The festivities began with a kickoff celebration at Temple SF. To call it a party would be an understatement. Drivers rocked out to a performance by the Cuban Brothers, enjoyed cocktails, and mingled with celebrities on the red carpet. Not before long, it was time to retire and try to salvage a few hours sleep before the epic journey began.

Saturday’s start of the Rally brought flocks of fans to the top of Nob Hill. The sounds of revving V-12s echoed off the buildings, and brought excitement to the air. The final destination is Beijing, with half of the cars going the full distance. The caravan takes a slight detour to Pyongyang, North Korea, a first for an event of this kind. The cars will be flown direct via massive cargo planes to China, whereas drivers will enjoy an All First Class Boeing 767 across the Pacific, and spend a day as spectators at the Mass Games.

The field of cars contained the standard fare; Lambos, Porsches, and Ferarris. This is to be expected. This years’ Rally included a greater number of classic cars, cars that you can’t walk into the dealership, throw down your Amex Black, and roll. These are vehicles of passion, and you could see the attention to detail put into preparing the cars for the race. The decal application alone went deep into the night on Friday, thanks to the dedication of the Rally’s production staff.

The Drivers Meeting put everyone in the right frame of mind; all that was left to do was load the luggage and get rolling to Los Angeles. A quick lap through the City of San Francisco was in order, which would not be complete without including Lombard St., the most crooked street in the world. The field returned once again to the Fairmont Hotel to receive the green flag, and off they went.

The Gumball is off and running. As sad as we are to see it leave the City by the Bay, we take comfort knowing the 11th installment will have it back again in the USA for 2009. Los Angeles to Miami, with all the fun spots in between. Something tells me they will outdo themselves again, as they do every year.

In addition to offering race courses, FAST LANE Racing School also provides courses for new/teen drivers. Their Defensive Driving Academy, an extension of FAST LANE, is also involved in the “development and management of Toyota Driving Expectations, a free program offered to teens and parents throughout the United States.”

Press release follows for more on FAST LANE Racing School and the Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race:

An eclectic roster of stars of film, television and sports will strap into brand new race-ready Scion tCs to vie for the checkered flag in the world’s longest-running, most successful celebrity racing event: the Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race on Saturday, April 19, part of the 34th annual Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach.

For the 23rd year, Danny McKeever and FAST LANE Racing School, the Official Racing School of Toyota Motorsports, will provide all driver training for this coveted event. Participants are required to attend a four-day high performance course at FAST LANE, where they will prepare for their racing adventure in Long Beach, CA, April 20. Regardless of previous experience, all participants start with the basics such as braking and skid control, and work their way up to advanced racing techniques, such as heel-toe downshifting, passing and simulated race starts.

“It’s the camaraderie that occurs in these four days of training that makes this event special,” said Mckeever, a 40-year teaching veteran and CEO of FAST LANE. “To watch a NASCAR pro like Mike Skinner or Todd Bodine come out along side of someone who barely knows how to drive a manual transmission, and watch each participant meet or exceed their personal limits is exciting and rewarding.”

Based at Willow Springs Raceway (just north of Los Angeles), FAST LANE offers various courses in driver training, from a Teen Defensive Driving School to Advanced Racing Schools and everything in between. Racing school participants can be taught in the same race-prepared Toyota Celicas that were previously used in the Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race, or have the option of bringing their own high performance car. Either way, these courses are guaranteed to get the adrenaline pumping with high performance driving techniques such as high-speed cornering, extreme braking and ultimate skid control.

The Defensive Driving Academy educates new drivers in advanced behind-the-wheel driving skills. The one-day course explores the dynamics of a vehicle, exploring ultimate cause and effect behind-the-wheel. It’s a safe environment where these young drivers can experience a vehicle out of control as slower speeds and learn how to recover properly.

“Our driver education system does not prepare new drivers as well as it could,” explains McKeever, who opened the doors of Defensive Driving Academy nearly five years ago as an extension of FAST LANE. “We continue to improve the safety and technology of our vehicles, and we need to give that same attention to the new drivers. They can greatly benefit from these additional skills training.”

Defensive Driving Academy is also proud to be involved in the development and management of Toyota Driving Expectations, a free program offered to teens and parents throughout the United States.

2008 Pro/Celebrity Participants

Drew Lachey
Raymond Cruz
Wilmer Valderrama
Eric Dickerson
John Salley
Daniel Goddard
Jamie Little
Nancy Lieberman
Brad Lewis
William Fichtner

There’s another group of magicians, practicing their craft not in amphitheaters or arenas, but in body shops and metal fabrication shops – they’re called “fabricators,” “hot rod builders,” and “metalsmiths.” A handful have reached super star status, building cars that grace magazine covers, win awards and dazzle millions of car lovers. California native Chip Foose is one of those designer/fabricators, having designed and built some of the world’s most famous hot rods, show cars and concept cars. He’s also becoming a household name, thanks in part to his incredibly popular television show, OverHaulin’.

Chip Foose, 41, has a surreal knack for design and fabrication. He also happens to have a penchant for racking up awards, having earned his fair share of top industry awards in a relatively short amount of time. For anyone else, winning a single coveted “Ridler Award” or a single America’s Most Beautiful Roadster (AMBR) award is an honor. Foose has won two Ridler awards and has been involved with six AMBR winners – all in a period of less than five years. Copious amounts of mysterious black art aside, it’s hard work and a healthy dose of unparalleled talent that is responsible for Fooses’ rapid ascent to the pinnacle of the hot rod world.

When we caught up with Foose at his Huntington Beach shop, he introduced himself, said hello, and then asked us to bear with him while he tended to a few emergencies. His assistant, Lynne Stout, asked him how much sleep he’d gotten last night, to which he replied, “Last night? None. But I got about 2 hours earlier this morning, so I feel great.” And with that, he ran to his crew of employees and began helping them iron out the details on his forthcoming Ridler-nominee, which is as of this moment unnamed.

The Foose Design shop is situated on a cozy side-street in a small industrial park in Huntington Beach. The shop employs about a dozen people, two of whom you may recognize from another television show: Charley Hutton and Andrew (aka “Beetle Bailey”). The two recently joined Foose after departing Boyd Coddington’s shop.

After spending about thirty minutes at the shop, we followed Chip to his home, where we photographed him with one of his most infamous creations, “The Speedbird.” The Speedbird began life as a 2002 Ford Thunderbird, before undergoing the skillful manipulation of Foose; emerging as the Best of Show award winner for the 2002 Las Vegas SEMA show. As we marveled at the Speedbird’s smooth lines, innovative components and timeless design, we asked Foose what motivated him. We wanted to know what inspired him and to what (or whom) he credits his amazing talent.

“First and foremost, I credit my father, Sam. He’s the inspiration for everything I do. My wife, Lynne is also an unbelievable person. She puts up with me, supports me and inspires me, no matter how busy or crazy things get,” said Foose. “Thirty four years of hard work probably helps as well,” he added with a chuckle.

The Foose family garage hosts several memorable Foose show cars, but Chip Foose’s daily driver is a late-model Ford F150, complete with Foose wheels and a throaty exhaust system. It’s his primary mode of transportation, although he’s not adverse to exercising his works of rolling art. Earlier, while at the shop, we admired his jet-black, 1969 Camaro. Chip told us he had taken it to a burn-out competition a few nights ago, then parked it at the shop when he was done. “I don’t drive it as often as I’d like to,” he says. “But worst of all, it’s filthy right now. I need to get out and wash it.”

Where he’d find the time is beyond us. It was Thursday afternoon when we met with Chip, and he confided that he’d had a total of five hours sleep for the week, including the two he grabbed earlier that morning. Besides the projects he’s currently managing at his own shop, he’s busy with his hit television show, OverHaulin’. “We’re on day five of the build, and we’re a bit behind,” he says candidly. “And to make matters worse, I have to fly to Detroit tonight for a meeting, then fly back tomorrow afternoon to finish the build.” (Top Right: Chip Foose pictured with Overhaulin’ host Courtney Hansen.)

We told you he’s a machine.

As we looked around his garage at the drawings, the paintings, the sketches and the vehicles, we asked about his design preferences. Was there any type of vehicle that he preferred to work with, a specific era, or body style? “As long as it’s got wheels and a motor, I love it,” Foose said with a big smile. “I love the look of a balanced design. Balance comes from getting the stance, the wheels and tires, and the continuity right. Once you can achieve proper proportion, you’ve got a great looking vehicle.”

He continued, “The general shape doesn’t matter if the balance is there. I prefer an elegant design over something ‘hard’ or ‘trendy.’ You know a good design when it’s timeless… If it still looks great in 20 years, you’ve done your job. I try to keep my designs creative and pure, which keeps me (and them) honest.”

Foose’s designs are indeed timeless, elegant and balanced, which may explain why he’s regularly called upon by major auto makers to design concepts and show cars on their behalf. His hands-on, honest, and open approach to tackling a major project is refreshing. He believes in taking an organized approach, one that’s free of “bossiness” or barking orders at people. “I ask people to take responsibility for their projects, and I hold them accountable for their actions,” says Foose. “But I don’t try to boss them around or pressure them. If I can help out, I’ll jump in and help.”

And the efforts of guys like Chip Foose have a trickle-down effect, influencing many segments of the automotive world. We shudder to think what might happen were it not for guys like Foose – odds are we’d still be driving cars that look like the mid-eighties K-Cars.

Jumping in to help is the name of the game over at the OverHaulin’ build. For this particular episode, the OverHaulin’ crew finds themselves at another local shop, Stitchcraft, and the vehicle du jour is a vintage 1950’s GMC pick-up truck. The owner has no idea (yet) what’s happening with his truck, because the magicians at OverHaulin’ have him fooled into thinking his truck has been stolen. Unlike traditional magicians, the OverHaulin’ folks will share the trick at the end of the show, and the owners’ reactions are priceless.

“For me, seeing the look on the owner’s face is the most rewarding part of the show. It’s almost overwhelming to see their response, and it’s the whole reason I do it. We worked hard to make their dream come true,” says Foose.

For those unfamiliar with The Learning Channel’s show, OverHaulin’, the basic premise is simple. Take an unsuspecting vehicle owner and with the help of an insider (usually a close friend of the victim), “steal” their vehicle, dupe them into thinking something terrible has happened to it, then work like crazy for seven days (and nights) to completely overhaul the vehicle into their dream car. The show is a pure rush, as the cameras capture both sides of the story, and give the viewer a real behind-the-scenes look into how an ordinary junker is magically transformed into a show quality work of art.

“Bud [Brutsman] and I came up with the idea to do a show where we’d transform a car in seven days,” says Foose. “And here we are, a year later, making people’s dreams come true.”

The OverHaulin’ crew consists of Chip Foose (lead designer), Courtney Hansen (host) and Chris Jacobsen (host). Courtney and Chris usually have roles in each show that require them to assist with deceiving the owner. Chris usually plays the bad guy, a police officer, or an insurance adjuster, while Courtney has played roles as the tow truck driver, shop owner, and so on. The show is produced by BCCI for TLC, and at any one time, there are as many as sixty people involved with the show’s production.

Jim Holloway, Associate Producer for OverHaulin’ said they assemble a group of seven or eight “A-Team” builders about four to five days before the taping starts. The builders are all volunteers, and are usually masters of their craft. They realize they have to work hard and that they have to work together to accomplish the build in the short seven days. “They work together,” he says. “There’s a sense of camaraderie amongst them.” In the past, builders have left the build, at which point Chip Foose will usually call on a friend or cohort to help finish the build.

“We couldn’t do the show without the builders or our sponsors,” says Holloway. “We bring on six or seven sponsors, and they provide us with incredible support – something that we’re extremely grateful for.” The set is covered with the names and logos of various sponsors, many of whom often assist with the build.

As we watched the A-team work its magic, we were immediately impressed with their precision. A group of three fabricators were working on the front end of the truck, welding, grinding and filling near the same area, at the same time. Another group was fitting wheel wells to the back of the truck, while another builder put the finishing touches on the seat foam. Tucked away in the corner, two more fabricators worked on the truck’s new motor.

During the two hour period that we were on the set, the truck’s body was removed and sent to the paint shop, the frame was final sanded and sent off for powder coating, and the interior was fitted with a new leather upholstery. No bolt, no wire, and no panel is left untouched. The team, led by Chip Foose, completely reworks the vehicle and when they’re finished, Holloway estimates the value of each vehicle to be around $150,000. “But in reality, they’re priceless,” he says. “Chip’s so busy that it’s almost impossible to get a car from the Foose shop, no matter how much money you’ve got.”

With the truck shipped off for paint and powder coating, the build team caught their first chance to take a breather. The catering company had just arrived with dinner, and everyone grabbed a plate and plopped down on the nearest comfortable surface to rest and eat. Well almost everyone. Chip was running again, on his way to Detroit for a 12-hour marathon of meetings. He was scheduled to be back on the build set in less than 24 hours.

“Chip is amazing,” said the show’s script supervisor, Magen Callaghan. “He’s the nicest guy you’ll ever meet, and he’ll drop everything to help you. He talks to everyone, no matter who they are or how busy he is. I think the whole crew admires him not only because of what he’s capable of, but because of who he is.”

Magen summed things up pretty well. Every good magician entrusts his secrets to a select few. Many choose to surround them selves with a dedicated group of assistants, swearing them to secrecy and relying on their loyalty and dedication. Chip Foose surrounds himself with the world’s most talented fabricators, friends and associates. But rather than using a wand, he works his magic with a pen, raw sheet metal, a welding stick, heaps of old world craftsmanship-like talent, and a crew of truly skilled people.

Be sure to catch OverHaulin’ on TLC, Tuesday nights at 9:00pm Eastern and Pacific. The episode that we reported from originally aired on December 22, 2004.

Alton studies the creamy mixture, prodding at it with his spoon. He takes a taste and works the ice cream across his palette as a wine-taster would with a new vintage of wine. As he digs at the mixture with his spoon he asks, “What do you think?” Tamie replies, “I think it tastes pretty good,” with emphasis on the good. Alton detects a crystalline texture and asks about the alcohol, water and fat content of the recipe. In a quick back-and-forth exchange with one word questions and answers, Alton and Tamie have poured over every molecular detail of the fat-to-water ratio. After another taste, he proclaims, “It’s good. Let’s call it good.”

And with that, he exchanges the ice cream cup for his Shoei motorcycle helmet, turns to us, and with a smile on his face says, “Let’s ride, shall we?”

Alton Brown isn’t your typical celebrity chef. In fact, he makes jokes about his celebrity status, never taking it to heart. Now in its fifth year of production, Good Eats is one of the highest rated, most recognizable shows on the Food Network. His first book, I’m Just Here For The Food, has won a prestigious James Beard award. Most recently, he was named Bon Appetit magazine’s Cooking Teacher of the Year – a highly-coveted distinction, and one that Brown takes pride in.

When you speak with the 42-year-old, “food hacker” (a term first coined by Wired magazine), it’s his sincere, enthusiastic passion for knowledge that leaves a lasting impression. He lights up while explaining how his new line of Kershaw knives take advantage of a slight angle in the handle to improve the action of the knife. He becomes effusive when talking about his work with General Electric and their new TrivectionTM oven.

But Alton really takes off when it comes to motorcycles. “I love to ride. I’ve come to the conclusion that you’re either a car guy, or a bike guy,” he says while sitting atop his BMW R1100RT. “I’m a bike guy.”

Alton Brown has been interested in motorcycles for as long as he can remember. “My mother, like most moms, was deathly afraid of me getting on any motorcycle, so I never bought one,” he says. Instead, he studied magazines, books and videos, attended races and motorcycle shows, but always watching from the sidelines. Then about two years ago, his wife DeAnna told him that he needed to get a motorcycle but she placed one stipulation on the purchase – it had to be a new bike… That’s right – she insisted that he buy a new motorcycle, and in doing so, nearly upset the space/time continuum. When was the last time anyone’s significant other made such a request?

Alton went out and bought a new, Suzuki SV650, a naked sports bike with stunning looks, razor-sharp handling and impressive performance. True to his Zen-like nature, Brown took to trying to master the art of riding a motorcycle.

“One of the great things about riding a motorcycle is that it’s a constant exercise in skill management,” he says. “When I go for a ride up north, I want to ride. I really like to work on the motorcycle – when I find a challenging section of road, I’ll ride it – and then ride it again, and again, and again. I’m always trying to learn something new and I’m always looking to improve my skill level.”

He’s also a proponent of rider safety, and regularly attends Motorcycle Safety Foundation classes. He says he never hoists a leg over the saddle unless he’s in full protective gear, which includes: Shoei full-faced helmet, BMW Motorsports ballistic jacket, pants and boots, and heavy-duty riding gloves. “I can’t imagine riding a bike without the gear. I don’t feel right if I’m on the bike and not wearing my gear – it just feels — well, wrong.’”

After about a year with the Suzuki, Alton’s love for German engineering got the best of him, and he traded the SV650 for a lightly used BMW R1100RT. “I’m a year-round rider,” Brown says. “I don’t believe in storing my bike for the winter, and while it doesn’t get real cold in Atlanta, riding 70 miles in 20-degree weather on a naked bike can make you question why you’re riding.”

As he reaches down to wipe at a smudge on the ocean blue fairing, he continues, “The BMW has such great engineering, and it’s reliable, and so enjoyable to ride. The center of gravity is low, so it handles great. The throttle is extremely responsive and the ABS-controlled brakes are among the best I’ve experienced. It stops when you want it to and without any surprises.”

When asked about his preference for riding destinations, Brown says, “Because I’m so busy with work, I can’t really ride as much as I’d like to. I can get up at six o’clock on a Sunday morning and ride in the mountains, but in reality a lot of my riding time is spent commuting. I’ve got a 16-mile commute that I can turn into a 50-mile ride, and have been known to do that from time to time.” He says that he uses the bike as much as possible, taking it on shoot scouting runs and to speaking engagements.

Another benefit of the R1100RT is that it offers decent storage, thanks in part to the large, hard-shell luggage that Brown has fitted to the RT. He can stuff his 15″ Apple G4 PowerBook, one of his four iPods (did we mention he’s a technology junkie), and just about everything else he needs for work into the Beemer and ride.

“They [the side cases] also make great crash bars,” he says with a smile. “When you drop your bike, which I did last week while taking an advanced rider course, the highway pegs and the cases kept this [massaging the front fairing] from hitting this [tapping at the ground with his toes].”

Noting our surprise at this confession, he explained, “Oh yeah – dropping my bike was traumatic, but not for me. I was doing something I shouldn’t have been – going extremely slow while trying to navigate some very tight areas. After I dropped it, everyone came up to console me, and I was like, ‘Why are you consoling me? Have you dropped your bike?’ I was happy it happened, in a controlled environment like that. I’ve gotten that problem out of my system.”

“The only embarrassing part was asking for help picking it back up,” he says with a chuckle. “The thing weighs 600-pounds dry, so it took a few of us to get it upright again.”

Alton says that despite the weight, the BMW is nimble and controllable, but it isn’t exactly “flickable,” and that’s a trait he misses. “I’ve decided to add another bike – something that’s more sporty, like the SV was. The naked bikes really are attractive and they’re so ‘real.’ You’re just out there – no fairings, no windshields. It’s just you and the bike.”

Brown said that he’s also a fan of Triumphs, and that a second bike is definitely in the works. We pressed him to identify his next bike, but he couldn’t put his finger on what he wanted. “It’ll definitely happen before the end of the year – I’ll have a second bike – there’s already room in the garage for it. I just have to decide what it will be.”

Despite the fun that we were having talking bikes, we had to ask Alton some questions about his role at the Food Network, and about his new book, I’m Just Here For More Food, which covers the art and science of baking. We joined Alton for lunch at a fabulous little restaurant near his production offices.

“My first book, I’m Just Here For The Food, was a bear to write. I literally locked myself in a 28-foot Airstream trailer for 3 months, and day after day, I forced myself to write for four hours and then sleep for two. I remember not knowing if it was day or night – I had no idea,” he says. “When I was done, I thought the book was horrible. I was so ashamed of it.”

I’m Just Here For The Food went on to receive a James Beard award, which is the culinary equivalent of a Pulitzer prize. Now in its eleventh printing (and still selling nearly 1000 copies per week), Brown is finally OK with the book. “It’s funny – when I showed up for my first book signing at Barnes & Noble, I got there and the place was empty. I turned to the manager and said, ‘Hey, I’m really sorry that no one showed up,’ and he points to the mezzanine level above us where there were 770 people and goes, ‘They’re all here to see you.’ I was floored. I turned to my wife and said, ‘You know, maybe the book doesn’t suck so bad after all.’”

His latest book, I’m Just Here For More Food was released in October and addresses baking, but does so in the typical Brown method. While traditional cookbooks include recipes that demonstrate to the reader the “what” of baking, Brown’s book goes much farther. It begins with “the molecular pantry” and continues on to explore and explain the science behind all sorts of treats and goodies. Brown says the book is full of illustrations and ideas, and incorporates a neat new feature.

“When I started writing I’m Just Here For More Food, I realized that with baking, you’re really only using the same seven or eight ingredients – not a lot changes with each recipe. Rather, it’s the mixing technique that leads to variations in the final product, so the book focuses on mixing methods, and with each section, there’s a cool ‘master flap’ that describes the processes. So instead of repeating information over and over within a section, the flap serves as a quick point of reference, and should make it easier to read and follow. I’m hopeful that it will have a positive influence on folks.”

As we continued our conversation over lunch, we asked Brown about his role in the popular Iron Chef America show and whether the Food Network had future episodes planned. Alton indicated that he was leaving for New York in just a few days to tape ten new episodes of the Iron Chef America series.

We grilled him for more info, but he couldn’t share much, saying, “To be honest, I don’t know who the competitors will be. When taping the episodes, I know what the secret ingredient is going to be ahead of time, but that’s about it. But even that information is highly privileged. It’s like they send me this encrypted message that says, ‘Go to the phone booth near the corner and await further instructions. This message will self destruct in five seconds…’ It’s very secretive, but it’s a really fun show to do.”

Though time was running scarce, Brown let us in on his work with GE and Kershaw Knives. “I was approached by GE to help them with a new oven,” he says. “They wanted me to teach the engineers about the cooking process – about what makes food taste good. With this new oven, GE realized that most people appreciate cooking speed, but speed often sacrifices food quality. It was my job to educate the engineers about the cooking process, and I worked with them to develop the cooking algorithms.”

Brown said the typical hour-and-a-half lasagna recipe can be cooked in as little as 15 minutes with the GE TrivectionTM oven. He explained how the TrivectionTM asks you what it is you’re cooking, the time and temperature you’d normally cook it at, and then computes the new settings. The oven utilizes three cooking methods to super cook your food to perfection: Thermal, convection and microwaves.

Knives are another passion of Browns, and he explained how he enjoys his relationship with Kershaw Knives. “It’s so cool because they have all of this awesome technology available to them. I can go, ‘You know, it would be really cool if a knife could do this,’ and they do it! It’s like no big deal to them.”

Brown has his own line of Kershaw Knives called “Alton’s Angles” that take advantage of a slight angular change and allow for better knuckle-to-counter clearance. The angle also improves the ergonomics of the knife.

So what’s next for a guy like Alton Brown? How about space travel? That’s right – don’t be surprised if someday you see an episode of Good Eats coming to you from zero gravity. Alton indicated that he’s a bit of an aerospace junkie, adding, “We have a lot of fans that are in the aerospace industry.” And while we wouldn’t put it past him to become the first chef to brine a turkey in outer space, you’re more likely to see his BMW R1100RT featured in upcoming episodes. Regardless of what or where he’s cooking, one thing’s for sure – Alton Brown is always one step ahead of the curve, devising new ways to demonstrate that food can be fun, easy and educational.

Roadfly: What was your impression of this year’s Detroit Auto Show?

Henrik Fisker: I think it was one of the best auto shows I’ve ever seen. In general, there was a lot of product, a lot of fantastic cars, and a great mix between production cars and exciting concept cars. I also got a feeling of a general optimism at the show, specifically with the American car companies, specifically Ford, GM and DaimlerChrylser (even though DaimlerChrylser is now technically only ‘half-American’). There was a definite sense of optimism and enthusiasm.

R: Was there anything at the show that really caught your eye?

HF: Yes – I think the Mustang really caught my eye. The fact that you can get a 300-horsepower V8 Mustang for less than $20,000 really says the American car company is back and they’re doing what they do best – delivering excitement the money.

R: Were there any trends that you detected at the show? Anything that might hint of things to come?

HF: I definitely think there’s a trend of bringing beauty back into cars. I also think there was a second trend that hinted at a return of ‘back to basics,’ and I think you saw this with the Mustang, the Cobra concept, the Pontiac Solstice and the Dodge SlingShot — cars that had emotional designs yet were meant to deliver a pure fun sense of attitiude. I think the back-to-basics approach may be a function of us almost exhausting how much new technology we can pack into a car and still make it practical and usable for most consumers.

R: Let’s talk about design. When drawing up the DB9, were you bound to any constraints by corporate, or did you have free reign?

HF: Well, I think that if you don’t have any constraints, then you’re an artist rather than a designer. But, obviously, the idea behind Aston Martin is to build the perfect driver’s car, so there’s always that constraint. I’d say that of all the cars I’ve worked on, this is the one that’s had the least constraints from corporate.

R: As a designer, how closely do you watch what other designers are doing? Is there a sense of competition, or are things more “to each his own?”

HF: I think you need to always be aware of your competition, which allows you to do something different (when you’re aware of what others are doing), however, you will notice that some of the same ideas just happen to come at the same time. It’s a natural thing, but it can appear as though we’re playing off one another’s work. Generally I try to keep up with everyone with the intention of doing something different, as evidenced by the rear-end of the Aston Martin DB9. It doesn’t follow the current trend of automotive rear-end fashions.

R: What’s the most satisfying part of your job? Is it the work, the rewards, the finished product or something entirely different?

HF: I think it has to be the work. There’s nothing more exciting for me than to work on a car’s sculpture. When you see your design materialize into a sculpture and then a machine, that’s really rewarding. I think the ultimate reward is after it becomes a production car and you see one driving down the road. To know that someone liked your work enough to lay down all that money on a car that you worked so hard to create, is inexplicably gratifying. It’s beyond any dream.

R: Where do you go from here? What’s next?

HF: Well, the next project is always the next big challenge. As a designer, I’m always trying to refine and design things. If it weren’t for the engineers saying, ‘Ok, let’s build this,” I’d probably be in a perpetual state of design. Moving to the next design is great because you can take the ideas that you had in the middle of the past project and start to develop them further. Aston Martin’s next project is the launch of the AMV8, which we’re excited about. Ford’s next project for me is working on next year’s show cars for the Detroit Show.

R: We’ll wrap this up with a last question. From where do you draw inspiration for a design? Is it possible to just sit down with a blank piece of paper and sketch out a car?

HF: Candidly, my ideas just come from my head. I sit down and start to sketch, and that’s where I get them from. I might not sketch the entire car, but maybe a portion and from there I expand it. Lately I’ve gotten a lot of inspiration by looking back at what made the human fall in love with cars. Buying a car is such an irrational and emotional behavior, that I have to figure out what it is that they love. Really, who needs a car that costs more than say $15,000? I’m trying to capture the sense of the emotion and love affair that people have with cars.

Henrik has certainly managed to capture our hearts with his brilliantly stunning designs, and we can hardly wait to see his next creations. Many thanks to Henrik Fisker and his staff for taking the time to sit down and talk with us about his exciting works.

Adrian Fernandez: It is a very challenging position to be in. It’s very difficult to get started as both an owner and a driver, and then I have to try and manage my time and my thoughts so that my driving is not distracted and my performance is not compromised.

R: As an owner/driver, do you see yourself transitioning away from driving responsibilities and focusing more on the management and ownership issues?

AF: I put most of my energy into driving the car and only oversee the management of the team right now. Things are so busy. For future drivers, I have my eye on a few of the younger Mexican drivers, but I’m so busy I don’t have much time to do any cultivating.

R: With the CART/IRL split, is it more difficult to obtain sponsorship? What effect do you think the split has had on the sport?

AF: Economics is always an issue, and sponsorship is very valuable because it can be hard to obtain. The split has probably hurt the sport. We all have less television coverage and that is what helps keep people interested in the sport and interest drives sponsors.

R: Who are your primary adversaries on the track?

AF: There are a lot of great drivers out there today. Guys like Jourdain, Sebastian, Carpentier, Tracy, Dominguez – they all are great drivers and are very competitive. I think things are much more competitive today than they were when I started racing CART in 1993.

R: We’ve followed your team this weekend and it’s been really interesting. Tell us a little about your weekend – what do you like best about a race weekend?

AF: I like the entire event except for all of the headaches that come with being so busy. This weekend my IRL team is in another city, so I get updates from them. Then I have to concern myself with our efforts here. My favorite thing is driving the car- it’s amazing, and Laguna Seca is an incredible track. This weekend wasn’t so good though. Our two pit stops killed our chances because it’s hard to pass on this track.

R: How critical is it to get a good qualifying position? When you’re practicing, are you focusing on qualification efforts or race strategy?

AF: Both. At a track like this, qualifying is so very important because passing opportunities are very rare. When we practice, we focus on both racing and qualifying. Making a change for the sake of qualifying might affect the racing set-up.

R: Tell us about some of your off track experiences. Are you a car guy away from the track? What types of cars catch your eye today, and what do you look for in a car?

AF: I love cars. I LOVE cars. But, because of my job, I don’t have much time to enjoy them. I currently have a Ferrari 260 Spyder, a Mercedes SL55 and an Acura MDX – I really enjoy driving them. Cars that catch my eye are the Enzo, but everyone says that. For regular cars, I think the MINI Cooper is a pretty cool little car. I am attracted to a good looking car but it also has to have performance.

R: Congratulations on your recent engagement. I trust that your fiancee is a racing fan?

AF: Actually, no. She doesn’t really like racing. We met on the set of the Sylvester Stallone movie “Driven.”

R: In closing, what tracks and events are your favorites? Are there any that you really look forward to?

AF: The Mexico race is very special to me and the event is the best. It’s almost overwhelming because of the tremendous fan support. Australia is an event I really enjoy because the country is very fun to visit. For tracks, I think I like Road America the best – it’s long, challenging and has a lot of turns and fast straights.

R: Adrian, thank you for letting us join you this weekend and we wish you lots of luck for the rest of the season.

AF: Thanks guys, it was a pleasure to have you here.

Adrian Fernandez is the team owner and driver of the #51 Fernandez Racing Tecate / Quaker State / Telmex Lola Ford Champ car. Born in Mexico, the forty-year-old driver currently resides in Paradise Valley, Arizona. He is in his eleventh year of CART racing and has 7 victories to his name, with nineteen podium finishes. He is an avid fitness enthusiast, who works out an average of three-and-a-half hours per day, and maintains a very strict diet.

The following weekend, at the G.I. Joe’s 200 race on June 22, 2003, Team Fernandez earned their place in history- Adrian won the race, an accomplishment that few have ever achieved while serving as an owner and driver. It was also Team Fernandez’ first victory as a team.

Not true of Jay Leno, host of NBC’s very popular late night talk show, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Jay is a 100% certified, Grade-A car and motorcycle enthusiast – so much so, that yours truly believes he may bleed 10w-30 motor oil. He often shows footage of some of his unique vehicles during the Tonight Show, and his guests often ask him about his cars and bikes while they’re being interviewed. His Apache helicopter turbine-powered motorcycle brings back fond Tonight Show memories.

Luckily, Jay is not only a successful comedian, television personality and accomplished car collector – he’s also one heckuva nice guy. You hear it from many people – people who’ve bumped into him at the grocery store, people who’ve worked with him and people who’ve seen his comedy club routines. They all say, “Jay is such a great guy,” and we can verify that statement as nothing short of completely accurate.

In fact, he’s more than a great guy. He’s a great guy who loves talking about cars and motorcycles, and he was more than accommodating of our request to sit down and interview him about his life’s passion. We feel very fortunate that Jay was able to take time from his unbelievably busy schedule to field our questions and share his experiences with us. We talked about everything from Austin Healey’s to Zeffer’s, and share excerpts of the interview here. If you dare to consider yourself a car or motorcycle fanatic, you definitely don’t want to miss a single word Jay had to say.

R: When did you first become interested in cars and motorcycles, and who do you hold “responsible” for getting you into the hobby?

Jay Leno: Oh, it seems like I’ve always been in to cars and motorcycles. I grew up in New England, and when I was 12 or 13 I got a go-kart. We had a 300-foot driveway and I’d drive up and down it like every day.

As a kid, I used to work a lot of different jobs, so when I was about 14, I bought a 1934 Ford pick-up truck. My dad and I brought it home and I spent like another 2 years driving up and down the driveway in that. You know, going “reeeer” [makes car noise] and then backing up and then “reeeer” [car noise] driving back and forth, like an idiot – I maybe got into second gear once or twice. I did that like 50 times a day until I got my license. I’ve always liked things that make noise, roll and explode. [chuckles while recalling the memories]

R: Have you always been mechanically inclined? I know that you do a lot of your own work, and that you’re pretty good at working on vehicles of all types.

JL: Well, I think I am…[chuckles] But I don’t think I’m a particularly gifted mechanic. I’m certainly not very good as a machinist or anything like that, but I just enjoy working on things.

I get a perverse pleasure out of things breaking down on the road and then being responsible for trying to get them home again – I guess that’s why modern cars don’t interest me that much, because there’s not a whole lot you can do to them when they break down.

For example, when I first came to California, and I’d drive down the street and I’d see someone broken down with the hood open, so I’d pull over and be like, “Hey, what’s the matter? Oh, here’s your problem – the coil wire came off, or here, let me fix that,” or whatever it might be. Maybe eight times out of ten I could get them going again, without too much drama – it was just something you could do. Nowadays, when cars break down and I pull over to help, I just hand them my cell phone and call the tow truck.

Carrying tools in a modern car like a Honda or Toyota – there’s not much you can do with them. It’s sort of pointless, isn’t it? The days of explaining to someone that the mercury switch (like they had in the mid-80’s Alfa’s that would cut the fuel and ignition if the car got turned on it’s side) is “flipped” are gone. You just call the tow truck and watch it get hauled away.

R: I know you hate it when people ask you about your top-10 favorite cars, but I’m going to do it anyway. What are your favorites?

JL: Oh boy [laughs]. Let’s see, my current favorite is probably the Duesenberg SJ – that’s a solid car and is probably one of the best cars of all time. I like the Bugatti Type 57SC Atlantic coupe, the McLaren F1, the 1913 Mercer Raceabout, my Stanley Steamer, the Lamborghini Miura, my 1909 Baker Electric (an electric car from nearly 100 years ago, take that GM!), any big, old eight-liter Bentleys, and of course, the 1960’s 427 Ford AC Cobra. That thing still amazes me.

R: Generally speaking, do you prefer your vehicles to be stock, modified, restored or some combination of all of the above?

JL: [pauses] Well, it depends on what type of car you’re talking about. For example, like right now I have an extremely heavily modified C5 Corvette Z06 – but, would I prefer it if you gave me an all-stock, 1962 Corvette, numbers matching, fuel injected car? Absolutely – then the stock car is much more appealing to me. In 25 years, will I prefer a stock Z06? Probably. It just depends on what it is and what time period you’re living in.

R: What vehicles catch your eye today? Is there any thing that you have your eye on, or anything that you’d really like to own?

JL: The one that I’m really attracted to is the new GT from Ford, you know, the new version of the old GT40. I think they’ve done an excellent job of recreating the car, and since there’s some family history there, it’s not like it’s a replica car. I think it’s a really exciting car.

I’m also really excited about the new SLR Mercedes-Benz. Coincidentally, I’ve got the first one that’s going to be coming into the country, so I’m really looking forward to that – it’s pretty cool. Zero to 60 is, what, 4 seconds? But it’s not only about the horsepower, even though it has over 600 horsepower. I had an EV1 [General Motors Electric Car] for a few weeks, and I actually enjoyed driving it.

But the electric car is dead. It’s a dead idea – I mean, I have a 1909 Baker Electric, and it goes 110 miles on a charge. The EV1 goes 125 miles on a charge, so we’ve gained a whopping 15 miles in 90 years of technology? Come on. You have to think of electricity as a living thing – you put it in a box, and it’s going to escape, or it’ll die trying to escape. You either use it at the point of generation, or you have to go elsewhere.

Eventually, I think a complete fuel-cell vehicle with an electric motor at each wheel will be the final solution, but I think that’s still quite a bit in the future.

R: If an automaker or bike manufacturer were to re-incarnate a vehicle from days gone by, what would you like to see them bring back?

JL: Well, I think the Duesenberg SJ would be an interesting vehicle – that was a car that was ahead of it’s time. I mean, I have a few Duesenbergs, and even today, it’s not a car that you have to apologize for driving.

You know, like you’re driving down the road going, “Oh, pardon me, sorry, just go around – it’s really old, sorry! Sorry! Yeah, just go around!”

A lot of times with old cars, the things are just screaming trying to go forty, fifty miles an hour, but with the Duesy, I pass people at like 75, 80 miles per hour on the freeway, and they’re like “jeesh!” It’s a well-designed car – I mean, it had twin cams, overhead valves, hemi-heads, 4-vales per cylinder, and it was designed and built in 1927. It’s amazing, so that would certainly be an interesting one.

Or, how about the TR3? I mean, Mazda’s Miata has come as close as anyone can to recreating the famous old MG’s, but there’s obviously an interest in these types of cars. The unfortunate thing about the Miata is that many people refer to it as a girl’s car, which is an image-killing moniker to have stuck to your car, especially if you’re a guy driving that car.

Collin Chapman used to say, “You build a car, then add lightness,” and that’s a really great thing to say and do. Mazda did it with the Miata, as did MG and Triumph with the TR3. But we Americans seem to associate light cars with femininity, which is absolutely silly.

The Lotus Elan is about as light a car as you’re going to get, they take out Mustangs and Corvettes on the circuits, but most people under the age of 35 don’t understand the notion of a lightweight car, so they make fun of it.

You know, I have a car that’s called “The Rocket” and it weighs 775-lbs and has 147 horsepower flowing through 12 speeds (6 high, 6 low). Power to weight, there’s nothing that can hang with me when I get on it – nothing and I mean nothing – stays with me. I get 35, 40 miles to the gallon, I stomp on the brakes, lock-up the wheels and my brake pads last forever, because I’m only haulin’ around 775lbs. It’s a wonderful example of how important conserving weight is and the advantages to doing so.

R: Which of your cars or bikes is your rarest vehicle?

JL: Rarest? Hmm, well, I don’t know – I have a lot of odd cars and motorcycles, but I honestly don’t know which is the most rare. I just try to avoid the “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous syndrome.” I mean, for me, the challenge of driving something is more fun and more important than what you’re driving.

I have a Morgan 3-wheeler – it’s hysterical! I’ve told the story before, but I’m on Mulholland Drive, and I got the thing cranked up, it’s pop-pop-pop-popping at me, and I come sliding around this corner, doing everything I can do to make the corner, and just as I do that there’s a cop sitting there with his radar gun.

I see him and go “oh crap,” and he sort of looks at me and this steam engined thing and I go, “Hey, officer, how’s it going?” And he goes, “Hey Jay, got the steamer out?” I said, “Yeah, hey – how fast was I going back there?” He goes, “Oh, you’re ok – you were just hitting 35 miles an hour.” I go, “35?! I thought I was going like 70!” He says, “Nope, you’re ok – speed limit here is 45.”

I seriously thought I was going to go to jail, but I was having a blast – the backend is hanging out as I’m coming around the corner, and it’s chuggin’ away, and I’m seriously thinking I’m going like nearly 100, and I’m barely doing 35?! Talk about a fun vehicle to drive.

[At this point we're all laughing, because Jay is telling the story with such intensity that it seems as though we were riding right along side him. He tells stories perfectly - you really get the feeling like you were there with him.]

R: With such a great collection of cars, how do you decide which vehicle you’re going to drive to work each day?

JL: Well, I feel sort of foolish because I’m sure there are worse problems to have than deciding which car you’re going to drive to work. But, you know how I do it? Sometimes I’ll come home, and I’ll pull out a car book. I’ll be reading through it, and I’ll start reading about something like the 1968 Shelby Mustang GT350, so I’ll go out the garage, fire it up and drive it to work for the next few days. You know, I’m sure you guys do the same thing, right? [We all laugh again]

R: Any plans to write your own book, sort of like a “car guy” book that’s written by a true “car guy?”

JL: No, not really – you know, idiot celebrities sticking their heads in where they don’t belong isn’t anything anyone wants to do or hear about. I’m an enthusiast, and I enjoy it, but I’m no expert. I have no desire to write a “well, here’s what you do…” sort of book.

R: Ready for a hypothetical question?

JL: Let me have it.

R: 3,000-mile road trip. Pick the vehicle and your co-pilot – it can be anyone, from any time or era.

JL: I would probably take the McLaren F1, because that’s the greatest car there is! It’s unbelievable – the top speed is 241 miles per hour and it’s extremely comfortable. The thing that people don’t know about the F1, is that unlike an Enzo or some other exotic, the McLaren F1 is totally drivable. It’s a road car – it was designed to be a road car from the get-go.

I mean, it’s smaller than a Corvette, yet I can hold three people in it and still have room for luggage. It weighs less than a Miata, and it has 627 horsepower. You sit in the center and because you sit in the center, there’s enough legroom for drivers or passengers that are seven feet and taller.

It’s actually one of the only cars that I drive where I find myself moving the seat a little bit forward before I take off. It’s so comfortable, and I find it to be the perfect vehicle because people who know what it is see it and tend to go nuts, and people who don’t know about it just don’t know about it and leave you alone.

It isn’t like the Enzo with a big long nose, where as soon as you’re seen it in, you’re labeled as the middle-aged guy with “that problem” in his life. The car just looks right, and it drives perfectly – everything about it is just right. There’s no wing, there’s no spoilers, it just does what it’s supposed to do. It has normal road clearance, so when you go over a speed bump or come to a driveway, you’re not tearing off half of the spoilers.

You know, I remember someone lent me a new Lamborghini Diablo back in the mid-90s, and I’m leaving my driveway really slowly and I go “scccccrrrrrrrrthhhh” [makes a scraping noise] and I rip off the front spoiler. I’m going, “You know, I’m not supposed to be doing this to people’s cars, I don’t beat them up, I don’t wreck them,” but it was so embarrassing because the thing is so low and the nose is so long that as soon as you hit a pebble, you’re ripping the thing up. That’s not for me.
The only criticism that I have about the McLaren, and it’s not really a fair criticism, but you have to be so darn careful with your speed. I mean, going 100 mph in that thing is like going 30 [mph] in any other car, and if I’m not careful, I’ll look down and be like, “Oh crap, I’m going 175! I’m not an irresponsible idiot!” It’s the exact opposite of the Morgan, where 35 [mph] feels like 100 [mph].

I mean, it sounds dumb, but the thing gathers speed like nothing – you put your foot in it for a second to pass someone and you’re doing 140 miles an hour. It’s ridiculous, but it is an absolute joy to drive, you’re just going, “What the hell am I doing?”

My co-pilot…hmm, that’s a great question. It would have to be someone that was interesting to talk to – I don’t know. I think I’d want to take along a true automotive engineer, someone whom I’d like to ask a lot of questions of, like W.O. Bentley or Mark Birkett [our apologies if this is not the correct spelling], people who know things that I don’t know are very interesting to me. I find designers, engineers, and mechanics to be very interesting.

Phil Hill would be another great guy to take along – he’s an old friend of mine and would be an absolute blast to go on a road trip with.

R: Jay, thank you so much for sharing some time with us and for sharing so many great stories with our readers. We certainly appreciate it.

JL: My pleasure – this was a fun interview, and I wish all of you guys the best.

When Jay isn’t busy with his television show or with his stand-up comedy tours, he can be found at home, tending to one of his cars or motorcycles. It’s no wonder as to why he’s on top of his professional game – he’s great at what he does, and he takes time to “help the little guy.” When was the last time any other celebrity stopped to help a stranded motorist?

The Tonight Show with Jay Leno can be seen Monday through Friday on NBC just after your local 10 o’clock news. If you’re one of the few people who aren’t tuned in to his show every night, we’d urge you to start watching – Jay is a great talk show host, a true car enthusiast and an all around great person.

Later, I would spend four hours every weekday glued to my radio, listening to his nationally syndicated talk show, “The G. Gordon Liddy Show”. I couldn’t understand how such an intelligent and interesting person could be perceived as such a “dangerous” man. Curiosity got the best of me and I bought his autobiography, “Will”. It was an almost surreal experience – the book shed light on “the real G. Gordon Liddy”.

The general media loves to pin labels on G. Gordon Liddy – some of them are flattering and accurate, others are unfair and full of ignorance. We quickly discovered that Mr. Liddy can not be labeled – it would be impossible to briefly summarize his complex persona.

We caught up with Mr. Liddy at his Phoenix, Arizona residence. Sitting in the comfy confines of his open and airy living room, Mr. Liddy made us feel more like friends than interviewers. In our short amount of time with him, we found him to be unbelievably intelligent, sincere, pleasant, patient and accommodating, funny, and most of all, just plain likable. If there were more people on the earth like Mr. Liddy, we’re certain the world would be a better place.

In what must be an incredibly busy schedule, Mr. Liddy hosts a daily talk show, writes books, jumps from airplanes in remote locations (he had just returned from a parachuting trip in Israel), and makes television and movie appearances, both as actor and guest. For him to find time to accommodate our request for an interview and photo shoot speaks volumes about the type of person he is.

R: In your autobiography “Will”, you make mention of various cars, including personal vehicles and FBI cars (a certain Mercury with a sticky gas pedal comes to mind). How long have you been a car enthusiast, and what was the first car that really got you excited about cars?

GGL: The one that I learned to drive on, which was a 1938 Packard Super 8. That thing had an eight-cylinder engine – the block looked to be as long as a railroad train, had pistons the size of buckets, a three-speed stick shift, wheels that came up to your waist and it was a fabulous car. The sheet metal was incredible – if you’d have put a glove on your hand and hit the car with a fist, you’d have broken every bone in your hand.

R: Which cars catch your eye today?

GGL: I like the new S-series Mercedes-Benz with the all-wheel-drive system. I’m also attracted to just about any Ferrari, but have a soft spot for the Testarossa because of my involvement with “Miami Vice”.

One of the episodes of Miami Vice that I was in was the episode where Don Johnson gets his new car – previous to that they had used a Corvette that was made to look like a Ferrari. They even dubbed Ferrari sounds over the sound of the Corvette. When the time came to replace the Corvette, Don demanded they buy a real Ferrari, which they did, but it was the wrong color. So they spent another few thousand dollars having it painted white.

R: What are some of the characteristics that you look for in a car today?

GGL: Power and handling.

Roadfly: Your Corvette ZR-1 is often the topic of discussion on your nationally-syndicated daily talk show. For the benefit of our readers who may not be familiar with your ZR-1, would you mind telling us a little about it?

GGL: Chevrolet decided in the late 1980s to build a “King of the Hill” Corvette, and were going to go all out to achieve that status. They had a relationship with Lotus, so they approached Lotus with their idea for the car and said, “We would like you to design the engine.”

Lotus took on that job and came back and said, “Here it is.” General Motors took a look at the design and said, “That is a great engine, but there’s only one problem – we can’t manufacture that engine.” So, they checked around and discovered that Mercury Marine had a lot of experience with manufacturing motors with aluminum blocks and cylinder heads. They contracted with Mercury to build the motor and Mercury came up with a revision to the motor that took it from something like 375 horsepower to just a little over 400 horsepower.

It had double overhead cams, four valves per cylinder, two fuel injectors per cylinder, and Mercury set it up so the power was controlled with a switch. With the switch set to one position, the engine developed full power, which was pretty formidable. However, if you turned the switch to the valet setting and removed the key from the switch, the engine would develop approximately half of its power.

The ZR-1 was a powerful vehicle, but it wasn’t powerful enough for me. Luckily, I knew John Lingenfelter was the number one tuner in the world of Chevrolet V8s, so I had the vehicle flat-bedded to him and he did a marvelous job of extracting even more power from the 5.7 liter engine. It now develops over 520 horsepower and 469 pound-feet of torque at the rear wheels.

I’m still not sure that it’s powerful enough, so I’m planning to take the vehicle to my friend Pat Goss so that he can fit a supercharger to the motor. The vehicle is very tractable now, and with the supercharger it should remain tractable, even though it will be producing nearly the same amount of horsepower as the early World War II fighter planes.

R: Was your ZR-1 one of the first ZR-1s that Lingenfelter modified?

GGL: I don’t think he did very many because there weren’t very many made. In the five years that General Motors sold the ZR-1 there were less than 7,000 produced, so I’d assume that John Lingenfelter hasn’t modified too many of them.

R: What’s your most memorable moment with the ZR-1?

GGL: (laughing as he recalls the memory) I was on the New Jersey turnpike, headed North and somebody in a Mazda 4-door sedan, of all things, challenged me. I looked over to him and thought, “You’ve got to be kidding me.” But no, he wasn’t.

So I just dropped the hammer on it, and it was like going in to warp speed. Cars that were traveling at what must have been around 75 to 80 miles per hour suddenly seemed to be backing up at me at 60 miles per hour. I glanced down at the speedometer and saw that it was climbing past 145 miles per hour like it was nothing – it was pulling so strong. I thought, “Whoa, if the New Jersey State Police would catch me now, it would be all over,” so I slowed and the Mazda was long since gone. The thing will do over 200 miles per hour – it’s really quite amazing.

R: What attracted you to the ZR-1?

GGL: Well, for one, it’s American made. It was the very best – there weren’t very many produced, and it could easily run with the best of them, including cars from Ferrari and Porsche.

R: Have you done any track events with the car?

GGL: No, but I’ve thought about it and it’s something that I’d like to do eventually.

R: Tell us about your trucks – you’ve got two of them, correct?

GGL: Yes. Both are work trucks – the Chevrolet Dually is the truck that we use at my house on the East Coast – we have about 3 acres of property, with 400 some feet of waterfront [on the Potomac River] and around 2 acres of solid woods. The Dually handles all of the work duties – it has the big 8.0 liter engine – that thing is a workhorse.

Then I’ve got what I commute in, which is Chevrolet HD2500 Silverado 4-by-4 with the Duramax Diesel that has 300 horsepower, 520 pound-feet of torque, and just about everything you can get on it – leather, extra lights, and so on. Of course, it gets me to work no matter what the weather, and it still gets around 19 miles per gallon.

The nice part about commuting in the Silverado is the comforting fact that if there’s ever a collision with another vehicle, I’ll win.

R: And Mrs. Liddy likes European vehicles, correct?

GGL: Yes. Mrs. Liddy has a Mercedes-Benz E420 that she drives out East and a Land Rover Discovery that she keeps here in Arizona. She does have a GMC Denali that she uses to haul things related to her artwork, and that vehicle is also kept at our home in Maryland.

R: I noticed that you have a few motorcycles – when did you get into motorcycles?

GGL: Oh, I’ve been into motorcycles for just about all of my life. I’ve got the 2000 Harley Davidson Fatboy here in Arizona and I’ve got my 2003 Harley Davidson Road King which I’ll be driving to Sturgis this year.

R: Do you go to Sturgis each year?

GGL: No, this will be my first year – we’re going to do our broadcasting from Sturgis and we’ll have a lot of events taking place for our listeners and visitors to our website, www.liddyshow.com.

R: Are you happy with your current “stable”? Any plans to improve or replace any of the vehicles?

GGL: Well, we’re going to need to replace Mrs. Liddy’s Mercedes-Benz fairly soon – it’s a 1994 model – but we’re building a new garage, so we’ll wait for that to be finished before replacing anything.

R: Do you have a wish list of sorts? A dream car, perhaps?

GGL: Just for nostalgia’s sake and because I enjoyed acting in “Miami Vice” so much – I was the only villain who was never captured or killed by my friend, Don Johnson – I would like to have a Ferrari Testarossa.

R: Since your calendar “Stacked and Packed” has been so successful, have you considered doing anything with cars? Perhaps something like “Ammo, Autos, and Awesome Babes”?

GGL: Well, there are a lot of calendars with babes and motorcycles or cars, and we have used motorcycles in some of our photo shoots, but generally speaking those types of calendars have been done enough. The only other interest we’ve had from people is an exclusive, “all Diana” [Diana Kalandros, Gordon's Executive Producer for his talk show, "The G. Gordon Liddy Show"] calendar. The poster of her has completely sold out, so there’s been a lot of interest in doing an all-Diana calendar.

Roadfly: When you’re not working on your talk show or tending to your vehicles, what do you like to do with your free time?

GGL: I like to parachute – I just returned from a trip to Israel where I jumped with the Israeli Airforce (the IAF). I’m also a bit of an amateur photographer; I like to shoot with my 35mm camera and black-and-white film because I can do my own lab work.

R: Shifting gears; you’re a fabulous writer – I love reading your work – any other books on the horizon?

GGL: I just released “When I was Kid, This Was A Free Country”, and have been promoting that. It’s a book that talks about how our civil liberties have been degraded gradually over time, in what has often been a “knee-jerk” reaction to events that have affected our country.

I think it’s important to alert younger people that each one of these events has carved away some freedom, and you’re going to have to be very vigilant in getting them back.

As far as future books are concerned, I’m working on another novel, but I’m not certain as to when that will be completed.

R: Where can our readers find your books?

GGL: All of my books can be bought through www.liddybooks.com, and for more information about the daily talk show, they can visit www.liddyshow.com.

R: Speaking of your nationally syndicated talk show, how are things going at your relatively new station?

GGL: Things are going very well. The station that I was with has sort of gone down the drain since I left, so I’m happy to be out of there. I really enjoy working on the show and being a part of the Clear Channel Communications system. We broadcast from WTNT 570 AM, which is located just inside “the Beltway” in Washington DC.

Our website, www.liddyshow.com has links to most of the 160-plus stations that carry the show.

R: Shifting gears again, what about the old Interceptors you used to drive around while working for the FBI?

GGL: Those were really something. They had these big engines that were good for something like 140 miles per hour, which was incredible given that we’re talking about the early 1950s. We were riding around on bias-ply tires and trying to stop those beasts with 4 drum brakes! The handling of those things was not exactly precise, and I remember you had to be very careful when starting out – if you hit the pedal too hard, the thing would just jump – it was a terrifically fast car.

The Interceptor packages of today aren’t anything like the Interceptors of days gone by – today’s cars are basically identical to civilian cars. I’m reminded of two stories involving our Interceptors; I’ll share them if you’d like.

R: Absolutely!

GGL: I remember Harvey Foster, who was the special agent in charge of the Indianapolis office. He was up north when some notorious criminal escaped from the Grand Point Jail (which was the same jail that John Dillinger had escaped from). Harvey headed down that way, and he got on all of the radios which went to everyone – the State Police, the County Sheriff – everyone – and he just said, “This is Harvey Foster, I’m on the toll-road headed for Grand Point, so get out of the way!”

And he went 140 miles per hour past us in that big Interceptor – it wasn’t exactly safe, but it sure was a sight.

I also remember another time when I was in my Interceptor, driving a little too fast, and I passed this Indiana State Trooper. So all of a sudden I heard behind me, “RAAAAAHHRR” [siren noise] so I pulled over and waited for the Trooper to approach my vehicle, at which point I hit my siren.

“RAAAAAHHRR” goes my siren and he jumps back and goes, “Alright, just who the hell are you?” And I showed him my FBI badge and I mean, we both had a laugh at that – but it was all in good fun.

R: Mr. Liddy, I want to thank you for doing this interview, and I wish you nothing but the best with your talk show, your books, and your car endeavors. Thank you for your time and for sharing all of your wonderful experiences with me and my fellow Roadfly readers.

GGL: My pleasure.