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C8 Grand Sport revealed; Gas Prices; Odd Volvo; Racing!

C8 Grand Sport revealed; Gas Prices; Odd Volvo; Racing!

The Smoking Tire Mar 24, 2026 97 min
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About this episode

Zach and Matt cover a busy mix of enthusiast news and talk: the newly revealed Corvette C8 Grand Sport, Ferrari CEO comments that touchscreen/haptic interfaces cost about 50% less than buttons, and Cadillac quietly dropping torque-number badging. Gas prices get a deep dive with speculation on how long high fuel costs would need to last to change buying habits. The crew also nerds out on road racing at Road America, track-line “ghost car” training, and a long Q&A on everything from manual swaps to radar detectors and what makes a “sports car.”

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Technical Too Afraid to Ask
Car

Chevrolet Corvette

"Zach and I talk about The new Corvette Grand Sport crazy high gas prices the silly Cadil..."
Concept

press launch

"Mean they mays there's like a fucking press launch for every variant of the 9-11 right and there's like 32 of them. Yeah"

A press launch is when a car company invites reporters to an event to show off a new car. The goal is to get reviews and attention right away.

Concept

federal taxes

"Okay, and you get seventy five thousand dollars to cover the federal taxes that you would be assessed for because these are considered income when you win something like this, so they cover that anyway"

If you win a prize, the government may treat it like income. So the giveaway organizers may include extra money to help cover the taxes you’d owe.

Term

touchscreen

"[487.9s] touchscreen [489.3s] Interfaces and haptic interfaces are 50% cheaper than making buttons and that is why sure buddy"

A touchscreen is a screen you tap to control things like music, navigation, or climate. Some cars use it instead of physical buttons.

Concept

exhibition racing

"They're doing exhibition racing. There's gonna be a car show So we were there last year. It's a great time."

Exhibition racing is when cars race mainly for show. It’s usually not about winning a season championship—more about putting on a great event and letting people see the cars run.

Concept

kink

"this back section right with a little slight kink. Yeah, yeah, that'll be flat through this probably right?"

A kink is a small bend in the track that you have to thread carefully. It can be easy in a normal car, but it can get tricky when you’re going very fast.

Term

gravel trap

"There's a special bleacher right there. Yeah, look at the size of the gravel trap on the outside of that corner Yeah, like see it from space because then it for you listening"

A gravel trap is a gravel-filled area next to the track. If a car goes off, the gravel helps slow it down and stop it more safely.

Term

red flagged

"I raced a Fox body there in the very first season of champ car whoa and it was a Really shitty Fox body and it was so slow and the race was was red flagged for snow What and what what month was it like March?"

A red flag means the race is stopped because something unsafe happened. Everyone has to slow down and wait for the track to be cleared.

Term

telemetry

"the key is on we get Tato to drive the car first on Friday and Lay out a telemetry line that becomes a ghost car for us to chase perfect and then and then because like"

Telemetry is the live or recorded data a race car sends back (or logs) during driving—things like speed, throttle/brake inputs, and sometimes suspension and tire data. Teams use it to compare laps and refine driving and setup.

Term

curbing

"That's where you like break shit like in the S's if you you can you can use curbing But you need to like run up on the angle of the curbing not hit the end of the curbing because apparently you can snap"

Curbing is the raised edge at the side of the track. People sometimes ride it to help turn in, but if you hit it wrong you can break parts or lose control.

Part

control arms

"But you need to like run up on the angle of the curbing not hit the end of the curbing because apparently you can snap Control arms in these cars if you hit the end of the edge of the hot dog"

Control arms are parts that connect your wheels to the car’s suspension. If you slam a wheel into a curb the wrong way, these parts can bend or break.

Term

torque

"Like a they're in Newton meters, which to Americans don't mean shit. I do this for a living"

Torque is the engine’s “twist” that helps the car move strongly, especially when you’re getting going. The discussion is about how some model names are tied to torque numbers.

Term

Newton meters

"Like a they're in Newton meters, which to Americans don't mean shit. I do this for a living"

Newton-meters are a way to measure twisting force (torque). The speaker’s saying some car “numbers” are based on that unit, and Americans don’t usually think in Newton-meters.

Concept

gas prices

"Okay, how Expensive Because I saw we saw some $7 gas in California ... How high and for how long do you think gas will have to get for like actual? American car buying habits to change away from like big Fucking thirsty cars"

They’re talking about how expensive gasoline has gotten and what that might do to how Americans buy cars. When gas stays expensive, people usually start choosing cars that use less fuel.

Concept

national average

"National average ... I mean obviously California is a little special because it has its own type type of gas ... the national average is a good place to look"

Instead of looking at one gas station, they’re using an average across the whole country to understand the overall trend. It makes it easier to see whether gas is getting more expensive or cheaper.

Concept

upside down on a loan

"Yeah, how long until I can get further upside down on this loan payment? I have now rolled four loans over right."

Being “upside down” on a car loan means you owe more money than the car is worth right now. If you trade it in, that gap usually has to be paid off or added to the next loan.

Concept

fuel economy

"I was sitting next to TRX in traffic like two weeks going went this person's getting eight miles per gallon right now Yeah, and it's so expensive to operate that truck in California"

They’re talking about fuel economy—how many miles you can drive on a gallon of gas. Lower fuel economy means higher costs, which is why they’re comparing different trucks and SUVs.

Term

miles per gallon

"[2664.0s] Mm-hmm, and it gets 10 miles per gallon better, which at these prices will save you, you know [2683.9s] So if gas goes up 30% a 30% improvement in efficiency would offset it sure so it costs you the same today"

Miles per gallon tells you how efficiently a car uses gas. Higher MPG usually means you spend less on fuel for the same distance.

Term

hybrids

"[2718.1s] What it will take for people to move to hybrids and I think gas prices definitely has a [2724.3s] An effect if gas prices went up 50 percent 75 percent a hundred percent for the length of their of"

A hybrid is a car that uses gas and electricity together. Because it wastes less fuel, it can help when gas prices are high.

Term

V6 engine

"But the more processing I use the stranger it makes you sound. Yeah, and it's fighting with a v6 engine It's on a race track on a racetrack."

A V6 is an engine with six cylinders arranged in a V shape. It’s a common engine layout, and on a track it can sound very loud and different depending on speed and where the mic is.

Term

B pillars

"[3175.8s] base trim also coming in new this week [3179.8s] wants to talk about B pillars as a design element [3184.1s] I think we've moved beyond all B pillars being black"

The B-pillar is the vertical bar between the front and rear windows. Designers can make it body color or black, and that choice affects how the car’s lines look from the outside.

Concept

high beams

"Do you have okay? Do you have a reliable way of informing someone their high beams are on without yelling at them? ... Whatever intersections where I think the other car is facing up a hill slightly so their beams are shining in my eyeballs"

High beams are the really bright headlights you use on dark roads. If you leave them on around other cars, they can shine right into someone’s eyes and make it hard to see.

Company

Faraday

"You've seen that thing is it uh, is it the Faraday? The van yeah, yeah"

Faraday Future (FF) is an EV company that has shown concept vehicles and experimental tech in the past. The hosts refer to a “van” with a TV-like front as an example of using vehicle displays for communication, though the exact model/feature isn’t specified in the excerpt.

Term

dual overhead cams

"[3415.5s] No dual overhead cams all the all the single cam engines"

DOHC means there are two camshafts in the engine head working the valves. The speaker is saying the cars he’s listing don’t use that setup.

Car

Toyota Tacoma

"[3421.4s] ...another boring Toyota option [3425.5s] I would say the like the like [3431.1s] The the the taco like the the Tacoma sure"

The Toyota Tacoma is a midsize pickup truck. Here it’s mentioned as another practical, easy-to-live-with choice.

Term

EV

"[3431.1s] ...Tacoma sure right I want to I think I actually think an EV [3438.1s] Was like a simple really one about their power grid."

An EV is an electric car that runs on electricity stored in a battery. The speaker is joking that it might be hard to rely on if the local power system isn’t dependable.

Term

power grid

"[3438.1s] Was like a simple really one about their power grid. No, but they don't have any [3442.7s] All you need and you don't need to read they don't have they don't have one"

The power grid is the system that delivers electricity around a country. The joke is that if the grid isn’t reliable, EVs become harder to use.

Concept

license plate blurring

"Why did you blur the license plate? I'm they said they asked yeah"

People blur license plates so their car can’t be easily identified from a photo. It’s basically a privacy move when posting online.

Brand

Cosworth

"Obviously Cosworth has done a ton of work for people like Aston Martin McLaren McLaren and"

Cosworth is a famous motorsport engineering company known for designing and building high-performance racing engines and related components. The speaker’s point is that Cosworth has worked with major automakers like Aston Martin and McLaren, showing how specialized engine builders support top-tier racing and road-car programs.

Term

radar detector

"Tickle your pickle for a triple nickel wants to get a radar detector. Do you use radar detectors?"

A radar detector is a device that warns you when it detects police radar for speed checks. The discussion is about how to set it up so it’s helpful and not constantly annoying.

Term

M badge

"Ocean Parkway Blunt Rider love it now that the M badge is available in some capacity on basically everything BMW sells is it lost all meaning or does a true m car elicit the same response it did 20 years ago"

The “M” badge is BMW’s way of saying the car is a performance model. The debate here is whether using the badge on more cars makes it feel less special than it used to.

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