Long before the auctions, concours fields, Ferrari judging, podcasts, and book launches, there was a younger version of me working for Nabisco in the foothills of northeast Georgia.

Back then, I was what we lovingly called a “cracker stacker.” I’m on the right. My Little Brother, via the Big Brothers/Big Sisters organization, is being his iconic self.

My days were spent driving around Winder and Lawrenceville loading shelves with Oreos and Ritz Crackers at grocery stores while trying to convince store managers to let me build giant displays in high traffic areas before the weekend rush. At the time, it felt like a pretty ordinary job. Looking back now, it taught me far more than I realized.

It also happened to place me near something that felt almost mythical to a young car enthusiast just beginning his automotive obsession… the Panoz factory.

America’s Boutique Supercar Builder

For those unfamiliar, Panoz is one of the notable American boutique sports car manufacturers founded by Don Panoz, the pharmaceutical entrepreneur best known for creating the transdermal nicotine patch.

Rather than simply building another copycat sports car, Panoz carved out its own identity with lightweight aluminum construction, front engine V8 power, and a distinctly big-5.0-Ford driving experience.

The company’s first major production car, the Panoz AIV Roadster, debuted in the mid 1990s and stood for “Aluminum Intensive Vehicle.” It combined old school roadster proportions with modern engineering and became one of the first production cars built around an aluminum space frame chassis.

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To me, that was when everything really came together for Panoz.

The design became cleaner, more elegant, and more cohesive while still retaining the hand built personality and American character that made the brand unique. The Esperante looked like a car that belonged on the world stage, and suddenly Panoz no longer felt like an interesting experiment.

It felt legitimate. And please notice, this is a picture of one of the initial design prototypes…probably made of clay. The giveaway? The black windows hide a non-existent interior and the extra scoop on the nose that never made it to production.

What I did not realize at the time was that tucked away in the back of the shop was a prototype race car that would eventually help launch Panoz into one of the most fascinating racing programs in modern American motorsports.

This was before the victories.

Before the screaming front-mid-engine race cars became legends at Le Mans.

Before Panoz established itself as a serious name in international motorsport.

At the time, it was just this strange, low-slung machine sitting quietly in the corner of a small Georgia factory.

Looking back now, that may be the coolest part of the memory. I unknowingly witnessed the beginning of something special before the rest of the automotive world fully caught on.

Why This Stuff Matters

For a kid spending weekdays stacking Oreos at grocery stores, it may as well have been Maranello.

What struck me most was that these incredible machines were being built right there in Georgia near roads I drove every day. Suddenly, the collector car world no longer felt distant or reserved for somebody else.

It felt real. It felt attainable. And it felt like I was a part of it.

Looking back now, that visit was probably one of the sparks that set everything else in motion.

Final Thought

The local Mustang club. The factory tour. The realization that passionate people built entire lives around cars. The cookies and crackers.

That same enthusiasm eventually led me to auction floors, concours judging fields, The Collector Car Podcast, and now the release of The Enthusiast’s Guide to Collector Cars.

Funny enough, none of it felt important at the time. It just felt like a really cool Saturday surrounded by cars.

One More Story for Another Day

And somewhere in that same era, I also visited another ambitious American startup and took photos of their futuristic supercars sitting inside a tiny factory just outside of Green Cove Springs, Florida… Vector.

But that story deserves its own newsletter…on another day.

#WhyCarsMatter #Panoz #Esperante #AIVRoadster #LeMans #Vector #MustangClub #CollectorCars #CarCulture #OreosAndExotics #TheCollectorCarPodcast #EnthusiastsGuide #CarStories

Please notice the cardboard template for the dash being created for the first Vector.

The Enthusiast’s Guide is a Hit!

At Thursday’s Classic Motoring Society meeting at Ferrari’s Little Italy and Bakery, *The Enthusiast’s Guide to Collector Cars* was a huge hit! Whether it was for themselves, a spouse who has shown a politely “developing” interest in cars, or a young new enthusiast eager to learn more about the hobby, attendees jumped at the chance to grab a copy.

If you haven’t picked up yours yet, now’s the perfect time:

Enthusiast’s Guide to Collector Cars

Where I’ll Be Next