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Mason Bloom has experienced a lot as a young automotive enthusiast. His father owns a Porsche 911 and his father’s friend owns an Aston Martin Vantage. Bloom drove the latter at age 12.
The Porsche and Aston Martin experiences solidified Bloom’s passion for high-performance vehicles. It also ignited his interest in writing about his experiences and the always-compelling automobile industry.
Bloom, 16, a sophomore at Aptos High School (located on the central coast of California), is our guest this week on The Weekly Driver Podcast.
Co-host Bruce Aldrich and I talk with the journalist about his automobile interests and those of his peers. We also talk with him about his writing talents.
Bloom, recommended by Dave Kellogg (my long-time editor at The Monterey Herald), is now also a writer for TheWeeklyDriver.com. He has also contributed to The Herald and other automotive websites.
“In 2012, I think it was, my dad bought a Porsche 911 and that just really changed my perspective,” said Bloom, who has contributed four articles to TheWeeklyDriver.com. “You know, being able to ride in a small, fast sports car, that radiated the love of cars for me. He’s owned the car for about 10 years now, but that’s really the root of it.”
During Covid-19 pandemic, Bloom had the opportunity to drive his family friend’s Aston Martin. Bloom was further enamored with cars. He took images and wrote his first full car review in 2020.
“It was a typical Aston Martin; it was loud and it was fast,” said Bloom of his Vantage experience. “It’s not the most comfortable city car, contrary to popular belief. But the Mercedes V8 and the Aston Martin styling. It’s a classic combination.”
We also talk with Bloom about the high school car club he has with several classmates, and the cars he’s considering when the time is right for his first vehicle.
Bloom began contributing to TheWeeklyDriver.com in mid-October after attending the Velocity Invitational at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca with his father.
In August, an article and accompanying photography Bloom crafted about the famous Concours d’Elegance was featured on Page 1 of the Sunday edition of the Monterey Herald.
Here are the links to his four articles to date:
Wildly Modified Porsche 911s Scale World’s Tallest Volcano
Ferrari Launches First LeMans Hypercar in 50 years
WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca Repaved for 2023
Velocity Invitational: History, Hypercars, Luxury Lifestyle
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Article Last Updated: November 14, 2022.
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A sports, travel and business journalist for more than 45 years, James has written the new car review column The Weekly Driver since 2004.
In addition to founding this site in 2004, James writes a Sunday automotive column for The San Jose Mercury and East Bay Times in Walnut Creek, Calif., and monthly auto review and wellness columns for Gulfshore Business, a magazine in Southwest Florida.
An author and contributor to many newspapers, magazines and online publications, co-hosted The Weekly Driver Podcast from 2017 to 2024.