About Driftwood Motoring

The automotive obsession started early.

Hot Wheels on the floor. Lego cars built badly, rebuilt slightly better, then modified until they no longer resembled anything approved by the original instructions. Soapbox cars, plastic models, radio-controlled cars, and just about anything else with wheels, gears, noise or the potential to go faster than it probably should.

Eventually, the toys got bigger and considerably more expensive.

I’ve spent about twenty years around the automotive industry in one form or another: dealerships, service advising, automotive parts, outside sales, repair shops, customers, technicians, and all the strange little corners of the business most people never see unless something has gone wrong and their wallet is about to have a bad day.

That experience has left me with a deep appreciation for good vehicles, simple engineering, honest repair shops and parts that actually fit the first time.

It has also left me with opinions.

A lot of opinions.

Driftwood Motoring is where those opinions end up.

This is real-world automotive ownership from Vancouver Island. Old trucks, interesting cars, repairs, upgrades, car shows, road trips, questionable buying decisions and the occasional rant about whatever fresh bullshit the automotive industry has decided is progress.

I like modern cars more than I sometimes sound like I do. Ventilated seats are glorious. Backup cameras are useful. Apple CarPlay is excellent.

CVTs can still eat a bag of dicks.

The main vehicle around here is our 2003 GMC Yukon Denali, a 6.0-litre GMT800 that carries our family, tools, toys, kayaks, paddleboards, drone gear and enough life jackets to suggest we may be starting a ferry service.

It’s old, comfortable, thirsty, useful and paid for.

In other words, pretty much perfect.

My five-year-old son Blake is usually somewhere nearby, helping with tire pressure, inspecting cars at shows, asking questions, spinning in office chairs or approving vehicle purchases without consulting the finance department.

He’s part of this because cars have always been more fun when they’re shared.

The website is mostly a home for automotive stories, ownership experiences and slightly grumpy opinions from someone who has spent a long time around the business and still genuinely loves it.

We also have a currently imaginary shop.

The service bays are imaginary. The inventory is imaginary. Most of the staff have yet to be hired.

The automotive obsession is very real.

The shop is currently imaginary. The automotive obsession is not.