Recalling my times with Momo | Articles

College graduation was coming up, and I needed a job–stat. But what?

A journalism degree from the University of Georgia was heading my way, but what did I want to cover? To help make me marketable of sorts, I minored in criminal justice and also took the full slate of photojournalism classes.

But I wanted to cover cars, too. Or, really, do anything with cars. Sell them? Maybe.

So I placed an ad in the Atlanta Region SCCA newsletter: Job wanted and willing to do nearly anything.

I got a call from Brian Hernan, owner and founder of Automod. The company sold race and sports car equipment in metro Atlanta. Did I want to chat? So we did.

I started work the Monday after graduation. I’d work in the warehouse with hopes of becoming a salesperson.

It didn’t involve writing about cars, but I figured it would teach me more about the scene while making introductions. It’d be like grad school, right?

I learned a lot from Brian.

Automod opened in 1972, so the company was 20 years old at this point. Our customer base was pretty varied and welcomed all kinds. At any one time, the parking lot could contain a Jaguar E-type, autocross-prepped Datsun 240Z and a slammed Nissan Maxima.

While it enjoyed busy walk-up service–no installs–it also served as a warehouse distributor for many companies. Brian was very particular about the brands that he carried. For shock absorbers, for example, only Koni. We only carried Weber carburetors, Amco convertible tops and K&N air filters.

When it came to steering wheels, we worked with just two companies: Momo and Nardi. (We also carried Personal, Nardi’s other line.)

Brian instilled the importance of a quality steering wheel and how the right car needed the right wheel. We stocked the full lines, along with the associated hubs and horn buttons. If I close my eyes, I can still picture all those part numbers, too.

I spent two years at Automod, leaving to come here to GRM. I have owned wheels from Momo and Nardi over the years, while a Momo Prototipo can be found in my Miata.

And while on our own site, I just noticed ads from Momo. They say that you can’t go home again, but sometimes you can think about it.

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