This morning I opened my eyes and realized that yes, I had made it to LA the night before at 3am ET after an arduous flight from The Cape Fear of Wilmington, NC. Mechanical issues with the plane I was transferring onto in Dallas resulted in me sitting at an airport bar way too long; draining my wallet and filling up my belly with craft beers.
It was 7am and my phone was ringing; the name on the screen: David Tracy. “Stephen Walter Gossin! Are you here and are you alive?!” was what I heard while not-yet half-awake. After affirming that I was alive, in LA and now awake, I told David that I didn’t have any food allergies and that I was jazzed to FINALLY meet him later in the day.
Yes, that’s correct: I have been friends with and working with DT for 3 years now, yet we had yet to meet in person. The last time he and Jason were in my neighborhood, I had sadly missed their email and missed out on a face-to-face. I also hadn’t met Thomas, Mercedes, Matt and the rest of the team, since we’re all strewn about various states/countries. Well that all ends this week!
After a quick shower I realized that it was time to go downstairs in our rented AirBnB to meet my roommates for the week. Sitting on the couch with a laptop open in front of him was one of the most knowledgeable (I mean savant-level) writers in this profession: Thomas Hundal. A warm Canadian smile, a fist bump and the conveyance of how great it was to finally meet was mutually expressed. His immediate kindness rivals his writing ability and encyclopedic knowledge.
“SWG!” was then heard from behind me, voiced by a gravelly-toned tenor that I’ve heard for years. Jason Torchinsky, one of my favorite auto writers, one whom I read and followed religiously, was sitting at the kitchen table, in pajamas, drinking coffee [Editor’s Note: I was in a t-shirt and underpants, which I think I’d hesitate to call “pajamas.” Also, it was tea. – JT] and writing Cold Start. For someone like me, this was the type of experience that gives credence to the phrase “You should definitely meet your heroes, because they’re just as awesome as you expect them to be, especially in their PJs” .
Next, in walks a much-taller-than-you’d-expect Matt Hardigree, with breakfast coffees, sandwiches and a big hug. This is the same Matt Hardigree whose fans have approached me in the past, asking what working with him was like. And here he was handing me a breakfast burrito.
I’d only been here for a few hours and awake for much less than that and this was the best possible start to the LA Auto Show.
[Editor’s Note: Aw, what a peach. – JT]
Matt informed us that David had left us his Nissan Leaf with 25 miles of range on it to get around. Was this schadenfreude by David on purpose to get us to write about our transportation challenges going to and leaving from the Auto Show? It’s very possible. We grabbed some Autopian t-shirts, piled in and headed to the Galpin Hall of Customs area in the LA Convention Center (which houses the Autopian booth).
[Editor’s Note: My hair is wet. It normally looks bad, but not that bad. – JT]
With Thomas navigating (he’s a Torontonian; have you ever made your way around LA with a Canadian navigator?) and Matt and Jason in the back, we made it with about 18 miles left of range and plugged it into a rando 110V outlet we found in the Convention Center parking garage.
Once inside, I immediately found myself standing next to The Batmobile (the actual one from the Adam West show), Beau’s completely wicked collection of truly outstanding cars, The Kevin Hart Kollection, the cars from The Fast & Furious films and Daisy. In fact, I’m actually sitting next to Daisy (the last Cobra, ever), while writing this. Saying my usual statements of immense appreciation such as “wicked badass” or such doesn’t really touch on how cool this is.
David is actually on a mission in Malibu this afternoon and Mercedes arrives in a couple hours. Meeting the two of them this evening is something I’m really looking forward to. That just leaves meeting Adrian, The Bishop, Lewin Day, Laurence Rogers, Huibert, Mark Tucker, Social Media Pete, Rob Spiteri, Steven Balistreri, and Therese and I’ll finally have Autopian Team bingo.
You may see me in a few social media Reels covering the cars of the show, asking questions on the Podcast, serving as Security detail for Jason, and serving shrimp and drinks at the Autopian Happy Hour (I used to bartend in Wilmington after college – going to dust off some cobwebs and see if I still have it). This is about as cool as it gets.
I don’t think I’m going to be able to leave when the time comes.
I’m glad the band is all getting together. Perhaps Jason can talk you all into a night of improv. He can call you the LA Lighters and you can all go do improv at the second best taillight bar.
NOT ALL THE BAND, ANDREW.
True, they will be without their lead singer.
Couldn’t happen to a nicer guy, SWG. As corny as it sounds, it’s great seeing you happy in your element, because the enjoyment looks sincere.
On a side note, I hope someday The Autopian becomes big enough to get their own camper/trailer/RV/quonset/cabin/house where you guys can get together for a week or two and hijinx ensue.
Very kind of you to say, and thank you!
I threw out the idea of living in Jason’s RV with DT until we were able to fix it/get it started! I think that would be hilarious and wicked fun.
You are correct the smile in all the pictures was as sincere as it gets and I had a better time this week than I’ve had in a long time. The team is a bunch of really great folks.
Until next time, Most Reliable Jeep Man!
Lmaoooo of course you bartended in Wilmington. Was it Might As Well? Please tell me it wasn’t.
At The Rhinoceros in 2003. About a decade before MAW was even a thought.
Glad you were about to “Lmao” regarding this piece of Downtown Wilmington bar history.
Yeah, before my time. I moved down there (also from NY!) in 2010, completely different town by then
[Editor’s Note: I was in a t-shirt and underpants, which I think I’d hesitate to call “pajamas.” Also, it was tea. – JT]
Captain Carlos Rodriguez : It’s all right. It’s just a bullet. My wife Carmelita will suck it out. Go ahead. And don’t worry about your pajamas. I’ll take care of them!
Seriously, how often do you get to leave pajama comments on a car blog and have it actually be relevant in some way?
Just wanted to say Your hair looks great.
I’m wondering how we’re about the same age, but I have a shit ton of gray. Guess I need to go hang out at more junkyards.
Ummm, hello?
JT: “which one?”
Ah, so THIS is why SWG was in Texas earlier.
Yeah, I don’t blame him for not staying, either.
Dang it, now I’m REALLY sore I’m not in LA. Have a great time, Stevie G! Also, that zip-up is bad-ass!
Thanks Geoff! My brother scored it for me from the GM RenCen back in the day.
I wore it as a little tribute to David’s old hometown.
Thanks (as always) for reading and joining us here in the comments my dude!
> Mechanical issues with the plane I was transferring onto in Dallas resulted in me sitting at an airport bar way too long
Did you offer to fix them, or was the plane too expensive for you to wrench on?
Welcome to California!
Your biggest fan Harvey
Way too expensive for these wrenches but I certainly was intrigued as to what had broken! Scary when you think about it (from a mechanical perspective). Was it a stripped-out fastener? A leaking hydraulic line?
Best not to think too hard about such things when about to board and travel at 400MPH at 30,000ft.
Thanks for the welcome, Harvey! Appreciate you reading and being here in the comments as well. Cheers, my man!
<3
Was the plane a Tracy-Rogers jet? Those are known for a small rust problem causing their entire bottom to crumble away.
Bloody oath, getting the band together! Stoked for you mate!
Hopefully you’re here for the next big event, mate! Thanks LR.
It’s got that super hero comic book feel viewing from a far.
Have fun while working!
“Can’t really call it work when you love what you’re doing” –the damn truth
Thanks for reading and for the comment, CSRoad!
As the local dodge dude based on the facebook market ad i saw this week, and a fellow stealth appreciator, I look forward to your articles and media this week.
I will walk with my people.
Thanks for reading and for the comment, Paul!
Have a blast! They really are a great group of folks. And if you get a chance, see if you can talk Beau into showing you around his collection.
Been hanging around his collection all week and man is it ever wicked!
We had dinner with him last night as well and man, that dude is about as cool as can be. Seriously one of the nicest, most genuine guys I’ve ever met.
Who’s Therese?
Our new video editor! I’m sure she has other roles, too. 🙂
Well, shucks, put Therese in front of the camera so we can all welcome this mystery Autopian
I feel bad for her working on a feature most people hate ;_;
Who would’ve thought, given the choice, people would rather read than watch tv?
I like the videos, it’s just awkward when they start playing while I’m
supposed to be workingenjoying a leisurely scroll through an article.I do hope we get a majority of pics not from the show but rather from street sightings of random old Mopar sport coupes.
“Check out this Status R/T…can you believe it’s in white?! Nobody bought them in white!”
I’ve had my eyes peeled all week in our travels to and from the LA Convention Center and haven’t seen too many! There seems to be less of them around here than in my home region (the South).
Far more Asian brands and Teslas in the mix out there in SoCal, from what I’ve seen. We’ve been swimming in wicked cool cars all week though, and I’ll do my best to capture as many of them as I can for the site.
Hey, thanks (as always) for reading this travel-type blog (first one of those I’ve done here!) and for being here with us in the Comments, Jack! Cheers bud.
LA was never infested with Mopar vehicles the way other areas were. There’s so much constant driving they wouldn’t last a year.
Y’all staying for the Real Show where normies are allowed? Last time it was… David and Mercedes IIRC
Heading there in a few moments to run the booth! Hope to meet as many of you as possible. Cheers Alec!
Welp, can confirm. Was fun meeting you! And Thomas, which brings my total to… 6?
Hope I didn’t scare you away from the Discord lol
Right back at you! I’m going to try and get over to our Discord more often.
Thanks for coming out and thanks for being awesome. Dig your style, my dude!
Jaguar story! Jaguar story! Jaguar story!
And welcome to town SWG. Looking forward to your contributions.
Need to organize a demonstration at one of these events. Everyone put their tailight costume on and chant Jag…u….AR, Jag…u….AR!
I cornered David the first night and was about to bring it up, but we segued to instead discussing our plan to get Jason’s cars and the Golden Eagle running again.
I’m going to stay on him though! Still brainstorming new ways to sell it.
Thanks a ton for the comment, and for reading, as always Sensei!. Thanks also for keeping the good vibes going and for supporting my poor Jag story! Cheers.
Tell him you’re writing a story about a cat you adopted and nursed back to health.
You all thought it was going to be me right? Say you hoped it was going to be me.
Porque no los dos? So far I’ve met DT, Torch and Beau but still working on the rest of the staff. Unfortunately a busy life means I can’t always drive up from the San Diego area to catch the LA events.
Nah. We all know if it were you, it’d be the Geneva Auto Show and a small booth which you’d never be at as you’d be too busy chatting up the women at an Italian automaker’s and/or having heated arguments with some unexpected (i.e. not French, I’m thinking like Mitsubishi) OEM over a design choice.
I feel seen.
We would be drawn in by the power of the scowl 🙂
Of course we did, Uncle!
I was hoping real-time Adrian roasts were involved here somehow.
(I also assumed most of the North American regulars were a given.)
I can’t wait to see the epic video of SMG and DT meeting for the first time as he drives to pick up David when his Leaf dies.
Every Mopar car in LA county is shaking in its boots
There are surprisingly few Mopars out here compared to the amount you see in the South. Makes me appreciate the Tar Heel State a bit more.
Tons of Teslas out here; it’s their home turf. The car spotting has been wicked fun driving around with a car full of auto writers nonetheless!
“Is that a ’97 Toyota Tacoma with Town & Country wheels!?” -said yesterday on a coffee run
Ranger Deer Hoof wheels look shockingly good on early ’90s Toyota trucks
Using that Leaf as our primary means of transportation to, and from the Auto Show has been a hoot, to say the least!
“Use Eco Mode to save a few miles and don’t use the defrost!” -in-car wisdom, this week, in the rain, with a foggy windshield, in LA daytime traffic
Wait, so Jason spent 20(?) years in LA and he is making you drive and Thomas navigate?
Also, Thomas doesn’t look anything like I imagined. Granted, I kind of pictured him as Dave Thomas (McKenzie brothers, not Wendy’s).
Glad I’m not the only one. But, I’m not sure what I imagined. Maybe less boyish? No insult intended; the youthful look is quite in vogue, I hear
“Wait, are your directions in kilometers?! How far is the upcoming turn in miles, my dude?!” –me, with under 20 miles of range left, in downtown LA traffic, in David’s Leaf
Will you have time for a hooptie-hunting junkyard jaunt while you’re out there?
Don’t do it!
you end up with some Brazil-only dashboard stashed in someone’s closet because it would cost big time to get it home—but you just can’t leave it to rot in the sun.
My closets are already full with backup parts for my quiver; I’m thinking of getting rid of some clothes in the near future to make room for more.
“Brazil-only dash” FTW!
I actually asked David about hitting the local U-Pull-It if there was time!
Sadly, we have a packed schedule for pretty much the entire trip to try and make this website the best it can be, so parts hunting will have to wait.
Super tempting though. Thanks a ton for reading and for the comment!
Casually dropping that you’re sitting next to Daisy, well, that’s gearhead gold right there. Like you level up or something. And you get to meet more of the crew, yeah, a little envy going on here. But it couldn’t happen to a nicer guy, so that’s all good. Enjoy the festivities, SWG!
Very kind of you, and thanks Tossabl!
Sitting next to a 2.4M car is a very strange and cool feeling, especially when sitting alone with it without anyone else around; pretty surreal.
Hope to meet you at an event in the near future, my dude!
Did you go up to it and lick it when no one was around?
>>nobody will get that, so…in the 80s, a young lady wrote in – by snail mail – to a Van Halen fan newsletter that she would ‘sometimes when no one is around I get right up to the tv and lick the screen when they play the video’
😉
Running with the big dogs now, SWG. Break a leg.
Thanks a ton, C. Saurus!
I’m going to try my best to, but I’m going to check the Autopian health insurance policy details first (dad jokes!).
Seriously though, much appreciated.