So, this is where a decade of automotive journalism / copywriting / site editing leads, eh? The back corner of a Starbucks in the Detroit suburbs sitting next to some guy named Ray who, really, is dressed far too well for this gig. And to the Senior Editor slot at
Jalopnik.

My name is Andrew Stoy. How did I get here? Well, I've been typing on a greasy keyboard for more than a decade now, managing to consistently combine my two loves: cars and writing. Strangely enough, I started the same place that our own Murilee Martin did: beating on a Quadra 950 in the back of Year One's Atlanta headquarters. From there, I drifted into automotive trade magazines, writing for a couple of rags that none of you have ever heard of, before migrating to the same Detroit suburb in which Ray, Ben (and sometimes Mark) and the Jalopnik HQ are located. That's right, I moved to Detroit on purpose. How's that for dedication? Eh? Anyone?

I've worked on the advertising side of the auto industry for the past four years, mainly for then-DaimlerChrysler and most recently for the General, enjoying a lovely view from the glass Tower 'O Power downtown. But, lest you think I'm some white-glove cube monkey (or worse, some advertising faux-hipster), note that I've also worked as a mechanic, a parts counterman and a dealership salesperson. I've wrenched on everything from a '49 Plymouth to an '08 Saab, and I've done restorations on two Triumphs, a '63 Riviera, and my current project, a '73 Mach I Mustang. I keep a Malaise-era Chilton's manual by my bed for humorous evening reading, and Summit/Jegs catalogs in the john. And I've run a little site called Beater Review, dedicated to raggedy-ass old cars, for about two years now.

In other words, I live and breathe this stuff too, kids. And since the future's on these here interwebs, I decided to cast off the shackles of my corporate overlords and jump over to Los Jalops. To be honest, there's nowhere I'd rather be.