For all of the young-at-heart out there, I recommend paying a visit to a LEGO store. Not only does they have tons of killer sets (my favorites are from the City line), but it also has thousands of individual bricks available. You get to see completed and disintegrated parts of the LEGO universe.
Consider the Koenigsegg factory in Angelholm, Sweden the same kind of establishment, but for grown-ups. Jalopnik recently paid it a visit and brings back photos of finished cars, as well as the carbon-fibery pieces that go into their construction.
After the original facility caught fire a few years ago, operations were moved to a building which used to house Swedish fighter jets. The supercar maker promised the squadron it would use the group’s ghost badge on its cars, which it does to this day.
Outside of the hangar sits company founder Christian von Koenigsegg’s personal car – a Tesla Model S. Go figure.
Inside, you get to see it all. Cloaked customer vehicles stored for the winter, awaiting upgrades or repairs. A Nardo Circuit record-breaker. An Agera used as a One:1 test mule. Experimental turbos. Memory foam seats (seriously). Front clips. Tubs. Headlights. Even an employee who spends 50 hours detailing an Agera S show car. Everything.
Derek Shiekhi's father raised him on cars. As a boy, Derek accompanied his dad as he bought classics such as post-WWII GM trucks and early Ford Mustang convertibles.
After loving cars for years and getting a bachelor's degree in Business Management, Derek decided to get an associate degree in journalism. His networking put him in contact with the editor of the Austin-American Statesman newspaper, who hired him to write freelance about automotive culture and events in Austin, Texas in 2013. One particular story led to him getting a certificate for learning the foundations of road racing.
While watching TV with his parents one fateful evening, he saw a commercial that changed his life. In it, Jeep touted the Wrangler as the Texas Auto Writers Association's "SUV of Texas." Derek knew he had to join the organization if he was going to advance as an automotive writer. He joined the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) in 2014 and was fortunate to meet several nice people who connected him to the representatives of several automakers and the people who could give him access to press vehicles (the first one he ever got the keys to was a Lexus LX 570). He's now a regular at TAWA's two main events: the Texas Auto Roundup in the spring and the Texas Truck Rodeo in the fall.
Over the past several years, Derek has learned how to drive off-road in various four-wheel-drive SUVs (he even camped out for two nights in a Land Rover), and driven around various tracks in hot hatches, muscle cars, and exotics. Several of his pieces, including his article about the 2015 Ford F-150 being crowned TAWA's 2014 "Truck of Texas" and his review of the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider, have won awards in TAWA's annual Excellence in Craft Competition. Last year, his JK Forum profile of Wagonmaster, a business that restores Jeep Wagoneers, won prizes in TAWA’s signature writing contest and its pickup- and SUV-focused Texas Truck Invitational.
