Doug DeMuroDoug DeMuro is a familiar name for most car enthusiasts with a YouTube account. He has positioned himself as one of the top automotive journalists and personalities. But who is he and how did he do it?

Doug has been in the car industry since 2012, writing for several car blogs and shooting YouTube videos. He has a unique approach to filming each individual “Quirk and Feature” before setting off on a test drive that will often reveal his boyish grin.

Essentially, Doug DeMuro has mastered the unboxing video for cars.

Early Days Of Doug

Ford Bronco Sport Doug DeMuro rear cabin
Via Doug DeMuro on YouTube

Doug was born and raised in Denver, Colorado. After high school, he moved to Georgia and attended Emory University. He earned himself a degree in Finance and shortly after he became a 'Vehicle Allocation Manager' for the Porsche North American Headquarters in Atlanta. During that time, he began writing for AutoTrader.com, after a year he quit his job at Porsche to focus on journalism.

In the years to follow, Doug also wrote for Truth About Cars, Jalopnik, and his personal blog PlaysWithCars. He wrote for Truth About Cars for six months without pay, building credibility and an audience. When working for Jalopnik, he continued to interact with readers, work on his video editing skills, and review several cars.

In one video, Doug credits taking out a loan on a 2004 Ferrari 360 Modena as a pivotal moment in his career. Who doesn't want to see a red Ferrari? Noticing he needed a change in content, he began reviewing interesting cars owned by his friend’s or viewers. As his relationship with the audience grew he began buying and reviewing cars based on the reader’s recommendation, including a 2007 Aston Martin V8 Vantage with a lifetime bumper-to-bumper warranty.

Doug has also tried his hand at longer format writings. His first book, published in 2013, was an homage to his blog, Plays With Cars, and covered his personal car stories and opinions. At the same time, he released an e-book From My Perspective, which gave his general thoughts and perspective on things outside the car world. His most recent book was released in 2016, called Bumper to Bumper.

Via: YouTube

Gaining Traction, YouTube, And Beyond

In 2016, Doug became the editor of AutoTrader’s most recent auto blog segment, Oversteer. They permitted him with ample amounts of freedom and a growing audience. Borrowing cars from dealerships and viewers enabled Doug to acquire unique cars like a Porsche Carrera GT or Lamborghini Aventador. His long-format walkthroughs of the “quirks and features” gave the audience a chance to see small details never shown on a typical dramatic, exhaust-heavy video. As of date, Doug has 3.85 million subscribers on his main channel and 716,000 subscribers on his second channel, More Doug DeMuro.

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Doug announced in 2019 that he has launched a new website called Cars & Bids. Similar to Bring A Trailer, it is an auto auction website with a focus on modern enthusiast cars. The site features a pretty sweet lineup of cars. The first one listed was his own 2012 Mercedes-Benz E 63 AMG Wagon. After scrolling through the endless selection of interesting cars, it's easy to see why it has since grown to become a widely popular and successful business.

Via: YouTube

Behind The Camera

As an enthusiast of the rare and peculiar, Doug has owned an array of interesting cars. His most notable of his 25 car history would be a Dodge Viper, Aston Martin Vantage, Ferrari 360 Modena, and an H1 Hummer. Many of which he claims to have purchased in order to gain views. He has since moved on to cars that he appreciates and tends to go for self-proclaimed "weird cars." At the moment, he is driving a 2005 Ford GT, a 1999 Mercedes-Benz G500 Cabriolet, a 2020 Land Rover Defender, a 1997 Land Rover Defender, and a 1992 Audi RS2 Avant.

Doug and his wife live in sunny San Diego with their dog, Noodle. As a local resident, I've quite often seen him driving around Coronado Island in his funky G-Wagen. He stays true to character, wearing cargo shorts and a graphic tee (or hoodie if it's chilly) at Saturday morning cars & coffee. From my experience, his personality reflects the one seen on camera.

Doug has without a doubt become one of the most successful automotive YouTubers in the business. The explanation why is rather clear, people love to watch people talk about the things they love. Doug's enthusiasm for cars is apparent in every video, which is the reason so many people want to see his reviews first. We all know a Lamborghini is loud and fast, some of us want to see the location of every single hexagon.

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