Jalopnik Invites a Girl Over to Play

My name is Laura and I love cars. I love cars so much the folks who run this site decided to break their long-standing, boys-only tradition and ask me to become a contributor and show off my obsession with the cult of cars. It all happened when Ray Wert (or "Wertz," as I like to call him, in honor of his man-crush on Bob Lutz) contacted me on Facebook. Facebook, of all places! Apparently he was looking for some sexy, model-type car enthusiast to start writing for the site. But when his search yielded fruitless, he settled for me. (Come on, did you guys really think those chicks in spandex jumpsuits who walk around at the car shows could write? And signing photos with Sharpies doesn't count.)

So, here's a little about me: I'm a California native. I live in the Los Angeles area, but don't hold that against me. I started out covering technology and eventually shifted into automotive journalism because, well, who wouldn't want to get paid to talk about cars? Other sites I write for include CNET.com (where I have a blog called "Girl on Cars") and Forbes Autos.

I tend to gravitate toward high-end, European performance cars. My favorite (soon-to-be) production car is the new Aston Martin DBS. I also dig the Spyker C8 spyder, the Ferrari F430, and that car's precursor, the 360 Modena. Older cars I like include some of the European racecars from the 1950s like the Aston DBR1, the Maserati OSCA, and the Lotus 7.

I'm a big F1 fan, despite the numerous sanctions and moratoriums the FIA has imposed in recent seasons. I'm rooting for Lewis Hamilton to win this year, although I still like Alonso, despite his recent whininess. And Super Aguri rocks. I saw Takuma Sato pass Alonso at this year's Grand Prix du Canada. It was awesome. And for the record, Kimi sucks. He's always drunk, or falling off a boat, or picking his nose at a press conference. Go ahead, send me hate mail.

Outside of my passion for cars, I'm a pretty typical girl. Hobbies include staying at five-star hotels, eating at restaurants that are Zagat-rated 28 and higher, and wearing $1600 Christian Louboutin boots. You know, the usual stuff.

My ride is a BMW e46 coupe with a manual transmission. I get to the track when I can, and have driven Laguna Seca, Infineon Raceway (still Sears Point to most of us), California Speedway, and will soon add Willow Springs to the list. My helmet has a pink Hello Kitty decal on the back.

Southern California is home to some of the world's best design studios and a plethora of automakers' offices, as well as an endless supply of morons who spend lots of money on cars but don't know how to drive. So I'm sure I'll have lots to share. I'm looking forward to it.

xoxo

LB

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