How the Car Guy changed my life.

Tom Magliozzi was more than a guy who loved cars.

Many of you have seen this week the news of the passing of Tom Magliozzi, brother of Ray and famed “Car Guy”. Tom made cars simple for all of us, with a sense of humor and a laugh none of us will forget. But he changed my life.

I was an undergrad at Boston University and took Marketing 101, required for all freshman in the School of Management. Tom was our professor. He made it clear on day one that this would not be an easy course; he challenged us, he yelled at us, he made us think and most importantly, he helped us understand one thing:

Marketing is about Markets.

Tom taught us that understanding your market mattered more than how pretty your product was. He gave us lots of examples. He made us go out and talk to small business owners. He made us understand the investment in marketing and how it affective margins and profits.

He made us marketers.

So for all of you who enjoyed Tom as “The Car Guy”, I’m glad you did. But I will never forget how he changed my life forever.