The Voice Of Our AMC Doc: Ted Limpert! — TILA PODCAST Ep2

The TTAC Creators Series tells stories and amplifies creators from all corners of the car world, including culture, dealerships, collections, modified builds and more.

A transcript, cleaned up via AI and edited by a human staffer, is below.

[Image: YouTube Screenshot]

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Transcript:

Ted:

Most of the projects I do—probably 90 percent—are corporate. Nothing especially exciting. When I tell people I’m a voiceover actor, they usually ask, “Oh, have I heard you in anything?” And I’m like, “I don’t know… have you ever heard the ‘important safety information’ at the end of a pharmaceutical ad?”

So when you guys reached out, even before I officially got the job, I was already telling people, “Hey, I might be narrating a show for PBS.” That felt pretty exciting. New Ken Burns over here—at least the voice part.

Narrator:

The Last Independent Automaker podcast was sponsored in part by Visit Detroit, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, MotorCities National Heritage Area, and by more than 375 individuals and organizations who donated to this project. Thank you.

Joe:

Hello and welcome back to another episode of The Last Independent Automaker podcast, where we take a look behind the scenes at how we made our documentary on American Motors.

Today’s episode is a fun one. I’m your producer, director, and—technically—host. I’m joined by my co-producer Jim Needle, and also by my friend Ted Liberto, who is an actor, writer, director, voiceover artist, scuba diver, and former Price Is Right contestant. Did I get all of that?

Ted:

Yeah, that’s about right.

Joe:

Ted is the voice of our documentary. It’s funny—on YouTube, someone commented, “Stupid AI narrator.” And I was like, “No, he’s a real person. I’ve met him.”

But seriously, Ted, you were fantastic to work with. I loved how the documentary turned out, so thanks for joining us.

Ted:

Thanks. Ditto—it was great working with you guys. Such a fun project.

Jim:

Joe and I actually have a funny story about how we found you. I’ve worked with voiceover artists before, but Joe mostly narrated his own YouTube content. When we submitted a rough cut of the first episode to Maryland Public Television, most of the feedback was minor—change this, tweak that.

But one note said, “You are going to hire a professional voiceover guy, right?”

Joe:

That felt like a passive-aggressive way of saying, “Please don’t narrate your own documentary.”

Jim:

To be fair, they knew Joe’s work already. Familiarity can make people want something different. We talked a lot about whether Joe should do the narration. I was initially in favor, because you could hear how much he cared about the subject. But ultimately, bringing Ted in made sense.

Ted:

I remember when you first reached out, I looked at your YouTube channel and noticed you narrated everything yourself. I wondered why you wanted me, but I’m glad it worked out. Self-directing is hard, especially when you’re close to the project.

Joe:

Once we got that feedback, I asked Jim to handle the search. I had no idea how to find voiceover talent. Jim took a clever approach—he literally Googled “voiceover talent” plus different first names.

Jim:

I started with “Bob.” Then “Mike.” Then “John.” Eventually I searched “voiceover Ted,” and you came up. I reached out to about ten people total.

Ted:

That’s wild to me. I’ve spent years obsessing over SEO, and you found me by Googling my name. My dad’s a politician, so his website usually outranks mine.

Joe:

We narrowed it down to two people and asked for auditions. I didn’t know if that was normal, but Jim said it was standard practice. When we listened back, it was clear—you were the one.

Later, I told my brother what kind of voice we were looking for, and he said, “You’re not looking for an announcer. You’re looking for a teacher.” That really clicked.

Ted:

That’s exactly the vibe I aim for—teacher, storyteller. That’s how I like to approach narration.

Joe:

When we first reached out, what did you think about the project?

Ted:

I was thrilled. I tried not to sound too eager, but I was very excited. I’d always wanted to narrate a documentary. I’d been doing a lot of pharmaceutical work—great for paying the bills, but not creatively exciting.

This project felt different. Even though I’m not a huge car guy, my family history is tied to the auto world. It just felt like the right fit.

Joe:

We did all the sessions remotely. Ted was in his sound booth, I was at home with the script. Sessions would run three or four hours, then we’d do pickups later—sometimes another full script. It went on for months.

Ted:

At first, it was a shock. Three hours in, still pages to go—and no air conditioning in the booth. But it was fun. I learned a lot, and the story itself was fascinating.

Joe:

I can be a stickler. Sometimes I needed a line to hit a very specific emotional note or timing to match the music. Ted, you were incredibly patient.

Ted:

That direction really helped. Knowing the backstory made a big difference. It felt like taking a course on AMC history, and it helped me understand the emotional highs and lows.

Joe:

One of my favorite moments is the sequence where AMC lays off workers near Christmas, and then the CEO gets a raise. We didn’t have time to explain why that was bad—but your delivery made it clear.

Ted:

That kind of irony is great to play as an actor. The story had real drama.

Joe:

When you finally saw the finished project, what did you think?

Ted:

I loved it. Most of my work, I never watch afterward. But this was different. My grandfather watched it and loved it. That meant a lot.

Joe:

Before we wrap up, I have to ask—The Price Is Right.

Ted:

Yes. I was the first person called up. I won the first showcase, won my pricing game, and ended up with a year’s rent, car payments, and phone bills covered—plus TVs and other prizes. It was unreal.

Joe:

That’s incredible.

Ted:

Honestly, the biggest win was the experience. But this documentary? That’s one of my favorite projects I’ve ever done.

Joe:

And it shows. We didn’t want a “voice of God” narrator—we wanted someone to guide the audience. You did exactly that.

Ted:

That means a lot. It was fulfilling in a big way, and I’m grateful for the experience.