Worn every hat in automotive industry: technician, race car driver & pit crew, automotive service center owner, industry consultant, and radio & TV talk-show host. Began driving on my father's knee when a driver's license was just a gleam in my eye and knew I'd found my passion. For 35 years, owned & operated Car Clinic Service (full-service automotive facility), which serves as my real-life proving ground for the consumer challenges and the product / service solutions that we talk about on "Bobby Likis Car Clinic" radio. Published in Motor Age, BE Radio & AutoInc; produce a monthly e-newsletter of automotive advice, trends, tips & technology; author a weekly newspaper article; broadcast "Bobby Likis Car Clinic" live from our all-digital studio inside Car Clinic Service and from car-enthusiast meccas like Daytona, Charlotte & Saratoga race tracks, Consumer Electronics Show, Concours d'Elegance, Automotive Aftermarket Industry Week, Woodward Ave. Dream Cruise & Corvette's 50th Anniversary Celebration. Fortunate to serve or have served on boards like United Cerebral Palsy, Manna Food Bank, WSRE TV (PBS affiliate), NAPA's National AutoCare Advisory Board, Daytona's Advanced Technical Center Board, and Pensacola Junior College's Automotive Service Management Technology Advisory Committee.

Second only to my love for cars is my love for talking to people about cars, so ironically, I backed into radio. In 1986, a Car Clinic Service customer--and station owner for a local cable TV station--talked me into doing a regional show. Because I had so many physician customers at the time, he suggested I call it, what else, "Bobby Likis Car Clinic." In 1991, Car Clinic TV moved to the Gulf Coast's ABC affiliate, and we launched Car Clinic Radio on 4 stations in 2 states.

It's hard for a fiery Greek like me to reduce passion to a few words, but I'll give it a shot: Technology and its automotive applications (you ain't seen nothin' yet!); Empowering consumers with what they need to delight in their vehicles (I've trademarked it Pre-Repair (TM)); a Desire to Elevate Automotive Service (and the true professionals there) to a higher level of respect; an Eat-My-Dust Red Wine like Godsend; and Two Special Sets of Twins.

Perhaps I'm addicted to challenges. I certainly invite change. That's lucky for me, I guess, because radio is changing, morphing, transforming. Michael Harrison's recent "Media Station" article is spot on. Car Clinic Network has evolved from a half-hour, local car-talk show on local cable television to the "model of a Media Station." You probably won't find that term in Wikipedia yet, but you will. A Media Station is all about putting what we call "Info-Tainment" in the hands, ears & eyes of the consumer...whenever and however they want it.

My shorter answer is "I still haven't reached my final destination"...but I'm driven to find some road-kickin' spots along the way.

I love the idea of classic cars. But after restoring several (including my gorgeous, 1980, schwartz metallic Weissach Porsche), I've learned that each vehicle ultimately drives only as well as its model year's technology. So for me, classics are "better seen than heard." Since I never was much of a spectator, I'd now like to get my hands around the steering wheel of the Mercedes SV12 S Biturbo Coupe, the fastest street legal car in the world. Twin-Turbo V12, 380ci, 730hp and 974 lb-ft torque. 0 to 60mph in 3.8 seconds / top speed 211 mph (electronically limited). Plus its traction control, anti-lock brakes and dynamic stability control allow a few mistakes without crashing & burning. And I'll take all the help I can get.

Ah, now you've gone and hit my hot button. Optimistically in 10 years, I see hybrid cars as 15% of America's vehicles. That's approximately 2.25 million new hybrids per year. However, I believe the technology that's required to make alternative-powered vehicles a reality still lies in front of us, undiscovered or underdiscovered. I believe we must go through this "which-way-do-we-go confusion" if the necessary evolution is to succeed. And while I'm fairly certain that alternative power can significantly reduce our long-term addiction to oil, I am thoroughly convinced that we'll need transitional plug-and-play, electric cars that consumers will buy in the short term.

I am also certain that diesel-powered vehicles will play an even larger part in our future than most Americans realize. But car makers will have to retrain car buyers. GM's mid-70's gas-to-diesel engine soured many car owners. Too many people bought diesel cars that were noisy, stinky, low powered and worthless at trade-in time. In contrast, GM's new "reversed intake & exhaust" 2009 diesel engine has power (vs. size), is quiet, offers no odor and meets emission standards. I hope GM's dealer workforce, especially dealer principals, will step up, buy into these cars, buy these cars, drive them locally and lead the industry nationally by example. And I hope all car makers will follow Europe's direction in offering similar diesel-powered options.

Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, Mike Yager... each carved his own destiny from limited financial resources and unlimited imagination, motivation and execution. On a closer, more personal plane, I have ultimate respect for my teammates who continue to inspire me, energize each other and work darn hard to make Car Clinic successful.

Passing the man-in-the-mirror test.

After all is said, the question is usually 2-seconds short: Should I fix it... or trade it? The answer is the making of 20 years of Car Clinic Radio!

...leaving my sweetheart a note to tell her how important she is to me. Making an effort to make a positive difference in someone's life.

Best: Love what you do.

Worst: Long forgotten.