Connor & Pete

Tell me a little about yourselves, and how you came to love cars.

Pete

One of my earliest memories as a child was squeezing in and sitting behind the front seats of my dad’s C3 corvette and going for a ride. I didn’t really know it then but my father instilled in me an appreciation for sporty cars. My first car was a 1979 Triumph TR7. When it ran, I enjoyed zooming around the back streets of northern VA. Because of my Dad, I also got to drive a Ford Pinto, Dodge Aries K wagon in eye-catching beige were all manual transmission and they each had their own charm to me and weren’t necessarily terrible cars to drive. They each had their own personality. The first new car I bought was a stripped down 1990 CRX HF manual, with no AC, no radio and averaged 50 mpg. That’s the car that took me through college.

With a little guidance from my father, I decided to pursue Industrial Design in college with the hopes of becoming a car designer. But once I got into my major and started drawing cars, and I mean drawing cars ALL THE TIME, I realized I didn’t like it so much. It became too repetitive for me. And there were others in my class way better than me at drawing them. One day I met the father of a girl I went to school with, and he pointed out that while I was not necessarily a great car designer, I’d make a great toy designer. I didn’t know it at the time, but he was the VP of Fisher Price R&D. I credit Peter Pook for sending me on my fun-filled and rewarding career as a toy designer. I was no longer limited to drawing cars! I could draw cars AND draw anything else I could image or desire to draw. It was the best of both world. Loving cars, how they look and drive, and not having to draw them all the time.

After college my passion for driving manuals never went away. Fortunately for me, my beautiful wife also drove manuals growing up so the search for that next “new” car for me always was: Can I get it in manual? Does it serve my and my family's needs? Since college I continued to buy manual cars whenever I could such as: ’94 Dodge Neon sedan (not so good), ’95 Acura Integra 4 dr Special Edition (VERY good), ’03 Infiniti G35 sedan (very good), ’14 Veloster Turbo (fun!), ’08 Cayman S Sport #520 (Awesome!), and an ’08 Audi TT Quattro (Very good and fun).

Although my last car purchase was a ’17 Jaguar F-Type SVR, my first refinement in any car search is “manual transmission”. As with the F-Type, I do make exceptions, but not very often. The SVR is amazing, but I do wonder if I’d be happier with manual F-type even with the smaller engine.

One last thing about me. As a toy designer, I never shy away from a bright colored car. I look at them as toys for big kids. Why try to hide or blend in when you can have fun with what you enjoy?

Connor

For as long as I can remember I’ve been obsessed with cars, I don’t know what initially drew me to them, I just remember they’ve been a constant interest in my life. I remember being able to name every car brand in the parking lot of an Ice Cream shop near my house when I was only four or five (I struggled with the Subaru logo though). And then when I was six I went flying with my uncle in his small airplane and that got me interested in planes too, so since then cars and planes have both been big interests for me, which is why I’m currently in flight school to get my pilots license and I plan on majoring in Aviation in college. When I was in grade school I remember discovering Shmee150 on YouTube, back when he had his McLaren 650s. That got me interested in exotic and sports cars specifically. I like all cars, but European sports cars are still what I’m most into and what I know the most about. Since my dad getting the Cayman when I was in middle school, and even more once I got my license last year, I’ve gotten even more into cars, by involving myself in the local car scene more, mostly through cars and coffee or going to meets with friends. I’ve met some really cool people and made some great friends through the car community.

Tell me about the Jag, Audi TT and Cayman! What makes each of them special, and what drew you to them in the first place?

Pete

Jaguar – I bought it to pay homage to my dad who recently passed away. His favorite car was the Jaguar E-type. He never bought one, but loved the look of it. After I bought the F-type, my mom told that was the last car he wanted to buy before he had to stop driving. I love the styling of it and apparently so did he. From a designer’s point of view, it’s tough to beat those lines and it embodies Jaguar’s sports car legacy.

TT – it was car I always wanted but did not fit my family’s need at the time. When Connor showed interest in it, I was all for it! Although it’s his car, I really bought it for me too. Again, great styling and timeless design. A good balance of performance and style that’s not too hard on the wallet.

Cayman – I was initially interested in it because I thought it was pretty car in an unusual color. I was doing well with my business and I wanted something fun to take around during my weekends to get away from work. Porsche is a master at timeless design. I didn’t appreciate how awesome it was until I drove it. I tell people it’s like driving lasers. The response to driving input is so crisp and immediate. There’s literally no hesitation in power or handling. It just goes and does what you want it to. This will be a tough car to let go of.