About Michael Stahl

Michael Stahl, proprietor of Slotmeister Slot Racing Events, is one of Australia's best-known motoring journalists. His career in print has spanned more than 25 years, some 20 of those as a columnist and contributor for Australia's premier motoring magazine, Wheels. Michael has also been a key presenter on the TV motoring programs, DriveTime and Drive.

"Stahly" was born in 1962 into a motor sport family. His father, Max Stahl, was a former touring car racer and editor of the Australian motor sport monthly, Racing Car News. His mother, Margaret, was a State hillclimb champion in her Escort Twin Cam.

Michael cut his teeth at Racing Car News, Motor and Wheels magazines through the 1980s. A committed freelance since 1990, he has continued to write for Wheels, and was Motoring Writer for The Australian Financial Review newspaper for 10 years. He has won numerous awards for his feature stories, and was named Dunlop Australian Motoring Journalist of the Year in 1998.

"Michael swears he's not much of a journalist. That's okay, because I reckon he's probably the best motoring writer in the country today. Stahl's style is fluid, funny and getting better with age. And, fascinatingly, he manages to do it without typecasting himself" - Angus MacKenzie, then-editor, Wheels magazine, 1998.

From 2000-'04 Michael lived in Paris, where he was a columnist and contributor for Car magazine (UK). His feature articles have also appeared in US motoring titles Motor Trend, Automobile and Edmunds Inside Line. Though Michael is perhaps one of Australia's best-known motoring writers, he has often written on topics such as culture, technology and travel for Men's Style, The Bulletin, The Good Weekend and Qantas - The Australian Way.

Michael is married with two daughters and lives in Sydney, where his garage contains his private slot-car track and a small, but infuriating collection of classic Italian motorcycles.

Want more? To order your copy of Anything on Wheels Stahly's favourite tales from 25 years on borrowed time and borrowed tyres, click here.