A Full Year of MARS -- Reflecting On 365 Days On YouTube
Matt and Jon sit down in the MARS Archive Studio to look back on an incredible year for the MARS YouTube channel — from the Spanners series and Archive episodes to the DRIVE MORE film and countless events, rallies, and garage hangouts.
In this laid-back reflection, they share their favorite moments, lessons learned, and what’s next for MARS as the community and channel continue to grow. Expect behind-the-scenes stories, a few laughs, and glimpses from across the year — the builds, the drives, and the people who make MARS what it is.
If you’ve been part of MARS this year — watching, driving, wrenching, or just hanging out — thank you. Here’s to another year of storytelling, cars, and community.
The TTAC Creators Series tells stories and amplifies creators from all corners of the car world, including culture, dealerships, collections, modified builds and more.
A transcript, summarized by AI and edited by a human staffer, is below.
[Image: YouTube/Michigan Automotive Relic Society]
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Transcript:
Matt: A whole year of making Mars YouTube videos. I’m Matt.
John: I’m John. This video’s about looking back on the last year—highlights, lessons we’ve learned, and what’s next.
Highlights
Matt: My favorite thing this past year was Spanners. That was what I wanted when we started the channel—a docu-style series about people in our community. It gave us a great excuse to film interesting cars, meet new people, and hear stories from friends we hadn’t heard before.
Honestly, Tom’s episode is still my favorite. It was the first one, and everything felt fresh. We just showed up, started asking questions, and filmed whatever seemed cool. A lot of episodes came together that way.
John: My favorite was definitely the Mars Rally. Rolling into that public park and seeing everyone already parked perfectly—it was the best feeling. The lineup of cars looked like a car show. It was just a great weekend overall, especially since we paired it with the British car show at the Gilmore Car Museum the next day. We even got lucky with the weather for once.
Lessons Learned
John: The Mars Rally was awesome, but next year I’m definitely asking for more help. I’ve learned that people want to be involved, and that’s what really drives me to keep going—seeing everyone show up in person. Comments and likes are great, but meeting people face-to-face is the coolest part.
We had everything from BMWs to vintage Toyotas, Fiats, even a Triumph TR7 that survived the trip and an Austin Maestro with R2-D2 strapped to the roof. You don’t see that anywhere else.
Matt: My biggest lesson this year was figuring out where Spanners and Archive fit. Spanners started first, and then we added Archive, which was supposed to be more of a sit-down studio series. But the two ended up blending together.
Now, I want Archive to focus on past stories—interviews where people talk about their experiences with their cars, with B-roll and maybe some recreations. Spanners will be more about present-day stories—people on rallies, road trips, revivals, or upgrades. Basically, stories happening in the moment.
Looking Ahead
Matt: With that restructure in mind, we’re also planning another film. Drive More took a long time and changed shape a few times, but it turned out great and was really well received. It’s even been nominated for several film festivals, which I’m proud of.
This next project is still in pre-production, so I can’t share much yet, but I’d like to make behind-the-scenes vlogs as we go. Maybe even a smaller series documenting events and community moments, though that won’t be the main focus of the channel.
John: My goal for next year is to bring more people together. Right now, there’s a bit of a divide between the west and east sides of the state. Not everyone knows about all the events, so if you’re on the east side—or in Ohio or Indiana—let us know what’s happening.
There’s a Mars member within 50 to 100 miles pretty much anywhere in Michigan, and I want to strengthen that network. If someone breaks down, they can hop on Mars and find help nearby. That’s the kind of community I want to keep building.
Michigan’s home base, but it’s becoming more of a Midwest thing now. I’d love to have monthly meetups where people can hang out, talk cars, and share stories.
Thank You
Matt: This whole channel has helped me go from being the creative guy behind the camera to someone actually getting hands-on with cars. I still call John sometimes like, “I have no idea what I’m doing—can you help?”
But seriously, thank you to everyone for being part of the Mars community—whether you’ve liked, shared, subscribed, or showed up in person. Someone even came all the way from Maryland. Thanks, Jimmy.
John: Yeah, thanks, Jimmy—and thank you all for the last year. Let’s see how the next one goes.
M.A.R.S. connects a unique community of oddball car enthusiasts. This group is meant to put together people in our own niche of vintage sports cars. Everyone here has one thing in common, and it's that we somehow enjoy wrenching on these crappy old cars to keep them going. Subscribe to the M.A.R.S. channel to see more relatable car stories! https://www.youtube.com/@MARS.AutoGroup
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