Dave McQuilling
Dave McQuilling is a senior automotive writer at AutoNotion who treats cars as a mix of engineering, software, and long-term household economics rather than just machines or status symbols. His coverage focuses on what vehicles cost to own over time, how the technology under the skin actually works, and how industry decisions show up in everyday driving. He brings years of experience test-driving high-performance cars and attending launches and events, then translates that access into clear explanations for non-specialist readers.
Electric cars and the real cost of ownership
McQuilling’s electric-vehicle coverage centers on lifetime cost and practical risk, not just sticker prices or incentives. In his work on battery replacement anxiety, he tackles the common fear of facing a five-figure bill by running long-horizon comparisons against what the same driver would spend on gasoline over two decades. He uses concrete numbers and time frames to show how a dramatic one-off repair risk sits alongside a steady stream of fuel costs, turning an emotional worry into a total-cost-of-ownership calculation.
His framing keeps the focus on real decisions a driver has to make over many years, rather than on edge cases or short-term price spikes.
The software and systems inside modern cars
A recurring thread in his AutoNotion work is the invisible software and electronics that now define how a car behaves.
In his piece “You Still Use a BlackBerry Every Day. You’re Driving It,” McQuilling shows how BlackBerry’s automotive software underpins key systems in modern vehicles long after the brand disappeared from phone shelves. He explains how this kind of embedded platform shapes safety systems, infotainment, and connectivity, using a familiar consumer-tech name to draw readers into a story about in-car operating systems.
That mix of technical detail and plain language is typical of his beat, which often links legacy tech brands, current vehicle features, and the broader shift toward software-defined cars.
From factory lines to global competition
McQuilling also tracks how corporate strategy and manufacturing scale are reshaping the auto industry.
In his coverage of Ford’s plan to produce a vehicle every 50 seconds “to counter China,” he connects production-rate targets with competitive pressure from Chinese manufacturers and the need for established brands to retool at speed. He treats volume, supply chains, and factory output as central story elements, not just footnotes to a new model announcement.
That focus on throughput and competition positions his work between consumer news and industry analysis, highlighting the strategic choices that sit behind the cars people eventually see in showrooms.
Everyday driving, muscle cars, and lifestyle coverage
Alongside technology and industry pieces, McQuilling writes service journalism aimed at how people actually use their vehicles. His guide to preparing for car camping sets out what drivers will need for a summer trip, framing the car as a basecamp and thinking through comfort, practicality, and safety. He has also written about underrated muscle cars for enthusiast-focused outlets, combining accessible history with clear explanations of why particular models matter to performance fans. That blend of practical advice and enthusiast storytelling allows him to move easily between mainstream readers and dedicated car communities.
AutoNotion highlights that McQuilling has bylines across a range of automotive and technology publications, including Digital Trends, Autoblog, The Manual, SlashGear, The Gentleman Racer, and Guessing Headlights. At lifestyle and tech outlets he focuses on automotive, technology, and food, extending his interest in how machines fit into everyday life. Professional profiles describe him as an experienced automotive and technology journalist with a strong interest in areas such as AR, VR, and AI, which reinforces the depth of his coverage when cars intersect with advanced software and emerging interfaces.
Across those platforms, his work keeps returning to a consistent core: explaining what a vehicle really is, what it costs over time, and how the technology and industry behind it shape the experience behind the wheel.
4 more automobile journalists.
Aarian Marshall
Aarian Marshall is a staff writer at WIRED who stands out for covering how cars, software, and policy collide. She writes on transportation systems and cities, from the auto industry to broader mobility systems. Before WIRED, she reported on cities and urban policy for The Atlantic’s CityLab. Her beat runs from electric vehicles, fuel prices, tariffs, and car-buying decisions to autonomous vehicles, robotaxis, and software-defined cars. She reports with a systems view, linking policy shifts, technical failures, and urban life to what happens on streets, in repair shops, and at the pump.
Abby Smith
Abby Smith’s most distinctive work combines motorsports coverage with live digital and radio reporting. She is Digital Director at KRDO13 and covers the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, including race updates, weather shifts, breaking developments and ways to follow the action. Her beat also includes automotive news, crime, public safety, politics, city government and community life. Notable work includes coverage of homicide arrests, a major drug bust, a presidential address about the war with Iran, a family’s effort to bring Stephen Hubbard home, a state governor candidate and a city security ordinance. She also reports on fitness, school spirit and station staff. Smith writes in a concise, factual style shaped by investigative documentary experience. She turns live events, official announcements and daily developments into clear coverage across digital and radio platforms.
Adele Peters
Adele Peters covers climate solutions and other structural problems as design and policy questions, focusing on what can work in practice. She is a senior writer at Fast Company, where she reports on energy, transportation, housing, materials, agriculture, corporate sustainability, and social impact. Her stories examine climate technologies, grid resilience, electric vehicles, renewable energy, modular construction, homelessness, affordable housing, compostable materials, regenerative agriculture, and ecosystem restoration. She looks at whether projects can scale, their real-world constraints, and their measurable effects. She interviews political and philanthropic leaders, startup founders, and climate tech entrepreneurs, anchoring stories in what is being built and tested. She has written more than 3,000 stories and contributed to Worldchanging: A User’s Guide for the 21st Century and State of Housing Design 2023.
Adrian Leung
Adrian Leung writes engineering-led coverage of Chinese electric vehicles and performance cars for CarNewsChina. He focuses on new energy vehicles, battery systems, powertrains, electric platforms, high-end domestic brands, and track-ready models, and he explains technical details in plain language for non-specialist readers. His reporting treats new models as hardware and systems stories, with precise figures on range, battery capacity, chassis layout, motor outputs, weight, and acceleration. He also covers the Chinese auto industry’s finances and technology roadmap, including sector profits, vehicle volumes, and solid-state battery timelines. His background in Electrical and Computer Engineering shows in the way he writes about vehicle electronics and battery management.