Jesse James
Jesse James is editor in chief at stupidDOPE and a writer focused on automobiles, performance vehicles, and the design and culture that surround them. His coverage leans toward technically rich stories that connect engineering detail with visual identity and heritage rather than simple product news. Across recent work he moves between hypercars, motorsport history, restomods, off-road utility vehicles, and automotive-adjacent collaborations in fashion and footwear, treating them as parts of the same performance ecosystem. He writes in an explanatory, narrative style that gives readers context on how each vehicle or collaboration fits into broader industry and cultural trends.
Performance Cars and Hypercar Statements
James spends a significant share of his time on contemporary performance cars, with an emphasis on machines that sit near the outer edge of engineering and design.
His piece on Mansory’s reimagining of the Koenigsegg Jesko treats the car as a hypercar statement, explaining how an already extreme, 1,600-horsepower platform is transformed through carbon-intensive bodywork and a more theatrical visual language rather than mechanical reinvention. Rather than focusing only on headline figures, he unpacks the intent behind such projects and what they signal about the relationship between tuning houses, manufacturers, and collectors.
In coverage of specialist programs such as the Land Rover Defender Works V8 conversion, he frames factory-sanctioned upgrades as a way of reconciling preservation and performance, describing how late classic Defenders receive modern powertrains and engineering while retaining their core identity.
He connects these stories to long-running debates about authenticity and modernization, positioning vehicles like the Works V8 Defender as case studies in how heritage brands manage change without losing their silhouette or cultural role. His writing on limited-run or highly specialized vehicles consistently situates them within their segment, explaining where they sit relative to mainstream models and what kind of driver or collector they serve.
Heritage, Motorsport History, and Collector Narratives
Heritage and motorsport history are recurring threads in James’s automotive work, often used to anchor coverage of individual cars. Recent stories include the 1998 Dodge Viper GTS GT2 Championship Edition, where he emphasizes its roots in homologation and competition success, presenting the car as a tangible link between American performance road cars and their racing counterparts. In a separate feature on Ayrton Senna’s 1984 Toleman TG183B chassis 05, he treats the car as an origin point in a legendary career, focusing on technical innovation and historical significance rather than nostalgia alone.
Across these pieces, he writes collector vehicles as artifacts of specific eras, explaining the engineering decisions, regulatory environments, and racing narratives that shaped them. The tone is analytical rather than sentimental: he breaks down why a chassis, livery, or specification matters and how it contributes to the car’s status and value today. This approach distinguishes his coverage from generic auction write-ups by tying individual lots to the larger story of performance technology and motorsport evolution.
Restomods, Off-Road Icons, and Utility Builds
James also covers restomods and off-road utility vehicles, treating them as a distinct but connected strand of performance culture. His work on Expedition Motor Company’s 1991 NATO Camo G-Wagen Wolf examines how military-derived utility is reframed for civilian enthusiasts, detailing the intersection of original hardware, restored craftsmanship, and contemporary usability. In pieces on Vigilante Scrambler’s reinterpretation of the Jeep CJ-8, he presents restomods as mature exercises in authenticity and engineering rather than simple styling projects, highlighting how modern V8 performance is integrated into a historically grounded design.
Coverage of the Suzuki Jimny Nomade and Japan’s surge in reverse-imported cars extends this interest into market behavior, explaining how compact off-roaders move between regions and how niche demand reshapes supply chains. He pairs these stories with more practical builds such as camping systems that turn daily vans into removable campers, linking vehicle modifications to evolving ideas about mobility, adventure, and everyday utility.
Across this sub-beat, he pays attention to how form and function coexist, whether in meticulously restored classic 4x4s or contemporary concepts that use AI design to reinterpret icons like the Land Rover Defender.
Motorcycles, Collaborations, and Crossover Culture
James’s automotive coverage extends into motorcycling and design collaborations, reinforcing his focus on performance framed through culture. In his feature on the Norton Atlas GT, he describes the bike as a key milestone in Norton’s revival, detailing how a 585cc parallel twin, sophisticated electronic rider aids, and middleweight sport-touring positioning collectively mark a shift from niche revival models to meaningful production volume.
He spends considerable space on the Bosch-based electronics suite, ride modes, and interface design, using those details to show how contemporary motorcycling balances accessibility, technology, and brand identity.
His interest in visual culture appears in coverage of VERDY x Mercedes-Benz, where he writes about art cars and a Tokyo studio exhibition that bring VICK and VISTY characters into dialogue with next-generation CLA and G-Class models. He treats T-shirts, keyrings, exhibition design, and camouflage patterns as extensions of the cars’ surfaces, underlining how automotive brands collaborate with artists to create unified environments rather than standalone merchandise.
That crossover approach continues in stories on collaborations such as Supreme x Nike’s technical sportswear lineup, SNICKERS x adidas ADIZERO ELECTRIC + II football footwear, and Monterrain’s performance sneakers, which he connects back to themes of performance, material innovation, and style. Across these pieces, he writes automobiles, motorcycles, and apparel on the same continuum, using design, technology, and narrative framing to show how different products participate in a shared performance culture.
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.