Cary Lockwood Biography
From early on in life, Cary Lockwood had a certain flair for entertaining people and knowing how to engage them with his humor. His parents, having seen this wonderful quality in their spirited son, had him audition for parts in Plays in their hometown of Milwaukee Wisconsin. By the age of 6, Cary had become a professional actor in roles with Michael Fairman and other highly regarded actors.
While acting was an important part of his youth, Cary also developed an interest in cars. First it was the Matchbox toys, then his love of cars evolved in to his yearning to rebuild the engine in the family car at the age of 9.
Cary took every automotive shop class that he could attend in High School and at the age of 16, attended Milwaukee Area Technical College in the evenings after having spent his day at High School. Cary was driven to learn everything he could about cars and vehicle technologies.
At the age of 19, Cary left his friends and family in Milwaukee and moving from the frozen winter tundra in Wisconsin. Cary had his eye on the warm climate in Arizona where his fingers did not freeze together when repairing a vehicle. He settled on Tempe Arizona where he could attend Arizona State University and develop and hone his automotive skills.
In 1982, Cary applied for employment at the General Motors Proving Ground in Mesa Arizona. At that time, the General Motors Proving Ground was not accepting any new hires, Cary went to work for them on a temporary basis to prove to them that he was worthy of being a G.M. worker. In 1984, Cary was offered a full time and permanent position due to his knowledge of vehicles and his devotion to build the best automotive products.
From 1982 through 2001 as an engineering technician, Cary worked in many departments at G.M. where he tested and assisted in development of G.M. vehicles, but also tested competitor’s vehicles. From multi-million dollar proto-types to problem solving with newly released vehicles, he was like a kid in a candy shop.
In 2001, General Motors D.P.G. offered its’ Mesa employees the option of moving to Michigan or an early “buy-out” program. Cary was in no way interested in moving back to cold country and opted to make his part-time auto repair shop into a full-time enterprise.
Cary’s reputation spread rapidly and business soared, but he became acutely aware of a serious problem in the industry, auto mechanics had become the most hated profession in the world! Inferior workmanship and auto repair rip-offs were apparent on so many customer vehicles that had them serviced at so called “top notch” facilities before coming to Cary’s shop. Over the years, Cary noticed that many of his new customers were driving over 30 miles to use his services.
The reputation of his shop continued to grow and even though Cary was dedicated to serving his customers, he realized that he could use his talent as an actor and automotive skills to help more people in the community by providing them with car care information on a local radio station. Since October of 2005, Cary’s “Calling All Cars” show has evolved from a Question and Answer format into one that encompasses every facet of automobile ownership and Cary becoming more entrenched as a consumer advocate.
In his weekly radio show, he covers a broad spectrum of topics including Auto Insurance, Hybrids, Alternative fuels-ethanol, hydrogen and diesel, fuel economy and fuel systems, vehicle financing, recall news, brake and A.B.S. systems, suspension, cooling, air conditioning, steering, transmissions, emission and engine operations etc., O.B.D. (on board diagnostics), tires, vehicle safety and innovations, selecting a used car, and Auto warranties.
Guest Appearances on the show have included Jim Contes-General Motors engineering, Doug Dwyer-Automotive Technology professor, Brenda Priddy-vehicle spy photographer, Lindsay Williams-future oil prices, Stu Krone-Automotive computer specialist, Marc Victor-Attorney, concerning the O.B.D. systems, Kelly Kimble-Auto Insurance specialist, Frank McLaughlin-Tire specialist, Courtland Coleman-Dept. of Environmental Quality. and many more.
Cary was very successful in melding his two diverse talents together in the creation of the Your Auto Network.com Radio Show. His keen wit and sense of humor along with his passion of cars make this a fun and informative show each and every week. He has a true talent of talking to the listener in layman’s terms so that his audience finds him relatable and like their friend!
To return to the Your Auto Network Radio Show Home Page, click Radio Show. To ask Cary a question on the Radio Show, it is simple! Just click on Ask Cary and fill out the simple form and listen for your question to be on an upcoming show!
