The Society of Automotive Historians is pleased to welcome the following new members:
Harry Hurst, of Palm Harbor, Florida, is the Director of Programs at the Simeone Museum in Philadelphia, an institution he helped Dr. Frederick Simeone establish in 2008. Hurst has authored three books about races from the ‘Glory Days of Racing.’ His photos and articles have been featured in numerous books and magazines. Hurst is also the founder of the ‘Glory Days of Racing’ Facebook group, which has nearly 200,000 members.
Bobby Johnson is a recently retired Air Force veteran living in Los Angeles, California. Johnson is currently finishing his master’s degree in museum administration and is exploring internship opportunities. Now working as a shop supervisor at a service center, Johnson enjoys restoring classic cars in his spare time.
The founder of Unleaded Only Productions, LLC, Robert M. Kennedy, of Elkhorn, Nebraska, is a former Porsche Premier Technician and a contributing writer for Ford Racing. In July 2023, Kennedy published his first book, UNBRIDLED: The Passion, Performance & Politics Behind America’s Favorite Pony Car. Throughout 2025, Kennedy published An Unauthorized Future Driver’s Guide, a series of eight illustrated automotive history books for children. On May 12, 2026, Motorbooks will be publishing Mustang Unbridled: The High-Octane History of Ford’s Legendary Pony Car (essentially a second-edition of Kennedy’s original UNBRIDLED book). Kennedy looks forward to participating as a member of the Society of Automotive Historians as he continues writing additional books, tackling subjects ranging from the Chevrolet Corvette to the entire American automotive industry as a whole. Kennedy is pictured below with his custom 1946 Chevrolet truck.
Tom King, who hails from Auckland, New Zealand, bought his first Riley Monaco on 19 December 1960, a few days before his 19th birthday. He purchased a 1937 Riley Continental Touring saloon [pictured below] in 1963. Rolls-Royce had the ‘Continental’ name registered, so the ‘C’ on chassis 27C5669 became known as ‘Close Coupled Saloon’ and this was the last in the first batch of five of a total of perhaps 120 built; King believes it to be prettiest saloon of its era. Since the Kings now reside in a retirement village they no longer own a proper vintage car, but Tom’s enthusiasm, kindled by a boyhood ride in the Riley Kestrel 9 owned by a family friend, hasn’t waned.
For some years King edited the quarterly magazine of the Riley Car Club of New Zealand, and for the past 23 years edited the bi-monthly magazine of the New Zealand Rolls-Royce & Bentley Club. Some of King’s articles have been reprinted in the Rolls-Royce club magazines in Australia and USA, and 32 of his book reviews have been posted on the Speedreaders website. Another recent member of the Society of Automotive Historians, Geoff Edwards, introduced King to the SAH publications, to which King’s response was, ‘where have you been all my life?’
A resident of Fulton, Maryland, David Lowe’s interest in automotive history is rooted in endurance racing, particularly the 24 hours of Le Man and the people, places, and stories that define the sport. Lowe has spent years building communities and experiences that celebrate endurance racing’s heritage while connecting it to today’s enthusiasts.
Nathan Muntz, of Everett, Washington, became aware of the SAH with the passing of member Vic Munsen. Vic was the author of the Muntz Jet registry, a collection of information about the Muntz Jet car that was distributed to all known owners. Since Nathan owns two of the cars (and because he volunteered), the role of maintaining and updating the registry has now been passed to him, along with Vic’s large collection of info and memorabilia associatied with the Muntz Jet and Kurtis cars.
Along with the two Muntz Jets, Nathan also owns a couple of older Land Rover Defenders, a Morgan Plus 4, and a Dri-Sleeve; he races a Volvo 122/Amazon in the local vintage racing group SOVREN.
David Nastal, a resident of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is also the editor of the Nash Times, for which he received the 2025 SAH Brigham Award of Distinction. Currently working on the latest issue, Nastal also remains active in driving his old ‘beasts and beauties.’ The visit to Flint got Nastal thinking about that first transition from wooden carriages to first automobiles. The fact that Charlie Nash became an adult through those early years ties his interest as well. Below is a photo of Nastal’s ‘winter beater’ at the barn which stores his Nashes. As Nastal remarks, ‘nothing beats a Toronado with snow tires!’
James Risk, of Lexington, Kentucky, teaches a history of the automobile course at the University of South Carolina. One of Risk’s students, William Thompson, won the SAH’s Richard P. Scharchburg award for the best undergraduate student paper in 2022. Risk enjoys long road trips; in 2021, he traveled a small section of Historic Route 66. Risk also enjoys seeking out old vintage filling stations and visiting classic auto museums like the Studebaker National Museum and the Auburn, Cord, Duesenberg Automobile Museum.
Mark Axen – Stony Creek, New York
Andrew Beck – Plant City, Florida
Frederick Fisher – Troy, Michigan
Robert Smith – NSW Australia