The So Cal Car Scene

Episode 301: We're Back!

Tue, 18 Mar 2025 09:00:00 -0700

In this relaunch of the So Cal Car Scene Podcast, hosts "So Cal" Jay Morash and Dean Morash talk about the most pressing car topics of the day, including: - Arizona auction results from Barrett-Jackson, RM Sothebys, and more. We discuss the health of the collector car market -Rumors of a four-door Ford Mustang -Price Drop on brand new C8 Chevrolet Corvettes -The Woes of European Auto Industry - The increase in investment for trending motorsports like Formula1 and IMSA for companies like Cadillac. -and more. #arizonaauction #barrettjackson #sothebys #carmarket #collectorcars #corvette #audi #racing #formula1

Linda Vaughn, aka Miss Hurst or The First Lady of Motorsports Joins The So Cal Car Scene

Sun, 19 Sep 2021 15:00:00 -0700

Joining us in "The So Cal Car Scene" is Linda Vaughn or, as many of your know her as “Miss International Raceway" at the young age of 18 and has acquired many other titles since then, including Miss Hurst Golden Shifter. She was also chosen to be the Queen of the Dixie 400 in 1961 and Miss Firebird. Vaughn has been a notable ambassador and promoter of various forms of American motor racing for decades. In 1979, Linda was awarded the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) “Person of the Year” and was inducted into the SEMA hall of fame 8 years later. She appeared in the 1976 film The Gumball Rally, and the 1983 film Stroker Ace. She was just recently inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 2019.

Enjoy this enlightening and hilarious conversation with Linda as she highlights her incredible life with the "who's who" of racing like Don Garlits, movies and notable entertainers like Dolly Pardon and Burt Reynolds. Linda is a fountain of energy and an incredible story teller with an infectious laugh...enjoy!

Tony Principe of Finish Line Auto Club Car Condos Joins The So Cal Car Scene

Sun, 06 Jun 2021 07:00:00 -0700

Tony provides a unique insight into the world of Finish Line's car condos with investment grade cars, car clubs, car reveals and car ride and drives. Their car clubs are home to some of the finest collectible automobiles in Southern California. Tony is a principal and President of Westcord Commercial Real Estate Services and is a Co-Managing Partner of TR Funding, LLC. A thirty five year real estate veteran and top producer specializing in office properties for Westcord, Tony has handled in excess of eight million square feet of property, and recorded over 4,000 sales and lease transactions totaling in excess of $5 billion dollars.

Tony is also Co-Managing Partner of T.R. Funding, LLC. which has developed and rehabilitated over 50 properties throughout the Los Angeles, Ventura and Orange County regions since 1994. One of their recent projects is the Finish Line Auto Club Condos and the third one was just completed this past month. It’s located in Costa Mesa adjacent to John Wayne airport in Orange County, CA. The Finish Line Club has some very unique characteristics, that include an area for hosting special events and gatherings and a two story 7,000 sf clubhouse with a bar, fireplace, gaming tables, dining, conference room and more.

He is an avid car collector and his collection has leaned heavy on Porsches, but he has owned a few Ferrari’s including a Dino and a few muscle cars including a 66 Shelby.

Matt Haugen, Haugen Racing Talks Drifting, Race Cars and JDM With the Scene

Sun, 30 May 2021 15:00:00 -0700

Haugen Racing is all about drifting, celebrating the JDM culture, debunking myths about drifting and doing crazy car stuff! Matt Haugen owns and leads a professional race team, “Haugen Racing”. He also is a SEMA car builder and a big time content creator. He loves drifting, comedy, off-roading, building cars, and making videos! Their youtube channel is his largest focus right now and content includes vlogs, reaction videos, how to drift content, video games, off-roading, and more. He has also created and sells automotive and japanese inspired streetwear and accessories. He is a SEMA show regular since he was 16, with 7 vehicles in the show over the years including his one off Liberty Walk Lamborghini Murcielago and his 1JZ swapped Rocket Bunny 350z, dubbed the 351JZ. He fell in love with drifting and has been pursuing that professionally since 2017. He first competed in ProAm with his Hyundai 1,000 HP Genesis Coupe powered by a CBM 4.0 Whipple Supercharged 425 LS3.
Matt and his team create some great content and his channel on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/c/MattHaugenRacing is popping with fresh content 5 days a week!

Terry Karges Discusses the Re-Opening of the Petersen Automotive Museum on March 25th, 2021

Wed, 24 Mar 2021 12:00:00 -0700

Terry Karges, Executive Director of the Petersen Automotive Museum shares with us the incredible new and exciting developments and exhibits at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles. With its re-opening just days away, Terry and his team are busy making for an immersive customer experience at the museum. Don't miss this opportunity to watch Terry and I discuss the legacy that is the Petersen and the car collecting industry as a whole. Listen in as Terry shares the story of obtaining lead guitarist for Metallica, James Hetfield's car collection and the other awesome new exhibits like "Supercars, A Century of Spectacle and Speed".

As the Executive Director of the Petersen, Terry introduced vault tours, monthly cruise-ins, adult education programs, movie nights and specialty car events. He has helped to increase overall attendance, creating new events that engage the people of Los Angeles and the global automotive community. Throughout the pandemic, under Terry’s leadership, the Petersen has effectively launched digital Vault tours, educational virtual field trips, YouTube garage tours, and virtual global cars and coffee events to allow fans to connect with other car enthusiasts globally.

Before joining the Petersen, Terry was a senior manager in automotive OEM motorsports and theme park entertainment divisions, including Disneyland, Marine World and Sea World. His leadership background with automotive manufacturing firms includes Roush Performance, where he spent 17 years helping grow the company into the largest specialty high performance car brand in the world. There he also managed sales, advertising, new media, web development and vehicle packaging. Prior to Roush, Terry enjoyed ownership of Karges Sport where he emphasized motorsports marketing and ran his own race team.

#petersenmuseum #petersen #carmuseums #carcollecting #supercars #hotrods #thevault #collectiblecars #porsches #ferarris

Bud Brutsman, Executive TV Show Producer Talks Cars, Overhaulin and His New Show Expedition: Back to the Future

Sat, 06 Mar 2021 16:00:00 -0800

Bud Brutsman, Executive Producer for BCII, joins The So Cal Car Scene to tell us all about an epic new show that launches on March 15th On Discovery Plus, "Expedition: Back To The Future". This show is a great mashup of Josh Gates "Expedition Unknown" and the original crew of the movie "Back to the Future" with Christopher Lloyd, Michael J Fox and Lea Thompson as they pursue the legend of the movie's hero cars, the Deloreans. Josh Gates and Christopher Lloyd is a hilarious talented combination that you can't take your eyes off. Bud Brutsman is a producer, entrepreneur, military buff, off road racer just for starters. He’s written 3 books on the Navy SEALs, created a special task force to rescue climbers on Mt. Everest and in Baja. He’s a high energy, type A personality, known also for producing hit series like Overhaulin’, Rides, Hot Rod TV, Extreme RVs, SCORE World Desert Championship, Dust 2 Glory, Animal Storm Squad, Flippin’ RVs to name a very few. He created the definitive event in mixed martial arts, King of the Cage and Shark Fights. He won first in his class at the SCORE Baja 1000 and was one of the 2008 Raptor development team drivers. Join us and enjoy the stories Bud shares with us on this incredibly new and excited show as well as all his Gold Standard car TV shows like Rides and Overhaulin and incredible car designers like Chip Foose and celebrities like Brett Michaels.

Ricardo Lopez, Owner of Customs By Lopez, Showing Us His Shop and Talking Custom Car Fab

Fri, 26 Feb 2021 20:00:00 -0800

Join us for this great ride as we learn about Ricardo's emergence in the custom car scene and his great story as a 3rd generation car fabricator. Check out this video as Richard takes us into his shop to see all of the cool stuff him and his team are working on like a 56 Chevy Truck for his wife named "Monik", a 59 Chevy and a 64 Mustang. Ricardo owns and operates "Customs By Lopez" in Southern California in Los Angeles and makes some of the most incredible custom muscle cars in the world! Ricardo's story is a fascinating one as he immigrated to the US from Mexico in the 90s with his brother to pursue the American dream fabricating cars. He started his business in his garage along with his brother in 2002. He got his AA degree in Automotive Management Administration at Cypress College in So Cal and as they say, “the rest is history”. Since then, a string of honors and recognition has come his way from notable shows such as Top 40 SEMA's Battle of the Builders with his Hellanor Mustang, Good Guys Best Truck, Best of Show for 3 consecutive years at the Boyd Coddington Show and Drivers Best for his VW Bug in 2000. His rides have been featured in 50 plus magazine features with numerous covers to his credit.

Ken Johnson, Muscle Car Influencer and Social Media Guru Joins Talks Muscle Cars

Mon, 15 Feb 2021 15:00:00 -0800

Ken is a big time social media influencer and motivator in the car scene. One of his Instagram pages “Classics Daily”, has 1.7 Million followers, the biggest classic car page on Instagram! He leverages his social media influence to launch and manage car shows and other events. He is one of the key influencers and partners behind one of the biggest monthly cruises in the country, “The Quarantine Cruise” in Orange County California that has over 2,000 cars. He is currently building a supercharged 1,000HP 71 Nova, “Boosted Nova” and it has taken on a life of its own on Instagram and it has not even been revealed yet. He is the owner of Musclekings, a lifestyle brand complete with events, social media, concerts and merchandise. He also owns Social Lab Media, that specializes in Facebook, Instagram and google Marketing. Listen to this episode and get some ideas on how a serious influencer does it and how he can help you blow up your social media and improve your game in the classic and muscle car scene.

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Chris Aston, Ruffian Mustang Builder is Back to Talk About his Next Projects Like a 1,100 HP 64 Ford.

Tue, 09 Feb 2021 14:00:00 -0800

I hope you got to listen to the first segment of this show with Chris Ashton! This is part two, where Chris talks about his next adventures in cars that are about to join the Ruffian family like a pro street 1964 Ford Galaxie with a Nelson Racing twin turbo engine that cranks out 1,100 HP on pump gas and a Ron Sutton chassis. A second generation RX7 wide body powered by Tesla that should be a real track monster is also next up as well. Chris wants to build a car with the throttle response of a Tesla P100 D drivetrain and so that is exactly what will be transplanted into the Mazda. In the wings is a fuel injected big block 69 Corvette street machine. Chris also reveals why he bought a real deal retired Corvette race car. Chris discusses the challenges of ordering parts for his builds during Covid and so he plans to build the Galaxy and the RX7 at the same time in the Ruffian garage. I think you will enjoy getting insights into Chris's builds and what drives his imagination. Enjoy!

Chris Ashton, Owner and Builder of "Ruffian Mustang"

Sun, 07 Feb 2021 09:00:00 -0800

We are very fortunate to have back on The So Cal Car Scene, Chris Ashton who is the owner and builder of the Ruffian Mustang. In this episode we hang out with Chris in his garage as he shares with us his next custom car "Ruffian 40" a Superformance GT40. In this episode we explore the insp[iration of the customization of his Superformance GT40 and how he is able to do so much in his garage to make street monster Ruffian builds! We had so much fun with Chris we are breaking this up into 2 segments and will have a part II where we talk future projects that Chris has already started on like his 1,100 HP 64 Ford Galaxie. In his In his day job/career Chris has has worked in computer game development for 25 years and has co-owned Turtle Rock Studios for more than a decade. During his career he has helped ship numerous AAA games such as Command and Conquer: Red Alert 2, Counter-Strike, Left4Dead, Evolve and Back for Blood.

An avid car enthusiast and fabricator, Chris has owned fast cars since he was a teen and has been high performance driving for 20 years. He currently owns a ‘67 Dodge Dart with a Hellcat motor, a Superformance GT40, a Superformance Cobra FIA and a pro touring 1970 fastback Mustang called the Ruffian, that he built himself and launched at SEMA a few years ago.

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Cherielynn Westrich from Overhaulin, Rock My RV and Detroit Speed Joins the Scene

Mon, 25 Jan 2021 09:00:00 -0800

Cherielynn is most well known as a Car Builder on the A-Team on the hit show Overhaulin', with Chip Foose. She’s helped build over 70 plus cars and appeared on over 75 episodes on that amazing show. She brings all of the car fab skills to the table, welding, fabricating, wiring and gauge restoration. She has also appeared as a fabricator and builder on shows such as Rock my RV with Brett Michaels, Detroit muscle and All Girls Factory Five build on the Power Block. She now makes appearances at car shows large and small including hosting and appearing on the official video for the NSRA, Street Rod Louisville Nationals. She also is the proud owner of a company that specializes in Hydraulic clutch pedal kits, Malwood USA.
Cherielynn has worked along side some of the most well known builders in the industry in the Orange County and LA areas including BS Industries with Bodie Stroud, Circle City Hotrods, Cambra's Rod Shop, Poor Boys, Curtis Seed Equipment with Mike Curtis, North Hollywood Speedometer, Redline Gauge Works, to name a few. And believe it or not, she has added to her extensive resume and it now includes Iowa State Representative!

Lyn St James, Indy Race Car Driver joins The So Cal Car Scene and shares her amazing life story.

Sat, 16 Jan 2021 09:00:00 -0800

Lyn is a very accomplished race car driver, highly sought after public speaker, and author. Her accomplishments on the race track are significant, such as Indy 500 Rookie of the Year, Seven time Indy 500 Driver, victories at Daytona 24 Hrs, Sebring 12 hrs, Watkins Glen and Road America. She set 21 national and international closed course speed records at over 225 MPH! She also has numerous awards and recognitions but a few that really stand out to me are “Sports Illustrated Top-100 Women Athletes of the Century” and “Working Woman “One of 350 Women Who Changed the World between 1976-1996”. Most recently Lyn was named to the Sebring Hall of Fame. Maybe you have read one of Lyn’s books, “An Incredible Journey”, “Oh By the Way”, or the “Car Owner’s Manual”? Lyn is also the former President of the Women’s Sports Foundation and founded the Women in the Winner’s Circle Project Podium Grant and has made significant contributions to motorsports, both on and off the track. As a motivational speaker, Lyn has presented to companies such as Bosch, Ford Motor Co., HSBC, Merrill Lynch, NIKE, and GTE, just to name a few. Her legacy is one of inspiration, encouragement, perseverance, and commitment to excellence.

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Noah Alexander Owner of Classic Car Studio Speed Shop

Tue, 22 Dec 2020 22:00:00 -0800

In this fun and intriguing interview,The So Cal Car Scene has the pleasure of being joined by Noah Alexander, the owner of Classic Car Studio Speed Shop in St Louis Missouri. Since 2006, his shop his made a name for itself as a builder of high-performance machines that combines classic lines with the best modern technology. You have seen some of their incredible builds at SEMA as they build some of the best custom street rods in the business. You may have seen him and his team on his TV show “Speed is the New Black” on Motor Trend TV for 2 seasons. Watch this video and check in on Noah and his shop to see what they are up to lately and what they are putting into some of their amazing machines. Noah shares with The Scene the origins of his business, his incredible builds, trips to SEMA and making some of the worlds best custom street machines.

Interview: Master Car and Disney Artist Noah Elias

Mon, 14 Dec 2020 16:00:00 -0800

Noah Elias is an American artist, known simply as Noah, he works within the fine art community and custom art scene. He is best known for painting the Suki art car in the 2 Fast 2 Furious movie, but he is also a widely collected painter of Disney Fine Art. Noah soon took his art to the streets, painting portraits of celebrities on canvas for huge crowds outside neighborhood coffee shops. This celebrity exposure made Noah an overnight star within the art community. Soon after, corporate clients like Lexus, Levi's Jeans and Toyota were asking Noah to enhance their corporate collections and ad campaigns. In 2004 he garnered international fame for his paint job, or "rolling canvas," on the Suki car in Universal Pictures' hit movie, 2 Fast 2 Furious. He has since won "Best Paint" at S.E.M.A. 4 years in a row for the "rolling canvases" he created on behalf of Alpine Electronics. Now, Noah devotes a substantial amount of his time towards creating Disney Fine Art,[5] a mixture of his unique style and those beloved Disney characters. Due to his success as an artist, he founded Noah University to teach other creatives and artists how to make a career from their work.

Current Car Trends 3: It's Our Anniversary!

Fri, 06 Nov 2020 18:00:00 -0800

Our podcast has made it one year around the sun! To celebrate, we review all of our greatest hits, talk about the new electric Hummer, the survival of auto museums, Millenial and Gen Z interest in cars, and the state of the collector car market.

Interview Sean Lee of Purist Group

Thu, 29 Oct 2020 16:00:00 -0700

We are honored to have Sean Lee of the Purist Group as our first live guest. Sean was born in Taiwan and came to America when he was a young man. He grew up in LA and like so many of us struggled through his teenage years to find his way. He joined “Air Tiger Express”, a shipping company early in his career and thanks to some mentoring and hard work he became their top global salesperson. Eventually, Lee leveraged his success into a vice president role and received an ownership stake in the privately held company. Since then his career has been very successful and has provided him the opportunity to be very active in the car scene. Maybe his greatest accomplishment is that he is very philanthropic and started a very successful charity in 2012 the Purist Group, which provides toys for 1,000s of needy children as well as helping the homeless and fighting autism.

Putting Women in Cars: Interview with Cindy Sisson and Theresa Gilpatrick of GS Events

Fri, 23 Oct 2020 16:00:00 -0700

Cindy is the CEO and Theresa is the COO of GS Events LLC, and are the founders of this elite consulting group that brings decades of marketing, operational, experiential, and branding expertise to life. Both of them and GS Events bring the passion for all things centered around the premium automotive and performance lifestyle through their client network and engaged membership. Their flagship offering, WomenAndCarsEvents, exemplifies their mission to amplify women’s participation in the automotive culture. They strategically develop programs for women to participate in car events around the United States with other like-minded women.

Whether you enjoy rallies, concours, auctions, restoration, the business side of collecting cars or have always yearned to expand your skills to drive a vehicle to its fullest potential, GS Events has something for you.

Interview: Sam Spirer, Youtube's Car Detailing Expert

Tue, 20 Oct 2020 16:00:00 -0700

Sam moved to the west coast from Boston Massachusetts 7 years ago and has always been a car enthusiast. About a year after moving to Cali, Sam started “Wicked Auto Protection,” which is now a highly successful, mobile auto detailing and paint restoration protection business for high-end clients. In his spare time, Sam grew his Youtube channel for auto detailing enthusiasts for both do-it your-selfers and professionals looking to improve their detailing game. When he is not getting car wash scratches out of cars he can be found lounging with his dogs or out on a cruise in my Fiat 124 Abarth. He is also a major classic car enthusiast and lover of old school air cooled Porsches. Support us on Patreon.com/thesocalcarstorage

Petrol Girl: Aimee Shackelford, Exotic Car Influencer

Fri, 09 Oct 2020 17:00:00 -0700

Support us on Patreon: patreon.com/thesocalcarscene

Aimee comes from a family that bleeds Motor Oil. Her great uncles, The Famighetti (ask for pronunciation) Brothers, built sprint midget race cars for Parnelli Jones, Rajo Jack, Allen Heath and many others. Aimee has forged her own successful career in the car world, capitalizing on her sales and marketing experience when she first joined “Luxury 4 Play,” a forum dedicated to the luxury lifestyle. Her resume includes the successful Monterey car week program “Exotics on Broadway” and Gear One Agency, a marketing agency specializing in automotive. Outside of business, you may run into her at cruises like the Fuel Run and the Gold Rush Rally, which she produces. Yet her biggest presence is in the digital world, where she is known to her one-hundred-and-twelve thousand followers as “Petrol Girl!”

Carson Lev of Redphin on Success and Working with Chip Foose

Sat, 03 Oct 2020 11:00:00 -0700

Support us on Patreon: patreon.com/thesocalcarscene Growing up in Southern California, Carson Lev was immersed in hot rod car culture at an early age. As a teen, he hung out at Ed “Big Daddy” Roth’s customizing shop and the studio of automotive artist Kenny Youngblood. That experience influenced a passion for car design, illustration, pin-striping and lettering. Eventually, he would end up becoming the Director of Design at Hot Wheels, where he was responsible for the successful growth of the Hot Wheels Racing and Collector product lines. He went on to launch Redphin Productions, LLC the exclusive Licensing Firm for Foose Design, Inc. and other builders like Ivan “Ironman” Stewart, Chris Jacobs, Troy Ladd,, Ryan Friedlinghaus and West Coast Customs to their expanding roster of clients. Carson has hosted and been a featured guest on numerous hot rod and automotive related television and radio programs. He was inducted into the Inaugural Class for the Die-cast Hall of Fame in 2008 and was recognized as a Distinguished Alumni by California State University Long Beach in 2011.