973: Prepping The Nursery, The College Starter Car, High-Score Configurator

Love them or hate them, everyone has an opinion on cars. But we believe we're all one great car away from being car enthusiast. So we're here to help you find a car you love. And let it take us to everything else in life. I'm Paul, I'm Todd, and this is the everyday driver car debate.

But I have to say I hope you watched our latest piece just dropped on our original channel, the everyday driver channel. That is my Amira, which everybody talks about. It's a $100,000 throwback car versus to actual $100,000 throwbacks, the NSX and the Ferrari 360. We really enjoyed doing that piece as one of our favorite roads. But in the last kind of summer fall, I've been like lusting for that weather the last week. And so I've been finishing that piece. I hope you've watched that. And please pass it on to somebody because we had a lot of fun.

Do it. We're glad to finally put that out. And thank you guys that have already commented and shared that piece. We have two cool car debates and a bunch of questions. We're going to go quick here. And we've got still more hooked on driving stuff happening tomorrow. But I do want to mention go to hookdowndriving.com and just look at our national schedule. We are literally nationwide this year. We have a track day near you. If we don't, we're working on it. That's real. I feel very confident saying that it is really cool to be looking at our scheduled is here.

I also want to remind you that we have the everyday driver trip to Europe that is happening the end of April, beginning of May. And we have the hooked on driving three tracks at once trip to Europe that is happening a week after July 4th. Both of those are available for registration. Now there's a few spots left. But you got to act pretty fast. The everyday driver one is closing very quick and the hooked on driving one right behind it. And that doesn't even count Coda circuit of the Americas. That's happening May 31st June 1st with a road trip on either side.

There'll be more information coming on the road trip soon. And also don't forget the Watkins Glen event. The Northeast region for hooked on driving is producing a three day.

This is an enormous event. It's going to be very cool. And you know what? If you have decided you've got to go with your family and do the same kind of thing every year and you have this family tradition. Make this your new family tradition. Bring everybody because there is camping available. If you drive off and you go camping for 4th of July, you can come camp at Watkins Glen because there's a car show. There's fireworks.

There's three days on track. There's really something for everybody. So that is the Northeast region. Mark, Santi, Cody, they're producing that one and we're looking forward to sharing that with all of you.

And while we're talking about surprising track events and crazy stuff going on, I'm giving a shout out to all of you in the Midwest that have said where are my Midwest track days. And the right answer is coming soon.

Our Midwest region is launching at Hedge Hollow, which is a track where a few people have been on. This was a guy's private race track that he built for his McLaren's with a front straight long enough to land his jet. Okay, this is a serious place. In the middle of nowhere, I understand. It's like near enough. I was looking at hotels because I'm going to be there. It's near nothing.

The first event for the Midwest is going to be in early April 11th, 12th, 13th that is at Hedge Hollow that is kicking off our Midwest region. If you are in the Kansas City area or you're in Arkansas or you are somewhere within a little bit of driving distance of Hedge Hollow, you got to come.

That's available right now for registration. We're really excited about that. I will be there for sure. I'd love to see you there.

We still have N.C.M. July 28th, 29th. Oh, yeah, natural Atlantic region and Pacific Northwest, March 7th and 8th, 2025. That's coming up soon. And you and I will be there in March at the bridge, right?

The first kickoff opening in the Pacific Northwest. Again, I'm telling you this is not the only time you will hear us in a hotel this year. I thank you. And I'm sorry all at once. But we really appreciate all of you listening. Please rate and review the podcast.

We'll be in studio as much as we can. We have some podcast news coming up soon. Plus in the coming couple of weeks.

We have our latest live podcast is coming up episode 975 is about a week away. So be prepared for that. That will be another one of our live podcasts on our channel on YouTube.

Here's my 30 second story with Guinness as soon as my sister and I get home for the holidays. We don't even unpack. We head straight to our pub.

The bartender already knows our order. Guinness and fries. We laugh all night, catch up with old friends and walk home with faces sore from smiling. That's one of my favorite nights of the year.

That was my 30 second story with Guinness. Guinness drafts down to please enjoy responsibly imported by the Agio beer company USA, New York, New York.

Great couple of debates for you. Thank you for writing in really appreciated Charles P is having it. He's got a new job and that is causing a crowded driveway dilemma.

The last year Charles has started to listen to the podcast and he's enjoying hearing our solutions to listen to car debates. Charles really appreciate writing and thank you.

His car history includes 2023 GR86 premium. He was in love with but traded for some reasons. We will get into 2005 Mustang GT manual had a 99 Chevy 2500 Jeep Liberty from 2003 and an 01 Ram 1500 truck.

His current garage includes another truck brand new 2025 Ford F-152 wheel drive. That's a work vehicle lease that he can't get rid of and his new daily 2014 Ram 1500 big horn 4x4 paid for 164,000 miles used as his do it all daily until the new job happened.

Casual beach driving their dog mobile and I'm sure if you need to you go to the dump. I'm just putting it out there. It's the perfect truck.

It's the perfect go-to-the-dump truck anywhere moving on.

2023 Nissan Z Performance Manual financed 11,000 miles fun car that replaced the GR86 2013 Harley Davidson fat boy. He's also got a 2021 Toyota camera that is his minister of finances daily driver.

He wants to reduce the size of the fleet into a more manageable driveway situation without giving up the idea of having a fun car.

Because he took this new job, it requires a lot of travel from their home in Florida, mostly day trips with overnight stays. That amounts to about 50,000 miles a year that he has to put on this work lease vehicle.

His minister of finance was already less than pleased with the space that his current three vehicles take up in their driveway and garage and the shuffling cars activity was already beginning to be a hassle before the new 5th vehicle came.

So before he adds...

Here's the picture this real quick. In the garage is his wife's camera because of course it should be in there.

With that is the Harley that sits in the other garage space along with various other garage things that have started to fill that space.

But that means we have three cars, count them three. The F-150 that is the work vehicle, the old Ram 1500 and the Nissan Z that are filling up the driveway.

So when his wife comes out to take her car, there is a gauntlet of other vehicles to get through.

And now think about this. If he's out of town overnight in the F-150, there's still two cars in the drive for her to navigate.

And now she has to do it herself. I can honestly... I will say Charles as a guy that's been married a long time, I can hear the fight from here.

I can hear the discussion that has happened. So we have got to thin out this garage, we've got to thin out this driveway legitimately so that this can be solved.

Got to thin the herd. Well Charles has been dreaming about owning the new Z since it was announced.

I wasn't able to get one early but he saw our videos on the GR86 and decided that would be a good interim car. But he loved it.

For spirited weekend driving, track days, they even took it on a road trip to the mountains at a great time on great roads.

And then he traded it for the Z because they were finally available. And Charles thought the Rev Match Manual would be easier for his wife to drive on road trips.

And he says it's been everything that he hoped for except it's almost zero more fun around town than the 86 even with double the power but because it has double the power.

Yeah it's just he's realizing he's not having any more fun in it and the fact that it has even more power is a waste. He's not even using it.

He says on the 86 he could wind it out and put his foot down all the way even around town on the island where they live.

Telling you, you're right. I've been preaching this forever. I can't see it.

It's become my big, big thing to rant about.

He says the shifter was better, it's somewhere more satisfying even though the car is slower. And even though the Z is quieter on the highway and he loves that wireless car play thing but he's starting to be distressed at the added monthly cost.

And overall that owning this over the 86 even though he can afford it.

Storage space is somehow not as good and the overall bigger and heavier car which he didn't realize and expect at first.

He loves it but he feels weird writing this. It's almost too fast for him to have fun with on a regular basis.

He can't get to track days that often and he can't afford another big speeding ticket. I mean Charles none of us can afford it.

No, none of us really think that's a good idea. Yeah, agreed.

He needs to lose at least one vehicle at minimum probably the Z car or the ram since the Z won't go in the garage with all of their stuff.

They've got a lot of stuff cars. Something needs to happen for first thing it seems.

Yeah, he's given us three options here. One is to sell the old ram for maybe 10k pay down the Z with the money that he gets for it.

And then he keeps the Harley and obviously will have his F-150.

The second option is sell the Z to get out of debt and keep the ram and the Harley. He said this is financially responsible.

But will the ram he loves slowly ride away in the driveway as he drives his work truck 95% of the time. Short answer there by the way is yes.

Anyway, the other option is sell all three vehicles. The Harley, the Ram and the Z is obviously the F-150's the work car and it's provided.

Go with a more affordable fun car. He might even get seven to nine thousand dollars out of the Harley.

So there's a good amount of money freed up there. And here is the question.

So he just go back to the GR86. He said he hadn't thought about it, but he could get a use when it's cheaper or for less money than he spent on the Z.

He could maybe get the new Hakone edition. I love the look of that car. I have this cool.

He said has that car ruined him for anything else with its perfect combination of a love this enough power modern comfort sporting this track ability and endless smiles every time he drove it.

You're selling me on the 86 and I'm the big guy that's the ambassador for the car anyway or something different.

Like I used me on RF or maybe a Mark seven GTI. Get a cheaper payment.

But he's worried if he does that will he still find himself at another good car wishing he had that GR86.

And then he tells me that I've ruined him forever on wanting a Lotus, but he can't afford a Lotus. So he's moving on.

I mean, you've got Charles fairly expensive car there in the Z and it's got for sure gobs of power.

It is the perfect GT car for highway driving for a lot of miles, but it kind of comes down to the fact that I see you're not really driving it as much.

When you drive it, you enjoy it, but it also didn't really live up to your expectations and note.

I don't know that it really lived up to anybody's expectations.

Yeah, short of the Nismo version which we liked, but destiny needed a manual. I think that's the thing. I think that car hit.

And it wasn't interesting enough for most anyone that drove it.

So I turn my flame thrower from Volkswagen to Nissan and I mean, they're already feeling enough heat.

They are feeling sure that Honda kind of gave them the kiss off and said, well, we want you to use our hybrid system.

We need you to let that technology go and you're going to be a sub-brand and that really didn't sit well even though.

So now I'm hearing it's on. It's off. It's on. The relationship is off again. It's back on.

I don't know what to think anymore, but I don't see them ever actually reach the ideal.

I think you're right. I think that ship has sailed.

But you know, Charles, you're also not done with that 86.

You could look at BRZs. It's so similar, but you could look at it and that car being maybe aimed more towards in the Z direction as the more GT.

And you know, you could find one right now at a dealer and might even get a deal on it.

Correct. So you could go look at the BRZ again, similar, but slightly different because of what you thought you wanted in the Z.

And you're not done with it yet. So as much as I want you to have a new experience, you're also admitting you're not done with that platform yet.

So in one hand, I can say, yeah, go get that. Go look for a BRZ. Go get something.

Frankly, you might like you. You know, who knows? We'll see. But I do say I think the Z needs to go.

I'm looking at all your options, trying to figure out which combination, but I feel like.

All right, you want to keep the Harley. Understand.

You've got this truck, this, this lease work truck. Do you need another pickup truck?

I don't think you do sell the Ram.

Maybe Harley too.

How much do you ride that bike, Charles? I think all three go.

Because you said over the last few years, you're riding the Harley less and less and less.

So you say that. So that the use for that case is leaving.

The Ram is a duplicate. I understand you've got history, but it doesn't have use.

Your point is it's going to sit outside and just rot to pieces because you have a truck that you use.

So the Ram is not necessary. And we know the Z goes. I'm telling you, buddy, all three of these go.

The Ram is irrelevant. The Z fell short of your expectation.

And here's my question.

And I think somewhere your minister of finance is either going to fight this idea or she's going to be laughing and celebrating.

I'm going to bring this up and I'm going to say it. If you sell the Harley,

what's involved in opening up that garage space completely?

Because what I'm hearing is because you had a motorcycle in it.

You've let life leak its way into the garage or we'll just store that in the garage.

But we'll store that in the garage.

And collect around the bike.

Yes, because the bike doesn't take up a full space.

So my question is once the bike goes, how much is really,

can you hang up the mountain bikes from the ceiling?

If you've got mountain bikes in there, what can you do to make that other space available?

So we could go from your wife is having to shuffle cars to she just opens the garage and goes.

And your fun car, whatever it ends up being, lives in the garage as well.

So you have your work truck that sits in the driveway and you each have a car in the garage.

That's how God intended it in America.

Two cars in the garage, ladies and gentlemen, that's how it's supposed to work.

Anyway, so I'm wondering about actually selling all three and rearranging that garage.

I'm with you Paul.

I think he's talked himself back to an 86 chassis,

either the GR86 or BRZ.

I totally agree with that.

I'm going to give you options because I would like you to drive some other stuff.

Even if let's put it this way to your Charles,

even if that's exactly where you're going to end up an 86 or BRZ.

You're headed back to that chassis.

That's great.

I would obviously support that.

But before you do, I want you to drive some other things.

I have three others for you to drive.

I really want you to do some serious drive homework here and think about it.

Of course, I have to say it.

You need to drive a Porsche Cayman.

You could drive a boxer.

I don't know how much of a convertible guy you are,

but you need to drive a Cayman.

Now for your budget, that's probably going to be a 987.

So the first gen Cayman, most likely,

maybe an early second gen, the 981.

So something, and I don't want you to get one past IMS.

So we're talking 2009 to, let's say, a 15 or 16 somewhere in that area.

So it spans those two generations.

What Caymans are available?

And then does maintenance scare you?

Because you said you want something reliable and fun.

Does maintenance scare you?

Or are you a boxer guy because you're in Florida?

On the Miata?

I don't think it's the RF.

Just get an ND, an ND, two or three in soft top.

Do you fit?

You say you're six foot two,

but you're also shopping for a car whose purpose is to be fun.

You're in Florida by an ND, two, soft top.

That is the world's greatest, simplest convertible.

The thing about the soft, and I love the RF.

We talked it up a lot.

But the thing about the soft top, Miata, is you never think about,

should I take the time to put the top down?

It is one arm.

It is so easy.

I've been in so many convertibles where you have to like think about,

should I take the time right now to put the top down?

Or should I pull over?

Because it might rain and I need time to put the Miata is irrelevant.

It's just like, oh, the light went red.

Oh, tops up, tops down.

Who cares?

But I think you should really drive one of those and see if you fit.

And then my last one for you that is actually kind of my favorite,

but I don't like it as much for budget.

But I do want you to drive one.

You need to drive the Supra manual.

I think that is the bridge car between the feel of the 86

and the things you liked about the Z.

I think it is more interesting at low speeds than the Z is.

Now, I love obviously the light chassis of the 86,

but the Supra manual is a fantastic stick shift.

It's one of the best being sold right now.

Yeah.

I think its personality is more interesting to drive than the Z car.

But it is a more powerful, better for road trip car than the 86.

So I'm wondering if the things you like about both those cars

might find their merging in the Supra manual.

Now, the problem is, that's going to be almost as much as your Z car.

And I don't solve that really.

But I really would like you to try to find one and drive it

and see if it is the merging that you're hoping for

after all that you might just end up buying an 86.

Charles, I am all for garage organization.

And Todd, you pick up on this point.

If you get rid of the bike and clean up the garage,

I mean, allocate some money towards some storage solutions

and shelving, there's some options out there.

Pick what you like, pick what kind of thing you like.

If your walls are unpainted,

may I suggest painting them?

I've put artwork in my garage.

Yes, you have.

I am obsessed.

Yes, you are.

Looks good.

At least paint the walls and getting cleaned up.

Let's just go with white.

There's white paint.

Sure.

And then some shelving systems.

And it starts to really, you feel like,

ah, I'm really starting to get organized

and allows you the space.

And I think he would score points with his wife.

I think so too.

I think she would enjoy going out, getting in her car.

Yeah.

And she's got her dedicated space now.

Already.

She does, but the problem is,

well, I think she's going to enjoy

as the garage door goes up,

and there's nothing ever behind her car.

That's what's going to make her happy.

And the garage organization is going to feel

like a breath of fresh air.

Yeah, agreed.

I really, I love the ND3 meada for you.

I say, consider going back to an 86 or whatever.

Yeah.

The Z needs to go.

This is the time when I wanted that two-liter super

to happen manual.

This is dirt right now.

This is exactly the buyer.

The lighter friends look at the buyer.

That's who I see.

Yep.

I see that.

Okay.

Well, it's got to be manual.

Yep.

But I am going to steer you towards the lotus

because now you're interested.

Interesting.

New found clean garage.

A 400.

Your top end is 45 grand.

Is that really your top end?

You did sell everything.

It's a good product.

Your sole does.

Yeah, sold it all.

And it's got a clean new beta park in.

It's surgical.

I see it.

You could get lighting.

You could find an evora, not a 400.

You could find an S, right,

with four of the 400 for probably around 45.

The 400 is going to be 50 plus

and the GTs are 70 to 80.

Because I love your suggestions.

I'm all about them.

But I feel like in this category,

we've got camons and z-forces and boxers

and supers and z-s and all the great cars.

And I don't want you to go round and round Charles

and have tried them all.

Be like, yep, they're all great.

Love them.

And what's that next thing that really stirs you?

And I wonder if this is the time.

You know what?

I wonder if there's a break.

You sell everything.

And it's not an immediate addition.

You collect your thoughts,

collect your finances,

get the garage straightened up first.

And then once that new Lotus 400

has a spot to be in,

that's when you start shopping seriously.

Because now this is the new level

with the new garage is prepped.

I mean, paint the floor.

Do the floor.

Do the whole thing.

Now your wife is in there

and your Lotus is in there.

And you've got this great space.

Interesting point.

I'm kind of trying to shoot for the moon

and I'm trying to break us all out of

what's the things that we love.

And these cars keep coming up

and for a very good reason.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

But what can we do to break Charles out

and give you permission, budget,

find, you know, check the couch for loose change.

Check the bank account for loose change.

Check.

I don't care.

Well, I want you to get to that next level

and stretch.

And it might mean, you know what?

Take four to six months

and nothing happens.

Sure.

Look at you.

All right.

Yeah.

But then, just stealing on it,

preventing, yeah.

We're serious.

Okay. All right.

It gives you time to collect thoughts.

How are we going to do this?

And then you attack.

And you've got the space prepped for it.

I love it.

Charles, I will also say,

and I really shouldn't say this

because I don't really think it's right

for you based on the things you want

because you are concerned about space.

You are concerned about usability and storage space.

And that kind of thing.

But you do realize that $45,000 is right

in the meat of a used Lotus Elise.

Like, that's what they cost.

They cost $45,000.

I don't think it is the right car for you

because you want some usability.

But if you really are going to shop fun car

and you would like possibly a Lotus,

you genuinely have options on auto-tempage

like the $45,000 under the lease.

I just am not sure you're the buyer for an Elise.

I'll settle for an Elise because it checks all those boxes

that he's looking for in dynamics and fun and characters.

Without a question.

The thing that stirs him.

That's what it will do.

And here's the thing.

You're shopping at the bottom of the Evora market.

You're shopping in the middle of the Elise market.

That's $45,000.

Charles, you've got some deciding to do,

but you've got a little bit of time

to get that garage cleaned up.

You get it just sweet, painted walls,

shielding system, painted for,

or the tiles, those floor tiles.

There you go.

I like it.

It's good.

Oh.

Paul's planning a garage right now, by the way.

And he's gorgeous.

He knows what he's doing.

It's like you're prepping the nursery.

Yeah.

Right.

It's very good.

Yes.

You're preparing for the future new addition.

Charles, thank you for writing.

Right to us, everybody.

Drive your TV at gmail.com.

Topic Tuesdays.

Cartabates and let us know if you need help on

how to prepare your nursery for the next sweet new addition

coming your way.

Oh, Hilton's Day.

Your beds are soft and cozy.

No lumpy couch, no stiff futon.

No shower line at crack-up dawn.

Oh, Hilton's Day.

I'll holiday your savings.

When you want holiday comfort you can count on,

it matters where you stay.

This season, enjoy spacious, comfortable rooms,

and friendly service.

When you book with Hilton instead,

Hilton for the stay.

Wintertime means you might be stuck inside,

but you can still clean your car with ceramic,

rinseless wash from our friends at Creos Garage.

It lifts dirt, grime, and contaminants,

and it leaves behind a ceramic shield

that enhances water beating and self-cleaning ability.

But if you are getting out the hose,

Creos now offers car wash pods.

Just like the pods you use for the clothes washer,

you drop one of these in your wash bucket

for the perfect amount of soap.

These car wash pods even work with your foaming sprayers, too.

Or if your winter project has faded trim,

or you need to protect the trim on your car,

try satin-finished ceramic trim restore

that renews those old trim pieces

and is good for tires, too.

Plus, there's plastic all in one

to remove fine scratches and swirl marks

and restore dull plastic surfaces.

Remember all Creos Garage products are 100% guaranteed

and all liquid products are made right here in the USA.

When you're ordering at greosgarage.com,

use the code driver10 for 10% off everything else on your order.

That's g-r-i-o-t-s.

Enjoy the finest quality car care products you can buy

at greosgarage.com.

Luke is writing to us from Kansas City.

Hey, Luke, did you know we have a new Midwest region?

South east of Kansas City, man, hedge hollow.

That's where it is.

Right.

It's like right outside Adrian, Missouri, I think is where it is.

Yep.

That's where the track is.

How long?

In April.

Be there for the launch event.

We'd love to see you.

Anyway, that's not where you're writing.

You're writing with a car to pay.

You've listened to the podcast for a while.

You're a current high school senior,

college on the horizon.

And you own two cars right now.

Two cars, wait a minute.

High school senior with two cars.

I don't know.

I don't know two cars.

Anyway, I was half a car because I shared it with my sister.

I hear you.

I had the Creos Classic.

Anyway, separate thing.

So you currently have a 2022 Kia 4TGT manual.

That is a specific car.

You just don't see that car.

Okay.

17,000 miles on that.

And a modified 2005 Mustang GT with 117,000 miles.

That's been your first car.

And the thing that you've had, eventful repairs on.

Replacing the transmission with an upgraded one.

It replaced the differential.

Tyrods, valve covers, control arms.

This is the car that's been your original car and your project car.

So this is the car.

Also, you probably won't be willing to go up.

So you ended up with the Kia trying to shop for a daily.

But you're going to attend college in Colorado,

which means you need all-wheel drive.

And then you head me off at the pass, Luke.

Because you heard me say in tires.

Yeah.

Or even gotten you have definitely this in the podcast.

You said, yes.

You know tires will be brought up.

But in your right, tires, tires, tires.

But you have struggled enough in Kansas City snow.

That you would like all-wheel drive

for the extra security and grip that it does.

Which reminds me.

Rant incoming.

Oh.

I just had one of the worst driving experiences of my life

in the last week.

I have only scratched the surface with you, Paul.

I know.

This was.

I went to, look, we live in Park City and I'm incredibly spoiled.

And we have skiing within 10 minutes of the house.

But I had a buddy who was celebrating his 50th birthday.

I think he was doing it in the Colorado area,

which means we went to Colorado.

We drove over to Colorado, my wife and I.

We took her 2017 all-wheel drive Cayenne on all weather tires

and it was phenomenal.

However,

this was during a massive snowstorm, multi-day snowstorm,

on I-70.

This was the trip that I alluded to everyone, the vacation.

From last podcast.

There were big cases I were on.

Time was away on this vacation.

There were vacation things about sending me texts.

Like what is going on?

This was not one of them.

The drive from our house to where we were going in Colorado

is about an eight-hour drive.

It took us 14.

Oh my gosh.

And it took us 14 because we got on I-70 to a town.

You can look at what the map.

Town called Silverthorne,

which is coming up I-70, going eastbound.

It's four miles from the Eisenhower tunnel

at the top of the pass.

It's four miles away.

On our way in,

that four miles took us over three hours to cover four miles.

And here was the even more maddening part.

You've got your navigation system running, right?

And it tells you how long to your destination.

I'm not kidding.

Not exaggerating when I say we first got in it.

It said it was two hours and six minutes to our destination.

An hour later it said two hours and four minutes.

And I turned to my wife and I said are they moving?

Denver away from us?

Are they like proactively moving?

How is it possible?

We've been here an hour.

And it's still supposedly the same amount of time

to our destination as it was an hour ago.

So yeah.

That happened and we got through it and we were so frustrated.

But here's, you're all saying what was it?

Was it a wreck?

Was it no?

You know what it was?

You know what it actually was?

It was people without traction.

Please don't misunderstand me.

There were no wrecked cars.

There were no nasty accidents.

I'm not complaining there were no accidents.

Please don't misunderstand me.

But this was the last part of the pass

that gets a lot of snow on the pavement.

And there have been signs all the down I-70

that the 18-wheelers, the truckers, are required to put on chains.

They didn't.

Some of them did, but a lot of them just didn't until they started to slip

which was halfway up this pass.

And now you've got, we've all seen it.

That car front of you starts sliding, what's everybody do?

Just scatter, try to get around on them.

Yeah.

When you do that with two or three cars and you just stop traffic,

you just brought everybody to a halt.

So the truckers were doing that.

But then all around us, our cars clearly on all season tires.

So I will, the reason I'm bringing this up now is because, you know what, Luke, I'm going to agree with you.

All-wheel drive is helpful, but tires are paramount.

And in this situation, I'll admit, I was really glad to be in the all-wheel-drive cayenne

because when it got really slick, the worst thing about driving in snow

is you stop on a hill and you have to restart.

If you keep going, that momentum can actually carry you through some of the slickest spots.

There were definitely times when we stopped in the cayenne

and I could feel one or two of the wheels having a little struggle when we got going.

I was glad all four were moving.

I would much rather have done it in the cayenne than any other, you know, I've done 86's

and I've done the Lotus in the snow and I would not have wanted to do this stretch

because if I happened to start slipping, I don't have other tires to work with.

So all-wheel drive is helpful.

But two days later, we went down from Golden Colorado.

We went what was supposed to be an hour drive to copper and a ski.

Took us two hours to get to copper.

The same stretch, silver thorn, four miles to the Eisenhower tunnel.

Took us four and a half for the same reason.

There were no accidents.

There was nobody running into each other.

It was just people in front of you have lost traction.

That guy in the rental camera or there's a civic off the side of the road.

People are spending, I saw one point where I saw a Model 3 being pushed by the guys behind them.

Their buddies in an XC70 Volvo with winter tires were pushing the Model 3 up there.

Are you serious?

Absolutely, serious.

Like bumper to bumper kind of deal.

Just the bumper and off they went.

What?

Which is a good testament to the Volvo and the tires.

But clearly the Tesla didn't have the right tires.

The number of 18 wheelers that were just sitting there still.

Tires slowly rotating.

Huge tow trucks, the biggest tow trucks I've ever seen are fighting their way through traffic to pull people off the road.

My favorite, my wife's favorite as well.

Kate said, what is going on there?

A flatbed tow truck went by us.

At one point with a Prius on the back.

The owners of the Prius were still on the Prius.

Are you serious?

And then ten minutes later we saw them stopped on the side of the road and then passing us again

where with the Prius on the back he then attached the tow hook off the back.

The tow teabar thing to a different stranded little compact with people in it.

And then he took them as well.

So he goes by us.

With a Prius on the bottom of his head.

Well, people.

And then somebody behind being towed.

This is the kind of madness it was.

And the question I was thinking is all of this is just solved by tires.

Grip.

And the fact that it was happening every day that we were there.

And we were in it two different days, 48 hours apart.

I was astonished.

I was like does no one figured out that there needs to be some sort of like mandatory check for your grip device?

Well, this is Germany.

They've got laws specifically for winter tires.

Yes.

And I would hardly embrace that because, you know, would it solve everything?

But no, that means you could be pulled over and ticketed.

If you didn't.

And, you know, so Luke, look, that's my incredibly long rant to get back around to.

I'm going to back your play here on all-wheel drive.

You said the key is on the chopping block.

Freeze up about 18 to $20,000.

The Mustang will stay with your parents in Kansas City for at least the first year college.

So it has storage, but we're talking about the car for Colorado.

So what you're looking at is maybe a used BMW X1 X drive.

What about a Subaru WX?

A Jeep Wrangler, the unofficial car of Colorado colleges.

And the Focus RS, which you would love to have, but it is entirely out of your budget.

By the way, you're going to fight you way up I-70 at some point, Luke.

I'm just saying get the proper tire so you're not the guy causing the problem.

But you said you're going to make many trips to the mountains to snowboard.

So not just all-wheel drive bloody, but the proper tires.

I still have to get my tire rant in.

I can tell by the way people drive in bad weather,

whether that or not they've got proper winter tires.

I agree with that.

I can just look at the attitude of your car.

Yes.

The speed and I just know.

I don't even have to look at the tread.

Yeah, you're right.

It's a good point.

Luke wants something with soul or class as opposed to that Ford Edge that keeps popping up.

Apparently a lot of tempers are really trying to sell Luke a Ford Edge.

Yeah, we've got to get something else going.

Luke, I'm going to offer an alternative opinion here for you.

Because this Mustang, your first car, you said you replaced the transmission with an upgraded one.

You replaced the differential tire rods, valve covers, rear control arms,

and ended up with the Kia for your daily.

The car is going to sit for a full year.

It's going to sit for four to six months at a stretch.

And it's already 20 years old.

And it's already had a bunch of parts thrown at it.

Yeah.

I know you don't want to hear this, and you want to hang on to it.

But that time in your life where you transition from high school to college is big change.

It's full of changes.

It's full of discovery.

It's full of new fresh ideas for you.

And I think if you keep this albatross in the garage at home,

you're going to come home and be like, oh, yeah.

And you're going to close the garage door and go on with your new life.

I mean, you said you imagine a world where later in life,

you own a bunch of nice cars and the Mustang is still sitting there with it.

But even in that scenario, I don't think the Mustang gets driven.

Correct.

I think the time with your Mustang is coming to a close.

That doesn't mean it's the last Mustang in your life.

Sure.

I know money has been dumped into it.

But if you sell that, that opens up your options.

Because the new car will represent a new freedom.

Not only are you moving out, you're going to college with a new car.

All kinds of changes are coming in.

And if you keep this at home, you'll think back, oh, yeah, my Mustang is at home.

A car that you have that you've dumped money into that's sitting.

You've parked your money.

That money could be so much better spent.

Look, I'm telling you with a 928 that doesn't get driven as much as it used to.

I need to drive more.

Every time I drive, I'm like, oh, yeah, I love 928.

They're so cool.

And I love it.

But it's not like I'm not driving.

It's not like I don't have access to it.

Your car is going to be garaged, hidden away.

You're right.

Out of sight, out of mind, man.

And I think you need to sell the car to somebody who will enjoy it.

Wouldn't you appreciate it more knowing that that car has gone to a good home

and is going to be appreciated with all the stuff that you've done to it,

all the money you've put into it.

A new owner said, yeah, thank you for that.

Now it's going to get really driven and keep its legacy going rather than park it.

This is how barn cars start.

This is the beginnings of a barn car.

You know what we all see on the news?

Like, some car has been discovered.

Why would you park that car?

Coded in dust.

And it's only 140,000 miles on it.

And why would somebody park this?

This is that kind of thinking that creates barn cars.

I don't want you to have wrong.

You're not wrong.

I don't want somebody else to discover Luke's barn car.

And Luke, your mind is going to move on.

You're going to be grown.

Like, I need a new car.

I'm going to be doing new things, going to places, meeting new friends,

new life experiences.

And this is a piece of your past that is completely relevant and really awesome

and is a part of you.

And you've got those photos and those memories.

And it needs to be sold now.

I miss this tough love here, Luke.

But I can't say I think Paul is wrong.

I think this is one of those moments, for sure.

All right, keep going.

Allow someone else to drive your 05 Mustang GT

and enjoy it from here on out.

Because guess what?

Some young new driver is going,

man, I totally aspire to a 05 Mustang GT

or anybody at any age.

Man, I wish I could find one that has really been taken care of.

You've dumped all this money in and you're about to park it.

That car needs to be driven.

Yeah, that's good.

That's good.

Rant over.

So with that newfound cash and the Kia going away, Todd said it.

Go get the Colorado car.

Go get that WRX.

Go get a WRX manual.

Put the right tires on it.

Because you're also at a time in your life where you don't need the nicest thing ever.

You need something that you can kind of beat up a little bit.

You're going to be piling friends into it.

You're going to be going skiing.

You're going to be going everywhere in this car.

You need something that runs.

It's awesome.

It's just your partner in life.

Because you've got so much new life coming at you, my friends.

So WRX is my choice.

Go get the nicest one that you want.

New, used, don't care.

Get a manual WRX.

You'll be at home.

You're suddenly at Colorado.

Yeah, that's hard to argue with.

I have that on my list as well.

And Luke, you even mentioned it.

I really think that may be the right answer.

I'm going to give you an alt.

And that is the mini Clubman all four.

You can buy a mini Clubman.

It's obviously going to be used.

But you can get them with decent four seats.

It's actually, you're talking about maybe an X-1.

It's a lot of the same running gear as the smaller BMW SUV.

So it's four door.

It's got the mini coolness.

It's got their all four systems.

So that's their version of the BMW all-wheel drive.

And that's just a different choice than the WRX.

The WRX is your bang around car.

Don't worry about it.

I think you've mentioned the other Colorado Fiend car here,

which is the Jeep Wrangler.

I think the Jeep Wrangler,

you would love it in the rare right moments.

When you have the right tires on and it's bombing through the weather

or the mud or the snow or your on a back trail,

you'd be awesome.

Is this the greatest?

The rest of the time it would be like,

I wish I wasn't in this.

I wish I was in something that was a little more driver-focused.

So that's why I think the WRX is the better choice.

But I do see that otherwise.

But look at the mini Clubman all four.

You might surprise yourself.

Luke, thank you for writing.

Really appreciate it.

Let us know what you get.

Good luck and happy hunting.

Running a business means I wear lots of hats.

Luckily, when it's time to put on my hiring hat,

I can count on LinkedIn to make it easy.

I can post a job for free or pay to promote it

and get three times more qualified candidates.

Imagine finding your next great hire in 24 hours.

86% of small businesses do.

With LinkedIn, I can also easily share my job with my network.

No other job site lets me do that.

Post your free job at LinkedIn.com slash achieve.

That's LinkedIn.com slash achieve.

Terms and conditions apply.

Thank you guys for great questions.

As always, remember we asked for questions on Instagram and Facebook.

Right before we record the podcast, which is typically on Mondays

and Thursdays when we do our recording for the releases on Tuesdays and Fridays.

We have some various podcast changes coming up.

But we were going to constantly be asking you for questions there.

We also sometimes get them off discord where we have an awesome community thanks to our patrons.

If you'd like to support the show beyond just listening,

we would welcome your support and interacting with you

at all the various levels of our Patreon,

which does get you access to our discord server,

which is a really, really cool community.

So keep that in mind.

Also, if you haven't rated and reviewed the podcast,

we would really welcome that.

That's what keeps us in the top 10.

It helps other people find this podcast.

We would welcome that.

I'm going to go right here to Mike Schmidt,

longtime supporter of the show.

In fact, the owner of our old Jerry DeSix.

Yes.

So Mike's asking a question about researching new vehicles.

He says he keeps going to manufacture his websites to get basic specs

like cargo capacity, legroom, et cetera.

He said, you would think this would be easily able to be found

and he has found the opposite.

He said, where are they hiding this stuff?

Why isn't it available?

Shouldn't manufacturers make this right up front?

The problem, Mike, is that's not a people shop.

They don't.

They don't shop that way.

They shop on that looks cool.

How much power does it have?

What's the zero to 60?

Even if it doesn't matter.

Even if it's, I'm buying a family hauler.

You still see the tally of this stuff.

What's the power?

What's the zero to 60?

Occasionally, will you even see some other stat really trumpeted?

Like, if it's a truck, they'll tell you what the towing capacity is.

But they'll tell you the towing capacity of the one that is the most expensive

when set up for the most towing.

And then you buy the base model and it doesn't even have half that much.

I mean, this is how all these cars are sold.

I'm going to tell you the trick here, Mike.

If you're looking for comparative stats, you either need to go to a review site

that gets you lots of stats like a consumer reports or even some of the cold car magazines

will get you that.

But if you really wanted to do it, you need to search on your browser of choice

for the press kit of the car you are considering.

Because if you just, I'm serious, you just Google for the press kit of car X.

You can drill down on the press site.

This is publicly available information.

You can drill down on the press sites and all of the press sites have spec sheets

because the auto journalist look and do what you're talking about.

I want to compare knee room.

I want to compare head room.

Most people don't shop that way.

It's a really boring way to build a website.

So you can't ever find it.

But the press sites lead with that stuff.

You can bury yourself in data and you can compare it that way.

On Instagram, Eric P says, me, Paul, I have been rather hard on Volkswagen as of late.

Have you? I didn't notice.

Sorry.

I've called them uninspiring and boring.

I'm being kind when I say those words.

Eric agrees they need to go back to their more quirky ways

but couldn't these sane criticisms be levied against Subaru?

Nothing in their lineup.

He writes, save for the BRZ is particularly interesting.

Eric confuses the ascent with a forester all the time.

Subaru killed the legacy.

The WRX is, eh, they are truly the tennis shoe of the automotive industry.

Find for most occasions, not particularly great at anything.

This is scathing.

I don't know that you're wrong but it is quite scathing.

Yeah, you've got great points, Eric and I agree with them.

But never have I seen or met or heard of somebody driving

the Volkswagen whatever in their current product lineup

and thought, oh, you're perfect for that.

Where it's conversely.

That's interesting.

Every time we meet somebody outdoorsy who's not a car enthusiast,

we know plenty of them in Park City.

They're super into the outdoors.

They're skiers, hikers, mountain bikers.

They do it all.

They're not really into cars.

They need something decent, reliable.

You're perfect for the outback.

I don't love them but that's why Subaru sells so many of them

because of you.

They make a really good point.

They're buyer.

They know.

Yeah, they killed some of these models because they didn't see a buyer for them.

But that's true of the cross track as well.

We see cross track drivers have outback drivers and you're right.

You do one of those nine times out of ten.

You find it with the drivers and you go, yep.

Exactly.

That's a great point.

I don't see.

That's a great point.

Man, are you the driver for a Volkswagen?

I pick a T-word.

I mean, the GTI is cool.

The Golf R is cool and there are those enthusiasts and that does match.

That does meet up.

But for most of their SUVs, the rest of their lineup, I don't think,

man, good thing Volkswagen made that for you.

I've never thought that.

I feel like Volkswagen is floundering.

They don't know what their customer is or who they are.

So they make what everyone else is making.

Well, we've got a sedan.

We've got a bunch of SUVs.

We've got a sport back version of the SUV.

Yeah.

Well, everybody's doing it.

I don't think Volkswagen is looking internally to what made them great.

They're looking at what everyone else is doing.

They're driving in their rear-view mirror.

They're looking at everyone else.

They're copying everyone else.

They're just trying to offer something that competes.

And the problem is consumer reports rates Subaru the company at or near the top.

Whereas they rate Volkswagen the brand at very close to the bottom.

That should tell you everything.

So my flame thrower is not pointed at Subaru, even though you've got great points.

But it's not pointed at Subaru because they know who their buyer is.

BRZ, notwithstanding, but that just enabled them.

That just enabled Toyota business case.

Great.

But they know who their customer is.

Exactly.

You said they dropped some models.

It's because there's nobody, no buyers for them.

And they knew exactly there was no buyer.

Let's not keep making them.

Volkswagen doesn't, doesn't know who they are anymore.

Volkswagen doesn't know who their buyer is.

So they're just making the same box in different sizes on the same platform,

hoping to sell cars.

That's all I see.

I have a new goal for the podcast.

And we get Paul ran think about Volkswagen on every single podcast until the light up changes.

That's going to be a low bar.

It could be possible.

Good job guys.

Well done.

Maybe we can just shame them into making better products.

I don't know man. Something's got to happen.

Kirk Myers got an interesting question here.

And I do want to clarify because he asked something really good here.

He said he's heard our discussion a lot about modern cars are too much in the screen

and not as enough buttons.

But he says our argument and he's right.

And the argument of others has been you don't have to look to push a button.

But he said, wait a minute.

I've had my car for five years, 120,000 miles.

So he's driven at a ton.

But he still finds himself looking down to press buttons for the climate control.

He's thought about how long it takes him versus going into a screen.

And he does think it's faster.

But he's asking us, do we really not look?

Kirk, you're right.

You look for the reference point.

But it's also buttons or something you can do out of the corner of your eye too.

You're still looking straight ahead, but in your peripheral vision,

you can see enough to have a reference for your hand.

And this is the challenge that I always say to people that are always all I need is on the screen.

Don't you have a smartphone?

Because I always say to people that argue that about screens are better in cars.

I always say, okay, look at your, operate your phone without looking.

Look, I'll give you a favor.

You know the lock screen where you have to type in your code for your lock screen.

Have somebody hold your phone just in your peripheral vision.

And I'll give you a glance, a tiny glance to what your finger on button one.

Number the first button.

But now it looks straight ahead.

Can you complete it?

I doubt it.

But this is the thing that buttons and knobs do.

You do that tiny little glance, that fraction of a second glance.

And it always happens, we learn this as kids when we figure out how to move our limbs.

It's that fraction of a glance that you glance at the thing you're going to grab.

But as soon as you grab it, touch it, grab the volume, not whatever it is.

You no longer need visual reference.

Now your tactile reference that screens don't have lets you know am I moving that toggle up and down?

Am I turning the volume left right?

It's the tiniest little glance to just touch the thing you want to interact with.

And now you don't need to look at all.

So I can't say that I operate these things without ever looking.

That's not true.

But the rare times that I look at all and I do,

it's just that flick of the eyes reference until my finger touches the thing.

And now I'm back to driving.

And I'm adjusting without ever looking again.

Back on Instagram here.

Capeless 9 is asking my high score on the Porsche configurator.

It's time to play the configurator game.

Yes.

Todd, you replied here that we do need to do that live.

I think it needs to be a video podcasting.

Start doing some configurators with visual reference.

I do like the discussion there.

I think it's been a little while since I played with a configurator.

When the GT3 came out, I think I got it up to somewhere, Kyle,

280,000, some there in there.

What a grief.

But the the Carrera T was a better accomplishment, I thought,

because this is the lowest price or among lowest price.

New 911.

And I think I got that up to 214.

That's the cheap one.

I got the low price.

It was like either 188 or 214 or somewhere in there.

Those numbers stick out on my mind.

I didn't save the configurations because I was so horrified.

I wasn't proud.

You were angry.

You had to close it.

I'm going to close the browser now.

That's funny.

Jarrah Schultz says, does the internet and forums do they make recalls

a bigger deal than they actually are?

Yes.

The internet.

Look, the internet.

Nobody gets this, I hate this, but it's true.

Nobody gets on the internet to say, hey, I'm having a good day.

Nobody ever does that.

We don't get on the internet to be like, can I just,

can I just blast sunshine at the world?

We don't do that.

And now for some good news.

We get on the internet to complain.

And recalls are happening on just about every car brand you can think of.

But you know what, that's not new.

Pre-internet, there were recalls.

Oh, yeah.

You got a letter in the mail.

You just found out about it differently.

You know, a letter in the mail.

It's just you didn't have an easily accessible forum to go to and complain

that this must be the end of the world because of the things being recalled.

We are, I think we are as a general society much more recall aware

because we're much more review aware.

This is the rise of Yelp than us being able to review everything on the planet.

We are much more review savvy in general.

And we're always looking, we've all done it.

I've done it.

You want to go somewhere and you look at what are the negative reviews saying?

I don't want to read another five star review.

Okay, there's only like 2% of people that said bad things.

But what are those 2% of people say?

So this bad news about recalls.

It is a wildfire of interest.

And it's not that I'm common.

And then the other thing about it is there are recalls.

And look, I don't do this off, but I'm going to defend Tesla here.

Tesla's gotten a lot of bad press for the number of recalls on their vehicles.

But there isn't a system to qualify the seriousness of a recall.

Tesla's had recalls that they were able to solve with code that downloaded on your car overnight

the day after the recall got announced.

Is that a recall?

Do we need to be worried about that?

No.

Porsche had to replace engines on the 24th.

Yes.

GT3.

That's a car that the dealer recalls with a different engine.

Yes.

That's a recall.

So I also feel like that's the thing that's gotten lost.

Is that all recalls are looked at the same.

You have to park your car.

It's a paperweight.

I can't believe I bought this thing.

They recalls very folks.

And every brand's got them.

And some aren't that big a deal.

And yes, according to the internet.

They all are something that's going to blow up in a garage.

So it's like a level of seriousness.

There should be a rating system for the seriousness.

There should be a classification.

How bad the recall is.

Because here's the thing.

You could have a recall on any car that's got downloadable updates over the air.

You could have a hundred of those this year.

And it would never bother you once.

True.

But if you had, please come in while we replace the powertrain.

That's going to annoy you for a while.

We'll give you a loaner.

Yeah.

Anyway, I think there should be a classification system.

Guys, thank you for all your questions.

There's still more we could get to.

But we're, as Tonset, we're traveling.

We'll end things there.

Wrap it up.

Really appreciate all your support.

Appreciate it.

Appreciate the questions.

Yes.

Don't forget to check out both sites everyderiver.com.

Under the adventures tab is the 2025 program is trip again.

And then look for a track day near you.

There's so many regions doing so many cool events.

And you're hooked on driving.com.

You can find that there.

The European adventure.

Coda.

Watkins Glen.

N-C-M.

Mm-hmm.

So many good days.

We hope to see you there.

And we're looking forward to next time.

As always, cheers everyone.

Thank you.

973: Prepping The Nursery, The College Starter Car, High-Score Configurator

About this episode

Harley

Honda That Honda

Lotus 400

Request an Explanation

Want to learn more?

Help improve this episode

More from Everyday Driver Car Debate