Special Guest: Lauren Morrison

Welcome to the podcast of Motor Week, television's original automotive magazine.

Motor Week is made possible by AutoValue and Bumper2Bumper and TireRack.com.

Here's your Motor Week podcast host, John Davis.

Welcome to our Motor Week podcast.

I am indeed your host, John Davis, and it's time to bring back another Motor Week alumni

to help us celebrate our 45th anniversary.

And with that, we're also recording a video version of this podcast today,

so you can enjoy it audio only as per usual or add the video to the audio of this podcast

at the Motor Week YouTube channel. Now you won't have to dig very far into your memory

for today's special guest as she served as our FYI reporter and then Motor News reporter from

2015 up until 2022. She's also no stranger to our podcast, but it's been a while since we had her on.

Welcome to the podcast, Lauren Morrison. Welcome, Lauren.

Hey, John. I'm so excited to be here. I'm so excited.

Oh, we are absolutely delighted to have you with us. It has been way too long.

And you're joining us from your home in Florida, right?

Enjoying all that beautiful sunshine? Yes, sunny and 75.

It's pretty cold winter day here, so make us all jealous. Hey, let's get right into it.

You started with Motor Week in 2015, but you were a very experienced TV reporter when you came

to us. Give us a little idea of your background before you ended up here in Owings Mills, Maryland.

Yeah, so I guess when I first graduated college, I went to Maine and I was a news anchor in Maine.

You went from Florida to Maine. Florida to Maine, right? So and it was so snowy for a Florida girl.

I don't know. You know, maybe I'd seen a few flakes, you know, visiting family and friends in Georgia

going to Maine. I don't know what I expected, but so much snow, so cold. I did a few winters

there and I was like, I gotta get back south. From Maine, I went and I lived in Huntsville,

Alabama for a couple of years, way warmer, have family there. So and I was a TV reporter there,

a morning news anchor there. So it was a lot of crazy hours both in Maine and in Alabama. And then

my now husband at the time was living in Baltimore. He was going to school in Baltimore and I thought,

you know, I'm just gonna move up there. I think I love storytelling. I love video. I love every

all the aspects of that, but I don't know if news is for me. And a posting came up at Maryland

Public Television. And I remember when you asked me to do this podcast, I started thinking about the

whole, you know, my whole journey. And I remember the posting was very vague. It didn't say motor

week. And so I was like, you know, I think I really enjoy working for public television. It might be

a little slower paced. I remember going in for the interview and realizing that I was interviewing

for a position at motor week and getting out of the interview and calling my dad and being like,

if I don't get this job, I think I'm going to cry. Like this was sounds like the coolest

opportunity. I didn't know they like want to pay me to do this. Like I like couldn't believe it.

And then I got the call that I got the job and I, it was just the ride of my life. I

loved every minute of it. I remember looking at your reel, your sample reel and being with

Brian Roberts. And we were in his officer mind. I don't recall which. And when your reel came up,

we all looked and said, wow, she's the one. You had the camera poise. We saw your clips of how

well you interacted with, you know, men and women on the street. And we knew that

since we wanted you to be able to have viewers live vicariously through you,

you had such a great personality. The camera loved what it saw and loved how you acted with

perfect strangers to make them feel totally comfortable. And I'm wondering, was there any,

did you get any training in that? Or was that just something you picked up by doing it?

I think I've always been really excited just to try new things. And I, you brought up a good

point living vicariously like through the camera. I think I've, that's what I've always tried to do.

I want somebody who maybe they, you know, financially, a lot of the stuff that we do,

you can't do. Or just, you know, somebody can't get to a location that I'm going to,

I want somebody to be able to watch my video, watch whatever I'm doing and being like, wow,

that was the next best thing to being there. And I think I've always loved like new exciting

opportunities like that. I'll probably never get to do again. So I think I've always had that

sense of adventure. And I think, I think anybody who works at Motor Week definitely has to have

that sense of adventure. Well, you know, speaking of that, had you, when you came on with Motor Week,

it was a totally different style and different schedule from what you'd been doing. Instead

of being a daily reporter, you often had weeks to prepare a segment. Did that change how you

actually produced and did your segment said, did you have to reformulate your mind and say,

this is a totally different type of television? For sure. Because even when I was working in news,

a lot of times you were your own camera person. So I wasn't able to do a lot of standups or like

interact in front of the camera a lot. Or like if I was, you know, driving a car, I would have

to describe it. I couldn't really get video of me driving a car. So once I got to Motor Week,

and also it's more of a long, long form, a long term format. So my pieces could be four minutes

long, whereas in news, I mean, maybe I had 90 seconds. So I felt like I could explain things

more. I could just dive deeper into it. And, you know, it helps so much working with a producer,

working with a videographer. I think your product is so much better. And I just learned way more,

having a team around me like Motor Week. Well, I know it really helped that you had so much

experience. We didn't, I pretty much remember cutting you loose right away. You'd suggest topics for

some of the segments. And once that was decided, it was like, you know, Lauren's under control.

And let's see what the final product is. And it's rare from a producer standpoint that you get to

do that. But, you know, did you ever feel, I guess, that you didn't get enough direction from us?

I'm kind of curious. No, I think I'm a very tight A person. So I'm like, this is what I like, you

know, I need my checklist. I need my punch list. I know what to do there. I don't know. I don't

think so. I think that's my personality though, too. And you guys, if I ever needed anything,

I could come and be like, Hey, what do you think about this? What do you think? I like the fact

that I would, you know, we turn in at the beginning of a season. Hey, these are the ideas I'm thinking

about for my segments. Everybody would chime in, give their thoughts. Like, I think this would

be great. Oh, I have like a person that you could interview for this yada, yada, yada. But no, I,

I love the, Hey, go for it. See what happens. You know, what's, what's the worst that can

happen? Get out there and do it. I, I love the free reign. I, I definitely didn't feel like I

needed any direction. For those that are listening to this and viewing this podcast that may not

be familiar with our show, the FYI segments are very broadly based. Obviously they're car-oriented,

but they can be very consumer-oriented. They can also take a look at some of the lighter

subjects that we cover. Do you, when you came with us, I mean, you mentioned your father,

I guess, new motor week. Oh yes, yes, yes. But were you, would, would we say you were a car person?

Because that was not one of the requirements, as I recall. No, I, you know, like I, like you said,

my dad was a car person. He loved, he's Corvette guy, you know, so I was always around them. And I,

you know, could point him out on the road. Some road dogs. Yeah. I, I, you know, yeah, I could

talk about him, but could I get under the hood? No, probably not. And so I think definitely working

in, in the, in this industry opened my eyes to a whole bunch of stuff that I would have never

been exposed to beforehand. So I wouldn't, I wouldn't say I was a gearhead before I started. No.

Are you now? Yeah. Oh, for sure. For sure. Good. Right answer. It stays with you. We were talking

before it stays with you. Like once, once you get a hit, like that's it. You're hooked. Yeah.

Okay. Let's talk about some of your adventures. You know, off the top of your head, give us some

of your best memories of some of the best segments that you did. And maybe even some of the ones that

you sort of thought, well, you know, it wasn't quite my, my shining star. So, you know, I, I'm a mom

now. That's why I left motor week and I drive a Honda Odyssey and I'm driving the car loop line.

I'm, you know, slow go one in the school zones and people are throwing Cheerios at my head and I'm

just like, oh, I think about the Porsche experience center that I went to in Atlanta all the time

when I got to like drift and get on their kick pad and, you know, drive just amazing cars. And I'm

just like, if these kids knew who I used to be. So I think that the Porsche experience center for

me is one that I think about all the time. And just to, I mean, a lot of people are never going

to be able to drive these cars. And then I got to drive them to the capacity that they're meant

to be driven. That was a really, really fun one. I think of just a lot of times, you know, we get

to go manufacturers have us out for reveals and stuff. I think about the Land Rover Discovery.

We went out West and that was like a global launch. So it was like a new vehicle. I think it was like

in 2017 and we drove, I mean, like 500 miles a day. It was a long drive and we drove over all

the terrain. That was a very, very cool drive because a lot of times, you know, you might go on

these drive events and you get to, you know, putz around the city or whatever, but that drive, you

were able to test out like every capability. I mean, we were like mountain climbing. We were in

the sand. We were everywhere testing out every capability of that discovery. So I think that

was, that was a really fun drive. I'm trying to think of something that like wasn't that I didn't

love. I loved all the stories. I mean, some of them just weren't as exciting, but they were more

consumer related, which is always, always nice and always informative for me too. I, you know,

I remember going to the Insurance Institute, Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. That

amazing, amazing work that they do there and doing like a headlight test at night, which,

you know, might seem not as exciting, but I found it very informative, very, very cool once the

piece was all put together. I was like, oh, you know, how exciting is this video going to be? But

we worked with such amazing videographers. Like I could tell them the vision, tell them what I wanted

and like somehow they would get this shot, make it come to life. And I'd be like, you know, this

piece that I didn't think was going to be that great was amazing. That's great. I mean, it's,

it is a team effort. You know, sometimes the person in front of the camera like you and like me

gets all the credit and really, you know, from the viewers, but it takes, I hate to use the term,

but it takes a village. It takes a lot of people behind the scenes to make us look good. It really

does. It really does sound good, look good. Like it, you couldn't do it yourself.

No, you did a lot of traveling with us. Tell us a little about that. Was that stressful for you or

did you just enjoy it? Oh, I loved it. I, you know, and I started when I started and realized

like how much I was really going to be traveling. I got a map and I was like, you know what, I'm,

my goal is to like visit all 50 states and with motor week. And I think I probably have visited

35. I mean, I've been places that I would never go. I wanted a really cool drive is I think we were

in South Dakota. And you know, I don't know, maybe South Dakota was never on my, never on my map

that I was going to go to. And I went out there and I was like, I would come back here. Idaho,

I loved, we did a drive. I think we did a clean cities in Idaho. And that was beautiful, beautiful

country. So I loved, I loved traveling. I loved, I don't know, waking up in a new place, meeting

new people, the people in the industry as a whole, so welcoming. I think one of my biggest,

I was nervous going into motor week because it is a male dominated industry. I think I was nervous.

I was a young female. Everybody, I never once got any kind of remark, any, anything negative.

Everybody was so welcoming. If I looked like I didn't know what I was doing and I looked like

I needed help, people were jumping into health, like very, very welcoming. And I think that was

another part. I just loved meeting new people and altogether amazing. Well, I know when you left us,

all the, your fans out there for motor week fans basically let us know how much they were going

to miss you. And we got lucky because when your husband graduated and you guys moved back to

Florida, we had a chance to keep you on virtually doing our motor news segments. And that was,

that was the first time we have ever done anything like that. So tell us a little bit about what

that experience was. How was your house set up? I know we sent someone down to help you set up

lighting and everything. Was that kind of surreal for you? It really, I never thought when I left

motor week, I was like, this is it. You know, they're riding off into the sunset. And when you

guys called me and asked me to do this, I, it was amazing, amazing, amazing. So you guys sent

down and this was before COVID. So motor week was ahead of the curve. I feel like in the whole

worker home home, you guys sent down a production. Yeah, Tracy, Tracy came down, like set up a

green screen and showed me how to set it up so I could take it up and down. So I didn't just

perpetually have a green screen in my house. She showed me how to do the lighting. We put like

markers on my floor, like put the lights here, you stand here, put the camera here. And

a crazy experience. It was for a mom working from home, it was amazing. I would put the baby

down for a nap or put her down for bed. I would write my segments. I would produce them in front

of a, you know, produce them in front of the green screen, be able to just send it, get an

internet connection, send it to you guys. You would edit it over there, send me, how does this

look? It's just crazy to me, like technology, even motor weeks, 45 years old, like to see

that I'm sure for you, the technology, how we can go and we could like go on a shoot. I could

send stuff back to the studio before we even flew back, like editors could be editing it. It was

so working from home. That was, that was a really cool experience. And then COVID happened

and, you know, you guys were out of the studio and I had the studio here. So I feel like I

ended up doing a lot more motor news. I think I was doing it weekly at that point because we

were just trying to get content up on, up on our YouTube. It was a lifesaver during COVID for us.

I mean, we were, most people don't realize that we were in hiatus, of course, initially,

but we were the first national television series that got back on the air with new episodes.

And I'm very proud of that. But part of that was because you were so flexible

and could provide us content from down there. So I think I said, we were ahead of the curve.

Well, you got to stay ahead of the curve to keep from getting run over.

You know, before we wrap this up, are there any other memories you've got that, you know,

you want to share with the podcast fans? What do you miss most?

I'm gonna make me cry. I miss you guys. I miss the team. You know, I think a lot of people take

for granted working in an awesome work environment. And there is not one person that I encountered at

MPT Motor Week in general that I ever had a complaint with. A lot of people, you know,

I'd go on all these events done. Everybody asked me about you. Asked me if he really liked that

real life. And I was like, yes, what you see is what you get. John is the most gracious boss.

You know, don't meet your heroes. They say, yes, meet John Davis. Amazing, amazing, amazing to

work for you rally your team. And I think that's a testament why we've been on the air for 45 years

is having a leader like you and just creating an office environment. That's why people stay.

You know, honestly, if I wasn't having all these kids over here, I would be back at

Motor Week in a heartbeat. Like it is the people. The people is what I miss. I miss

everybody that I worked with. I love it. Well, you know, thank you very much. I'm the one that's

blushing now, but I want to remind you that you have at least 15 states you haven't visited.

I know I might have to make a make a return. Absolutely. Once the kids are grown and you

know, or basically in school or whatever, you know, knock on our door, you never know what we've

got up our sleeve and we don't want to lose contact with you. No, no, I never. And that's

another thing, you know, I've been off the air for a couple of years now. You guys check in all

the time. Like you just making sure seeing how I'm doing. Like I think that is just a testament to

how great you guys are. And it's not just, you know, you work here and you're gone. You're part

of the family for life. And that's, I feel that I couldn't have said it better myself. Hey, Lauren,

thanks very much for joining us today. It was absolute pleasure as always to have you on,

but especially on our 45th anniversary season. She just take care of yourself and don't get to

sunburn down there in Florida. All right. Thanks, John. It's great talking to you guys. You bet.

See you soon. Okay, everybody. I'd like to thank our sponsors before we wrap up this podcast and

the sponsors of both the podcast and of course, our series Motor Week, Auto Value and Bumper

to Bumper and also tireact.com. We know our viewers and listeners appreciate all of your

dedication to Motor Week. And if you're wondering what time you can watch Motor Week on your local

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that is listening and watching today that all of our Motor Week content, our videos, everything is

available on our Motor Week app. It's available at your favorite app store. It's a free download,

so take it with you and never miss a mile of Motor Week. Our thanks today to podcast producer

Jessica Ray, audio engineer Nicole Phillips-Naylor, podcast creator Bob Mixtor. Remember for the fastest

way to find new car reviews, be sure to include Motor Week in your search engine. I'm John Davis.

Thanks for being a part of Motor Week. You've been listening to the podcast of Motor Week,

television's original automotive magazine. Motor Week is made possible by AutoValue and

Bumper2Bumper and TireRack.com. Visit our website at MotorWeek.org for more car reviews and the

latest automotive news. And watch Motor Week, television's longest running automotive magazine

series each week on your local PBS station or the Motor Week app.

Special Guest: Lauren Morrison

Chevrolet Corvette

Honda Odyssey

Porsche Experience Center

Land Rover Discovery

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