Bill Zervakos
Bill Z has been car fanatic all his life and for the last 12 years has been living every car nuts dream. Each week Bill drives one or two new vehicles supplied to him by auto manufacturers looking for his valued opinion that he then shares with his readers. Bill has auto industry sales and service background as well as a history in broadcasting. He has provided AZ and Houston Parenting magazines and community papers with his expert reviews. You can find Bill’s current reviews on Fast Car Forum, Bill’s Blog and Two for the Road USA. Bill also films the videos for the website and produces the Radio Show and YouTube. Bill and Cathy write a drive and travel piece for AZ3Sixty Magazine, as well as supplying automotive content from the Two for the Road home page to 400,000 monthly readers of Lovin’ Life after 50 newspaper and internet site.
Bill Z has loved cars all of his life and has turned this passion into Two for the Road Productions. Growing up, Bill would help his dad in the family body shop and began customizing cars in the 50's. Later he'd work as a service writer for a GM dealership, which would prove to be a pivotal moment in his career. Realizing how little people really knew about maintaining their vehicles, and missing a lengthy broadcast career that he had previously enjoyed, he combined the two and created an automotive radio show. Car Corner is among Bill's many media accomplishments:
- Two for the Road Radio Show with Cathy D. Air America/ESPN/KKNT 2005- Present
- Car Corner Radio Show, which aired for a decade in Phoenix on 1510 AM, was produced and hosted by Bill, who also sold the advertising air time.
- Automotive reviews for the Tatum Sun Times, the North Valley Post, Moon Valley Tattler, AZ Parenting Magazine
- Authored columns and articles for the Automotive Service Association
- Radio advertising and management career that spanned 20 years
- Guest lecturer at Academy of Radio and Television
- Phoenix Automotive Press Association board member
- Audio and Video for Two for the Road Website
- Radio co-host on 1100AM for Real Estate Show
- Partner with son Rod for radio segment “Fast and Furious Hot Rods”
Bill once worked with NASA on its manned space flight station in Guam during the moon landing. That experience has proven helpful in his professional partnership with Cathy, who by her own admission can be a little "out there".
Cathy Droz
Cathy writes for various Gannett magazines on both a national and regional level. She also test drives cars for the manufacturers and writes her reviews with an eye toward matching vehicles to specific lifestyles and/or segments of the driving public. Cathy possesses a marketing and advertising background in the auto industry, which enables her to leverage a broader view of the business. She writes with Bill for Two for the Road USA; with her daughter Melanie for Boomer and X, examining how two diverse generations of women view today’s vehicles; Grandma’s Hot Wheels with her granddaughter Jayden, which is published nationally and on various 55-plus internet sites and Drive Time for the Gannett lifestyle magazines. In addition, Cathy and Melanie co-author articles for YourStyle, the national Gannett publication on car care for women. Along with Bill, Cathy does a radio show and travel articles for AZ3Sixty Magazine, and supplies auto contentfor the newspaper Lovin' Live after 50. Cathy and her daughter are also contracted by Belo, Channel 3 in Phoenix for TV and their website My Sweet Connection for auto reviews.
Cathy D is a long respected Phoenix marketing consultant. Droz embraces an impressive history in the automotive marketing arena helping dealerships and manufacturers increase their market share and profitability. Armed with wit, humor and creativity, she has parlayed that experience into an ever-growing media presence which has included.
- Droz Marketing and Productions Full Service Ad Agency 1996 - Present
- Test Driver/Journalist for Manufacturers since 2000
- East Valley & Scottsdale Tribune
- Colorado Springs Gazette
- Bronze Award – Best Auto Column 2003
- Pres. Phoenix Automotive Press Association
- Automotive Feature Editor – 8-Gannett Magazines
- Boomer and X – Desert Advocate Newspapers
- Staff Writer - Paradise Valley Community College
- YourStyle – National Magazine Boomer and X and Droz
- GRAND Magazine – Young Boomer Grandparent Auto Advice
- Two for the Road co host radio show on Air America 2005-2006 -Two for the Road co host on ESPN-Radio – 2006 - Two for the Road co host on KKNT 960 AM - 2007
Melanie Shawcroft
Melanie Droz Shawcroft is a High School English and Journalism teacher in Phoenix, Arizona. She started test driving vehicles in 2005 after manufacturers commented on her observations found in her mother’s articles. Melanie provides the perspective of the generation X viewpoint, as well as being representative of most mid-twenties, college graduates. She co-authors articles with her mother for Boomer and X and YourStyle national magazine about car care for women. Along with her mother she is contracted by Belo, Channel 3 in Phoenix for TV and their website My Sweet Connection for auto reviews.
Rod Zervakos
Rod became a fast car freak at age 14 when he and his dad Bill fired up a 454 big block which he helped install in a ’71 Chevelle. From that day on Rod has had a passion for performance cars. It inspired him to attain his first job with Arizona Speed and Marine in Phoenix where he learned a lot about building loud, powerful engines.
Rod has experience in body work and painting as well as installing engines. He’s competed in drag racing with his own race car and now races for Two for the Road USA at West Valley Speedway at every opportunity. Rod has hosted his own radio show; Fast Car Forum in the 90’s and is now a successful real estate investor. He is also a contributing editor to Fast Car Forum with his father and co-hosts segments of the Two for the Road USA radio show twice monthly. Well read and totally knowledgeable about all cars, Rod and his father have found that the best way to bond is working on a car together.
Cathy Burford - Rev Up Your RV
Cathy B. has been camping and writing since she was a young girl living in the Midwest.
Her father didn’t like to travel by car so several times a year Cathy, along with her mother and 2 sisters, would pack up the car, throw a dart on a map and set out on an adventure. A Boomer that retired early from the publishing business Cathy if off on those same adventures with her husband in their 42 foot RV. Cathy writes RV travels and reviews from a woman’s perspective, with her engineer husband Bill adding his technical tidbits to the mix. Cathy also supplies the Cooking on the road with original recipes from her travels that are easy to make in the RV or are a perfect match for your road trips or hot rod parties. Cathy has written a book about nosey caretakers at a home owned by a well know billionaire based on a true story. She also plans weddings for people who want to be married within 48 hours called frantic brides.
Julia Velasco - Julia’s garage
Julia Velasco is the aftermarket Diva for Two for the Road. A full time catering manager for a five star hotel in Scottsdale she tests products and gives her honest, unbiased opinion based on her standards of functionality. Julia is a 20-something perfectionist who loves cars but not as much as she loves all the potential items that you can enhance your car with; she checks out the newest products and aftermarket gadgets. She is fair, facilitates focus group discussions and does her research. She then finds a way to utilize the products in her everyday life. She is hoping that Prada will contact her soon to test their handbags. Read Julia’s reviews on Julia’s Garage.
Doc
“DOC,” affectionately named for a family “inside joke,” is a four year old yellow lab that likes to travel with Two for the Road and do almost anything. He has many friends that pass by his home in Phoenix and he has made some celebrity friends that are posted on the website Ask Doc. A faithful companion and very opinionated, (just ask his Vet) “Doc” brings a sense of humor in “his” articles, as well as serious issues for pet owners who want to travel with their animals, including safety issues and proper pet travel attire. When “DOC” isn’t on the road with Two for the Road he is sitting next to the computer dictating his articles to his owner.
