David Fetherston ?
Not him..
Scott Bayley ?
..or him.
I'm no longer in the puzzle-solving business, but is this author-to-be known for having a large collection of cars, which he keeps in a eponymous garage?
I'm not aware that he has his own car collection, but he might have.
He's very well known in car circles, having written many books about cars, but the puzzle car belongs to what I believe was to be his first work of fiction.
And just to give you another clue, he's from somewhere in your own neck of the woods!