A Decade Later

The Pacific ocean, somewhere near Santa Cruz California

The Pacific ocean, somewhere near Santa Cruz California

Last month, an anniversary passed in my life that I neglected to hightlight. On September 20, 2006, my first piece of writing for which I actually got paid was published on the still-nascent  AutoblogGreen. That began my transition from engineering to writing and talking about transportation technology. Over the course of the next four years I published nearly 7,500 posts on Autoblog and AutoblogGreen, along with a few hundred on the now defunct GreenFuelsForecast.com. I also co-hosted more than 100 podcasts, attended countless media events, have driven hundreds of different cars and trucks and made many wonderful colleagues and friends along the way.

In the years since my departure from Autoblog, I’ve been fortunate to contribute to other publications including Popular Mechanics, Motor Trend, Road&Track, Car and Driver and most recently Forbes. I also spent several years on the other side of the business in product communications learning how the companies I cover tell their stories.

I’m incredibly grateful that a recruiter for Navigant Research reached out to me two years and set me on the path to being an analyst, a role where I can now provide companies with guidance on setting the strategies for the future of transportation.

A decade ago, my first media trip brought me out to Monterey, Calif. with Honda to learn about and drive the FCX fuel cell concept at the Laguna Seca race track. This weekend I’m back in the Monterey area for the weekend with my wonderful wife, who has been so supporting over the good and difficult times of past ten years before we head back into San Francisco for a week of talking about the future of transportation.


2016 Alfa Romeo 4C Spider – Unfiltered Driving At Its Best

2016 Alfa Romeo 4C Spider (photo credit: Sam Abuelsamid)

2016 Alfa Romeo 4C Spider (photo credit: Sam Abuelsamid)

We exist in a world of pervasive screens and connectivity and touch interfaces. In that world, almost everything we do is intermediated, filtered and converted through layers of ones and zeros. In fact, in the not too distant future, it’s likely that many if not most of us will never actively drive a car again. Fortunately, we’re not quite at that final place yet and there remain a handful of virtually unfiltered driving experiences like the 2016 Alfa Romeo 4C Spider.

Read the full review here