About Us
Meet the folks who bring you Cars.com and KickingTires' daily content.
Patrick Olsen, Editor-in-Chief: "A native of Los Angeles, I have worked as a newspaperman for most of the past two decades in both the Chicago and L.A. areas. As Cars.com's EIC, I work with this great team to bring you all the news, research and advice you'll need to buy your next car. I'm not a gearhead, but more of a fan of how cars are becoming smarter, more comfortable and more fun."
First car: 1985 Toyota pickup with absolutely no options, including no rear bumper
David Thomas, senior editor: "People around the office like to call me the 'blog guy,' but I prefer Chief Blogging Officer. Either way, I run Cars.com's KickingTires blog and oversee our Ask.cars.com and Motherproof.com sites. When I'm not doing that, I write new-car reviews. Before coming on board here I was online editor for MPH Magazine, and before that I launched and edited Autoblog. I have a thing for station wagons and own a 2008 Subaru Outback and recently inherited a 2005 VW Passat wagon. Secretly, though, I lust for a BMW M3 and lately have fallen for the Lincoln MKT with ecoboost."
First car: 1989 Ford Probe
Matt Avery, multimedia coordinator: "As the primary videographer for Cars.com, shooting cars is second nature to me. In my role, I’ve been able to combine my two passions — media and cars. I’ve worked as an ASE-certified technician for both BMW and Mercedes-Benz while living on the East Coast. I graduated with a degree in electronic media and film from Towson University and began working as a assistant writer and production assistant for “MotorWeek.” Whether it be the Rolls-Royce Phantom or Toyota Sienna, nothing brings me more satisfaction than infusing creativity into my shots to highlight the car or truck I’m shooting. If the viewer enjoys what he sees, I’m happy and know it was a job well done. "
First car: Two Ford Mustangs that I modified during my high school years.
Lindsay Bjerrregaard, multimedia coordinator: "After graduating from the University of Iowa, I started at Cars.com as a multimedia intern. In my first week I shot video of a Jaguar XK convertible, so I knew this job was going to be a perfect fit. I mainly shoot, edit and appear in videos for the site. My 2007 Toyota Corolla — Steve Carella — has starred in multiple advice videos."
First car: 2000 Ford Taurus
Joe Bruzek, editor: "I'm the resident answer guy for Ask.cars.com and am always in the thick of new cars and industry news to answer our readers' questions. I'm a hopeless gearhead, and even off the clock I'm infatuated with hot rods and fast cars. When I was 1, my dad propped me up in the driver's seat of his 1964 Corvette roadster ... and it was all downhill from there. Before Cars.com, I attended an automotive technology school and worked in automotive service centers. I interned at the multicultural automotive publisher OnWheels Inc., where I got my first taste of auto shows from the media side. Going to public days will never be the same: What, no interpretive dancers around the new Camry? C'mon."
First car: "1990 Chevrolet Caprice Police Car. It still had the stripe and unit numbers down the side and on the back. It was large, loud and powerful, and I miss it like a lost dog."
Sarah Gersh, multimedia coordinator: "After a variety of internships in broadcast journalism, radio and film, I found my passion in multimedia while working for an interactive film company at the Tribeca Film Center in New York City. I joined the multimedia team at Cars.com after graduating from the University of Florida, where I left behind the sunshine along with my RAV4. Since I started working in the automotive industry, my taste has shifted toward sports cars, manual transmissions and speed. Needless to say, I don't really miss my RAV4 anymore. "
First car: 1992 Toyota Camry
Mike Hanley, editor: "After briefly writing for Racingone.com, I joined Cars.com in 2002. I've held a variety of positions since then and am currently one of the site's resident car reviewers. Though I often give high marks to cars with superb handling qualities, I have a soft spot for old Detroit land yachts. I also tend to prefer manual transmissions, though I'm thankful today's stick shifts are more refined than the one in the 1951 Willys Station Wagon that I learned on."
First car: 1975 Chevrolet Impala coupe
Bill Jackson, editor: "I handle the Buying Guides and parts of the Research channel here, in addition to writing Weekend Athlete for KickingTires. I've moved all over the place, both as a kid and as a former newspaperman. I like any car that carries my bike, Nordic skis and camping gear."
First car: 1973 Volkswagen Beetle
Stephen Markley, assistant editor: "I spent a year after college driving around the country, collecting more than 12,000 miles on my beloved Toyota Corolla. Then I discovered you can't sleep on friends' couches and eat fast food for a living, so I moved to Chicago and randomly landed at Cars.com, where I apply my writing talents to KickingTires. I'm not a gearhead and definitely know more about electoral politics than camshafts (for instance, what is a camshaft?). I do enjoy the learning curve, however, especially when it comes to the future of renewable fuels and zero-emission vehicles. I also write aggressively unfunny columns for the Chicago Tribune's RedEye."
First car: 1998 emerald-green Toyota Sienna minivan (which, in fact, is as embarrassing as it sounds)
Kelsey Mays, editor: "A Seattle native, my experience includes heading up the automotive section of a west Los Angeles weekly, as well as brief stints writing for Edmunds.com and TrulyHollywood.com. As my dilapidated 1994 Toyota Celica proves, I'm a stick-shift purist and bona fide car geek — no doubt explaining the serious imbalance in my time-spent-researching-camshafts to time-spent-dating ratio."
First car: 1994 Toyota Celica
Ian Merritt, staff photographer: "As the staff photographer here at Cars.com, I'm pretty sure I've found my dream job. I was a freelance graphic designer before I joined the Cars.com crew. I grew up in northern Vermont, so I'm a sucker for any four-wheel-drive car that eats snow. My family has parked at least one and at times upward of three Subarus in my parents' driveway since 1988."
First car: "A black 1988 Mazda 323 hatchback, base trim, with a four-speed manual transmission, no tachometer and no passenger-side mirror. Thanks Grandma."
First Car: Ford Escort, no idea on the year
Eric Rossi, senior editor/multimedia: "I handle Cars.com's multimedia needs, but I'm a car junkie at heart. I've been to every Chicago Auto Show since I was 3, and my prized possession is my black-on-black 2005 350Z. I started at Cars.com after graduating from Bradley University, but during college I worked at a small multimedia firm and ran my own car detailing business."
First car: 1990 Toyota SR5 pickup named Mabel
Amanda Wegrzyn, editor: "After spending three years writing and editing at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., I made the next logical career move and joined the Cars.com editorial team, where I handle the Advice section and auto shows coverage. I learned how to drive on a 1992 Toyota Previa, and ever since I have gravitated toward large vehicles that are next-to-impossible to parallel park on Chicago's north side."
First car: 1995 Ford Explorer
Joe Wiesenfelder, senior editor: "After six years in the magazine business, I made the jump to web publishing in 1995 to apply my experience with photography, video and the written word. I joined the Cars.com launch team in 1997 and, well, time flies.
I'd say my emphasis is cutting through marketing claims and technobabble to determine what really matters to car buyers. Nothing tees me off more than supposed improvements that degrade the driving experience. I'm the harshest critic of transmission performance that you're ever likely to meet, and I remain baffled by the SUV craze, but I judge all vehicles on their own merit. If I have a shortcoming, it's a blindness to the image aspect of vehicles. SUVs and sports cars don't make you cool, and minivans don't make you lame. Many people, and the entire state of California, clearly disagree."
First car: "My first car was a 1971 Oldsmobile Delta 88 whose 455-cubic-inch engine awoke the car nut in me — and made me a big-block snob for eternity. I now own a '79 Fiat Spider I bought from Tom ("Click") Magliozzi from NPR's Car Talk. It makes me miss the '71 Olds. If you are what you drive, I'm in serious, serious trouble."
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