Although he specializes in Japanese and German cars, John Fisher also restores vintage models. Fisher’s first car was a 1963 Volkswagen Bug.
Photo by Ryan Lely/Sonoma Valley Sun
Metric Motors owner John Fisher stumbled upon his life’s passion at the age of seven. As a youngster growing up in Napa, he showed early curiosity in mechanical devices. By his teen years he’d successfully disassembled most clocks he’d come in contact with; by high school he’d made the logical transition to bicycles. When John Fisher got his first car, a 1963 Volkswagen Bug, it was like the past and future culminating in the steel forged soul of a bright bean-shaped VW.
“When you get your first car, most people’s instinct is to drive it,” said Fisher, reclined behind his desk at his shop on 8th St. East. “When I got mine, I took it apart in my dad’s garage.” Unlike the alarm clocks that had, one by one, found a permanent home in a heaping pile of mechanical carnage, Fisher managed to piece the car back together. He’s been doing it ever since.
His Sonoma shop specializes in Japanese and German cars, as well as hybrid and alternative fuel vehicles.
“I really love old cars, too,” said Fisher, who was involved in the mechanical restoration of vintage models at his old shop in San Francisco. ”We’re currently installing suspension, disc brakes and an engine into a 1946 Chevy.”
Fisher opened his first shop in SoMa in 1986, where he immersed himself in car mechanics for twenty years. While there, he developed a reputation for honesty and hard work, often barely breaking even on repairs due to his meticulous work habits.
He and his family moved to Sonoma in 2004, and after selling his San Francisco shop in 2006, Fisher opened Metric Motors here in May. He shares the warehouse with Brian Sullivan, who moved GT-Sullivan Tire & Wheel into the accompanying space.
“I just wanted to start over,” said Fisher, who found the majority of the equipment currently in his warehouse on Craigslist, including a diagnostic computer. “People should feel free to bring in their cars, and we’re happy to hook them up to the computer for free. We’ll let them know what’s wrong with it, and if they want to go somewhere else afterwards, so be it.”
Despite the meticulous habits that made success at times difficult in his San Francisco shop, Fisher managed to stay in business due to in part to his trustworthiness. Some city dwellers are willing to make the 50-mile drive to Sonoma in order for him to work on their car. George Vasquez, a mechanic who worked for Fisher in San Francisco, joined the team this summer.
“There is such a nice quality of life here,” said Fisher. His three children (Nikki, Rachel and Ryan) all attend Sonoma schools, and his wife Alice is a constant support. “This is my passion. I will be doing this as long as I can do it. I know automobiles better than anything else. So to be able to help people in the community solve what oftentimes can be a very distressing problem is a plus. We help them get back on the road and on with their lives as quickly and efficiently as possible.
“The field of car mechanics is always evolving,” said Fisher, who prides himself on staying current with the latest automotive advancements. “I recently took a course on EVAP, which is short for evaporative emissions. It’s a new technology that traps the evaporated gas emitted from the tank. Normally, the fumes filter into the air and contribute to pollution. This new device traps them,” he explained. “The evolutionary potential of the automotive industry is so intriguing. I am glad to be a part of it, and look forward to the day when clean burning systems are fully implemented. If it were a manageable alternative at this time, I would definitely go electric.” It seems unusual for an auto repair shop owner to promote alternative energy sources that might eventually simplify car maintenance to a toggle switch, and possibly institute a drastic downsizing in the field of automobile mechanics. But John Fisher is not your typical auto repair shop owner, and Metric Motors is anything but a typical auto repair shop.
