Price

Joe

Hey Joe:

 I’ve been scribbling notes on paper now for a few years and I don’t recall having told folks out there who I am. 

To me, I’m just another average Joe like you with a few years spent as a serious gear head. Most of my life has revolved around cars, both racing and street, as a mechanic, fabricator and as a driver. Try as I might I’m not ready to stop meddling with them just yet. 

I have participated in races around the world and have been lucky enough to have done well most of the time. This pursuit has taken the greater part of my life and I have yet to reach the finish line. Today I am trying to refocus my energies to become the teacher instead of the student and one of the ways to do so is with this column.  

Please understand that, like them or not, my words are my opinions. Although I care that you find some use for what I say, in the end that is irrelevant. I hope that what I say gives you reason to question and/or experience some of what goes on out there in the automotive world the cars and ideas for yourself. If you do that then I have succeeded. 

There will be times that I speak up on certain issues and have been chastised for pretending to be an “expert”. I can take the slam but in the end you have to ask what makes anyone an expert?

Many of us read volumes from folks who have spent their lives writing and are considered expert in that field. But they may have no other basis for their views on a subject other than that they have been published. So are they now experts because of the time devoted to research and putting it on paper?  

Or is being an expert someone who has spent a lifetime immersed in what they are writing about. In my case I've been driving both on and off road (as in pavement racing. I make no claim to any mud slinging except on a motorcycle), hip deep into driver training and education, and equally deep in the design and decisions of making cars faster and safer? 

I don’t know how you would describe an expert but I would fall into the second description that can give me a unique view on many issues all of which I will be sharing with you through this forum.  

Along with the automobile tests and tidbits, I will be sharing with you some of my past racing escapades along with some news and updates on our racing team via  (www.cobbracing.com )  that my associates and family have worked hard to grow and the future of that growth if any. 

All I ask is that if there are questions on or about something I say or do to please e-mail me! I have been corrected many times over the years and your admonition won’t be my first or last. 

So if you keep me informed I’ll try hard to do the same for you. Enjoy the journey. I know I will. 

Price Cobb  
pcobb@gandw.com

Well Mr. Cobb:

As co owners of the oldest weekly newspaper west of the Mississippi I’ve got to know you as a person of character and honest about your opinions.

I look forward to debating you on lots of editorial issues. Perhaps the combination will add some balance and we’ll both learn something and have a chance to pass along our experiences “on the road”.

You’ve not been an average Joe to me. You’ve been in the hot seat on the Race Track where the passenger cars we all drive are tested and made better. Your job and the sport we watch is not only dangerous it is demanding and requires an athlete.

I’ve been on the business end and while looking at the auto industry from a consumers level I've had the privilege of testing cars from that point of view. In other words I respect your technical knowledge of cars and how they perform at high speeds.

In my travels, I've owned an automotive repair shop for 16 years and looked at the repair bills of thousands of people who have benefited by your job of testing their cars on the track in some form or fashion.

Yes Price, expert is a relative term. I’m reminded of the story that the longer you travel to share your knowledge the more expert you must be. You’ve heard the comment, “That guy flew in for this presentation” and somehow that adds more credibility than the guy that came from down the street or the next town.

I’ve driven on the track just enough to appreciate how difficult a job that is. It is not only physically demanding, it is tremendously dangerous. There are so many applications to our daily commute that your expertise on the track is a great insight to the strength and stability of the cars we drive every day.

I'm a consumer who has also observed the aftermarket cost of ownership of cars while you’ve been making them faster and handle better because your life has depended on good engineering. But to a large degree, motor racing is like watching golf. To most it is boring. But we all do it to some extent until the Highway Patrol charges us for the ride.

To our readers, we welcome your comments and criticism because that helps us be more informative and helpful in the consumers purchasing decisions.  

Joe Mavilia  
joe@autolove.com