Origins of our Podcast - Part 2

Between COVID and the advent of Uber and Lyft, I hadn’t used a rental car in years, but not issues and here I was traveling the frozen tundra of Illinois in January to get to my destination. Fast forward an hour or so and I arrive at DMC Midwest and get the tour with Mike, who started working here ~18 years ago as a mechanic and ended up buying the franchise ~8 years ago with his wife, Susie. Mike had quite the stash of DeLoreans - probably over 15 in a shop space that didn’t seem large enough. To say I was overwhelmed was an understatement but I did have to keep an eye on the clock as this was a day trip. Mike showed me the two 1981 DeLorean’s that were both in my price range - one was a little better cosmetically than the other but it had two-tone seats (not original) and it had the original 130hp PRV (Puegot Renault Volvo) engine that was a product of the gas crisis and emissions standards of the 70s and 80s. The other car had what the resurrected DMC (DeLorean Motor Cars) sells as the “Stage 2” - a kit of parts including a freer flowing dual exhaust with a hotter cam which probably gave it an additional 50hp advantage over stock. Given that my daily driver is a Tesla, I had to go with the more powerful DeLorean with the gray interior - no two-tone seats for me. I couldn’t write the check to Mike fast enough and made arrangements to have several items fixed/checked before I took delivery of the car in a few weeks.

Origins of our Podcast - Part 1

“Do you think we would have the podcast without the DeLorean?” This was a great question recently posed to me (11/7/2024) by my best friend and co-host, Christian.

It took me a few minutes to try to respond as I thought through everything that had happened between February 2022 when I purchased the car and November 2024 where we have just finished the recordings for our 3rd season of the podcast and have started scheduling guests for the season 4. And, of the approximately 25 cars I have owned in my life, many had brought me temporary joy through driving but only two of them turned any profit. In recent years, my definition of both profit and joy have changed completely.

Back to the original question, it’s easier to reflect on how we got here with the podcast than if the podcast would’ve happened if I didn’t have the DeLorean. For background, I’ve always wanted to write a book and felt like I had a lot of material based on the challenges I’ve had over the last 12 the years including a life changing injury, drawn out divorce and everything that comes along with it, and my father’s illness and untimely death right before COVID, and having to put down our dog of 15 years.

For all of the tough times we endured as a country and with the rest of the world, COVID created a great opportunity for me in terms of a reset from daily life to simpler times, spending more time with my kids, and the growth in my love for reading. In between getting a puppy to fill the void left by Sammi, I started reading voraciously with a majority of the books being memoirs, biographies and autobiographies, pushing me further to consider writing about all of these experiences including reflecting on my past and how to grow for the future. I decided to take a few online writing classes, initially focusing on memoirs then branching out to fiction. 

Like many in the US, I decided to invest in my home of 24 years and finally build the two car garage that I always wanted to store my forgotten 1990 Nissan 300ZX, which kept getting hit on my narrow street and was relegated to a friends house for a year or so until the garage was finished. As the garage was getting closer to completion, I remembered the Z and was not excited to get it back and thought about what would be a unique car to own and somewhere along the way I decided I wanted a DeLorean. This is where Facebook and YouTube became my gateway for All Things DeLorean and in a month of so I had virtually met up with Brian Paone who helped me and next thing I knew I had a ticket to Illinois visit DMC Mid-West in Crystal Lake, where Mike had two cars that were in my price range and more importantly, 5-speed manual cars. My flight was delayed by a day due to snow but I planned ahead and rented a Jeep Gladiator for the hour or so drive from the dreaded O’Hare airport that I always avoided, but today was different. O’Hare was different today because many travelers had decided not to travel and/or flights were canceled due to an ongoing disagreement between the FCC and the FAA re: 5G cellular use near airports - very ironic considering I worked for Nokia at the time. “Snow, O’Hare airport, 5G disagreements, rental car agencies - none of you can stop me from buying a DeLorean today!”

We have a breaking news update from Christian.

Do you have any idea what the world's biggest challenge is, CarsLoved.com aficionados? Hint: it isn't geo-politics. It isn't the trade surplus. It isn't even genetically modified sweet potatoes or e coli in your spinach! Nay, Planet Earth, it isn't any of those things. The greatest problem facing mankind is all the time we waste on trunk latch mechanisms. Yes, studies show it's true! so many hours and days wasted on this vexing and difficult problem. Lives ruined just because trunk latch mechanisms are failing left and right. What to do, what to do? Can humanity find an answer?

Duct tape to the rescue! YET AGAIN. I was cruising through the parking lot of the local sporting goods store with my kids when the answer became oh so clear. This person will lead us to the promised land of no more kvetching over trunk latches. Just tape it and escape it, that's what my old man used to say. Why, if Henry Hill had used this simple solution during the Lufthansa cash heist during the opening credits of "Goodfellas", he'd still be out on the loose. Truth. 

Just another clever solution to an impossible problem brought to you by a smart guy with duct tape and offered to the world by your roving CarsLoved investigative journalists. When news breaks, we tape it.This report filed by Christian, from the Automotive Adhesives Beat.  

How writer’s block and two best friends became the genesis for our podcast.

I had been working on and off for several years creating the framework for a book - having attended several writing workshops, picked up several books about writing, and even retained an editor, but I was stuck.

Initially, this would be a memoir about several of the toughest times in my life following an injury, divorce, my dad’s illness, decline and ultimate death, career stresses, and much more. These were tough subjects to write about, but would they be of interest to anyone? Some of my experiences felt (and still feel) so unbelievable that I had considered turning some of this content into fiction. Then the pandemic happened and like many others, I decided to invest in my home and decided to construct the garage I always wanted in which to store and repair my 1990 Nissan 300ZX - this was high school dream car, and finding a way to pay for it ultimately led to my longtime career. More about that for another time.

As the garage came closer to completion, I decided the 300ZX could use a companion from my youth and I turned to Facebook as my gateway to learn more and ultimately chose a 1981 DeLorean DMC-12. 40+ year old cars need repairs to keep them roadworthy and I made a lot of friends in the DeLorean community along the way who helped me, but ultimately the time I spent in the garage proved that a used DeLorean can become the best therapist that money could buy. This experience led me to consider writing a book about cars of my past with focus on what I was dealing with at the time, but I still had to deal with writer’s block.

They say two heads are better than one, so I jumped at the chance to start this podcast when my best friend and now co-host suggested we do just that and use the proposed title of the book for the name. Needless to say I loved his idea and fast forward a few months where we are firing on all cylinders with a successful podcast, not to mention having lots of fun hearing from our guests how every car tells a story.