Second Fire at Lombard

Palisades News
Page 18 November 18, 2015
‘Talking Automotive’ Featured on YouTube
By SUE PASCOE
Editor
Whether talking car design with
Chevrolet Camaro’s chief engineer
Al Oppenheiser, interviewing
renowned Indy Car driver Mario Andretti,
or chatting with Bruce Meyers (the
founder of Meyers Manx), Palisadian Jack
Berglas knows the right questions to ask.
Berglas is the founder of “Let’s Talk Automotive,”
and his YouTube channel contains
interviews with top automotive experts
such as Sangyup Lee, the exterior designer
of Bentley’s sports car, the Exp 10.
Lee told Berglas that he left a position
at General Motors to go to VW because
he wanted to experience the difference between
American- and German-made cars.
While there he was contacted by Bentley
and made the move.
When Berglas asked Lee about the Exp
10, Lee explained: “a sports car is not a
comfortable car. It’s a machine. With this
car, not only is it a strong performer, but
it has luxury.”
Even if one is not particularly interested
in cars, Berglas’ interviews on YouTube are
impressive. Surprisingly, he is only 14 years
old, attends Viewpoint High School, and is
still two years away from a driver’s license.
His favorite car is the Lucra LC470. The
company was founded by Luke Richards, a
California-based sports car builder. (The
roadster goes from 0-60 mph in 2.5 seconds
and weighs just 2,000 lbs.)
“I like American-made cars, because they
have lots of horsepower. Everyone says it
handles nicely. It’s a mix of modern European
and classic American,” Berglas said.
“The rear end is like the Shelby or Cobra and
the fenders have a kind of European feel.”
This high school freshman has snagged
interviews with Fiat-Chrysler head of design
Ralph Gilles and the company’s interior
designer, Ryan Nagode.
He has spoken to Rick Woodbury,
Jack Berglas, founder of “Let’s Talk Automotive.”
founder of Tango Commuter Cars, Nathan
Jauvtis, founder of Bolt Motor bikes and
Christian Yaeger, lead engineer for the
DeltaWing DWC13.
Berglas is persistent in e-mailing and
using Twitter and Instagram to secure
Skype or telephone interviews.
Sponsored by Chequered Flag International,
the classic car dealer on Lincoln
Boulevard, Berglas also edits and posts the
interviews.
He became interested in cars during middle
school watching two Discovery Channel
shows: Fast and Loud and How It’s Made:
Dream Cars.
At the airport on the way to a Boy Scout
Troop 223 outing, Berglas picked up an automotive
magazine and read a story about
The Lucra LC470, one of Berglas’ favorite cars, is made in California.
the 2015 Camaro. Afterwards, he thought,
“There’s a bunch of questions I’d like to ask.”
Two months later, he sent a tweet to Al
Oppenheiser (chief Camaro engineer)
and eventually was granted his first interview
in March.
Berglas, a graduate of Marquez and St.
Matthew’s, also analyzes cars, including the
history and specs.
His classes at Viewpoint include geometry,
English, Spanish 2, biology, computer
science, medieval world history, film and
human development. He played PPBA and
then West L.A. baseball and will probably be
a catcher for the Viewpoint team next spring.
In soccer, he was a goalie at St. Matthew’s last
year when the school won the league title,
and plans to try out for the Viewpoint team.
In his spare time, Berglas is building a
camper-trailer (tear drop-shaped) at his
parents’ home. “I like building things. This
started with a utility trailer frame, a wood
base, insulation, skinning the walls, beams
for the roof and now I have to add a ventilation
fan and a door.”
Whenever he visited his grandfather in
Palm Springs, he would work on a 1977
Camaro. “When I’m done with the trailer,
I’d like to bring the car here, so I can work
on it more often,” he said.
Why cars? “The design is like a piece of
art,” said Berglas, who would like to be an
engineer someday. “There’s the mechanical
aspect as well as the fact each car can
be customized to each person.”
Photo: Bart Bartholomew
He has 720 YouTube subscribers, 1,150
followers on Twitter and 1,300 on Instagram,
but would like to see the number increase.
“I want to continue to have a YouTube
channel and eventually have a radio show,”
said Berglas, the son of Jennifer and Steven
and brother of Katie, 17, who attends Pali -
sades High School.
Visit: letstalkautomotive.com or
youtube.com/talkautomotive.
Ice Skating
Returns to
Santa Monica
The ICE skating rink in downtown Santa
Monica is open for the season. The $15 admission
includes skate rental. The rink is
open Monday through Thursday, from 2
to 10 p.m. On Friday, it is open from 2 p.m.
to midnight. Saturday is 10 a.m. to midnight
and Sunday is 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Thanksgiving Day hours are from 10
a.m. to 10 p.m. and Friday, November 27,
10 a.m. to midnight. From December 21 to
December 24, hours are 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Christmas Day is 10 a.m. to midnight. New
Year’s Eve, the rink is open 10 a.m. to 10
p.m. New Year’s Day hours are 10 a.m. to
midnight. The last day of ICE is January
18. ICE is located at 1324 5th Street. Call
(310) 260-1199.