Ep26 Mike Spagnola

Welcome back to another episode of car Stories with Kay and Amelia Hartford. Do you believe in ghosts?

Yes?

Do you?

I do?

That was a very confident Yes.

Yes, I didn't until I spent time in Hawaii.

Hawaii. Yeah, did you see a ghost?

I didn't see, I felt. So I was up in

North Shore working on this film and Turtle Bay Hotel.

The story or the rumor is that it's built on top.

Of a cemetery.

Yeah, cemetery, right, so there are these ghosts like walking around the property and I was like I heard that, and I'm like, yeah, whatever, ghost come on coasts. Yeah, okay, whatever.

So I go to sleep. We were shooting at Turtle Bay,

so we were staying there and I was on the I think that it was like the third floor, the top floor of the hotel, right, so like there's either two or three stories, so at the top of the hotel and the view is like of the water, and you know, like when you wake up and you're just kind of still laying there so you're not asleep. Like

I woke up and I'm under the covers because I heard these footsteps of like a little kid running across the room and the carpet was like you know this kind of compact carpet where you could hear It's like you could the thumb being right, yeah, the pitter patter right, And I hear this, and all of a sudden, whoever's running in the room, it hits the foot of the bed right bumps into it. And I was like, oh,

this is probably one of the cast mates like playing a practical joke on me or something, or they maybe they snuck into the room. But I remember I locked

the door and I was like, maybe they snuck into the balcony or something. I'm just like going through like

all these scenarios in my head and I hear the pitter patter like three times, right, and then I'm like, all right, one to three nights.

Wah.

Like I was like a scare whoever's in the room right, and it's empty room, and I'm like, nah, this is that's so strange because I felt the bump on the bed and then I look at the balcony door was still closed, and I'm like that's odd and there's no real way that you're gonna like, you know, climb into the balcony and like get into you know, my room, and I check the door. It's like completely locked. And

I was like, and I remember I was awake under the blankets, right, so it wasn't like I was dreaming, right, And I was like freaking out. Now, I'm like this

is that was so strange. And then I went down

to the front desk and I was like, hey, are there like rodent problems and they get through like the air conditioner men or something like, because I heard the sound of like footsteps and the and the guy behind the counter was just very nonchalant. It's like, yeah, I

might be the ghosts. And I was like, yeah, like

this guy whatever. So then I go to get ready.

I was like in the makeup chair and our makeup artist, the head makeup artist was a witch. And a witch

in Hawaii is not like bad witch that puts courses and stuff. It's like person that is able to speak to,

you know, the deceased. And it's like it's more it's

more of like a positive like person yeah medium, I guess in the community, right. And then I was telling her.

I was like, hey, you know, you know, this is just so weird. It's like I've never experienced thing like this.

And I told her the story of the footsteps and the bump, and she's like, oh, yeah, that's probably the mischievous ghost. It's like so nonchalant. It was in like

what wow, wow, that's crazy, or questions like were you drunk or something. Right, it was just like, oh, that's

the mischievous ghost. And I was like what does that mean.

It's like, oh, you know, this is this hotel is built on top of a cemetery. And I'm like, uh huh,

so there are these spirits like running around and that's probably a mischievous ghost that is in your room, and it's kind of messing with you, right, and so what you need to do? And she pulls out.

Uh it never I could never keep going.

This is like yeah. So she pulls out red sea

salt Hawaiian Sea salt, and she's like, okay, you need to take the salt. You put it into the corners

of the room. And then you say, hey, mischievous ghosts,

I'm going to be here for this amount of time, like you know, please don't bother me anymore. I'm not

gonna like play with you because the mischievous ghost wants to come and play.

Right.

But then I went to the room and I put the you know, the sea salt in the corners and I was like, yo, mischievous ghosts, I'm sung, and I'm going to be here for like three weeks, so you know, I don't think I want to be playing with you anymore, So don't bother me anymore. And then it never happened again.

I would be so scared to stay in that hotel again after that.

But she, but the witch said that this ghost is not going to come in.

But I'd be worried about the other souls.

But she was like, you, you're not here to do anything bad, right, Like if you were here doing something bad whatever, that and these other ghosts might come and like mess with in. She did tell me, do not

take any sand or rocks from this area. Don't take

it back to La with you.

Don't if something gets like stuck in your shoes.

Yeah yeah, yeah, but you know, like like people put it in a bottle, they take rocks and they go it's assuming there. She's like, don't do that. Yeah, how

about you.

I've I've had a lot, I've had a lot of creepy experiences that I fullheartedly believe in spirits and ghosts and all that. A lot of people think this is

bs when I told them the story, but on my life it is not. When we were younger, we lived

by an abandoned hospital, and what we would do for fun, you know, before phones and stuff like that, was we'd crawl into one of the windows in the very back of this abandoned hospital and we'd walk around with our flashlights because like spooky stuff would happen all the time, so we're like, oh, we're going like ghost hunting. And

one time I very vividly remember we were in the the NICICU I think it's called, where you know babies who are born too early, like they have all.

Of the incubator yes, thank.

You that they stand. It was like one of those rooms,

and there was a box of spoons, of metal spoons in like a box, a cardboard box that was sitting on the table. And we'd walk by and like you

hear like a little giggling in the background or the something that's We're like, oh, we're kids, Well this is like this is crazy. We walked by the spoons and

right as we're turning around the corner, we heard like a thud. The spoons fell ever around the floor, and

I swear to God, every single one of those spoons had been bent in half, so they were all full, they were straight in this box before hit the ground.

Every single one of them was bent in half. And

it was the most it was the weirdest thing that I'd ever experienced. And that was the last time we

went back to that hospital, and they ended up tearing it down a few years later. But that after that,

I was like, yeah, weird stuff like that. I can't

say I've ever visually seen a ghost, but I've had moments that have spooked to me so badly that the slightest like I feel energy. That sounds so like cheesy

to say, but when I walk in a room, you can feel the energy. And if I get a negative energy,

it'll it'll it'll creep me out. Because I've had these

weird experiences that have happened.

I'd like to like be possessed by a ghost. I

would not no, because then at least that would it would be like confirm that they're real.

I think it's an energy. I don't think it's so

much a being or a thing, you know.

I would like to be possessed and then like live in this possessed state and have the ghost powers, like ghost powers.

That's something like exorcist shit.

I think, like you, I could, I could pick out like the powerball numbers. I don't think it works. No,

what are these ghost rules? I mean, I want to

like sit down and meet a ghost or an alien.

Well, they say ghosts or spirits that haven't passed on to the afterlife and they're stuck. So yeah, I can't

imagine it'd be like a very positive excep.

Do you believe in aliens?

I would feel dumb to not believe that there's some other living form.

Out there we'll never see yet to see one.

Maybe they've been here the entire time.

Yeah, well I feel like an alien sometimes. Well, speaking

of aliens, okay, and the way he you know, just so next to Guy's Mike Spagnola, right, Sege, Yeah, he's kind of like an alien. He's like anomaly. Sure, I so

much enthusiasm for life and people and cars.

He's the CEO of Sema show talks about having a great work life balance and also some of the incredible things that Seema's doing for this world.

Quite frankly, it's something that you can really be inspired by.

And today we get a seeing kind of insight on the ev argument is that the future is that the solution right, definitely, all right. Further, Ado might spec Nola

for the viewers out there and the listeners. Mike is

an old friend of mine. He currently is the CEO

of SEMA. For you guys that don't know Sema Seema,

I guess for the layman, it would be like the mecca for all car related things every year in Vegas and.

The largest trade show of the world in the US for sure in the US when it comes to automotive.

And you guys are also a nonprofit too, right, so you give a lot back to the community.

Yeah, So we really anything we make on the show, we just reinvest in the industry, into this culture of ours, into this hobby of ours, and then help our manufacturers and resellers retailers grow and prospers. Kind of what we do.

So we make money on the show, we you know, we have a due structure and all of that, but literally we pour it all back into a lot of things every year, you know, everything from rege leg you know, the government stuff that we have to be involved in in education and training. And you've been to our Seema garages,

you know, where we help manufacturers develop products and take them to market, and just a lot of those sort of things, scholarship programs and anything that gives back to the automotive community to help it grow and prosper and to protect this culture, this lifestyle that we all love. Yeah,

you know, that's that's all part of it.

How long have you been with CEMA for?

In twenty thirteen, I sold my shares in my last company and came to Seema on a three year contract to build the SEMA Garage and this product development center because I'd spent so much of my life doing product development, working with the OEES, working with Ford, NNGM and all the others on when new vehicles come out, having all those successories ready to go for them. And so I'm

eleven years into my three year contract now sitting us the president's CEO. So just to be part of this

industry and it's pretty cool.

You know.

We didn't grow up with a ton and my dad was a bartender and my mom was an opera singer.

Opera singer, which is super cool.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, I love the opera, but I can remember my mom, you know, sitting on the kitchen table in the morning, counting tips that my dad would get quarters and dimes and nickels, and that's what we used to go to the grocery store, you know, buy stuff with.

So and you were really into which was super cool.

I think that's where we really connected dots and early on, I mean you were racing five tents. Yeah, there's like

these cool pictures in his office racing like five tens.

I always wanted a five tens. That's one of my

I love hearing that you used to race, so.

They Yeah, I was probably you know, first off, you know, I wasn't great in sports and in high school, and I, you know, wasn't the popular kid around town and all that.

So I was a car guy and we were kind of the you know, the dumb model shop guys. But

then on top of that, I was an import guy.

Whenever else was muscle car. You know, growing up in

the sixties you had to love Chabelle's and Camaros and Mustangs and Corvettes. And I don't know what it was.

I just loved import cars. I had a brother in

law that raced sports cars, and so that was probably part of it. We'd go out to the Riverside Raceway. But

I fell in love with five tens and you know, back in Pete brock days and you know that sort of thing. So I was still even though I was

an auto shop, I was still the odd guy out because I was an import cars, not the muscle car scene.

But it was just part of me, you know, it was just it was just in my soul. I think

from the beginning, what did you like about those cars?

What drew you to those I think just it was something new and different in you know, at that point again Brock Racing and Pete Brock and John Morton and those guys watching them race.

For people who don't know Pete brock Ford versus for our Pete brock actually worked on the Shelby cars, right right, and then he eventually started building dots and five tens and two forties and built for like Paul Newman.

Paul Newman yet right, yeah, yeah, and so so right when I was thirteen fourteen, the two forties he came out, you know, so nineteen seventy, it was just you fell in love with it, you know, just the shape and what it was. And then a buddy of mine in

high school got one. He got a brand new one,

and so we would ride around on that. And then

after high school, I went to work for a Dawson dealership and just as a delivery driver and sweeping floors and working in behind the counter, that sort of thing, just because I wanted to be around that and I wanted to build a race car. When I was thirteen,

I had a fifty five Mercury that my grandparents gave me, and then I wasn't running. I got it running, and

when I was about fourteen and a half, my dad came home early and I was driving it down the street.

So that was the last time I saw it. But yeah,

after high school, it was just I was just in love with Dodson's. It was just one of those things.

I couldn't get enough of it.

So you got to build one. You need to get.

Yeah, you need to It's okay, sound a little ridiculous because it's a bit non conventional, but my dream five to ten has always been a rotary swap five to ten.

And I know that's acting, yeah, yeah, I know it's asking for headaches and problems and unreliability. But I always

had the dream that that's when I did a five to ten. I would do a rotary swap on one.

But I just I love those cars so much, and they're kind of like the old.

Two thousand and two BMW a little bit, you know, that's kind of but they were just so well handling and just just cool. I don't, I can't.

Yeah, there's something about them, which is something about them.

Yeah, And actually I think before that I had a dots And roadster and then kind of thought, well, this is kind of stupid. I don't have a roof of

my head trying to race these things.

And the roadster is still a big part of your life and your family's life. Like when I have a

template for the perfect like movie Dad, I always would think of Mike Speknolae because he has three kids. He

has two sons, and he has a daughter daughter. Yeah,

and the Dotson roadster is this connective tissue with him and his boys, right, because both his sons.

They built roadsters.

They like, they buy them, they flip them, they do resto mods like basically a resurrect any roadster and then they can flip it and make good money, right, and.

The problems we hang on to them, Yeah, it's my problem.

Yeah, I think I've sold one car in my lifetime.

And it's first world problems. But I've got cars that

should be in the garage that are sitting in the driveway because there's no room for him. Right. But I've

been blessed. I got three amazing kids, and my daughters

will stay at home mom, school teacher. But all the

kids are into the car scene. Both my boys are

as you know, they're both in the industry and so and it's kept us all closed. It's kept us out

of trouble.

You know.

We do a lot of off road racing together and track days together. And now I've got four grandkids a

fifth one on the way, and they're into it. So

we're you know, we were out at Johnson Valley a couple of weeks ago, King of the Hammers and took some side by sites out and dirt bikes and quads and the whole family is just we went camping for a few days and just tore it up out in the desert.

I see why you admire him. I see it. How

do you find that work life balance?

You know what I remind myself all of the time.

You know, I'm at a stage in my life where again, this job's it can be twelve hours a day if you let it be, it can be five, six, seven days a week. But I remind myself to spend time

with the family. Got a really good team at work.

We've been building that team up to a point where you know, there's still fifty hour weeks, but they're not sixty hour weeks.

Is there something you would tell yourself younger, you looking back knowing that this was obviously a career path, but also the time and energy that goes into a work first.

Yeah, I guess, you know, if you want to reach for things, you got to work at it, you know.

And yeah, I missed a few baseball games, which you know, like you know that haunts be probably still a little bit.

But we still had a great time. We still love

each other and have a good time. And you know,

we're Italian, so we get together for big family dinners and.

He makes the mean sauce. He has this like family sauces,

like your sauce. Yeah, and he gives it out. It's

like a present, It's like real Italian stuff.

So yeah, so I try to you know, I think that's it. I think you just continue to work at

it and continue to find that balance and find time to laugh and have a good time and you know those sort of things.

Be present in the moment.

Yeah, be present in the moment for sure. And again

I've been working on even at the office now, working on the team to you know, finding that balance between honoring the Hall of Fame guys, but also being relevant to the next generation and understanding what what the next generation likes in cars, right. It's not your dad's alsmail, right.

So that's what we're really working hard on right now, so that this industry and this again, this passion, this thing that we all love continues on.

What do you feel like has been the drastic change from that generation the Chip fous Is and the Attle Bronx today.

Well, you know, again, I think it's the you know, obviously the tuner market is hot and great right now, and understanding how they go to market. They don't go

in the traditional distribution market. The old market was manufacturer

sell it to a warehouse. Warehouse sells at the parts stores,

part sales sell it to retail. A lot of that

chain's been moved out and it's direct to consumer, social media, it's it's different ways of branding and advertising, and not necessarily branding and advertising and magazines now it's it's a whole different way of going to market and making sure that they understand that well, a lot of the stuff is cool. There are laws that we have to kind

of play by. You there's submissions laws, and you know,

the government would just assume a lot of times not to get again too political, but the government, you know, would rather we're all driving you know, plain white vanilla evs, and so protecting that part of the industry is really really critical.

And that's a big push for SEMO. I mean, I

think that's something that people don't really understand. SEMA is

like heavily like part of legislation, yeah, and lobbying for like, you know, resisting certain type of changes and stuff with the EPA. Right, can we speak on that, like you

were sharing out in the hallway about this push to make everything EV and maybe that's not necessarily that great, you know.

Yeah, you know, we we're saying is EV should be part of our future, but it shouldn't be the only answer.

I mean, there is a lot of work being done in hydrogen and synthetic fuels and biofuels. You know, the

internal combustion engine and ice engine is not bad. It's

what you put in it. You know, they could be bad.

So we're all for cleaner air, we're all for making sure that the environment is safe. But for the government

to put their thumb on the scale and say it's ev and ev only. We're resisting that the infrastructure for

charging stations and recycle and all that stuff is going to take some time. And so we're big proponents in

the direction of saying, hey, government, let all technology continue to evolve. Let's not pick one winner. Let's make sure

that we're looking at all the future technologies and fuels and all those sort of things. Let alone what it

can do to the economy. I mean, if we were

to just shut off gas parwred vehicles, you know twenty twenty six, thirty three percent of the vehicles in California.

They want to make evs that we've done some research on that. It would cost our industry about sixty seven

billion dollars a year. Sixty seven seven billion, yeah, billion.

And what's the response been When you have these conversations, you.

Know, typically they get it. I mean, we work with

both sides of the aisle, and some are kind of hell bent on saying, you know, we're you know, we're marching forward and we're doing this EV deal. But you're

now starting to see some pushback even from consumers. EV's

were selling like crazy. Now there's about one hundred and

twenty days of inventory on the floors of these dealerships, and now you're seeing you know, BMW has come out now and said they're working on hydrogen. Toyota's been hybrid

for a while. They were the first guys to step up,

and they really got criticized for that. But you can

build ten hybrids for every EV just with the minerals and the batteries it takes. And hybrids are getting fifty

sixty miles to the gallon. I mean, that's not a

bad deal, right, and let alone the price of it.

So do you think it is inevitable that cars, new cars eventually will all end up as EV.

Do you feel that? Gut? No, no, no, And again

I think, I mean, we're running internal combustion engines on hydrogen now, so you know, I think that's one of the answers. Let alone, you know, for what we love, right,

the noise in the yeah, the driveability and the you know, all of that. So I think it's a long run.

I think it's a really long run. And I think

you're going to see a lot of technologies evolve. Porsche

and Shell Oil and some of these others are putting you know, tens of millions of dollars into synthetic fuels, in renewable fuels, and I think that's I think that's really where it's going to end.

Up, renewable fuels. Interesting. You don't have a ev at.

Do you. I don't. I'd be happy to have one.

I feel I believe in balance, and I feel like there's you know, times when an EVY absolutely makes sense, and I'm pro ev don't get me wrong, But I also think you have to keep the passion alive in whatever that looks like. For me, I love working on cars,

and you know, I love tearing apart of motor and I hope I have the opportunity to do that forever.

And I wish people at home, I hope everyone gets a chance to experience that, because it really is something special.

But for those who you know, really just need something for a to B, needs a commuter and really doesn't care about the visual feeling of maybe in ice engine that was redundant. Sorry, but I then think an EV

makes makes perfect sense.

Yeah, no again, I agree. It's part of the solution,

it's not the only solution.

Right, that's a great answer.

What do you think? What's your thoughts on EV?

You know, I was so against EV all EV's I was like, I don't like any of it. There's nothing,

you know, like I can't connect with the cars. And

then I drove thish N series Hyundai. Yeah, right in Korea.

I drove it for like a week and then I took it on the track and then I got in there drift version of it, and it has fake sound.

It's like six hundred plus horsepower, and everything in the car is what a car enthusiast like, we'll freak out about, Like from the seats to the steering wall to the cup holder was like the coolest couple holder everything. Because

they were like the engineers were like designers were like, is there a criticism you have of the car? Go, yeah,

you know there's no cup holders in this thing. And

they're like, oh, we know you like cup holders. They're like,

press this button. All of a sudden, it's like they

got a star Trek. It's like they're like wow, They're like,

what about the rest of them? I go, no, this

cup holder is like the cool couple in my life.

I forgot about this.

But and then has the sound. It's like from what

from what they was saying, it's like there's these subwiffers in the backseat and there's like you know, natural aspirated mode and it just start. The car starts to rumble. Wow,

and then it's like backfires because you know, you can put it in manual mode and you downship and it's like and then.

People outside they're like, wait, hey, whoa, this is the EV this is noise all And then you can turn it off and it's quiet.

It's just the EV car. You can just be like invisible.

But then we're like, you know rolling by, like you know, this museum and these like you know, older folks were out there and I was like, that's down shifting.

It's like.

It was so cool and you can drift this car.

And I was like, well this and then in Seriah is like an F one, Like it's like I got an F one like race car. The whole thing is

it's just it's the most like it's just Evie or not.

I go, this is just an amazing looking car driving car.

It sounds amazing, right, and then like the price point is like awesome, and I was like this is all ev I was like shocked, and so it was like converted, like it was like I crossed the line and even you know, and my character is notorious for poo pooing on Hyundai's right like in Tokyo Drift. I'm like, you

think I'm gonna drive it day? And I give you

keys to.

Right, and I converted. I was like, no, honey, makes

some good stuff. I mean, come on, like the N series,

that's right. I drove that N seventy four like concept car. Right,

that's all the hydrogen car, and that's awesome.

It's awesome. But you know a lot of parts are

like three D printed and it's like it's a concept car, right, But this Ionic five and Looknay pays me nothing, like I have no relationship with them. But if ev cars

become this like oh my god, where because as a car enthusier, go, this is giving me everything I want? Right,

and that couple them.

But again, it is going to evolve you know, Borlers come out with a Borler who makes great exhaust systems, has come out with a software package for all those sounds that you can plug into an EV and it's got F one, it's got all those different sounds. It's

got a v E.

Sound and it's fascinating. I didn't even think about an

exhaust company how they would adapt in the future when it comes to a vehicle that does not have an exhaust system. What a way to adapt?

Yeah, and you'll see, you know again, the industry's going to continue to move and transform. The speech I did yesterday,

I quoted an article and the article said, does the aftermarket have five more years? And it talked about government

intervention and what they allow us to continue to do the things we do. It talked about the complexity of

vehicles and you're going to be able to continue to modify them because of all the computer systems and all the things in these vehicles. And it talked about next

gen maybe not being interested in cars and looking at other things. And then I held up the article. It

was from nineteen seventy one. So our industry continues to

find ways to be relevant to that here.

Right, because my fault question was going to be from your level, how do you see the younger generation's involvement in modern automotive.

So you know a few things. If you think about

let's just take even the new forward lightning truck, It's still a truck, so you can still lift it. Your

can still be bigger, entires, wheels, you can still put all the bid accessories, you can still go over landing and camping. So we'll adapt, I mean, there'll be things

that will we adapt to. The other kind of niche

market that's starting to happen, of course, is the conversion. Right,

so guy's taking a sixty nine Camaro in Porsche, Yeah, Porsche, any of those sort of things where and then you know that's evolving. It was that you had to find

a wreck Tesla and pull all the guts out of it and put it into whatever your rest a modding.

But now we had it seene of the share over fifty manufacturers of battery packs and motors and controllers and all those sorts of things. So that market is going

to continue to evolve. So I think the younger tech

generation is going to convert older vehicles into ev and just all that conversion. I mean, you and I worked

on a maverick. Yeah, and I thought he was crazy.

He was like, I was like, we're you know, we're going to put a V eight, We're going to put a five to zero in it. And You're like, no,

we're not. And you know, we said we're going to

put an EcoBoost mode two point three ecoboos ecaboos mode yeah, into a into a seventy one to two Maverick. But

but that was a you know, we did that vehicle.

We pulled the it was a six cylinder. It was

we put it on the dino. I think it was

seventy six horse power at the rear wheels and seventy six.

You guys built this for SEMA Garage, right, Yeah.

We built it with some student Yeah, it was.

It was it was like an auction car to be able to include young high school students on a build. Yeah,

right at the right.

And we had put it on the dinal and we put it in our missions lab at the Seema Garage and then we pulled that motor. We put the Yukaboost

motor in it and uh, it was about two eighty two ninety at the rear wheels and it was seventy times cleaner.

Yeah, I was going to say better emotions.

Yeah, than the original motor. And then that car went

to SEEMA and actually won the Ford Design Award and edsel Ford presented the kids with the awards. I mean,

that was.

Probably my That's amazing.

That was probably one of the highlights of it was Career.

He came up to us and he's like, we love the Maverick. Are you the Maverick?

He's a guy.

It's still underdog, underappreciated for it, I've been saying.

And you know, one of the cool things also we did with the kids. It was these students. We used

to see a machine, a scanner, so we scanned all the engine bay and then we scanned the engine, and then we showed them in CAD how the engine would fit into the engine bay. And then we even three

D printed the motor. But we did it all on

CAD and it fit to a t when it was all done. So it's amazing where technology's gone. You know,

we used to break our knuckles and try fitting things that didn't fit, and cut and shave, and when you just think it can't get any better, it continues to just get better. I mean, the builds that happened today

are just incredible. I mean, the ingenuity and the engineering

and the and it's fun to just watch, you know, a younger generation light up and talk about the sorts of things fashion.

I had the pleasure of judging one of the young guns a few years ago, and it was to see these builds. It's absolutely mind blowing and so fascinating of

what people are able to do at such a young age.

I mean, because this argument that you know, car culture is dying, it's dwindling away, but then you go to Sema, right, and every year it's like, you know, pop seats itself. Right,

It's like because for car folks it's like the Mecca.

Like people from you know, the Middle East and you know, like you know, from Dubai. They're like, you know, one day,

my friend, my dream is to go to the Sema.

Over one hundred countries show up.

Yeah.

I always thought it was the biggest in the world, and to me it forever will be.

So we're growing. The industry still grows a few billion

dollars every single year. Obviously the fast and furiy s

fastized kind of fueled some of that.

You know, well, speaking of we have a we have a connection with Fast and Feary.

Yeah.

So, prior to Team Mike had a bodykit company that supplied the body kits.

To the the other very first one fun Yea, which of course we did the Supra, we did the Mitsubishi so and at that time, the running storyline was that it was called Redline. I think was going to be it's

going to be the name of the movie. I actually

remember this, and we we gave out some of these bodykits and I kind of forgot about the whole thing.

You know. It was a year later the movie came out.

It was like, Hey, that's pretty cool.

It's amazing, Like the six degrees of separation.

People have with that friend continues on.

H When you hang out in the car community, you realize like, oh, they are very successful people that never went to college and the like appreciation to work with your hands right and today I wonder if you know that skill set is something that this current generation they don't value.

You know. Yeah, I'm a big proponent of trade schools,

I really am. And four year college isn't for everybody,

and in fact, it really frustrates me to see young kids go through college and be in debt for over one hundred thousand dollars, one hundred and twenty hundred and thirty thousand dollars and come out with a degree that they really can't use towards, you know, towards their life, towards their skills. And you know, I run into it all

the time, where they're in just debt forever, paying back five six hundred and seven hundred dollars a month for fifteen years, twenty years. It's really a shame. And you know, Sung,

you and I have gone to high schools and talked about this because really it's not even the students, it's the parents. The parents are so focused on my kid

is going to go to a four year college, but they don't always come out with skills that they can use that they're going to move forward with in a trade And so I'm a big proponent of you know, if you can get through a four year college, great, and if you can use those skills to better your career, great.

But trade schools are alive and well. In the automotive industry.

We're always going to need carpenters, we're always going to need plumber, We're always going to need electricians. We're always

going to need auto technicians, and especially as this thing does move towards eve great great need. I was talking

to Roger Penske a couple of years ago, and between all this car dealerships and all the other things, they were looking for twenty thousand technicians over the next few years.

And so I mean, you can come out of Uti or some of these schools now and you're starting at a eighty thousand, ninety thousand a year.

So people don't know this, right, So you get a job at BMW or you know, Porsche, it's like sixty five to eighty five thousand starting, yeah, with benefits.

Right, that's not bad, No, it's not bad. Yeah, But

you know, like anything in life, you have to hustle. Right.

If people think they're going to come into anything and be eight to five and do other things, you can make a career, but you're not going to excel at it.

What characteristics about these individuals stand out?

I think it's anything in business, right, having tenacity, having to put in the time and the effort, failing, getting up, picking yourself back up, doing it again, failing picking yourself back up, doing it again, doing what you have to do to make it, you know, whether that's living at home and putting the time and the effort in and understanding the car culture and understand the products needed. It's

the you know, mother and invention. Right, It's anything you

see something break and you think you can build it better.

That's what keeps our industry going, just being unique and different.

And I don't want to be the same as the other guy. I want to I want to have something

different on my mod that you know makes me stand out.

It's it's expression to who you are, right, It's it's really a canvas that shows who you are are in what makes you so yeah?

Yeah, And here's here's a question for myself. The thing

that really is always really stood out with you is your relationship with your wife, Like how do you keep marriage and the friendship like it's always fresh. I never

feel like you know when you when you too, like are still like the energy is like high school sweetheart, smiling as you talk, like it's it's like, you know, you made some couples and you're like, yo, man, they're like you know, they're they're on their last thread, right, They're like they're just tolerating each other. Where I never

feel that with you two, and for people that are going through this right, like the relationship kind of stalemate.

I guess like, you know, what, how do you keep refresh yet?

And how long have you guys been together for.

Forty one years?

What do you want?

Yeah?

Yeah, right, you know, look at you have to work at it, right, you have to continue to work at it.

You have to have good communication. We take time to

go out, we still date. You know, we are Christian people,

so I think that plays into it as well, that we have that commitment to each other. And so I

try to include her a little more in even my business travels. And you got to work at it, you know,

you have to just continue to work at it and remind each other as to you know, what we're doing and while we're here and all that.

So when she gets she gets on you for like working too much and everything at home, what's your response?

You know, confession, This is part of that work life balance.

I've never taken two full weeks off of vacation, Like I'll take a week at a time or three days at a time. Forty So we're going to Europe. We're

going to go to Italy. This summer and I'm taking

two full weeks off so you'll enjoy this. We were

at the dinner table with the kids and grandkids and we total, we're going to Italy this summer. You know.

The kids said, well, what dates? And I said, well,

I end up August to second week September. And Andrews

stands up, my oldest son and goes, huh, dad, when's Manza the Formula wonder is? Isn't that the first? Because

I stirred at him, like the Depth store, I'm like, I'm going to kill you right now, you know. And

that was a big deal because wait, we're going to Italy because you want to go to the Formula one race.

I said, no, no, no, no, no, you know we might show up there. The fire factory might be on

our way. So we've had kind of this running joke.

So probably, like you guys, anywhere you go, you end up finding car people, right, you end up finding that deal.

And so many times in my life we'll go to something that has nothing to do with cars and we find the car guys and like Dianad just shake her head.

Do you share like everything with her? Like work stressed?

Do you bring that home?

I imagine if you guys have been together for forty one years, you tell each other at everything. Am I right?

Yeah, except if I buy a car that I didn't tell her about her.

No, really, he has a lot of there's a lot of those.

No I did. I did have one that I was

actually on a trailer and I was looking at an.

Aston Martin and your thumb slipped.

She knew I kind of wanted one, but I didn't tell her. I was looking for one, and and I

was kind of bidding on it, and I thought I'll throw in one last bid because it was it was below market, and all of a sudden I bought it.

And I was like, oh crap. I got to go

home and tell her.

But you told her you didn't wait for the car to show.

Yeah, no, no, no, But I told her. She was

fine with it. She was like, you always wanted that car,

Go for it. You know, you deserve it. You know

those sort of things.

So, uh, that's a communication where she knew you you love the car, she knew you always wanted one, you were honest and open with her about having purchased it.

So there still is that communication that you guys are constantly having amongst one another, which is so important. I think.

Yeah, you and I saw the when the Z was at Sema show a couple of years ago, and I went over to look at it, and I was like, I gotta have I got to have this new, the new Z. And she was good with it. I mean,

she understood the heritage with me with thoughts and and nissans and and of course you know, she likes her shopping as well, so we try to make sure that balance happens.

Yeah, you go shopping with her?

I do you do? I do? Yeah?

All go sound so surprised.

That's pretty for forty one years, Like that's something that I it's hard for me to do now. I used

to try to do that, like you know, go and just carry the bags, right, But then, God, I hate shopping.

I don't. I don't.

I don't get out like you.

If I need clothes, yeah, I'll walk in. I'm in

there ten minutes. I don't even look at the price.

I buy what I need them out right.

When you travel, do you do the laundry at the hotel?

I do? I spend the money?

You spend the money?

Yeah?

Wow, Because now you're a baller you're the CEO. I

got that kind of money. But don't you feel guilty

spending the urn of money?

Right? I went to the Super Bowl and everything was ridiculous.

We went downstairs to the hotel to have bread and it was sold out. The lady said, well, there's a

you can do a buffet across the other side of the hotel. So we walked over to the other side

of the hotel. One hundred and fifteen dollars a person

for breakfast a buffet a buffet. Wow, well, even be

proud of me. We got our jackets and we walked

over to Denny's, got nine ninety five breakfast.

Right, I can't spend that kind of line.

It was ridiculous.

Yeah, that's too much. Yeah, I mean Denny's is good food.

Yeah, it's good food. Why you're still full at the

end of the yeah?

Right, I think that. I think Denny's has one of

the best chicken fried sticks in the world. Yeah, you

know what that is?

A chicken fried stick? An idea you had that never

eaten one.

Now, there's no chicken in it.

It's just a fried stick.

Right, It's a hamburger meat.

Right. You can tell you's from the South. Yeah, gravy.

Maybe it's just the humble beginnings or like not growing up with like money, even if it's expense or I could like write it off. I can't spend that kind

of money on dry cleaning underwear. I just can't do it.

I can't.

That's where I draw the line. I'm okay, Yeah, you're okay.

There's something you gotta have good toilet paper. Yeah, you

gotta have clean underwear. Yeah, you gotta have good syrup, syrup,

syrup for your pancakes cakes. Yeah, okay. So there's a

few things I'll splurgeh.

On, but those are Yeah, that's that's fair.

Yeah, yeah, the syrup. I like the syrup. The syrup.

You gotta have principles in life, That's right.

There's some things that's just you know, you spend the dollars on. Yeah.

Well, thanks Mike, Yeah, thank you. This was just wonderful

to sit down with you and you.

Guys as well. Honored to be here and honored to

be a guest.

And we should give credit and credits due. You jumped

straight from a flight from lax Rove straight here and now you're onto another job, and we really appreciate you taking the time well, thank you and Again thanks for the invite anytime

Chevrolet Corvette

Chevrolet Camaro

Ford Mustang

Ford F-150 Lightning

Ford Maverick

Toyota Supra

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