So this spring, I'm traveling with two other students in a big green RV.

>> A little over two weeks, we're gonna be living in an RV.

>> With two people that I've never met.

But I know that they share a passion that I have in cars, and automobiles.

>> We're gonna go talk to people who work in the auto or diesel industry.

>> Basically, the type of people that we're gonna be interviewing are auto technicians, diesel technicians.

Some of these people are living my dream.

[LAUGH] And I'd like to know how they got to where they're at.

>> Kind of get some advice from them.

[NOISE] >> People that have just been in the industry for years and ask them what they did with their lives, how they got there.

>> We're gonna be going to a bunch of different places, states and none of us have really traveled to, from Nevada, California, Arizona, through New Mexico to Texas.

>> Pretty crazy to actually get out and see some of the country since I've been around this area my whole life.

We're pretty much gonna get an RV and interview some pretty crazy people.

>> Meeting all new people and seeing all new things and sites and things none of us have really experienced before.

>> I want to figure out what what I wanna do next and I'm trying to find myself a little bit more from this.

>> In inside on where we gonna go from here, cuz right now it's kinda lost and we need guidance on where to go.

Kinda like a GPS on what we should do with our lives.

[MUSIC] What it is?

>> I'm actually kinda get excited.

[MUSIC] >> So right now we're on day one, we're in Southern California.

>> Going up to the RV, I mean the thing giant nor any vehicle I've ever drove before.

>> This is pretty sweet.

>> Yeah, it's crazy.

>> I'm still trying to wrap my mind around the fact that this is happening, and that I'm not at home that I'm sitting in Southern California right now.

>> It didn't really hit me that I'm actually in California >> Right now, honestly, I don't think it's all totally hit me.

It's still, it's like a dream.

Kinda crazy that a few months ago, I didn't think this was possible, but now, it's about to be the greatest adventure of our lives [LAUGH].

>> Okay, so I'm Dylan Babel, I'm in Mooresville, North Carolina.

I moved here down from Wyoming.

[MUSIC] Growing up in Wyoming it was basically just all car culture.

My dad was a mechanic at a semi repair place.

So when I was little, didn't really have a baby sitter so I'd go and sit in the garage with him and kind of hand him tools for these big semis.

Was kind of just what I've been around my whole life.

I lost my mom when I was little.

She had a 78 Camaro and I knew when I lost her that I wasn't gonna let that car go.

The day I turned 16, I called my dad and I told him, hey I'm gonna go get that car.

He told me there's no way, that car can't come back.

I haven't seen that car in 8 years.

It's probably not even gonna roll or move, the car was stuck two feet in the ground.

We had to go grab chains around it and pull it out.

One day, I knew I'd fix that car up and make it perfect and make it beautiful again.

Pull it back and put it on the garage and just sort of learn of how to put it together and breaking things, making mistakes it's all on that car and that car is kind of like a teacher to me.

Every car has a story, and every car has meaning to it.

When I was working on the Tyre, I learned that this just satisfying, when you know what's wrong with a car, when you instantly look at it and fix a car.

It was kinda fun bringing these old cars back, bringing them back to life.

[MUSIC] Every Sunday me and my dad would sit down and watch NASCAR races.

I mean, it was kinda like a religion to him, that's just in my blood I guess.

But after graduation, just decided to pack my car up and said, I'm gonna make my dreams a reality, head out to North Carolina, going to college.

I'm learning how to put a car together from the ground up, from brakes to suspension to engines.

In the program I have about four months left.

It's kind of scary thinking no college is ending, you have to have some sort of direction of where to go or what to do after it.

I feel like this trip needs to happen.

I need this in my life to kind of show me through the gray areas of being unknown.

[NOISE] >> Today I was the first to drive.

No one else was offering [LAUGH] I'm really excited getting on the road.

It feels big.

Well, I mean, I'm kinda nervous but at the same time I'm excited about what we're gonna be doing.

[SOUND] >> My name is Alexandra Burton.

I'm 18 years old.

I'm a senior in high school.

We're in Lake Stevens, Washington.

It's wet, rainy, lots of trees.

[MUSIC] I kind of grew up going quadding.

[MUSIC] We'd go camping and just nonstop riding.

[SOUND] I actually broke the shifter off my quad.

So I pretty much rebuilt my whole engine to fix it.

So that kinda sparked my interest.

[SOUND] When I was 16, I got my first truck and when things broke, I was the one, you had to fix it.

And so I learned, okay, this is what I wanna do.

I went and took all the auto classes and I absolutely loved them.

And I went and applied at Jiffy Lube.

I really liked working there.

It kinda got me the basics of how a mechanic environment would be.

Yeah, it might have been a hobby back then, but it's kind of shaping who I am now but my dad didn't really agree with me when I rode up automotive like he didn't really take me seriously.

My dad wants me to go into accounting, he wants me to do kinda what he does.

I've been helping out my dad for probably a year and a half now.

[SOUND] Burton and Associates, this is Alex, how may I help you?

I take care of the office, talk to clients, do paperwork.

It's definitely a big change, I kinda went from working at Jiffy Lube, that type of environment to going to an office desk.

I don't think I could see myself doing that career wise.

It does surprise people that I'm into this and how I wanna do this as a career.

When I took all my engine classes at the high school I was pretty much the only girl who took them.

There like yeah, she's just a girl she doesn't know anything.

Just because this field doesn't have a lot of girls and I think that should be changed.

[MUSIC] >> I was really scared to get on a plane for the first time by myself and fly down somewhere I have never been before.

I've never traveled by myself actually to be honest.

[MUSIC] I'm Michael, I'm 18.

We're in Clatskanie, Oregon, my hometown and I'm on my senior year in high school.

Small town, lot's of logging.

I have some family members that are working at the local lumber mill.

That's pretty much what runs this town, actually.

Seems like everybody seems to either work here or work at the paper mill.

I don't know, they all say that it makes pretty good money working here and I should settle for what they got, I guess.

They were saying no, as soon as you graduate, I can get you a job here and you can get started at the lumber mill, but I always had that love for cars where I wanted to work on cars and go fast.

My dad when I had my permit.

I'd go to like try and turn a corner and he would rip the hand brake on me And the car [LAUGH] go into a slide and he's like, okay, now you're gonna learn how to control a car.

[MUSIC] I remember my dad used to part out cars back even when I was in diapers.

Me and my sister would come out here and we'd just start taking bolts out and pulling parts off of cars [LAUGH].

[MUSIC] When I was a little kid, my dad had that big block sitting in his 88 Ram Charger.

And I just remember sitting in the passenger seat and him pulling out on the highway and just smoke boiling in the air all over the place.

I think that's probably where it started.

[SOUND] I got my first car in eighth grade, 1973 Dodge Dart.

It barely got home when I got it.

I ended up putting a lot of money into it.

I rebuilt the engine, and it's a 318 small block.

Put 360 heads on it, 360 intake manifold.

It's got a 750 Carter ThermoQuad off of a 440 on it.

[LAUGH] [SOUND] There's nothing like driving a classic car, especially when you know that you put it together yourself.

I don't have friends that love cars as much as I do.

[LAUGH] Yeah, so I'm not really sure what I wanna do.

I don't know, graduation's coming up and then after that it's kind of okay, figure out what you wanna do.

Really it's kind of like, I don't know, I don't wanna work in the mill the rest of my life.

I'm ready to move on to a different town and get started into something that I actually enjoy.

I'm thinking about going to a technical school, but I'm not really sure on what I wanna do.

I feel like this trip is gonna give me a lot of insight on what I want to move on to next, and definitely take a pause on the stress of making decisions.

Right now we're in Southern California.

This is day one kick off of the road trip.

>> We're going to talk to Magnus Walker, one of biggest Porsche collectors and Porsche enthusiasts.

[MUSIC] >> Aw man, this is awesome.

>> All right, take a picture of the RV.

>> Should we smile?

>> Dude, we're going to be on his social media.

>> How are you doing?

>> Hi, I'm Alex.

>> Alex, Magnus, nice to meet you.

[MUSIC] >> All right, let's do it.

North Carolina, are you a NASCAR fan?

>> Yeah, I've always kinda been into NASCAR watching with my dad.

>> Turn left.

>> Yeah, all left turns, no rights, yeah.

>> Now you're the Mopar guy though, right?

>> Yeah.

>> Mopar or no car.

>> Mopar or no car.

>> Check it out right there, that's sympathy.

Used to have two of them.

And then you've got a F-100 75?

>> Yeah, it's my project truck now.

>> So you like playing around off road?

>> Yeah.

>> So you three are on this road trip, right?

>> Yeah.

>> You never meet each other before?

>> No.

>> You're all swapping the driving, right?

>> Yeah.

>> You're all in that big 38-foot bus?

>> Yeah, what was your need for speed?

>> Well, my story's a little different only in the sense that I grew up in England.

I had the Porsche poster on the wall, fell in love with Porsche.

I wrote a letter to Porsche saying, hi, I wanna design cars for you guys.

And they wrote me back and said, call us when you're older.

And this was 40 years ago.

I've never been the type that had a five-year plan, where do you see yourself in five years, ten years, that type of thing.

So for me, coming to America at an early age, to a foreign country where I didn't know nobody, was sink or swim, pretty similar to what you're doing.

I took my first American road trip on a Trailways bus from Detroit to LA.

And I arrived in LA not knowing anybody or not knowing what I was gonna do, but I started selling stuff on the boardwalk in Venice.

I had a fashion sense, ended up forming a fashion label, and just had a little bit of success.

Success meant I sold something that I'd made, which was these old Levis jeans, that I managed to sell and turn a profit.

I guess the story is my life is no different to anyone else as I grew up with a dream, never gave up on that dream.

Through determination, a little bit of luck, a lot of motivation and hard work got to a point where I was able to own my first Porsche when I was 25.

>> How was it driving your first, when you first stepped into that Porsche?

>> Yeah, I mean it was a real thrill cuz I've dreamed about it forever.

I had that poster on the wall.

It represented for me a personal accomplishment and a sense of freedom and a sense of achievement.

The second Porsche I ever bought, I bought in 1999.

It's that car right there, the red, white and blue one, the car that's known as 277.

Along the way after five or six years, started what I call my out of control hub.

And then sort of built a following and a reputation and one thing led to another, and long story short, here you guys are.

I think the cars that I've built are unique in a way that yeah, they're ultimately instantly recognizable as a 911, but they're 911s with tweaks.

I didn't look to emulate, okay, the factory built this car, so I'm gonna copy or replicate the way that car left the factory.

What I did was pull the ingredients from my favorite era of Porsche, the 60s and 70s, and do what I always do.

I threw them in the blender and what came out is what you see.

These cars are built to be driven and they're built the way I want them to be.

It's a reflection of my own individuality and I guess my own aesthetic and performance taste.

And a lot of opportunities came my way that I would never, ever of thought would have happened purely because of my passion and love for Porsche.

There have been in a lot of travel to events all over the world doing stuff with Mobil 1, doing stuff with Pirelli, designing cars for Hot Wheels, having my own set of wheels built by 1552, having my own MOMO steering wheel.

So how did that happen for a guy that's just an enthusiast with a hobby?

Well, it just shows you never know what's around the corner and anything is possible.

And you never know how high you can go, but you always gotta look up.

So that's the key right there.

>> What was one of your, what was your biggest struggle that you went through?

>> So the biggest struggle really I guess is having the self confidence to believe in yourself and keep moving forward with whatever it is you wanna do.

I mean obviously doubt creeps in all the time, but just knowing in your gut feeling that you're gonna make it work.

>> You said about doubts.

Did you ever have anybody that really was trying to put you down or sway you one way or the other?

>> Well, it happens all the time to this day.

I just don't get distracted by it.

For me, because I wasn't your typical Porsche looking guy, I got a lot of coverage about myself and my collection.

So there's always people, they either love you or they hate you.

>> Yeah, and I can say that I'm like relatable to you because my whole family is all tattooed and just have those old beat up junkyard cars.

>> Right, but I've been this way forever.

I had long hair since I was 15.

I try to stay positive, I just don't buy into it, I don't engage in it.

If you're along for the ride and like what I do, great, and if not that's okay too.

Whether you're a sport import tuner guy or an American muscle car guy, a European sports car guy, or a truck off-road playing around in the dirt type of person, I think what connects all true car enthusiasts together is the thrill of the drive, the build, the chase.

And I think we all speak the same language.

Doesn't matter what you drive, we share that same passion.

>> What is your biggest accomplishment out of everything you've done?

>> Meeting you guys.

>> Really?

>> Yeah, you guys are on a great road trip.

You're on an adventure, right?

You guys are the future right there.

To Alex, Dylan, and Mike, great meeting you guys.

Stay motivated and passionate, enjoy the journey.

Now get out and drive.

Cheers, Magnus Walker.

You guys are the future cuz those old timers are not going to be around forever.

So keep evolving, keep moving forward, and enjoy the journey, right.

>> Yeah.

>> Try to make the most out of those memorable moments.

I think you guys are making some memorable moments on your road trip.

It will be great to see where you guys end up.

[MUSIC] >> We're leaving So Cal to drive to Las Vegas.

[MUSIC] Once we got to Las Vegas, it was crazy to think that we were in Vegas and we were getting ready to go do crazy things the next day.

So, >> The next morning we got to drive exotic cars.

First off, we went and sat down with one of the main technicians, Rod from Exotics Racing.

>> We do things here at Exotics Racing that, my guys in the shop do things that no one else in the world does.

A lot of these cars we get, we're the first ones in the United States to get these cars, and sometimes the first ones in the whole world to get them.

The average amount on an exotic car that's less than 2,000 miles a year, which is crazy we could here, put 2,000 miles on a car in a week.

The guys love it because we've got to be outside thinkers in order to do that.

[SOUND] You guys are about to go out on the track, it's a 1.2 mile purpose-built road course.

It's got elevation changes, it's got great corners, it's got a great stretch.

It's really built for an experience, and for you to to go get in a car and feel and see what it can do.

>> That car is just insane!

>> I'm kinda used to driving Chevy and Dodge trucks.

>> See, that's just great yeah, yeah, yeah you're gonna have a mind blowing experience.

>> The most crazy part about going to Exotics Racing was getting ready to get in the car and all the suspense of getting ready to drive the car.

>> [SOUND] [INAUDIBLE] okay, it's go time.

>> I never really drove a fast car or anything, so it was a whole different experience.

[MUSIC] >> Eventually I learned the track, and I think it was one of the last couple laps, he said, punch it as hard and as fast as you can.

>> All right, Dylan, let it rip.

>> I think I got the car to 125 miles an hour.

Just getting in there like finally getting round that first corner, getting ready to step on it, I stepped on it.

[SOUND] And then all of a sudden after turbo lag and the boost kicked in, that thing was hitting in the backseat.

There is no backseat in that car but it threw me into the seat.

>> The car is moving, I mean.

>> How was it?

>> It was great.

>> I've been in the automotive industry basically my whole life.

My father was a race car driver, so growing up, I was working on cars.

They've got pictures of me when I was five years old underneath a car on the creeper with my dad.

I got started off really early and cars were my passion, working on them.

Knowing how to make them work and how to make them go faster, it was just something that was embedded in me.

It sounds like it's been like that for you guys.

You guys are like a dying breed, I think.

I talk to young individuals nowadays and they have no ambitions of getting dirty, getting around oil and motors, and that kinda stuff.

And it just blows me away, cuz if it wasn't for mechanics and people like yourselves, all these semis going up and down the road, with all of our goods, all these planes flying, the world would stop without mechanics and people that have technical skills.

>> What advice can you give us, somebody in our footsteps?

>> The biggest thing is ambition I mean, I think it's even more important than skill set, because if you're ambitious and hungry, you can learn to do anything.

And I can already tell, you guys got that look in your eye, like you're ambitious, you want to look what you guys are doing.

So you're already there.

>> Yeah.

>> Now it's time to just do it.

[SOUND] [MUSIC] >> So after the exotic cars, we went to Dig This in Las Vegas to talk to Walter.

He's been a technician for 50 years doing mining and construction equipment.

>> My name is Michael.

>> Hi Michael, my name is Walt.

>> Nice meeting you.

>> I'm Dylan.

>> Dylan, I still Walt.

>> [LAUGH] >> It's so nice to meet you.

[MUSIC] >> I've been involved with heavy equipment pretty much my whole life since about 1965.

I was a field mechanic for Caterpillar.

I've had the chance to work on prototype machines.

Worked in the mines, been fortunate enough to run some of the biggest heavy equipment that has ever been manufactured.

>> I got to drive the excavators, never done this before.

It's a little freaky at first.

>> With your right hand go ahead and push forward and see if you can feel the machine rock back, one more.

>> Ahh.

>> One more, Dylan.

>> This is sketchy.

>> [LAUGH] >> You say yours is sketchy, dude, mine's maxed out.

>> Okay, Alex, push, you can't let him beat you, push, push.

There you go, a little more.

>> My gosh.

>> God.

>> That machine weighs just over 20 tons, and you picked the front of it up like it wasn't even there.

Now what we're gonna do, guys, we're gonna dig, all right?

>> Based on the fact that I have been [LAUGH] around this industry for a long time, tell you what, guys, you got the world ahead of you, okay.

If you're interested in mechanics right now, I will guarantee you that in another 40 years down the road, you're still gonna be interested.

You don't outgrow it and it's just like this working here is a good gift.

I've been here about five years, and I have never done anything in my life that is as much fun as this is.

So your background, once you have the basic mechanics, you can make it go whichever way you want to.

[SOUND] Pull back with your right hand and raise it up off of that other one.

Swing your machine around pull back on your travel sticks.

Drive over there put those on the ground.

>> Does that change the feeling or what?

>> Yeah.

[MUSIC] [SOUND] >> And if you can learn the theory of mechanics you can do anything, you know.

Whether you're working on diesel engines and heavy equipment, whether you're working on high performance cars, or whether you're working on your own car, you know, it's a big asset.

What you want to do is pursue and learn everything you can about it, because one day, you're gonna need it.

Pursue you dreams, they are yours and no can take them from Walt Logan, be gone.

[MUSIC] >> Well, we rolled into Vegas and we went down to Frampton?

What was it?

>> Fremont?

>> Fremont?

>> Fremont?

>> Yeah, Fremont Street.

>> We went down to Fremont Street [MUSIC] >> We went into Old Town, there's lights everywhere, there's people everywhere, whole different atmosphere.

>> It was totally different from what I'm used to I'm used to small town, and there was just so many people everywhere.

That was just I was crazy.

There was so many people and just so many things going on, and seeing the things you see and all the lights and sounds, the smells.

That was kinda cool, getting a little bit of the Vegas experience.

[MUSIC] >> First.

>> I didn't listen to them on this part, know what I'm saying?

How does that go in there.

>> With gloves on actually.

>> Gloves?

>> [LAUGH] [MUSIC] >> My God.

>> That was funny laughing so hard.

>> [LAUGH] >> I'm sorry man.

>> [LAUGH] >> I'm holding it in the hole.

>> It smells terrible.

>> Open the valve.

>> [SOUND] >> Don't lift it up, then I'll throw up, I swear to God.

>> [LAUGH] >> We don't wanna deal with that today.

>> [LAUGH] [MUSIC] See if it's actually >> I'm gonna go walk from here.

>> [LAUGH] >> Actually see if it works, though.

>> [LAUGH] That's so hard to stay quiet I just tried not to laugh.

>> [LAUGH] [MUSIC] >> Ready to hit the road to LA!

>> Let's go.

>> What are we doing?

>> Smiles per gallon on three One, two, three, >>Smile per gallon >> I hate you, unbelievable.

[LAUGH] Here we go.

[MUSIC] >> From Vegas we drove all the way out to Los Angeles and we stopped.

Ended up going the wrong way on the highway for a good 20 miles and then had to turn around, that was always an adventure.

If nothing messes up, it's not a road trip.

[MUSIC] That afternoon, we went to the the SEMA Garage and they're doing something to where they're revolutionizing how cars are being built.

[MUSIC] >> Hey, welcome.

>> Hey, thank you, I'm Dylan.

>> Hey, Dylan, Mike Spagnola.

So the SEMA Garage was developed about three years ago and it's a product development center.

The idea is to work with those 3,000 SEMA manufacturers through engineering, through testing, to help them develop products for the marketplace.

3D printing is fairly new technolgy that we're on the cutting edge of.

So we can actually take a vehicle and scan it and still hand you that CAD data.

These headers have been fabricated, the guys made one off, and he's fabricated it.

And so we can reverse engineer and scan those parts for them.

Handles custom parts back to them so he's got them in CAD.

>> You could scan the whole car or you could scan a part.

And they can pretty much mold it, change it however they want.

>> You notice, by the way, as he scanned that, because that's a used part, you could see little nicks and scratches in the metal, well, that's not an exact part, right?

So he can actually go in and fill those in the computer and make it an exact part.

To where the part that that CAD data is better than that actual part.

There's nothing you can't re-engineer, right?

You now have that data to be able to re-engineer just about anything.

One of you guys put your hand up there.

>> They actually scanned my hand which was kind of cool and it popped up on the computer screen and you could change it and stuff.

>> I mean a lot of people don't know what SEMA does.

They think about SEMA and they think that it's just this big car show in Las Vegas.

And they don't know that we have this garage that can help you make your dream come true, make your product become a reality.

>> You can do it the old fashion way and try and to cut and weld and figure out what you did wrong and re-measure and remake it and all that or you can do it all on the computer and be done like that.

>> That shop showed me that building cars is not what it used to be, there's no more guessing.

>> Definitely a whole different aspect of what you could be in the mechanic industry.

[MUSIC] So the next morning we went and saw the World Famous 4 X 4 shop and we got to interview Henry.

>> Do you like the older stuff or the newer stuff?

>> I like older stuff.

>> You like older stuff, then you're at the right place for sure.

>> God, can we take a look back there?

>> Yeah, yeah, yeah, of course you can look.

>> Let's go check it out.

>> And I was like, this is finally my scene, I pretty much have had Michael and Dylan take the lead and I'm like, okay, step back boys, here I go.

And I pretty much took charge, they had trucks everywhere, I was like, my gosh, this is my future I see myself in.

[MUSIC] >> Her face, when in there, lit up, I mean, you could, her happiness was radiating.

>> This is like, goals, this is dreams right here.

>> So I was a car guy to begin with, my dream car was always a Mustang GT 5.0 in the late 80s.

So I got one, and I thought I was king of the road.

In 1988, I tried to go home in my Mustang and it was snowing, I got stranded.

One of my buddies drives by and goes, borrow my dad's Blazer, it's four wheel drive, it can go anywhere.

A week later, I had a Blazer and that was it after that, it just avalanched.

[MUSIC] >> So when you were our age did you see yourself here?

>> The only reason I even got into this cuz I was trying to build a truck and I was doing it in my parents' driveway.

And the neighbors would call every night and be like, hey, this kid's making noises, like 11, 12 o'clock at night.

>> He ended up renting his own little spot to work on his rig because the neighbors were complaining about noise complaints.

He started to get bigger and bigger and moved over to the next shop, so he made a business out of it.

>> And then there was a show, a car show, a company called Go Rhino.

They came up to and goes, hey, if we give you our brush cards, will you put it on your car and when you go to your next show, put our sticker on your car?

I'm like, yeah.

Once I got like a bunch of sponsors and they gave me stuff for free and I did it and it ended up in magazine.

It did a cover, did this and that, I'm like, I wanna do another one.

>> I guess I didn't put it together but I like read 4x4 magazines and everything.

And their trucks and vehicles have been in all the ones that I've read.

And I was like, my gosh, I'm connecting the dots, I was so excited, I was hyped up after I saw all that.

I was like I've been reading about you guys forever.

So what advice would you give to people who are going into the auto or diesel industry?

>> So the ideal situation is to go to school and work part time in a place.

Just to make sure it's something you really enjoy doing, because you'll know right away, if this is something that you wanna do or not.

Most important thing is your gut feeling.

But if you get that feeling, trust it.

>> I'm just in love with like what they can do, four wheel drive wise.

I walk into Hendrick's garage and I'm like, this is what I've pictured my whole life going and it's just all in this one room.

I could see myself eventually owning up my own shop back in Washington.

[MUSIC] After world famous 4x4 we went to the Peterson Museum which that was so much fun.

[MUSIC] >> I'd love to get one.

[MUSIC] >> Like when we went into Petersen, I was just kinda like, this is gonna be a really fancy car place, they're probably gonna have some cars from different movies and stuff.

But I really didn't expect some of the people that we were interviewing to have cars there.

Hoonigan had a car over there, that would've been Ken Block's car.

We built some very unique cars.

A lot of times it's up to me, in between the shoots, to make sure they keep running, keep the suspension on, keep the wheels on, keep them running, keep the belts from being ripped apart, I just keep the fun going, I think.

>> Wow, I get to meet the people that build these iconic cars.

>> They had a car from the Lowrider Magazine.

>> One of Jo-Ray's friends Lowrider was there.

>> So the low rider influence is just out there today.

Everybody is copying or doing something low rider related.

When you lower any car down, it improves the looks of the car, they just look longer, it brings out the body dynamics.

I think everything I see I want it kind of lowered.

>> Yeah, I noticed everything underneath was completely chromed out, the rotors, the calipers.

There's so much chrome, I don't even know how the thing stops, with chrome calipers.

>> I guess when you meet a famous person, it's like that feeling, except for us with cars.

It's like you're meeting this car, and it's like all these people have been in it.

And it's like been through all these movies and everything.

They had multiple vehicles of Dennis McCarthy.

They had the Herbie Fully Loaded, they had all the Batmobile, Catwoman cars.

>> Wow, I mean, I'm gonna talk to the person that had his hands on this car.

A world famous 4 x 4 is Alex's dream, the next interview is my dream.

[MUSIC] We were meeting Dennis McCarthy at his shop where he builds all the cars for Universal and Warner Brothers and Fast and Furious all the way till Batman.

>> We were meeting Dennis McCarthy at his shop where he builds all the cars for Universal and Warner Brothers and Fast and Furious all the way till Batman.

That's the real fun part of the job and then, you actually see the movie and the car on the big screen, that's really rewarding.

So this is my shop where we build these cars, behind us here is the Corvette that Vin Diesel drove.

[MUSIC] [SOUND] >> I mean, I still do the same thing I did when I was 19 or 20 years old.

We do a lot more of it, but it's really the same thing that I've always done.

Cars, and making them go fast, making them run good, making them look great.

More of the same, just on a bigger scale.

[MUSIC] I always had this huge appetite for fast cars and fast boats and motorcycles.

>> Yeah.

>> Yeah, it was always doing everything I could to make enough money to support my automotive habit.

And at a very early age, opened up my own business.

Like a real little hole in the wall.

Literally had a shop that you get one car inside of and I had my dad's craftsman tool box.

And it just kind of went from there.

Maybe 10 years later I got into the entertainment side of building cars and that was really just by chance.

Just kind of in the right place at the right time.

I had a couple of great accounts with NBC and with Disney Studios.

Basically servicing all their trucks and executive cars, and it was having that studio travel in and out of just drivers, and other guys coming in out of the shop to drop off equipment or cars.

I always said something cool, like the 56 Chevy, and something along those lines.

Some kind of Hot Rod that we were building, or a race car of some nature.

And so, word got back we did that type of work and then it was that word got back to our producer, that producer gave me a call and we built this crazy vehicle for a movie and it really just never stopped from that point on.

>> Dennis was also kind of like a self made man.

it's crazy, he also started out on cars really young, and eventually Hollywood kinda came knocking on his door.

All of a sudden he's doing Fast and Furious cars.

>> That just woke the inner child me, like, wow, that is my dream job, like, I wanna be one of the best people in the field and all of Dennis' people are the best at what they do.

>> The biggest projects we have would be Fast and Furious, and that's the the stuff, when those come around we're going literally hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of cars.

But outside of that, we do all sorts of other movies.

>> We got to see one of like Transformer cars they have.

We got to see all of the like Fast and Furious.

They had some from like Paul Walker, Lenny's car from the 7th one when they dropped out of an airplane, one of those car.

>> The bat mobile was a great thing to do.

We had the chance to do that on Zach Snyder's last Batman versus Superman I'd like to gravitate towards projects that have at least a great car chase or something in it that's exciting for me.

>> This here is probably my favorite vehicle from Fast Five.

This is something that we built in our shop basically from nothing.

We ordered a truckload of steel.

Purchased the motor, and just started putting it in together.

It had to be fast, it had to be able to go over all sorts of terrain.

But I mean, it was really an incredible working piece of machinery.

>> [MUSIC] >> What would be some advice that you would give us?

>> I mean, advice I would give you if cars are your passion?

Read everything you can.

I think I subscribed to every car magazine in the world.

Read that magazine cover to cover.

You'll learn three or four things that will stick with you.

Wherever you can, talk to as many people as you can which is obviously what you guys are going.

Open up a manual, I don't know.

I think if you're really into devoting your life to cars, go back and learn how to rebuild a carburetor.

Study how the carburetor works.

Study how a mechanical advanced distributor works.

Understand what the on distributor does.

It's good to just cover the basis of automotive, going back from the 50s to brand new cars, if you haven't seen the basics it just makes grasp the technology advance we have seen over the years that much easier for you.

You just have to add for knowledge.

Nice for coming by you're all on the right path good luck and I think you guys really are, [MUSIC] >> So in my LA, we had tons of interviews, and the interviews were way better than I expected, just because each person we interviewed actually got into a full conversation with us.

>> I thought this interviews would be really awkward, and there wouldn't be very much conversation in between them But really some of these guys got pretty deep with us and gave us some really good pointers on life.

>> My expectation was yeah we're going to go talk to these people and give advice but never though, wow this might change my whole life.

[MUSIC] >> So right now we're day 8 into the trip and so we've gone.

You know, to Vegas and we've done our huge interviews in LA, and now today we're going to be driving to Texas in Houston.

[MUSIC] >> In Houston, Texas, we had an interview with John Hennessey, it was crazy.

There was stock Hellcats in his shop.

There was highly modified Hellcats, Hellcats that had pro charger systems with twin turbo systems.

I mean there was literally thousands of horsepower sitting inside of his shop and I gotta see sorta like cars that I hope to own one day [LAUGH] [SOUND] >> Was it your passion that drove you into this, or was it more of, I want to get a job I want to make some money, or is it both?

>> My dad had an 88 ram charger that he dropped a 446 pack in and, so ever since I was a kid I wanted to just go faster.

>> That's awesome.

Well I'm not trying to take up your show here.

You guys are supposed to ask me the questions but I'm kind of curious.

>> So what got you into it.

>> My general answer is, and it's true, it was a hobby that got outta control.

Continuing to feed my need for speed.

[SOUND] [MUSIC] We live in an amazing time now.

I mean if you like American muscle, there's never been such an incredible offering of cars.

And people talk about the 60s, Early 70s is being the glory days of the muscle car.

It's right now.

[SOUND] >> When I was in high school, there was some shop guys I kind of connected with.

From the moment I bought my first car, I was just out on the drive way wrenching on it and trying to do stuff to it.

In 1991, I bought a Mitsubishi 3000 GTVR 4.

And I thought well, maybe I could modify to make it to go faster, and so at that point I was totally hooked.

Early 93, a guy called me up and he had one of the first dodge vipers.

And he said hey, I wanna go race at the silver state, can you help me prep the car?

And I said, this car's impressive, but I bet if we modify the exhaust and Did a few other things, that we could maybe bump it up another 50 or 100 horsepower.

Car magazines would write a story here and there about this crazy guy from Texas.

So people would read that stuff, and we would get phone calls.

An article came out in Car and Driver, and then within the first week, Jay Leno called me up and said, hey, it's Jay Leno, I a got a new Viper, and wants it to sound better so, our Viper business just took off.

You know, now here we are 25, 26 years later and we do it on a scale of, you know, 25 to 35 cars a month.

>> For you, like what's your definition of success?

>> I mean I could talk about accomplishments, whether it's the TMGT running 270 miles an hour on the NASA runway >> Numerous road and track, car and driver, Motor Trend shoot out wins.

But honestly I would say our biggest accomplishment is our people.

We built a great team at Hennessy Performance and they allow us to do these things is a huge accomplishment.

>> So what do you look for when you're hiring people?

>> You know, some of the best mechanics that I'd hired were guys like y'all.

They were passionate, they had a desire, they were smart and they applied themselves, they had good character.

Are they on time, or are they early?

Do they work well with the team?

Do they have a commitment to excellence?

Are they willing to learn from their mistakes?

I want guys out there, and girls out there bursting their knuckles and learning, and making mistakes, and that's basically how we all learn.

For every one thing that I learned that worked, there are ten other things that failed, that broke, caught on fire, that crashed.

I mean, I'm the walking version of the college of hard knocks.

If you're not breaking something every now and then, you're not pushing hard enough, you're not trying hard enough.

>> That was super cool.

>> Hennessey, that was great.

>> He gave us some pretty good pointers.

He didn't really look for people that were just highly educated.

He looked for people that wanted to learn, not people that thought they knew everything.

They all say that school is important, but they say that they also look for people that just really have a love and passion for cars and like a will to work.

[MUSIC] >> At the very beginning it was just how all friendships started.

It was a quiet little conversation.

We all kinda just grew and bonded as a team, and we're more like brother and sister now.

I mean, it's just a big family bonding experience.

>> When I first got to know him, I guess I was just kinda like quiet.

But once we kind of all got stuck in a RV and everything, everyone kinda opened up, and it's been pretty good.

>> Because there isn't a lot of girls in this industry.

I haven't had the best time, I didn't just make friends with people who I had stuff in common.

I mean, when I took all my engine classes at the high school, I was pretty much the only girl who took them.

They were like yeah, she's just a girl, she doesn't know anything.

We're just going to put her in sales and have her talk to all the people.

Like we don't want her working on our vehicles.

So like going and talking to multiple girls who are in this type of field that I'm interested in, it's kind of really exciting for me.

[MUSIC] All right, so we went to Ryder and we interviewed diesel technicians.

I thought it was pretty cool, cuz it's what I want to do.

I've never actually been able to sit down and talk to one.

[MUSIC] >> This one is the Ryder Service Center.

We have a service center here for the rentals, and we have a service center here for the trucks.

>> All of these trucks that we work on have a purpose.

Medical trucks, school food trucks.

Fast food and a lots of fine dining.

Big, major corporations that we have, they'll run.

Five or six, seven, eight, nine, ten trailers.

>> You don't realize how big it plays into the economy.

>> Cuz everything revolves around trucks pretty much.

>> As a mechanic, it's like one of the best careers to go into because I mean they're never gonna go anywhere.

We gonna use this and probably use more.

>> What made you get in to this industry?

>> Well actually, my dad was a mechanic in the Air Force for a while.

He was a mechanic when he got out so that's kinda inspired me.

>> Coming from the military, working on the military trucks, I wanted to continue that career.

I just stuck with it after that.

>> I would have never even thought I would have been in here if it wasn't for the Army.

So once I pulled this out and I looked at this harness, this is where the blower motor comes through the harness that connects through.

>> I was really interested in hearing from Heather and Scout, just because you usually don't see girls go into diesel.

And so, I was really excited to hear from them and see what their struggles were.

Being a girl in this industry is having to walk into an entire school full of guys.

I think it was 180 guys to two girls.

>> Being a female here in the industry, I think is probably the biggest hurdle I've had to jump.

>> Before you went into Ryder, did you ever work on your own vehicles or cars or trucks you had, or?

>> I did not work on my own vehicles, I was afraid to.

Coming from no experience to where I am now, I think that's probably one of my biggest accomplishments.

>> Whenever I first started, I wish somebody would've told me, just don't try to prove yourself that you're one of the guys.

Just prove that you're you.

People would do the double take when they see a girl, just ignore it.

>> My advice is don't be afraid to ask questions.

You're going to be uncomfortable at some point walking into the shop, whether it be your first day or you've been there for five years.

You're always going to have questions.

You never stop learning in this industry.

There's always something new, something evolving, some new technique coming out.

You could spend the rest of your life in this industry, cuz it's growing.

Have fun, get dirty, the sky's the limit.

[MUSIC] >> A big thing from hearing from all the girls that are in this industry, we just have to keep pushing through it.

And they're like, just keep going for it, don't let anyone stop you.

[MUSIC] >> We went from Houston to Phoenix.

[MUSIC] We have one day left before we end this whole trip off, that's kinda crazy.

I remember the big distance vaguely, felt like yesterday.

Look at us now in Phoenix ending the trip.

Feels like it's gone really fast.

I don't want it to end, but at the same time I kinda wanna go home grab my car,or so.

And now in the morning we interview Roger Penske.

[MUSIC] Meeting a legend like Roger Penske is something that I didn't think I'd ever do.

I mean, I never thought I'd be shaking his hand and he'd be saying, nice to meet you.

That was just somebody you don't think you'll ever talk to.

Get along, get advice from and have a conversation with [LAUGH].

>> What made you get into this industry?

>> In 1951, my father took me to Indianapolis to the race.

And I saw the race, and I saw the speed, and that got me interested in cars.

I went to work at a gas station.

I started pumping gas, I worked on the engines and I took cars apart.

I remember working on my mother's basement taking an engine apart and smelled the whole house up.

I started at a very early age.

>> When you were our age, did you see yourself where you are at today?

>> I don't think you ever see where you're going.

I think I always wanted to do more.

You kind of pile the pennies on top of each other to get a dollar and then I worked hard.

I think it's paid off, I've got 5 children, 13 grandchildren.

And I tell them the most important thing is effort.

And it's amazing that the people that work the hardest end up getting the most.

You're not lucky, I think you make your luck by being there.

And I think the effort is what helped me.

Effort equals results.

We've got the one wants speed, another one wants fancy cars, and you wanna go diesel.

So I guess we've got three good opportunities there in front of us.

>> Going around nad talking to all the people that we did talk to showed me that there's multiple ends of the industry and there's a lot to do out there.

[MUSIC] We went to that dealership over at Roger Penske's museum.

I like the environment, I'm thinking working at a dealership would be cool.

>> Basically you lower the whole power train.

When you work for a dealer there is levels of technician.

I started out as a expert technician, today I'm a master guild technician.

But it doesn't just stop at master guild technician.

I love helping people, and I love the shop, so one of my dreams is to one day be a technical manager or a shop foreman.

So, starting from an entry level technician, everything that you build on top of that Continues to help you ion your advancement.

Early on in your career, look to get the most out of every opportunity.

You guys obviously are passionate about cars and that really helps.

Our perseverance, hard work, dedication, and the right training, it doesn't become more of its, Fun.

>> Whether you're going into Nascar you want to go into exotics, or your want to go into diesel.

All of that stuff is right there.

That's gonna be a great future for you.

Jobs availability, the ability to make a good living and be able to provide for your family.

You'll have that opportunity.

[MUSIC] >> Right now, we're almost reaching the end.

We have the last interview.

>> And then next day, we fly home.

[MUSIC] >> We went some boogie, she's a star on our girl's garage and she showed us her business which is 180 Automotive.

My goal with this shop was to create a space that was 180 degrees apart from what people expect.

I literally listed out all the stereotypes, right?

All of the things that people think of when they think of auto repair.

So what do we have?

Dirty, rude, they're liars, they're cheaters, they're uneducated, they're crass, there's nudey calendars, the smells, like all of the stereotypes, the bathrooms are filthy, right?

All of these horrible stereotypes that people have about our industry.

Which, I know are not truth, but it's what people think of when think of auto repair.

We have to blow that stereotype out of the water so that the rest of the world catches up and says.

Wow technicians really are smart, and really are valuable and we need them.

[LAUGH] And they keep our country moving and they're important to the world.

And we should give them some respect.

[MUSIC] >>So what made you get in to the audomotive industry?

>>Totally the most bass akwards route possible.

It was totally not a straight line for me I was on a path to go to law school.

I sat down with my senior adviser and he's so, tell me why you wanna go to law school?

And I just sat and stared at him blankly and I'm- >> I don't?

>> I don't.

>> I lost it.

I didn't want it anymore.

And when I decided to take auto shop, my guidance counselor, friends, parents of friends, all of them kinda gave me the same push back.

That A, why would I wanna be an auto mechanic, cuz I'm a girl.

And B, they were saying things like, but you're smart, you're going to college, why do you need auto shop?

Both of those things are horribly insulting, right?

One said, I can't be a mechanics, I'm a girl, and the other one said, auto mechanics are for stupid people.

Which is ridiculous, right?

Today's cars, as you guys know, have more control modules than the first space shuttle, right?

You have to be smart to work on these cars.

We know that, right, we know how hard it is to be a mechanic.

But the rest of the world doesn't.

So the more people said, no, you can't, no, you can't, no, you shouldn't, no, you shouldn't, you don't belong, any of that, the more I dug my heels in and was like, yeah, watch me.

>> So a lot of people look up to you.

Like what is your like I guess, motto that you tell females who are afraid of going into the industry?

>> What I tell young women is the same thing I tell young men.

>> Is don't ever let anybody tell you that your dreams aren't good enough or they're not the right dreams for you to have.

Whether you're male or female or rich or poor or black or white or gay or straight or whatever it is, there's always gonna be people in your life who are trying to bring you down.

Try to surround yourself with the positive people who bring you up.

And who when you say something crazy like I wanna own my own shop one day they go awesome let's go, how can I help you instead of you can't never do that and the more people say you can just take that as stoking a fire [INAUDIBLE].

And if automotive is your passion, then rock on.

I will cheer you on all the way.

If automotive's not your passion, don't do it just cuz somebody told you to do it.

Do it cuz you want it.

Dream fiercely, find your tribe, and then go make it happen, right.

>> Yep.

>> Make them proud.

[MUSIC] >> Tomorrow morning I got to be a work at 4 in the morning, and then go to school at 1:30.

Back to the normal grind and just to make sure I don't forget everything I've learned on this trip.

[MUSIC] I realize that there's a lot more different opportunities.

Like I kinda thought it was either racing or automotive, but there's a lot more other places to go.

Like working in the movie industry or.

>> Heavy equipment.

I could go work on pick-up trucks.

I could go work on semis.

It's like a work for Caterpillar.

>> It's just a matter of finding your little niche in the world.

[MUSIC] >> Tell you what, guys, you got the world ahead of you.

>> Jobs availability and you build, you make a good living, you'll have an opportunity.

>> If it wasn't for making eggs and people like yourselves, the world would stop without making.

>> You guys are the future cuz those old timers are not going to be around forever.

>> There's always something new, something evolving, some new technology coming out.

>> Look to get the most out of every opportunity.

>> You know some of the best mechanics that I've hired were guys like yo.

>> Most important thing is your gut feeling.

But just knowing in your gut feeling that you're gonna make it work.

>> If you get that feeling, trust it.

>> I'd say that if you have dream, and you have something that you wanna do, and you have a passion for it and a drive, to just go for it.

>> Go get your hands dirty.

Don't let fears tear you down.

>> Dream big.

>> Before this trip, I was just going to work, and school, and sleep, work, school, sleep.

Now, I mean, I kinda just realize you gotta live life to your fullest potential.

Anything's possible.

You can just go out and get your dreams and accomplish whatever you want, you just gotta.

You gotta go for it.

To learn more about how to get involved or to watch interviews from the road, Visit Roadtripnation.com [Music]