I could hear the ATIS and talk
with ground control five miles from the airport on the freeway. I could drive
along I-5 on the coast and talk with LA Center's RCO on Catalina Island.
Were you really "talking" to these stations? The 108-136 MHz
band(s) is(are) for /air/ mobile operations. Talking to LA
Center while driving on I5 would seem to be illegal.

since he was "driving" in LA (I sitting in endless traffic), I highly
highly doubt he was "mobile." Maybe he was on a tall off-ramp so might
have been in the "air."

Gerald