About Us
John Ficarra
John Ficarra is a car historian, YouTuber, marketer, writer, speaker and walking automotive encyclopedia.
He bought his first car at the age of 14 and ended up restoring British sports cars in his garage to help put himself through college. In 2003 he would go on to found and run Creative Film Cars, New York City’s premiere film car company, providing every kind of car to movies, magazines, and events on the East Coast.
During that time he “allegedly” ran The 2904, an infamous cross-country race that was an ode to Brock Yates’ Cannonball Baker events in the 1970s. There were eight The 2904 runs from 2007-2017 and "allegedly" there was a Musketball run in 2021. John currently holds the world record for most competitive Cannonball runs at 13.
When he returned to California in 2011 he spent six years as the marketing director and in-house historian for Bruce Canepa at his amazing facility in Scotts Valley, California where he worked with and researched street and race cars from Porsche to Duesenberg, Shelby to McLaren.
A natural storyteller, and accomplished speaker John got his start on YouTube on Ed Bolian’s VINwiki Car Stories channel where he has contributed almost 60 stories; some with almost 4 million views. His own YouTube channel, Ficarra Classic, is now growing rapidly as John tells his own tales and those of automotive history.
Over the years John has owned, built and restored over 200 cars, trucks and RVs. He is best known for championing the unusual and forgotten cars like his Aston Martin Lagonda, Rocky Aoki’s Porsche 911 Limousine, and Nash-Healey Le Mans Coupe.
An accomplished driver, John has been racing cars of all sorts since the 1990s. In the 2000s he added stunt and precision driving to his resume in multiple commercials, tv shows and movies. Currently he enjoys driving his ridiculous turbocharged 1970 Toyota Corona racecar that he built for the 24 hours of LeMons, and has a historic racing license with the CSRG.
A noted writer and researcher, John’s work has appeared in magazines including 000 Magazine, Vintage Racecar, Classic Porsche, Speed Sport and on the Luftgekühlt website. If you are a Porsche fan you might have seen John's work at the Historic Tent at Rennsport Reunion VI were he wrote and researched all 72 historic race cars banners for Porsche North America.
Check out his new YouTube Channel:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXD46JMW5GndIfYPfJnRB4g
Listen to John's interview on Mark Greene's fantastic podcast, Cars Yeah! https://carsyeah.com/ourportfolio/1301-john-ficarra/
Listen to John's interview on Brett Hatfield's Driven Radio Show.
Photography and Video
Zach James Todd
Zach began his automotive photography career working at Canepa in Scotts Valley, CA. There he spent six years with unfettered access to some of the world’s rarest and most important cars. His portfolio reads like a dream garage: Juan Manuel Fangio’s Mercedes W196R, Mark Donohue’s legendary Porsche 917/30 Can-Am, the revolutionary Tyrrell P34 F1 Six-Wheeler, the Le Mans winning Kremer Porsche 935 K3, Buddy Baker’s bewinged Dodge Daytona NASCAR … just to name a few.
With a natural eye for sculptural beauty and a keen understanding of the mechanical elements, Zach’s photography not only captures the art of the automobile but also reveals some of their hidden secrets. Whether in the studio, under natural light, on-location, or in the heat of battle on the track, Zach’s work is always inviting, insightful, sharp and unexpected.
Zach’s images have graced the pages of 000 Magazine, Top Gear, Christophorus, Vintage Motorsport, Classic Porsche, Robb Report, Road and Track, GQ and S3 Magazines, as well as Pete Lyon’s book “Shadow” and Jay Gullotti’s book “Gulf 917”. They have been featured online at Petrolcious, The Drive and Jalopnik, and have been displayed at The Petersen Automotive Museum, Porsche Rennsport VI, and the Monticello Motor Club New York.
Not just wanting to show the static, sculptural beauty of the vehicles he shoots, Zach also turns his eye to videography and drone work specializing in short, impactful videos that document the true kinetic power of the automobile that makes them so enticing to us.
Listen to Zach's interview on Mark Greene's fantastic podcast, Cars Yeah!