"Before I was old enough to walk, my dad was taking me to various types of racing events, from local drag racing to the Daytona 500," says Patrick Rall, a lifetime automotive expert, diehard Dodge fan, and respected auto journalist for over 10 years. "He owned a repair shop and had a variety of performance cars when I was young, but by the time I was 16, he was ready to build me my first drag car – a 1983 Dodge Mirada that ran low 12s. I spent 10 years traveling around the country, racing with my dad by my side. While we live in different areas of the country, my dad still drag races at 80 years old in the car that he built when I was 16 while I race other vehicles, including my 2017 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat and my 1972 Dodge Demon 340.
"Although I went to college for accounting, my time in my dad’s shop growing up allowed me the knowledge to spend time working as a mechanic before getting my accounting degree, at which point I worked in the office of a dealership group. While I was working in the accounting world, I continued racing and taking pictures of cars at the track. Over time, I began showing off those pictures online and that led to my writing.
"Ten years ago, I left the accounting world to become a full-time automotive writer and I am living proof that if you love what you do, you will never “work” a day in your life," adds Rall, who has clocked in time as an auto mechanic, longtime drag racer and now automotive journalist who contributes to nearly a dozen popular auto websites dedicated to fellow enthusiasts.
"I love covering the automotive industry and everything involved with the job. I was fortunate to turn my love of the automotive world into a hobby that led to an exciting career, with my past of working as a mechanic and as an accountant in the automotive world provides me with a unique perspective of the industry.
"My experience drag racing for more than 20 years coupled with a newfound interest in road racing over the past decade allows me to push performance cars to their limit, while my role as a horse stable manager gives me vast experience towing and hauling with all of the newest trucks on the market today.
The folks at AOL Autos are currently conducting their 2012 Technology of the Year award and among the six finals is the Chrysler UConnect infotainment/connectivity system. As a final step of the award process, the group is accepting votes online for the award so you can help Ma Mopar and the Chrysler Group win this […] More »
The news came last week that the great minds at Consumer Reports decided not to add the 2013 Dodge Dart to the “recommended” list of new compact sedans. Their press release announcing their findings did mention that the Dart had a quiet cabin, promising handling and good ride quality but they were not happy with […] More »
The Chrysler Group announced at the 2012 Los Angeles Auto Show that they will be launching a new Ram Commercial division and along with the bad ass Ram Heavy Duty lineup – Chrysler will be launching a new large van based on a European model sporting the name Ram ProMaster. The 2014 Ram ProMaster […] More »
What you see here is the first ever 2013 Dodge Dart Police Car built at the Belvidere Assembly Plant for the local police who patrol the town around the production facility for the new Dart and a variety of Jeep products. The town of Belvidere Illinois currently uses the Dodge Charger Pursuit for their police […] More »
Yesterday’s Ford EcoBoost 400 may have marked the final time that we will ever see a Dodge product competing in the NASCAR ranks but there is arguably no better way to leave than with the championship title and thanks to Brad Keselowski and his #2 Miller Lite crew; that is exactly what Dodge did. After […] More »
My favorite of the three Moparized Dodge Dart sedans at the recent 2012 SEMA Show in Las Vegas was the Dart Slingshot – the raced-up looking sedan shown in the images above and below. This customized 2013 Dart has been modified for the purpose of racing in the SCCA showroom stock racing ranks (similar to […] More »
While the large indoor Mopar display at the 2012 SEMA Show in Las Vegas had an obvious bias towards small cars, there were a few Ram Brand pickups on hand as well with the most intriguing being the dark gun metal gray Ram R/T shown in the image above. The catch is that this sinister […] More »