Alex Boyd

His interest in all things automotive began in childhood with a toy suction steering wheel, a desire to drive a bus, and a fascination with how cars worked. He remains a big fan of the cars of the 1970s and 1980s. His first full-time job was working as an assistant at a local Lada/Vauxhall dealer, but his career path has been anything but predictable. After being considered too accident-prone to be taken on as a mechanic, he trained in electronics and repaired hi-fi systems and televisions before moving to a local TV station to work in their transmission control suite, later becoming a systems engineer. There was then another change in career path as he dipped his toes into the world of journalism and started writing and presenting news bulletins on TV before entering the world of radio, where he wrote and produced radio adverts and presented a daily live radio programme. Remember that childhood desire to drive a bus? Well, he passed his PCV test and worked as a bus driver for a few years, but the lure of writing returned, and he found himself immersed in the automotive team at Bauer.

He loves driving, anything from his first early Mark 2 Ford Escort up to tri-axle double-decker buses and is a lapsed member of the Institute of Advanced Motorists – he’ll re-do the test when he gets time. When the weather allows, he’ll be found pottering in the garden. He’s no expert and is always deliriously surprised when anything he’s planted actually thrives. Travel is another passion, but so far, he’s only visited 26 of the 195 countries in the world – he’d better get a move on, then. Music, reading, DIY and enjoying the odd box set help pass the time when the weather isn’t so good.