Brad Pitt’s Make It Right charity “builds green homes, buildings and communities for people in need.” Since 2007, it’s constructed 100 eco-friendly homes in New Orleans’ Lower 9th Ward.
Someone at a recent MIR fundraising gala won an equally green car in a raffle: the all-electric, zero-emission i3 donated by BMW, as well as the chance to hear the lovely Sandra Bullock call out his or her name.
The $55,000 Bimmer, which is the first mass-produced vehicle mostly made out of carbon fiber reinforced plastic, is also environmentally friendly in areas outside of its powerplant. For instance, the i3’s interior is a landscape of “recycled plastics, responsibly forested eucalyptus wood, plant fibers and olive leaf extract.” In fact, the roundel-badged runabout was named the World Green Car of the Year by the World Car Awards committee.
Thanks to the contest entrants and attendees of the event, Make It Right will be able to erect more homes in Kansas City, Newark, the Fort Peck Indian Reservation in Montana and New Orleans.
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.
