The City's Backyard Ep 46 Cars and Community with Norwalk's own Vinny Scicchitano! Vinny is one of the best mechanics in the backyard and we chat about keeping our rides running smoothly and how our automobiles are part of The American Dream!

From our guest in the city's backyard! Vinny Shiccitano! <br/>"I grew up in Norwalk and always, as far back as I can remember loved cars. I think that I first realized that I loved cars the Christmas of 1967. I was six years old and Santa gave me an HO Scale race car track. My brother, Cosmo, and I played with those tiny race cars every day. When my brother and I were small, our parents both worked at the Norwalk Drive-In Movie Theatre. They worked long nights in the snack bar. My brother and I sat in the car and watched movies and talked about the hundreds of different cars that came in every night. We particularly liked the old 1960’s muscle cars. We grew up in a great neighborhood in Norwalk with dozens of boys. We loved helping the older guys work on their hot rods. We spent years helping them; mostly laying under cars and helping them lift heavy transmission or waxing their cars. Every afternoon after school or football practice I would deliver my 242 newspapers a day and saved my money for the day that I could by my own car. Through an older friend from the neighborhood I got my first real job at a used car lot. Carriage House Motors was where I worked at the age of 14. I would change tires, clean cars, and swap parts. I loved that job and at 15 I built my first race car – a 1970 Vega – with a Corvette engine in it, which I completed and raced before I got my driver’s license. After my teen years of racing cars and working at repair shops, my focus switched to saving my money to someday own my own repair shop. At 22 an opportunity to partner with a friend from the neighborhood came up. We opened Professional Auto Center. I was a partner at that successful business for 16 years; however, the Reed-Putnam Redevelopment Project forced a split of the partnership. At that time I wanted to work with my brother, who had managed a shop in Stamford, that I had worked at as a teenager. Together we opened Accurate Auto Repair, where we have run a successful business for over 20 years. My dream of operating a business built on integrity, honesty, and high quality work, with a friendly family style atmosphere had been realized. My brother and I still drag race cars and still after all of these years love cars and love what we do and like the old saying goes, “If you love what you do, you will never work a day in your life.” I have always worked hard and remember the hard work ethic which was instilled in me by my parents. I have three beautiful children – Taylor, Rachel, and Brandon, with my wife Maria. We live in this great town of Norwalk. I try to give back to the community that has treated me so well. I am active in many organizations. I have been President and Recording Secretary at St. Ann’s Club, which donates money to many non-profit organizations and provides scholarship opportunities. I was the President and Vice President of the Norwalk Seaport Association, and I am member of the South Norwalk Boat Club. Accurate Auto Repair donates to many great deserving organizations in Fairfield County. My family and I are always thankful for what we have. We are so grateful to the thousands of customers that Accurate Auto Repair has acquired over the years. We believe in giving to those organizations that help better the lives of people in the community."