Life Plus Cars Nov 4, 2025

#22: Writing Plus Cars

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Car

Volkswagen GTI

The Volkswagen GTI is a popular small car that is fun to drive and has a sporty feel. Many people like it for its speed and handling.

Car

Ford Mustang

The Ford Mustang is a classic American car that is known for being fast and stylish. It's a favorite among many car lovers.

Concept

slot cars

Slot cars are tiny toy cars that you can race on a special track. They have a groove that helps them stay on the track while you control them with a remote.

Car

Mercury Capri

The Mercury Capri is a small car made by the Mercury brand, which was part of Ford. It was popular in the 1980s and 1990s and had a sporty look, similar to the Ford Mustang.

Car

Ford Capri

The Capri is a sporty car made by Ford that was popular a long time ago. It's known for looking good and being fun to drive.

Car

Ford Merkur XR4Ti

The Ford Merkur XR4Ti is a rare car from the late 1980s that was known for its unusual design and sporty features. It had a turbocharged engine and a unique rear wing that made it stand out.

Car

Volkswagen Golf

The Volkswagen Golf is a small car that many people use for daily driving. It's known for being easy to handle and fun to drive, making it a great choice for new drivers.

Car

Mitsubishi Starion

The Mitsubishi Starion is a sporty car from the 1980s that many people enjoyed driving. It's known for being fast and fun, and it was easy to work on for those who liked to tinker with their cars.

Concept

SVT

SVT is a part of Ford that makes special, high-performance versions of their cars, like faster sports cars.

Car

Ford GT500

The Ford GT500 is a super-fast version of the Mustang, which is a popular sports car made by Ford.

Car

Shelby GT500

The GT500 is a super fast version of the Ford Mustang. It's built for people who love speed and want a car that looks really cool.

Term

carbon ceramic brakes

Carbon ceramic brakes are special brakes made from a mix of carbon and ceramic. They work better than regular brakes, especially in fast cars, because they can handle heat better and are lighter.

Term

wheel size

Wheel size is how big the wheels on a car are, usually measured in inches. Bigger wheels can make a car look cooler and handle better, but they might make the ride a bit rougher.

Term

tire section width

Tire section width is how wide a tire is from one side to the other, measured in millimeters. Wider tires can help a car grip the road better, but they might use more gas and make the ride bumpier.

Car

Mercedes-Maybach

Mercedes-Maybach is a very luxurious version of Mercedes cars, designed to be super comfortable and stylish.

Car

Chevrolet Corvette

The Corvette is a famous sports car made by Chevrolet, known for being fast and having a cool design.

Car

Volkswagen Doka

The Doka is a special version of a Volkswagen van that has two rows of seats, making it great for carrying people and stuff.

Car

Genesis G80

The Genesis G80 is a fancy car made by the Genesis brand, which is known for luxury vehicles. It's designed to be comfortable and has a lot of high-tech features.

Car

BMW G80

Car

Genesis GV80

The Genesis GV80 Coupe is a fancy SUV that looks sporty and has a lot of nice features. It's made by Genesis, a brand known for luxury cars.

Term

Napa leather

Napa leather is a type of soft leather used in fancy cars. It's smooth and feels nice, which is why many luxury cars use it for their seats and interiors.

Car

Mercedes-Benz Sclass

The S-Class is a really fancy car made by Mercedes-Benz. It's known for being super comfortable and having a lot of cool features, making it a popular choice for people who want a luxurious ride.

Term

7-series

The 7 Series is a luxury car from BMW. It's designed to be very comfortable and has a lot of high-tech features, similar to the S-Class from Mercedes-Benz.

Car

Ford Transit Connect

The Ford Transit Connect is a small van that can carry a lot of stuff. It's often used by businesses but can also be a family car. It's known for being practical and fuel-efficient.

Car

Ford Transit

The Transit Custom is a van made by Ford that's great for carrying things. It's often used by businesses because it has a lot of room and is easy to drive.

Term

horsepower

Horsepower tells you how powerful an engine is. The more horsepower, the faster and more powerful the car can be.

Term

twin turbo V6

A twin turbo V6 engine has two turbochargers that help it produce more power. This means the car can go faster and perform better than a regular V6 engine.

Car

Genesis G90

The Genesis G90 is a fancy car that offers a lot of comfort and technology. It's designed to compete with other luxury cars like BMW and Mercedes-Benz.

Car

BMW 5 Series

The BMW 5 Series is a luxury car that offers a mix of style, comfort, and performance. It's a popular choice for those looking for a high-quality sedan.

Term

rear wheel steering

Rear wheel steering is a feature that helps the back wheels of a car turn, making it easier to steer, especially in tight spaces. It can also help the car stay stable at high speeds.

Term

daily driver

A daily driver is a car you use every day, like to go to work or run errands. It's usually comfortable and dependable.

Term

six speed transmission

A six speed transmission is a system in a car that helps it change gears smoothly. It has six different settings to help the car go faster or save fuel.

Car

Genesis G70

The G70 is a fancy car made by Genesis that feels luxurious and drives really well. It's a good option for people looking for a nice car without spending too much.

Car

BMW M5

The M5 is a fast and sporty version of a regular BMW 5 Series car. It's built for people who love to drive and want a car that feels exciting and powerful.

Car

Toyota GR Corolla

The GR Corolla is a sportier version of the regular Corolla car made by Toyota. It has a powerful engine and is designed to be more fun to drive.

Car

Mazda Miata

Mazda is a car company that makes fun-to-drive cars. One of their popular models is the Miata, which is a small, sporty car that's great for driving around.

Car

Audi Rs6

The RS6 Avant is a fancy and fast station wagon made by Audi. It has a powerful engine and can carry a lot of stuff while still being fun to drive.

Car

Volvo 850R

The Volvo 850R is a sporty version of the regular Volvo 850 car. It has a powerful engine and is built for better performance, making it fun to drive while still being practical.

Car

Volvo V70R

The Volvo V70R is a sporty version of the Volvo V70, which is a wagon. It has a strong engine and better handling, making it a fun car to drive while still being useful for carrying things.

Car

Volvo V70

The V70 is a wagon made by Volvo that's known for being safe and having a lot of space. It's a good choice for families who need room for kids and stuff.

Car

Volvo XC70

The XC70 is a wagon made by Volvo that can also handle rough roads like an SUV. It's safe and comfortable, making it a good choice for families.

Car

Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing

The Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing is a fast and powerful version of the CT5 car. It's made for people who love driving and want a mix of comfort and speed.

Car

The rear, the back tailgate, like, was a swing-out, you know?

Yes.

And when my mom would be, if we were going up the hill sometimes,

me and my buddy, or me and my brother sometimes,

would be in the back seat, and the tailgate would fly open.

We'd be like, the door is open, and my mom would scream

and slam on the brakes, and the door would stand shut.

I was like, wow, this is, I feel like cars

are a different bet.

That's what I'm saying.

Welcome back, wife plus cars community.

We have another special guest joining us this evening,

and Brenda and I are always excited

to have new people on the podcast

to share their stories plus cars.

And tonight, we have invited Neil Stender to join us.

He's a local automotive journalist

and has done a lot in the car world, both as a writer

and other parts of the industry

that he's going to talk to us about.

And looking forward to the conversation, right, Brendan?

Oh, me as well.

I can't wait.

We're going to have a good time talking to this guy.

Little background research.

He likes of all of those.

I can't wait to talk to him.

So in the words of Bob Barker, come on down, Neil.

Here we go.

All right, Neil.

Welcome to the Life Plus Cars podcast.

Thanks, Harry, for having me.

Nice to meet you.

Yeah, nice to meet you, Brendan.

Yeah, excellent.

Well, Neil, thank you for joining us.

We're really glad to have you here to the listeners out there.

Neil is a mutual connection through another friend

of the podcast, Cody Waylon.

And that was how we were exactly three pedals New England.

So Neil, I thought we could start off just talking

about that connection there in terms of how you know Cody.

Because we actually had Cody on a little while ago.

I think he's episode nine if I have that correct there

in our catalog.

So yeah, I thought we could start there.

As far as, I mean, how we're all connected there.

Yeah, for sure.

Yeah, I actually was reading an article in the Wall Street

Journal like a few years ago.

And it was about somebody's teaching people how to drive

stick.

I was like, that's crazy.

It's a driving school.

And I'm reading this article.

I'm like, what a cool idea.

And I googled the three pedals afterward.

I think in the article, it just said three pedals.

I don't know if it said New England,

but nonetheless, I was shocked when he was like, it's in Dover.

And he had his address kind of like listed at the bottom.

And I looked it up.

And I mean, I could almost walk to his house about a mile away.

And that's amazing.

Yeah, super random.

And so I just was like, I got to reach out to this guy just

because.

And so I emailed him or something.

He got back to me.

We got together for coffee downtown Dover and hit it off.

And then I ended up working with him for a while,

teaching people how to drive stick.

Because I just, it's like my favorite thing in the world.

So yeah, got to know him.

And that's how I ultimately got connected to you,

and got to do our drive.

So yeah, kind of a random, random way to get together.

But yeah.

Yeah, car people find a way.

Totally.

Oh, yeah.

There's always a through line.

Yeah.

I mean, that's just so cool.

And I didn't realize that you're that close to Cody

there and Dover.

That's wild.

Yeah, like I drive by, it's even,

I'm sure you guys will appreciate this as like,

you notice cars and you're like, oh, that car lives over there.

I'll say this.

And people will be like, what do you mean it lives there?

I'm like, well, it's a cool car.

So I just, it lives there.

And so when I saw his address, I drive by that.

I go down the street a lot for my kids' sports stuff.

And I'm like, I wonder if it's the house with all those

cool like GTI.

And like, I think I'd seen Ian's Mustang and some other

stuff and shirt off.

It's like, oh yeah, that's the house.

That's the one.

Yeah, super random.

Yeah.

Oh, my gosh, anything with a big garage.

I'm always just always curious.

Always curious.

Oh, that's funny.

No, because I love that.

And I read that in one of your articles, just how like you

refer to cars as like a living being or like one of the family.

Oh, it lives at this house.

Or, you know, the one down down on the street lives over

there.

Like, well, they are exactly.

I mean, I talk to them all the time.

I mean, totally.

Yeah.

So where did it all begin for you, Neil?

What were you stacking matchbox cars like Ian there?

I wasn't stacking matchbox cars, but I was playing with slot

cars in my case.

Oh, yeah.

In fact, I just got.

So my kids are now I have two, I have 12, 13 year old twins

and a 14 year old daughter.

And like last year, I got a full slot car track.

We have a barn.

It's like a two story two story barn with the cars below.

I built a track up in the garage because I mean, they were

like, this is cool.

And I'm like, this is the coolest thing ever because it's kind

of what I grew up doing.

Yeah.

And like with my two stories.

Oh, my God.

Yeah, he's sick.

And so, yes, I would say slot cars.

And then my dad was a car and driver subscriber.

And man, I distinctly remember just like flipping through

the magazine all the time.

And micro machines.

That was the other ones.

It was like the kids.

Oh, I remember micro machine.

Yeah.

Little, yeah.

Oh, yeah.

Little guys.

Oh, my gosh.

Yeah.

I have the van that unfolds into all the roads and buildings.

So cool.

Like the carrying case.

Man, I feel like that's like a potential future business thing

for like the stage bracket.

You know, I would be like, oh, don't like collect micro

machines if they're like selling them again.

But we're just going eBay in there.

Millions.

Yeah, make it easy.

Total nostalgia buy.

Oh, my gosh.

But yeah, that and then yeah, just working with him on cars

and then on his cars and then, you know,

getting my own cars as I got like license and stuff

fixing mine, him helping me and just kind of took it

from there.

Yeah.

Just always working on them and reading about them.

And definitely my dad, I mean, that was the big.

Yeah.

You know, it's a.

Yeah, that's that's same with me.

Yeah, my dad, big influence on that.

He was always a car guy.

Cool.

You'd always be holding the light, wrenching on cars,

motor trend magazine, all that.

Yeah, for sure.

Yeah, loved it.

What's what kind of cars were you working on with him,

Neil growing up?

The one that I remember, he had a lot of cars.

He had this.

It was like a late 80s.

It was a Fox body, but it wasn't.

It was the Capri, the Mercury Capri.

Oh, sure.

Yep.

Super cool.

And then he had a AmeriCorps XR4 Ti.

I kind of remember like fiddling around on that.

That was a weird car.

Oh, that's so obscure.

I can't believe it even existed in the US.

It was such a bizarre.

Every time I see one today, I'm like, God,

that is the craziest thing with that biplane wing on the back.

Yes, it looks like a little like mini Cosworth kind of rally.

Yes, really much, really much.

Yeah, and then, yeah, and then you got my sister,

my older sister got an old Volkswagen Golf.

That was like the first kid car, you know,

and then I helped her on that thing and like kind of

started to drive on it and then just a bunch of stuff from there.

But Mitsubishi Starion, lots of fun,

like interesting early cars that I got to,

they were like easy to take apart and do stuff on, you know.

Yep.

Yeah, not like today's stuff.

You got to hook it up to a computer no matter what it is.

No way, man.

Yeah, I wouldn't even, some of the stuff I don't want to go near.

I'm like, can I just have an old car

so I can just take it apart and put it back together?

Oh, tell me about it.

Yeah.

So then moving on to how did that translate

into you writing about cars?

So that's, I mean, obviously I love cars

because you don't do that full-time, right?

Writing about them, it's a passion project,

or is it full-time?

Like literally within the last two to three years,

it's become full-time.

Yes, I'm super excited, yeah.

Yeah, it's like, I went to college for engineering

for mechanical engineering because I want to work on cars.

I got a job at Ford in vehicle dynamics with SVT

and I was like, all right, I'm set.

Like this is the best thing ever.

I was working on the GT500, and we were like,

which is awesome.

Oh, dad, I mean, it was so sick.

I couldn't, it was like, I couldn't believe it.

It just kind of weirdly happened.

Yes.

I got an internship out there, went well,

and then I went out there and worked

and they were like, put me with SVT.

I didn't even, I'm sure I requested it,

not expecting to get it.

And then Ford went through one of those big downturns,

you know, like they lay off, they'll be like,

oh, Ford's laying off 10% of their workforce or whatever.

And I was in the, like it was the youngest people

in all the departments or whatever.

So he like knocked me out of that

automotive engineering pretty early.

And then I just got into like, I got into sales.

That's kind of what I did for a long time.

Then we had kids and I started writing.

Like, I actually looked it up right before I got on here

because I was like, is that website still up?

And I started writing for myself,

like a blog about, a lot of like road trips actually turns out.

I do remember writing this stuff,

probably like almost 15 years ago

and like really goofy old WordPress sites, you know?

Yeah, totally.

Yeah, and then I got into like the freelance gigs

for just random stuff that people would pay me

very little money.

And I was like, okay.

And then I started writing about cars.

So I was like, like, turns out I can write about,

you know, freelance gigs about cars,

again for like nothing.

But I was like, this is cool.

And I still had a real job during all this.

And then about like five years ago,

I went strictly into, you know,

writing about cars for all different sites,

like online gig style.

And then, well, we moved here three years ago

from St. Louis.

And while I was in St. Louis,

I had a full-time engineering job there

that didn't translate to remote.

And I had been writing on the side, you know,

the whole time I just,

I was able to kind of dial up the amount of time

because I was no longer in a full-time job.

And then I actually literally within the last

like three or four months,

I became a member at the New England Motor Press Association

and made me, I was always curious.

Like I'd read stuff in car and driver,

Wall Street Journal, whatever.

And these people would be like,

oh, you know, when they drop off the Ferrari

in my driveway or, you know,

these like statements they would make,

like there's some of these cars are showing up

and they're like, they're driving them for a week.

I'm like, what is that?

You know, and I had to like,

how do I sign up for that?

Yeah, like I want to do that,

but I don't even know what that is, you know?

And it took me like a while to kind of Google it

and figure it all out.

And so here we are, like I just went to this event,

like with this press association

and now I'm going to be getting,

like I'm going to be getting new cars

in my driveway every week to drive for the week

and like review.

That's awesome.

Dude, yeah.

Which is incredible.

Yeah, I'm like, I'm still a little like,

you know, like imposter syndrome,

I think it was the name of it where you're like,

people are like, oh, you're this?

I'm like, yeah, I'm not that.

I'm an automotive journalist, you know?

Like I'm not sure.

Cause I have buddies that went to school

for journalism, like they're true journalists,

not for cars, but for whatever.

And people be like, so you're an automotive journalist

and I put it on my LinkedIn and stuff.

Cause I'm like, well, yeah, I mean, kind of,

but like it feels really weird.

Cause I, I'm like, I'm like more of a blogger,

but I love cars.

And people seem to be willing to pay me

to write about them.

So.

No, honestly, I would, I would say that you are

the exact perfect person to write about them

because of the way you did it

with your mechanical engineering background.

I guess.

You're actually when you, you know,

quote unquote, review a car,

you're going to look at it from a much different perspective

than someone that is just strictly a journalist

that's not necessarily a car person.

That's true.

Like for me being a car guy,

like I don't want to read what the journalist writes.

I want to read what the engineers are writing about.

Cause they're going to give you an honest opinion

about the actual car.

Yeah.

It's like, oh, the Napa leather was so soft.

So soft.

Yeah.

How did it shift?

How was the power?

Like, did it have any crudely rattles?

How are the door gaps?

Like, was it?

Yeah.

Well, that's what I'm super, I'm super sad.

I was, I've been like, as I've transit,

as I was working to get this as like,

it was hard to figure out

how to do this press loaner thing

and how to like join the organization

and get these cars.

It was one of those things

you couldn't just Google how to do it.

Like I was trying to figure it out.

I was talking to people, asking questions,

kind of getting nowhere.

So I started, actually it's how I met Ian

with his Mustang.

I was like, all right.

Well, I'm just going to go find people

with cool cars around here and do that.

You know, like I'll review their cars with them.

And so I, there's a guy down the street here

that I met that has this like epic car collection.

Boy, I read the article.

Oh my gosh.

What a, what a, just use it down the street.

Literally down the street.

I was like, I drive by and you were saying, Brendan,

like, you know, you see a house with a garage

and you're kind of like peeking a little bit.

Oh.

And like, I'd be driving by and periodically,

and it's, I mean, it's truly like six houses down.

It's on my street.

And it's a very nice home.

Like it looks nice from the outside,

but you wouldn't, I would just see these cars

coming and going.

I'm like, there's a lot of cool cars in there.

And every so often the garage door would be open.

I'd be like, what is that?

It was kind of off in the distance.

And I got in there and like, I was awesome, you know,

and I'm taking all these pictures.

And he's like, he's like, what are you taking a picture of?

I'm like, oh man, the brakes in this are sick.

You know, like are these carbon ceramic?

Like, how big are these?

He's like, I don't know.

I was like, oh, they're cool though.

You know, oh my gosh.

22 inches in the wheel.

Totally, yeah.

Like probably those like tires and like this section width.

I'm like, yeah, I definitely nerd out

of that kind of engineering.

The Maybach.

I mean, he's got the Mercedes and he's got the Porsche

that he's got Corvette.

It's like, what a mix of cars.

Crazy.

Doka, Volkswagen.

Yeah, which was sick with all like, done up like the Porsche.

And I want to like, I want to see him because he's got more cars.

That's just what he had at his house.

Like, he's crazy, man.

But yeah, yeah, it's been a good sort of like, I really like,

like I had a lot of fun with Ian doing the Mustang with him

and Cody with his car.

And then this guy, I didn't get to go for a ride with him

on his car, so I'm going to try to like revisit that

because they have a lot of cool cars in there.

But yeah, I appreciate that.

I am right from that more technical perspective

because I like that stuff.

Yeah, you're a car guy.

So they get the perspective you get right from.

Absolutely.

Totally, totally.

Yeah, it's cool.

And I, yeah, it's definitely inspiring to me, Neil,

because I mean, you have that as you tried

more non-traditional path towards being a journalist

and writing about cars.

And that's inspiring to me because that's something

that I've always had in the back of my mind.

Like, man, that's just the dream of that.

Yeah.

Like, the car shows up in your driveway

and let's talk about it, let's drive it.

Like, we just really dig into this.

And that's so.

Crazy.

It's really inspiring to hear that

and the journey you've had with that

to get to this place.

Yeah, totally, totally.

That's the first, I got a Genesis G80.

That was like the first time it happened.

And it was like, I actually kind of did like a,

I didn't know what I was doing.

And I was just like reaching out to people,

calling and emailing.

And I, because I got invited to this Genesis event.

It was so outrageous.

I had never been done.

I've heard it.

That was another thing they talked about.

It was like press junkets, you know?

It's like, oh, I'm going on a press event.

And I got hooked into it by a guy.

He was one of my editors.

And he's like, I know you want to do this stuff.

I can't go.

Do you want to go?

I'm like, yeah.

And so we go to Minneapolis and we stayed at like

the four seasons and it was super, super fancy.

Got to drive the GV80 coupe, had a ton of fun.

And I'm there.

And I'm like, talking to all the people there,

like the PR and the marketing people,

they're super friendly.

Like they want you to have a good time.

And I'm like, can I get, you know,

they had all their cars there.

Like we were driving other stuff too.

I'm like, is there any chance I can get

like one of these at my house to like drive for a week?

They're like, yeah, totally.

And so they, I get home

and they kind of like, they kind of set it up.

And that's how I, I don't know if I was supposed

to do it that way.

Cause that's technically the job

of like the press association.

But they were like, who are you?

I'm like, I don't know.

I just met these Genesis people

and they said they give me a car.

And they're like, okay, are you a member?

I'm like, I'm not a member.

And that's kind of how I got into it.

Yeah, but it like, dude, they like pull up

and they just, just do drives,

your drives of car and your driveways.

Like here's, here's the keys.

Like I'll be back in a week to pick it up.

Do whatever you want.

I'm like, what?

It's, it's awesome.

It's awesome.

Very dream.

Yes.

Yeah.

That's awesome.

So what did you think of it?

Yeah.

So the Genesis was like,

so I would argue, like for me,

I personally love older, more analog,

like stick shift stuff, you know,

that's like where I want to be.

But I, man, like objectively,

the Genesis is outrageous.

I don't, I don't know.

I don't know the last time

like really a luxury car for like a long time,

but the Napa leather was super soft.

That's like, truly.

Well, I mean, it's an S-class beater, right?

Or a 7-class beater.

Like that's, that's what it's competing against.

That's a third of the cost.

Yeah.

And it's, I mean like,

I haven't been an S-class in a long time

while my kids got in the car

and my daughter's like,

Dad, I feel like Jeff Bezos.

I'm like, well, in fairness,

like you normally ride around in a 10 year old

Ford Transit Connect with no floor mats

and like disgusting upholstery.

So, you know, yeah.

Also no sound deadening.

So I can see how any vehicle

would feel like your Jeff Bezos,

but it is truly like super nice.

And like it's got a huge motor

and I think it's like 365 horsepower.

It's a twin turbo V6.

Oh, I was just going to ask if you,

it was the 50 Ultimate, the G90

or if it was the G80.

G80.

Yeah, I guess the five series, right?

Not the S-class.

Yeah, I've always, I've always wanted the G-

Dude.

The 50 because it's inexpensive compared to the others,

but that freaking motor, oh.

It's crazy.

Yeah, I'd love to drive that.

And this one had like, it had rear wheel steering

and it was crazy.

Like I couldn't stop putting my foot in it.

A lot of fun.

Yeah.

And plus it's so nice to have all of those systems

like all wheel steer and all that.

Dude.

Never break and you could fix it easily yourself.

Oh yeah, right.

Yeah, exactly.

Like not complicated in the least, yeah.

No, no technology in those things.

Like I was like the giant, you know,

screen I'm like poking all the settings

and it's like you can adjust all this stuff

and the kids are like changing the colors

on the color wheel.

I'm like, oh my God, I just, it's awesome.

Like I think it's very cool and like impressive,

but I personally wouldn't want to like,

I don't think it would be my daily driver.

Yeah.

Now see if they took that motor

and they put a six speed transmission with it

and did a coupe.

Yes.

Now you're talking.

What I really wanted to drive was the G70 with the stick

and they didn't have it.

That's like what I really wanted to drive

just to see like how they did with that

because it's kind of a cool car.

The G80 was cool.

Yep, so that was your first one.

That's awesome.

Yeah.

And so how long ago was that?

So that was like, gosh, I'm going to say

like six months ago, maybe longer

because I've been, it's taken me a while to get

like to be an official member of this association.

And then like a month ago, I did a road,

a road, it's not a road rally,

but it was kind of like a road rally with this association

from, have you guys been to the Lars Anderson Museum

in Brooklyn in Mass?

Yeah, I wanted to actually ask about it

because I actually, last summer,

I volunteered at 12 of their lawn events throughout the,

so I read an article and seeing the location

like, oh my gosh, what a spot to start there.

Totally.

With all the cars.

Super, super crazy.

And you know, like I was,

so as I'm saying, like I prefer older and along cars,

there was a new M5 wagon.

And I was like, I really like to drive that.

You know, just like super outrageous car.

Oh my gosh, yes.

I did not get to, because the kind of the seasoned

members had that kind of like figured out.

But yeah, we drove from there up to Kenny Bunkport,

switched cars halfway through.

And that was like maybe a month ago or so.

And now it's like, I was talking to the people there.

And you know, I don't want to be like,

like, when am I getting a car?

But that's kind of how I feel.

And it was, you know, they were, it's a funny thing.

It's like this, it's a big group.

There's a lot of people doing this

within the group, I guess.

And then behind the scenes,

the logistics of like organizing all these cars

that they're getting from the various manufacturers

and getting them out to these journalists

and folks that are reviewing them.

I'm just waiting, I'm just waiting to hear.

So I have actually not yet gotten one, but I'm coming soon.

Yeah.

Yeah, the G80 was a while ago.

And then this whole time I've worked

to get into the association officially and now I'm in it.

And so hopefully the next time we talk,

I'll be able to tell you, I've got some cars

in my driveway.

Well, if this comes out before you get another one

then you know, BMW M5, M5.

Yes.

Yeah, M5.

Exactly.

Yeah, well, I mean, that's, I mean, it's very exciting.

I mean, again, congrats on getting into the association.

Yeah, thanks.

It's a, so with the Lars Anderson event there,

so as I was reading, so it was literally,

were you picking keys out of a hat?

Was that the whole thing?

Like just whatever you picked, that was your car?

It was, it would have been better

if it was like a big, silly top hat,

but it was a plastic bucket.

And they had like 30 cars, let's say.

The guy was the president, the main dude was like,

okay guys, here's, you know, this has all the keys in it.

And he kind of like held it up kind of high.

And he's like, if you linger more than like two seconds,

I'm gonna like stop you, you know?

Cause he kind of like see in the bucket

and like look for the, like whatever, you know,

key you're looking for, but you truly just reached in

and grabbed the key out and then whatever you got,

that was the car that you were driving

from Lars Anderson to the rest area in 95

between Mass and New Hampshire.

And then once there, everybody gets out

and switches cars for the drive up to Kenny Bunkport.

It was crazy.

I love that.

It was really cool.

Yeah, really cool.

Just an interesting thing.

Lots of like interesting industry people there.

And yeah, like a super cool group.

It felt very like surreal for me to be doing that.

You know, I was definitely like,

there was, they're interesting.

There was another new person there.

She's actually a, she does TikTok,

like just TikTok videos and podcasts.

She lives in Portsmouth actually.

And we were like the two new members.

Yeah.

And like the guy, there was a radio guy there

and he interviewed us and.

Yeah.

Oh my gosh.

If I had been at that rest stop,

I would have been freaking out.

What do you see all these looking away?

That's what I was trying to like,

I was trying not to make a scene, you know?

Oh my God.

Like I pulled in and they were all just,

you know, all parked.

There was, there was the M5 touring.

I really wanted to drive the, you know,

the GR 80, the GR Corolla,

the wheel of that.

I got a Miata, which was awesome.

Absolutely.

It was just pouring rain all the time.

So it wasn't ideal, but yeah, it was awesome.

Jeez, it was super fun.

So I'm still going to be doing that.

Yeah.

What was your, what was your favorite car of that group?

I'll say like, I don't love the looks of the M5 touring,

but man, I would love to get behind the wheel of it.

Just, I love wagons.

I've had them a lot of them over the years and,

or thought about, you know, wanting more of them.

And the fact that they brought that over here finally,

I thought was just super cool.

And yeah, I don't, yeah, yeah, you know, like I,

I was hoping they were going to have like an Audi RS6.

They did not.

But, you know, I guess if I just had a lot of money

and I was going to go buy like a crazy car,

it would probably, I personally think the RS6 Avant

is awesome looking.

The M5 looks aren't great for me, but at that event,

that's what I really want to drive.

So I think, I think that means it's like in the pool of cars

that are going out to people.

So fingers crossed that I'll end up in my driveway at some point.

Yeah.

Well, and you seem like the perfect candidate.

And you have, you know, three kids.

Yeah.

Like active lifestyle.

You gotta just keep it.

Yeah.

Go screen with it.

Yeah.

He loves wagons.

Yeah.

So I'll let you guys know if I get it.

Oh, please do.

Yeah, that's actually, that's a great segue

into I read your article actually this evening

before we signed on about going to Sweden

to tour the whole safety factory and all that.

Yeah.

You like, I don't know if you've listened to our podcast,

but you have one of your favorite Volvo's is like one

of my bucket list dream cars, a V70R wagon

with a space ball shifter.

Yes.

I love that car.

I mean, I love muscle cars and like six of these stuff,

but like I want one of those so bad

because they're so impressive.

Dude.

It was amazing to drive.

Yes.

Yeah.

So you have had one or are you?

I've never had, I've driven a few.

I've driven an 850R and then I've driven V70Rs

and I love them.

I love them.

They're tanks, but they're just so performance oriented.

So awesome.

Yeah.

My mom got a, going back to when that generation V70

came out, my mom got a cross country and XC70.

Yeah.

I remember going to the dealership to look at cars

with her and they had a red V70R six speed

like sitting out front.

I was like, oh my God, you know how?

I'm like, mom, you've got to get this.

She's like, it's too much money.

I don't like the color.

I don't want it out.

You know, I would get it.

Yeah, I had no, I don't even know.

I don't even know how old I was in my twenties,

probably I'm just like, oh man.

And I kind of pined after that car ever since then.

And then I was always on the lookout for him

and I found one.

Yeah, like in Connecticut.

And it was an older woman that owned it her whole life.

And dude, it was so, I loved that car.

We moved overseas and I had to, I had to get rid of it,

but I sold it to a Volvo,

like a hardcore Volvo guy that loves it.

And, but I would.

Geez.

Does he still have it?

As far as I know, I should actually follow up with them.

I was gonna say, give me his number, I'll call him up.

Oh my God, dude.

Yeah, it was definitely a dream car,

bucket list car for me for sure.

And so I just, I like Volvo wagons and Volvos.

I just think they're cool.

And so to go on that Volvo pressure

was like, totally outrageous.

Oh my God.

Well, like, well, it's funny too.

Cause like Ed and I were saying,

I'd love your input on this.

Like just a few episodes ago, we recorded,

like we were talking about if Volvo right now came out

with like a V60R or the V90R

and they had like a high performance

Polestar motor with a six speed three pedals.

Like they would kill it.

They would absolutely kill it.

They would fly off the shelves.

People want cars like that.

I know.

I don't, I feel like I, there must be, I'm always like,

I would love to be like in the meetings

at these automakers where these decisions

are being surely obviously there.

I know there are people involved

in all these companies, right?

That are like us that like this stuff.

Right.

But man, I guess it's just, I don't know.

It's all a numbers game.

It's the take rate.

Yeah.

Yeah, I know.

They just go automatics or, you know,

78% of our sales over the last 35 years.

So we're just gonna be all and it's like,

you guys are missing this, this niche market.

Dude.

And like, and to your point, they would,

they'd sell them out.

If they did like limited runs, they would make,

they'd sell them out so fast, you know?

Cadillac's a great example.

They're doing the CT5V Blackman and CT4 Blackman.

You can get a six speed with those.

They were like, we're only gonna do it for a couple of years.

And they've been doing it for like five years now

because they're trying to make a ton of money on them.

Yeah.

Cause it's like you could get a BMW M5, right?

But it doesn't have a manual

and it's about a hundred grand more than the Cadillac.

Yeah.

No man, I'll have to listen to that podcast.

Cause that, the new V90, there's actually one,

somebody around here just bought one.

It's like, I don't know if it's like dark brown

or something.

Really cool color and like, it's not the cross country.

It's just a V90, but like maybe like the T5,

whatever, don't know how it is.

Beautiful looking car.

Man, it's such a nice car.

Yeah.

But like picture that with like a little bit wider stance.

Oh, I can picture it.

A little bit bigger rim.

Yeah.

Oh, the rear facing rear seat back for the six speed.

Oh my God.

Give it, they just come with the Polestar in you.

Just right out of the Z.

It's funny you say the rear facing seat

and I hadn't really thought about it until you mentioned it,

but I'm like, I love, I've always loved wagons.

And, but it's gotta be because I don't know

if you guys ever had one of your family.

It wasn't like a mid to late 80s Buick,

like century station, a big estate wagon.

Yeah, estate wagon.

Roadmaster.

Oh yeah.

The roadmaster had the rear seats,

the Buick sentry estate had the rear seats.

Dude.

Like all the best.

The rear, the back tailgate like was a swing out,

you know?

Yes, yes.

And when my mom would be,

we were going up the hill sometimes,

me and my buddy or me and my brother sometimes

being the back seat and the tailgate would fly open.

We'd be like, the door's open and my mom would scream

and slam on the brakes and the door would slam shut.

I was like, wow, this is,

I feel like cars are a different bet.

Yeah, it's a different time.

Yes, yes.

Now that is, I missed it, that was the saw.

Yeah, we need to bring it back.

Yeah, I know man.

We need to do a wagon resurgence.

I'm with you.

I was like trying to figure out,

you know, that balance of like,

well, I could go buy like a weird old one

and put it in the garage and fiddle around with it,

but I'm like, you know,

there's only so much space and time.

Like I just, it just gets to be crazy.

Yeah, well, it's also, it's just too bad.

Like for the new cars,

like SUVs have just taken over everything.

It's a bummer man.

I, yeah, I'm a, I'm no fan.

And I mean, we try to avoid them at all costs.

I mean, it's interesting, you know,

doing this review thing, you know,

a lot of the vehicles are crossovers and stuff.

So it's like small SUVs, yeah.

Try to be like,

I'm objectively impressed with like the engineering behind them,

but geez, man.

Oh, another rev for this week.

Yeah.

Oh, yeah, sweet.

Oh, it's the Woodland edition.

Yeah, I'm going to go, go surfing with it.

Oh, about those bronze wheels too.

Yeah.

Oh my gosh.

It's just, it's pretty brutal.

So like the perfect, perfect world is like,

somebody's delivering me cars every week,

but they're like probably whatever is in your guys' garages,

like Ian's all track and whatever cool muscle cars you have,

Brandon, like those are cars I want to review,

but it doesn't, I haven't figured that part out of it yet.

You know, we'll get there.

Yeah.

Oh, I'm, you'll definitely get there

because it'll get to the point where you get a few more done

than you'll have like, you're like your neighbor

you talked about.

Like he'll be like, hey, like come take this,

you know, or come take this Corvette for a spin.

Right.

Review it.

Yeah.

I have so many of them.

You should drive it.

Yeah.

You know, about the passion project side of it,

it's like some of it is paid and that's like really cool.

And in some cases the cars are not as super interesting to me,

but like going for a ride with Ian,

like I'm nobody's paying me for that,

but like that's way more fun for me.

You know what I'm saying?

Oh, it's the best.

Trying to like balance those two things is interesting.

Yeah.

Which was such a, such a great day that we,

we got to spend it over there, you know, and

killer.

Great, great pictures too.

That was all Ian.

Yeah.

I was, I was, I was chief photographer that day,

which I mean, I had a ball because I mean,

as Brendan knows, I've been taking pictures of thousands

of pictures since I was 15.

And I was dating back to going to Carl out together.

And I just was like, oh yes, I'm in my element,

like channeling my inner bring a trailer

and getting all the shots.

And it was, I mean, so fun.

I really just loved how you captured it

and captured my story with it.

Cool.

Because realize how special that car is

and that the life I'm getting to share with it right now.

Yeah, love it.

So yeah, it was a lot of fun.

Yeah.

It was a lot of fun.

Yeah, I agree.

Got to open it up just a little bit there on that

as we left the parking lot there.

Dude, I was loving it.

Got to hear the 289.

Yeah.

Open up.

Like secretly hoping it was going to come around.

I mean, not wanting to get too loose,

but I was like, is it going to come around?

It feels like it's got some power back there.

It's awesome.

Yeah.

It's surprisingly composed for a 60-year-old pony car.

Yeah.

And I've been trying to get him to do donuts for you.

Yeah.

It's a sign you know you're getting older

when you think about doing it and you're like,

boy, tires are expensive.

I was going to say, are you going

to flip the tire bill there, Brendan?

Because I never thought about that when I was 18.

Never thought about it, even though there

I definitely could afford them.

Yeah, exactly.

Well, now because you're talking some cars now,

it's like four or 500 bucks for one tire.

Get out of here.

Yeah, I know.

My brother had a, he recently got, he already sold it,

but he had a 2022 F-150 and it had the EcoBoost twin

turbo super fast.

And I leaned on it.

He was letting me drive and I like really got on it.

He's like, dude, it's like, take it easy.

The tires are like super expensive.

I was like, what do you have on this?

Like 22 inch Kevlar reinforced, like just crazy tires.

I was like, you got to, I would not have bought this

just for that reason.

Like I don't even, like if you price these out,

you know, to replace me.

He's like, I, and he ultimately sold it for other reasons

before he replaced the tires.

But you know, like, you know, imagine what one

of those tires cost, like crazy.

Oh yeah.

Kevlar tire.

Yeah, old RNG Kevlar reinforced for off road.

Yeah. I mean, you know, you're probably 1,600 bucks,

1,800 bucks, or seven tires, maybe more.

Which, and it's because he's my brother,

and made me want to burn him out even harder,

but I can appreciate where he's coming from.

Yeah, I got a lot of siblings.

So what do you, I mean, being a car guy, right?

You must have like, like me, I have like a running bucket list

of like cars that I want.

Don't obviously like the tippy top is my V70R.

Yes.

But I've got like a 68 Deville convertibles on there.

69 Riviera GS.

Oh yeah.

2002 Trans Am WS6 convertible, the six speed.

You have one.

I've just got a bunch of like on the running list.

Then, you know, my dream car, which is behind

the 93 Corvette ZR1 40th anniversary.

Oh my God, that's a good one.

Oh yeah, only 245 of those babies made, so.

Yeah, they're cheap.

They're giving away.

They're starting to go up,

which is really bothering me.

I know, I know.

Oh man, boy, that's a long list.

Right.

I like them all.

Like, so when I was living in Detroit,

like, have you guys ever been to the Dream Cruise,

the Woodward Avenue Dream Cruise,

have you guys ever been to that?

I've never been, but read and watched a video

that looks just unbelievable,

the number of cars that show up there.

It's staggering.

It's just these cars,

everybody's just driving, the cruising.

And then, as the night wears on,

everybody starts doing burnouts and I bring it up

because it's like 80% muscle cars,

everything, everything from kind of like beaters

to like, you know, trailer queens and everything between.

And prior to living out there,

I hadn't really, like, my dad had, you know,

he had like a Mustang, like a modern one,

he had that Capri, but I didn't have a lot of exposure

to like real muscle cars, you know, like that.

And, but after being out there,

one of the guys I worked with had like a,

it was a 69 Chevelle SS 396

that he and I worked on together.

Beautiful.

And then, yeah, and then his friend had,

he was a Buick Skylark, I want to say it was like a 71,

it was giant.

It had the sort of the Batmobile rear end looking on it.

And they were just, it was really my first time

like getting to spend real time in cars like that,

drive them, listen to them.

And I mean, I would, the guy,

the buddy of mine with the Chevelle,

I know it's kind of like a cliche car,

but geez, man, like I would love to rock one of those.

They're just, there's such a beautiful car though.

That's the thing.

It's like the design is timeless.

Yes.

The flowing body lines.

And then you match it with the 396

and a Muncie four speed.

Good and it's gracious.

Oh my God.

It's heaven.

So outrageous, like under full throttle,

getting on the highway.

I'm like, he's like, what'd you think?

I'm like, I couldn't even talk.

It was just so gnarly.

I'm like, this is unbelievable, you know?

Yeah.

When it's idling and you stand behind it,

you feel like reverberating the chance,

just like, oh, everything smells like gas.

I'm like, this is great.

Oh yeah.

Full sensor experience.

It is.

It smells the best.

Probably I'd go like, you know,

an old Chevelle like that in the wagon,

it's a lot of wagons is really where I,

I just sold my sub nine, five arrow wagon.

It was 2004, it was not a stick,

but I had a lot of fun with it.

Probably current, like perfect family dream car

is actually the current V 90.

I know they just stopped making them,

but yeah, that's a different story.

That would be my dream car at the moment

is a V 90, because it kind of captures everything.

I would also, I've always wanted a Ferrari 360 spider

six speed.

That's always been a car.

Wow.

You know, just that it's so exotic.

And it was, I think it was like,

I think Ferraris are cool in general,

but like that one,

I feel like it just kind of hits that perfect analog,

you know, before they got super computerized,

but it's still mid engine, V eight, six speed,

top down, never, never even been in one,

but would love to have one of those.

Oh gosh, I should have written these down.

What's the other one?

There's so many.

I don't know, right?

I mean, it's the case for any car nut.

It's just, you know,

it's just a half mile long.

The Ferrari though,

would it be red, yellow, black, silver?

I feel like I would go just classic

Rosso, whatever it's called.

Rossocorsa.

Rossocorsa with like the tan leather interior.

Oh, love that.

I don't know, man.

When I see those on bring a trailer,

like a clean original one that just unmodified.

I'm like, oh my God.

I went to the Ferrari museum in Maranello

when I was in Italy one time.

It's like, oh my God, just like the,

just seeing them up close like that.

That's a bucketless trip for me.

Dude.

Oh yeah.

And also the Lamborghini factory,

you can go in there and do a tour.

Oh, really?

Oh, that's gnarly.

Yeah.

Oh my gosh.

Wow.

You're like, you're driving into this,

I can't pronounce the town Santa Gata

or whatever it is.

But it's a small town, like a village in Italy

and you're driving in and there's just Lamborghinis

like going by you in all different colors of the rainbow.

It's the craziest thing.

So yeah, worth going for sure.

So yeah.

I do have to make a mention here though

that you talked about the Ferrari tan.

I still think the best color ever put

in the interior of a car is Volvo V70R.

You could get the Atacama.

Do the Atacama in a Ferrari would be tremendous.

The best color for an interior leather.

It's just gorgeous.

I actually couldn't agree more.

If I could get that in a red V70R,

which I think might have been the one I saw

all those years ago.

Oh, the Passion Red with the Atacama.

Dude, it's so sick.

Yeah.

We also had a, and my dad, if he was here right now

sitting and listening, he'd be like,

that car was falling apart,

but my mom had a Magnum, the RT,

so the 340 horse, 5.7 liter V.

I remember those.

Those are such cool, and they're such unique beasts.

Like, you cannot see them anymore.

You don't see them anymore?

Well, stuff would just fall off of it.

Like we'd be doing stuff,

and my door handles would fall off.

It had a problem where it was a Mopar.

That's the problem.

Yeah, it didn't enjoy, I think, a quality reputation.

Not yet.

And like, I-

That engine though, yeah.

Dude, that engine, I would swear on writing

that you could watch the gaskets just moving.

I mean, it was so fast

and you could talk about donuts.

Like you could kick the rear end of that thing loose.

Like, it was awesome.

It was a sick car, right?

Yeah, I would rock one of those.

Yeah, I mean, I talk about a muscle car wagon.

I mean, you get that, I mean,

and the SRT8, they made a version of that.

So sick.

Yeah, 6.1 liters.

Yeah, this crazy muscle wagon, yeah.

Yeah. Very cool.

Yeah, so, man, I don't know.

I started browsing Facebook and Craigslist

and RingerTrailer, I'm like,

I'll take one of those and one of those and-

Yeah.

Dude, I just need to win the megabucks

or, you know, the kids are going to college, yeah.

But yeah, I think in my perfect garage,

it would just be all kinds of cool wagons

with manual transmissions probably.

Oh, yeah.

And the Ferrari.

Yeah, yeah.

I like it.

It's a good list.

That is a good list.

I'm just picturing the cover of Knee for Speed

under our hop pursuit too.

It's got a red 360 on it.

It's white.

Oh yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah, that's an insular, what came to mind.

That's a good call.

Yeah, deep cut.

Yeah, exactly.

Yeah.

We're aging ourselves here.

I know.

Right, yeah, I'm telling you, buddy.

I remember a pursuit too.

Yeah.

It's OK, Grandpa.

Oh, that is a really good one.

What do the kids say now?

All right, boomer.

Yeah, OK, boomer.

I actually, my son, I started playing Gran Turismo.

It's like seven or I don't even know what it is.

And it's like so, it's so much better than like,

I played Knee for Speed all the time and everything else

and that kind of vintage Gotham City, something racing.

Project Gotham Racing.

Project Gotham, you know, and like loved him.

And then we get into Gran Turismo.

I'm like, oh my god.

Gran Turismo 4, yeah, the PS2.

4, OK.

I played the heck out of that.

Heck yeah, like so, so much fun.

It was so good.

But so the funny thing about like aging yourself.

So now my son, like we're playing.

I'll play for like 20 minutes.

I'm like, dude, my eyes are bleeding.

He's like, what are you talking about?

Like I got to take a break, man.

Like I don't have a headache.

He's like, what?

You know, he's like, can I keep playing?

I'm like, yeah, I keep playing.

I'm like, yeah, you used to be able to play all day.

I'm like, no, I can play for like 20 minutes.

And I'm like, I'm in pain.

Well, that's just when you go, all right, listen, buddy.

All right, we're going to put the Mario card in real quick.

That's right, that's right.

I'll teach you something.

Yeah, pretty funny.

Yeah. Yeah.

So what are you rocking for current cars

in the household right now?

So my daily is a 2016 Mazda 6 6 speed, just the base model.

So I black week.

Yeah, I love it.

Picture of it.

Yeah, the black one.

Yeah, we moved.

We've been living in Europe for my wife's job

for a number of years, so we didn't have any cars.

We sold that's when I sold the V70R,

a sheet of Ford Flex, which I I would say is like,

not quite an SUV and like kind of a tall wagon.

So I was like, yeah, I had a big lot of space.

Yeah, great for a lot of kids and all our stuff.

And so when we got back, we moved to St. Louis

and I was on the lookout for a wagon with a stick.

I really there was nothing out there.

So I started looking at sedans

and like we were just talking about with like these automakers

that are getting rid of all the stuff that we like.

It's just not a lot of big ish sedans with a stick, you know.

And yeah, technically, I needed to be able to put three kids in it.

And I drove a Volkswagen Passat with a six speed.

I didn't love it.

And like the only other sedan I could find with a stick

was this Mazda six.

And I had had one of the first gen Mazda three hatchbacks

that I just loved it.

I love the transmission on it.

I love the handling.

It's really fun.

And yeah, I got I got that back in like 2018,

I guess.

And I've had it ever since it's been,

it's just like a fun, fun car to drive.

I haven't done anything to it.

It's just totally, you know, like stock.

It doesn't even have good tires or anything,

but it's like a really fun car to drive.

I push it hard, you know, the kids, you know,

they like doing the transmission with me.

And so that's my daily,

I did get that sub nine, five wagon

because I wanted a wagon to like work on.

And I was teaching kids the kids how to do all stuff on it.

But my father-in-law is a like lifelong Ford guy.

That's how I met my wife.

She's from out there in Detroit.

And the point of the story,

he did his whole career at Ford.

And so if we don't have a Ford in the driveway,

in the paddock, like disown us, you know?

And so when we got back from Europe,

we went to the Ford dealership

because my wife wanted like a newer car.

And I was like, is that a Ford transit?

You know, like, I didn't think they sold those

except outside like AT&T and like flower delivery shops.

Right? Yeah.

You know, it was like super random.

And it was the only one a lot.

And like, so I asked them about the van

and they were just like, they're like,

don't you want to look at an Explorer

or like an expedition or whatever?

We're like, no, I really want a minivan

because we have kids.

And anyway, we've got this Ford Transit Connect,

which we still have.

And it is, I would argue like

an under the radar little car

because it's like, it's smaller than the big minivans.

Like my sister has a Honda Odyssey.

It's actually kind of fun to drive

for what it is.

It's got a terrible engine in it.

It was dirt cheap.

Kids can beat the heck out of it.

And I don't worry about it.

And is remarkably well like engineered inside

for the space of how small,

like versus how small it is.

So we have a cargo box on top.

We have a bike rack on the back.

And we've taken that thing literally all over.

I've had it up, up in Crested Butte

at the Monarch Pass in Colorado,

like 12,000 feet in the middle of winter

with winter tires on it.

So like, it'll go anyway.

Awesome.

What a great choice.

I mean, yeah, I read your article

about the Transit Connect.

And it's so true that, I mean,

and I'm always pushing,

I'm trying, I always try to push people

towards minivans in general

because it's a shipping container on wheels.

And that's just the kids,

they roll in and they roll out

and they're like, don't get a three year OSUV.

No, get a minivan.

I promise you will not regret it.

My brother has two kids and I'm like,

he's like, what should I get?

I'm like, dude, get a minivan.

Like please get a minivan.

And he's like, he wants something newer

and his wife doesn't like minivans.

And they got a three year OSUV.

I'm like, yeah, it's super interesting.

So it's, yeah.

I love it.

I actually really like it.

That is fantastic because I feel like

it's a little ironic because you think like,

oh, car enthusiasts, they'd be like,

I don't want a minivan.

And you get so many of us like, absolutely.

It's like the best thing out there.

Like go get it.

Go get one.

They need to get the performance minivan.

You know, that's so on that note,

I found a guy like a few years ago.

He put a focus ST powertrain

and the transit connect the same time

with everything transferred everything over,

including the manual transmission and the wheels.

Dude, it was so sick.

That's incredible.

I've been there.

I reached out to him.

Oh, yeah.

I mean, the torque steer, I'm sure would be outrageous,

but.

Yeah, but if you've ever driven a Saab.

Yeah, that's true.

Yeah, that's fair.

That's fair.

I mean, I think it's fun.

Oh, yeah.

Yeah.

That would be sweet.

In my perfect world as the transit gets older

and becomes our like kind of primary beat up,

kind of like real run around vehicle,

my wife needs something a little nicer.

I mean, in my imaginary world,

I'm gonna, you know,

go find a totaled ST and like transfer everything over,

you know, all my spare time.

But that would be,

that would be like a super cool project.

I feel like I would like that.

Oh, well, that's like, I was gonna mention like,

I think that's really cool.

Like you had the Saab and you're teaching the kids.

It's like, yeah.

But that's a great opportunity, right?

Dude.

You just bought, you buy a fun car

and you're like, guys, come out

and help me do the brakes and a wheel.

That's what I wanna do.

Yeah.

It's got a valve cover gasket leak.

Like, let's go.

Yeah, it's awesome.

Yeah.

Like the Saab was so low to the ground,

I had to get ramps for it, you know?

And so they're like, they're watching me

get it up in the ramps.

And they're like, is this safe dad?

I'm like, yeah, totally.

Come on.

Get it.

Yeah.

It's on the whips.

It's like, don't do this with just a jack.

Yeah, exactly.

This is way better.

Yeah.

So I got, I do have to ask though,

I was curious.

So where did the knocking rod come from?

Because like me,

I associate rod and I with a bad thing.

Right?

Yeah, I know.

So I'm just very curious.

Like, I like the name.

I like the name, but I'm just curious.

There's this guy from England

that I got to be buddies with.

I'm one of my writing gigs.

Like on the Slack channel for all the people,

all the writers.

And we would like talk offline a lot.

He's a super funny guy, super big car guy.

I've been trying to convince him to do

what you guys are doing.

Like, I wanna talk to him about like his English car.

He's got lots of funny stories.

And so I convinced him to like,

I was like, we should do our own site

where you're a writer, I'm a writer.

You like, he likes quirky, interesting,

you know, cars from England.

And I was like, oh man, that'd be really cool.

You know, we could put it together

and have a site, you know,

and work on it kind of together as a on the side.

And he was like, okay.

And we were tossing around names

and he like not only throughout the knocking rod,

but his wife is a graphic designer

and she like did that little logo

with the piston on the rod.

And you know, and I was like, this is hysterical.

I'm like, it's such a random thing

that like only I think car guys would,

number one, have any idea what it even means.

And like you just said,

because I did the same thing, I'm like,

but that's not a good thing.

He's like, yeah, exactly.

He's funny.

He's not good, he's not good.

And I just, because like I was, you know,

like I started tossing around names

and I was just coming up short.

And he had already, his wife had already done

this like hand sketched logo.

And I was like, this is awesome.

Just a random thing.

It definitely suggests crappy cars,

but I don't know.

I just thought it was funny.

It works though.

It works.

I can see your attention for sure.

Yeah, yeah.

I liked it a lot.

I haven't been able to really get him to commit.

He started having kids, so he's been super slammed,

but he gets all the credit for the name

and his wife gets credit for the logo.

I've just kind of been running with it

and it makes me laugh.

Yeah.

I thought it was very clever,

but I was just curious where it came from.

I will pass it along to Dan.

Yeah, I like it.

My brother was like, he was like,

said the same thing because he's into cars,

but you know, like not as much as I am.

And he's like, isn't that, is that a bad thing?

I'm like, yeah, it's a really bad thing.

He's like, well, don't you want to name it?

Like, I don't know, something else that's good.

I was like, I mean, I do, but I don't know, man.

He gave me, it's a good idea.

We're just going to run with it.

So it's stuck.

Kind of funny.

Yeah, but it's been good so far.

Nice, nice.

Let me ask you this in almost like a closing question

or like a nicely way to wrap it up

is like, where do you see it going

and where do you want it to go?

So I mean, like, you're already living the dream

because you're following your passion, right?

But it's like the idea, right?

Is it's like, you got like motor trend knocking,

like, oh my God, can you please work for us?

Or, you know, car and driver.

You got GM's on the phone.

Like, can you write an article about the new Cadillac?

That's right.

Yeah.

I mean, so, so that Volvo trip that I wanted to Sweden,

a PR company emailed me out of the blue.

I don't, I actually, she's, I finally asked her.

I'm like, how did you?

I didn't want to sound like ungrateful

because obviously there's anything but

but I kind of like in a tactful way.

I was like, why me?

Right?

Like I was like, how did you?

Why am I on your list?

And it's like, oh, I was looking for people, you know,

journalists that write about Volvo and I came across

your stuff and invited you.

I was like, oh my God, that's it.

You know, like just because you like something I wrote.

And, and so actually, I mean, that's like,

I don't know, this is out a little bit corny,

but I'm definitely like, I subscribe to like,

you know, the universe delivers

like whatever you're sort of like.

Oh, I completely agree.

I was looking to say the stars aligned.

Yeah.

Absolutely.

Yeah.

Like I'm a Volvo guy and Volvo's calling like, yeah.

Yeah.

Oh my God.

Yeah.

And like that sort of, I've always felt that way

about stuff and I feel like it's worked out well

for me with things.

And so I kind of like, I had somebody reach out

to me a little while back from eBay Motors actually,

like the PR company that does eBay Motors.

And they were like talking about, you know,

this upcoming winter, next winter,

like a driving event.

And they were like, I haven't like fully connected

the dots on it.

My point is just like, the dream for me is to have

be getting potentially like reached out to

by companies that have cool stuff

that they want me to participate in

and kind of like cover and participate in,

I guess I would say like that Volvo trip, man.

That was, cause I got to do a, check this out.

Like I would say like for me being a car

and driver guy, like along with like covering

really cool, interesting kind of stuff,

all the blogs and the online stuff are awesome.

But I, you know, I would love to get like published

in a printed magazine.

Like that would be cool.

And I, like I actually got like an article

on it if you guys can see that it's kind of blurring out.

But.

Oh, rolling.

Yeah.

Yeah, rolling.

The Volvo Car Club of America.

Wow.

Yeah.

I got an article published in it and.

Yes.

That's awesome.

Congrats, man.

Yeah, thanks.

Yeah.

So that's like, I would really like to move away

if I could a little bit from like just online stuff

and really being like published, printed magazines.

I think partly cause I prefer it

and partly cause it's like,

there's so much online stuff out there

that it would kind of like, you know,

I would almost prefer to be in more printed media

if that makes sense.

Oh yeah.

Well, like I was angry for the car insurance.

Oh yeah.

Yeah.

Exactly.

I love the articles and the people that like,

cause people will submit their own

and then they'll have reviews like that.

Yeah.

Love to see you in on that.

Dude, so I mean, yeah.

Car and driver would be like the ultimate dream.

That's, boy, that's a,

I'm not saying it couldn't happen,

but that would be, I feel like a pretty big one.

Well, if anyone, a car and driver listens to this,

they're really missing out by not listening to you.

Thank you.

I mean, really.

Neil Stender is your guy.

That's right.

You gotta have car people.

Yeah.

That's right.

I know.

Just put it out there in the universe.

As you said, like just put it out there.

Yeah.

I'm working on it.

So I, yeah, just definitely more printed media

and like unusual experiences that I can participate in

that are car related.

You know, just go do it.

You know, that's what I want to do.

I really, I think it'll happen.

Thanks man.

I think it'll happen.

Yeah.

I appreciate it.

You've got the passion.

You've got the knowledge.

Yeah.

You're very well articulated the whole night.

Thanks.

Yeah.

So I'll, I'll let you guys know as soon as I,

the next cool thing comes up, you know.

It's, we wanted to get to the point where they send you a car

but then you go, oh no, I'm too busy.

I'm going to send over to Ian and Brandon.

Yeah.

For the life plus cars reviews.

Yeah.

That's it.

Yeah.

Life plus reviews.

Yeah.

Right.

Exactly.

That's awesome.

Truly.

So we'll see.

We'll see.

Yeah.

So Neil, where can people read your content,

your articles, where we've talked about the knocking rods.

So I always like to have people.

Give us a shout out.

Yeah.

So it's, let me pull it up.

Cause here's the thing.

I recently switched over to Substack.

I don't know if you guys use that at all,

but it's theknockingrod.substack.com.

Yeah.

I'm on Substack.

I think I'm like one of the only car things on there.

It's clearly like a platform.

More for people to talk about writing, I think.

But I'm like, well, it seems like there's an opportunity here

to have car stuff.

And I love the platform.

So yeah, that's where I'm at.

And you've got a great blend of pure car enthusiast stuff,

like your Craigslist spotlights.

And then there's your experiential articles

about the Sweden trip with Volvo,

and then the Lars driving experience and all that.

So it's a great mix.

Oh, it is.

Yeah.

My favorite takeaway is like,

I love the fact that you're in the garage with your kids,

like working.

Yes.

That's fantastic.

Dude, so fun getting under there

and like watching them like unscrew the oil filter

and like, you know, I'm like, all right guys,

like you're going to want to do it.

Like I try not to like tell them how to do too much stuff.

But I'm like, it's going to come out pretty fast.

They're like, unscrew it, unscrew it.

And I'm like, oh, whatever, do your thing.

And they just like, it pops.

And it just like, does this.

You know, we're like, what are we going to do?

I'm like, it's okay.

We're going to go backwards.

Yeah, exactly.

And we have speed drive.

Yeah, but it's going to be OK.

Thank you so much, Neil, for taking the time to talk.

Man, yeah, thank you guys.

It's been fantastic to hear about your process

and everything you've done.

It's amazing.

Yeah, thank you guys.

I really appreciate taking the time.

It was really fun catching up and meeting you, Brendan.

And we'll talk to you guys again soon.

Yeah, hopefully in early.

Yeah, man.

Yeah, truly.

Thank you, Neil.

I appreciate the time.

And yeah, it's been an inspiration, certainly,

to hear your journey and everything

you're doing in the auto world.

So awesome.

I can't wait to read more.

All right, sounds good, guys.

Thanks a lot.

Have a good night.

Well, Brendan, that was another fun conversation.

Yeah, I learned a lot.

Yes.

Had no idea what went into that.

I mean, it's like he said, I really

love the fact that he brought up the stars aligning

or like fate.

It's like he just really likes cars

and he just kind of went into this

and he had a couple of big things happen

and he just hit the ground running with it.

And I mean, he's living the dream.

He's doing what he wants to do with cars.

Oh my gosh.

Yeah, it's awesome.

It is.

I can't wait to see what other articles come out

and what else he's going to venture into.

Yeah, I've subscribed to The Knocking Rod.

And I want to see what he got to come out.

Yeah, it's amazing.

So yeah, that website again, theknockingrod.substack.com.

You can check out everything that Neil's been working on.

Yes, so please subscribe there.

We always love to see other people out there

in the creative space, writing about cars

and all that content.

So yeah, definitely check out Neil's work.

It was a real treat today to get to chat with him

and his journey through his time now

as an automotive journalist and how he got there.

I mean, it's definitely an inspiration for me,

as I mentioned how that is the dream

to just have a press card delivered to your doorstep.

You just got to quit your day job, man.

Just go for it.

That's all working.

That's all working on here at 4%.

Yeah, that's right.

That's all working on here at Life Plus Cars.

Listener, thank you so much for joining us for this episode.

We're so thankful to have Neil join us.

Definitely check out his website.

You don't have to pay to subscribe to his site,

but you can support him if you want to.

As always, we appreciate you joining Ian and I

for another fantastical episode of Life Plus Cars.

So if you want to follow us on Instagram

or if you want to check out our website,

lifepluscars.com, or you can email us

at lifepluscars.gmail.com.

We want to hear your car stories.

Are you a writer?

That's right.

For a magazine.

Like, do you work for Motor Trends?

Or do you do it freelance on the side?

Did you do it for school paper back 20 years ago?

Like, let us know.

We'd love to hear your story.

Right, in whatever capacity, yeah.

We'd love to hear that.

I mean, that's in part why we invited Neil

on to the episode today is just

that hearing his journey and hearing his story

of how much cars are a big part of that now in his life.

So yeah, talk to us.

And I mean, now I just, I need to find more people

that are V70, our wagon nuts, like us.

So this is probably one.

Yeah, exactly.

Yeah, we just, it just grew by one.

So yeah, but I mean, I have dibs.

The first one we find collectively

among the giant group is mine.

So.

I think that's fair.

Yeah, I call dibs, yep.

All right, well, thanks again listeners

and we will see you on the next episode.

0:00

61:37

#22: Writing Plus Cars

Ford Merkur XR4Ti

Mercedes-Maybach

Volkswagen Doka

Volvo V70R

Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing

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