Classic Auto Mall - #233 - Stewart Howden with Guests Lisa Boggs, Will Robbins & Keith Martin
Classic Auto Mall SHOW
Classic Auto Mall - #233 - Stewart Howden with Guests Lisa Boggs, Will Robbins & Keith Martin
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Car
Pontiac Firebird
The Pontiac Firebird is an older American muscle-style car. It was made in different versions, but it’s generally known for being sporty and popular with collectors. The podcast is simply pointing out that there’s a Firebird on display.
Concept
IndyCar drivers
IndyCar is a major type of racecar series in the U.S. Drivers from that series sometimes sign memorabilia, which can make items more collectible.
Concept
Indy 500
The Indy 500 is a famous car race in the U.S. held at Indianapolis. It’s one of the biggest events in racing, and companies like tire brands compete hard to win.
Term
agricultural tires
Agricultural tires are built for farm equipment and work conditions, emphasizing load-carrying capacity, traction in dirt/mud, and durability. They’re often used on slow-moving vehicles where speed ratings are low but strength and grip are critical.
Company
Firestone
Firestone is a tire brand that’s been involved in racing for a long time. The point here is that their tires were used in the Indy 500, and that racing experience helps them build better tires for regular cars.
Term
big white letters
Some tires had large white text on the side. Back then it was a really noticeable way to show what tire brand you had.
Concept
electric vehicle
An electric vehicle runs on electricity stored in a battery. Because the battery is heavy, EVs can weigh more than gas cars, which changes how they affect things like parking structures.
Term
static electricity
Static electricity is the “spark” or charge that can build up when things move or rub together. Here, they’re talking about how moving tires can create that charge.
Concept
EVs
EVs are cars that use electricity stored in a battery to move instead of burning gas. They’re discussing a future idea: capturing some energy from tire movement to help recharge the battery.
Brand
Bridgestone
Bridgestone is a big tire company. In racing, the tires matter a lot because they affect how much grip the car has and how the car feels when you turn and brake.
Term
downforce
Downforce is the aerodynamic force that pushes the car’s tires harder onto the track. More downforce generally improves cornering grip, but it can also increase drag and affect top speed and tire temperatures.
Concept
tire management
Tire management means driving in a way that keeps the tires working well for longer. You want enough grip to go fast, but not so much that the tires wear out too quickly.
Concept
checkers
“Crossing the checkers” means you’re the winner at the end of the race. It refers to the checkered flag that signals the finish.
Concept
Indianapolis 500
The Indianapolis 500 is a famous long-distance race in the U.S.—cars run for 500 miles. Because it’s so long, tires and pit stops matter a lot for who wins.
Concept
20 mini borgs
The phrase “20 mini borgs” sounds like a specific nickname or detail the speakers are referencing. The transcript doesn’t clearly explain what it means, so it may be something only insiders would recognize.
Concept
1988 was when the two companies joined together
The segment pins the merger/acquisition timing to 1988, when Bridgestone and Firestone joined together. For listeners, this provides a concrete historical anchor for understanding how the two tire brands became part of the same corporate structure.
Term
tire tread life
Tread life is basically how many miles you can get out of a tire before it gets too worn. Some tires are designed to last longer, and the tire maker may list an estimated mileage.
Term
run flat
Run-flat tires can stay usable even after they’re punctured. That means you can usually drive a short distance to reach a safe spot or a tire shop instead of changing a spare.
Term
tire sealant
Tire sealant is a gooey liquid inside the tire that helps stop air from leaking through a puncture. It’s usually used as a temporary fix until you can get the tire properly serviced.
Concept
autocross
Autocross is a timed driving event on a course made with cones. You drive through the layout as fast as you can while staying in control.
Concept
track day
A track day is when car owners go to a race track to drive their cars hard in a controlled environment. It’s usually not a race, but more like practice and fun with safety rules.
Car
Chevy Colorado
A Chevrolet Colorado is a midsize pickup truck. It’s the kind of daily driver you might pick because it’s practical and handles everyday driving well.
Concept
original engine with the original car
They’re saying it matters when the car still has its original engine. Collectors often value that more because it helps prove the car is authentic and matches what it left the factory with.
Term
302 cubic inch, five liter
They’re talking about engine size. “302 cubic inches” is the same as “five liters,” and it helps you understand how big the engine is.
Term
five speed manual
This car uses a manual gearbox with five gears. You choose the gears yourself, which can make the driving feel more connected.
Company
Sports Car Market Magazine
Sports Car Market Magazine is a magazine that covers classic and collector car buying and selling. It helps people understand what cars are worth and what’s happening in the collector market.
Company
SportsCarMarket.com
SportsCarMarket.com is the website for that same classic/collector car market publication. Here it’s being used to sign up for a trial subscription.
Term
mileage is king
In classic cars, fewer miles usually means the car is in better shape. Buyers often pay more for low-mileage examples because they expect less wear.
Company
Auto Check
AutoCheck is another history report like Carfax. Different databases mean it might show different information for the same car.
Part
fender
A fender is the outer panel over the wheel. If it’s been repainted after an accident, you might not see it on a history report, so inspection matters.
Term
paint meter
A paint meter is a tool that checks how thick the paint is on different parts of the car. If a panel was repainted, the paint thickness often changes, which can give it away.
Company
Car shield
Car Shield is a company that sells plans to help cover some car repair costs. Their ads focus on avoiding expensive surprises and getting extra help if your car breaks down.
LIVE
This is the Classic Automall Show.
Broadcast from the studios inside the Classic Automall in Morgantown, Pennsylvania.
Just one hour west of Philadelphia at Pennsylvania Turnpike Exit 298.
Featuring nearly 1,000 classic vintage and barn-fine vehicles for sale under one climate control roof.
Now, here's your host, Classic Automall president and the man with all the toys, Stuart Howden.
And here we are, welcome show number 238.
Well, it'll be cool when we get to show number 298 because we're at Exit 298.
Okay, yeah.
On the Pennsylvania Terminal.
Good point, good point.
Then they can rename the exit for us.
Good at that math thing of numbers and putting it all together.
So, JR, how many cars in inventory right this minute?
Uh, 898.
Wow.
I wrote it down just so I didn't cheat.
860.
How about 838?
Okay, all right.
We sold a bunch lately.
Coming in though.
The sales are coming in.
But, you know, the weather's turned nice and finally the consignments are rolling in.
So, bring us your cars whenever you're ready.
You don't even have to make an appointment.
Just bring them in and we'll be ready for them.
Interesting.
We've got a good-looking firebird out front.
We do.
We got an assembly line of bringing everybody in and so we just, we slot you right in when
you come.
So, let's get right to our guest joining us via Zoom.
We have actually two guests on today, which is an unusual thing for us.
So, joining us via Zoom is Lisa Boggs, director of Motorsports for Bridgestone Americas and
has a cool firestone piece right behind her right there.
That's awesome.
I love that.
And how many, you told me off air, how many IndyCar drivers have signed that?
Thank you.
This, again, apart from a display car from years ago, and I believe I've got 12.
Winners.
Winners.
Not just participants, right?
Oh, no winners.
500 winners.
Wow.
Wow.
So, I wonder how many, how many are out there?
Have you got a number on that?
I had to be interesting to know how many are out there and still alive and kicking, and
who's the oldest and all those interesting facts?
Oh, I can send you some follow-up and do a little stat chart.
There's probably a handful on there still competing.
Yeah.
I mean, between, you know, LAO alone, I'm up to four wins right there.
Right, exactly.
That's amazing.
And also joining us via Zoom is Will Robbins, who's the executive director for marketing
and strategic product portfolio planning for the, wow, that's a, you got a big job.
It's a long title.
Your business card's got to be huge.
I have somebody carried around for me.
Just a guy.
Yeah.
Here's my card.
I had a friend who had oversized business cards.
I thought, you know, okay, that is a cool idea, except it won't fit in anybody's wallet
or anything like that.
So, welcome both of you.
Thanks for being on the show today.
We really appreciate it.
And of course, we couldn't, we'd be remiss in not mentioning that at Firestone in the
Indianapolis 500.
I mean, you know, Bridgestone bought Firestone in what, 1988, I think, and been full throttle
ever since, and 76 wins at the Indy 500 heading into 2026, which is the Indy 500 just coming
up in the next, not about a month and some not too long from now.
Yeah, exactly.
We're full, full preparation mode.
But it's really something you're arguably preparing for all year, every year, as our
biggest event, our Super Bowl.
So, yeah, we're excited, we're looking forward to getting there.
It's an open test coming up at the end of April.
Pretty much you'll see the full field and then off and running into May.
So quite excited about that.
And there's some cool stuff that they've added in the past year.
We had Bobby Rahall on the show, and he was talking about the Wiener Mobile races.
He thought that was pretty cool.
Are they on Firestone Tires too?
I don't know.
Somebody should check that.
I'm sure they'll.
Absolutely.
We'll, again, we'll, who's leading, developing a lot of our strategy, maybe we'll, that's
your next thing that we'll look at.
Yeah.
It would definitely be one of the most interesting products that we'd ever pitched.
So I think, yeah, we can work on that.
I saw that one of your tires, Will, this might be a question for you, is A1 rated, which
is up to three miles per hour.
Yeah, we got some agricultural tires that, oh, they're carrying a lot of load at that
speed.
Yeah, exactly.
Exactly.
Of course, we had talked about, we've been back and forth and talking about the preparation
for the show and the fact that in 1921, a set of Firestone, four tires went the entire
distance of the Indy 500, which is mind-boggling to think that you could race a car.
I know there's no downforce.
I know the speeds are less, but wow, that's impressive.
Yeah.
That's, it's not a goal for today, today's world, as we were talking, I mean, when you
look at the demands on Indy car, which is a big reason why Firestone has been part of
it back to Hardy Firestone.
It's a mobile lab, it's an ultimate proof point.
Now in a modern day Indy car, there's four different specs, you've got four different
tires on each corner of that car.
So very important and something quite frankly, we're very proud of being able to produce
tires, design them in a way that meets what is really the ultimate standard running at
the, running at the speedway.
And, you know, well, some of that, we look at the technology transfer, we talk about
process engineering, which Will and team, you know, really can take that and run with
it for everyday drivers.
My favorite story about that actually is a couple of years ago, we had a new Indy car
rain tire that debuted and we used a lot of the tread pattern elements of that in our
Firestone Firehawk ASV2.
So like you put the two next to each other, you can kind of see that tractor road story.
So it's really cool when we're able to do that.
Yeah, I think, well, because it gives good brand identity to somebody who's watching,
oh, my tires are those tires, it looks just like those.
I think that's the coolest thing about tires from back in the day in the 60s and 70s.
They were so identifiable with, you know, the big white letters and on there, you knew
exactly, and that was kind of, you know, a badge of honor.
Oh, I got the so-and-so Firestone Firehawks or I've got this or that.
And that was, that was really, that was a real cool thing back in the day.
Yeah.
And we, I mean, even to today, especially the Indy 500 tire, it's an Indy 500 Firehawk.
Right.
As Will said, we just launched a new version of the namesake, even down to things like
Enlighten, which is our global sustainability platform, testing new materials, innovations
and sustainability without any compromises in performance.
Sure.
So if you look at the Indy 500 tire that these drivers are on, and then Will, the tires
that you're putting in the market, you're going to see the same, a lot of the similar
sidewall working, right?
Yeah.
And I think that that's, you know, like I said, it's a great branding thing, but it's,
you know, it's, it's great.
Obviously racing is so good for passenger tires, because how much you learn is got
to be invaluable, the amount of information you get from the racing part of it.
Yeah, absolutely.
We've got a lot of engineers that have done crossovers.
So one of our chief engineers that works on passenger cars today was one of the chief
engineers in our race tire development program.
And anytime we have a question about performance or hey, like when we start to get
like closer to the edge of the envelope, like, you know, his name's Dale Herrigl,
like, hey, Dale, like, what are you talking about here?
Right.
He's always got that experience where he's like, Oh yeah, I remember when we did this
back in, in Indian, you know, the early 2000s and like, it's just really, really awesome
to have that kind of experience and the crossover.
Sure.
Well, and, and to, to, I mean, the point of things that happened 10, 15, 20 years ago,
sometimes they're still relevant today.
It's not all the technology hadn't completely surpassed everything.
Yeah, I can speak again, from a racing standpoint, it is extremely important to look
at that evolution and look back on what we've done, why we've done it, what might work.
Obviously the cars have changed dramatically, the weight alone center of gravity, even in
the last couple of years, as you look at the changes to the car, some of the safety
innovation, the hybrid.
So we're constantly evolving and learning and working with teams in the series.
We just completed a tire test in Nashville, by the same token, though, we are always
looking and understanding data across the way.
And I think we'll sit similar for you.
Oh, absolutely.
And, you know, the, the pace of change and the change of vehicles.
And you talk about hybridization and electrification that we've seen in the normal
consumer space that's really come up over the last decade or so.
That's had a big influence on how we do design, how we do validation, even the sizing
that's required on the load carrying capacity with some of these heavier vehicles.
So definitely have to understand that trajectory of the market to kind of see, OK,
where do we expect this to be in five or six years?
And how do we make sure that we're able to win there?
Yeah, because the weight of a electric vehicle with the batteries is
significantly more than an internal combustion engine vehicle, right?
Yeah, absolutely.
And then obviously the hybrids, which we've seen a lot of, you know, mild or
plug-in hybrids be kind of this middle ground that has really emerged over the
last couple of years, too.
So they're kind of in the middle there.
So there's this kind of multi-step approach of internal hybrid and then full
battery electric that we have to deal with, with really across a lot of our
different product lines.
So the sizing, the loading, and then all the performance characteristics that go
into each of those, we've got to consider how are people actually applying these.
And there may be a little, maybe some differences we have to consider.
Well, it's like they worry about parking garages, because parking
structures were designed for a certain weight of a vehicle, and now you're
putting cars that weigh a third more or whatever on them.
So I've got an idea for you, and I get paid for this, if this actually works.
So can't you make tires that generate electricity when they're rolling down
the highway and regenerate into the batteries and just constantly charge
in the battery, or would the wheels have to be made of steel?
So interestingly enough, tires do generate static electricity as they move.
We haven't yet figured out how to harness that electricity to recharge
the EVs yet, but yeah, we'll put that on the list.
I'll be looking for the mailbox money.
So just send it whenever you make it happen.
So you guys both work in Nashville, but you don't work in the big glass
tower downtown and go to a concert every night at the Bridgestone Arena, right?
Is it interesting working from home?
I've never done it, so I don't know what that dynamics like.
Is it difficult, better, worse?
Well, so I actually do work in a tower downtown, but I also live in downtown Nashville.
So yeah, it's an exciting place full of a lot of energy.
But back during COVID, I worked from home for almost three years.
And so the challenge of making sure that you're making all those connections
between, at least from my team standpoint, I've got to work with manufacturing,
logistics, research and development, the sales team pretty constantly.
So that was the part that at least coming back into the office was fantastic,
was really starting to make those in-person connections with folks
that might have been new and it only experienced virtual until we started
coming back into the building.
So that was the part that was the biggest struggle, but it was also really
satisfying to come back and like see all these people again.
And there was kind of a new energy when we started doing it that was really great.
That's it better than.
Go ahead, Lisa.
Yeah, sorry.
So for the motorsports team and some others, we're Nashville remote.
So after COVID, decisions made for a number of reasons that we would stay remote.
But what's interesting is we do so much time at the track.
And we are constantly collaborating with other teams because we race not
really to race, we race to leverage it across our businesses.
So whether I'm home or in the office to Wells Point, my job is 100 percent
to collaborate and then obviously the time at the track and working with the
series and the stakeholders is integral to what we do.
So for most of the year, most of our, you know, Tuesday, Wednesday,
Thursday in office, we're on the road.
Right.
So just the cadence of what we do and how we do it is a little different.
And that was the beauty of Bridgestone is they've allowed really everybody
to operate in the way best to be successful in their job.
Yeah, one thing doesn't work well for everybody, but there's nothing.
I don't know.
There's a lot to be said for leaning over that cubicle and brainstorming
about some idea that, you know, maybe we could, I think I found another invention
will invent like the virtual cubicle and you can just lean over and there's
Lisa and there's me.
And then so in the racing tire world, does the car dictate the tire?
Does the tire dictate the car?
How does that work?
It's not quite that literal, but I, but if you picked aside, it's the, it's
the car and the performance, the characteristics of a given track.
What setup you need is that an oval is a street course.
Is it a road course?
What's the pavement?
What's the downforce?
All of those elements then help us determine the tire.
Sure.
We do not say, here's your tire.
Now reverse engineer the car.
It's a collaborative collective effort in terms of again, what's the show?
If there's changes to era when they put the hybrid in, when they put the
arrow screen on, you know, all those things.
It's very much a group effort with us and the series and the teams and the
engine, DeLara, chassis manufacturer Honda and Chevy.
This, it's in a very important group of folks that all lean in to hopefully
come up with really the best show for the fans.
Ultimately, that's what it is.
I mean, if it's not enjoyable to everybody and tires are failing left and
right, then that just, it creates nothing of interest to anybody.
So, and you know, the great thing about IndyCar versus some of the other
series is that similar, the cars are very similar cars, you know, there's,
it's almost like the newer version of the IROC series, where they're all
equally prepared, which they're coming back with the IROC series, by the way.
And it, but it's cool because, you know, it makes for better racing, in my opinion.
Yeah.
I mean, there's, listen, there's enough, there are boxes in windows for each
team to develop and be able to think through what's the setup race tire
strategy when we have alternates and primaries at road and street courses.
I mean, there is enough there that it's not purely spec and it's not really
meant to be IROC.
I say as a fan of IROC, by the way, which you bring all, you know, this,
this requires a lot.
Driver tire management, what's your race strategy?
A lot really goes into it.
The beauty of that is at the end of the day, you don't know who's going to
win an IndyCar race.
Granted, Alex Palo, his friend Alex Palo, he's quite amazing.
Gentleman and driver, but for the most part, you could see a number of
different drivers crossing the checkers first.
So, well, it's amazing to see these kids racing today that are wise beyond
their years and they are so disciplined.
And I think when I was 19 or 20 or 22, you know, my discipline was not the
same as theirs.
So I applaud them for doing that.
And of course they've been, most of them have been doing it all their lives.
You know, they're good.
They, you know, and to watch the guys nowadays, you know, you look back in
the old days, the guys were tended to be a little bit older back in the 50s
and 60s than they are now.
You didn't see the young kids out driving.
I think some of that just has to do, I think, with just modern day, you know,
diet and things that you can do that you can become more acute and aware than
you could, you know, you were smoking a cigarette in 1960s, driving down the,
you know, back straight or wherever.
Yeah, things have changed quite a bit.
Yeah, they have.
I mean, we were talking about the 1920 race where it was the same set of tires.
That's, that's crazy.
And then or 1911 was the first Indianapolis 500 winner on Firestone
tires was 1911 and 1920 went the whole distance in 1961.
Almost did it with three laps to go.
And Eddie Sachs had to take a pit stop and let AJ Foyt win.
How frustrating would that have been?
Well, anytime you're that close to winning, Andy, you don't, that's frustrating.
For whatever reason, sure.
And and in 1969, Mario ran and ready ran on the right rear, I think,
for the whole entire race.
Yeah, you couldn't remove it during a pit stop and change the others.
And he kept going and that is now the stuff of war.
Sure.
And something we're quite proud of.
Yeah.
Me Mario Mario is very instrumental to the success of Firestone.
Right.
Even today.
Well, and fire, I mean, great kind of ambassador for you.
But, you know, racing has been important to Firestone since day one.
I mean, Harvey Firestone, that was his thing.
He was racing.
He knew that that was important.
Yes.
Yeah.
He from day one, the relationship with the Speedway as a test ground
and approving ground and then evolving into Indy 500 and then series from day one.
That's been important.
There were some years when this when the Speedway was an admitted
disrepair and they were trying to get it back to life, if you will.
Harvey was even involved in that.
Wow.
There was much more history there.
And actually, we're doing an exhibit coming up in May and part of the IMS
Museum, which if you haven't been as beautiful as anybody is saying to this,
it is spectacular, the museum at the Speedway.
We're going to be doing a Firestone display.
And it talks about that history and how important it is.
Oh, that's fantastic.
Well, you can't say enough about what Roger Pinsky's done for the Indy 500
and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
And, you know, just to see a picture of him with those 20 mini borgs all
lined up in front of him, that doesn't tell you everything you need to know.
I don't know what does.
It's and of course, you know, Bridgestone was founded not.
I mean, Firestone is older than Bridgestone, yet Bridgestone bought Firestone.
Is that how was that how it kind of worked back in the late 80s?
Yeah, I think, well, you can think to that history.
Well, it's been here longer than I have.
Right. Oh, wow.
Well, yeah, I'll go.
Go ahead, please.
No, it's it's it's funny how years passed.
I was going to say how years passed so quickly.
You know, I think, you know, something I was doing, I think,
oh, that was only 10 years ago, you know, and it was 30 years ago.
It's but but back to the point about Firestone and Bridgestone.
Bridgestone being able to buy, I guess, bought Firestone.
Is that how it worked in the late 80s?
Yeah, correct.
1988 was when the two companies joined together, Bridgestone, purchasing Firestone.
And it really was around, you know, there's a lot of economic things
that went into it.
But if we reflect on it a little bit after some time, it really was two brands
that had very similar values, very similar identities in their home markets.
And really, like you couldn't imagine a better match of two companies coming together.
And I think we've seen that over the last, you know, 40 something years of success
that we both had together.
And I know we've talked a lot about Firestone, but Motorsports has also been
a part of Bridgestone's DNA from day one.
And I think that, you know, a lot of companies use Motorsports as a tool
to build their brands up.
And that's what Bridgestone did in their home market.
Then they started to do it internationally.
And then we had things like Formula One.
And, you know, recently with our announcement of getting back into Formula
E, we're really trying to reinforce the Motorsports identity as part
of the Bridgestone brand as well as Firestone.
So I think, you know, going forward, it's going to be just an amazing time
to be a part of this company, no matter what motor sports discipline
you're interested in. Sure.
Yeah, it's it's funny to watch all the different, you know, types of motorsports
that you have. And people look at Formula One and IndyCar and think they're similar,
which they really aren't. I mean, they they kind of look a little bit similar.
And then you got NASCAR with the popularity of that is just huge.
And and but Bridgestone is the name that, you know, it I always thought
that it was one of the elite tire companies.
It's, you know, sounded it seemed like it was one of those
that was the upper tier of tires.
Yeah. And I mean, we absolutely believe that we absolutely carry
ourselves that way. And we have a lot of strong partnerships with retailers.
Good reputation with consumers.
And then it's an amazing ray of both consumer as well as commercial products
to back that up. So it's, you know, I've been here for 22 years now.
And I wake up every day proud to be a part of the Bridgestone family
and the work that we're doing.
Yeah, it's it's nice longevity.
Just it just makes you more successful in what you do.
The more you know and the more you've absorbed over the years.
And it's amazing that aspect of it.
And Lisa, you've been there.
You were hired what in 20 to cash?
2013. Wow. That's 13.
Which to your point, you could have said two years ago.
I said exactly. Yeah, exactly. That's when it was.
Well, it's been I echo Will Sonerman wholeheartedly.
And I think a lot of people that Bridgestone would it's such an honor to work there.
It's a fantastic company, amazing people, really passionate about what they do.
We love working together.
It's it's a joy.
It's a joy and an honor no matter what you do.
I in the motorsport space, I feel extremely grateful.
It's been my career.
I think we'll probably say the same thing.
Him and his team that really look at tires and understanding what the market needs
and how we fill that and then how we evolve our products at our portfolio.
It's it is a terrific company have earned every bit of respect
for putting the best tires on the road.
Burn on and safety has got to be paramount
to everything that you do, whether it's racing or passenger tires.
Yeah, 100 percent.
It's at the core of everything we do.
And that's part of what, you know, inspires me as part of the tire industry
is whether you're doing passenger or, you know, truck and bus or agricultural
or off the road or racing tires.
We are keeping people safe.
We are delivering them to their destination.
We're allowing them to do what it is that they do for, you know,
pleasure or work or excitement, and we're able to keep them safe doing that.
And it's something that maybe a lot of people don't think about.
But I take pride in the fact that they don't have to think about it.
The technological advancements we've had across the board
where most people can get a set of premium tires,
they don't really think about them until it's time to replace them.
That's one of the greatest compliments that we could possibly get.
And I love that we're able to deliver that to the market.
And I love the fact that tires you can basically buy
how long a tread life you would like it to have.
You know, you want 30,000 miles or 60,000 miles or whatever the the numbers.
We we and one of the things we talked about.
We were talking about off air before we went on and hooked up with you guys
was run flat tires. We don't hear so much about those anymore.
Are they still a thing or is that old technology now?
Yeah, it's interesting.
The dynamics of we'll call it moving away from spare tires
that is really driven by OEMs for sure.
And there's there's a lot of different reasons that they've chosen to do that.
And there's a couple of different technologies that have been options.
There's, you know, run flat was one of the first there's sealant technology
that is another one that has been been out there recently.
There's also just the tire mobility kits,
which is basically just a tire sealant like a kind of like fix a flat.
Right. Run flat, I think, had kind of a moment initially.
Some of these other technologies, I'll say the OEMs have been pursuing for a while.
We've actually seen a bit of a resurgence in interest in run flat
because it delivers such a specific value proposition where when you have an issue,
here's how many miles we're going to tell you,
you've got to get to a place where you are safe and can, you know,
get a repair taken care of.
The other solutions don't have that level of concrete performance.
Because of that, it's kind of like, well, maybe this happened or maybe this will happen with run flat.
It's very specific.
And we've spent a lot of time continuing to push the bounds of what's possible
and reducing some of the compromises with the old run flats, which were, you know, noisy,
false ride. That's all pretty much been taken care of.
So we've seen some interest in some OEM customers recently about kind of, you know,
taking another look at run flat.
And then obviously we've got our drive guard line of aftermarket run flats,
which continues to be very popular.
Yeah. And I don't imagine either one of you like the word maybe.
Someone with an engineering background.
No, I do not like that.
Maybe.
So Lisa, how did you get started in motorsports?
Where did this path start out for you?
So for me, it started when I worked at an advertising agency in Chicago.
And one of our clients was Philip Morris, which Marbo's a brand,
which long time sponsored motorsport globally.
And I had the opportunity to work on projects, attend a race.
And next thing I know, I've just found it to be an absolutely fascinating environment.
Love the people, love the mix of really the sport, the business, the creativity.
I mean, it blends a lot of things.
And one thing led to another.
And I had the chance then to work directly for Philip Morris,
a consultant doing some PR and comms, and then just built it from there.
Right. So people don't realize the importance
that Marbro had on motorsports back in the day.
And it probably wouldn't be motorsports as we know it if it wasn't for Marbro back in the day.
Absolutely.
And the amount of pride and effort and just smart marketing, always within the limits
of being the legal limits, making sure that minors, you know, all those things
that we know now are true, they really took a lot of pride in it
and really tried to build the sport and to engage the fans and provide opportunities.
So, yeah, I'm very proud of that.
That first opportunity was amazing.
I got to work with what was Marbro and Team Penske, a lot of amazing drivers.
Without that, I wouldn't have this career.
So I'm extremely grateful.
Yeah, it's a fascinating list of who's who in the automotive world
that have come through those doors, especially the Penske doors.
I mean, you know, we were just so in such an admiration of what Penske
and his organization have done.
And, you know, just from the way their shop is kept to the way their trucks are kept.
I mean, everything is first class.
And if you don't do it that way, why bother, I say.
Yeah, I mean, it was I am forever grateful, as I said, for having been able to work
within that environment and to learn from that environment.
Details matter when Roger talks about human capital, all the things
that you hear and read, they live and breathe every day.
They are graceful.
Whether you're winning, I was there for some tough years or not winning
to how one conducts themselves and how you show up at the track
and how you show up as people, as business partners and a paddock.
It all matters.
It is all intentional in the best of ways.
Absolutely amazing group and the speedway and getting through COVID
and the series and the museum really done of gratitude
to Penske Entertainment, that whole team.
Yeah, they've done an amazing job.
And of course, you know, what you've done for motorsports is not to be overlooked.
And I want to embarrass you, but you've been called one of the most
important women in U.S. racing.
And I see why after reading your resume.
Well, thank you.
Here's the important thing.
There's a lot of us and I think one of the things that we talk quite a bit about
and I'm part of the Women in Motorsports North America organization is
you really just want the best people in the paddock and running teams
and doing any business. Exactly.
And the opportunity now for women to have those roles, engineering,
calling race strategy, it's not how many, it's what we're doing.
Right.
So if I can be one of those that someone sees and realizes, hey, I can do that.
That's that's extremely that's like frosting on the cake.
You know, if I can be there and help somebody, I just did my job,
worked hard and it's it's but it's really great to see.
And I think everybody benefits.
I mean, there's great to see different perspectives on things.
And and our friend, Lynn St.
James, who's, you know, involved with that is your friend as well, too.
I know just an amazing person and really just made it so vital that that women
could be a part of this, whether they were driving, whether they were,
you know, participating like you do in the entire world,
whether they were Judy Stropis and manually timing back in the day.
You know, that's so many women have played such an integral part of it.
And it's nice to see celebration that because you hit the nail on the head.
It is the right person for the job period.
I don't care what you are, who you are, why you are.
Sorry, I was almost.
Yeah, I think, you know, as we build our teams at Bridgestone and well,
you can speak to them and you have to build a team there.
It's just the right person for the job.
And Bridgestone is absolutely fantastic at really giving everybody an opportunity
of being very intentional about about it.
And that's that's how I got this job. Sure.
Well, and the series, not only the IndyCar series, but the IndyCar
next, formerly Indy Lights is very important to what you all are doing as well, too.
And of course, there's been some great drivers come through that IndyNext program,
including the current one who's got a name that would be hard to live up to,
Enzo Fittipaldi. Oh, man, there's no pressure there.
Well, you get quite a few of those.
Yeah, Indy, the IndyNext by Firestone series is extremely important
as the development series to really train, understand,
give opportunity to the next generation.
And that has proven out.
There are many drivers on the grid.
Dennis Hauger just coming up, who's doing extremely well.
A lot of the folks that you've seen, Kyle Kirkwood,
one of the recent drivers that have come up, it is an extremely important series.
And we're finding it to be beneficial in discovering,
you know, the next stars of tomorrow, if you will. Sure.
And it's hard. I mean, people say today, oh, there's no more Mario and Dredis.
There's no Alansers. There's no. Yeah, there are.
They're here. They're Pat O'Award.
And there's Joseph Newgarden.
And there's all these great drivers that are very, very well known.
And I think people just it's fun to romanticize about the past.
But they're still equally as important today
that and influential drivers and influential to consumers.
Yeah, 100 percent.
I think we all tend to do that a little bit, you know, back in the day,
in the golden day. And they were there were some wonderful things
and things have changed.
But that is not by any means that we don't have a roster of drivers
that are unbelievably tantamount.
Joseph came up from the development series, extremely well known,
holding up all of the standards and that really that sort of brick break.
Getting in these cars, driving to the limit.
All the things that are so great about this sport equally as good today.
Listen, I'm all for, you know, the Rick Mears of the world,
the Mario's of the world, the answers.
I mean, they're they made the sport AJ, Johnny Roth.
I mean, what it is today without that base, we don't exist.
But I think it's in a great place now.
And the drivers that we've got are just some of the best in the world.
Unbelievable. And it's safer.
And that's thanks to what you guys and Firestone are doing as well, too.
And and will you do a little racing yourself, right?
I do. Yeah, I've been involved in grassroots motor sports
for the decade now, mostly the sports car couple of America
doing autocross time trials and then have done some endurance racing
with champ car and Lucky Dog, which are a couple of series that cater to, you know,
the we'll just say the more accessible sort of motor sport out there.
But yeah, it's been it's been amazing.
And, you know, I joke that like people come to grassroots motor sports
for the cars, but they stay for the people and it is 100 percent true.
The friendships or relationships, those those stories that you build for yourself
that a lot of people see in professional motor sports on a big stage.
Right.
Happen every single weekend at these events and they're just there's nothing like it.
People alone in a wheel to a guy or, you know, the way it used to be in racing.
And you'd see that.
My favorite thing about these events is you go to a car race
for racing for eight, 12 hours, something like that.
Somebody's car breakdown breaks down.
You cannot get room behind that car to help push because there are so many people
that come to help.
And it's like tools and engine parts and like you're my competitor,
but I'm going to give you my spare engine because you need it.
Like there's just so many of those little moments that it it's really inspiring.
Absolutely. I love that.
That's that's very inspirational to everybody, I think.
Have you been out to a flat rock out there in between you and Knoxville?
Looks like it looks like when the lottery.
I think flat rocks a little bit out of my my ability to access there.
I'm going to National Corvette Museum this weekend for track day.
Right. And very excited about that.
And they're building, I think National Corvette has built, I guess,
a new building up there in Bowling Green as well, too.
And they've got they're expanding like crazy.
That thing has been a huge success as well, too.
And museums are a tough business.
Yeah. And the Corvette Museum up there, it's one of those where, you know,
I've driven by it a hundred times.
I've been to the track there a bunch of times and some downtime.
We decided to go over there just world class in terms of the experience.
So definitely a recommended area.
Absolutely. Well, we could do this all day.
I know I can.
I can just sit here and jibber jabber until the cows come home.
But my most important question I'm going to ask both of you.
Will you get to go first?
What's your daily driver?
So my daily driver is a twenty twenty four Chevy Colorado,
mostly because the roads around Nashville are terrible and drivers are even worse.
Yes, I know.
My weekend car is a Honda Civic Type R.
Oh, I like the type of match a little bit there.
A lot of fun. Now, Lisa, what is your daily driver?
Oh, I'm out there tooling around in my about one plus one and a half year old.
I have a little Range Rover Evoque.
Oh, the Evoque, those are sexy looking cars.
They really I got a little Evoque.
I went a little fancy.
I had a Subaru for a while, most practical decision when I first moved to Nashville.
And then I decided I'm like, oh, that would be fun.
And so I've got a lovely Evoque.
Fun car. I like that.
Nashville has become Atlanta and Atlanta has become New York.
I mean, it's just that Nashville has grown so much.
I live there back in the early 90s and it's so much different to him.
But it's still a great town.
I mean, Nashville is fun and there's lots to do and great restaurants and great people.
And it really is.
And again, I was 2013 and I lived in Chicago for a very long time.
Right. So the bar was set very high.
That is one of the best cities in the world.
Absolutely. Absolutely.
But it's been it's really lovely moving here.
The south is a different animal, right?
It's it takes a little getting used to.
But once you get used to it and, you know, realize all the quarks that we have
and grits and all that good stuff, then I grew up in Knoxville, so I'm a hillbilly.
So anyway, listen, I'm so thankful to have both of you on the show today.
And I really enjoyed it and hopefully we'll get to see you guys
somewhere at one of the races down the road.
I would love it. Thank you for having us.
Well, yeah, thanks for having us.
We'll be back in just a couple of minutes with the Classic Auto Mall show.
Now, another Classic Auto Mall show
with racing school namesake Skip Barber.
So I got asked what, if any, significant
did the sticker on the Seinfeld refrigerator have with the school and you back in the day?
It was a nice surprise. Really?
Yeah. Seinfeld was working in California.
And each time he took some of his riders and they went as a company out.
But he was dead serious about his driving.
No question. And he is a real car guy.
It was a big deal.
And did you see a spike in business the minute that sticker showed up on that refrigerator?
We didn't ask him or pay him.
Somebody at work turned on the television set the night before.
And there was this.
It had to be helpful, but I can't measure that.
For more of this interesting interview with Skip Barber, Motorsports Hall of Famer
and founder of the Skip Barber Racing School, check out Episode 179
from February of 2025, because if you haven't seen or heard it, it's new to you.
And we're back with the Classic Auto Mall show from the wonderful studios.
The Master Studio, downtown Morgantown, Pennsylvania.
Yes. Right behind the Ritz Carlton, Morgantown.
Ferrari of Morgantown is on the other side across the street is Bentley of Morgantown.
Hollywood Casino.
Hollywood Casino. We do have the Hollywood Casino.
There goes a TR 250 Triumph driving by a little tester with that beautiful blue color.
I love that blue on a Triumph. I do too.
I like the TR 250. TR 2, TR 6's are all are all really good and any color will.
And it's funny, they weren't quite as popular maybe as the MGs were,
but they were a little more spirited to drive.
They had a little more power and a little more fun to drive.
So how about Lisa and Will?
They were great from Bridgestone and I love I love talking to people like that
because, you know, their their knowledge base is just so technical.
And you hear stuff and you go, oh, that makes sense of why it works today.
And passing your time. Yeah, I learned something. Yeah.
I learned that from this interview. Yes. That the four tires.
And I don't this is logical now, but the four tires on race cars
are all different specs. Everyone has different specs.
So that's why they have LR, LF or whatever.
And I always saw it just because, I don't know, just so they wouldn't get one wrong.
But I didn't realize that they were all making difference.
Of course, especially on a, what do you call it, the bank bank?
The bank, the bank. The bank.
Yeah. The bank double.
And tires are the only part of your car that touches the ground or the road.
Absolutely. But I like my
also my idea of the regenerating electricity.
They create statics on things.
So well, and you were right.
They do. They just don't know how to harness it.
I know, but they'll get to it, and I'll be receiving some checks.
Oh, sure.
I certainly hope so.
But you did miss one fine point.
You could have asked one question.
I wanted to know.
All right.
What's that?
What are those little nubby things on the tire, and what are they called?
We were talking about that.
That's so funny.
Podcast at Classic on Mall.com.
Yeah.
Tell us what the nubbies are.
The nibs.
We need to know the nibs.
Lovely nibs.
Where'd we sell cars this week?
Where?
How about Wynona, Minnesota?
No, in Arabic.
You got to say Wynona.
Good.
Yeah.
Have you seen her in her red hair these days, Wynona judge?
My God.
It is bright red.
I know.
It is red, red, red.
Crayer against the rhetoric.
Yeah, I guess.
Wynona, Minnesota.
Newport, New York.
Syracuse, New York.
Jersey City.
New Jersey.
New Jersey.
Flemington, New Jersey.
Leesport, Pennsylvania.
Macungy, Pennsylvania.
Westchester, Pennsylvania.
Hamburg, Pennsylvania.
McMurray, Pennsylvania.
Albuquerque, I know how to say it.
Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Everett, Pennsylvania.
West Babylon, New York.
Frederick, Maryland.
Honesdale, Pennsylvania.
Fairfield, Pennsylvania.
In the forest, Virginia.
Cherry Hill, New Jersey.
Utica, New York.
Pomona, California.
San Juan, Capistrano, California.
East Moline, Illinois.
Bronx, New York.
New York.
Bionis, New Jersey.
Columbus, New Jersey.
Randy, you're going to have a hell of a time.
Oh my God.
A lot of dots, man.
You're going to have a lot of dots.
So what's going on in the world, Steve?
Anything car wise?
Sorry.
To catch off guard there.
No, it's car show season even though we're having a, you know, you've heard of Indian
summer.
We're having an Indian winter.
Indian winter.
30 degrees last night.
I had to bring in my plants last night.
It's like, why, why don't we buy them?
So why don't we just wait till the weather's right and then buy them?
What is that?
I don't know.
Because you don't know.
Nobody can predict the weather, right?
So, but yeah, what's going on?
Nothing.
We're going to talk about new inventory today.
We're going to talk about some new inventory that we got in.
Absolutely.
How about YouTube though?
Man.
How about it?
It just cost over 230,000 subscribers.
Wow.
One year ago today we were at 6,300 subscribers.
14,583,000 views.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you to all of you who watch and listen and download and tell your friends and watch
till the end and don't click off the commercials.
Daddy's got to feed the babies and, you know, they're just, it's a lot to it.
And I know that the guys would like to get a raise and the only way that will happen
is if you just watch our show.
Please watch our show.
If you watch our show, I can't keep, look at these guys in the eye and give them, you
know, coal for Christmas.
We need to turn this into a 24-7 radio channel all about the classical model.
Always pitching, pal.
Always pitching.
Always pitching.
Always pitching.
So what new cars and inventory might you add?
How about the 1966 Chevrolet Corvette convertible, Laguna blue metallic over dark blue, 41,071
actual.
About that.
Damn.
That is hot.
Great color for a car.
Error correct, 427 cubic inch V8, which means it's not the motor that came with it, but
it's from that era, which is cool.
That's great.
If you, you know, if you can't have the real thing, then it's the second best thing to
have.
And the third best is a replacement.
The fourth best is a 350.
And as we mentioned, back in the day, they would just change out the engine when stuff
Yeah.
But it's a 350 in it.
That was the...
Instead of rebuilding.
Yeah.
Because it cost less.
Right.
I mean, I remember that I had my trans and back in the day and I blew the motor or whatever
that even means.
I don't know what, what was actually wrong with the motor.
Exactly.
It blew it.
Right.
What blew what?
This didn't go through the block and the crankshaft, you know.
Could be anything.
Did it explode?
It exploded.
The guy was like to, to repair the engine was like $1,800.
And my buddy was like, yeah, you get a 350 down there for like 500 bucks.
And it's got a warranty.
Not very long warranty, but, but anyway, I mean, we just didn't think about the, the,
the value of having the original engine with the original car.
Yeah.
That didn't mean anything to us back in the day.
And it, the people that it did mean something to do are the guys who are like selling their
cars for huge home run dollars now because they kept them and took care of them.
So anyway, getting on with the 66 Corvette.
Muncie M24 speed, 336 Ponsy axle.
It's got a new brake system, new fuel system.
And that's all important stuff because things go wrong.
So also a new arrival is the 2004 Mercedes-Benz SL500 Roadster.
These are at era.
That 2004, 2005 is a good looking car.
It still looks good.
It's still.
The new SL's, I don't understand.
They don't, they're big and they're bulky and they're weird and I don't know.
This one's black over gray, one owner, 34,182 actual miles, 302 cubic inch, five liter VA.
It doesn't sound like a lot, but it is.
Plenty.
Yeah, plenty.
MB Tronic seven speed automatic and recent AC service.
So you can, you know, have top down when it's a little toasty outside.
Nice car.
It is a nice car.
I like that car.
I like those a lot.
I'll take one of those please.
Yep.
How about the 1947 Ford super deluxe convertible maze yellow over oxblood.
Let's see what an ox's blood looks like.
Probably dark red.
Probably dark red.
Yeah.
Nicely restored 239 cubic inch flathead VA three speed manual, clean interior, top down
cruiser at the automobile show.
That's right.
I was singing that part.
You just didn't know it.
So other new arrivals in 1976 BMW 2002 hardtop Agave.
Agave.
Over tan storage fresh.
I like that.
That's great.
Solid underpinnings 2.0 liter single overhead cam four cylinder three speed automatic front
disc brakes.
It's funny that cars had front disc brakes and rear drum brakes or, you know, all drum
or just funny how that, why they just didn't put four disc brakes on all four corners.
Why was that?
I don't know.
Oh, thanks.
Oh, great.
I'm really.
Switches up.
Gotta read the spec sheet.
There you go.
1958 Ford fair lane 500 skyliner Raven black and sun gold over black and pale yellow.
ACA senior award winner Amelia Island 2005 David Davis award winner.
352 cubic inch 300 horsepower is a lot of power for 58 forebearer with a cruise automatic
automatic.
This restoration will blow your mind.
It is really, really.
The skyliner is the hardtop convertible comes down.
And the sunliner is the soft top.
Something like that.
That sounds right.
Don't ever question me on the radio ever again.
Sunliner.
I think it's the one with the plexiglass roof.
Yeah, I think.
Oh, no, that's the skyliner.
Skyliner.
No, I don't know.
Sunliner.
Now you've really got me confused.
It's really classic automobile podcast.
The classic automobile.
Either way, we got one of each in stock.
Ford guys.
Let us know.
Really sounds like we're doing a lot of chattering right here.
How about the last but not least the 1984 Datsun 300ZX turbo anniversary coupe light
pewter metallic and thunder black over black.
Thunder black.
What a great name.
One owner anniversary Z three liter turbo inline six cylinder five speed manual T tops.
Yeah.
And extra wheels and a stripe kit included.
It is.
How cool is that?
Very nice.
Great, great list of new inventory we've got.
We're getting new cars in every day.
It's picked up significantly.
We've got some great stuff in and the great stuff's not lasting.
So if you've got a great car, you got it priced on the money.
And I don't mean because you're sort of looked like one that you saw on TV and it, you know,
that one yours is a four door and that was a two door, but it ought to be worth priced
on the money means that it's what the cars are selling for.
And if you want our help, we'll be glad to tell you what it's worth with no skin on our
back.
Whether you bring it to us or not, we'll tell you what your car is worth.
And we're right.
99% of the time of what the value of a car is because one of us in the building knows
and they all know who to come to when there's a particular car that we need to know the
value of.
And we'll be glad to tell you.
I mean, whether you believe us or take it for gospel, I can't, I don't know what to
tell you.
So anyway, when we return, JR will have something else to say.
I know.
All right.
We can throw it in before we get to Keith.
All right.
And this can help other people.
I showed, I brought some photos that I finally found of some of my old cars and I've had it.
My first car was a 63 Falcon Sprint and Steve says, wow, can you still find that car?
And I said, I don't have the VIN.
Right.
I have a picture of it with the license plate.
I contacted the state of Michigan.
No, we didn't track anything by VIN.
By license plate.
You need to have the VIN.
Yeah, by the license plate.
Do you have any suggestion or am I just SOL or anybody else who is having an idea?
You're SOL because they made so many of those and there would have been so many in the area
and it would just be like a chicken, a needle in a haystack if you happen to.
I mean, the one thing you could do is everyone you see online, you could just Google it and
everyone you see online look for and see if there's a picture of the VIN or it has the VIN
like a dealer's all post the VIN number.
So you might find it or you could just type in the VIN on Google and maybe you might be
surprised what pops up.
He has it.
Yeah.
But you can also go to Lost Muscle Cars Facebook page.
Great.
You can contact Wes over there and let him know you're looking for your car.
And that one is pretty distinct because it was white with red stripes.
You put a picture of it up online.
In fact, we had one over at the casino a couple of years ago.
Right.
We didn't have the red stripes on it, but it was the white two-door Falcon Sprint.
So, you know, so J.R. can get passes.
Please God if you could find it.
It's Podcasticclassicautomall.com.
When we return, we'll be joined by our friend Keith Martin from Sports Car Market Magazine.
We'll see you in a couple of minutes.
Here's a special offer from Sports Car Market Magazine.
Get a six-month subscription for just $19.95 by going to SportsCarMarket.com
slash Test Drive at the number six.
That's SportsCarMarket.com slash Test Drive Six.
If you're a buyer, a seller, or just general classic car enthusiast,
publisher Keith Martin says,
We've been around almost 40 years.
It's the Wall Street Journal of the collector car world.
Activate your six-month trial of Sports Car Market Magazine
by going to SportsCarMarket.com slash Test Drive Six.
That's SportsCarMarket.com slash Test Drive at the number six.
Offers for a limited time.
Be in the know with Sports Car Market.
Now, more of the Classic Automall Show with your host Stuart Howden
from our showcase studio just inside the Classic Automall,
Morgantown, Pennsylvania, Just Off Turnpike Exit 298.
And we're back with the Classic Automall Show.
Classic Automall Studio, Morgantown, something.
I don't know why I'm doing it.
I'm hungry.
I think I'm hungry.
I know.
I'm past my lunchtime.
Anyway, welcome back to the show.
Again, great guest we had on earlier with the duo from Bridgestone and Firestone.
Great people and so smart and so knowledgeable about stuff like that.
And so concerned about safety.
I mean, genuinely concerned about that.
That's everything that they live for is making the tires,
whether it's in racing or passenger car safety.
So I wanted to bring that back up.
Anyway, let's welcome to the show Keith Martin, publisher of Sports Car Market Magazine.
Good morning.
Almost good evening, Keith.
Thanks for having me here.
It's great to be back.
It's great to have you here as always every week, Keith.
And I'm love hating your new blog.
And I'm hating it because I feel bad for you.
But I love it because finally somebody else did something stupid.
You're a dealer.
So this is a dealer's first nightmare.
You are absolutely.
Mixed up titles and VIN numbers or mixed years or all of that.
So you're the title of this week's blog is Have I Been Scammed?
And you thought you were scam proof because of the fact that you have a pen and a forum.
And if somebody ever messes with you, you can mess back with them harder.
Well, Stuart, we I've been through this before and around the office.
I remember having a staff meeting and I say, look, who would screw with me?
I publish a magazine and the answer was anybody that can.
Because, you know, you're like me when you buy a car.
You're like, oh, yeah, little details.
I'm not really.
But yeah, OK, that's a little scratch up.
There is no big deal.
You know, I tend to I think I feel guilty for the guy selling it because I know how
what it feels like to be on the other side of it.
So I'm like trying to make it easy for him in the meantime.
You know, I bought an M3 BMW one time and I never test drove it.
And Kathy, my wife's like, no, I'm going to test drive it for you.
What are you stupid?
Well, you know, this car this was a 91 alpha that I paid about 15 for.
And it was listed as having 21,000 original miles.
And the guy and the guy was a SCM subscriber.
We had nice chats on the phone when my friends went to look at it.
They said it looked like a 21,000 mile car.
I mean, everything about it was 21,000 miles.
Sure.
Except for the, of course, air conditioning that only needed a recharge for $2,500.
That's all they ever need is a recharge.
Come on.
All they only needs is why don't they just say these courage and new compressor?
Why is it just like.
And by the way, the switches are faulty in the dash.
Exactly.
That's all I got to say.
So I got the car and I got it here and I, I read, I titled it.
And then the title, my title says 21,900 miles on it from the bill sale.
Right.
And then I just started, well, I'll just, I'm looking at the VIN car facts.
I'll just, I'll just, I happened to notice that the VIN number listed on the eBay ad.
Right.
Different than the VIN number listed on my title.
Right.
Now I've got a title that matches the car.
So I'm, I mean, in theory, I'm, I'm clean that way.
Yeah.
But then I Googled the VIN number that they put in the eBay ad and two other cars showed
up with 90,000 miles on it.
Oh no.
And seven previous owners.
Yeah.
And so that one owner, you know, 16,000, 21,000 original mile thing went right out there.
You know, and of course Carfax says estimated current mileage today, 472,000.
Thanks Carfax, really appreciate it.
They're really helping you out with that resale value, right?
Yeah.
Well, the reason I never thought about it too much, one was a $15,000 car.
So it's not a million dollar Ferrari.
The car, I love the car because it's a 21, it drives like a 21,000 mile car and looks
like one, you know, the seats on those cars have that suede and it's perfect on this car.
Now, so I never, I never thought too much about it.
But now I'm looking at it and I'm thinking, OK, the only wheel downside is when I go to
sell this car.
Right.
There's a story.
Well, somebody said, now you have a rogue alpha.
Yeah.
And a story that's not a, you know, owned by, you know, some famous somebody.
This is a story that you had to go, well, because, see, it's not so bad because of this and
that, you know, and all of a sudden you're talking with your hands and.
Now it's got a story.
It's got a story and it ain't a pretty story.
So so have you the question begs, have you banned him for life as a subscriber or, you
know, are you not hold hard feelings?
I'm I'm not through with this yet.
Oh, it's still lingering.
Oh, the reason I put it on my blog, I probably got 25 answers.
Wow.
That's a lot.
Yeah.
So it I'm, as I said in my blog, my biggest fear is that we'll find out that the car was
stolen at some point and that the insurance company has already paid it off and they take
the car away from it.
Yeah.
There comes somebody knocking on your door.
Well, you know, I put the $2,000 top on it.
And the $4,000 air conditioning that was only supposed to be a recharge.
So, you know, that's one of the things that we check most anymore.
I can't tell you how much I try to stress to people about take your title, walk out to
your car, make sure everything matches up.
Yeah.
Also, make sure that the car facts that you ran off the VIN that was online is the same
VIN number that's actually on your car.
Because I can tell you that one out of what 10 cars that come here have a messed up VIN
or messed up title or, you know, one or the other or something's wrong with it.
And nobody bothered to check it.
And it went on for many, many moons.
And now here we are.
Like I said to you, because, you know, so I paid 15 for it as a 21,000 mile car.
As a 95,000 mile car, it's probably a $3,500 car.
Exactly.
No matter how nice it was, because it's the mileage.
Mileage is king in a lot of these cars, especially from the 60s, 70s, 80s, even 90s.
You know, low mileage is what you're looking for.
And you see the premium that brings on, bring a trailer or on live auctions or any of the
above, a huge premium under low mileage.
Mileage is really king.
In mileage and documentation.
Right, right.
Yeah, you got to be able to prove it.
Do you find that Carfax is the best of those?
I've used something called Bumper and I'm not real happy with it.
Yeah, I've never heard of Bumper, which is never a good sign.
But Carfax and Auto Check are two of the ones that Carfax is more for the consumer.
Auto Check is more for a dealer scenario.
And I've found that things that were on Auto Check were not on Carfax and vice versa.
Now, the thing about Carfax is, is that it's a consumer confidence thing.
They feel like if it's got a clean Carfax, there's nothing ever been wrong.
And that's a mistake because you can take a 2018 Porsche 911 and it got hit in the parking
lot of the Porsche dealership and they put it in the body shop and resprayed the fender
and bopped out the dents.
There's never going to be a bad Carfax on it, but it's had paintwork and you won't know
that unless you've got a paint meter or you got somebody who knows what to look for in
a situation like that.
So, you know, but Carfax is great now because when they say you have, when there's an accident,
you know, you get the red mark, oh, it's an accident, but now they'll list the severity
of the accident.
So it was medium or low or mid or, you know, total.
Right, right.
I think I'll run a Carfax then on this.
I've got three different VIN numbers to work with.
Good thing.
Pick the one that suits you best.
And on Bumper that I was using, the latest sale to me in Portland four years ago doesn't
show up.
Yeah.
And so that's a good sign that, you know, Bumper is probably not the answer.
I would definitely run a Carfax.
If you send me the VIN, I'll run the Carfax for you.
I have an account, you know, because we're, you know, big time dealers here.
Well, I need to also alter the results.
Good.
Yeah.
Because I want to go to prison for you, Keith.
Fine.
So, you know, it's interesting because, you know, when you have a car that's been damaged,
you can choose to take it to a shop that doesn't report to Carfax.
That's exactly right.
Well, we bought, my wife and I bought a Range Rover and it had been stolen for one day.
It didn't even show up on the top where it's got all the red flags.
It said 21,000 miles service at this dealership, 21,001 mile stolen, 21,002 miles service
at this shop.
So, I mean, it was like somebody misplaced it.
And when I went to get a new car and I thought, well, I'll just trade it in because I don't
know anything on it and I'll get enough and I don't have to dinker around with it.
They were like, well, we're going to have to give you like 30 grand less.
And I go, why?
And they go, because it was stolen.
I go, well, yeah, but it was one day.
I mean, really, it wasn't stolen.
But they didn't want to hear it, you know.
So, and you have to be, you have to be full disclosure on all this stuff anymore.
You can't not tell somebody, especially as a dealer.
Well, or as the publisher of a magazine.
Right.
Yeah.
Because, you know, I mean, that's why when I write about my cars, I write about what
I paid for them.
Right.
What I hold them for, because the magazine is not designed to buy and sell my cars.
Right.
Although it doesn't help when you're looking for something particular to put the little
feeler out there, right?
You can.
Oh, that's right.
But it's really designed to share my experiences with you.
And the dollar amount is important because a lot of people shy away from that part of
it or won't tell what they paid for because they're embarrassed that they paid too much
or somebody's going to make fun of them.
And if you're like me, which I know you are, is you don't really care if somebody, I don't
get embarrassed about anything anymore.
So if you, I paid for it, I got a, you know, I took it in the, you know what?
Oh, well, so what?
Move on.
Well, I was talking to a friend of mine last night who doesn't really know me and said,
what do you do for a living?
And I said, I buy cars so I can write stories about them.
That's, but you know what?
It does add to the story, the ability to, to put that person, personal process of buying
a car, the thing that everybody goes through that not many people, even though you're buying
a car you love, it's generally not a very enjoyable experience of buying the car.
It's either at a dealer and it takes too damn long or it's at an individual and you're trying
to not get screwed and he's trying not to get screwed and everybody's trying to, you
know, so it can fall into the category of not quite so much fun when you buy a car.
And so it's nice to see that personal side of it from you and your magazine and to know
that other people are going through the same thing that maybe you went through.
I also explained to my friend, I said, if you choose to play in this world, then you
choose to accept the good and the bad.
Yeah.
And we try to, that's the other thing that we work with people all the time when we
tell them, look, don't spend every dime you got on this car.
Save some money.
There's going to either be something wrong that we don't know about.
We don't know that the fuel pump is going to go out tomorrow.
I can't predict the future.
Or you may want to add new wheels or seat covers or tires or a stereo or whatever.
Don't spend every dime on it because there will be things that need to be fixed.
No matter how perfect it seems when you're standing there looking at it.
I told a couple of weeks ago, I sold my Jaguar E-Type coupe on my trailer and the guys from
the shop there called me and they said, well, OK, the money's in.
We're about to ship the car and your oil pressure gauges failed.
You've got to fix it.
Of course.
Of course.
Of course.
Yeah.
Of course.
First of all, some old cars are just waiting to screw you.
Yeah, they are.
They have their little back of their little minds.
They're just waiting.
So.
They have a sense of timing.
Yeah.
When's the best time to screw this up?
Absolutely.
So, well, I hope that we will it'll be interesting.
I want to hear more about the car fax thing next week when we talk about it.
The vins are in my blog.
I'll find them and grab them and I'll send you some car faxes.
Yeah, I am.
You know, this whole thing, because now there's three, three vins floating around.
Love it.
It's recorded from ninety seven thousand to twenty one thousand nine hundred.
My attorney said, well, if you registered the car with twenty one thousand nine hundred,
but you know there's another car out there, he said, you've just committed fraud.
Yeah, exactly.
Now you're the bad guy and you're the victim and the bad guy.
How fun.
That's why I threw it out to the readers, you know, because I'll throw it out to you
because it's it's it's not an uncommon problem.
It is not.
It absolutely.
And thank you for sharing that with us and our audience.
Anyway, Keith Martin, everybody, Sports Car Market Magazine.
We'll catch you next time, Keith, and we'll see you next time on the Classic Automall
Show and thanks for stopping by.
The Classic Automall Show with their host, Stuart Howden, executive producer, Steve
Sefair, produced and engineered by your truly J.R.
Russ, video editor, Randy Lambie, available on ClassicAutomall.com, YouTube or wherever
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About this episode
Classic Automall’s Stuart Howden welcomes Bridgestone Americas motorsports leaders Lisa Boggs and Will Robbins to talk Indy 500 tire tech, brand crossover, and how racing data feeds passenger safety. They cover Firestone’s long Indy history, why modern Indy cars run different tire specs per corner, and how electrification/hybrid weight changes tire validation and sizing. The show also pivots to classic-car buying realities: Keith Martin (Sports Car Market) shares a VIN/title scam story, stressing mileage documentation, matching VINs, and the limits of Carfax/AutoCheck. Inventory updates and grassroots racing stories round it out.
Original notes
Show #238 airdate 04-08-26 Stewart welcomes Lisa Boggs, Director of Motorsports @FirestoneRacing and Will Robbins, Executive Director of Marketing and Strategic Product Portfolio Planning @Bridgestone. Discussed is the Bridgestone-Firestone brand, tire technology, advancements, safety and durability as well as Firestone's over century-long relationship with @IndyCar and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Also, Sports Car Market's Keith Martin discusses a VIN problem with a car he just bought asking "Have I been scammed?". @IndyNXT @IMS @IMSMuseum @IROC @MarioAndretti @F1 @SCCA @Chevy @RangeRover @Subaru_USA @Honda @JosefNewgarden @CorvetteMuseum @PenskeNews #RogerPenske #Hybrid #EV #Nashville #HarveyFirestone #RunFlat #DriveGuard #PhillipMorris #Marlboro #LynStJames #EnzoFittapaldi #RickMears #FlatRock #Colorado #PatoO'Ward #Unser #Chicago
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