Hey there! My name’s Ian and I am one of the contributors to Life Plus Cars. Here's where it all began for me and the automobile!

 

All of my life, I have frequently told others that I am “into cars.” For the longest time, I had difficulty defining what that meant to other people who were not as, well, automobile obsessed as I am. To an extent, I didn’t even know how to truly explain it. All I knew was that in the core of my being was, and is, the automobile. Nothing else captures my attention or holds my interest more than cars. I live and breathe cars and am most likely thinking of something car-related if I am not engaged with something else.

 

Cars are the one thing that I consider myself an expert on, and something I could talk hours upon hours about. Not about anything else can I talk at that sort of length about. It has always been that way, and I was always known as “the car guy” throughout my school years. Yet, I’m not sure most knew the extent of my obsession. My family has photographs of me at age 3 lining up my Hot Wheels and Matchbox cars in neat orderly rows by color and vehicle type. Or that since I was 6 I could (and still can) name every single car or truck that passes me on the road. It is this encyclopedic knowledge that tells me that cars are truly a part of my being. Nothing else quite sticks in my brain like some random bit of car obscurity. While this immense stock of car information has always filled my mind, it still did not help me to answer the inevitable question, “so what do you like about cars?”

 

I’ve thought about this question for a while and after talking to car people and non-car people alike, I realized something. One example stood out to me. It was during an introductory meeting at the school at which I interned while I was in grad school. After introducing oneself, each new staff member was told to tell a memorable story. One teacher spoke of her old Celica convertible that she drove to Florida to start a new life, and how the car nearly filled up with water one rainstorm since the fabric top leaked so badly. The other teacher regaled us of his old Daewoo, a car company long since defunct. It was his first car in college, and he told us one mishap after another he had with this car. And yet, it got him all the way through to his first job. While each story was comical, they also reveal the deep, emotional connection that these two people made with these cars. They could have picked another story that had nothing to do with a car, but they chose these stories that had a car as the focal point. This is when it hit me; we all have that car in our life that forged a lasting memory. 

 

Many, if not almost all, people view their car as a tool or an appliance that is used to get them to work, their vacations, or whatever destination they may have. I know that most are not obsessed with cars as I am. I do know one thing, however. So many of us have a deep, personal bond with a car somewhere in our lives.

 

Join Brendan and I as we share the common thread among us all that is Life Plus Cars. Brendan and I host the Life Plus Cars podcast, which airs every Tuesday. Listen in for more Curated Car Conversations!

 

Hey all, this Brendan! I grew up and still live in the Upper Valley region of New Hampshire. While growing up in central NH, near Dartmouth College, I was always mesmerized by the myriad cars that inhabited the area. Saab and Volvo and Subaru seemed to overrun the area, but there was always an eclectic mix of vehicles that lined the streets. For a kid who grew up loving all things mechanical, it was always fun to spot something new. 

My car passion started at a young age. I credit my father as the reason that I am so passionately involved in the automotive field. As a kid, I helped my father work on snowmobiles, tractors, small engines, and of course, cars. It started out with my ever so important job to ‘hold-the-light’ while my father was slumped into an engine bay adjusting a carburetor or setting the timing on whatever vehicle he was working on. Over time I grew into the tool-retriever and quickly learned the difference between ‘English’ and ‘Metric’ wrenches…little did I know that I was learning so much from ‘helping’ my father over the years. I still wrench with my father to this day.

My first solo involvement with cars started at 12 years old when I began my own car detailing business. I bought a myriad of cleaning supplies and out of my father’s two-bay garage I would wash, wax, scrub, vacuum any car I could get my hands on. I loved having different vehicles brought to me so I could learn all about the features and uniqueness each car had to offer. Mercedes and BMWs were always my favorites because they had so many buttons and features to learn about.

It wasn’t long after getting my license that I truly understood what I loved most about cars: taking them apart and fixing them. The satisfaction of diagnosing a problem, resolving it, and having the result be a great running vehicle is, and always will be, intoxicating. From brake jobs to transmission rebuilds, and head gaskets to electrical work, I find joy in all of it. The only thing I cannot stand is bodywork. Rust rehab, paintwork, or sheet metal work, I am not your guy. 

Today, I have my own used car dealer and detail shop based out of my home in Plainfield, NH. While Bayley Automotive does not move a ton of inventory (yet), I focus on finding quality, unique vehicles that people enjoy or would find useful. I have sourced cars from all over the country and want to explore importing vehicles from overseas. The detailing side of the business is seasonal, and during the warm months I am grateful to the customer base I have, and how well the business has grown.

Throughout my endeavors, travels, and cars I have owned, I am always amazed at the car community. People always have a story about a family member or neighbor they knew that ‘had a car just like that’ and what it meant to them. There are deep connections between people and their automobiles. Even if most people aren’t considered ‘car crazy’, they have some form of connection to a specific car. It is these stories and bonds that keep me enjoying this endeavor. This is why I am so pleased to be part of this podcast and brand with one of my greatest friends, and longtime car-crazy buddy, Ian Henry. I will never forget the first time we went to Carlisle, PA together, to the Fall swap meet in the early 2000s. When Ian saw the immense crowds of people, all there just for cars, we all said, “you see! There are more car people out there than you think!”