Cars Yeah With Mark Greene

Donnie Calloway has spent over 30 years restoring magnificent collectible cars, most of them Ferraris. It started with him growing up in Los Angeles, then working at Hollywood Sports Cars, and soon thereafter, spending time in Hawaii with an uncle learning to hand form aluminum bodies. He does complete restorations, does all his own engine work, documents the builds, and reassembles concours level cars that win first places and breaking world records at auctions. Donnie has worked on pretty much every Ferrari model made including 512 BBs, 365 2+2s, TDFs, James Coburn’s California Spyder, and many, many others.

Tom Glatch is an automotive photographer and author whose new book is titled The Complete Book of American Muscle Supercars. In 1983 he wrote his first article for Circle Track Magazine, a Peterson publication. He’s written many stories on numerous subjects including vintage racing and shot photographs for calendars and magazines including Collectible Automobile to Pontiac Enthusiast. He still works for the same Fortune 500 company that hired him out of high school in 1974 and he’s currently in the Global Supply Chain group as a data and systems analyst. This latest book, published by Motorbooks, is his first and covers American muscle cars including the Yenko, Shelby, Baldwin Motion, Grand Spaulding, Saleen, Callaway, and many more.

Jason Len is the President at XK’s Unlimited in San Luis Obispo, California. He is a worldwide supplier of Classic Jaguar parts and restores classic Jaguars and other collectible automobiles. He’s earned a worldwide reputation as an expert in his field after 43 years of business. Jason is a passionate sports car racer who started racing with the SCCA back in the mid 70s in an HP Sprite, a car he’s raced continuously every since. He ran an IMSA Corvette for a few years and he’s raced his E-Type Jaguar for 35+ years, originally in SCCA and now as a vintage racing participant. He also restores classic motorcycles and enjoyed touring on a bike and has been as far north as the Arctic Circle and south to Mexico City plus touring in the Western United States and Europe.

Warren Lubow owns and operations Wild About Cars Garage in Kirkland, Washington. He is a seasoned automotive expert with a deep knowledge in classic cars, the automotive industry, collections management, restorations, sales, and service. His 10,000 square foot facility is a place to store vehicles, host events, or just hang out with like-minded enthusiasts. Warren can assist you with automobile searches, consignment sales, and more. Warren’s spent time helping at the LeMay-America’s Cars Museum in Tacoma, Washington and oversees several automobile collections for his clients.

John Larson is the CEO of Bestop, the largest manufacturer of soft tops for Jeep Wrangler and CJ’s in the world. They are the sole supplier of factory soft tops for Jeep Wranglers since 1986. They have a long history of innovative and high-quality products. John worked at General Motors Corporation in several significant positions including General Director of Finance for U.S. Sales and General Manager of the Buick, Pontiac, and GMC Divisions. He was the CEO of Escort, a leading manufacturer of radar detectors and other automotive electronics accessories. John’s lectured at Purdue’s Krannert School of Management’s Executive Leadership series and is a guest lecturer at Northern Illinois University’s School of Business. He also serves as the Lead Director for the Board of KAR Auction Services, voted a top public company in Indiana.

Bill Atalla is the founder of Autoinformant, a social network for automotive enthusiasts. Often referred to as the “Facebook for Cars”, Autoinformant is building a powerful and growing community connected by a passion for cars helping others grow their interests. You create your own profile, build shareable pages for your cars, discover customized content based on your individual interests, and connect with like-minded automotive enthusiasts. Bill is also the Chairman and CEO of Tristrata, an internet software security company that provides comprehensive information security solutions for Fortune 500 corporations and governments worldwide. His 35 plus year career has focused in starting, building, and leading companies in diverse industries. Bill is also a life long classic car and auto racing fan.

George Levy is a Boston native whose name rhymes with Chevy. He’s a lifelong racing fan and his first car was a BRE-styled Datsun 510. He owns a number of Shelby Mustangs and lists among his major life achievements as dodging death by the hands of an international drug-smuggling cartel while visiting Carroll Shelby’s home in Mexico… while on his honeymoon. George is the former editor of Autoweek and sits on the board of directors of the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America. His latest venture is his new book titled Can-Am 50th Anniversary. The photography for this book is by Pete Biro, yesterday’s guest here on Cars Yeah.

Pete Biro is a photographer and journalist whose 50 plus year career started when Road & Track magazine asked him to supply them with a story on the Barneson Special, a custom-made sports car. The iconic David E. Davis Jr. discovered Pete’s work and gave him assignments for Car and Driver magazines. Pete and David traveled the world covering races including Le Mans, Grand Prix’s, and most major races and he shot for Sports Illustrated, Time, Life and many others. He met and became friends with many of the great drivers including: Dan Gurney, Phil Hill, Bruce Mclaren, Denny Hulme, Jackie Stewart, A.J. Foyt, Richard Petty and many others. He worked for Dan Gurney as a public relations guy during the time Bobby Unser won the Indy 500. His latest endeavor is supplying photos for the new book Can-Am 50th Anniversary collaborating with author George Levy.

Bogi Lateiner is a master mechanic and owner of the award winning auto repair shop, 180 Degrees Automotive in Phoenix, Arizona. A writer, a speaker, and a teacher, Bogi is passionate about improving the reputation of the automotive industry and changing the way women, in particular, feel about cars and the automotive repair experience. Bogi teaches automotive basics to women around the country, consults and teaches classes to repair shop owners and other small business owners, and appears as one of three female mechanics on All Girls Garage on Velocity Channel.

Mike Skinner’s racing career spans more than 40 years. He started racing in 1975 in a wrecked Plymouth Road Racer. He ran on dirt tracks, winning three championships, racing at night while holding down a day job to pay for his track time. He’s raced stock cars to NASCAR trucks both in the U.S.A. and abroad and in 1995 he was the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion. Mike’s worked in television and radio as a personality and today you can find him racing his NASCAR Trucks up the hill at Goodwood Festival of Speed, running in vintage racing events, and cohosting Skinner Round-Up on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. Mike supports charities through the annual “Skinner Round-Up For Charity” event, and serves as a spokesperson for Hope For The Warriors, a military nonprofit dedicated to restoring self, family, and hope for post-9/11 service members, veterans and military families. In 2013, Mike was inducted into the West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame. Currently he's the American "Stig" on the new Amazon series The Grand

Jim Carpenter is the owner of Italian Design and Racing in Mesa, Arizona. He's been modifying Ferraris since 1987 helping his customers fulfill their dreams. He and his team modify Ferrari bodies, chassis, engines, exhausts, gearboxes, and much more. He has designed and completed numerous convertible conversions for the Ferrari 308 models plus adding spoilers and accent parts. Racing though is Jim's true passion and he has completed many 308 model conversions to fully compliant SCCA race cars. His clients enjoy their cars in SCCA, historic, Ferrari club track and racing events. A recent build involved modifying a 330 GT 2+2 chassis using a Ferrari P4 style body plus a Ferrari 550 Maranello engine.

Nick Candee is the Vice Chair and Historian of the Aston Martin Owner’s Club East serving eastern Canada and the US. He is the former editor of The Vantage Point magazine, an Aston Martin Club publication and he is the Principal of Candee & Company with over 30 years of expertise in international corporate planning, specializing in Latin American markets. Nick just published a new book, co-authored with Stephen Archer titled The Aston Martin DB4GT published by Palawan Press in the United Kingdom. This 544 page book with over 800 photographs and illustrations examines in detail the history of every DB4GT manufactured including the design and development of the car. It is a definitive collectors book telling the brilliance and craftsmanship required to build these magnificent cars. 

Philip Caggiano is an automotive designer who combines his passion for luxury and collectable automobiles with his love of creating custom furniture where good design is the common thread. He is a designer, fabricator, and the President of his Design Firm in Westchester, New York. In addition to building custom cars and individualizing supercars Philip is a multi-disciplined designer, artisan, engineer, and fabricator who has mastered old world craftsmanship in the construction of his contemporary furniture where he holds multiple patents. He has refurbished classic cars and worked for Ferrari, Porsche, and BMW helping their motor sports teams. You’ll find him published in numerous magazines from Sports Car Market to Cavallino and the recipient of many design awards.

Neil Pitt is the President of Speed Digital in Charlotte, North Carolina. He is an experienced business and information technology leader who has worked in a variety of industries including retail, financial services, telecommunications, transportation, and information technology. Speed Digital creates proprietary software and digital platforms for a range of enthusiasts in the automotive and classic car industry. Their focus and commitment is dedicated to helping dealers increase profits through powerful, custom web and marketing solutions keeping their customers on the forefront of technology.

Scott Tucker is the General Manager at Borelli Motor Sports in San Jose, California. He is a highly experienced automotive technician, tuner, concours-level vintage automobile restorer, a college instructor, and skilled business manager. Working closely with the owner, Ralph Borelli, the team at Borelli Motor Sports provides their clients with the finest in performance automotive care and restoration. Scott was a calibration engineer and software developer for Dinan Engineering, North America’s largest BMW tuner. He was the service and restoration manager at Canepa Design where he cared for a wide variety of classic collector and vintage race cars. His long career around formidable automobile has allowed him drive everything from a Yugo to a Ferrari 250 GTO.

Keith Kaucher is an automotive designer and the owner of Kaucher Kustoms in Santa Monica, California. He has designed more than 60 custom cars ranging from a 1936 De Soto Airflow to a 2009 Camaro. He creates custom automobiles for clients around the world. He’s designed many wheels from aftermarket to OEM including the 2004 Mustang Bullit. The first of his designs he took to the Grand National Roadster show in 2006 won first place for Best Post War Hardtop Traditional Custom. Since then he’s earned numerous awards and trophies for his car designs. His latest car is the 1960 Buick named “Lectrafied” and it won the 2016 Grand National Roadster Show. When you ask Keith which of the cars he’s designed are his favorites you’ll hear him say, “My next design...”.

Joel Clark is an automotive artist who has had a career in the creative field since graduating from Central St. Martins in 1996. In the depths of the last recession he picked up a paintbrush and started creating. He works in a medium combining hand cut vinyl graphics in a collage form creating sculptures. His mix of bold, graphic colors result in a hand-crafted look creating a hyper-realism Pop Art style that transforms real objects, including vehicle parts, in to pieces that become surreal. His art invites the viewer to create their own narrative – such as “Where is the car and what is it doing there?”

Dick Ruzzin was an automobile designer and Director of Design for General Motors of Europe and Chevrolet, when he retired. He owns the only Corvette powered De Tomaso Mangusta built at the factory. During his career Dick worked on over 140 car design programs including the Opel Maxx, the inspiration for the Swatch Car. During his career he also created car design exhibits, automotive shows, design awards for NAIAS, furniture, Christmas parade floats, graphics for the Americas Cup and the Woodward Dream Cruise in Detroit. Since retiring he has written the book about the De Tomaso Mangusta, titled Bella Mangusta, penned magazine articles, and works in education as a mentor for design students.

Stephen Plaster is the Chairman and CEO of Evergreen Investments and the Managing Partner at Passport Transport and Champion Brands, in addition to being the Chairman and CEO of numerous other companies. Evergreen Investments is a private equity firm with a focus in the buyout of small to mid-sized companies where their portfolio includes: Champion Brands, Empire Pipeline, Empire Exploration, Passport Transport, and many other companies. Stephen’s passion for cars runs long and deep and part of his holdings include Evergreen Historic Automobiles, a facility for events and the collection. Passport Transport was founded in 1970 and is a leader in the shipping of fine automobiles around the country. He sits on the boards of many companies, and his automobiles have been displayed around the country including LeMay-America’s Car Museum where he received their Master Collector Award.

Jim Hazen is the Founder and Owner of The Drivers Society where they create exclusive accessories for the automotive enthusiast, both men and women. Their products are inspired by historic motorsports and classic automotive design. He works with designers, artists, and artisan manufacturers to conceive and produce the finest products available. Whenever possible he utilizes materials derived from classic and modern cars and incorporates them in to his products. The goal is to offer accessories and apparel that fuels the passion we enthusiasts have and bring style in to our lives. Jim is the former Chairman of the Aston Martin Owners Club, North America East and an avid proponent of racing pre-1960 vintage cars.