Never Stop Driving #113: My Favorite Food Is Potato Skins

My fellow graybeards often fret that younger people are glued to their screens, rather than getting out of the house and experiencing the physical world, especially as it applies to cars. I don't buy it. Over the past few weeks, I've seen much evidence to the contrary, and I'm not just talking about the numerous school districts that are restricting students' use of cell phones, which has been all over the news.

First, I stumbled across the work of 23-year-old Grace Kerber, the digital branding creator at Mohawk Chevrolet, an upstate New York dealership that gave her the freedom to create a video series depicting dealership life in the style of the hit TV show "The Office." Kerber's hilarious videos have gained enough traction that GM CEO Mary Barra appeared in a recent episode, in which Kerber and her dealership posse travel to GM headquarters in Detroit to pitch a series of branding revisions to GM marketing executives. To describe herself to the boardroom, Kerber said, "My favorite food is potato skins" and then proposed that Chevy should shorten the name of its full-size pickup, the Silverado, to simply "Rado." The Chevy chiefs played along brilliantly with the gag.

It's heartwarming to watch GM brass support Kerber's creativity and enthusiasm. I'm lucky because at Hagerty I get to work with so many younger colleagues, which is invigorating. Last month, I collaborated on a social media video with several 20- and 30-something Hagerty employees. As someone who's worked on print magazines for years, creating a snappy Instagram video doesn't come naturally to me, so I listened more than I spoke as we filmed short clips in a garage full of cars.

The energy in that garage was the same as in our magazine pitch meetings: people proposed ideas, which we debated, which sparked more ideas, some of which we executed. It was clear our social media staff relish the creative process as much as I do. If my first love is cars and driving, creating material for other passionate car enthusiasts is a close second. I often tell my Hagerty Media colleagues that if we're not having fun creating all our content across our print, video, web, and social media platforms, then we are majorly blowing it. We are here to spread automotive passion, so be sure to follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.

Last week, I was reminded by my much younger colleague, Kyle Smith, that we all have a part in spreading that passion. Smith is an inveterate tinkerer with soft spots for the Chevy Corvair and the Ford Model A, and the work he does in his home garage embodies everything we hold dear here at Hagerty Media. A patient and knowledgeable instructor, he frequently contributes DIY material to our website and magazine, and he calls himself an automotive enabler. In an article published last week, Smith explained how a visiting friend shared a fantasy to buy a Harley-Davidson and ride it across the country. What would you do after hearing that? If you're Kyle Smith, you'd immediately volunteer to help your friend buy the Hog, use your van to bring it back home to Michigan, then organize a multi-day garage squad rebuild before sending your buddy west. Awesome.

Smith is also a graduate of the McPherson College automotive restoration program, which recently restored a Mercedes and entered it at the Pebble Beach Concours. We've covered that achievement, but the school just released a superb video on the project.

On a recent episode of our Never Stop Driving podcast, I interviewed Taylor Ferns, who races the most terrifying of competition vehicles-sprint cars-and is also competing in the Indy NXT series to get closer to her goal of winning the Indy 500. She's also a lawyer and team owner. You can watch a clip of the interview here and listen to the full episode on Spotify and Apple.

The kids, it seems, are most definitely alright, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't all continue mentoring them. I recently had one of my life's most impactful moments when I was racing with my 21-year-old son and he blew past me. You go, John.

I'm also a fan of the videos produced by Dave Bell, owner of Dave's Auto Center in Utah. Bell explains the problems and solutions of the cars his shop fixes and dispenses plenty of homespun wisdom. In this video, he pulls aside another 21-year-old and tells him, "There are no stupid questions. There are people who don't ask questions and stay dumb." Amen.

So, this weekend, a little homework assignment: Drag yourself away from your own screens, back your coolest car out of the garage, and go somewhere where you can meet people half (or a third) your age. And if I may humbly offer some advice from the Broadway musical Hamilton, "Talk less, smile more." You'll be surprised by what you hear.

Thanks for reading!

Larry

P.S.: Your feedback and comments are welcome.

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