MotorWeek Feb 19, 2026

Special Guest: Yolanda Vazquez

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Term

pound-feet of torque

Pound-feet of torque tells you how strong an engine is when it comes to turning things, like the wheels. It helps you understand how quickly a car can speed up or how much weight it can pull.

Term

torquey

If a car is described as 'torquey', it means the engine has a lot of power to speed up quickly, especially when you're starting from a stop. It makes the car feel strong and responsive.

Car

Mazda MX-5 / Miata

The Mazda Miata is a small sports car that is fun to drive. It's known for being light and easy to handle, making it a favorite among people who enjoy driving.

Part

optional hardtop

An optional hardtop is a roof that you can put on a convertible car to make it more like a regular car. It helps keep the weather out and can make the car quieter when you're driving.

Concept

The LeMay Museum is a place where many old and unique cars are displayed for people to see. It's located in Tacoma, Washington, and has a large collection of cars that tell the story of how cars have changed over time.

Concept

auto collection

An auto collection is a group of cars that someone collects, usually because they are interesting or rare. These collections can include many different types of cars, showing how they have changed over the years.

Concept

Harold LeMay

Harold LeMay was a man who loved cars and collected many of them. His collection became so big that it turned into a museum where people can see all the cars he gathered over the years.

Concept

National Corvette Museum

The National Corvette Museum is a place where you can learn about the Corvette car, see different models, and find out about its history. It became famous when a big hole opened up in the ground and damaged some of the cars inside.

Car

Chevrolet Corvette

The Chevrolet Corvette is a fast and stylish car that many people love for its sporty look and powerful engine. It's been around since the 1950s and is known for being a fun car to drive, often seen as a symbol of American car culture. People talk about it because it's not just a car; it's a part of history.

Concept

sinkhole

A sinkhole is a big hole that suddenly appears in the ground, often because the ground underneath has collapsed. In this case, it affected a museum where Corvettes were displayed, making it famous.

Concept

Bowling Green

Bowling Green is a city in Kentucky where Corvettes are made. It has become popular for people who love cars and want to learn more about them.

Company

Luscious Garage

Luscious Garage is a car repair shop in San Francisco that works on hybrid and electric cars. It's unique because it has an all-women team, which is not very common in this field.

Term

hybrids

Hybrids are cars that use both a gas engine and an electric motor to run. This helps them save fuel and produce less pollution than regular cars.

Term

EVs

EVs, or electric vehicles, are cars that run only on electricity instead of gas. They are better for the environment and can save money on fuel.

Term

two-speed transmission

A two-speed transmission is a system in a car that helps it change gears. It has two settings for speed, which was typical for cars made a long time ago.

Term

fiberglass body

Fiberglass is a strong, lightweight material used to make car bodies. It helps cars be lighter and can be shaped into different designs easily.

Concept

Zora Arkus-Duntov

Zora Arkus-Duntov was an important figure in the history of the Corvette, known for making it faster and better. He helped shape the car into what it is today.

LIVE

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 we're glad to have you with us for another very

special episode of our show where we are celebrating the 45th anniversary of Motor Week by talking

to a special guest from our past.

That means this episode is also being video recorded and can be seen at our YouTube channel,

youtube.com slash Motor Week.

I'm also joined by our producer and digital producer, Jessica Ray.

Gee, Jess, you think I could get your title right at this point.

Hey everybody.

Anyway, today's guest, a part of our Motor Week staff from 2006 all the way up to fairly recently

2019, serving as both our FYI reporter and Motor News reporter.

She was a huge asset as well as being a total delight to have on our staff then and frankly

is just as much of a delight today.

Here in our studio, welcome to our podcast, Yolanda Vasquez.

Thank you very much.

Thank you.

It's an honor to be here.

Oh, it is just wonderful to see you with a Motor Week or around you again.

It's been a long time, but how are you?

I'm well.

I'm well, John.

But you know, Motor Week is always family, right?

I mean, it's something that stays in you.

Once you've been a Motor Weeker, you're always a Motor Weeker.

That is true.

And it follows me.

I mean, you know, this show has such brand recognition.

I used to think all over the world, all over the country, but actually all over the world

globally, that everywhere I go, that people still remember my name or remember that I

did a Motor News.

They always ask me about you.

What's he like to work with?

You don't tell them the truth, of course.

Well, I mean, it's all good, but I mean, it is a question.

It is a question that comes up all the time.

I said, so what do you think about the stories?

They like, yeah, they were great, but what's John like?

So you're still an important part of the show.

But we were very fortunate to latch on to you.

You were a general assignment reporter.

You had been covering the Maryland State House here for Maryland Public Television.

And when you basically came to us, we were thrilled to have someone with your experience.

But your backstory is just as interesting.

Why don't we start sort of at the beginning, go back to your college days.

What got you into the video media in the first place?

Great question.

You know, Jessica and I were talking about this.

I don't think I ever envisioned a career as a broadcast journal, ever and ever.

I thought I was going to be a Broadway superstar.

Ah, OK.

You had those kind of stars in your eyes.

Oh, yes, those were the stars I had in my eyes.

You couldn't tell me I wasn't going to be, you know, at some theater, you know, off the

Great White Way doing a big production.

Like, you know, Hamilton, that's my jam.

I thought I was going to be the Hamilton girl back in the day.

We weren't going to date myself.

But that's what I did.

I went to Boston University and I had a pursuing a bachelor of fine arts.

And then two years in, one of my friends said to me, so which, you know, restaurant are you

going to be working for?

And I didn't understand what he meant.

I hadn't thought that far, John.

I didn't think beyond college.

I don't think any of us did when we were in college.

No, no, at least I did.

No, I didn't.

I was just there for the moment.

And then I started to think about it.

And he said, well, you're going to be auditioning for roles in the day.

And you're going to work as a waitress at night if you are truly serious about this

career.

And I thought about that.

Tough, tough, tough.

That's a tough, that's a tough one.

And my parents, you know, they're working class, you know, middle working class, attending

a very expensive school.

And I changed majors.

So I did end up graduating with a bachelor of science and broadcasting in film in the

College of Communication.

But even after I got out, I didn't know what I was going to do.

I was still looking.

My mother worked at the post office.

Funny story.

And my mom was so desperate to find me a job.

She had my resume.

Now I'm going back, you know, so you can have a paper resume and she had a paper resume

there at the post office.

And anybody that came up, she would look and see where they were mailing items to.

And if it had anything to do with TV, she would say, oh, my daughter just graduated

from Boston University.

What a great story.

She helped me get my first job.

I ended up working for WTVJ, which is a powerhouse TV station in Miami.

I was behind the scenes producing.

But that was my first job in the business, I don't know, back in the early 90s.

And frankly, the reporters, I was doing most of their work.

I was writing the intros, outros.

I was telling them when to go, when not to go, when to come down.

And I said, I can do this.

So you were writing and producing it even at that point.

I was.

Not by design.

It was just that was something I needed to do.

And I said, I think I can do a better job than they are doing.

And I think I'm pretty cute.

So at least at the time I did.

But by the time I was like, I think I can get it together and be on air.

And that's when the first idea came to mind.

I ended up going to New York.

I was a page at NBC, so I was seating audiences.

And I was there to who originally David Letterman originally David Letterman.

And then Conan O'Brien came.

And here's what's so funny.

No one knew who Conan O'Brien was.

So it was the I remember that.

And I remember nobody knew who Conan O'Brien was.

No one knew who he was.

And so I had to go into Rockefeller Plaza and beg people for free tickets to see Conan.

I mean, the rest is history, right?

But but working on Saturday Night Live was amazing.

Because I was there during the time of Adam Sandler, Mike Myers, Dana Carvey.

I mean, just the greats, the greats of SNL.

And so that was fun.

So now I'm in New York, like, what do I do?

And I put a demo tape together of VHS, right?

Back in the day, for those who may not remember, they existed.

The big ones.

Yes, yes, the big ones.

And just said, let me just kind of get it out there.

And I sent it to all the TV stations I could.

There was a list of booklet, nobody, nobody bit.

And then finally a friend of mine who was in the business said, how bad do you want to do this?

I said, really bad, I want to do it.

I want to try it.

He said, OK, I'm going to send you to market 152 because the market size is right.

You had to work your way up.

I had to work my way up, not maybe the same these days.

But back then you had to work your way up.

I think it was better to do that.

It was better to do that.

And I ended up in Midland, Midland, Texas.

Midland, Texas.

Midland, Midland, Odessa with the Twin Cities.

A young woman from Miami with New York experience and you are plopped down in the middle of Texas.

Culture shock, culture shock.

Pump Jack's tumbleweeds.

I mean, one road in the town, one road out.

I'm like, wow, what did I get myself into?

But I was a one man band and I learned everything.

I learned everything, John.

It's the way to do it.

You ran your own camera.

I did.

You knew where to stand in front of it.

I've been there.

So I get it.

Umatic taped.

I had to do it.

I was slicing and splicing and back in the day.

But and then, you know, I go up market sizes and so ended up going up market Kentucky and then ended up coming to MPT.

Actually, in the news division, that's how I first came to Baltimore was to work with Steve Kramer.

If anyone remembers that name from back in the day, Kramer is the one that actually got me to come here.

And then, you know, always saw Motor Week in the building, right?

Always knew Motor Week was here.

We were around even then.

But they but motorway.

Let me just tell you, when you worked up in the news division, Motor Week was this nebulous kind of like, what are those?

What are those creatures in the basement doing?

I know they produce this great show.

But like offices are in the basement, right?

So it is funny because I first I first came to MPT.

I was working in local programming.

So you are a bit motorway kind of exists in its own little dimension here.

And so it is sort of this it's this presence that is felt around the building, being such a long running.

And even when you came here, the show had had almost been on for 20 years.

Like it has this huge presence just around the building.

So I think not surprised you don't always feel that.

So that's an interesting perspective that I have an outsider before.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

So I don't remember exactly how you first got involved with us.

Maybe you do.

So if you do kind of I mean, my memory is like a sieve.

You were here at MPT.

You came in. She was a reporter.

Ninety nine. Ninety nine.

I came as a reporter.

I was here till about two thousand two three and ended up.

I wanted to be close to the family.

So I went to Orlando. That's right.

You went back home. I wanted to go Miami's home from me.

I'm a girl from 305.

I will always claim that.

If I ever meet Pitbull, he will have a thing because I will be the Miss Pitbull

because he doesn't. But and I think I'm older than him.

So I would have rights to that.

But anyway, but yeah, I wanted to get closer to family.

So I had an opportunity to work at the Fox affiliate as a morning reporter.

Oh my gosh, I'm not a morning person.

Can I just tell you everyone at Motor Week is super early people.

And it was they like early birds.

Yeah. When I first started, I was like, everybody's here at like seven.

Yeah. Some people were here at like seven thirty.

What's going on? And I am the opposite.

Now, you want me to write a script at one at one in the morning?

I'm your girl.

So I had to learn. I had to learn that.

But but I was a morning show reporter there.

And it just didn't work out, unfortunately.

And I wanted to come back here.

And there weren't any opportunities in the news division.

And I was looking elsewhere, but things weren't coming together.

And I believe Dave Scriv, Scriv, Scriv,

somehow or another, I connected with Scrivner.

I'm not sure, but I heard that you guys were in need of someone.

It was a rumor.

I vaguely remember that.

And I think my response was, why does she want to work for us?

Oh, my goodness, a venerated show.

Like, why wouldn't anyone want to?

Now, it was automotive.

So it was out of my wheelhouse.

Pardon the pun, but we already knew that you were the type of reporter

that was a quick study and basically would take, as they used to say,

take the bit in the mouth and run with it.

So that wasn't it.

And Motor Week has always prided itself in making sure that we had

a very strong female presence on the air.

And this was a position for a female reporter.

We already had a male reporter.

We wanted to make sure we were balanced.

So and most of the time, the applicants that we would get,

frankly, were or didn't have your experience.

So we knew that as a daily assignment reporter and one also with a lot

of political reporting in the background that you could adapt to just about

any subject matter.

And so that really, even before I think we even did the interview,

you were at the top of the list.

So I appreciate that confidence in me.

And that's something that you had to do as a general assignment reporter.

You never knew if you were going to cover West Nile virus one day or if

there was going to be a court case that you had to know the ins and outs

of a Wadi or so on and so forth.

So to me, when I approached it, I looked at it as this is going to be

a new kind of niche reporting for me.

A new kind of a different kind of specialty reporting.

And I had done entertainment reporting back in the day, too,

in Louisville, Kentucky.

So I just can't.

But I got to tell you, I didn't know what language you all were speaking.

When I first came, I had to I was, I mean, thank God, we had the Internet.

I was like, how many pound feet of torque?

What is a torquey?

I mean, it just none of it computed initially in my head.

And I never let on.

Well, good.

That was that was a fake until you make it, baby.

That's what my mama told me.

And that's exactly what I did.

And you know, what I always prided myself on is if I did not know,

I would try to figure it out on my own.

And if not, I would be humble enough to ask.

And and I did that.

I did that with, you know, people who were around me at Motor Week to ask them.

Well, we have such amazing resources.

Just like the fact that there are so many staffers

that have such like longevity, they know so much.

I mean, John, just John is an amazing reference

because of just how much automotive knowledge you have.

This knowledge, or I should say stuff in my brains.

But what we did give you the opportunity and you took it

was to become an expert in this industry.

And it doesn't take that long to figure out, you know,

what companies basically are on first and lose on second and so forth.

And you adapted to that very, very quickly.

And that's something that we when we're often hiring for the Motor Week staff,

it's hard to find people with an automotive background.

So you're looking for intelligent people that know how to be self-starters.

And you, again, you know, dotted the eyes and crossed the T's.

And very quickly, it went from us suggesting topics to you to you

coming to us with topics.

Thank you. I appreciate that confidence, again, that you had in me,

because it was a little unnerving and it was a brand new world for me.

It was a whole different animal.

But I think I put my new spin on it, right?

So yes, you did.

I think a lot of it was are there any automotive issues or trends or topics?

Relevancy, relevancy.

And that was that topic.

Desjure was a daily for me in the general assignment reporting world.

And I just tried to bring it to the automotive world as best as I could.

Because when you look at some of the FYI's or some of the even

motor news blips that I had mixed in with an auto show,

it always had kind of a news automotive centric slant to it.

And I was just grateful to be able to bring those different ideas to the fore.

Well, let's talk about some of the segments that you did,

because you covered a wide variety.

What are the ones that you remember the most?

And maybe tell us a little about those.

So it's kind of like, you know, you can you can take it that from here.

But, you know, to me, over 45 years, so much of it has just run together in my head.

But you must have some very, very vivid remembrances.

I do. I do.

Thank God for the internet, right?

Because I took a trip down memory lane yesterday.

And you and I was like, oh, I remember this one.

I'll say a lot of your segments are up online.

People can watch them now.

Oh, absolutely.

Our YouTube channel on our YouTube channel and also probably even on our app,

I imagine the PBS.org.

I mean, I was looking at it was going way back.

I mean, I was finding stuff from 2012.

Yeah, YouTube is all over the place.

So I have fond memories of almost everything that I worked on.

And the reason for that is because of how passionate people were about

something that had to do with a vehicle or a piece of metal, a piece of metal.

And that fascinated me as a general assignment, you know, previously working

in just news, a vehicle could have that kind of emotional response

or the collection of a certain vehicle or a memory of a vehicle from back in the day.

And all of these stories essentially tie back to that.

So the ones I remember the most, my all time favorite is the rocket ship car

that I did in Ohio.

And that was the two two guys from Euclid Beach Boys.

It was an amusement park that closed down in the 60s in the 60s.

And there were amusement rides that they motorized basically.

They took the car.

They took the car from like a flying and then they motorized them

and they had to spend at a suspension to them.

And so, I mean, it was a memory for people who either

attended the amusement park back in those days or bringing in the new

generation of kids that would ride because it was a, let's see, it was too

as a wooden roller coaster ride that they retrofitted.

And then there was something else called a thriller, the thriller car,

the rocket ship and the thriller car.

And those guys were a hoot.

It was just so much fun.

And I think Tim Pugh and I shot that.

And we had the best time.

The weather was great.

The kids loved it.

We ended up speaking to people who remembered riding that at the amusement

park back in the 60s or before it closed.

That was a fun one.

The other one that I enjoyed was this micro cars that I did with this guy

named Charles Gould out of Massachusetts.

He had two warehouses of vehicles that were micro cars and his obsession

began at age nine.

And I had never, I'd never seen him.

I didn't know what a micro car looked like.

I mean, you probably, well, I've seen a few.

I can't say I've ever been in one because I couldn't fit.

John, you could get in these.

You could get in these because they had two-seaters.

Some of them were actually two-seaters for two people.

The original Mini Cooper is about the smallest thing I've ever been in.

That that plus a race car.

Right. And that was your car. Wait, you had a Mazda too.

Do you have a Mazda? No, no.

Oh, yeah, Mazda Miata. Of course.

Of course.

See, my memory is still there.

I'm actually glad that you just confirmed that John owned a Mazda Miata.

I think a lot of people will be very excited to hear that.

I always want to know what car you drive or cars you like.

Just so you know.

That's worth telling the little story.

And absolutely.

We actually, when the Miata was brand new,

Mazda was nice enough to actually give us a test car

right off the bat that we got to keep for a long period of time,

one of our long-term test cars.

And it was a beautiful blue paint

and they sit down the optional hardtop for it all painted.

And we drove that car for the show for a year.

And at the end of that year, it was going to be shipped back.

And basically, I arranged to buy it.

So then I kept it for at least another eight to ten years

before I sold it to a couple on the eastern shore of Maryland.

And to be honest, I wish I still had that car today.

Yeah, I know you love that car.

I remember you. Yeah.

That's always the thing.

People always want to know what kind of car John is driving.

It was Generation Miata.

So museums.

I did a lot of museums, which the show continues to do through this day.

I know Stephanie goes to those.

So we did the LeMay Museum in Tacoma, Washington, which was incredible.

Just the design of the actual museum itself.

And that was when it was first opening, which is and it still is,

I think one of the absolute premier auto collections in this country today.

Oh, I would have to agree with you.

That was that was a nice one.

Harold LeMay, he was a refuse collector who collected most of these cars

and kind of donated it initially to make the museum happen.

And it's funny, again, I asked, I remember interviewing people

and he said the most important car is the car you have an emotional connection with.

Right. So this is what this is all about.

That's why Motor Week touches on everyday people.

It's just an everyday people because everybody has something to do with the car.

It's not only a vehicle you drive, but you have memories from when you were a kid

or you may aspire to have a certain vehicle.

So it's such a touch point for all of us in our lives.

And I think that's one of the real true key successes beyond John for the show.

Have to give my accolades where they're due.

California automobile. Yeah.

What about during the our anniversary show?

You also the clip that we used was you at the license plate convention

and you had a personal connection and fascination with that.

Why don't you tell us a little about that?

Because that on its surface looked.

Well, only interesting to people that were into license plates.

But you saw so much more than that in these collectors.

Very much so. Yeah, you know, it's funny that I think I pitched that one.

I always had to go, I think, Scriv, I think it was mostly Scriv.

I would pitch stories to and he was very open and generous.

But I think he was a little prickly on that one.

Like what you want? We're going to go.

We're going to go.

And I think it was like an Arkansas or something.

It wasn't even, you know, any flashy place to go to.

But because, you know, I grew up in Miami

and you would typically only see Florida's tags.

And when I saw until the snowbird until the snowbird season,

you'd see a lot of Canadian tags.

You'd see people coming from up North New York.

And I was fascinated to see license plates from out of state

because I did not see them that often.

That's where my I'd be like, oh, that's North Dakota.

Where's that? Get a map out.

I'm eight years old, you know, trying to look and see.

So I've always had a fascination even with vanity plates

to try to figure out I'm that person who's behind you,

trying to figure out that cryptic.

Like what's that?

What does that mean?

Because it'll be RLN and it's supposed to stand for something.

I'm that person.

But that was interesting because you had so many people

that came from from very far

and they were all looking for one particular license plate

from some time period.

And then the history of license plates, you have to figure

they were not all customized to be one size.

They were different sizes, different colors.

Pennsylvania in particular had license plates

that were made of different materials back in the day.

And so finally they had to make them more routine,

more customized so that everybody could have a legitimate

and police wouldn't have to worry about fake ones.

And the manufacturers only had to put the holes in the service.

Right in the one place.

So but license tags to this day.

Even I'm going to tell you right now, I'm thinking of a vanity.

I've been thinking about it.

I haven't come to terms with what I want,

but I'm still thinking of what I'm going to put on the back of my car.

Like I want a vanity.

I want a customized license plate for my car.

I just but if you'd say it, it'll be gone.

So don't say I haven't figured it out.

And wait, here's an even funnier thing.

I have like a Boston University little tag on it.

And I wanted to put like my sorority and something else on there.

But I sort of drive like a bat out of hell.

And I was just like, I don't I don't want anyone to, you know,

identify you, right?

One of our sorority sisters is driving 95 on.

So I'm very careful with what I put on my car

just because I know how I am.

And I don't know where I got that lead foot from, but I love it.

Wide open highways in Florida.

Let me let me tell you something.

The fact that you guys never got a summons or a ticket when I won.

The cars were available to me back in the day is nothing short of a miracle.

In fact, actually, police would pull me over a lot.

I would get OK.

This is this is new information.

This is full transparency.

I would get no.

But let me tell you, I didn't realize this.

And it was right here in Owings Mills Boulevard.

Um, you know why they pull me over?

Why nine times out of ten, they wanted to check the car out.

I thought they were pulling me over.

I was like, was I speeding?

I'm in a company car or your work car.

And they were like, hey, is that the latest such as can I see the redesign

on the inside?

Do you mind? And I'm like, is this a thing?

Like, is this real?

I would. I got pulled over all the time in the mostly the exotic cars.

Yeah, of course.

Yeah, the Porsche, the Ferrari, the Lambo's, yeah, all the big nice cars,

the vet, like the one new vet style came out, new redesign.

Yeah, and that was what it was.

I thought that was hilarious.

I did get pulled over a lot and I never told you guys that.

No, you didn't. Just smiled.

I did. But there's a statute of limitations.

I mean, I had to be 12 years ago, right?

But I will tell you about the story.

I'll go back to some of the other stories.

In addition to the museums, the National Corvette Museum was pretty cool

to do because they had just suffered that sinkhole.

And where is where is the National Corvette Museum?

Oh, it's it's in. Come on, you know, John.

Come on, John. Keep talking.

You know, it's in Kentucky.

It has to be. Oh, no, it's it's in Bowl.

It's in Bowling Green, Kentucky.

I was like, I was like, you know, I had to be going north.

It's about an hour north of the Tennessee line.

That's it. That's it.

Yep. And they had been.

That's where the plant is in the museum.

And the museum. Yep.

So they had that horrible sinkhole that swallowed up.

Quite a few of the of the rarest cars.

Yes. But it turned out to be a blessing in disguise.

So I said, let's go there.

Plus, you know, Louisville, Kentucky was my old stomping ground for a minute.

So I wanted to get back a little there.

But it turned out to be a blessing in disguise for them

because they had an increase in attendance, 60 percent increase in attendance.

People were coming, but they weren't coming in droves.

And when this happened, all of a sudden, and it and because you could purchase

your vehicle, if you ordered a Corvette, you could have it picked up there.

Yes. And so no, no, no, tap, tap.

You could have it picked up there.

And that's what a lot of people were starting to do,

because they wanted to give some glow, some shine to the museum.

Your segment there was only the second segment we had ever done at the museum.

We did our first segment there right when that plant opened,

because the Corvette moved.

It was a brand new plant just for Corvettes.

And we actually went down to shoot inside the plant.

And I think they were just finishing the museum at that time.

But that story of the sinkhole kind of put the museum on the map for non Corvette people.

So all of a sudden, this little town of Bowling Green became this destination

because on that interstate, and I've forgotten which one it is, it goes by it.

There's really not a lot there between, you know, north of Tennessee.

At least there wasn't at that time.

So it really put it on the map.

Yeah, you literally were like, you pulled up and you're like, oh,

it came out of nowhere. It was out there.

But I enjoyed that one.

And the Pierce Arrow, when I told you about, or if I didn't,

maybe pre told everyone Pierce Arrow, because in Buffalo during the early 1900s,

that was a very industrial time.

But there was so much going on in Buffalo,

and they had the best bikes, as I was told by James Sandoro back then, made the best bicycles.

So people don't realize that back when automobiles were first coming of age,

there were other plants all over this country,

especially in the middle of the country and in the Northeast.

It wasn't all just located in Detroit.

I mean, Ohio had quite a few.

But yeah, yeah, Buffalo was another hot spot, hot bed, so to speak.

The other thing that I also wanted to always try to bring to the show

was the female perspective to things.

That was I was always trying to because they would get in a car

and write about a car review in their way and, you know, male gender way.

And I'm looking at when I pull the visor down,

is the mirror wide enough for me to be able to put my makeup on?

Where do I place my purse?

Is this going to, you know, the little device that you have put all your

trash keys in, is the seat comfortable?

What about putting down?

What about, you know, is there a dead petal of something so it won't scrape my.

So I'm always I was in a car looking at a car very differently.

And I would add those little nuances that they would include in the car.

Extremely important.

Yeah, yeah, that was something.

So I so I did a piece on women's perspective on car buying,

which I know Stephanie has kind of, you know, recirculated,

because we talk about women being these major consumers of everything

and cars in particular.

And if you're in a household, it's usually the woman

who's probably doing all the research and figuring out the cost and the price

point and then saying to their husband, OK, now go buy this.

No, just kidding. Women, we can buy our own things now.

The majority of automobiles make this point a lot.

The majority of cars sold not just in this country, but worldwide.

And I'm talking like 60 to 70 percent.

That purchase decision is made by the woman involved,

whether it's a spouse or whatever, or by themselves.

So they have total influence.

And there was a time not that long ago where the auto industry

really didn't consider things like, you know, let's face it,

a lot of women have nails and a lot of controls that they would put in cars

couldn't be operated by someone that had nails without a great

without contorting your hand.

I remember talking to a female engineer at Ford Motor Company

who was involved in their audio systems.

And she would she was complaining to me that she couldn't get anybody

to listen to her because I looked at some new radio and I said,

you know, the buttons are kind of small.

And she said, yeah, and, you know, it's a real big problem for anybody.

I had big hands, so I couldn't even hit the buttons.

And she said, now put nails on hands and it makes it 10 times worse.

So that was a unique perspective that you brought to the show then.

Right. Right.

Car design, influencing car design for for women's needs was a big deal.

And I remember going with Marlene Rodman, who we all know is one of our

Seasons, love my Marlene.

Marlene and I spent many years as a videographer that worked on Motor Week.

And she and I did worked on new stuff as well.

And she and I went to Palm Springs, California for heels and wheels.

And I remember pitching this to Scriv too.

He's like, what? What is this?

What is going on?

Because it was the first of its kind where they were.

Listen, there weren't a lot of female automotive journalists.

No, not in those days.

When I first, you know, 2008, 9, 10, I would literally be the only me

and maybe one other female on these automotive junkets.

Like when we would go for the car manufacturers, they would look at me

and you producer or you like, no, I'm going to ride this car.

I'm going to write about, no, I'm a journalist.

I'm here, trust and believe they sent me. I'm good.

And so I didn't see myself in a lot of folks.

And so this was really cool to gather with like-minded individuals,

women who we were looking at cars from a different, you know, the car seat

and how it configures in a minivan or SUV or just certain things that we're looking for.

So that was fun. We had a good time hanging out with them.

I remember there was a woman who did a piece.

She was doing the Hispanic perspective to car buying and she had some ideas

on what the Hispanic population, which I had never thought there could be a differentiation.

But she did. It was kind of interesting that we talked about that.

But that was a really cool event that I went to and Luscious Garage in San Francisco.

This was a garage. It was the ultimate green garage.

They started in 2007, but we did the piece in 2013.

It was an all female staff and they worked on hybrids and EVs, which sounds bizarre

that we would go do a story on.

But they were one of the first to specialize in hybrids.

And the fact that it was owned by women, run by women, and they worked on cars.

I mean, these chicks weren't playing.

It wasn't like I was the face of the figurehead.

They were, you know, doing their thing.

And that was that was really cool.

I did some I really enjoyed a mobile parking.

So now, you know, we can go on our phones with the app.

I think I did one of the first stories of meters changing over to being able to use for motor week.

It was the mobile parking piece.

It was like 2011 that we did a piece that they were first introducing that ignition.

Interlock was another one of how you can say people's lives with DWI, DUI.

I thought that was interesting.

And Maryland at the time had the highest number of people who were using the device,

which was a little unsettling to me because I'm like, are you saying there's that many

people driving drunk on the roads or or is Maryland stringent in making sure people

are getting the device so that they have the driving behavior.

I didn't know which one it was.

But and the motor news is were were fun.

And I did the Clean City success stories.

Yes, you did. I enjoyed working on those as well.

That was a whole new world learning about alternative fuels and the fact that there were so many companies

and fleets in so many places around the country that were incorporating it into into their fleet,

I should say, EVs and propane and school systems.

And that was I really did enjoy doing those Clean City success stories.

And they were little short pieces like a vignette.

Yeah, but I enjoyed and the people that you meet along the way.

And yeah, you really did cover a lot of different subjects.

Yeah, you know, and I think hearing you talk about that, it's it's like I don't think our

our frequent viewers really recognize how broad a stroke that we try and paint

of all the influences that automobiles have on American life and all the nooks and crannies.

And one of the whole aspects of the FYI segments is to get into that lifestyle and to dive into it.

And you really just took to it like a fish to water.

It was it was great to watch.

Thank you. I appreciate it.

And I'm just so grateful that I had the opportunity to do it that you took that you guys took a chance on me.

I mean, essentially, you did.

I think it was much of a change.

No, but I mean, I wanted to get back to the Maryland area and the opportunities were few and far between.

And it was like a homecoming.

I don't know how to put it in a different way because I was working on a different show.

And then, of course, I was able to do some stuff with the News Division still.

So coming back to Maryland Public Television, being introduced to a nationally syndicated

show that had just so much prestige all over.

I mean, to this day, I mean, I'll tell you that I probably got the job I have now because I worked on

it a week. I work now.

And why don't you tell us what you're doing now?

Because you're still in Maryland.

I'm still here.

You basically sidestepped, I would say.

I don't think I'd call it a different career, but you did basically find a different outlet for your talent.

So take it from there. What are you doing now?

Thank you.

So I currently work as the external affairs director for the Howard County State's Attorney's Office.

And so people listening around the country, district attorneys, state's attorneys, same capacity,

which means that on the public face, if there is a case that needs to be talked about,

that we've prosecuted, if my boss, the actual state's attorney, is unable to speak,

then I will come to the fore.

But I'm also writing press releases.

I'm still dealing with the media, but it's on the back end.

So I'll tell you a second about that, but getting the job was very funny because

I knew that there was an opening there.

And the state's attorney at the time, this is 2019-18,

he was the first African-American to be elected to this position.

So I said, I'll come in and do a piece with you for State Circle, our new show that we have here,

about you being history-making.

And then I gave him my resume and everything about the fact that I was interested in the position.

But it didn't, none of that mattered, really, because the minute I walked into his office,

he had been a longtime Motor Week viewer.

Oh, no kidding.

Like 20 years Motor Week viewer and total gearhead, right?

Total, like we both had outies, we sat and had a conversation about our, I mean,

he was just like, Yolanda Voskis, as I live and breathe from Motor Week, walks in my office.

And I'm looking around like, who is he talking about?

And he was just so enamored, like he was just so fascinated that I was even there,

much less the fact that I was considering, you know, a change in my career to do something.

I wanted to pour it back into the community in which I live, I live in that area.

And he was sold, he was like, you got the job, you just have to convince my deputy

state's attorneys. So, I mean, I have to thank, you know, Motor Week for my transition,

I was telling Jessica, from my transition into, my pivot, so to speak, into a whole new field.

And it's, it is difficult. I mean, I spent 25 years as a journalist, right?

Going on to the other side, where you're no longer reporting the news, you're making the news,

it's tough. It's not an easy thing to do. And, you know, once you feel like your time is done

in the business and you want to try something else, it is hard to figure out what that is.

It really is. And to convince others that you have the skill set to do it. That's the other part.

Most people, I don't know, they, we're very pigeonholed in this world that we do of what we do.

It's very niche, right? It's very niche. It's like you're in a role and you've developed a bunch

of skills for this specific role. Right. And while you do have the skills, say, for like your

current job, right? Right, right. You did, there was still a learning curve because you hadn't been

on that side of things. You could, you had the skills, but you didn't necessarily have that,

like, actual practical experience. Yeah, that's what happens. Correct, yeah. And a lot of people,

it's a mystery about what we do. You know, a lot of people think it's very easy. They really do.

No true words have been said, John. And they have no idea the sweat equity, time, and effort.

The research. No idea. And if you don't know, you just think we're all getting up there looking

fabulous, doing our little on camera. Talking to the camera. Yeah, we're talking to people in

an interview. No, no research. And you're like, oh, easy breezy. It's like, no, that's a lot of

dang work. Like we, we are, we are hustling. We're hustling on this show. I remember some,

someone gave me a quote about how many hours it takes. Do you guys have a thing on how many

hours it takes for you to do a one hour? I use, oh yeah, you know, it's 50, 60 hours, whatever.

It's actually much more than that when you actually figure out all the man hours involved

with shooting and everything else. But I remember, even when I was just doing radio a long time ago,

that it would be standard practice that for every hour you were on the radio, it took two to three

hours worth of prep. You know, if you were doing something more than just spinning records or

something. And even there, you went into the music library and researched it and looked up

the artists that has the new hit, what's their background. So you had something to talk about.

So the time on the air in front of the camera is actually the minority of the time involved. And

I'm not sure we have a current number of how much, you know, our half hour show

takes this many hours, but it's a big number. Yeah, no, it is a big number. I said one hour,

but half hour. Yes, exactly. I mean, it's very time consuming. So trying to explain that or convince

that to someone else who has no idea of what that entails is very difficult. But hey, look,

they already knew that I could do pieces for Motor Week. So they were like, hey, you know what,

she'll just learn the, she'll learn the legal jar again and she'll figure it out, which that was

a whole nother world. Oh my goodness, that was a whole nother world. I think yeah, probably and

what's so great about when you look back at all of the things that you've done, you've certainly

moved around a lot and you've done a bunch of different assignments. But you know, when you

came here and you were doing a lot of stuff that was related to the government and you were very

involved, you know, the legislature, a lot of people, but a lot of people might not know a

we cover the Maryland legislature, which runs between January and April every single year.

Pretty much gavel to gavel. We are there and we're there every single day. So much is happening in

this short span, a period of time. So that's so much knowledge that you had that makes you,

like, so unique. And you do seem like the type of person who's just ready to learn.

Always. You want to learn. Always. I want to know what's. Always. I'm so eager. That's why I found

the show so fascinating. Motor week and I love history. I'm a history buff at my core. I didn't

know that till later in life. But I love like even at the National Corvette Museum,

you know, everything that they were talking about what happened as a result of the sinkhole was

one thing. But I didn't know a lot about Corvettes. I didn't know a lot about the history and how

they had all started. I didn't. And that was the part like I said, okay, the sinkhole, you've got

more people coming. That's great. Tell me about how the when was it first introduced? Who designed

it? You know, what are the hey, hey days about it? And it was debuted in what year do you think the

Corvette? 1953. Look at this man. Oh, I know. This is what I'm talking about. 1953. Well,

if I don't know the origins of the Corvette, I shouldn't be doing this job. 1953. And it was a,

it was only a six-solder. Okay. And it had, I believe, a two-speed or a three-speed at the most

automatic. I think it was a two-speed. Two-speed. Okay. And, you know, it was this gorgeous looking

fiberglass body. But it didn't have a whole lot of guts at that point. But you do know you are

speaking to a previous Corvette owner. Yeah, I know. He's a vet guy, but I knew he would know. It

was 1953 at the New York Motor Rama Show. Yes. The name Corvette comes from British Navy class.

Yes. It was like a frigid or destroyer. That's it. That's it. And Zora Arcus Dunton was the

father of Corvette. That stuff fascinated me. And I'd go back and tell my whole family about

that. And they're like, what are you talking about? What is this? And I'm like, this is fascinating

to me. And I love sharing that with our viewers. That was always such a high point to me. It's like,

if you're fascinated by it, as a pseudo non-automotive person, I clearly became a gearhead by the time

I finished. But at the time. That was the hope. That was the hope. I mean, even now, even now,

my friends still call me now. They're like, so I'm looking at a car. Oh, you are. You are the one

that they come to steal. That's wonderful. I'm the one. I'm like, listen. That's your legacy with

motorway. That is. That is. People come to me. I'm in the market for, I'm like, listen, I don't do

motorway again. Oh, you know, you know about those cars. It's deep in your soul. It's ingrained in

you. And I'm like, yeah, that's true. That is absolutely true. But it's been, it was a wonderful

ride and a wonderful journey. And I must tell you, it's been a wonderful experience having you

with us here today. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Yolanda Vasquez, one of our most memorable

contributors to Motor Week, one that, I mean, I see your face all the time and all of our retro

reviews that we're running. And it's just wonderful to have you here in person again. So thanks for

coming up. Thank you again for the opportunity and much success to you guys. I mean, 45 years and

still going strong. And that's a huge credit to you and the staff here. Jessica's a little newbie,

so to speak, so to speak. But the staff and the long timers that I worked with, you know,

Scriv and Brian Roberts, and I can name a whole bunch of folks and all the, all the wonderful

photographers, the photographers on the show are the best ever. They don't just want to do it.

They want to do it right. And you don't find that in the television industry. So it was a good

group of people to work with on a, on a fantastic show. And I will sing the praises of Motor Week

till the day I die. I just will. Wow. I think, I think we're going to end there because it

couldn't get a whole lot better. Before we do close things out, I want to give a special thanks

to our sponsors of the podcast and to our show Motor Week Auto Value and Bumper to Bumper,

and also the good folks over at tireact.com. We know our viewers and our listeners appreciate

everything you do for us here at Motor Week. Thanks also for listening and watching for

this podcast today. Now, if you're wondering what time Motor Week can be seen on your local

public television station, hop over to our website MotorWeek.org, put in your zip code under the

watch Motor Week symbol at the top of the page, and it'll pop up with the times and days in your

local market. Also for all of our Motor Week information, our road tests, our features,

including Yolanda's, our app that is free for downloading now has all of that information

on it. So we encourage you to go there. Also the free pbs.org app also has the most recent

episodes of Motor Week. We're happy to note that recently our archive seasons are becoming

available for free streaming on Tubi, Roku, Pluto, Plex, and Zumo. And finally, all of our

individual test and feature segments are at our youtube.com slash Motor Week channel. If you've

got a screen, you can watch Motor Week. Podcast producer Jessica Ray, thank you for being here

today. Audio engineer Nicole Phillips-Nailer, our videographer standing back there behind the lights,

Paul Loschke, and Bob Mixtor, our creator. Remember the fastest way when you're doing a search for

new or used car information is to put in Motor Week in your search engine.

Thank you for being a part of Motor Week. I'm John Davis. We'll see you soon.

Automotive magazine series each week on your local PBS station for the Motor Week app.

About this episode

Celebrating Motor Week's 45th anniversary, host John Davis welcomes former reporter Yolanda Vazquez, who shares her journey from aspiring Broadway star to a respected figure in automotive journalism. The conversation dives into her unique path, including her experiences at NBC, working with legends on Saturday Night Live, and her eventual role at Motor Week. Yolanda reflects on the challenges and joys of transitioning into the automotive world, highlighting the importance of adaptability and the sense of family within the Motor Week team.

auto collection Bowling Green EV fiberglass body Harold LeMay hybrid LeMay Museum Luscious Garage National Corvette Museum optional hardtop

Chevrolet Corvette Mazda MX-5 / Miata

Original notes

We’re back with another blast from the past podcast episode. This week we are joined by Yolanda Vazquez, who served on the MotorWeek staff from 2005-2018 as FYI Reporter and delivered Motor News! John and Yolanda discuss what led her to joining the MotorWeek team, her favorite memories while on staff, and how she has taken her skills as a reporter and pivoted to her current role working for the Howard County State’s Attorney’s office. A video version of this podcast can be seen on our YouTube channel: youtube.com/motorweek

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