Behind the Wheel was founded in 2007 by radio announcer/journalist Joel Helmes.

Joel realized during his time working for a number of different radio stations that despite the obvious, and long established, car-radio link there wasn’t a syndicated automotive radio segment available.

With a good knowledge and keen interest in cars, motoring and road safety, Joel set out to change that situation. He first established radio syndication company Helmes Media Solutions, then launched the daily Behind the Wheel segments.

Initial interest was strong and within a matter of weeks he was supplying the new offering to around 20 Australian radio stations. One of those stations was 3GG in Victoria who also requested a weekly long-form version of Behind the Wheel.

This lead to the commencement in production of the weekly one hour Behind the Wheel program.

Sustained growth in attracting new stations has continued and Behind the Wheel is now heard (as either a program or segment) on more than 150 stations, including radio stations in New Zealand and even Africa!

In 2010 Joel and the team turned their attention to establishing an on line presence and launched the weekly Behind the Wheel podcast.

In 2011 www.behindthewheel.com.au was launched. The website not only supports the radio and podcast platforms but features the latest new car reviews, car news, road safety news and opinion, and even motorcycle news.

Our team

	Joel Helmes Joel is the General Manager of Behind the Wheel. Joel has held presenter, news and producer roles at radio stations including 2UE, 4BC, 2KY, 4KQ and 2LT. Aside from running our day-to-day operations Joel also hosts the weekly Behind the Wheel radio program, segment and podcast.
	Paul Maric Paul is one of Australia’s most respected car reviewers. Testing in excess of 100 new vehicles each year he prides himself on delivering the best information and advice to car buyers. Paul always tells the story as it is – even if it means treading on the toes of car company big-wigs.
	Chris Miller Chris is a motoring journalist with a genuine passion for everything automotive. he prides himself on being first with latest motoring news, and providing fair and balanced reviews but he isn’t afraid to say it like it is. Chris can also be heard on various Melbourne radio stations as an announcer and traffic reporter.
	Cameron Hutcheson Cameron has worked in radio and the media since leaving school. He started out as a radio announcer but has held other positions including traffic reporter and even commentator at martial arts events! Cameron is a member of our news and editorial team.
	Garry Fabian Garry has worked as a freelance motoring journalist, editor and car reviewer for over 25 years. His articles have appeared in numerous publications in Australia and overseas. Garry is a valued member of the Behind the Wheel car review team.
	Steve McDowall Steve is our resident motorcycle expert. His passion for bikes was formed back in the 1980′s. Since then Steve has been a competitor and official in many road race events, was a founding member of the MATES road safety initiative and is a well respected professional riding instructor.
	Simon Lai Simon is an experienced radio presenter, journalist and photographer. Aside from contributing to our editorial team Simon also assists with technical aspects of our operation including audio production and content distribution.

Behind the Wheel radio segment/program

The Behind the Wheel radio program and daily segments are heard each week on radio stations and networks across Australia, New Zealand and internationally.

Hosted by Joel Helmes, regular contributors include Paul Maric, Steve McDowall, Russell White and Chris Miller.

Both the program and segments aim to deliver interesting and useful information on cars and motoring to a general audience.

The network of radio stations that air Behind the Wheel includes…

• 3GG Gippsland VIC
• EMFM 104.7FM Echuca VIC
• Seymour FM VIC
• Pheonix FM Bendigo VIC
• 99.7FM Mansfield VIC
• 106.9FM Alexandra VIC
• 98.9FM Flowerdale VIC
• 98.5FM Marysville VIC
• 88.9FM Yea VIC
• 94.5FM Kinglake Ranges VIC
• 2LT Lithgow NSW
• 2BH Broken Hill NSW
• 2Hay FM NSW
• 2GHR Holbrook NSW
• 91.9 STA FM Inverell NSW
• Bay FM Port Stephens NSW
• WayFM Launceston TAS
• Coast FM North-west TAS
• Hope FM Esperance WA
• Mt Barker Radio WA
• 88.7 Kik-FM Tablelands QLD
• 4AM Mareeba QLD
• Kool FM Far North QLD
• Wild Horse FM Yarraman QLD
• 106.5 Rhema Sun Coast QLD
• My 105.9 FM Mackay QLD
• My 88 FM Proserpine QLD
• 105.7 Rhema Mt Isa QLD
• 3MBR FM Mallee VIC and SA
• 5CC Port Lincoln SA
• 5YYY 107.7FM Whyalla SA
• 8KTR FM Katherine NT
• Spirit Radio Network across WA
• Flow FM Network across SA, VIC and NT
• Hume Travel Network NSW and VIC
• Kool FM 97.9 Coromandel Peninsula NZ
• Power Hit Radio Christchurch NZ
• Paragon FM Ghana
• On-line – Station X
• On-line – ZFM Country

The Behind the Wheel program and segments are distributed to commercial stations and networks by Helmes Media Solutions.

A community radio specific version of the Behind the Wheel program is also available via Air News.

Car reviews

Here at Behind the Wheel we pride ourselves on providing the highest quality new car reviews possible.

Our team of car reviewers includes Joel Helmes, Chris Miller, Garry Fabian and Paul Maric. Combined they have more than 50 years of car review experience.

We test drive hundreds of different vehicles each year from sports cars and city cars to family sedans, SUV’s, luxury saloons and even commercial vehicles – if it has four wheels we’ll check it out!

Our car review team write substantial and detailed reviews of each vehicle they drive, in particular covering important areas for car buyers such as value for money, safety, design, quality and usability.

We maintain a very healthy working relationship with car manufacturers and Australian car distributors and our car reviews are presented without bias, and with the sole intention of helping car buyers decide which vehicle is best for them.

Behind the Wheel also has a policy of never accepting direct advertising or endorsement from car manufacturers or distributors, we never have and never will.

If there’s a particular car brand or model that you would like us to review, but you can’t find it here, please contact us and we will see what we can arrange.

Alternatively if you have a particular question to ask about a vehicle we have reviewed feel free to get us via Facebook or Twitter.

Advertising

Our media kit is available here.

For advertising inquiries please contact our sales department via sales@behindthewheel.com.au

Contact

Editorial and other inquiries can be sent via our Contact Us page.

Postal Address: P.O. Box 175, Oatley NSW 2223.

Business info: Behind the Wheel Holdings PTY Limited ATF Helmes Family Trust.

ACN: 162 107 128