Auto Talk: Fifth Gear's Jonny Smith
09 May 2007 Fifth Gear is back on our screens - and self-confessed 'car pervert' Jonny Smith is back as co-presenter. Alex Eckford talks to Jonny about his love of all things classic and customised, and selling bubble cars to celebrities. "Reading Auto Trader is like foreplay. You know there's going to be a climax, but you don’t know how you're going to get there." I'm sitting in North London's Ace Café - the home of Fifth Gear - with Jonny Smith, the-new-kid-on-the-block co-presenter of Channel Five's motoring show. Outside, Vicki Butler-Henderson and Tom Ford are filming links for an episode of the new series, but we're talking about one of Jonny's favourite subjects. Auto Trader. "I find it quite therapeutic," says Jonny. "I start with the cars under a thousand pounds, then the historical cars, then I'll breeze through the luxury saloons. I fold the corner of the page down if I don’t have a pen." And it's not just the magazine Jonny's addicted to. "The Auto Trader website has revolutionised lunchtime car dreaming for me," says Jonny. "It's got to be the number one. If you've got a dream about buying a car and you have a certain budget – you use it to test the water to see how much you could get something for, and how old it would be, and what sort of condition it would be in." "I bought my 1990 Jaguar 4-litre Sovreign for £100 on there. It was up for £250, but I haggled him. Great car." It's fair to say Jonny's turnover of cars is high. He's sold his fair share of cars too - sometimes to unexpected buyers. "I sold a bubble car to Michael Barrymore once," says Jonny. "It was a classic 1958 Heinkel Cabin Cruiser. I drove it to his PR's house, and he turned up in a Mercedes S-Class, jumped straight in the bubble car, tried to drive it off down the road and nearly crashed it. He was a really nice bloke and well into his cars." Jonny's passion for motoring started at an early age. "It all started with my dad," says Jonny. "Me and my brother used to go to scrapyards with him, and you’d see all these old cars around and I think that's what first sparked my interest. "My old man bought a Hillman Avenger back in 1976, and had it up until 1999. I learnt to drive in it." "And the money side of it taught me to be careful with my finances. I own four cars but don’t have any outstanding finance on any of them because I buy wisely. I get turned on about that, in a strange way." His passion for cars ignited, Jonny headed straight for his dream job. "My background is motoring journalism," says Jonny. "I've always been in car magazines, really. I started off on a mag about vintage, customised VWs. From there I went on to contract publishing for Car magazine – brochures for Range Rover, advertorials for Rolls Royce, that kind of thing, did some interesting side stories and things, things for British Touring cars. "After that I went on to be features editor of Revs magazine, working back on modified cars, then worked for Max Power, then on Car magazine. I'm a freelance writer now, and I still write for all of those people." Two years ago Jonny was spotted by the makers of Sky One's 'Movie's Greatest Cars'. "They got me in to talk about film cars," says Jonny. "But Fifth Gear is the first thing I've done on a terrestrial channel. Relatively speaking I'm a TV virgin." The producers of Fifth Gear noticed him on the show, and invited him for a screentest. "The last series was my first," says Jonny. "I've got to say it's fantastic – I really enjoy it, and I'm really enjoying this series." Now some questions from readers. John Poole from York asks 'What cars do you own at the moment?' "I've got four at the moment - a nice Mercedes 200C – it's four different colours, and it's my daily drive. I've also got a 1966 VW Beetle, which was my first car. Then there's my 1964 Chevrolet Impala Supersport, and a 1973 Ford Taunus coupe, which is kind of like the MkIII Cortina. It's a very rare bit of kit in this country." "I'm finding it very difficult to convince myself I don’t need another one. I have to convince my other half, though. The other day I worked out a way of justifying buying a Dodge Charger. If I cleared all the old duvets out of the garage, I could fit it next to my Beetle." Mark Hale from Cardiff asks 'Which do you prefer - classics or customs?' "Custom classics! That's the ultimate for me. I suppose I am a bit retrospective in that way, although most of my daytime work is with new cars now - but my hobby is old cars." "I think I've learned to appreciate new cars for what they are. I've got as much interest in talking about the new Audi A6 as I have in an old Sierra you can buy for 50 quid." As we finish our interview, Jonny is called away to film his next link, in front of a row of Smart cars. He's an extremely likeable chap, an engaging presenter, and a man who truly loves his motors. Auto Trader links
Slide show: Behind the scenes at Fifth Gear Auto Talk: Vicki Butler-Henderson - interview 1 Auto Talk: Fifth Gear's Jason Plato Auto Talk: Jodie Kidd Auto Talk: Richard Hammond |
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