Benjamin Preston is one of the few journalists to hold he dubious distinction of having been an alignment technician at a Pep Boys in Fredericksburg, Va., and a automotive reporter for the New York Times, among a wide variety of other occupations. He is currently a writer- and greasemonkey-at-large for Time Inc's online automotive publication, the Drive. In addition to the Timeses, he has written for the Guardian, BBC Autos, Car and Driver, Jalopnik, and, he is very proud to say, Petersen's 4 Wheel & Offroad. When he's not writing about cars, he's either working on his own beaters or at the beach surfing.