Cars Yeah With Mark Greene

Rob Siegel, a.k.a. ‘The Hack Mechanic’, has been writing his monthly column for the BMW Car Club of America’s Roundel Magazine for 30 years. His book Memoirs of a Hack Mechanic was published by Bentley Publishers in 2013 and he received rave reviews by The New York Times and Publisher’s Weekly. His newest book, The Hack Mechanic Guide to European Automotive Electrical Systems was published in June 2016. A car guy since he could walk, Rob has 13 cars including BMWs, a dead Lotus Europa Twin Cam Special which will be the car that sends him over the edge.

John Willhoit is the President of Willhoit Auto Restoration in Long Beach California. Since 1976 John and his talented team have been restoring and caring for Porsche 356s and older 911s. His goal has always been to be the best and they provide an extremely high level of quality and function. Willhoit restorations have won numerous concours events, and they have been featured in automotive magazines, YouTube videos, on Petrolicious, and he’s been featured on Jay Leno’s Garage. I’m proud to say I’ve owned a John Willhoit build so I know first hand that the quality he puts in to his cars is the finest.

Tony Colombini is an entrepreneur, designer, idea generator, teacher, chef, and founder of Blacktop Media Network. Blacktop includes an online and print magazine featuring Fuel Fed Kulture, Blacktop TV on YouTube, Blacktop Depot, the design and marketing studio Branding, Shocker Choppers Garage, and Art Martyr Gallery. He’s the VP at Mercifuls SoCal car club and past president of AIGA/OC (American Institute of Graphic Artist) and a board member at Platt College, Ontario Advisory Board Member.

Pawel Kalinowski is an artist, a designer, and the Founder of Car Bone, a website where he creates and sells automotive related stickers, emblems, garage wall art, clothing, and more. He’s a huge fan of the Porsche marque and a majority of his work is focused on early 911 cars. Located in Lodz, Poland, his customer come from all over the world to his website to find original looking stickers for their cars when restoring them to their stock look or fun graphics to customize their rides for a specific look.

John D’Agostino is the owner of Celebrity Kustoms / D’Agostino Kustoms in Discovery Bay, California. Born in Pittsburg, John got in to building and customizing model cars when he was a child. Inspired by the works of Barris, Winfield, Hines, Starbird, and Watson, John embarked on a lifelong journey of designing and building custom cars. He’s become an icon in the world of customs with numerous awards so extensive that they rival anyone in the business. He’s a prolific builder and his builds are in private collections and museums around the world.

Laura Milani is the Director and CEO at IAAD, the Italian University for Design located in Torino, Italy. IAAD offers students bachelors and masters of science in design degrees in numerous areas of study including digital communication design, textile and fashion design, and courses in design of transportation means and mobility. Laura studied architecture and design after high school and specialized in marketing communications and international marketing. At only 28 years of age she became Director at IADD in 2000. 

Dean Kirkland is a highly accomplished photographer and commercial, television, and film director. With a unique style he transitioned from an A-list photographer to a respected filmmaker with clients including Lamborghini, Clint Eastwood, and more. He teamed with Le Mans winning driver Rick Knoop and established K&K Productions. Their first project is an engaging look in to the Pebble Beach Road Races from 1950 through 1956 titled ‘Racing Through the Forest’ debuting this Autumn. Next up a TV show and documentary including Parnelli Jones, Bobby and Al Unser, Mario Andretti, and Carroll Shelby.

Chris Jacobs is a television host and personality. He was the host of the hit TV series Overhaulin’ with Chip Foose for over 100 episodes and appeared with past Cars Yeah guest and Overhaulin’ co-host Adrienne AJ Janic. He was the lead host for the Barrett-Jackson Collector Car Auctions airing on Velocity. Chris has appeared on numerous show including: The Insider’, Entertainment Tonight, Chopper Live, and Gold Rush Live on the Discover Channel plus the radio show SpeedFreaks. He has also hosted for the TV infomercial CarMD, was a presenter for the NFL Network and Skyscraper Live and he’s the Discover Channel’s go-to host for live events. This year Chris hosts the television show Long Lost Family on TLC.

Gene Langmesser is the President and CEO of N2A Motors in Orange County California. N2A Motors is an auto manufacturer with a mission of reviving the art of American coach building. The N2A moniker is an abbreviation of “No Two Alike” which profiles the company vision. He and his talented team take everything you love about automobiles, classics, retro, and modern sports car and they build them in to new vehicles with state-of-the-art performance, safety, and reliability. Gene’s extensive years of domestic and international experience in both aerospace and automotive sectors bring N2A Motors viable leadership.

Kim Wolfkill is the editor-in-chief of Road & Track. This role marks a return to Road & Track as he spent more than six years at the brand rising to editor from 2003 to 2006. Kim was most recently the senior business and partner manager for Microsoft’s Turn 10 Studios where he supported partnerships for the Forza Motorsport game franchise on Xbox. He also held the role as executive editor at MSN Carpoint. Kim has taught auto racing professionally and competed in the Grand-Am Cup, SPEED World Challenge, the American Le Mans Series, and the Porsche Michelin Supercup.

Jeff Trask is the President of the Porsche 356 Club of Southern California. He’s also a salesman at European Collectibles in Newport Beach, California. At European Collectibles they sell the finest in collector quality European sports cars with a focus on the Porsche marque. They offer consignments, parts, show quality restorations, financing, and two locations, one in Costa Mesa and the other in Newport Beach. Jeff’s had businesses in the boating industry, he’s raced cars, and is very active in the Porsche 912 Registry and 356 Club.

Laurance Yap is the Director of Marketing at Pfaff Automotive Partners, a multiple marque dealers in Ontario, Canada. Pfaff Motors sells Mclaren, Porsche, Audi, Volkswagen, BMW, Pagani, Singer Vehicle Design, and Toyota along with specialty tuning and autoworks services. Laurance has written freelance for newspapers and worked for six years at Porsche as a public relations manger and director of marketing. He also worked at RM Auctions as their Director of Marketing. 

David Benardo is the CEO, Director of R&D, and RetroFuturist of Zelectric Motors based in San Diego, California. There they take classic VW's and insert electric motors wrapping the future in the past. The timeless character of a vintage VW Bug or Van can now be enjoyed in a new way using today’s future-forward technology. You can bring David and his talented team your own Bug, van, Porsche or Ghia and they will zelectrify your air-cooled classic in to a modern form of transportation. Or Zelectric will find a car to restore and convert for you, all by hand and to your specifications. David spent 30 years as a creative director specializing in computer tech and he graduated from Art School in San Francisco.

Tom Larson is the Founder and Executive Director at Motorcycle Relief Project in Evergreen, Colorado. Tom and his team take veterans suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and other invisible injuries on five-day therapeutic motorcycle adventures designed to help them take steps toward recovery. His past ventures include writing and marketing consulting, he was the Director at Zambikes where they provided bicycles and motorcycle ambulances in Africa, and he was the Founder at Healing Waters International where they provided safe drinking water to poor communities in developing countries.

David Donner is a 28 year racing veteran and former overall winner and current title-holder in Time Attack 2 at the Pike’s Peak International Hill Climb. In fact he is a five-time winner at Pikes Peak. In 2015 he piloted a 2014 Porsche 911 Turbo S for a win. He raced at the 24 Hours of Daytona, the Monterey Historic Races, driving a 1971 Ferrari 512M and he’s raced in the Panoz Pro Series and the American Le Mans Series. He’s raced internationally in New Zealand as well. David is an entrepreneur, philanthropist and he’s appeared in numerous television commercials for Range Rover, Audi, Subaru, and Porsche.

Tom Croteau serves as Deputy Commissioner, Global Commerce for the Georgia Department of Economic Development. His role is to lead Georgia’s Global Commerce team to increase jobs and investments through locating and expanding businesses. Tom joined the department in 1996 and has worked in a number of other capacities within the agency. He’s involved in number of organizations and associations and currently serves on the board of the Georgia Economic Developers Association and the Georgia Quick Start Industry Services Advisory Council. One of the automotive industries prominent companies is Kia who’s U.S. manufacturing base is in Georgia. 

Mitch Snow,a Colorado Springs native, is one of the youngest professional international motorsport promoters and event organizers in the world. He serves as the Director of Promotion & Legacy at The Broadmoor Pikes Peak International Hill Climb Brought to you by Gran Turismo. Over 50 years ago his Grandfather Charlie served on the race’s technical committee, sponsored the event, and opened the doors of Snow Automotive to give out of town competitors a place to wrench on their race cars throughout the grueling race week.  Mitch’s father raced the hill and took Mitch to his first race in 1995; and he hasn’t missed a race since. Today Mitch uses his passion for the race and extensive knowledge of its history to promote recreational tourism throughout the Pikes Peak Region and develop the future of America’s second oldest motorsports event.

Jay Blake is the owner and crew chief at Follow A Dream, a non-profit organization established in 1999 with the mission of demonstrating the power of positive thinking, self determination, and teamwork through NHRA drag racing. Jay owns a professional motorsport team, he works on the cars, engines, and provides his team with enthusiasm and determination. Jay travels with Follow A Dream as a motivational speaker, helping people overcome adversity, challenge, and crisis by sharing his story and inspiring others to pursue their dreams. Jay has first hand knowledge when it comes to challenge. At the age of 31 he lost his eyesight in an accident and today he is the only totally blind, race crew chief in the world.

Jacques Flynn is an industrial designer, automotive designer, and leather goods innovator. He graduated with a degree in transportation design from Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California. He is a Lead Exterior Designer working at Mazda’s Design Studio in Irvine, California where his latest project was the exterior designs for the 2016 MX-5 automobiles. In 2012 he founded JAQET after being frustrated and unable to find a leather wallet that met his standards. He learned about working in leather and put his design skills to work creating a line of handcrafted leather goods including: wallets, lanyards, iPad portfolios, belts, and more.

Rob Pitts is the owner of Pitts Truck Service in Greenville, South Carolina. This 40-year-old company has been providing truck and trailer repair from light service to full overhauls. Last year Rob started Hot Rods & Happy Hour, a monthly car event like the well-known cars and coffee events that take place across the country. His event has grown and will be expanding to other states. Along with getting like-minded enthusiasts together to enjoy their cars, trucks, and motorcycles, Hot Rods & Happy Hour raises money to help children affected by Autism. All the proceeds from their shirt sales and more go toward helping children who suffer from this disease.