Ep26 Mike Spagnola
About this episode
Mike Spagnola shares a mix of spooky stories and serious industry insight, starting with a firsthand ghost encounter at Hawaii’s Turtle Bay Hotel—footsteps, a bump on the bed, and a “mischievous ghost” explanation followed by a sea-salt ritual. He then pivots to his role as CEO of SEMA, describing how the organization reinvests show profits into education, training, and legislation. The big debate: EV-only policy vs a broader future including hydrogen and synthetic fuels, plus how younger builders keep car culture alive through conversions and SEMA Garage projects.
Sung and Emelia sit down with the President and CEO of SEMA, Mike Spagnola. Mike talks about the car community's future and SEMA's role in supporting an evolving industry, they express views on both sides of the EV argument and discuss keys to a successful marriage. Sung and Emelia also share their best ghost stories.
Follow on Instagram and YouTube @CarStoriesPodcast
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Chevrolet Corvette
"...d to love Chabelle's and Camaros and Mustangs and Corvettes. And I don't know what it was. I just loved impor..."
Chevrolet Camaro
"... up in the sixties you had to love Chabelle's and Camaros and Mustangs and Corvettes. And I don't know what..."
Ford Mustang
"...ixties you had to love Chabelle's and Camaros and Mustangs and Corvettes. And I don't know what it was. I ju..."
Ford F-150 Lightning
"... fake sound. let's just take even the new forward lightning truck, It's still a truck, so you can still lift ..."
Ford Maverick
"...ll that conversion. I mean, you and I worked on a maverick. Yeah, and I thought he was crazy. He was like, I..."
Toyota Supra
"...ery first one fun Yea, which of course we did the Supra, we did the Mitsubishi so and at that time, the r..."
Request an Explanation
Heard something you'd like explained? We'll add it to this episode.
Sign in to request explanations for terms you heard.
Want to learn more?
Browse our glossary for plain-English explanations of automotive terms, jargon, and concepts.
Help improve this episode
See something that's not quite right? Our annotations are AI-generated and can sometimes miss the mark. Click the flag icon on any annotation to suggest a correction.