Biographies

As Emmy Award-winning producer, host and creator of MotorWeek, television's original most popular automotive series, John Davis can be seen throughout the U.S. on PBS and SPEED. Through media appearances, Davis' automotive industry expertise is tapped by commercial radio and television programs nationwide (Weekend Today and Live with Regis and Kelly) as key industry developments arise. In print, Davis' bi-weekly feature on automotive industry topics appears in The Washington Post. A sought-after speaker, Davis frequently addresses automotive executives, consumer groups, automotive enthusiasts and students interested in the field.

As MotorWeek's host for the show, now in its 26th season, Davis has the opportunity to put all of the new car models through extensive road tests and to judge their practicality for buyers. He also acts as final editor on all of the new car road test segments and writes many of the test opinions as well as other portions of the program. MotorWeek offers him that rare chance to bring the enjoyment of a hobby to his professional life, and to use his broadcasting, engineering and analytical expertise to bring information and insight to those who enjoy cars.

As outreach, Davis has worked in recent years with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to promote public awareness of alternative fuels. He has been a speaker at DOE's "Clean Cities" conventions, involving municipalities and their efforts to lower fossil fuel use and to clean the air, while maintaining essential services. During 2004 and 2005, he served as spokesperson for North Carolina Department of Transportation's initiative promoting annual automotive emissions inspections. In 2002, Davis was spokesperson for the "Smooth Operator" public awareness campaign on aggressive driving in the tri-state area of Maryland, Northern Virginia and Washington, D.C. Davis is one of the founders of the North American Car & Truck of The Year Awards, the only independent journalistic automotive award in North America. He has served on its executive board since 1994. He is also one of the organizers and an original member of the Washington Automotive Press Association. Davis is a former president of the International Motor Press Association, the oldest and most prestigious organization of automotive journalists in North America.

Among his accolades, Davis received an International Automotive Media Award in 2005 from the International Society for Vehicle Preservation. He received International Wheel Awards in 2004 and 2003, and in 1999 he received two Golden Wheel Awards, including the grand award, from the Detroit Press Foundation that annually honors the best in automotive journalism. In 1998, Davis received an Emmy Award from the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences for his role as host and executive producer of a MotorWeek-related special broadcast.

A 1970 mechanical and aerospace engineering graduate of North Carolina State University, Davis also holds a master of business administration degree from the University of North Carolina. He was the 1969-1970 recipient of the W.D. Cartwright Memorial Engineering Scholarship and a member of the Pi Tau Sigma honorary scholastic fraternity. Prior to joining Maryland Public Television, Davis worked for the Wall Street brokerage firm of Kidder, Peabody and Company as a transportation analyst. He has owned a variety of high performance cars, including a vintage Ford Mustang, Chevrolet Corvette and deTomaso Pantera

While the closest some of us will come to a microphone is karaoke night, MotorWeek's resident automotive guru, Pat Goss, is as comfortable on the air as he is under the hood. And when he's not dispensing advice on radio and television, this master technician trades his dipstick for a pen. Pat's articles on car care have appeared in publications such as U.S. News & World Report and Reader's Digest, in addition to his bi-weekly column in The Washington Post and his column in the National Corvette Owners Association magazine.

It hasn't been all sound bites and bylines for this native New Yorker. His first foray into automotive repair was when he opened a body shop as a high school freshman. By the time Pat was a senior, he was operating an 11,000 square-foot garage, with 23 employees, and was grossing $870,000 a year.

For 25 years, viewers have been able to lift the door on Goss' Garage, Pat's popular MotorWeek segment, and learn from his expertise. His weekly "tool kit" of information helps extend the life of the automobiles Americans love to drive.

This 35-year veteran of the automotive diagnostic and repair industry has helped millions of car owners gain knowledge and confidence. "Proper maintenance" is Pat's mantra to the mainstream, encouraging drivers to change the fluids and check the components in their cars on a regular basis. The most common and confusing consumer problem? According to Pat it's the ubiquitous yellow "Check Engine" light – the Yellow Gremlin! Mostly misunderstood by drivers, "Check Engine" lights make technicians dig deep to diagnose their cause.

When he's not on MotorWeek, Pat can be heard weekly on his wildly popular radio show, Goss' Garage, which has been consistently rated one of Washington, D.C.'s top radio shows for the last 21 years.

Anqoinette Crosby, MotorWeek's consumer reporter, has a passion for cars, a finger on the pulse of news and designer stilettos on the gas. She's sharp and she's uncovering some of the best stories in the auto industry.

From Texas and California to the Nation's capital, Anqoinette has immersed herself in the headlines of the day. She thrust herself into the thick of things during the Washington, D.C., sniper coverage and has covered national stories for Conus Communications, Fox TV's "America's Most Wanted" and local news markets in Lubbock, Texas and San Francisco. These experiences have given Anqoinette an uncanny radar for understanding the needs and wants of consumers.

When she's not driving in her designer sling-backs, she's dancing in them! A sports fan, as well as a devotee of decorating shows, R&B, Asian cuisine (both cooking and enjoying) and politics, Anqoinette is the perfect fusion of two coasts. Her razor sharp news instincts and an inimitable style make her a standout for all the right reasons.

Whether he's blasting along the motorways of Europe on test drives or cooking dinner on a car engine, Henry Kopacz's refreshing approach to the automotive world is seen during MotorWeek's Over the Edge segments. As an associate producer/feature reporter for television's longest-running, original automotive magazine series, Henry enjoys sharing his behind-the-scenes experiences with viewers, who get a peak behind the glossy showrooms and into the psyche of manufacturers on everything from automotive engineering to modern styling. Henry serves his automotive segments straight up, with a twist, in his on-going quest for the unusual, bizarre or just plain interesting in the automotive world.

A native of northern New Jersey, Henry possesses both a Bachelor and Master of Arts degree in Mass Communication – but never expected to be an on-air personality. A devotee of motorcycling, both riding and restoring, Henry's also a fan of exotic cuisine, a variety of music genres and playing his guitar, and he modestly displays an Emmy Award at home for his work on the documentary "Images of Maryland: 1900-2000." Henry's degrees were earned from the University of Tampa and Towson University.

Ask Dave Durso something about automobiles and he easily reels off facts and figures, punctuated by colorful descriptive phrases. He should, he diligently researches and writes this stuff every week. But mention anything on two wheels and the longtime MotorWeek writer lights up. And, what's good for this motorcycle aficionado is good for the audience. Dave's love of the more challenging ways to travel from point A to point B comes to life in his Two Wheelin' segments. Whether on a Harley, a Honda or his favorite two-wheeled ride (a Trek road bicycle – yes, a serious Lance Armstrong fan), it's the challenge of riding well that inspires him to keep coming back.

Similarly, it's the challenge of writing well that inspires this voracious reader and Shakespeare fan who finds as much satisfaction in a well-turned phrase as he does hammering out the miles on hot asphalt. Perhaps growing up in a well-read family in a Northeast Pennsylvania coal-mining town explains such an eclectic mix of passions. Whether cycling, reading, writing, listening to music, hunting and target shooting, or meditating, it's all Zen to Dave when he finds himself in the zone where he loses all track of time. But on most days, it's business as usual writing MotorWeek scripts and artfully turning phrases as he has done so faithfully for the past 20 years.

Dave earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Television Production, with a minor in Anthropology, from Kutztown University.

It makes perfect sense that Jessica Choksey, MotorWeek writer and news reporter, would find herself working with automobiles. Love of transportation, for Jessi, is genetic. Her parents, owners of a bus company, and her father, also a private pilot, took her from wheels to wings. Family time included living on the water, going from houseboat to speedboat and bunking in the luggage racks in her parents' buses on trips to Atlantic City, cementing her love for cars and road trips.

As a writer for Road Test, Car Keys and MotorNews, Jessi combines her passion for both writing and automobiles. Her appearances on MotorWeek give her the opportunity to get up-close and personal to some of the very vehicles that fuel her inspiration and spark her imagination.

Her first international flight, a personal transportation triumph, landed her on the Autobahn where she experienced the thrill of the coveted BMW M5 – an experience she described as 'awesome.'

Prior to joining MotorWeek, Jessi's articles could be read in regional and national publications, including Chesapeake Home Magazine. When she's not scribing for MotorWeek or playing with her new Maltese puppy, Charlie, Jessi writes poetry, short stories and scripts.

Credibility in 10 years of chronicling events for viewers, on everything from the Discovery shuttle launch and landing to Hurricane Katrina and the Washington, D.C. sniper shootings, comes to MotorWeek with feature reporter and avid auto enthusiast Yolanda "Yoli" Vazquez. This former NBC page and Saturday Night Live! personal assistant may well be the poster child for all things north, south, east, and west where her life and experiences have taken her. Working for MotorWeek, a show where maps, driving, and navigation systems are fundamental tools of the trade, this reporter's parallels and meridians are right where they need to be.

Born in Puerto Rico and raised in Miami, Florida, Yolanda studied Broadcasting and Film at Boston University. While in Beantown, she even played character Kendall Foxmore in the Bay State soap opera before heading to New York City. The bite of the bulbs, lights, and on-camera action took her from the Big Apple to live on-air reporting, exploring yet more longitudes and latitudes of her career while in Kentucky, Texas, Maryland, and Florida.

Now, producing and reporting FYI feature segments for MotorWeek, the longest-running automotive magazine show on television, Yolanda takes her love of color and speed, and parlays that into human interest stories for other car "junkies." Her 4-cylinder BMW, Conchita, is her favorite drive, but she wouldn't turn 007 down for a spin in his Aston Martin.