Editor in Chief Karl Brauer grew up in Golden, Colorado, where he watched his older brothers add more and more automotive detritus to the curbside surrounding his family home. This inevitably led Karl to a life of automotive enthusiasm that officially began when he purchased a 1968 Dodge Charger R/T at the ripe old age of 15.

A 1969 Plymouth GTX, a 1957 Mercury Montclair and a 1970 Plymouth GTX followed the Charger, all before Karl graduated high school. From there it was simply a matter of earning a journalism degree and convincing the powers that be at Petersen Publishing (now Primedia) to give him a shot at writing about cars for a living.

Before joining Edmunds.com Karl Brauer spent four years scribing for a variety of automotive titles including Hot Rod, Car Craft, Circle Track, Rod & Custom and Super Street magazines. With the escalating performance of new cars, his interest has turned from classic muscle cars to modern technology and how it is used to create 500-horsepower engines that get 20-plus mpg.

Karl still owns and drives his 1970 Plymouth GTX, but he also fully embraces the creation of 500-horsepower BMW sedans. Karl lives in Ventura County with his understanding and patient wife, Lego-addled son, and preschool-aged daughter.

Karl owns a 2005 Ford GT, 1973 Saab Sonett III, 1970 Plymouth GTX and a 1973 Triumph Hurricane.

Contact Karl at: karl@edmunds.com

Read his blog, Karl on Cars and view his CarSpace page.

Back to top

Cars are seductive little buggers, aren't they? Jamaican-born Warren Clarke fesses up to having had no more than a passing interest in all things vehicular prior to joining the staff at Edmunds.com. He'd always had a yen for writing, though, and after earning his degree at Howard University in Washington, D.C., he'd managed to eke out an existence as a scribe, penning stories mostly devoted to music and film. His writing skills somehow won him the attention of Edmunds.com's editorial big brass, who opened their garage door wide and graciously ushered him into the company's grease-splattered, car-crazed fold. He currently works for the company as a content editor, a position that finds him overseeing the site's consumer reviews, and contributing features and reviews as needed. At Edmunds, Warren has been given the opportunity to test-drive vehicles, and the experience has revealed to him a brand-new world full of, well, brand-new, fun, vehicular-type things. Inevitably, he finds himself beginning to "get" the whole car-nut thing, and looks forward to his continued evolution.

Clarke currently drives an infinitely reliable '97 Suzuki Sidekick. He lives in Hollyweird with an artist roommate named Sue Ann.

Contact Warren at: wclarke@edmunds.com

Back to top

Managing Editor Donna DeRosa was born into a family of Chevy owners, learning how to drive in a 1975 Special Edition Caprice Classic. She won many a race in that golden tank until her father won a Chevy Chevette in a raffle contest and gave her a thriftier car to drive. It was a big step down in performance and cool from the Caprice but it did have special-edition two-tone black and silver paint. What's a girl to do when someone gives her a free car?

Donna has been working at Edmunds since 2000, previously in the project management and Web production departments and has recently joined the Edmunds editorial team. Her diverse background includes stints on Wall Street and Off-Off-Broadway. So far off Broadway, in fact, that she won a playwriting contest in Paris, France. Her dream is to someday manage an Edmunds Formula One team but so far that hasn't worked out.

Donna has a B.A. in English and Communication Arts from LaSalle University in Philadelphia and also attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City.

Donna currently drives a 2000 Acura Integra but still has an old Chevy in her garage.

Contact Donna at: dderosa@edmunds.com

Read her blog, The Driving Woman and view her CarSpace page.

Back to top

John DiPietro hails from a suburb close to Boston (hence his heavy accent), and back in college majored in everything from architecture to radiology. His understanding parents reassured him that education is never wasted and that John is well-rounded as a result.

"JDP," as John is known around here, has had a passion for cars for as long as he can remember — while his peers were collecting baseball cards, he was collecting car brochures. He has thousands of these, dating back to 1974, and has read them cover to cover. His interest in things automotive is far-reaching, ranging from classics such as the Duesenburg SJ, through the muscle cars of the 1960s, up to the current crop of sport sedans. John previously nurtured his passion for cars as the weekly road test editor for two New England papers; The Lowell Sun and The Waterbury Republican.

John lives in Culver City, California, owns a 1989 Pontiac Trans Am GTA that collects dust and rides a 1995 BMW R1100 RS motorcycle.

Contact John at: jdp@edmunds.com and view his CarSpace page.

Back to top

Senior Road Test Editor Ed Hellwig came to Edmunds with a diverse automotive background that included stints as a gas station grease monkey, automotive spy photographer, and ice rink Zamboni driver. Ed spent five years making sure he hated cold weather at the University of Colorado in Boulder where he earned a degree in American history between beer runs and football games. Upon returning, he proclaimed "snow sucks" and forever pledged his allegiance to the SoCal sunshine.

Prior to joining Edmunds, Ed toiled under the iron fist of Tom Lindamood at A&M Specialists, a press vehicle logistics company, as a roadtester and event coordinator. While tooling around in Bentleys and Porsches was less than grueling, Ed just couldn't shake the editorial urge and jumped at the chance to join the Edmunds team.

He's now responsible for overseeing the road test team, editing our Future Vehicles section, as well as writing road tests and assisting in performance testing.

Time away from work is usually spent under the hood of his classic big block Chevelle (SS, L34, 4 spd, roller tach) or hacking his way through various golf courses in the L.A. area. A serious lack of proficiency in either pastime assures that he won't be quitting his day job anytime soon.

Contact Ed at: ehellwig@edmunds.com

Read his blog, Straightline and view his CarSpace page.

Back to top

Her first experience behind the wheel found Joanne Helperin sliding into a tall snowdrift during a driver's education class in suburban New York. Through the effort and determination that marks her character, she eventually learned to drive. She was rewarded with the keys to her father's tank — uh, car — a used 1975 Dodge Royal Monaco, because it had, as he put it, "a lot of crush space." It would take forever to warm it up on cold mornings, and it had a nasty habit of stalling in the middle of intersections, but hey, it was a boat — uh, car.

Joanne has enjoyed a bicoastal freelance writing and consulting career. She wrote television news in New York and Philadelphia and covered Internet marketing for the award-winning magazine Business 2.0. She also did stints in marketing, sales and finance for various media and technology companies.

As senior features editor at Edmunds.com, she writes automotive lifestyle articles, especially those issues affecting women and families. For the last 12 years, Joanne has bought, sold, leased and rented all the cars for her own family, using everything from brokers and dealers to print ads, auctions and the Internet. Someday, she'll busy herself designing the perfect family car: It would include fewer cupholders and more places to put other important things, like empty juice boxes and a box of tissues.

Joanne holds a B.A. in English and Comparative Literature from the University of Pennsylvania and an M.B.A. from UCLA's Anderson School. She drives a 2002 Honda Odyssey EX and waits for the day she doesn't need to carpool so she can drive a cool car.

Contact Joanne at: jhelperin@edmunds.com

Read her blog, The Driving Woman and view her CarSpace page.

Back to top

Scott's interest in cars developed during childhood when the likes of CHiPs and Knight Rider electrified the small screen. The spectacular crashes, incredible chases and improbable getaways thrilled him nightly. Sure, he should have had a date at that age but many a Friday night spent with his loving parents has made Scott just a little more sensitive, and we love him for that — of course he suffers frequent beatings as a result, but what can you do? Scott is one of the few who preferred KARR over KITT and he secretly wished that just once CHiPs' Ponch wouldn't laughingly brush the broken glass off of his two-sizes-too-small uniform after emerging from a hideous and fiery multicar pileup. Still, his love of cars and car shows held true.

An automotive career seemed inevitable until Scott got older and found that the math required to become an automotive engineer was "like, all hard and stuff…." It was then that Scott realized photography was his true passion. Having developed his skills as a photographer to boost his sagging GPA, he took a job as a lab tech when his parents pulled the plug on college funding. Through dedication and the knowledge that he couldn't live off $400 a month, he worked his way up to the historical photographic collection manager position as well as campus shutterbug for the library at California State University, Chico. In this capacity, Scott honed his techniques and barely paid his way through school. Upon graduation Scott applied for a job with Edmunds.com to shoot photos of test cars, maintain the photo archive and enjoy the benefits of a real paying job. Scott lives in Santa Monica and drives a 1987 Honda Accord.

Contact Scott at: sjacobs@edmunds.com and view his CarSpace page.

Back to top

It all started with that first car: a shiny red Jaguar XKE pedal car with spoke wheels, working headlights and upholstered seats. Sure, Brian was four at the time, but that one gift from his car-loving dad sent him down an automotive path from which he rarely strayed.

His first adult-size car was a 1964 Buick Skylark that he still misses like a long lost high-school sweetheart (not the clingy one, rather the smart, funny one). Subsequent years issued the glorious results of youth misspent buying and rebuilding assorted old Buicks, Oldsmobiles, Studebakers and the occasional Fiat Spider.

Somehow, Brian managed to Lava-soap his hands clean long enough to earn a degree in radio, television and film from Cal State Long Beach. Upon graduation, Brian spent seven years working in television news as a broadcast designer but quickly grew tired of having to come up with a "snappy graphic" relating to a serial arsonist. Brian has also contributed to various automotive Web sites, local newspapers and a Sacramento radio show.

Brian's education continues with his marriage to a wonderfully tolerant woman who frequently informs him "girls don't like that." Turns out he knows more about cars than "the ladies." With the recent birth of their first child, Mr. and Mrs. Moody have a completely new attitude about greenhouse gasses — car exhaust is mild compared to this little guy's toxic fumes.

Brian and his family live in Long Beach, Calif.

Contact Brian at: bmoody@edmunds.com

Back to top

Born to sedan-loving gypsies, Production Editor Caroline Pardilla had always thought cars were used solely for the practical purpose of hauling the family unit from Point A to Point B. It wasn't until the spectacular demise of her hand-me-down 1999 Ford Contour one summer when, in her search for a new car, she was introduced to the alternate universe of sports cars. Of course, Caroline currently drives a 1998 Toyota Corolla but she has her heart set on getting either a Mazda RX-8 or a Mini Cooper S.

Although her tendency toward flash didn't extend to automobiles at first, Caroline's career preference did. After graduating with a B.A. in English Literature from the University of California, Los Angeles, she worked for Kim-from-L.A. public relations for several years and handled media events for the likes of Martin Scorsese, Larry Flynt and, yes, Donny Osmond. Looking for something more down to earth, however, led our young Caroline to the dirt-loving offices of Primedia (originally "Petersen-emap") where she got a job as a copy editor for Dirt Rider, MXracer and ATVRider magazines. After dirt biking and correcting grammar for two and a half years, Caroline wanted to move on to bigger and better things, namely four-wheelers. She found a home at Edmunds.com where she happily prepares content for publication, pens the occasional review and helps out with consumer advice.

Caroline thrives and drives in Los Angeles.

Contact Caroline at: cpardilla@edmunds.com

Read her blog, The Driving Woman and view her CarSpace page.

Back to top

Phil's days as a backyard mechanic are over; he drives a '96 Mitsubishi Galant, which he bought for $5,500 plus a free round of golf.

Back to top

Born to strange parents who never quite settled down, Senior Content Editor Erin Riches spent her formative years in such far-flung states as Florida, North Dakota and Tennessee. After earning a B.A. in art from Memphis' Rhodes College and laying her beleaguered '89 Camry to rest, Erin migrated to Southern California in pursuit of love and graduate school. Instead, she got an editorial staff job at Edmunds.com in February 2000. Cars may be an acquired taste for Erin, but now she's in way too deep to get out. Sometimes they're all she talks about. Friends come to her for car advice but quickly regret it, once Erin launches into a monologue on the specs, features and options for every car available under $25,000. Would it surprise you to know she has trouble keeping friends? At the office, Erin puts these "talents" to work for both the Edmunds.com and Inside Line sites, alternating between writing articles for level-headed consumers and semi-crazed enthusiasts.

Although she enjoys driving all types of cars, SUVs and trucks, Erin prefers to keep her personal vehicles small, as she's still haunted by long journeys in Oldsmobile station wagons overloaded with cats, plants and moving boxes. She has yet to buy her ideal car, which would be turbocharged and loaded with storage space, but is the caretaker for a 1995 Nissan 240SX and a 1997 Saab 900 SE Turbo convertible.

Back to top

Outfitted in full St. Patrick's Day regalia, Kelly Toepke snuck out from behind the bar of the local pub where she was pouring green beer to wannabe Irishmen. She bolted across the street to a nearby employment agency, and screamed, "I need a new job!" The owner, taking in her knee socks and suspenders, replied, "I've got just the place for you. They want someone with personality." The next week, she rode the elevator to the second floor of 120 E. Liberty St., home of Automobile Magazine, to assume her post outside legendary founder and now editor-emeritus David E. Davis, Jr.'s office door. There she spent the next five years absorbing information about cars, dogs, shotguns, the benefit of Circus Peanuts in one's diet and more cars. While working toward an English degree from Eastern Michigan University, she took over as the magazine's road test coordinator. This position afforded her the opportunity to see the world beyond her hometown of Willis, Mich., and she quickly realized that California was the place she oughta be. She spent the next several years rounding out her automotive career with stints as Nissan North America's national press fleet coordinator, manager of the Subaru Product Information Service and general manager of the Los Angeles office of A&M Specialists, a press fleet management company.

More than a decade later, Kelly is enjoying her current position as manager of vehicle testing at Edmunds.com. Married recently to the L.A. Auto Show's director of communications, Barry Toepke, she seizes every opportunity to throw Barry into her current test car in order to use the dreaded 405 freeway?s carpool lane and hasten the daily commute between their Long Beach home and respective Santa Monica offices.

Contact Kelly at: ktoepke@edmunds.com

Read her blog, The Driving Woman and view her CarSpace page.

Back to top