Indoctrinated by Zoltan.

Marnie gleefully borrowing her father, Zoltan’s, Porsche 911.

We interviewed Marnie, the co-founder of Carmalarky, over a triple espresso. The twenty two questions symbolize how many years she has been yearning to start a car magazine.

How did you learn to drive?

My father taught me in a brand new 1984 Mercedes 300D when I was 15. I was terrified. I immediately scratched a rim.

Riskiest thing you ever did in a car?

Jumping railroad tracks in Melbourne Florida in my Ford Fiesta is one of the things that comes to mind.

What was the first car you ever drove?

The Mercedes from question one. She looked like a mafia car. Dark blue, four doors, very tinted windows.

What was the last car that made you cry?

My 1989 Mercedes 560SL, Betty

Marnie with her own 2004 Porsche 911 Targa on Highway 1 in California.
A bit windy that day.

Have you ever been nervous driving a car?

Yes, all of my dad’s Porsches until I was 48 and stopped giving a fuck.

What is your road trip ritual?

Filling a Stanley thermos with espresso and steamed milk.

What are your favorite road trip snacks?

PBJs, dried mango, Starbucks Matcha, tons of water.

Your best road trip?

San Francisco to Orlando and back in 2000 for six weeks with my husband in our black 1998 Volkswagon Golf VR6. And any time I drive to Colorado with my dog Tod in my 2016 Porsche Cayenne.

What’s the best advice a friend has ever given you about cars?

Never buy new. Advice I give myself: life is too short to not buy the Porsche (or Corvette, etc). Also, just because it looks expensive does not mean it is (see “buy used cars”). 

Why a lit magazine about cars?

Passion project that combines my love of art and design, good writing, and cars.

What is your favorite exterior car color?

Fire engine red, black leather with white welting.

Which of your cars is your absolute favorite?

2001 Audi S4 Avant

How many cars have you owned?

18 (individually and with my husband) 

Name your top five cars:

1989 Porsche 911 Cabriolet, 2001 Audi S4 Avant, Porsche 911 Dakar (current year), 1988 Mercedes 560 SL, 2022 Porsche Taycan Crossturismo

When was the last time you asked the “top five cars” question?

Too long ago

Driving style quick answers

Morning coffee run or night on the freeway? Morning espresso run

Windows or AC? Windows.

Straight roads or windy roads? Straight and traffic free four-lane divided highway.

Best driving shoes? Barefoot

Silence or Rock the town? Silence

Freeways: fast or civilized? Fast

In town: aggressive or mellow? Mellow unless I’m in the downtown area of a major city (Budapest, San Francisco, LA)

Internal combustion, hybrid, or electric? (Marry, Kill, Fuck)

Marry: Electric, Kill: Hybrid, Fuck: Internal combustion

---

More about Marnie

Marnie Aulabaugh’s career spans 25 years working in design, marketing, advertising, and related fields with a wide range of clients and industries — from startups to Fortune 500 companies. Employers over the years include The Wall Street Journal, Opts Ideas, freshbait, and Marnie & Co., Inc.. Other jobs she has excelled at since she was 16: travel agency delivery person, janitor, video store clerk, aerobics instructor, university party photographer, teachers’ assistant, The Limited retail salesperson, and Girl Scout Troop Leader. She is also a breast cancer survivor, book author, mom of one, wife, and full-time human. She has a Little Free Library (@baxterstreet_lfl), founded a non-profit to save the world at least once-a-month (Knitting Socks, 2015 - 2019), and is mentored by a Havanese dog named TOD.

Marnie has created logos, brochures, stationery systems, book covers, book insides, package design, presentation materials, small-run publications, print and online advertising, invitations, trade show graphics and booth design, signage, and wine-tasting rooms. She still geeks out on creative brainstorming, name development, photography, pottery on the wheel, press checks (the smell of fresh ink!), architecture, great design, UI, AI, languages, and all of the words. She can speak Hungarian like a precocious four-year old.

Educated in Ventura, California and Melbourne, Florida public schools, Marnie simultaneously earned two degrees (Bachelor of Science in Advertising and Bachelor of Arts in Literature, 1988 - 1993) from the University of Florida. She is currently in the middle of completing an MFA in Creative Writing at Bennington College. She has called Atlanta, San Francisco, and sometimes, Florida, home. She currently resides in Los Angeles. She has a husband and a daughter who both drive like race-car drivers.

---