Eli Brand
Eli Brand is an Emmy-winning television reporter at WSOC-TV who covers how rules of the road, traffic enforcement, and everyday driving environments affect people who rely on their cars. His recent stories connect city decisions and on-the-ground scenes to the experience of ordinary drivers, from new enforcement tools at intersections to moments that unfold at gas stations. Alongside broader daily news, his reporting keeps a clear eye on how policy, safety and infrastructure shape life behind the wheel.
Red light cameras to return to the Queen City
Brand’s coverage of red light cameras focuses on the intersection of public safety, driver behavior and city policy. In his story on the decision to bring red light cameras back to the Queen City after a 20-year hiatus, he frames the issue through the Charlotte City Council’s approval of a one-year pilot program and what that means for people who drive those intersections every day. He highlights the long gap since the cameras were last used and the structured pilot period, underlining both accountability for drivers and accountability for how the program performs.
That approach reflects a recurring thread in his automobile-focused work: he takes a concrete change in the driving environment and spells out the practical consequences. The emphasis stays on how enforcement technology will actually show up in daily commutes, what drivers can expect at specific locations, and how the rules of the road are changing. Rather than treating traffic cameras as an abstract policy debate, he treats them as part of the lived infrastructure of the city’s streets.
Lottery prize at local gas station
In another recent piece, a $250,000 lottery win becomes a story told through the familiar setting of a local gas station. Brand uses that location to ground the report in a place every driver knows, tying a high-dollar headline to a stop that usually means fuel, snacks and a few minutes off the road. The focus on the celebration at the station shows how he uses automobile-adjacent spaces as natural stages for community stories.
This kind of assignment highlights his range within an automobile-centered beat. The story is not about a vehicle itself, but it unfolds in a roadside environment that drivers pass through every day. Brand covers the big number, but he also gives weight to the people and the place, showing how chance, routine and the culture of driving intersect in small businesses along major routes.
Reporter for WSOC-TV
Brand reports for WSOC-TV and joined the station’s news team in April 2024. His work spans traffic enforcement, driving environments and other daily local news, reflecting both an automobile beat and the flexibility of a general assignment reporter. He moves between policy-driven stories, such as council decisions that affect intersections and routes, and more feature-like pieces set in everyday roadside locations.
His public professional profiles describe him as an Emmy-winning reporter, underscoring a track record of work that has been recognized within television news. Past roles at other local television stations give him experience with fast-moving daily coverage and the demands of live and same-day reporting. Across this background, his current work at WSOC-TV is marked by a focus on how decisions made in council chambers and lottery offices play out where drivers actually spend their time: at signals, on corridors and at the neighborhood gas station.
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.
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.
Al Pefley
Al Pefley is a television news reporter for CBS12 News whose work centers on how laws, law enforcement and local decisions shape everyday life for drivers and other residents. He reports in a general assignment role but returns often to transportation, public safety and pocketbook issues, treating driving as a point where policy, disability and policing intersect. His coverage includes driver-focused laws, fuel and tax policy, crime, policing and internal affairs findings, with a consistent focus on accountability and concrete consequences for people’s wallets, safety and trust in institutions. He explains county gas tax debates, campaign positions on teacher pay, property crime and retail theft in short, clear segments. Pefley works primarily on the scene, using live or recorded field reporting and interview-driven pieces to show what happened, why it matters and what comes next.
Aliza Savira
Aliza Savira focuses on the hidden financial costs of owning modern cars, especially how insurance can undermine expected savings. She writes about automobiles for MSN, looking at new technology and electric vehicles through everyday ownership rather than showroom appeal. Her work highlights the gap between promises of cheaper running costs and the full financial picture of owning a vehicle. In electric vehicle coverage, she treats insurance premiums as a key ownership problem that can erode long-term value. She stays close to practical questions drivers face, such as which recurring costs matter most after purchase. She reports on how insurance structures and premium levels interact with new automotive technology. Her beat is consumer-focused automobile reporting, with a clear, utilitarian lens on ownership experience, recurring expenses, and risk, rather than lifestyle or performance.