World Championship. In 1984, he started racing Indy Cars and in 1992, he won the Pole Position for the Indianapolis 500 setting the one and four-lap records of 232.618 mph. He’s raced off-road, the Baja 1000, and NASCAR, and today he’s a pro driver, lead driver, product specialist, broadcaster, and instructor in numerous automotive venues and marques. I was fortunate to catch up with Roberto at the Monterey Historic Races this past summer where he was representing Jaguar.

Bruce Meyers grew up in Southern California during the days of drag racing, surfing, and dune buggies. Bruce designed and built the first lightweight dune buggie and called the Meyers Manx. He built the first 12, all monocoque bodies, in 1964. The first Meyers Manx was named Old Red and Bruce still owns that Manx today. B.F. Meyers & Co. built 5,280 Meyers Manx kits, several hundred Manx II’s and 1,000 Meyers Tow’ds, a few hundred Manx SR’s and 75 Resorters/Turista’s - a total of nearly 7,000 kits. He started a storm that became an icon. Old Red beat the standing Tijuana to La Paz motorcycle record by over five hours culminating in the first Baja off-road race. Old Red was inducted into the Historic Vehicle Register as a car of significant design and construction. Today Bruce and his wife, Winnie, run Meyers Manx Inc. which offers 5 different models of kit cars out of Southern California.

Tod Warmack and his brother Scott along with partner Jim Dowling in Tallahassee, Florida collaborated with graphic designer Kevin Morgan to bring to life the vision of a modern-day Trans Am. And that’s exactly what this team did building these iconic cars for enthusiasts. Starting as Trans Am Depot in 2011, Tod, his brother, and their team, partnered with legendary Hurst Performance making history as the first ever licensed Hurst Edition Trans Am. Demand grew and their small shop became a full production facility. Today, Trans Am Depot and Trans Am Worldwide builds retro-mods, restores classics as well as offering new technology muscle cars with a classic retro look and feel. You can enjoy Tod on Discovery’s all-new Trans Am TV show that premieres today, Tuesday, October 2 at 10:00 PM ET/PT.  If you missed yesterday’s Cars Yeah show with Tod’s brother Scott, you’ll find it on the Cars Yeah website.

Scott Warmack, his brother Tod, along with partner Jim Dowling of Tallahassee, Florida, collaborated with graphic designer Kevin Morgan to bring to life the vision of a modern-day Trans Am. And that’s exactly what this team did, building cars for enthusiasts. Starting as Trans Am Depot in 2011, Scott, his brother, and their team, partnered with the legendary Hurst Performance making history as the first ever licensed Hurst Edition Trans Am. Demand grew and their small shop has become two full production facilities. Today, Trans Am Depot and Trans Am Worldwide build retro-mods and restore classics as well as offer new technology muscle cars with a classic retro look and feel. You can enjoy Scott and the team on Discovery’s all-new Trans Am TV show that premieres tomorrow, Tuesday, October 2 at 10:00 PM ET/PT.  Don’t miss tomorrow’s show when I talk with Scott’s brother, Tod Warmack, here on Cars Yeah.  

Gary Bennett is the Vice President of Consignment for Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers. His career in the collector car industry has spanned over 45 years by actively buying, selling, and participating in the collector industry. Known for his knowledge of cars and extreme honesty, integrity, and credibility, he spent 17 years as Vice President of Barrett-Jackson Auctions. During his time, they grew from $18M to $130M in sales and saw attendance grow from 70,000 to 350,000 for their signature event alone. Gary has been President of Lister North America, Lister Restoration and of Coach Connection. Aside from his love of automobiles, he is also passionate about motorcycles, he’s raced vintage NASCAR, Trans-AM, European sports cars, and open wheel racecars as well. No doubt you’ve seen his writing for the New York Times, Autoweek, Motor Trend, and many other publications and seen him on numerous automotive television shows.

Muffy Bennett is the CEO at Bennett Automotive Specialists and the Director of New Business Development at Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers in Phoenix, Arizona. Her addiction for all things wheeled began as a child. After a successful 17-year career as a paralegal, she became Operations Director for ASAA Auction Company. She then opened a collector car dealership and in 2013, she was asked to set up a retail dealership division for Barrett-Jackson Auction known as the Barrett-Jackson Collection offering a full-service center, detailing, insurance, sales, and more. Muffy and her husband, Gary, were recruited to spearhead Ritchie Bros. Auction company’s entry into the collector car auction niche. She retains her collector car dealership and specializes in brokering to elite and celebrity clientele. When she’s not chasing cars, Muffy enjoys riding motorcycles, target shooting, being a Professional Ringman for charity auctions, and judging for the annual International Auctioneer’s Championship. 

Steven Aghakhani is a 15-year-old racer who started racing go-karts, when he was just seven years old, after spending time at the racetrack with his father. When Steven was ready to move from go-kart racing to exotics, he began training with Michael Essa, the 2013 Formula Drift Champion. Steven was named US RaceTronics’ development driver at the age of 13 and has set record speeds for his age and he just secured an FIA Pro license scheduled to be active for his 16th birthday next year. His racing this year included first place titles at the NASA and SCCA pro series southern region championship. Steven currently drives the Huracán Super Trofeo Evo.

Sam Schmidt is a former IndyCar driver and the current co-owner of Schmidt-Peterson Motorsports in Indianapolis, Indiana. He grew up working on racecars and his father was a drag racer. At the age of 32, he embarked on his first season of IndyCar competition and he became a pole and race winner in 1999. Sam was severely injured in a testing accident at Walt Disney World Speedway and was later diagnosed as a quadriplegic due to a severe injury to his spinal cord. Sam was not deterred and he forged on to create The Conquer Paralysis Now Foundation and Sam Schmidt Motorsports, just 14 months after his accident. Despite Sam remaining paralyzed from his chest down, he has been granted a drivers license, the first of its kind, which allows him to drive a semi-autonomous vehicle.

Peter Higham has been working in the British Motorsport Press since 1986 when he joined Autosport. His time with Autosport spans 28 years and includes running the annual Autosport Awards, a little party for 1,200 guests ranging from Ayrton Senna to Richard Petty, Lewis Hamilton, and Mario Andretti. Peter managed their photographic archives for 17 years and was Autosport and F1 Racing Magazine’s Publishing Director before going freelance in 2014. His first book, The Guinness Guide to Motor Racing came out in 1993 and was updated as the International Motor Racing Guide a decade later. His three-volume World Encyclopedia of Racing Drivers was published in 2013 and he is currently working on a decade-by-decade history of Formula 1–F1 Car-by-Car, with the 1960s and 1970s, already published. 

Chris Corrado is an automotive artist from Boston, Massachusetts. He studied at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, and Art Center College of Design and Concept Design Academy in Los Angeles. He loves to draw hot rods and concept cars in a loose and colorful style.

Jim Osborn, MD, is an orthopedic spine surgeon, Assistant Professor at UT College of Medicine and the Chairman of the Board and Co-Founder at the Austin Hatcher Foundation. The mission of the Austin Hatcher Foundation is to erase the effects of pediatric cancer and to optimize each child’s quality of life through essential, specialized intervention beginning at the time of diagnosis and continuing throughout survivorship. So what does this have to do with cars, hot rods, and racing?  Their new Education Advancement Center includes programs available for individuals along with families in which to participate including the Hot Rodders of Tomorrow Engine Building Challenge and Driving Performance Improvement Programs in simulators. They are also the Proud Charities recipients of the International Motor Sports Association, (IMSA).

Ryan Truax is the President and Founder of Advanced Fuel Dynamics, a company that manufactures performance flex fuel systems that bring E85 to the bolt-on world. E85 ethanol is used in engines modified to accept higher concentrations of ethanol. His systems unlock performance that is unattainable when running on gasoline and allow performance enthusiasts to safely and reliably make big power with E85. Ryan has been a gearhead all his life and he was an early pioneer in using E85 as a race fuel. He’s a foremost expert on E85 and flex-fuel technology.

Tom Perazzo is a Porsche enthusiast who enjoys wrenching on old cars as much as he loves driving them. His passion to share his enthusiasm spurred him to launch a YouTube channel he calls Ahhgaragetime, where he shares his car restoration tips and tricks geared toward DIY’ers. Tom has designed and manufactured a handful of car-related products that support his ongoing restoration addiction which include VW/Porsche engine test stands, custom Porsche 356 toe boards, and some rust repair parts. After tackling a Porsche 356 restoration, he dove into a Porsche 911 and Ahhgaragetime became a weekly restoration vlog. Cars don't need to be a money pit if you’re willing to learn to do it yourself, and as we all know, the journey is often more fun than the destination.

Her Royal Highness, Vidita Singh of Barwani started her career as a professional automotive artist about 15 years ago. Her passion for automobiles has been passed down for generations from her great-grandfather onward. He was the Maharaja of the state of Barwani in Central India and one of the first people to bring the steam locomotive and paved roadways into Central India. Her father, past Cars Yeah guest, His Royal Highness Rana Manvendra Singh, is a renowned figure in the automobile industry and was responsible for bringing a magnificent collection of the Cars of the Maj to Pebble Beach this summer. Vidita works in a range of mediums including oils, charcoals, and watercolors. She alludes to the novelty automobiles that were in the bygone era and the artistic and mechanical masterpieces they are today. I had the distinct pleasure of meeting Vidita at the AFAS event on the lawn at Pebble Beach during the Concours last month.

Mark Nureddine is the CEO of Bull Outdoor Products, a company that provides grills, islands, and grilling components to over 900 dealers and distributors within North America and an additional 15 other countries and growing. For most people, tinkering, and testing on open flame grills in your garage is not advised but Mark is not most people. His efforts with developing grills in a closed environment led to his success. He grows his own grapes in his vineyard in Lodi, California, and is a hobbyist winemaker along with having a passion for international culinary endeavors. He is a Certified Barbeque Judge for the Kansas City Barbeque Society and served as a judge for Bull Outdoor Products and their Bull Burger Battle. Mark is also an enthusiastic car collector and international auto enthusiast having traveled the world attending car events. His company is also the Ironstone Concours Tour Sponsor for 2018.

Karl Ludvigsen lives in Suffolk, England, and is respected as a close and knowledgeable observer of, and participant in, the world of motor industry. In addition to his activities as an executive at GM, Fiat, and Ford, and head of a consulting company, he has been active for over 60 years as an author and historian. As an author, co-author or editor, he has some five dozen books to his credit, most concerning cars, drivers, racing, and technology, which is his life-long passion. Many have been garlanded for their high standard of writing and research. His newest book, Reid Railton: Man of Speed, is a two-volume set that tells the story of Cheshire-born, Reid Antony Railton, an engineer par excellence and his life creating an extraordinary range of cars.

Bob Devlin is a fourth generation Californian having grown up in his family’s native Sacramento prior to moving to Pebble Beach at the age of 14 where he enjoyed the second running of the Pebble Beach Races and Concours d’Elegance. Bob started competing in Sports Car and Formula Junior racecars in 1957 and took to Concours judging some forty years ago. He just completed his 32nd year at Pebble Beach as a Class, Chief of Class, and now Honorary Judge. He has authored or co-authored more than 135 articles for various automotive and travel magazines and event-related programs. Bob authored two books:  Pebble Beach, a Matter of Style, in 1980, and Pebble Beach, The Art of the Poster, in 2003. He has begun his third year of teaching at The Academy of Art University: The History of Automotive Design. Bob is also an Ironstone Concours d’Elegance Board Member.