Peter Valdes-Dapena has been writing and editing consumer-focused automotive content for CNNMoney.com for the past seven years, covering everything from shopping and financing strategies to the vehicles themselves. A lifelong auto enthusiast, Valdes-Dapena grew up around cars and car magazines with a father who was an amateur racer. He earned a degree in Video-Film Communication in 1989 and a journalism degree in 1995, both from the University of Miami. In between, he worked in a variety jobs, including a stint as a car salesman.

Valdes-Dapena also worked as a business reporter and science writer before joining Money magazine's Web site in 2000 as an editor for automotive and other consumer content. Since that time, he has moved to working exclusively on autos and is responsible for CNNMoney.com's and CNN.com's Autos sections.