Tesla is a company that makes electric cars. The hosts are saying Tesla has been changing and improving its cars a lot, and that takes real engineering work—even if they don’t personally like EVs.
“Engineering changes” means the car company keeps improving the car—like updating parts, design, or software—after it starts building or selling it. The hosts are saying Tesla has done that a lot.
The Ford Falcon is a Ford car model with a recognizable look. In the podcast, the speaker is talking about how the doors look and why that design stands out. It’s being mentioned as something that could be interesting, at least visually.
The 1999 Mazda Miata is a small, fun two-seat roadster. Here, they mention it’s an automatic, and that’s part of why it doesn’t match their exact shopping rules.
Concept
summertime cruise
A “summertime cruise” just means a fun, relaxed drive—like going to the beach—rather than racing or pushing the car hard. They’re using it to decide what kind of car would be right for that vibe.
The Nissan 350Z is a popular older sports car that many people liked for being fun to drive. They’re referencing it as part of the era when these cars were a big deal.
The Mercedes-Benz S-Class is a top-tier luxury car, and the S550 is a more powerful version. In this segment they’re talking about a specific used one and joking that it won’t reliably start.
A jump pack is like a portable battery that can help start a car if the battery is dead. They’re saying the car shouldn’t need one to start over and over.
“Kick the tire” is a common car-buying phrase meaning to do a quick physical inspection—like checking for obvious issues—before trusting the vehicle. It’s not a technical diagnostic, but it reflects the idea of checking the car directly.
The Challenger is a performance car from Dodge that’s built for strong acceleration and a sporty look. People talk about it a lot because it’s a “muscle car” style vehicle. In this episode, it’s mentioned as a car someone is not interested in buying.
The Honda Civic is a small everyday car that’s meant to be reliable and affordable to run. The Civic Si is a sportier version of the same basic model. The podcast is basically saying it’s a safe, low-problem choice around that budget.
The Acura CL is a luxury coupe, meaning it’s a nicer two-door car. The podcast is pointing out that the price can drop a lot compared to what it originally cost. That makes it easier to buy than you might expect.
This means the seat can be adjusted in many different ways using buttons or switches. It helps you find a comfortable driving position without manually moving everything.
The Mercedes-Benz S-Class is Mercedes’ top luxury model line. This segment is about a 1994 Mercedes-Benz S-Class coupe, and the host is basically saying it’s the “most classy” pick.
Term
five-spoke plate wheels
That phrase is describing a specific wheel style—how the spokes and wheel face look. It’s mostly a visual/styling detail in this conversation.
A removable roof means you can take the top off to drive with more open-air feeling. It’s like getting a convertible experience, depending on the design.
A mid-engine car puts the engine closer to the middle of the vehicle. That can help the car feel more balanced when you drive and turn.
Term
coupe and a hatchback
A coupe is usually a two-door style, and a hatchback has a back door that opens upward. Saying both means it mixes a sporty shape with easier cargo access.
The Smart Roadster Brabus is a small two-seat convertible made by Smart, with performance upgrades from Brabus. The podcast mentions a 2003 example with about 69,000 miles, which is relatively low for its age. The point is that it could have been a good option if someone wanted that specific model.
This is a gearbox that’s based on a manual transmission, but the car shifts for you automatically. “Transaxle” just means the transmission and the drive parts are packaged together in one unit.
An inline three-cylinder engine has three cylinders arranged in a single row. It’s a compact configuration that can be efficient and, when turbocharged, can still deliver strong real-world acceleration for a small car.
Term
a smart Grundig CD stereo
They’re talking about the car’s music system. It’s a Grundig stereo that can play CDs.
“Dual exhaust” means two exhaust tips. “Center mounted” means they’re placed toward the middle of the back of the car instead of the left and right sides.
Haptic feedback is when a device vibrates or gives a physical “feel” when you touch it. The host is saying this car doesn’t use that kind of touch feedback.
All-terrain tires are tires meant for a mix of roads—regular pavement plus dirt or rough paths. They usually have tread that grips better than regular street tires.
LIVE
Good evening, Bill.
Good evening, Stanley. Hello listeners. Welcome back to the BS Car Guys podcast.
Stanley was sounding all sultry there. I about forgot my cue to start.
I'm not going live because of how busy we've been and how I almost forgot.
I almost forgot. I was like, what am I supposed to say right now?
You know, people listen, I think it's worth mentioning that I really appreciate
that we do these recordings. I don't know when you guys are listening.
You know, you may be listening in the morning. You may be listening in the afternoon.
You may be listening in the evening. You're certainly not listening this evening
because we're just now doing it, but it helps me that I get to start with
good evening Stanley, because if I started with hello Stanley or good morning Stanley or a good
afternoon Stanley or a Guten Morgan Stanley, I think it would really mess me up in all the
other teams meetings that I do because if I if I hopped on any other work meeting and said
good morning and my prompt to start a podcast was good morning. I 100% would hit a random meeting
with some group of engineers from a company and I would hit them with a
good welcome back to the BS Car Guys podcast because it's such a prompt like you just go off
the instinct that it just kind of comes out. So like and maybe this is just my OCD and me, but
when I do videos at work, occasionally I'll have to do a like a live stream video or shoot a video
segment for something for marketing and I always start those videos with hello it's Bill and and
that's my cue in my brain to be like I'm on video for work so I am talking manufacturing and
Haas automation and I need to be in that frame of mind. So saying good evening Stanley is like a
key in my head to say all right we're on podcast brain 100% I mean I feel the same
way we've said it often and for those who don't believe this obviously this is not rehearsed
it may you can tell if you listen this is not half the time we can come up with an idea and
that idea of changing the first five minutes of the podcast and our whole goal from the beginning
was to give ourselves a reason a time period scheduled to talk that was consistent because we
were so inconsistent before this that we would the phone call would come and then we'd be on the
phone for four hours and otherwise we're trying to hear that no that's definitely true I mean it
was when it all over the map inconsistent days we might go three to six
months without catching up and then we would have to catch up and so it'd be like you know how's
the family they're good how's your family they're good all right did you see that uh new lexus and
oh man and then four hours later our wives and our families looking at us
like are you what are you doing you talked to nobody on the phone this long
but yeah I mean I don't do as many teams calls as you do but I do have a co-star on my desk that
uh that my wife got me that said uh it kind of actually says me some of my boss said
this movie is boring and boss says this is a team's call
and and one of the guys at work was like uh is that there's giggling it's like I know that you
you use teams to record your stuff is like that is that what it's like I was like no
nothing we do is boring we it might not be entertaining for you but it's not boring for us
yeah that's exactly right look if I could figure out a way to make the living that I make in
manufacturing by talking about cars and driving cars I'd be going tomorrow as much as I love it
I'd be going tomorrow I think you uh actually could do that um I don't think I'm skilled enough
at either first of all I don't the the bill I know uh where there's a bill there's a way uh
has never shied away from such things uh he will uh take a leap especially now that his family is
in a in a place where he may be able to afford to take a couple chances so don't get I had to be
may need a new host for for the drag they may they may have a show that they specifically
designed for you use all the bill skills yeah uh yeah that's right I'm gonna use that bill skills
I'm I'm keeping that going listen I don't think anybody's touching what Kamisa can do and he has
been in this he has been in the car industry specifically for far longer than people realize
and give him credit for um so he he is he's at the top of his game right now and I don't think
anybody's touching that currently you know he's providing uh good information um and he's doing
it in a way that is entertaining and and uh you know I don't think you can ask for much more than
that I mean obviously I'm sure his demographic like ours is uh a certain gender um you know but
I don't think I mean I think in the car world it kind of is expected well well well uh well
when how do we reach this out to you there and I'm trying to replace Kamisa I mean he's gonna be
your boss understand this yeah yeah I understand understand he's gonna be your boss and y'all just
have slightly different kinds of weird uh even though you but y'all y'all is weird or is adjacent
enough that he can be your boss and both of y'all can be happy about it yeah yeah and and some of the
things that he is made to have to do because I I I was I was talking to another kid about this
and it's like you think he wanted to do this video do you think he had to do it both the Tesla
huh the Tesla video any video I was like some of these videos um he's gonna look enthusiastic
and stuff but I mean there's a pretty good chance that he would have wanted to do a weird video uh
differently weird this is he can use you to do the weird weird videos I don't want to get stuck
driving all the weird well I probably would be okay doing that you're right I would not I would
not complain you're right uh I think he did the Tesla icons video I mean listen I understand I
watched the whole thing and I didn't think I would that's a that is a testament to his ability to
engage an audience um but I think he filmed the whole thing just for the clip of driving at the
end and he could do it like hands-free and it just be at the speed limit and and that is the the
comedic payoff based on all of his other videos being him driving the vehicles in a sporting manner
and he does the icons video on how influential the Tesla is so that the payoff reveal at the end
is him doing exactly the speed limit with hands-free driving it's such a soft joke
that I bet it doesn't land with most people and I laughed so hard I I didn't laugh but when I first
started I was like that may be the coolest way to end the video ever with no noise
just cruising the same stripper road he's normally hustling and just cruising it at the speed limit
in hands-free mode that that to me was the payoff like obviously and obviously we all know how you
feel about EV and we're not going to really get into that discussion right now because we we know
we know we got we got other things today but but I did agree with that with that
that assessment in that video even though I don't really want to right I mean look here just the
comment alone about the engineering changes and the number of engineering changes the Tesla's have
went through like you can't deny that it is nothing short of amazing that they have been able to make
those changes in that time period like I don't disagree with that like I can't find fault in that
as a an astonishing act of engineering the thing is it's only astonishing in comparison to that
all other automotive manufacturers would fail miserably trying to do that it doesn't mean that
it's amazing in and of itself it means that it's good engineering and responsiveness but it's
the sheer fact that it is so counterintuitive to all major automotive manufacturing currently
yeah yeah and we talked about that before and I I'm sure somebody can go back and say
Bill sounds like like the bad guy when it comes to EVs but he is also a salesman with the engineer's
money yes 100 and if a thing deserves respect even though we don't like it we will give it
we will give it some respect while saying we don't like it but that is a fair
point I am yes that's fair point the thing and we like I said we're talking about we talked about
this before in previous podcast is they were not they they sell out to do something that nobody
did was going to do and nobody had for lack of better words the the guts to do see I was going to
say different word but I didn't know that is that's going to prove this theory and they they knew
they had a high likelihood of failing and the proof the proof people thought that this was a
conclusion that Tesla was going to be this thing look at all the other big money backed EV companies
that tried to start after them and and and tried to try to start with their formula in mind and
failed or are still there but struggling yeah and and some of those being brands that were
founded out of folks who were there for the early days of Tesla yeah and and all of those companies
two all of those companies two of them still exist today like you said both of them either one of
them are doing that hot they ain't doing what Tesla is doing they're definitely not they they got and
they got they got big money back in them but they're just they're not able to do it because
to be honest they're I think what it is is and I'll say this and then we can kind of move on
out you probably have some say out there is uh everybody expected Tesla to fail when they when
they started off and every big manufacturer they reached out to people who actually knew how to
build cars the traditional way they turned them all down they wanted they needed some parts they
needed this thing they turned them all down they expected it on the fail and they were going to
essentially help them fail these other things these other and they did not these other companies
are expected to make the amount of money that Tesla has and that's a different
world I agree when you can just do what you want and let your big engineering brain
do all the crazy engineering brain things um but sometimes maybe too much uh when it comes to them
doors or the falcon doors look I gotta say they're cool like I mean they're they're
they're a different way to solve a problem that all vehicles have how do you get at them
yeah yeah but uh it seemed like we figured out that problem just over that but if
you've ever been uh if you've ever been in a super duty in a parking deck you know it's hard to get
in out the door because they're big doors um also it's 18 feet wide that also is a true statement
yeah so uh you know all right anyway anyway Jason that was a dope video yeah good job Jason
good job jason on a Tesla video also also email email bill for so you can work for you
is so I can tell people I know him um all right so we had not done each other a challenge in a hot
minute no we have not so we decided it was time summer is right around the corner even if it doesn't
feel like it outside here in north carolina uh summer is right around the corner so we needed
to get each other a cool ride for summer yep for $15,000 or less yep and there was no other criteria
other than a summer ride so in my mind I basically framed my reference around is it a car that I
could be seeing driving in will smith and dj jazzy jeff's video for summertime
so with with that criteria in mind I picked some vehicles for stanley to cruise around goose creek
south carolina and uh you know
just doing the summertime things before you get in that real quick I need to shout out the people
in the goose creek uh Charleston area that's what happened even though one thing happened this weekend
that wasn't that good bill I don't know if this is happening near you but these young folks these
people who we give up on at least at least I give up on half 50 50 percent of time they're doing car
meetups yes they are I have joined a couple of Facebook groups for my local community and have
even attended a car meetup a few weeks ago and um I gotta say it's it's it's not my age bracket and
not necessarily my group of people but it is good to see that the culture is returning
that's exactly what I was gonna say I am too way too old to hang out with y'all but I love driving
by and watching and seeing y'all out there just having fun now so you idiots that want to bring
trouble to the car meetup y'all need to stay y'all but home because nobody invited y'all to start off
with just just take whatever you got out there especially it was loud if it's fast it was kind
of cold if it's weird if it's your mama fan go out there hang out have a good time man I'd love
to see these kids out here doing it it it's shades of of of 1995 1996 you know fellow bitch well
what what Stanley's trying to say is it warms this old feller's heart yeah yeah yeah
I get it I'm with you man I'm here for it I'm I'm proud of these young bucks out here cruising
the strip and cleaning up their ride and parking them up uh you know I think I think it's is given
real main character vibes all right so bill was talking about you know him finding this dj jazzy
jeff car and everything which I kind of know where he I may have an idea of where he's going
it's going to be cool but bill I'm just going to give you something to think about what my approach
to this okay okay so I haven't we we had a podcast a few uh a few months ago
about uh all the vehicles we've all oh yes we we did our body count yeah uh y'all should go check
that out it is really really I was embarrassed I couldn't show my wife how much money we spent
I spent on cars over the years but so I just there were things on that list
that were missing who things on the list were missing off of my list yeah so I feel I felt that
you know we're man of a certain age we need to go ahead and fill those gaps a little bit
whoa okay all right so you were trying to fill my gap yep you know what I'm just gonna
I'm gonna act like you said something different just now
yeah yeah for those of you playing along at home we were in the Marine Corps not the Navy
all right so who's going first all right cool I'll go first because this this this car really
isn't this car really isn't um exactly what the bread um the bread and butter or what we get to
but it may give you an idea of some of the direction I'm going in are we doing like
so the first sharing here we could do one for one sharing let me see if I remember how to do this
um uh yeah so the first car while I fit it is out
is this lovely car right here oh yes very all right so first car you list is and this isn't a
real uh this this car that really count but we're gonna talk about it because I just want to teach
you a little bit this car is a 1999 Mazda Miata one of the reasons why this car cannot be on the
list is because it is an automatic oh that's why it is $12,900 folks uh I also was going to look
for Miata for you Stanley however I suspected you would go Miata so I thought we can't have two
Miatas so I backed off yeah so but this particular Miata um it is ad ducking important you can go
by it now just go to the website check it out it's red uh $79,000 miles great miles most things
Duncan does is uh in pretty good shape that looks it looks really clean looks really good speaking
of which little side quest has Duncan's prices gone up or is that me no no no Duncan's prices
have went up I have actually I have stopped visiting their site often as I used to because
their prices have went up I mean whose prices haven't went up thanks Trump yeah yeah yeah um
give me that um but yeah so that should give you an idea of um of a little bit of direction
I wanted to feel I wanted there's some there's some holes in your portfolio there's some
there's some opportunity there that they were missing so we're gonna we're gonna see if we
can feel some of those uh uh we're gonna work on that skill set a little bit you know okay all right
so I like it so let's let me show you uh my first pick for you uh I'm gonna start with
the no-brainer choice the one that I I know without a doubt you would just pick for yourself
because if I picture Stanley wanting to do a summertime cruise at the beach
to go get some seafood uh I think the car he would want to drive is something that is
is somewhat like incognito but also still fast and oh oh that isn't that that is a very nice car
it's almost like I sent you a card just like that and you told me not to buy it yes I couldn't
have you buy it for yourself when I was gonna buy it for you to go cruising in the summertime
what bill has on the screen right now is uh crisis 300 uh I'm starting to see a little more
more of those right now that I want to see I thought people have forgot about them and
is that an s I believe it's an s it is uh it's a blast it's a c it's a oh oh var var varvatos
collection I'm not aware of this so it does have the v8 um it probably it may have
yeah it does have the v8 I was looking at s and he told me I couldn't buy because that was an old
people car but little I know that uh he had it over here in his bag on um trying to pull it out
when he wanted to pull it out I see what you're doing Bill yeah yeah yeah you see what I'm about so
so yeah so that thing's $15,000 it has 113,000 miles on it and it's located in Illinois
all right yep that I found one in North Carolina
and yeah I found a couple closer but that one was
yeah Stanley old man speck I agree have you seen um uh crime 101 yet it's on amazon so
don't tell me you got you y'all got to pay for it I don't believe I've watched that yet no
you should check that out uh is Liam Hemsworth Thor he's uh he's playing a
Liam Liam Hemsworth is not Thor Chris Chris Hemsworth Chris uh there you go Chris Hemsworth he's uh
he's a car he's a thief uh but he doesn't hurt anybody and uh and uh there's a detective who's
trying to catch the the thief and you know it's pretty good that's you know
he's a lot of series of those in the um and in the in the movie and he has a very very
very pretty other car that we're not going to talk about here which is going to make you uh go
hopefully make you watch the movie and it's a really good movie it's not it's not like uh
uh Fast and Furious old school not this new Fast and Furious stuff excitement is it's a little
bit slower because it's it's a deeper story I got pretty good well I have I have a flight this
coming week to California so I've been I have not watched a single episode of season two of Dare
Devil Born Again um so I will add that to my in-flight entertainment list because I was looking for
some stuff to fill it with so that'll be good surprisingly good movie uh low budget too um
so that's the next car on my list is uh and I'll do a couple uh I'll do a couple so uh before uh
so we can just get to the meat and potatoes everything so honestly you know we're family men
and it's summertime and you can't leave your you know the the the A team at home all the time
but you that's right you'd be making trips down to the beach and I know you'd
like to take the the Kirby Rose and I know you show show your beautiful family
off a little bit uh so I was looking at this thing and I was like you know what
you make did that show up yet um what what all right what let me explain so the car that I have
on screen right now is a Lexus ISC is a convertible was a wise convertible you know what's not on your
list the whole list of cars that you've ever owned a convertible not one not one
yeah I mean it's I haven't owned a convertible that's true you and the girls I also haven't had a
hip or I also haven't had a hip replacement yet I also haven't been diagnosed with osteoporosis yet
but as soon as I get both of those checked off that convertible is on my list
so there are other convertibles out there will my walker fit in the back no because you don't
have one yet and but I want to qualify for that car all right so this convertible shares you know
has multiple ropes obviously it's a convertible you know you can put your door in the back she can
let her hair fly you know your wife is let her hair fly with her with her glasses on and everything
and you're just driving it's still a Lexus IS so it ain't that bad of a car it isn't gonna break
because it's a it's a Lexus IS and it's white this one is white um your daughter is gonna start
driving uh in minutes and because you are people of a certain uh pedigree
you know all um upper middle class uh young ladies entering uh that freshman year high school has to
have a white convertible in our school license to drive so okay so well I'm gonna play along
because because I love you um oh this game this game is to stop it oh oh I believe me I know I
can tell you just want to say that that car it you know how sometimes we like to pick uh a name
and a job and a personality for an automobile if that car had to be given a name and a job
and a personality it would be as follows its name would be Janice it would be 57 years old
and it would be a real estate executive in Sarasota Florida also for the record um
as you progress in life you and Janice go you know y'all can be friends y'all work together
y'all gonna meet up together y'all gonna meet up together at the beach all right so it also
still in the same vein of me uh picking that bill um back in this back so back in the day
um also for the record none of these cars are over 12 or over $15,000 this one better not be over
$15 so back in the day you know uh in the in the mid 90s uh bill you know used to ride around
and there would be cars out there that we could not get that left fond memories in our um in our
hearts and I was flipping around and I found this outstanding nostalgic vehicle 1993 Chevy
Luma Z34 it is $6,900 it is in decent shape and you ever wondered can't tell me if you ever wondered
if you ever thought to yourself what would a pack of Virginia slims look like as an automobile
this is your car first of all don't act like we didn't live in those worlds
if you if you ever wondered if if I lived in a single wide trailer there's anything wrong with
that with a with a pug named huska varna and I smoked Virginia slims what car would I drive
on my way to pick up my disability check Stanley just found the car for you
absolutely absolutely hey that hey we are that trying to tell me that you driving that car down
in murder beast I call it had 71,000 miles on it for the record I don't know how unbelievable
you know how many trips that is to the pigly wiggly I have no idea how that car yeah exactly
all that all that car did is go go to the pigly wiggly go to the windows and go to the idea
that's all that's it that's it one more real quick we're getting a little more serious now
I promise we're getting a little more serious now and maybe I'm gonna ask you have you picked up on
the theme uh uh on part of the theme yeah the theme is give me a hard time go ahead go ahead
part of it you're correct so this next car I'm gonna show you before you show me your
next thing and then I'm gonna get into more serious things this isn't a legitimate competitor
oh okay and and maybe you'll actually pick up on the theme the theme that the place I'm gonna go
I doubt it convertible oh oh a Nissan all right so this car is an Affinity G37 it is a manual
it is real world drive yes
now we're talking and it is uh good it is need it everything it need a little bit
of work uh you ain't afraid of that that screen that's horrible that's all but the reason why this
car uh is a little bit more serious in condition is because we need we are men of a certain age we
need products we need projects that screen that screen is given major aura yeah and I also couldn't
find another manual that looked really better that sounds about right it's it's a real world drive
ultima with all the bumpers still on it so that's good yeah but hey don't act like when that car did
you 35 and um and uh the uh uh 350z and stuff came out we weren't fans oh yeah we were we were fans
oh big body big body alert I just think my friend Stanley I mean first of all you know what's one
of the things about a summer car you don't drive it too much you know and so and you don't want to
drive this car too much because for $15,000 it's definitely got some things wrong with it 100%
it's going to break yeah this car was involved in at least one sting operation
because it got the mirror 10 on it this car was 110,000
dollars when new and now it can be yours in Florida for the low low price of 14,999 out of
Florida fine cars Miami this 2014 Mercedes Benz S-Class S550
with 145,000 miles on it I guarantee you that thing does not start
I am willing to put all the money I currently have in my pocket on the fact that that car
cannot make three consecutive starts in a row without a jump pack exactly it can I had a buddy who
had uh his was a little older and I think his was like an 11 we were his cars parked at work
everybody out there you know he's a big he's a Navy dude so he had some just a little bit extra
money than us Marines have because you know you get seat time pay and everything so he had his S-Class
out there and he would always park in front everybody got to walk by seat it was the seven
some of the colors of that car as well and we'd get ready to leave one day and he walks outside
and it's like why am I windows now oh no I don't know did you leave your windows now
he gets in the car goes out to start it nothing happens it's like he gets out he look you
you from out of them he gets out the car look right at it kick the tire do it all day nothing
happens he had to call people to come to get it would you like to guess I give you one guess
what you think was wrong with that car uh the battery was dying and so so that you would be
locked down the car it rolled all the windows down automatically nope not at all oh battery died
everything on the car checked out was a what's working 100% except for one thing
it was a $1,200 fuse nice that makes the car go into that does that if something does go wrong
at least at least the car in an accessible situation when you can go out there's some
feature in that that fuse blue cost him $1,200 to replace I'm pretty sure I can change a fuse for
less than $1,200 bro I was like hey they would have kept that bro they would have kept that one
he he did it because you know he burnt uh burnt Chris if you listen Chris Chris was always like
a nice car he's gonna go Alabama dude uh he was one of them dudes is like I'm gonna drive something
nice it's gonna happen you put money it might not be new but it's gonna be nice all right so
now I'm getting into serious section a little bit some of this I have to articulate a little bit
instead of showing you pictures so so I was serious when I was talking about there were
things that were missing from your portfolio yeah one of the things that I saw was missing
and I didn't go back and look at this intently I've just got off memory is you've never driven
you've never owned a real world drive car outside of truck uh you're right I've I've not
owned a rear wheel drive car I have owned all wheel drive and front trucks that are
rear wheel drive but no rear wheel drive cars I've driven plenty I just haven't owned any
correct so I saw that as a as an opportunity and you know we got to take advantage of opportunity
these these days and ages so I wanted to that don't feel that gap and I was trying to figure out
the best way to feel that gap it was like self what would Bill not do to feel this gap obviously
he would not buy a challenger he would not but Bill isn't buying things right now oh oh
so I didn't really always mess around with you earlier and I was showing you some some
weird things but no I really do think that I saw that there were some missing pieces and I wanted
to kind of fill them and but what I didn't want to do is this be a permanent solution
oh part of it was not a permanent solution because we're in the stage of life where we value
experiences above a lot of things and some experiences don't have to be permanent they can
be fleeting they can come in two three-year cycles so I'll pull it out the handed in the
excel calculator because you know I do map it why do math when you can do uh when
you can make excel do it and I didn't know I was getting a spreadsheet tonight you're not getting
a spreadsheet I'm just gonna talk about a little bit and then we're gonna talk about options in this
oh good so remember you and I were talking about uh the best way to spend $15,000 uh about six months
ago yeah so I read that calculation on you from the perspective that I went ahead of time
spend $15,000 on a used car or spend the same $15,000 on a new car this is where you this is
this is this is where I am called I'm saying because all I spent was $15,000
it was just $15,000 for three years
is that cheating yes how is that cheating explain to me how to you have $15,000
total to spend okay one time spend of $15,000 yeah yeah absolutely 100% who said you can who
you can you can spend all $15,000 the same way you can go into just give you some options of
things I did so if you don't know what I'm talking about is um I was on a quest to find a you know
I've been on a quest to find the right car uh my next car for a minute and we had this car
Bill and I had this conversation offline about what was the best way to spend $15,000 spend
$15,000 on a new Honda Civic SI or something like that have no issues with it feel that low void
move on to the next car or put $15,000 buy a car for $10,000 put five grand in it had the car for
essentially the same amount of time 23 years and then move on to the next thing so I just
did that math on you so remember that me out of that so you remember that we ought to show you
yes you know but you can get for $15,000 for 36 months what an RF
I think you would look good in a brand new monster me out of RF with six big
and you can do it I think you can take that hold that same $15,000 instead of
making lease payments because you don't like payments anyway take that $15,000
this is the whole amount for that lease I'll bring the car back in three years
how was that cheating I just feel like that's cheating
because you didn't think about it no because you're having to give the car back you know
you spent 15 grand you got no car you got other gaps we're gonna get to the other gaps
I don't know man I just feel like somehow I feel like that's cheating you know what you can do for
the same other the same $15,000 because you know the me out of is you know that feels like a convertible
gap because you never own a convertible either right and dribble drive yep and it's manual
you know what else is dribble drive and a manual but the top staying on that you can get for $15,000
what a GR86 yeah
yeah yeah yeah but the problem is Toya's website it was acting like a butt and
deleted my thing and it won't let me go back to it or show you the GR86
all right so I got I picked you something that is not a convertible
uh-huh and it's not a manual uh-huh but
it is your favorite type of car and that is a GT car absolutely everybody
knows Stanley likes a GT car everybody knows Stanley's wife likes a blue car so I got Stanley
a blue GT car oh that is nice though that is very nice I like that 2011 Mercedes Benz
see it see oh I like that always like those Mercedes always look good they just cost so much
they do cost well cost so much to fix oh that car only got 72,000 miles to
oh that's what is it one website is that uh that's car so yeah and and and here's the thing
it's in California so I found that if you want to buy a Mercedes or a BMW you buy it in California
because if it ain't brand new there nobody wants it so the price drops 15 to 20,000 dollars off of
CL Coupe two-door coupe and I'm gonna be honest with you for the price for 15,000 dollars this is
a clean car I'm not the biggest fan of these but it's all wheel drive it's got a big trunk
it's got a very cushy comfy interior interior with wood grain
I like it it's probably got 36 way adjustable power seats it's got all those nice s-class
features I showed you in the last car but in a coupe that is so much more summer appropriate
which is why did this car after the s-class I like it a lot I'm not gonna lie as as crazy as we can
get when it comes to that on cars and how much we can disagree sometimes on when it comes to
that on cars we do know what he does what he likes we and that does fit in the that does
fit in the vein of things that I like just I'm trying to rebuild this car again for some reason
when I put my zip code in the Toyota website it will not allow me to go any further I don't know
why it errors out I don't know what's going on so I'm trying to finish this build but essentially
the math works out too just case you you want to know if you want to do this
you can go to in there and it's like I went on lease whatever car the money comes it
comes all up to 15,000 15 dollars you can pay all that right then and just come back in three years
or if you wanted to look at I actually know it's like $4,000 down $300,000 which opens up a lot of
cars it does it does I get the math that you're shooting after but I do I do think you're operating
just in a gray area in the rules which you know I applaud but also hate so
you hate it because I came up with it first yes exactly all right do you do you have any other
cars you would like to show me I I'm gonna I'm gonna tell you about some cars really that were
right outside of the thing that I couldn't do but would almost fit the same thing because legit my
my goal was to kind of feel that whole never had never owned a real world drive
and it I wanted it to be manual because you love manual cars but I also wanted it to be new
so you don't have to do nothing to it except for drive it when you were home I didn't want you to
have to come home and drive nothing to it just give the car I want to go on a drive I just want to
see what this feels like again because it's a completely different experience from well it's
a different experience from what you're driving on the road now you know regardless of how slow
comparison that Mazda is to your to your car to your type R it's just gonna feel different going
around the roads because this is it's just a different thing and the GR86 is the same right
and I don't want that for you I do I do appreciate that and I do agree it is a different sensation
driving a new car versus an older car you're exactly right and neither one of those cars are
stupid or stupid when it comes to that on some of the things that I think you hate no I don't
think right we all know you hate yeah yeah there's no it's not up for discussion um so
I was thinking about the Mercedes that I had picked for you both of them the the the sedan
which we know you like and the coupe which we know you also like yeah but I thought if Stanley's
gonna buy Mercedes first of all can I ask a quick question yeah
since when did I turn into a Mercedes dude I'm I think you would look good in Mercedes and I'm
buying the car from your behalf and and I don't I don't think you look as good in the window of
Chrysler as you do in the window of a Mercedes when I see Stanley I see a man who is of a certain
status in life a certain how do you switch it up a certain a certain seasoned status in life
and I'm not just talking about the salt and pepper in your beard I'm talking about
seasoned experienced subject matter expert that is less only Stanley the third okay
so I picture a man who is in a Mercedes and he is in the nicest Mercedes he is in an s-class
but he's not cruising in some brand new s-class no no no he's got more class than that he's in
the s-class so if I told you that I was gonna put you in a Mercedes
I don't know what music
this is the Mercedes Benz furlough songly Stanley this that is pretty where is that
this is a 1994 Mercedes Benz s-class coupe combining the best of the previous two cars
into the one car that matters most this car has the amga five spoke plate wheels from a
movie called Romeo must die what those wheels need to come back these wheels need to come back
that those that lip on those rear wheels that was the absolute peak hotness in 1994
all right can we you need to send me that link or click into some of them pictures one of them
five liter v8 yeah I think that was Pete Mercedes I don't know if they ever made a better coupe
than this car it's not the fastest best handling it's probably not even the
best sounding you could get this car with a 12 cylinder in it but this v8 this five liter v8 was
special yes it was it is very similar to the car from the from the tune that I was humming
um uh summertime DJ Jeff Jeff from the Freshments uh and then let me just never let me get that
backseat look at that backseat if that backseat doesn't say class that that's sexy right there
oh I hope Alpine got that Alpine in the truck oh man that car is very very nice
I think personally that we absolutely pick cars that we
do we like the other person like yeah I hope that I'll poke fun at you a little bit a little
bit in the beginning um but my whole goal was to kind of hey Bill has never had this thing
and even that Lexus even though that's not her kind of dad on car his real world drive
is a completely you never did a convertible I really do think your girls would love to
like ride down in the beach with that I don't know where your stuff is going to be at
but you know but I think I think they would enjoy it just like getting out on going out at the
church on a Sunday man it's just taking a drive and just doing this on the got the arms out the car
is enjoying it a little bit is it is that car fast and the thing now but this is different
experience you you've had a lot of experiences in cars some that I I think are terrifying some
that are really cool so if you don't have any more left I have one last car left I do I can
I can talk about this thing real quick all right so other cars that cars that fell right outside of
some of them are a little bit more serious than uh they were kind of feel the same niche
you can do uh the the the z for a little bit more than a little bit more than
$15,000 it's just a little bit more a year for three years no no the base z with a manual because
you don't want all the fancy stuff all of them all of that it just need to be the right color
it's not that much money I if the if the website wouldn't be wouldn't be tweaking out
it's 42 uh it starts at 42,000 because they don't sell them they have they haven't they
had an aggressive or pretty aggressive lease you can do that car for a little
a little bit more than that on the $15,000 now could you do the heritage no not at all
I I I saw a couple BMW z's also but you know I couldn't put you to BMW you just that that just
ain't nah I told you that it's super super yeah yeah but they don't do a convertible super
and the super itself just costs too much money I know but the convertible would be
the first thing I would the first option I would chop I thought I thought about uh even I even
thought about her logo because that'd be a different experience I wanted to put you in a
situation that you just that didn't know but uh all right let's let's hear about this last car
okay this last car is German all right so it's another German this car is rear
wheel drive this car has a removable roof this car has a paddle shifted transmission
I'm trying to think of where you're going but go ahead if you go all right this car is two doors
uh-huh this car is
mid-engine
oh I I think I know you're okay this car this car is a coupe and a hatchback
okay you may have opened it off this now uh-huh this car this car is a 2003
it was imported from Germany to Canada
this is a lot this car has 70,000 miles on it and this car could
have this car you kind of your internet connection kind of cut out a little bit but
what I knew you were gonna do that I knew you were gonna do that I was like which
smart is he gonna back on pull out of his butt over here this smart roadster from 2003
with 69,000 miles could have been yours for $12,000 it is finished in
champagne remix metallic the color that screams class and sophistication and Stanley
it has a silver metallic tritian safety sail with glass roof and hatch panels
and the cabin houses sports seats lined in black scribble cloth power is provided by turbocharged
inline three cylinder paired with a six speed automated manual transaxle this car rides on
15 inch alloy wheels a Barabbas exhaust system fog lights leather wrap steering wheel air conditioning
and a smart Grundig CD stereo did I tell you I love you today
yes this car is a mid engine it comes in an astounding 81 horsepower and 81 pound feet of torque
I love you I just want you to know that I love you and no matter how often
you get upset the answer today I just want you to know that your friend Stanley loves you
and he great would greatly appreciate if you stop attaching him to these ugly cars
that is the ugliest car I'm
I'm dying over here man I'm dying this is the best look at this smart roadster dude
the person who designed that car needs therapy
dude look at that aerodynamic hatchback design tell me that car isn't growing on you
center is pretty cool center mounted dual exhaust
no no actually that's that was pretty cool I think we should do that I like that a lot
I mean it is it is ugly enough that nobody would ever pay your attention
and you drive that car and you are getting all the attention you imagine rolling up to
Radwood in this bad boy look look at that interior and tell me that that gray scribble cloth interior
does not say I am a man of sophistication
Bill all I'm gonna say is I love you yep that yep yeah that's what I think I'm gonna do
I'm just gonna say I love you look at these physical knobs and buttons and sliders no haptic
feedback weird piano gloss black plastic in here no sir rebob speedometer yes please
tachometer yes please boost gauge yes please front trunk otherwise known as the front
why yes it has that bill bill bill um
rear cargo shelf why yes we have one of those as well oh I got I got one last thing
not this isn't a car I'm not gonna do this I'm not gonna encourage you I'm not gonna encourage
I'm not gonna reward that you have not gonna do it
I don't know when I when we had this conversation the next day that car went up for sale I'm
bringing trailer and I said I don't care if we don't get to this episode for three months that's my car
I didn't even have to look any further everything else was because I love you and I do know what you
would look good in but it was all about s mark r from day one or day two technically but day one
I don't know why you I don't even know where this came from I can't remember where this started
I think it was like episode two or something that I brought a smart car it was a long time ago
okay all I do all I remember is all of a sudden I slingshot I was like what why and then you know
what I love you that's all the concerns I love you yep that that that's that that's how I that's how
I I'm gonna wreck right that I'm square that circle that way all right last little piece uh before we
get out of here because I think we I don't know we'll talk for a minute um so
uh a car signing so I was driving to work all right and made my turn in to go by the
student parking lot to look at you know see what ridiculousness was going to show up over
there at the student park lot this is last friday and um looks to the left and uh wanted uh wanted
to distinguish gentlemen that working in little crappy buildings over there with with some other
engineers he drives a little uh I think a a civic or something a civic our old civic si normally
live nobody drives on fridays now what 1994 mint mazar etc
day and a scratch on that car I have no idea where he got it from is it right hand drive
no that's surprising like I I would expect for it to be in mint condition and be right hand drive
like that's where the mint cars are coming from I don't it it it is a second car I don't know if
he had in a bubble wrap all these years or what all of a sudden I just looked over there and I was
like oh and then I stopped and looked at it to see if it just to see if it was a project car or
something they carry mine say yeah man it's mine I was just stopping by and had to look at it bro I
was like that car first of all you forget how small that car actually you walk up to it again
they are not big but yeah it's gray they named it sexy this color it's gray but
it is perfect I think I think it was like 14000 miles on it man and it was it was
and that and evidently it is car season and I saw a bird with a big wing at a car meetup
I don't know if it was real or not all I saw was a bird with a big wing on it interesting yeah
but yeah man I think I think that's me it well I'm I mean I'm out of cars
with the smart that ended my list there's no top in it that's we saved the best for last
if you made it this far in the podcast the key word is smart
feel free to send Stanley a message with the word smart in it you had to bring it back up
mm-hmm just it's just so we everyone lets him know how much we all love him because he is so smart
if I won the lotto today I would go buy a smart car and have it delivered to your house
and I would daily it for the record that's how you're gonna know that I
won the lotto a smart car will be delivered to your house
I would take it to those guys down in South Carolina and have a lift kit put on it and
some all-terrain tires and I would daily it I don't what you do to it is on you
all I was like when I went a lot of that's how you're gonna know smart car at your house
I mean I'm excited I'm waiting with baited breath
also I couldn't find your cobra that fit in that price range there's another reason why
yeah if I could find a cobra in that price range it already be at the house
yeah yeah I think the lowest the lowest decent shape one that I would get you I would have got
you I would have like to see you in it was like 90 so yes but yeah shade outside the 15k budget
and if you can't find a way to gray area then nobody can just just be honest you were you didn't
think of it I mean I could have been like hey I found you this car that in 1992 was worth $15,000
today I mean I could have figured out a way to do that but I was like just trying to be
straight by the rules and also get you a smart car so you mean the smart car part
I should have saw that coming I did not um the uh the live play by the rules part you never play
by the rules we all know this no no no I always play by the rules you are the one who always cheats
oh oh okay all right yes I think I'm gonna have to go back on this it's a lot of
podcast and um come up with how many times you cheated I think this is you know I think I need
to invest some money in sometime in that anyway like Bill usually says uh if you made it this far
you don't know what he doesn't say that part thank you thank you for listening this far
good night Stanley I love you let's do this again I love you more we're gonna figure out how we
are supposed to say these things again one day all right later
About this episode
The BS Car Guys kick off with their recording “podcast brain” cue, then jump into a $15,000-or-less summer car challenge with no other criteria. They debate used vs new spending strategies, riff on Tesla’s rapid engineering changes, and set up a lineup of picks—from an automatic Miata they reject to a $12,900 Miata listing, a Lexus IS convertible, and a 2003 smart roadster. Along the way, they troubleshoot a no-start battery/fuse issue and end with playful “smart car” lift-kit daydreams.
