The Amazing, Eclectic Car Collection Of Myron Vernis: RAC #59

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Rambling About Cars Podcast 59

He owns everything from classic Porsches to Citroens, Japanese sports cars, and vehicles you’ve never even heard of.

The crazy, wonderful world of cars is a veritable universe of variety, rivaled only by the sheer number of enthusiasts that occupy every automotive nook and cranny. We have often spoken in this podcast about what it means to be a car enthusiast, and we’ve frequently focused on specific genres in our quest to embrace all aspects of this culture.

But we’ve never spoken with someone whose automotive passion reaches into so many genres, particularly when it comes to rare and obscure vehicles that many self-proclaimed experts (you humble author included) have never even heard of. Some of you may recognize Myron Vernis, sometimes known as Junkman at Jalopnik. Perhaps you’re one of his thousands of followers on social media. For those who don’t know, you really need to listen to this podcast, because whoa, Nellie are you in for a treat.

Yes, Myron Vernis is our guest, and if you think you know all about obscure cars, think again. Amongst his current collection of around 75 (yes, 75) cars is a Hino Contessa, a Citroën CX Safari, a Mazda Cosmo, a Ghia 450 SS, and an Autech Zagato Stelvio AZ1, just to name a few. If those cars are a complete mystery, you might recognize names like the Porsche 356 and 914, though his 914 is actually one of two pickup truck conversions ever made. And yes, he uses it as a truck.

In fact, Vernis drives all of his cars, and not just around the block. He might step out to Menards for some birdseed in his custom Oldsmobile, or swing by Denny’s in the aforementioned Contessa. Did we mention the Contessa is also getting prepped to grace the grounds at this year’s Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance? And then there’s the 1964 Chevy Corvair that he found on Craigslist for $5,000. Did we mention it was famous industrial designer Raymond Loewy’s customized Corvair? On freaking Craigslist? For $5,000?

So many cars, so many stories, and each one is the stuff that car-crazy gearheads love to hear. If you don’t already, you can follow Myron Vernis on Instagram (@junkman356), on Twitter (@MyronVernis) and if you prefer to read the old fashioned way with pages and bindings, he has a book coming out soon called A Quiet Greatness that takes a deep into classic Japanese cars from an American perspective. As soon as links for the book are available we’ll update this post, and hopefully, we’ll have him back on the podcast for more Rambling chat.

Previously On Rambling About Cars:

What are some of your obscure car stories? You know what to do: comment on this article, comment on our YouTube channel, or send us some email to [email protected]. Next week we have all kinds of comments and emails to get to, and there’s plenty of room for more.

Where To Listen

You can watch us and embrace the tomfoolery every Friday on our Motor1 Podcasts YouTube channel. You can also catch Rambling About Cars on every major podcast platform including Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Wherever you listen, please like, follow, rate, and comment because it exposes the show to more car crazy enthusiasts. And the more enthusiasts that join us on this automotive odyssey, the better.