Matt Stone '83, Finance, Real Estate & Law
Executive Editor, Motor Trend Magazine

	"With the techonological advancements, whether it's safety or navigation systems or hybrid drives, the technology that's going into cars is fascinating."

Let’s cut to the chase: In Southern California where the car is king, Matt Stone has a great gig.

“Yes, there are guys that would push me off a cliff to have my job,” says Stone. He’s the executive editor of Motor Trend magazine, and that means he gets to read, write and talk about cars all day. And yes, he drives just about any automobile he desires.

“We have a garage here at the office, and you never know what’s going to be in it. I drive two or three different cars per week,” he says. “It depends on what I feel like doing that night — if I want to move a bunch of people, it’s amazing how good some of today’s minivans are. But if I want to chill or relax, I get in a Porsche, put the top down and drive through the Hollywood Hills.”

Of course, much of his wheel time is also dictated by what's new on the market, story assignments and road tests.

Like many kids, he inherited his passion for cars from his father. “He always had nice, cool cars or hot rods or sports cars, and I had a great affection for cars early on,” says Stone.

His first love was a 1971 Oldsmobile 442 muscle car in Viking blue with a white top that he drove at 16. “I’ve probably had a couple dozen cars in 30 years. The most I ever owned at one time is seven. Fortunately, I have a garage, a car port and a really long driveway.”

His livelihood, however, hasn’t always been behind the wheel. He graduated from Cal Poly Pomona in 1983 with a degree in finance, real estate & law.

	A Cobra concept car is being driven and tested by Matt Stone at the Irwindale Speedway.

Stone began a solid real estate career, but on the side, he was writing freelance articles about the auto industry. Sixteen years ago, he crossed over to a full-time writing career and hasn’t looked back.

“What excites me most about this business is that it’s extremely diverse. It’s not just new cars: It’s old cars, motor sports, history, design, technology, the industry side, suppliers and technology,” he says. “You just can’t get bored here.”

Because his job is literally about keeping up with “motor trends,” Stone has a solid sense of what the future holds for drivers.

“We’re definitely going to have to find and develop economically feasible cars that use alternative power sources. There’s tremendous pressure, especially with gas at three bucks a gallon, to make cars that get better gas mileage, use alternative power sources and reduce the dependency on oil.”

It’s not a new topic, he says, but it’s one that is at the forefront of many automotive chats. An interesting point in the discussion is striking a balance between all the bells and whistles consumers want and the innovations that improve our driving experience.

“For example, we need to reduce vehicle weight. Cars have gotten heavier and heavier, and in order to move that mass, you need gas,” he says. “They’re heavier because they have airbag systems, 10-speaker audio systems, navigation systems, computers — the new BMW 7 series has 46 electric motors. And we’re still building them out of steel and glass like we did 100 years ago. So, I believe that’s a frontier the manufacturers will have to tackle in the next decade or two.”

That said, Stone is a die-hard enthusiast.“We’re in a real era of automotive diversity right now. If you want to talk about sports cars and exotic cars, today’s Ferraris, Aston Martins, Porsches, the Ford GT, the Viper and the Corvette Z06 are some of the best ever. It’s amazing to me that a 500-horsepower car puts out fewer emissions today than a Volkswagen did in the’70s,” he laughs.

“With the technological advancements, whether it’s safety or navigation systems or hybrid drives, the technology that’s going into cars is fascinating,” enthuses Stone. "A lot of cars have audio systems that are way better than what most people have in their homes.”

Even with a motorcade parked in his long driveway and the latest and greatest at his disposal at work, Stone is still pining for his ultimate set of wheels: a Ferrari Daytona from the early ’70s now priced around $120,000.

“It’s a car that’s captivated me since it was new, and it’s become a classic over that time,” he says. “The Ferrari Daytona’s sound is unbelievable. As it drives by, it just curls up the hairs on the back of your neck.”

Spoken like a man who truly inherited a passion.