Harris began his career in the automotive industry working for Autocar magazine,[2] performing various menial labour tasks, or, as he himself describes it, "cleaning ashtrays".[6] Eventually, he was promoted to an official road-test editor position within Autocar magazine and gained recognition and credibility as a journalist by writing many automotive reviews, as well as a regular opinion column.[2] At Autocar magazine, Harris earned the nickname of "Monkey", a reference to an unseen character "Monkey" Harris in Only Fools and Horses.[7] In 2008, Harris left Autocar magazine to co-found a new web-based digital platform called Drivers Republic.