Lyn Woodward Is Cooler Than You.

It is a dream job.

I mean, let's face it.

Today on that car show, it's our pal, Lynn Woodward.

Lynn's the lead editor for content at Kelly Blue Book,

but she's done it all, really.

Child actor, screenwriter, television producer,

rally driver, commentator.

She's written for the New York Times, Forbes,

Motor Trend, Auto Week, and The Drive, among many others.

But no matter the platform,

Lynn's got a great presence and a no-nonsense approach

that really puts her in a class of one.

You weren't this one clocks in at two hours,

but I promise it's worth listening to the end.

And really, we were just getting going.

If you like what you hear, let your enthusiast friends know,

and make sure you follow, subscribe, rate, and review.

Everyone seems to have a car podcast these days,

and it's this support that keeps an independent show

like ours going strong.

But back to the show, it's a fun one.

It's Lindsay, it's me, it's Lynn Woodward,

and it's that car show.

Well, welcome back to this week's episode of That Car Show.

I'm Lindsay, and I'm here with Ryan,

and I'm so excited that we have my good friend,

Lynn Woodward, joining us tonight.

Hi, Lynn.

Hi.

Thanks so much for being on.

Thank you guys for having me.

Yeah.

So for those who don't know,

Lynn and I met a few years ago,

actually on the set of J. and Nicole Ryan's

podcast, Late Night Play Set.

Lynn was scheduled to be on,

and I very spontaneously ended up joining her on the episode,

and we had so much fun.

And then we were at Goodwood together later that year,

and we've been lucky to have lots of fun adventures

between then and now.

Lynn is currently the lead editor for content

at Kelly Blue Book, where she develops, writes,

and is the on-camera host for their automotive video

content and reviews.

She is also a prolific freelance writer,

and her work has appeared in some small publications

that you might have heard of, including The New York Times,

Motor Trend, Haggerty, Driver's Club,

Motor One, Auto Week, and The Drive, to name just a few.

And she is currently restoring a Porsche 912,

which I have been lucky enough to see a few times,

and it's been an amazing journey to follow.

Lynn is hilarious.

She's genuine.

She's authentic.

And she is a true enthusiast,

and she's such a positive force in the automotive world.

And I consider myself lucky to call her my friend,

and I'm so excited for our audience to get to know her better.

So thank you for coming on.

I'm going to just leave right now after that,

because I don't want to ruin everything

that you just said by actually talking.

Right.

And thanks so much.

That's all we got this week.

We'll see you next week.

No, thank you guys so much for having me, Lindsay.

It's so nice to see you.

I feel like it's been a while since the holidays,

and Ryan, it's really great to meet you.

Likewise.

Yeah, I always love new voices in the automotive industry.

It's really important, and everybody has such a great story,

and they're all different.

And so it's really fun to come and share and hear other people.

So thanks for having me on.

Yes, this is a long time coming.

And like you said, it's been way too long

since we've seen each other in person.

So this is a great way to hang out when we're not

in the same place.

But yeah, I think the last time was.

Our dinner at MOTSA will never ever be recreated.

Now that we're engaged.

We can't top it for sure.

So the first time we hung out, just the two of us,

we went to, is it Pizza MOTSA?

Yeah.

LA, which is a Nancy Silverton restaurant.

And we somehow managed to be there when Nancy herself

was actually there, which we were like,

it's a sign from above.

Yes, but we were eating food, and we were like, oh my gosh,

Nancy, Nancy's here.

Like, like she even noticed us or like we were like,

we were just the starstruck.

We're like, oh my gosh, she's here, she's here, she's here.

Like, at cool.

It was very cool and dagger.

We were both like, a piece of stuff on your face.

Like, stop it.

It was amazing.

That's awesome.

Nancy's here, get it together.

Straighten up, don't touch at the bar.

Come on, what's wrong with you?

Really?

We're in the presence of culinary greatness here.

Like, now we definitely were like, what do we do?

And then, like you said, like, she doesn't know us.

We don't have to do anything.

And look at us.

She said, just pay your bill and get out.

I got too much money.

You see this line.

Come on.

Right, yeah.

No, that was hilarious.

But I think that was that dinner was so emblematic of like what

it's like to be your friend Lynn because you're so present.

And you commented later, you know, hey,

nobody, neither of us even thought to take out our phones

to check them, let alone, you know, take a picture.

But I think that's one of the things that makes you so special

is you're so in the moment and present.

And when you're with someone, you're really with them.

And that is, you know, I'm very lucky to have experienced that.

Thank you.

I do think in this day and age, I mean, we're so,

I think we're so bombarded by so many different things

and in so many different places.

And then there's this and it's like, yeah.

And, you know, as someone who grew up without that,

I feel like I met it probably quite an advantage, I think,

to a lot of, you know, younger people who like that's how they're just

brains are wired so differently than than ours were.

Or that mine certainly was having grown up in the 70s and the 80s.

And and I think I try and I listen,

I'm just as addicted as the next person.

I set the limits and I've got the things and I'm like, it's like, eh.

But, you know, I think it the the older I get,

the more important it feels to really make really sincere

connections with people and to get off of the phone and to maybe not watch TV.

And I've been reading so much more and I've taken up knitting

so that if I'm talking on the phone or I'm watching a show

that I'm not super engaged with in my brain,

I'm instead of scrolling, I'm now making something with my hands.

And it feels it feels like a good move.

Yeah, I feel like that's the right direction.

I actually also took up knitting a few years ago and it is amazing.

I'm so terrible at it.

There's a hole in this blanket.

Oh, my gosh.

The number of times where I would make and I found, you know,

this scarf and to call it a pattern would be way overstating.

And it was a technique and you made it as wide or as narrow as you wanted.

But yeah, the number of holes in my first one.

So I'm like, I'm just going to tie this together and no one will notice.

But you're doing it right.

Doing it. And I've also pre-moth eaten it because I've got so many stitches

that it's like it's like pick out a little peekaboo hole.

It's crazy.

And that's, I think we call that new vintage.

Where I come in and I'm intimidated by just the idea of it, right?

So I would never try.

I will never try.

I'll never try just because it's never say never, Ryan.

I know. Never say never.

Now, I feel like the needles have been what I need.

I feel like the crochet is more your jam.

Crochet is like a little point, but you know, it's less.

Yeah. Well, the beautiful thing is that the yarn doesn't judge.

So I don't know.

I feel like maybe the knitting needle challenge has been thrown.

And I'm next year.

I want blankets for all.

Like everyone gets a blanket.

We're going to, we're going to meet back here in a year.

We all have to show our Afghans that we've knitted.

Don't get your hopes up, but I'm in, I'm in.

I'm like just a little, like a little coozy for like a, like your beer or something.

Now we're talking.

Yeah. I think I can wrap my head around that.

Perfect.

Start small, right?

Yeah. Oh my gosh.

Well, so you mentioned people's stories.

And I think that's, I think you have one of the most interesting and unique,

you know, paths into the automotive industry and automotive writing.

I know writing has been a through line in your career,

but the automotive element was not always there.

So I would love for you to share how like how you got into the automotive world

because I think it's so interesting.

Yeah. I mean, I'll kind of give you the 30,000 foot view.

I started off, you know, I've wanted to be a writer for a really long time.

And, and I, as a, I think as a young person, I just never thought I was good.

I never thought I was smart enough, like, and I, because I always thought, oh, writer,

like that is such a glamorous sounding job and that is amazing.

And for me, it was, I was very intimidated just by my own idea of it

because I thought you had to be super smart and super like knowledgeable

about subject matter in order to, to be a writer.

And so I, I went to school for writing.

I went to school for creative writing.

I went to grad school for creative writing.

And I had struggled for a really long time to even know, like, what do I want to write?

Like there are so many different options and, and directions that you could go.

And by the time I got out of grad school, I just thought,

well, now I don't even know what I'd write about

because all I've done is be a student in school.

And I thought, well, I'll go get a job.

And so I, I landed in advertising and I wasn't writing copy.

I landed as an account.

I was on the account management side because I had been in the entertainment industry

when I was a kid.

I was, I was an actor when I was like a little kid from about the age of 17

until about, no, seven until about 13, 17, God, no.

And so I had been around movies and, and the television and theater.

Both of my parents danced on Broadway when I was, when I was born in New York,

they were both dancers.

And so I've come from a very like show business background.

And so I thought, well, advertising is kind of like you making little teeny movies

every, you know, every couple of months.

And, and so it just seemed like a natural fit.

And it was for a long time because it gave me an opportunity.

I was living in San Francisco.

And even though I grew up in LA, it gave me an opportunity to, to kind of grow up

away from my family and, and to become my own person and, and to really just

live life as a 20-something person.

And I had a great time and we worked our butts off and we, you know, you party hard

and you work hard and you're like, ah, I can do that.

And then one day you're like, oh, I'm exhausted and I'm in my 30s.

It's happening.

And not that need to write had kept like, like nudging me and needling me.

And so I moved back down to Los Angeles and I started taking screenwriting

classes because I really, I really wanted to be like a movie writer.

And I thought, well, I've been around movies and I love movies and I love production.

So there's the, there's the connection of what do I write?

And so I, I went to UCLA Extension and I started taking television,

comedy writing classes and I was like, this is it.

This is great. Sick, calm, perfect.

That's going to be so amazing.

And I feel like I'm funny.

Ha, ha, ha.

And it turns out that is like almost like, I don't know if it's

harder to become the president of the United States or be put on a staff

of a, of a television comedy.

It's a really insular world.

You have to know somebody to know, like, oh, my uncle runs a show.

So I'm going to become, it's like the advice I always got.

They're like, well, just go be like a showrunner's assistant.

And I'm like, well, duh, but how do I get that job?

Because there's always the nepotism that you hear about.

Now, you still have to know somebody whichever way you slice it.

100%. And I felt like my, you know, my writing was decent.

I, I, I got good, I got, I got good, like, sort of comments back on some

of my scripts and, but it was just a, I mean, it was like clearly not happening.

I was just like ramming my head against a brick wall.

And I was really frustrated one day because I had left advertising to try

and pursue writing full time and I was broke.

I think I've had, I think I had like $100 in the bank.

I mean, I had nothing.

It was either live in my car or sell my car in an LA.

The second is not an option.

And I genuinely didn't know what to do.

And I, I reached out to a friend of mine who I used to work in advertising with.

And she said, look, go back into advertising, but just freelance.

And she gave me three names of people to talk to.

And so just go do project management stuff, short term, long term, whatever,

make some money and then take some time off, work for a month and then write for

two months and then we're, and I was like, Oh, that seems like a great,

what a great solution.

Yeah.

So I called the three people and two of them hired me instantly, one for five days.

And I managed to make enough money that I could put some money in the bank and I

didn't have to, I didn't have to, you know, abandon my apartment or, you know,

like steal from my parents.

And, um, and then the next people who hired me, this lady was like, well, we

have this thing, it's five months.

Now I was like, five months sounds great.

Like I'll work for five months.

Yeah.

So a hundred percent.

And I was like, but I've never heard, this is not an ad agency.

I was like, this place was called the enthusiast network.

And I'm like, I don't know what that is.

I don't know what y'all do, but it looks like there's either cars or surfing,

like, and, and magazines.

Like, I don't, I don't know what mag is like, what are you, what?

And she said, well, it's this event that we're doing an onsite activation for.

And I'm like, never heard of one of those.

I have no idea what that is.

He said, well, it's for the automaker infinity.

And it's at this event called the Concord Delegance.

And I was like, oh, that sounds really fancy.

I like cars.

Infinity is cool.

Like, I don't know how to order a cocktail napkin, but I'm your gal.

And so she hired me without even meeting me.

And the next five months, I was literally at the epicenter of motor trend,

automobile, hot rod, truck trend, like all of these, like, like these amazing

magazines and surrounded just by car people and edit, you know, magazine editors.

And, and just see, I was like thrown into this world that I was like, what is this?

It's like walking through the wardrobe and Narnia.

And you're like, oh, hey, this is awesome.

And I spent five months helping put together this program.

And then she's like, well, I really need you to come up and like help me work the

program. And I go up and I'm at Pebble Beach and I'm just a noob.

I've never even like, I, in my wildest dreams, I could never have imagined

that such an event existed.

My dad had a couple of classic Porsche speedsters when I was a kid.

And I fell in love with those cars.

I couldn't learn how to drive fast enough.

I would sit right seat with my mom in her toy, in her Corolla hatchback SR5.

And I was like, well, let me shift.

And she'd be like, okay, now third.

And then, and then after a while, I would just hear the engine.

And I was like, okay, I need to get into, I need to go in a second now.

And now I need to go to the fourth.

And so here we are.

And she was just like, okay, great.

So I'm shifting this car and I'm learning how to drive.

And I'm understanding the dynamics of all of this stuff when I'm a very young person.

My dad has these amazing cars that I just absolutely fell in love with.

And it felt like this, this like just sort of kind of all fell together.

I go to this event and I'm just like wandering around.

My eyes are like as big as the moon.

And I was just like, what is this magical place?

It was like, I'm staying at the crappiest hotel.

And there's like McLaren's and Aston Martin's in the parking lot.

And I was like, who's heaven?

Like I died and went to some heaven.

And it wasn't that long after that.

They're like, we really want to hire you as a project manager.

And I'm like, no, I want to be a writer.

Like that's why I left advertising.

And it wasn't too long after that until one of the editors, Elana Sher, you know, Elana.

She said to me, she's like, we don't have enough women in this business.

She's like, have you ever thought about writing about cars?

And I was like, yeah, I thought about it.

Like I've been surrounded by this and I would kill to like write one article about a car.

And it was like, she gave me my first opportunity and I'll be so forever grateful to her.

Because after that, like this whole world just exploded around me.

And I had a lot to learn.

I knew about cars, but I didn't know about cars.

And so I had some people who I trusted, who I sent them my my rock copy.

And I was like, please, do I sound like an idiot?

They're like, oh, you said that totally wrong.

Like, that's not how you would say that.

And I understood the mechanics of what I was saying, but I didn't know the language

because this is like learning a new language.

And it was like, it was suddenly like all of the things that I had done in my life

previously all just sort of fell together like pieces of a puzzle.

And then when I got the job at Kelly Blue Book, I freelanced for about a year and a half.

And then I got the job at Kelly Blue Book and they're like, we're looking for

an on on camera person to do the reviews.

And I was like, oh, damn, I don't want to be on camera.

I'm such a like an introverted person and I don't want like people judge me

and that makes me uncomfortable.

And I'm like, I already hate myself so much because I'm like, but that really

was that moment where I thought, OK, I see now how every single thing

in my life had led up to that moment.

There you go. Yeah.

And I thought, what a beautiful thing that was.

And that was 10 years ago.

That's incredible.

And I mean, it's like the serendipity in your story.

And, you know, it was not like I think it makes it even more beautiful.

It was not always an easy path.

Like it was hard fought.

I was in hands of beans.

Like it was hard.

It was really hard.

Sure. And I was 35.

I thought I left advertising when I was 40.

And I was like, whoa, I went from a person making a really excellent salary

like into the six figures, like doing great.

And then I went and I did get one job as a script supervisor on an animated

kids show. And so I was I was just like, this is it.

I made it. I'm like, I did it.

Here I am.

And I would go into my boss would like scream.

I made it come into his office and he wouldn't even look up at what

from what he was doing.

He would hand me his dirty.

He would hand out the lunch plate that he had his sandwich on.

And he's like, could you do something with this?

And I was like, what is in my life?

Like, now I'm just your slave.

I'm handling the dishes.

I was like, how about you bend over and I'll put it.

Find a place for it.

Yeah, I found a place right for it.

It was a great humbling experience.

And I think even as a 40, I think I was 42 at the time.

And I was like, whoa, man, like this is this is rough.

But I needed that.

I needed that to sort of to build myself back up and to feel, you know,

to just be like, no, it's OK.

You got to work. You got to work hard for this.

Nobody gives it out for free.

And it's I just got to a place I literally I just finished a review

for the Honda Prelude and I, you know, it went up on YouTube.

And listen, YouTube is the roughest place to be an automotive journalist,

especially if you're a woman, I think it's really particularly.

It's been it was particularly hard.

When I first started, it was like, what's wrong with your hair?

Or how come you're wearing mom jeans or whatever, you know, whatever it was

that people would say it would never be about my work.

It was for the car.

I would love it if someone was like, hey, could you talk more about the transmission?

Like, I would love to know more about that.

It was always a generally a personal comment, at least in the very beginning.

And there was this guy who wrote this really nice, long thing.

He's like, I've never watched one of your videos before.

He's like, I'm kind of a car nut.

And I watch all these videos.

He's like, and honestly, he's like, your review of the Prelude was to me

the most thorough and, you know, the most the most well rounded.

And you explained this better than anybody else did.

And this I really liked.

And just you awesome. Keep it up.

But I was like, oh, maybe I'm not a complete fraud.

Because I don't know about you guys, but I still feel like I have imposter syndrome.

Yeah. Oh, yeah.

Like there's definitely moments.

And I think you make a good point.

Like with that experience with the screenwriting boss, I think it's a

skill that you have to learn to see those moments for what they truly are,

which you did.

But, you know, the clarity doesn't, it's not always instantaneous,

but it also makes you appreciate when you get to where you are now.

You're like, oh, if I hadn't been through the path that I was on,

I don't know that I would have seen this for what it is, recognized it, appreciated it as much.

You know, it's those are.

Yeah, they are.

And it, but it's like, I think that's what I try to do, too, is like, OK,

what, what is this trying to teach me?

Like, because life is not meant to be, you know, all easy, and it makes you

appreciate the great stuff.

And when you do achieve.

Yeah, when I would ask those people to direct me to their work.

Yeah, we can talk, right?

Yeah, but I think there's an envy there, right?

People look at you and they think you've got it all figured out.

It must be this glamorous life.

So what's what's the biggest misconception that people have about what you do?

I think just the ease of the job.

I mean, I think I think from the outside, it is one of those jobs.

It's like, it is a dream job.

I mean, let's face it, it's like, I get to say, I get to drive.

Hopefully, you know, seventy five, eighty percent of the cars that are out there.

And I frankly, like it doesn't matter if it's a McLaren or if it's a Nissan.

I can find something good in any car.

Like there are things I love about it and I just love, you know, I love how

it's a pretty level playing field these days with a lot of stuff.

And so really finding faults and flaws is kind of a difficult thing.

But but it is, it's not easy.

It's not as easy as just, oh, you push a button and like, like, I don't have

anyone writing my stuff.

No one hands me a script and goes, here are the words you have to say.

Now, you just go look pretty, it's pretty as you can, your age.

Go look pretty and go just like stand up and be like, I'm not Vanna White.

Vanna, no, nothing on Vanna White.

She's amazing, but I always wanted to be the person who was known.

These are these are my words.

This is what I genuinely think about this.

And I take that, I take that very seriously.

And I would hope and encourage all women to do that because that's how

you become legitimate in this business.

And but I do think like in the travel, listen, some of the travel is extraordinary.

Like some of the travel is extraordinary.

I've been to places that I could never be able to afford on my own.

Stay at hotels.

I could never afford to stay at.

I have a tremendous amount of gratitude for it.

Still even 10 years in, I do not take it for granted.

But I got to tell you, it is really difficult to get on a plane, fly, you know,

nine, 10 hours, you land in a completely different time zone.

And you have to, you better get a good night's sleep that night.

You have to go to kind of a long dinner because especially some European

manufacturers love to take really long dinners and they don't start

until like 10 o'clock at night.

So you're like, right, here we go.

And then you have to get up the next morning and you have to be on.

Like you have to be like ready to go.

And now it's not for me.

It's not just, oh, I get in the car and I can drop little notes and I can evaluate.

I have to be on camera.

So I've got to be camera ready.

I travel with a lot of equipment, like a lot of camera equipment.

And I'm usually, I'm usually driving with a, with a partner with someone else

who doesn't give a shit about what I'm doing, like they have their own stuff to do.

And I'm like, is it okay if I stop?

I have to like change the cameras.

Like I feel really guilty about like trying to sort of like encroach

on their time and their space too, because I just, I don't want to be disrespectful.

And then like in the moment while you're driving a car, especially if it's

a performance car, that to me is even is even a tougher ask is like,

I'm supposed to be evaluating and talking about it kind of at the same time.

And trying to have a coherent thought come out of my head that's succinct,

but not stupid and, and like, like drive.

And sometimes you're in a really fucking expensive car.

And you're like, oh, I don't want to ruin it.

So that could take all of your focus by itself.

And then you're also in the moment, having to produce camera ready content.

And then by the way, you don't get my family was so cute because I'd go on trips.

I'd be like at the beginning, I'd be like, oh, I'm going to, um, yeah,

I'm going down to like, to niece and my uncle would be like, oh,

there's a fabulous little three, but just if you go down like this three

and then like turn around, he's like, they have like the most to die for.

And I'm like, I don't have time for a shower.

You're not on vacation, right?

Well, because you go, you get there, like you get there that next day,

you have a dinner, you go and you drive the day after.

And then the next day you're on a plane and you're coming home.

And on that plane coming home, you're generally writing your story or

you're filling out the rest of your impressions.

And the second I get home, then I have to record my voiceover.

And then the, the stop gets edited because you're embargo, you're basically

is like, when you're allowed to say like, Hey, this is what I think of this car.

When your review goes up and really you do not have more than like four or five

days from when you're done driving to when everything has to be written,

you know, edited all of these things.

And it's, it's very tiring.

Again, I am not complaining.

I love it.

I am super grateful about it.

And, um, but it's, it's not as easy as it seems.

I think it's one of the people don't think a lot of people don't see what

goes into it on the back end and sort of the, like you said, it's like

without complaining about it, you know, traveling to other parts of the world

for the brief periods of time that the trips usually are, like that is draining.

I think at one time they used to have like longer trips and I'm like,

well, that sounds like.

And a lot of that was before video too.

So I think when you add the video production into it, there's just this whole

other element that's like, well, no, no, I have to shoot the B roll.

So I, I can't go to lunch because I need the car for the 45 minutes

that I would be sitting at lunch and I'm going to go shoot B roll and I'm

going to go shoot my stand-ups.

So I oftentimes like, I won't, I won't make like, like lunch.

Right.

So yeah, I think that's part of your appeal.

Like it's genuine.

You like, forgo the catchphrases and like the cheesy YouTube stuff.

And you seem like a real human.

Right.

It shows.

And that's something that I think most people forget about.

And I guess related, you know, Matt Farah had a good answer when someone

asked him this question, you go on these trips and all this, just curious to

get your take, how do you balance being critical while maintaining access?

Right.

In an industry where relationships do matter so much.

I mean, listen, you, you have to be honest, because that's, that's your

credibility on the line.

I think that's a hundred percent just a given.

Um, there are two things I would say.

The first thing is if there's something wrong with the car, the press people

normally, they kind of, they know it, they already know it.

It's not going to come as a surprise to them.

They're sort of like, yeah, I get it.

There's a way of being diplomatic about it and of being not, there's, I think

there are those journalists that, that are like, they love a, they love the

gotcha moment.

It's like, I'm going to like, I'm going to out you and like make some kind

of like big statement about it.

Like, I'm so great.

Oh, you fucked up.

And like, this is what, um, that's not doing that kind of journal of them.

This is not like I was scoop.

Oh, right.

You know, look, I, I saw this person to me, it's like, look,

this, I feel like this could have been done a little bit better.

Like this to me doesn't feel like it's as, this doesn't feel like it is as

premium as it should be for this level of car.

Like it's, you say these, like there are ways to say it where it's where it is.

If there's diplomacy involved.

Yes, that's, yeah, that makes sense.

Where you're, you're conveying it honestly without just being critical

for the sake of being critical.

And you're not saying this fucking sucks.

Like, who made that fucking shit?

Right.

Like, you know, like there are some people who do that, but that's not my style.

And, and, you know, it's kind of amazing that when you see behind the curtain

a little bit of OEMs, it's kind of amazing that they do do what they do.

Right.

Like they can manage to put together these amazing cars.

Right.

When you look at the bean counters and the engineers and all the, it's, it's

right.

Especially the bigger companies and then you throw in, you throw in regulations

that they have to go with, you know, people will talk about design.

And I'm, you know, I'm one of those people who talks about it too.

People are like, all cars look the same now.

And, you know, listen, I have always said, I feel like if I took the badging

off of every white, like mid-size SUV, how many people would be able to tell

like what was what?

I think it would be a real challenge on many levels.

But you also have to appreciate that automakers are, they have a lot of

restrictions within which they need to work and no, like, are we going to see

the big finned, you know, Cadillacs of, you know, of the fifties again, or even

see like this, like these tiny little bumpers, like that are on my Porsche.

No, we're not going to see that ever again, because people want to be safe

and not die in their car.

And I feel like that's kind of a payoff.

I, you know, I do hope that there's, that there's some, you know, more

latitude and inventiveness when it comes to car design, especially as we get

into more into the electrified era, because your components are all basically

going to be the same.

You're basically riding on a skateboard.

And, and maybe that means that, that there will be more creativity allowed

on the exterior, or maybe even someone will be able to say, Hey, I'm going

to start this coachworks where you can kind of, you could have whatever it is

that you want and spoke, whatever you want.

And wouldn't that be a cool thing?

So I think they do work within quite strict regulations.

And yeah, I mean, boy, for anyone who doesn't understand why Subaru and Toyota

got together on some of their, you know, cars, or why, why some manufacturers

kind of get in bed with others.

It's like, this is an expensive proposition.

And, you know, especially now, like, boy, to, for some of them, but you have

gone all in in the EV space.

And now, like we're kind of seeing this backlash a little bit, the pendulum

is sort of swinging a little bit the other way.

Um, it's a big, you take a big risk every single time you're making a

wholesale decision like that.

And it's, it's tough.

I don't know that some of the, it's some of the car makers that we see now

are going to be in business five, 10 years from now, or fewer or less than that.

So, you know, I try and respect that too.

Do you want to name names?

No.

Okay, I would, I would prefer not to, but you make a good point about how

much the regulations impact design and how much it does, like everyone is

working within the same limitations.

And I think that's something that when you just see a car on the road, that's

easy to forget about that, but it really does, you know, impact what they're able to put out.

Some people have done a better job than others.

As far as I'm concerned, like I look at what, and, and I look at what

Hyundai and Kia are doing.

And I think that their approach to, to design has been actually really interesting.

I think if I look at Audi's, I look at, it's just sort of the Russian doll approach,

right?

It's like, it's like, you just get a bigger, bigger, bigger, bigger, bigger version

of this kind of same thing.

But yeah, that's a great description with Hyundai.

They kind of are, they're sort of more of like a, like chess pieces, right?

Or they complement.

Yeah, they kind of sort of look like they're of the same family.

But like the Santa Fe now is a sort of like much this boxy kind of thing that doesn't

look like the, you know, the, the Tucson, you know, it's just like, oh, yeah, I don't

like how the Tucson looks.

You're not like relegated to be like, well, I guess I have to get another car.

Or like, you don't, it's not, you're just not like, oh, it's just a bigger version

of the Tucson.

Like, and so I, they have definitely taken into account different people have

different tastes and different, different likes and, and different needs.

And so I think that's actually been really wise of them.

Well, and it's, it's, you make a good point because you can have sort of a common

thread while still giving people options and keeping it a little more diverse.

And I think we all commented at the auto show just this past fall, like Kia really

is killing it.

And I think people were pleasantly surprised.

Yeah.

I will say though, that, that new, um, the Telluride really looks like a, like a

new Range Rover.

Yes, heavily.

They've learned homage.

They've paid homage.

I mean, I tip my hat because it's, you know, same.

Same.

I've had the same thought.

I know what's the term for a hundred percent homage, uh, heavily sampled.

Help her.

Yeah.

A better Range Rover than the Range Rover, to be honest, right?

I mean, that Range Rover was gorgeous.

I wouldn't, I wouldn't say no to one of them.

I wanted to find her.

That's what I wanted.

Neither would I.

Oh, that's good.

Yes.

Yeah.

Ryan knows what's up.

I know.

Well, I told, I told Ryan and Dan last week I was at a cars and coffee with my

daughter, we were walking around and there were, there was a wide variety of cars

and not really any big cars though.

And she said, mom, if you were going to get a big car, what would you get?

And I was laughing and I immediately said a defender.

She said, I knew it.

I knew that before you even answer.

So Lindsay, I have a question, like talk to me about your daughter's like

interest in cars and did that, is that kind of an organic thing or did that, do

you think that came from your, from, from your love?

And it's just sort of has trickled down to her.

I think it's probably a combination, but I think it's more nature than nurture

actually, obviously, because, um, like really the people that she's around in

our family the most are into cars.

So she was definitely exposed to it and had the opportunity to, you know,

experience a wide variety of what I would consider fun cars and sort of see

cars as something that's a hobby, as well as transportation and, you know, a

way to sort of meet up with your friends or meet new people.

And so she got to experience all of that from a very, like from, I mean, she was

at the track at 10 weeks old, like I think the first event that I was back

out, she was 10 weeks old, which I look back on that as maybe not the smartest,

but you're here over there at this point.

And some of the cars that you have exposed her to, just because of your

family connection with Cobras and like those, that, that classic car element

that to me is so, um, I think that's so formative because they are so different

than what we see now.

And they are like little, these kind of little toys.

And I think especially, I think that's what made me really fall in love was

that, that the Porsche Speedster was just like, it's cute.

Yes.

Like I can see myself in that.

Like it's just like a little, like a little princess car.

It's got crossover appeal for sure.

It really was.

And I just thought, oh, what a, what a great point of entry.

And I could see a Cobra like having the same kind of allure for a young girl.

Yeah, that and what's funny is she has really connected to, because there's

a 73 Bronco in the family and she had really connected to that one.

So, you know, like she, there have been times where we have gone for a drive

because she has walked outside and, and kind of padded the back of it and said,

we should probably take this Bronco out.

And I'm like, you know what, far be it from me to say no to that.

That's right.

But I remember one time when she was like two and she was in the back

of the Boss 302 Mustang that I had because I had a 2012.

And she was in the back yelling, go lightning the queen, go.

And I remember thinking to myself like, nobody will ever believe me

that I didn't teach her to do that.

But that was all her.

So she, you know, I think she would have been a car girl anyway, but it

might not have been as easy to experience it had she not been born into the family

that she was, but yeah, I'm very, very lucky that she still wants to hang out

with me and we'll go to car stuff.

That's a big deal at 13.

Yeah, it is not lost on me for sure.

I wish I had someone to talk to about my love of cars because it was just one

of those things where I would look at, like as I got older and I was driving,

you know, on the freeway in Los Angeles and I would, I would look at cars

and I'd be like, oh, I'm really like the back end of that one is kind of like,

what the hell?

But the front end of this is like, this is really cool or how unusual that

that's the style or the design.

And I remember so acutely, like the Cadillac de Ville that was like an

on ramp and I was like, I feel like you could drive right up that thing.

There were things that certainly impacted me in a way, but I never vocalized

it because I never had like a community.

Yeah, talk with about it and my parents were, you know, my, my stepdad is not

really into cars and my mom was just like, I don't know, I drive a Buick, you

know, I've got to like, sure, why not?

And so when all of this stuff started to happen for me, my friends were like,

wait, you're writing about what?

They're like, what the hell do you know about cars?

And I'm like, well, actually, I know more than you might think because I, you

know, but I just never had anyone to talk to about it.

And the community is wonderful when it comes to just appreciating cars,

but also working on cars.

Like suddenly you just have like a whole pack of like, of, of friends who are

like, okay, let's move over the hood and figure out what the hell's going on here.

Yeah.

And everybody's in and they're all willing to jump in and help and they all

enjoy it.

It's not a, you know, it's not a task.

And I think, you know, like we, our friend Bassam Wasif that we all know his son

is around my daughter's age and, um, you know, our friend John Dicey at

Porsche Colorado Springs, his son is around.

They're all around the same age and they're all car kids.

But like you said, like they're kind of, at least for right now, like they're

the only car kids that they know.

So when we can get them together, we do, but they're all in different states.

And I think, like, uh, John and I have talked about this, even when we were growing

up, we didn't really find our car people until we were, you know, adults.

And that's in that way.

Social media has been so amazing because it connects so many people that

aren't in the same place.

And like Bassam really summed it up.

Well, because I think the car community is so welcoming and you can just walk up

and introduce yourself to someone that you don't know.

And you have this big thing in common and he described it as, you know, knowing

that you're meeting a fellow car enthusiast.

It shortcuts all of the small talk and you just sort of jump into this friendship

because you know, you have this giant thing in common.

Yeah.

And I mean, I remember talking to talk about, yeah, like you just, you have

this immediate connection.

Yeah.

And I remember remarking about that the very first time my family went to car

week, uh, my siblings and I and my parents and one of my cousins were there.

And one of my, my cousin and I are pretty close in age.

And at some point into the trip, we realized that my dad didn't know all

these people he was talking to, but he had just been walking up and talking

to people and then he'd bring us over and whatever.

And finally we're like, wait a minute, you don't know any of these people.

And he's like, yeah, but we're all car people.

And that was a light bulb moment for me.

And I think like, you know, like you said, there's little threads when you look

back, I think now I am not at all reticent.

I'm very willing to walk up to anybody and introduce myself, which I think social

media has also kind of greased the wheels because in a lot of ways, or a lot of

times you already know the people through online interaction, which wasn't

present at the time.

But yeah, I think it really gives you your tribe because yeah, I mean, I didn't

know any other, certainly no other girls in high school that were into cars.

So I was the same as you.

Like I'd be in the car with friends and I'd see, you know, I remember when the

Jaguar station wagon was out for a brief moment in time and commenting on it.

And the people in the back seat, they're like, so you're into cars?

This is, and my friend goes, yeah, she really likes cars.

And then the conversation carried on something else.

But yeah, we were, we were all sort of, you know, our own little islands in a lot of ways.

Hundred percent.

Yeah.

So talk a little bit about, like, because you have seen a big evolution at

Kelly Blue Book and I think just watching how social media has impacted the

industry and, you know, obviously you're creating the videos, which is content.

So talk a little bit, like how you've seen social media impacted and how things

have evolved while you've been at Kelly Blue Book.

It's definitely like a fluid situation.

I mean, it has changed a lot since I got there.

And I feel like I kind of came in quite at the end of something, the end of

one piece of it and kind of the beginning of another.

And I'm very grateful that I that I was able to be a part of the kind of the end

of of that and experience like the magazine, the magazine sort of era in a way.

And I'm almost nostalgic for something that I never really, truly knew.

But I'm grateful that I had a little taste of it.

Yeah, I mean, it's been it's been really interesting and quite difficult.

I would imagine I would kind of equate it with with the music industry when

music video first came around and I was watching something.

I can't remember what documentary it was.

Don't ask me. I feel like my parents now are I'm like, remember,

it was about a guy and a place with a thing.

And but it was about it was it was interviewing a musician.

And and he was Oh, it was Eagles.

The Eagles.

I just watched it.

I'm like, wait, I know this story.

And it was Don Henley.

And he was like, suddenly, I have to fucking act.

And I have to like be in front of a camera.

He's like, I just want to I just want to play music, man.

I didn't get into this.

Yeah. And I that really resonated with me because because we are going through

a like, I won't even call it an evolution.

It is a revolution at Kelly Blue Book for better or for worse.

And a lot of it really is focused on like the visual aspect of it,

video creation, social media.

The attention spans of people have gotten so incredibly short.

And everything that we do now lives on this terrible and wonderful device.

And that we are trying to meet people where they are.

And and that's great.

But it does.

Gosh, it does kind of eliminate some people who are not.

So not everyone is supposed to be on camera.

Let's face it.

Like it isn't.

It is awkward at best.

And it is downright like awful at worse because it's just it's you put

puts you on the spot.

It is it is a really is a really challenging and difficult thing to do.

And like, you know, photography, like, OK, during the pandemic,

my boss was like, well, it's like, we can't use our production company anymore.

So here's camera.

Go out and learn how to shoot a car.

And I was like.

Me like, what?

What are you talking about?

And I at least, again, thankfully, my experience in in the world of moving

pictures at various stages and places and iterations, I was able to pick it up

pretty quickly. But there are some people who just that's just not what they were

built to do. It doesn't mean they're not a wonderful car right.

But they're fabulous fucking car writers who have just like this vast

knowledge and this like encyclopedic like intellect that I will they will

forget more in like 30 seconds than I will ever know about cars.

And they are at this terrible disadvantage now because you know what?

I don't I don't know how to I can't like drive and talk to a camera

and like come up with my thoughts at the same time.

And I just I freeze up because I'm and that part to me is is a real shame

because I think I think we are kind of there's this attrition

and this contraction of the of our business.

You're seeing a lot of outlets that are disappearing.

A lot of the online outlets are being scooped up by venture capitalists

and they don't they don't make money.

You know, it's like they're like, well, wait a second, like we thought

this was going to be like some lucrative like money making thing.

And I'm like, I don't know who did your research, but you need a different

analyst like because hate to break it.

Yeah. And and so I think and it's so it is a very challenging time

right now in our industry.

And and I think everybody who has a job is intensely grateful for that job.

I do know that other people at other outlets like they are they try every

single time they can to hire freelance people because they know how much

people are struggling.

And there are a lot of people who when I first started,

they are they've had to go find other things to do because

it's not sustainable.

And so, you know, it's it's a it's a very it's a very interesting time right now.

And I am very grateful that I have a job.

It hasn't been easy the last couple of months because we have been making

this this very dramatic shift.

But we've all kind of banded together to try and figure out like, all right,

how do we do this?

Like if this is the new if this is the new normal,

then then how do we do this?

The one thing I will say is everyone that I work with certainly is like

very hardworking.

They are unbelievably dedicated to what they do.

They love what they do.

They know how fortunate they are.

And that makes it easier to to kind of weather the bumps and the

and the big waves.

But yeah, it's been a it's been certainly it's been an interesting time.

I think that about the whole automotive industry in general.

I may I'm very fortunate that I get to do tours at the LA Auto Show

just for regular normal people.

I wanted to.

Yeah, I wanted to ask you about that and kind of like this.

Give us the behind the scenes on the behind the scenes stories.

I do. I have this year was amazing.

Or last year, I should say this year is so amazing because there was so much

there was kind of a lot of great stuff at the LA Auto Show.

Like for the first like during the pandemic, I mean, we skipped a year

and then we kind of sort of slowly sort of crawling back, like kind of out

of the sludge.

And this last year was the first year that I've really felt the energy

back at the LA show, which made me really happy because I remember going

when I was in my teens, my dad would take us and I'd, you know, I'd be like,

oh, show.

And then I'd see the NSX like in 1989.

I remember seeing the new NSX and I was like,

what is that?

Because that is like a spaceship.

It's so cool. You can drive that. Oh, my God.

And so there were a lot of really there were two concept cars there.

You guys like concept cars at an LA show is Brad.

Yeah. And so I kind of had this like this, this like this

like tour that I did where I was talking about like the end cars for

the Elantra and then that that would be like sort of the performance,

the performance division thread that went through everything from Nissan

to Toyota to Honda to like, you know, what Polestar was and now has become

and all just all of these really interesting things and iterations.

And we have new car companies.

And to me, you know, the overarching theme is if you are at all

an automotive enthusiast and all look, you don't need to know how to turn

a wrench in order to be an automotive enthusiast.

All you need to do is like cars.

And if you do, this is like this to me is as close to what it must

have been like at the beginning of all car, everything from the late

1800s to the early 1900s, you had guys that were like, well, we make a bicycle.

Like, let's put a motor in it.

Like, let's try and like, let's do that.

Oh, we make carriages.

Okay, let's do that.

Stanley Seamer.

Okay. Yeah.

Let's make cars.

Like everybody was just like, sure.

And now we have companies like Lucid and, you know, like Rivian and like

I'll throw Tesla in there too.

Why not? Who cares?

They did kick things off a little bit.

Still the best selling EV on the planet.

I don't care if anyone wants to think or not.

Like that people are still buying it.

So sorry, the numbers are there as you know, I can't.

Mine is not the question why.

But here we are.

So, so yeah, so this is like this to me is like a renaissance in the

automotive industry because you have so many different powertrain options.

You have so much innovation and invention happening and it's fantastic.

I love being an observer.

It's global and I love being an observer of all of it and a commentator,

I guess, on some levels.

Well, so how did you get into doing the tours?

Like, I don't, I mean, I think there's a lot of people don't even know.

I mean, I stumbled into it.

It's one of those things where it was like, hey, like, is this something

that you would be into doing?

And I thought, oh, yeah, sure, why not?

And it started many years ago.

I think maybe 2019 and just this year we were like, oh, how do we drum

up like, like excitement about it?

And this was really the first year that we decided, well, let's do almost

like, I hate the word influencer.

I don't have enough followers to be an influencer.

If that is the thing, that's fine.

The micro, micro influence, there we go.

And so they said, well, why don't you guys help us market these things?

And we'll just say, hey, I'm going to be giving tours at the LA Auto Show.

You guys want to walk around and like get my point of view on all the stuff.

Please join me.

And it was so successful.

I think I went from, I think two years ago or maybe like this for 2024.

I did, I think I did like three tours for 2025.

I did nine or like nine or 10 tours.

And it was all based on like, you got to pick who you were with.

And it was like, oh, I work for Kelly.

She works for Kelly Blue Book.

Oh, yeah, I've seen her videos.

Yeah. Oh my gosh.

Yeah.

So it was fun.

It was really fun.

And people kind of know what they're getting instead of like, who is this person

going to be?

And Lynn, you could tell them anything and they're going to believe you, right?

So did you ever have any fun with that?

I lied all the time.

Okay, good, good.

I would be disappointed if you hadn't.

No, it was the magical mystery to work with.

But there was 6,000 horsepower.

Yeah, that was one of the big questions that I would ask them.

Like, how much horsepower do you think this one has?

Okay.

And then we would have really cool discussions like how much horsepower is too

much on 70s EVs?

Like is 1200 horsepower in the new, in that Corvette, you know, concept.

Is that too much?

Yeah, to me, I think that's way too much.

And then there was another area in the Ford booth, it was really cool

because they had one of their sort of performance Mustangs right here.

And then they had the range, the F-150 Raptor that was right here,

that had just done, I think, Sonora.

And then right next to it, they had the Maverick.

And I'm like, look at this, look at these three vehicles back to back to back.

These could not be more different.

And yet here we are, we're looking at this amazing like scope of what is out

there and what's available.

And, you know, it was just, it was, it was great.

And, you know, Porsche, Porsche didn't come, but they really supported,

they supported an LA dealership and they had quite a big presence there.

And the Carrera GT was there.

And that's always such a great story, which is like, look, back in, back

when they were making these, they couldn't sell them.

So they stopped making them.

No one, they couldn't, they couldn't pay people to buy these things.

And now they're like a million to over a million dollar car.

So it's just, there's story after story, if you just kind of dig a little deep.

And that was, that always to me is really fun for the people who are really engaged

in there, just like, oh, that was really cool.

I learned something.

Lynn, that, you know, the CGT and the 300S Elmer City's Benz, right,

have so many parallels.

We hear the stories about at the end of the 300S Elmer's run.

They just made them all in white with red interior or whatever.

We had Nate, Nate on from the classic center.

I think he told us that.

Oh, what a great, what a great podcast that would be to watch.

That place is amazing.

He's the newest guy.

Yeah.

I want to talk about a dream job, right?

You're into that sort of thing.

I mean, if you're into it, yes, please.

I went to the opening of that new place and I was just like dazzled.

I mean, it was just magnificent.

And I could spend multiple days there.

It's so cool.

My dream at some point is to find a classic road rally and to snag a car from them

and be like, all right, let's go, everybody.

So who's, well, Lynn, I happen to know someone.

Yeah.

Well, no, I mean, and, and they're, they're, they're local PR guy.

He's always like, yeah, just let me know what you want.

We'll go like car shopping, basically.

It was fine.

Well, if, if you ever want to do the Colorado grand, let me know.

Oh, that's something I'm involved in.

And that's actually how I got to know Nate and Mike and all those guys.

I say yes to, I say yes to everything.

I love to do that.

Have you ever done anything like that?

I'm sure you have.

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My, sometimes people say, well, what's the best press

strip you've ever been on?

And it's such an easy one for me in, in 2024, 2024, 2023.

Where's the thing?

So many years ago.

All right.

2023, I'm looking at the, the lanyard right now.

I don't keep lanyards, but I keep that lanyard.

Sure.

I was invited as a guest of Jaguar Classic and their, their

classic division, they do continuation cars and they had two people that they

want, they were trying out a program that they were planning, that they were

thinking about doing for customers.

And they're like, well, let's invite two journalists.

I was one of them.

Bassem Wasif was another one of them.

And they put, they had, they had a continuation C type and a continuation

D type.

Oh, wow.

These are extraordinary cars for anyone who doesn't know about them.

I highly recommend you go and do some research and look into them.

They're not only beautiful works of art, but they were formidable Le Mans racing

cars back in their day in the, in the fifties.

And there was, there's an event called the Modena Chento Ore and it's four days.

And it's basically a classic road rally that has a track element to it on every

single day.

And we flew into Rome and we had a whole team behind us of Jaguar Classic,

um, both engineers and press people.

They had a photographer with us and they, we basically, we, they were like,

we would like you to compete your teammate.

And I've done rally before.

So for me, reading roadbooks was something that I knew.

I knew how to do the TSD, the timespeed distance challenges.

And so that was why I got invited to go and do it.

And they're like, okay, well, you kind of have the best of both worlds.

And so I, we were both paired up with Jaguar Classic employees.

And we, I taught my guy how to rally because he just was like, I don't know

what this is, what a time card.

I don't know.

And so I, it was, and, and it was literally like five days driving

around Tuscany, I mean, in the most beautiful car I could ever possibly

imagine it was heaven.

And then at night this, you know, they would do these magnificent, um,

like events like, oh, this is our black tie evening.

And everyone would show up like black tie, like a black and white ball.

And I'm like, what is this?

And there's like Lord, Lord, you know, so-and-so who's doing, it's all

gentlemen drivers, right?

It was just like, like a world that I will never, ever participate in,

in any other way.

But it was one of the most-but you got to pop in for a moment.

I got to dip my toe in it.

It was very glamorous.

It was very lovely.

But the car was, boy, you really need to know how to drive that car

because the laws of physics apply a thousand percent to that car.

But what a, what a treat that was.

It sounds amazing, you know.

So I have done some road rally, yeah.

Okay, cool, cool.

Well, you were driving, not just on the, I mean, you were driving them

on the track too.

Well, track too.

But for, so for, for, there were two, um, there were two classes, one

that was competition and you had to have a roll cage because you're,

that's, but the regular, for regularity, you would just do an out lap,

a scouting lap, and then the next lap you would do would be timed.

And so you could take it at any time you wanted.

It was not for speed, but the next subsequent three laps, you had to

match that time at every sector as closely as possible.

So it was about precision.

It wasn't just about like, you know, flip, you know, whaling it around

the thing as fast as you can.

It was like, no, how can you duplicate this time to the, I mean, to the exacting.

And I think it was like hundreds, hundreds of a second.

And that was a real, I mean, these were real, like actual driving, driving

challenges for another car, for another cars on the track.

Two who were trying to get the racing line or not.

And you're like, Oh shit, I'm not going faster.

You're going faster than I am.

And so it's really quite unique.

That's fantastic.

You know, God.

Yeah, that's the life you lead, Lynn.

You know, I mean, it's, I am, I am very excited to say, and I'm, I'm hoping

that it's not too premature to say this, but I'll, I'll scoop you here.

Please.

You hear it first.

Um, but I am trying to get the nine, 12 ready to participate in a new California

rally called the Trinity, the Trinity rally.

The same woman who has put together the rebel, uh, the rebel rally, which is

an off-road map and compass navigation rally has put together, um, a, a, a, a road

rally that is called the Trinity rally.

And it's, it's three days and it's starting at the Golden Gate Bridge and

it's ending at Sonoma Raceway.

And I believe it's going to be a similar format.

So you will do on-road, roadbook, some time speed, distance challenges, and then,

and then an on-track component to it, which I'm not a hundred percent sure what it is.

The wonderful thing about this is it's not just, oh, classic cars from this,

from this date to this date, you can bring any car because there is just sort

of like a modern class, a modern class.

If you want to, you could bring a Miata and you could do it in a Miata.

You could do it in a forerunner if you wanted to.

Like, so it's, it's meant to be more kind of egalitarian than I think a lot

of sort of more expensive and less approachable, um, like the California

Melee must be just beautiful, but it's a fortune to enter.

So, so I'm really actually very excited and it's not just all for women.

I mean, we're kind of encouraging that women do this, but men can participate as well.

And so, yeah, I'm scrambling to try and get the, the 912 into a, into a place

where she's ready to go and, and to compete in the rally.

And it's in May.

So I'm really excited to be doing that.

That's so exciting.

Can we talk more about the 912 because I want to hear about, I want to hear about

rebel, but yeah, tell us about the 912.

I asked because I drove my first 912 recently, driven to million 911s.

I never driven a 912.

Yeah.

It was kind of a revelation.

Yeah.

Like it was really sublime and I found myself driving in a different way.

And I just, I kind of fell in love with the thing.

So what's the story with yours?

There's a lot to love.

So again, because of my, my, my father's connection to Porsches and those sort

of early cars, you know, listen, I'd love a, I'd love a 356, but they're just

unobtainium, right?

I mean, that is, this is so expensive.

And so I've kind of, for a long time, it had my eye on a, on the, the sort of the

901 body style of 911.

And then also unbelievably expensive, but there's the 912, which is the four

cylinder version.

Everything else on it is the same.

The only thing that was different other than the engine was on the 911, um, they

put a 50 pound weight in the front bumper in order to balance the weight of the,

the increased weight of the engine.

So if you, if you do, I don't, and I would be curious to do what power to

weight ratio would be in both of those cars and how different it would be.

Um, but ask Jerry Seinfeld how, like, how much fun those are to drive.

The one thing I will say is this, which is really interesting, you know, I found

this car on Craig's list, which is kind of a weird place to find cars these days.

But I had, I had gotten burned, like probably a month before, um, I got scammed

on offer up about a car.

Um, I got, I listen, they know how to get you.

They know exactly what to say.

They know you want it.

Like, Oh, is this that find where you're like, I was the lucky one who found the

$8,000 car that some guy didn't know what he had.

And I'm like, I fell for it.

I felt like a fool.

Um, but I learned a very valuable, I only lost $250, but I learned a very valuable

lesson and then I actually sold the story to motor one.

So I ended up making money off of it.

But I, more importantly to me was to be able to say to people, Hey, look out

because this is happening and here are some of the things to look for.

And here's how to safeguard yourself.

Um, because it's rampant and it's so gross to me.

I mean, yeah, you got catfished by a car.

Seriously, fell for it.

Blind and sinker.

We're all looking for love, you know, we are.

We're all looking for that.

We're all looking for that barn find.

That's like the deal of the century.

And so I, I was, I was a little bit bruised, but I, I kept looking, um, because

I really wanted one.

And, um, and so I did manage to find one.

I didn't know if it was a runner or not.

It had been sitting in the back lot of some dude's friend's house for a year and a half.

He had bought it, um, because he kind of wanted it as a prop for his like, he, he

started a classic caught like a vintage car clothing company.

And he was starting, he was doing retail stores and he wanted it to put in the store.

And he's like, look, I never got around to, to, to cleaning it up or doing anything.

I never, I never started it.

It was sitting outside for five years before I bought it and someone had started.

So it started a restoration on it and then quit because it was a lot of work.

And so I went and I looked at it and I was like, this is probably the perfect thing

for me because it's already kind of well on its way.

It had a new floor.

They had, you could tell that it had rusted out in so many places that they had brought

in other little Frankenstein's monster, um, parts to it.

Wasn't all original.

Didn't care.

Don't give a shit.

I don't care about that stuff.

Not important to me.

And so I recruited my friend, Aaron Robinson, who was a car and driver for 17 years and

now is at Hagerty.

And I said, look, would you be interested in, would you be interested in doing this

with me?

And he was like, I don't know.

Normally I do like really difficult Italian 12 cylinder jobbies.

So I'm not sure, but he's like, yeah, sure, why not?

This could be a fun little project.

And, um, he very graciously, I bought the car and he very graciously, you know,

jammed it in his garage for a year and we worked on it almost every weekend for a

year.

Um, and, um, I used his tools and I used his time and I probably pissed off his

wife more than she's like, it's my time now.

Get out.

Yeah.

What the heck?

But by the end of it, I actually gave him half the car because he had earned it.

He had a hundred percent earned it.

Um, I was so grateful for his help and his words with it.

And we got it to a point where it was like, it was a driver, but I will say this,

it was not a refined driver and all of those things that I had heard about, oh

man, these are so much fun to drive.

And it's so great.

Our throttle pedal was heavy, heavy, heavy.

And I was like, oh, this is like after a while, I can't drive this for a long

distance.

So we drove first test drive was up to Pebble Beach two years ago.

And it made it fine.

It was great, but man, it was really, I mean, it was like, well, it was the

suspension didn't feel great.

It was harsh and it was just hard to drive.

And I didn't realize this, but there was a gap in the window windshield seal

that was like this big.

And so any, anything over 35, 40 miles an hour.

And it was like, I mean, it's just like, I can't whistle, but imagine

a really irritating whistle.

And it was six hours to Monterey.

It was just, I'm like, I'm not getting it.

Like I'm not getting it.

This is not, and, and then a year went by and I drove it.

I, it was shipped out to, to, um, to Virginia.

And we did the melee, melee of warmup in it and we won our class.

Aaron and I won our class in it.

And we actually were, you know, we won entry into the actual melee in, in Italy,

but of course it's too expensive and I can't do that.

So there you go.

Um, but just recently I was like, look, I feel like we need to just kind

of like fine tune and refine some things.

And I sent it to a place in Torrance called Johnson's alignment, which

they do amazing work on, um, on vintage cars.

And, uh, they were like, dude, you're metal on metal back here on some stuff.

Like your bushings are just gone.

I needed new lower control arms.

They put in new, um, tie rods.

Like I got a new spring plate and they did some welding and they

reached, replaced all the rubber parts.

I've got, I've got, um, I've got tie rods from now from a 930 turbo in there.

Well, I love it.

Oh, um, but man, I, I was like, oh my gosh, like the ride in this is so much better.

And then we were like, let's fix the throttle because the throttle, like it

just felt like sticky and we undid all of the throttle linkage.

And that is a complicated system.

I mean, you're going from like, it's like, there's, there's so many different

like cranks and rods and it's not a cable.

It's a big, it's a long rod and it has like three, like three, like,

it's like points where it sort of attaches underneath this long tunnel on the car.

And then there's like this weird coat hanger thing that goes like, I mean,

it's like so German.

It's like, you know that game mouse trap where it's like,

quick, quick, quick, quick.

And then the ball like kind of rolls around and it like does all these different moves.

It's, it kind of looks like that.

That's amazing.

And we realized that a lot of the bits were either super gunked up

or actually jammed in the center tunnel.

We found the old original like linkage boot in there.

So it was just this like rust, this like gross, but deteriorating rubber bit

that was just jammed in the tunnel.

And I'm like, oh my gosh, no wonder.

This is so hard to drive.

We cleaned it up.

We got new parts.

We greased it, you know, and we put it back together.

And I just actually drove it down because we're putting a new windshield on it too.

So I can actually see something out of it.

It was like smoked and pitted, drove it down.

And not have it whistle at you.

And not have it whistle.

New seals.

My friend was doing some welding because it had gotten a little rusty

in the base of the windshield.

I drove it down to Oceanside last weekend and I was like,

I get it now.

I am so happy.

It cruised at like 70 miles an hour, 3,700 RPM.

It's just hum.

That's great.

It's great.

It felt so good.

If I have the Sprint classics from Bredestein on it.

Nice.

It drives like a, it's a dream.

Like a dream.

A dream.

I love it.

I can't wait to get a new windshield on it.

I honestly, I'll daily drive that thing now.

That's awesome.

That's amazing.

Well, and I love that you went with,

again, I don't know if there's a term for it,

but you made sure the interior was all updated.

You guys put in a new interior.

We gutted the whole thing.

It was gross.

There was like all manner of vermin living in it,

and like hooping, chewing, fornicating, whatever it was,

they were all chewing there.

You name it.

It was like, what's happening?

There were more spiders in that car.

Like it was a black widow haven.

And well, the day that we put it in Aaron's car,

and we put it up on his lift, and I'm not kidding.

Like it's like they just did like a commando.

Like they were just like,

like all like, like, like putting out of the car and like rum.

And he's like, I have so many spiders in my garage now.

I even hate this thing.

And so it was, that was kind of like, yeah,

there was a lot to do.

So we gutted the interior.

We watched a bunch of videos on YouTube.

And one guy was like, yeah, it should take you like 40 hours

to do the carpet.

And we're like 40 hours.

Just the carpet.

And yeah, took us about 40 hours to do the carpet.

Turns out he knew what he was talking about.

We did the carpet.

We did the, we did the, all the upholstery.

I did not re-upholster.

I bought a kit.

Thank God for, for like very easy to get Porsche parts

in Southern California.

God bless Pelican parts.

God bless Sierra Madre collection.

God bless Stoddard.

God bless, I mean, these guys, it's like, honestly,

it's like going to a pharmacy.

You like calling your prescription and they're like,

it's great for you to pick it up the next day.

And you're like, so, so yeah, it was a,

it was a labor of love.

I've never done an interior before.

And the funny thing is, is we lifted, we had to lift,

we pulled the seats out to do all this recent work.

And we're like lifting out all the bits of carpet

and all of this stuff.

And, and Aaron and I are like admiring our work.

We're like, this thing looks, this looks professional.

That's the best.

You did all right.

That's the best.

Yeah.

And so now I, I, I'm starting to understand like, okay,

like I, I'm going to fall in love with this car all over again

for all different reasons.

And I'm just thrilled about it.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

And they're only going to go up in value.

And on that note, we had Hagerty's John Wiley

on a couple of weeks back.

Okay.

Talk about his bull market list.

Oh yeah.

And then we followed that up with our own

that car show bullshit market list.

I love it.

So cars that we think are going to go up in value

in the near future.

And I've heard the nine 12, you know,

and some of these lists.

If you had to pick two or three cars,

maybe the nine 12 is one.

What's on the Lynn Woodward bullshit market list?

I have the bullshit market list.

That's amazing.

Just because my friend owns a Montero,

I'm going to say the Mitsubishi Montero.

I think that's great.

Definitely, definitely on the up.

Is this your former Montero?

No.

I already sold mine.

No, I don't.

I probably sold mine at peak by the way.

Here you go.

No, I just think, I mean,

I do think there is still that kind of allure

for those sort of boxy looking off-roaders.

Off-roading is overlanding.

Definitely not going anywhere anytime soon.

So I would think that those kind of,

those vehicles that are not the really out of,

the kind of out of price range,

like Land Rovers and old Land Cruisers,

like the Montero or even an Asuzu.

Trooper, yeah.

The more accessible.

I think those things are definitely,

are definitely primed to rise.

That's a great answer.

And the 912 too.

I mean, and I don't say that just because I own.

Oh really, yeah.

But because everyone has been so priced out of the 911,

it's so amazing to me.

There is a crew of 912 owners in Southern California.

They've like become a little gang, man.

It's like, it's like the 912 posse.

And they were in full effect at Luft 10.

My car was very, very graciously accepted to that car show.

It was again, right after we had finished.

Jeff Swart was, I mean, he put,

he put me in a place I could never have possibly dreamed.

I thought was a place of high honor.

And I was very grateful for him and he was so kind.

He's like, you earned this.

You really did.

And it looked fantastic.

And I got to be there for a few people that came by.

And it was really fun to be like, this is her car.

She's done all the work.

I mean, he had it come,

he had it literally positioned in front of a barn.

And it was such, because it was such a bar find.

It was so cool.

But there's, you know, there's Aaron's,

there's Aaron's car with all the surfboards on them.

That was, yeah, that's Aaron Ashton.

There's, yeah.

There is so, so many like really wonderful 912 examples

that were there.

And yeah, I mean, the first time I took it out to a cars and coffee,

the first, like it's dry run.

The first time soft launch is what we called it.

Some guy was like, you want to sell it?

He's like, he's like, how much you want for it?

And I'm like, bro, like bro, this is my first in my mouth.

Like I'm not selling it right now.

I got, I don't know, a lot more of these left in me.

We're just getting started.

It was awesome.

Yeah, it was great.

But that 912, I think is, is definitely one that's,

that's one to watch for sure.

Very cool.

Great answers both.

Yeah.

Well, yours is just such a cool example

because it's got a red interior, which is gorgeous.

You guys did an amazing job.

Just wanted a red interior.

And me too.

Yeah.

Always wanted a red interior.

Well, and you left the outside with the patina on it.

Yes.

Which is so cool.

Yeah, it was not intended actually, because we were looking,

I was like, ooh, what's good?

I wanted a red interior that was not negotiable,

because I've always wanted a car with a red interior,

especially like a sports car.

And I was like, well, what goes with red?

Like what's great with, like, you could do with red

combination?

And I was like, okay, it was silver at the time.

And, and I, when I bought it and I was like,

but it's really like really rough

because it's been outside for a long time.

And I thought, well, aga blue was the first choice

because I just love aga blues.

So gorgeous.

But you could also do like a, you could do white over red,

which I think is really pretty, although I think that's,

I think it's pretty and more, more appropriate on a,

on a 356 is the white on red.

And then you could do classic combo though.

You could do silver over red, which is such a,

what's such an iconic German, you know, back, right?

I mean, that's like kind of the, that's it, the silver arrow,

like era.

And I thought, okay, great.

Well, but I don't want to wait around for two years.

While it sits in some guy's shop waiting to be rotisserieed

and, and all of these things.

And also I don't have 30 grand to spend

on a brand new paint job.

And so Aaron and I made a decision and I said,

how about we do the interior and then we just, and we drive it.

And then we see in like maybe five years, like how we go.

And man, when we finished that interior, every single person,

except one, my mom was like, don't ever paint it.

Don't ever paint it.

And now I'm, I, I'm not precious about it.

I take it to the grocery store.

Some guy hit me, hit my car.

They were opening their car door.

I was opening mine and they hit me and I was like,

like, oh, just like be careful next time, man.

Like, but, but I wasn't like, my paint job,

like my $5,000 paint job, you asshole.

Like I would drive it so differently and I wouldn't get the,

I wouldn't get as much enjoyment out of it.

I have a good friend, good friends who they bought a,

a launch of Fulvia in Europe.

Yeah, they had every intention of keeping it,

like making it mechanically sound,

but keeping the outside a little bit rough around the edges.

They weren't, they didn't care about it, but it had a lot of rust.

And so it had to go to this professional guy.

And then by the time they kind of realized like,

oh my gosh, we kind of went overboard with this thing.

It had a beautiful paint job on it.

I mean, it was just perfect, pristine, gorgeous thing.

They had it shipped over to the United States.

And like a year in, they're like,

should we get like just another one where we can just kind of

actually like drive around and have a good time?

And they just, I think they just bought,

they didn't buy a Fulvia.

I think they've bought something else just,

but they don't, they're not touching the exterior

because they really don't want that stress of driving around

just a like a concor looking car.

And I'm very proud of the patina on mine.

It actually looks, it looks like a pair of distressed Levi's.

It's almost too perfect.

You can't fake it either.

It looks so cool.

No.

When you try to, it looks like ass.

So like, I mean, you have, you know, the real deal.

Oh, it's the real deal.

Don't ever lose it.

Authentic patina.

It's like the patina and the fact that it's silver

and then the beautiful red interior,

it's like such a cool combination.

It draws you in and you're like, what is the story here?

And then for Lynn to have done so much of the work herself,

it's just, it's such a unique car and it looks so cool.

Well, and I was pretty adamant about a new interior.

I'm like, I'm not driving around on this janky crap.

Like if I'm in this thing, I want to look nice.

And it's funny cause Erin was like, oh, it's slippery slope.

He's like, you're going to like the inside.

And then you're going to really want to do the outside.

And I'm like, no, I'm fine.

Yeah.

It's cool.

I've got some decals on it.

Like we have, we have these decals that are half

Brontosaurus, half Pegasus, because a friend of mine,

the guy, same guy who's doing the, helping me do the welding,

it's kind of a tongue in cheek thing of the Pegasus,

of the Pegasus, the mobile one Pegasus,

but we're not sponsored by mobile one, we're not that cool.

So it's the Sinclair Brontosaurus head.

Right.

There you go.

And the Pegasus wings and butt in the butt of the Brontosaurus.

And we're Pegasaurus, we're Pegasaurus racing.

And there are four cars now that have those decals on them.

Two of Logan's cars, his brother has another car,

another sticker, another decal.

And then our car has the decals too.

So we've kind of made this fun joke out of like,

we're just like the cool, we're not cool Pegasus people.

We're Brontosaurus, we're Brontosaurus.

Pegasus adjacent.

Pegasaurus, Pegasaurus racing.

We had, we had Logan on the show, gosh, before Car Week last year.

We did.

What another great guest.

Yeah, he was amazing.

He made t-shirts for us that, for, for Luft,

that said Pegasaurus racing, we're only here for the food.

Or the snacks, maybe it was, we're just snacks, snacks.

It's a better area.

Oh yeah, it's here for the snack.

Oh my gosh.

I love it.

Yeah, it's been really fun to watch that journey.

But when?

More coming.

Right on.

I can't wait.

So one thing that I wanted to ask you about,

because I loved the picture that you posted of you in the car.

I thought it encapsulated sort of the joy that these car,

we as car enthusiasts feel when we get to experience new things.

And it was the picture of you in the Aston Martin Vantage S.

So tell me about that.

And you got to drive it over the snake,

which I have yet to experience.

So tell us everything.

I did.

So yeah, so Aston Martin has been, you know,

I have been really fortunate in that I have been able to drive

a lot of their, the sort of the later and newer iterations

of their cars over the years.

And, you know, you realize that building relationships

in this, in this industry is kind of,

is really important with the PR people.

And some of those people, I will say, have become my friends.

And I hope they're my friends and they're not just like,

hey, I guess we have to hang out with you because.

They're just really good at their jobs.

You're an outlet that we want.

But so I was invited to do a drive.

And sometimes for some of those cars, you know,

it's just a really expensive proposition.

And, you know, Aston Martin is not completely flush with money.

And so they had a drive out in just in Westlake Village,

which is quite close to my house.

And they, yeah, they gave me a half a day with the Vantage S.

And so the Vantage has just seen a pretty,

a pretty big refresh and redesign a couple of years ago.

And there was a drive.

I think they did a drive in Seville, Spain.

They invited me to that.

And then I gave the trip to Jeff Glocker,

my good friend and colleague, Jeff Glocker,

because I just, my schedule was such that it was crazy.

And he, I knew he would be a really wonderful representative

and a just perfect person to drive a car.

So I was keen to get in it because I had not been in it.

And so the S is just a little bit juiced, right?

It's not, it's not an evolution.

It's, it's not a revolution.

It's just like an evolution.

Everything is just a little bit sharper.

You know, a little bit more horsepower, not a ton.

Some more stiffness, especially lateral stiffness.

They've kind of reimagined the way that the subframe is mounted in the back.

It's not, it's now mounted like completely around.

It's not just in like sort of places,

but it's a complete, like they've completely mounted it sort of firmly.

And so I think they set up to like 30% more lateral stiffness in the car,

which is a tremendous amount when you're talking about like sort of, you know,

the doing, coming in and out of turns.

They've also, they've upgraded some of their software so that,

so yeah, they're trying to kind of just sharpen everything.

And I was like, oh, this is going to be a great opportunity for me.

The Vantage, the Vantage has always traditionally been like their entry level car.

I say entry level with like, you know, ha, ha, ha,

but it's still, you know, it's now well into six figures.

And I think Aston Martin has also seen kind of a rebranding that they are now aiming for

not just, not just sort of GT car status, like sort of luxury GT.

Now they're really pushing a performance luxury space,

which I'm not sure 100% that a lot of people live in that space.

I think you're either performance or you are kind of luxury GT like living.

And so I actually think it's a really inventive place.

If you look at the DB12, it really pushes the envelope of a GT car,

like pretty significantly, and it's definitely more performance minded.

So I was really eager to drive it, and I know that the snake has just reopened.

And it's basically, it's this little stretch that's kind of,

if you look like trying to describe this to people,

how do I describe this to people?

So there's like a little, like you can get off the road and get onto

Canaan, like a road called Canaan Doom, which is like a cut of a main,

a main drag that goes from the valley all the way over to the beach to Balibu.

And yeah, down to PCH.

But, but Mulholland, it, you know, used to cut all the way through.

And there was this one section that was right before Canaan that was just,

I mean, it is just like, I mean, hence they called it the snake.

And it was closed for seven years, a very, very long time.

Now, when I was a kid, like, I think it was closed for that long.

I mean, it's been, it's been a while.

Sure.

I don't know.

I'd have to look it up.

But no, I think you're right.

But yeah, it's a long time.

It was a long time.

And so you would have, you wouldn't be able to cut all the way through to,

off Mulholland, you would have to kind of cut around.

It wasn't significantly like crazy cut around, get onto Canaan,

keep going on Canaan, and then turn right back onto Mulholland,

if you wanted to continue on Mulholland.

And so I thought, oh, I thought, well, this is going to be a really nice place.

And they were quite close.

And they had a drive route for us.

And I was like, y'all, I grew up here.

Can I just go drive it wherever I want?

Hold my beer.

Hold my beer round.

And they were like, sure, this would be nice.

They trust me.

Like I've been around for a minute.

I've driven their cars.

And so I did.

So I went, I actually drove it three times.

I drove it up.

I drove it back.

And then I was like, no, I think I'm going to do it again.

And then I drove it back around.

And I did it again.

So yeah, what a tremendous car.

I mean, I've got a video coming out and that will be up on our YouTube channel.

But man, I mean, first of all, no one does an exhaust note like Aston Martin.

And I don't know if this is still the case.

But back in the day, they're like, we have two guys.

Their only job is to tune the engine note.

That's their only job.

They just make it sound like music.

And boy, I mean, those cars just sound so beautiful and like raucous,

but in just this elegant, non-offensive or disruptive way.

And it's just so beautiful.

But there was really, I mean, nothing that upset that car.

It was just, it was smooth, but it was powerful.

And it wasn't too much, but it wasn't, it wasn't, it was just enough.

The brakes like weren't really confident, but not like so grabby.

But like, if you're coming out of your driveway or like, you know, after this,

like you drive it, what a perfect car to go definitely experience on the track

and have a really great time.

And at the same time, could be a very, I would say,

even a very quite practical daily driver.

That's wild.

I mean, how many cars can you say that about these days?

And it looks the business.

You posted a side profile shot, I guess it's an oxymoron profile shot

right of the car on Instagram.

And it just looks so good.

Like the proportion of the wheel to like the, you know, the sheet metal.

And here's the thing, I love Porsches.

I love modern Porsches.

They're fantastic.

You see a lot of them in Southern California.

And to me, it's not unique.

It's not, I say this about, I'll say this about the Lotus too.

Because the, especially the Evora, like the Amiris, it's lovely.

And I think they're beautiful cars.

But man, if you're spending the same amount of money

and you have an opportunity to do something that's kind of like

zagging when everybody else is digging.

Yeah, why wouldn't you do it?

I mean, the Vantage S has similar power to the 911 Turbo.

Like it's not like, it's not a chintzy car at all.

I guess they didn't realize that.

But the proportions, like it's just, it's so beautiful.

It's a very different driver because you're talking like

different engine placement and all that kind of stuff.

And, but, but yeah, it was really, it was a really, you know,

a spectacular driving afternoon.

And there was, I saw one other car on the snake.

Oh my gosh.

It was like, oh, there was a Tuesday afternoon.

So go Tuesday afternoon because there were no cops either.

It was great.

Yeah, because that's been a big topic.

Speaking of the zag, so Lindsay loves a good Pontiac Aztec.

I have a soft spot for a K car, town and country convertible

with the wood on side.

If you're really, you know, feeling rich.

What's your automotive guilty pleasure?

Now we know, know you a bit more.

What's your, what's your automotive guilty pleasure?

If you were going to just really get something out of left field.

I think honestly, the first one that comes into mind is like an AMC Eagle.

Like I think those are like kind of just kooky and crazy.

Yes, kooky as can be.

I love like, like a, like a 70s like van conversion that just has like

thick airbrushing on the side of this.

Yeah, wizard.

Yeah.

I think it's whatever, chick on unicorn, like unicorn farting.

Like I think, I think something like that would be really just

fun to roll up to in a car show and open it up and just kind of have

like a barbecue out of that, out at one of those.

But something that would be a fan favorite.

I mean, this is so Aaron,

Aaron to me has like some of the best and most eclectic automotive taste.

He just bought a 1912 white and it's, it's a seven seater.

And he's just like embracing this like, well, like 100 year plus car, like he's

gone pre-war on us all and we, I'm here for brass era.

Yeah.

Like it's so, I went, so Lindsay, I think you and I were talking about this,

but I went to this, like it was this brass era, like Christmas parade that

they did not pass the dinner.

Listen, you can drive a Lamborghini around, you can drive of a Ferrari around

and you're going to get a couple heads to turn.

That's fine.

You have never seen more people stop in their tracks and look at these

things that are just from another planet.

Like what, like what is that?

Like more eyeballs on these brass era cars than you will ever get on any kind of super car.

It's special and it's really neat.

And so I love that I'm being exposed to something that I, I just really have

not a whole lot of experience with, with this whole other part of, you know,

of the automotive industry.

That's another thing that's great about it, right?

It's like, there's so much history.

There's so much and, and there's, there's something to love everywhere.

There's something to, there's something to love everywhere.

Well, and talk about both ends of the spectrum.

And yeah, I mean, just to give people a picture, it's the horseless carriage holiday tour,

which is such an evocative name for me because you just immediately know.

And so how many cars participated?

Like roughly, probably, I mean, they're probably like 70 cars.

I mean, there was a lot of cars there.

That's a lot going on this tour of lovely San Marino and Pasadena.

And we were just like, it was nice.

And people would stop and honk and look and wave and it was marvelous.

Well, San Marino is such a moment in time.

I think, you know, like that's where Father of the Bride, the Father of the Bride

House is.

And it's just, it's a lot of it.

You know, they have like a soda fountain there still and a lot of it,

it feels like from another era.

So that's the most perfect place to enjoy those cars, which are obviously from another era.

Yeah, I love that they're getting out and being driven.

Switching the brake and accelerator pedals is really living too, you know, the location.

Man, I did a story once for, I did a story for Hagerty about the first woman who drove across

country.

It's one of my favorite things that I've done that I'm most proud of as far as my work is concerned.

And I did, she did it in a 1909 Maxwell.

And I couldn't find a 1909, but I think I found a 1906.

And it was actually owned by the same guy who put together a car for someone to,

for a woman to recreate the drive.

And his family had owned Maxwell's for a really long time.

And he lived up in Northern California, right?

Like outside, you know, outskirts of Sacramento.

And I went up to his, he had this big farm and he's like, oh yeah, he's like,

you just shoot it on my farm and he had a covered bridge and all this stuff.

And I, Aaron is so great because he's all about the theater of these, of these,

of these stories.

And he's like, well, you got to dress up.

You got to wear like a duster and a hat and like you got to wear the clothes.

Like you got to wear the clothes.

And I was like, we're the clothes.

Like what is this?

I'm not in my cosplay and he's like, I guarantee you if you do it,

it will make the story like a million times better.

And I was like, okay, fine.

So I also invited my friend, Emmy, who does what I do.

And I was like, Emmy Hall, she's a costume designer first.

She went to Yale school of drama for a graduate school.

Like she's this insane, like so, soar.

And I was like, I was like, how multifaceted we all are.

All right.

I was like, we're dressing up.

I don't care how goobery we look, but we're dressed up.

And we're wearing the outfit and we're going to drive this car.

And driving that car was probably one of the hardest cars I've driven.

I've driven tanks.

I mean, I've driven a lot of shit.

And it was really challenging to find, you know, finding the gears and,

and, you know, your oil is just, there's no like oil is recycling through.

It's just dripping.

It's just like, it's just, that's how oil used to do it.

Lubricate the engine and then it would just drip out and it would, that's it.

You would leave it on the ground and that was it.

And then you had to fill it up again.

And then it was like, amazing.

But man, driving that thing and learning about that car and learning about how she,

and it was basically overlanding at that point because there were no roads.

Roads were dirt and they were, you know, they were, they were,

they were only maps that were from like the, like east of the Mississippi.

Like there was nothing like west of it.

It was just like, I don't know.

Let's follow some power lines or maybe going toward a city.

But learning about her story and what she went through in 1909 with,

she took two women with her, her sisters in law and their 16 year old neighbor.

And they had, they had some, some people who like accompanied them along the way.

But she did not accept like help from them.

And there was, there were some repairs that, that had to be done.

Like I think at one point she did like an axle broke or something,

or she had like some of her tie rods that she needed to redo.

But she tried to help troubleshoot along the way.

And a lot of the techniques that she used using, you know,

she, they would pull boards off of a, off of a fence and like jam them under tires.

If they got, if they got stuck in mud, almost like I would today with max tracks.

Right.

Like recovery.

One of the traction boards or whatever.

Traction boards.

One of like recovery gear that they were like using like strips of canvas to do,

to like, to, to use for traction.

I mean, all of these things, it was just like really inventive stuff.

I think at one point their car, the car overheated and they dumped out their little perfume bottles

and they went and they filled up the, they found some puddles and they filled up their

perfume bottles with water to put those into the radiator so that they could continue on

to the next city and, and get some, get service from a Maxwell dealership.

And so like writing stuff like that and like looking of like those cars.

And you think about like the difficulty of that.

And there was this like super rugged woman who at the time was like, sure, why not?

Okay.

How brave that was out into the unknown.

Right.

So brave.

Super cool.

That's cool.

That is super cool.

That's badass.

So what was her, where can we find that article?

Because I would love to read it.

Okay.

So you, her name was Alice Ramsey.

And you can find, you can find that story in online at Hagerty.

It's called Alice in Yonderland.

I was very, I was quite proud of that title.

I love it.

But yeah, you can, you can find it there and, and yeah, it was, it was such a joy.

I love doing those stories for Hagerty because I really get to dig into

subjects that I normally wouldn't be exposed to.

And they let me just go for, you know, 3,500 words, which is just beautiful,

beautiful photography from James Littman, who is just magical photographer.

I mean, his work is, he can make, he can make magic out of dirt.

Like it's so incredible what he does.

There are a few photographers that I really, really love and respect and he's one of them.

And I did another story for Hagerty about a woman named Helen Rother,

who was one of the, one of the first designers, the first female designer at General Motors.

And part of a very, you know, a large group of women called Harley.

I think it was like, oh, I can't remember.

But anyway, Harley Earl, Harley Earl hired a bunch of women to be

designers at General Motors.

And then she went off on her own and she designed a bunch of stuff and

what an incredible career.

You will find if you do some digging around that women are really the ones who

were instrumental in turning rather, you know, sort of bland and drab interiors

into really fabulous looking spectacles, something that is so important to us today,

right, with all of our gizmos and gadgets.

I'm saying it right.

But they'd come up with things like a tissue dispenser or

there was one that had like a bottle warmer in it.

So you could wash the bottle through your baby.

That seems so modern.

These are just really cool inventive things that women were really at the,

sort of at the cutting edge of.

And so I got to do a story about her too and the Nash that she kind of designed the interior

of the Nash, which was a car, frankly, I think was a little bit ahead of its time

because it was compact in an era when these, you know, the big finned cars

were still very much of the moment.

So honestly, it's been such an incredible and varied 10 years for me.

And I really do enjoy doing the stories about the people because cars are wonderful

and they're terrific, but we really connect with the people.

And that, that to me is what makes it really special.

That's so cool.

I think there's a documentary or a movie coming out about that group of women.

I just saw something recently.

Really?

There was a name for them.

I know what you're saying and I can't think of that, of course, but.

Damsels and design.

Oh, I love it.

That was the name.

There was a book.

I have a book.

It's so good.

And it highlights each one of them.

I don't know if it was like, I don't, but damsels and design.

I don't want to leave behind the book.

I'll be like gone for 20 minutes, but yeah, it's really remarkable.

And of course, the second that Harley Earl left, the next incoming guy fired all of them.

Yep.

The damsels were disbanded.

I mean, can you imagine if they had stayed together how that might have changed the cars

that we have today or the, I mean.

And just women's participation in the automotive industry, right?

I mean, to have had that kind of access and then sort of have it be kind of taken away.

I have done a lot of research and actually have a movie that I was writing about a woman named

Joan Cuneo who was a really prolific racing driver when she was back in the late 1800s,

early 1900s and she was, I mean, she was formidable.

She loved racing and she was this tiny little five foot one inch woman.

And she was, I mean, racing against the like the top racers of the time in these like alphas

and these crazy cars and she was beating them.

Like she was a force to be reckoned with.

And the AAA were the main sanctioning body of racing in the United States.

And there were women racing in Europe and doing all that kind of stuff.

Some really, you know, some French women and some British women and there were others

in the United States that were kind of dabbling in it, but they would kind of come and go.

But Joan was really the one that was sort of, she was like, no, I love racing and I want to race.

And she was married and she had a couple of children and she had kind of a rocky divorce

and it doesn't surprise me, but because she was such a kind of an independent thinking

and strong-willed woman and she was so good that the AAA, I think it was in 1910 or 1911,

banned women from sanctioned racing.

Really?

And so she's sort of credited with the woman who got women banned in motorsports racing.

The next time a woman raced officially in a sanctioned motorsport wasn't until,

I believe it was Indy in the 1940s.

So imagine if that had not happened, the exposure that women would have had in motorsports.

And really it was so, I think it was a lot of it was precipitated by the manufacturers because

they were very much a win on Sunday, buy on Monday system.

And a lot of people died racing.

I mean, even in the 50s and 60s, it was a very dangerous proposition.

Now imagine how a manufacturer would feel if a woman died in their car racing.

And I think that had a lot to do with it on top of the fact that it was like, who is this lady?

Why is she, she doesn't have long hair.

And so I think that kind of had a lot to do with it.

That was obviously a very different time.

Women couldn't even vote at that point.

It was like, come on.

There was a lot going on.

We were working a lot, a lot of angles.

And so it was, yeah, it was, I just, I think about like the opportunities lost

that perhaps could have happened where I think women are much more embraced now in motorsports

on some levels.

You know, I look at Suzy Wolf and I go, oh, like, you know, F1 Academy is so great.

And it's like, it's really amazing.

I love how rally, how WRC has embraced women as not just, you know,

co-drivers, but drivers.

I look at Leah Block, who to me is like, just like a force to be reckoned with and

someone to look at in the future.

And just a lot of interest with women in motorsports again.

And that's just sort of building and building and building, which is fantastic.

Right.

Well, are you think like Sarah Price just competed in the Dakar?

Oh, my girl, Sarah Price, I'm so proud of her.

Like, holy swelves.

She literally went from there to stayed in, stayed in Saudi, did her boat racing that she says.

She's on, she's on, she's on Will Smith's team.

She's the team owner, right?

Hydroplane boats or whatever those things are.

Race is there, gets back here and just goes and kicks some serious ass at King of the Hammers.

I'm like, got it.

I got to chat with her at Destination Defender in the fall.

And we talked about Dakar and that she happened to mention the boats.

And I'm like, wait, also tell me about that.

So much, so much.

That car, by the way, like, oh man, if money was no object and I could have any modern car.

Yeah.

That Defender Octa.

You and Lindsay.

I know.

It's transcendent.

It is just sublime.

Shout out Sam Allen.

I know.

You had Sam on the show too before Christmas.

And yeah, I got to go for a ride in one of the octas with Davey Jones at Destination Defender.

And I mean, my smile was probably like what your smile looked like in the Vantage S picture.

It was just, you know, ear to ear.

Because it's such a remarkable vehicle.

I kept saying, like, you're, you know, you're looking at the road ahead.

And when I was there, it was torrential downpour, like truly set up for, you know, off-roading.

But the inside was a very luxurious experience.

The dynamics of that thing shouldn't exist in nature.

Agreed.

The fact that you are driving, so you imagine it's the same hydraulic, it's the same hydraulic

suspension that's, that McLaren uses.

So highly sophisticated, right?

And really what it's set up to do is to not upset the car.

Like you're trying as much as you can for stability and for balance.

And so obviously in a sports car, it makes a lot of sense.

In an off-road situation, when you're going, it's like at high speeds.

Well, okay, that's another application where to me it makes perfect sense.

But what it does is it, it almost, at least to me in my experience of driving it within

Octa mode was, I almost felt like over, because we've kind of had an opportunity to,

I got to drive it around like a track that they had made at this event.

I almost felt like I was driving on a gyroscope.

So the center, my center of gravity was like here.

And the whole car was like rotating around the center of gravity.

And it almost didn't matter what you did to it, but nothing unsettled this car.

It was just like stable.

It's going to be almost eerie.

It was a little.

So it was such a wild sensation that while I was doing it, I was like,

what voodoo is happening here?

Because it's just not what you're used to, especially at that ride height,

when you're kind of experiencing it in a car that's that big with huge,

you know, with these huge off-road tires on it.

And it's just, I was wowed utterly.

I was so like, poof.

Wow.

That's cool.

I don't know about this.

I need to experience this.

And I know one of these kids is not like the others here.

Yeah, it's special.

And then you find out like she's going in doing Dakar and I was like, yeah, that tracks.

That's cool.

Absolutely.

I know.

Well, Lynn, I'm, I'm afraid we could talk to you all evening and we almost have,

but I feel like we need to let these go.

This is a new record, I think a minute, perhaps an hour 50.

That means we, you know, doing something right.

No, we've covered a lot of ground.

We've learned so much.

We have homework.

We have reading assignments that we have to go do,

which I'm very excited to learn more about these stories.

But yeah, exactly.

And we'd love to have you come back.

But until then, tell the people where they can find you to follow along on your adventures

and where they can see your Kelly Blue Book videos and all that.

Absolutely.

Instagram is really the best place to, to kind of connect with me on all levels.

And it's at Lynn and then to underscores Woodward,

because some other Lynn Woodward is like got the other legit thing, but that's fine.

So you know, one in Lynn with one N.

LYN and then to underscores.

I make up for the ends in the underscores.

And there you can follow along with all of the kind of all of the renovations

that I'm doing on the Porsche and all the work that I get to do there,

as well as any extracurricular stuff that I do.

I love, you know, hopefully there's another trip to Goodwood in my future,

which going to England is something.

So I do all of those things and I will document all of those things on my Instagram page.

As far as finding any car reviews, if people need some advice

or are looking to sort of, to buy a new car,

or the Kelly Blue Book YouTube channel is a great place to find

and do some research on, on what we, on, on what I do.

And, and yeah, hopefully the best part about my job is I feel like I get to help people

make a really intimidating and very expensive decision these days.

And so if I'm able to help somebody figure out what, what car is right for them,

then, then yeah, I've not done my job.

Perfect. Well, that's it for this week's episode of that car show.

We're so thrilled that you were able to join us.

This was a genuine pleasure.

Thank you so much.

And I say the same, thank you so much for, for allowing me to visit you on the show.

Amazing. Well, we hope you'll come back.

Please like, subscribe and tell your friends.

Thanks again for joining us.

We will see you next week.

And until then, remember, always be driving.

Thanks, Lynn.

Lyn Woodward Is Cooler Than You.

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