The Shell Pioneering “Live on Stage” Experience had a wealth of automotive knowledge crossing the stage at the 2017 SEMA Show. The aftermarket industry is changing rapidly and the OEMs…
It’s been called ‘America’s smallest automobile museum’ and it sits in the middle of the National Mall for one month every year. Created in 2014, Cars at the Capital, organized by the Historic Vehicle Association, attracts approximately 500,000 viewers. A special car with historic value is placed in a gorgeous glass box for passersby to admire as they explore Washington DC. Partnered with the National Vehicle Register and the Library of Congress, Cars at the Capital was created to honor our automotive heritage. Our first interview is with the President of the Historic Vehicle Association, Mark Gessler, who details the event and introduces the 1968 Bullitt Mustang; Steve McQueen famously drove this vehicle 50 years ago in the popular blockbuster, ‘Bullitt‘. Next, we hear from Sean Kiernan, owner of the Bullitt, about the car’s exciting history. Then, since the event is also celebrating the 54th anniversary of the Mustang, we chat with Carl Widmann, Chief Product Engineer for the Ford Mustang, about the rich past of this nostalgic car. After that, Doug Clark and Tabetha Hammer of Hagerty Classic Cars sound off about their efforts to share automotive passion with future generations. Changing lanes, Kevin Marti, Founder of Marti Auto Works, describes how they work with Ford to create the ‘Marti Report‘. Then, Paul Ianuario, Senior Advisor for the Historic Vehicle Association, explains how the glass display box was approved to be in the National Mall. Next, the owner of a 1918 Cadillac US1257X, Marc Lassen, discloses the exciting story of how he obtained this historic vehicle that was Rev. Dr. J.H. Denison’s car in WWI and once chauffeured President Theodore Roosevelt’s daughter-in-law. Lastly, we catch up with Shell’s Nancy Bruner and Mark Henry about their involvement with Cars at the Capital and why it is so important to them. Take a trip down memory lane for this special event broadcast.
It was such a pleasure to interview some of the heads of the automotive aftermarket industry at the Shell Pioneering Performance “Live on Stage” Experience. We begin this episode with the Chairman of the Board for SEMA, Wade Kawasaki, who shares that this was the biggest show yet. He discusses SEMA’s focus as they selected vendors for this epic event. Then, we hit the stage with Hagerty Classic Cars’ Vice President of Content, Larry Webster, who explains their classic car insurance and web series Barn Find Hunter. Next, Amy Jo Osborn, President of the Austin Hatcher Foundation, reports updates on the work they are doing with the help of charities from the automotive industry to assist the children and families affected by pediatric cancer. We end the hour with some insight from Alan about entrepreneurship in the automotive industry. Don’t miss our last set of interviews from the Shell Pavilion. Listen now.
[00:00:00] Biggest and Busiest SEMA Show Yet
[00:06:29] SEMA: Work from Behind-the-Scenes
[00:12:30] Video Series from Hagerty Classic Cars
[00:19:53] Insuring Over 1-Milling Classic Autos
[00:26:22] Automotive Hobby Enriches Lives
[00:35:54] Automotive Industry Built by Entrepreneurs