Derek Shiekhi

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.

In addition to writing for a variety of Internet Brands sites, including JK Forum, H-D Forums, The Mustang Source, Mustang Forums, LS1Tech, HondaTech, Jaguar Forums, YotaTech, and Ford Truck Enthusiasts. Derek also started There Will Be Cars on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.

The National Corvette Museum Gets a New 40th Anniversary Model

The National Corvette Museum and Lynda Patterson have both suffered losses. Patterson’s is much more significant, though. While a sinkhole took eight of the facility’s exhibit models in February, the resident of Louisville, Kentucky lost her husband Mike to a brain tumor in 2012. She no longer has her 40th Anniversary Corvette, either. It’s now […] More »

By: Derek Shiekhi | April 18, 2014

AMS’ 9-Second Turbocharged LQ4 Hearse is “Madness”

If you see a line of police motorcycles and cars following the AMS Performance “Madness” Hearse, they might not be escorting it to a funeral. They might be trying to catch the damn thing. They won’t, though. This death sled, based on a 1996 Chevrolet Caprice, murders its rear tires with 1,000 horsepower on 23 […] More »

By: Derek Shiekhi | April 16, 2014

Hennessey Breathes On the Camaro ZL1

The Z/28 might be the most track-focused Camaro available, but the ZL1 makes bigger under-hood numbers. Its blown 6.2-liter V8 develops 580 horsepower versus its more athletic – and naturally aspirated – sibling’s 505. Hennessey Performance, in their never-ending quest for more performance, have decided to take an unusual approach to bumping up the ZL1’s […] More »

By: Derek Shiekhi | April 16, 2014

The 2001 Mallett Hammer Z06 Corvette Plucked from the Sinkhole

That’s all, folks. The eighth and final Corvette has been removed from the National Corvette Museum sinkhole. A 2001 Mallett Hammer Z06 – or what very little was left of it – was crane-lifted from its tomb of almost two months. Kevin and Linda Helmintoller of Tampa, Florida donated the tuner special to the NCM […] More »

By: Derek Shiekhi | April 11, 2014

What Road & Track Learned at the Corvette Plant

Let’s face it. Even if you have the money to buy a brand-new Corvette and travel to the Bowling Green, Kentucky plant to pick it up, you won’t be able to pay your way into taking pictures there. But if you’re a magazine as well-known and highly circulated as Road & Track, it’s a different […] More »

By: Derek Shiekhi | April 9, 2014

2015 Stingray to Get an Eight-Speed Auto

Chevrolet has been in business for 103 years. It makes sense that they’d do things the old-fashion way. The company still produces pushrod V8s (although they’ve been thoroughly modernized), and whereas other automakers have moved on to gearboxes with dual clutches, the bow-tie bunch still use conventional automatic transmissions. GM’s new eight-speed automatic for the […] More »

By: Derek Shiekhi | April 8, 2014

Dynoed: Hennessey’s 1,200-HP CTS-V Wagon

There are three types of people in this world. Those who do too little. Those who do just enough. And those who do more than they have to. John Hennessey is that third kind of person. He took a look at the 556-horsepower Cadillac CTS-V Wagon and decided to take it further. A LOT further.

By: Derek Shiekhi | April 4, 2014