From Marriage to Motorheads: How a 2-Week Engagement Turned Into 37 Years of Life, Love & Jaguars

James and Melissa Smith of Driving with Melissa join us on their 37th wedding anniversary for an unforgettable ride through love, business, and horsepower.

💍 Married on June 4th, 1988, they skipped their own reception to move to Nashville for new jobs—just one of many bold moves they’ve made together.
 🚗 From their early days with a Volkswagen Scirocco and yellow Mustang to what’s now called “the rarest modern Jaguar collection in the world,” their journey is anything but ordinary.

🎖️ James spent 20 years jumping out of planes in the military just to pay off his car.
 💼 He later bought the HVAC company he started in the warehouse, building it into a business serving thousands.
 📱 Along the way, they accidentally built a social media empire, with their Facebook Reels topping 60 million views/month.

Their garage now holds rare treasures like the Jaguar XKR-S GT, Project 7, Project 8, F-Pace SVR, Porsche 911 4S, Audi R8 V10, Z06 Corvette, and a well-loved Bronco Raptor—all driven, not just displayed.

But the real story is about partnership, grit, and shared joy.
 As Melissa wisely says: “The more a husband involves his wife in the car community, the more likely the next car will come.”

Tune in for real talk on:

• 📈 Scaling a business from scratch
• 🛞 Car culture that builds connection
• 📸 Social media lessons from viral fame
• ❤️ Marriage, Family, longevity, and life on the road
  
  

🏎️🏁 Want to connect with Driving with Melissa?
🌴  Linktree https://linktr.ee/Drivingwithmelissa
🌐 Youtube: @drivingwithmelissa9757
📘Facebook @drivingwithmelissa
📸 Instagram: @drivingwithmelissa
📍 Threads: @drivingwithmelissa
📱TikTok  @drivingwithmeliss

📲 Follow & Subscribe to the Charge Forward Podcast:

📌 Follow the Charge Forward Podcast
🎙️Podcast Page https://chargeforwardsolutions.com/podcast
📘Facebook https://facebook.com/chargeforwardpodcast
📱TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@chargeforwardpodcast
🐦X https://x.com/ChargeForwardX
📱Instagram https://www.instagram.com/chargeforwardpodcast
🎥YouTube: Charge Forward Podcast Channel

💡 New episodes drop every Thursday!

📣 Special thanks to our sponsors:
💳 Charge Forward Solutions – Merchant Services
📈 Sense Development – Executive & Data Services
📈Sense-Leads - Wholesale Lead Services
🎥 HitLab Studios – Podcast Production
🌟 Rosemary Salazar – Virtual Assistant Services