About Curbside Classic

Paul Niedermeyer : Founder/Publisher

Former Managing Editor of TTAC (thetruthaboutcars.com), Paul has transformed a lifelong passion in cars into Curbside Classic, which he founded in February 2011. Numerous previous careers included a stint in television, where he was a founder and executive of the Spanish-language network Telemundo. Paul and his family have lived in Eugene, Oregon since 1993.

On a walk in 2009 he encountered a battered 1971 Cadillac that inspired a story; the light bulb lit and his life mission was now clear: to document and write about the old cars still plying the streets, before they’re all gone. Curbside Classics became a regular and popular series at TTAC. He started CC with the thought: “Might as well build me a library of what my CC friends and I want to read for when I can’t write anymore”.

Tom Klockau – Executive Editor: Tom Klockau has had an obsession with cars ever since he could identify one. Having parents who owned such cool cars as a 1951 Porsche 356 and 1973 Volvo 1800ES didn’t hurt. From kindergarten through middle school, he frequently got in trouble for drawing cars during class, and entertained fellow classmates on field trips by identifying every car that went by. He grew up with many Volvo 240s and 740s and became a lifelong Volvo fan. He is on his third one, but can appreciate just about anything on wheels. Frequent trips to car dealerships, classic car shows and cruise-ins are a must to this day. He is a lifelong resident of Northwest Illinois. A long-time former CC Contributor, Tom has taken over the daily operations of the site.

Jim Cavanaugh - Senior Editor: is a lifelong car nut.  As a child, he never understood why the other kids would rather play somewhere other than in a car.  As a teen, he decided that if he traded frequently enough, he could eventually own one of everything.  When this plan revealed itself as impractical (it happened while spitting out rust during replacement of his fourth exhuast system in two years), he augmented his experiences by reading every source of car-related material he could get his hands on, while always trying to own and drive interesting cars.  He somehow looked up from cars long enough to get married and have three children who are now in high school and college.  When Jim is not thinking or writing about cars, he practices law in Indianapolis, Indiana, where he is always on the lookout for another Curbside Classic.

“Some men are Baptists, others Catholics, Laurence Jones (Contributing Editor) is an Oldsmobile Man. Kind of. It’s been awhile since he’s actually owned one. Grandson of a San Jose, California Ford plant worker and nephew to an Oldsmobile Dealership parts manager, there’s no surprise his first word was “car” instead of identifying his parents. Stories about how cars past and present became members of the family made him see cars as more than mere hunks of metal.

Growing up an only child with a Car & Driver subscription, his best friends became the cars on those pages and on the street. With the snap of one particular 1964 Buick LeSabre Convertible 2 years ago, a new obsession was born: Viewing the automobile as a work of art and a commentary on the society that produces and consumes such work.”

Michael Freeman (Contributing Editor) was born in Portland, Oregon to parents thatnever had a car. Growing up between Salem, Oregon and and Minneapolis and other cities in the US with only buses and taxis led to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. That lack of personal transportation for over eighteen years catalyzed an addiction to all things automotive. Michael has owned more cars, trucks and motorcycles than the total sum of vehicles in Madagascar. He’s an avid cheapskate and will never spend a dime on such superfluous luxuries as brakes, steering components and alignments. He spent his youth in Oregon and the Midwest collecting speeding tickets and destroying small, cheap cars. Today he is a family man and professional driver who enjoys off-roading and too much time in front of a computer screen.

David Saunders (Contributing Editor) has been told that he was born a car nut. Well before he could read or perhaps even walk, he could identify any car on the road which was quite astonishing to his parents. Previously there had been no history of any interest in cars beyond transportation in his family. A self confessed car-aholic, he is slightly embarrassed to admit to owning over thirty vehicles so far. Highlights include building a Lotus Seven style car, rare over here Reliant Scimitar GTE, and a handful of Russian SUVs. After an oil market fueled boom a few years ago in home province of Alberta, Dave noticed that a lot of the older vehicles were leaving the streets at an alarming rate and decided to capture them before they were all gone. He has taken a particular interest in vehicles more unique to the Canadian market.