Ep2 John Oates
About this episode
John Oates—Hall & Oates’ living legend—swaps music talk for a deep dive into his lifelong car obsession and the mindset behind creative success. He traces his passion from early singing to European sports cars, road-racing magazines, and touring in a Pontiac GTO during the gas-crisis era. Oates also recounts karting, racing schools in England, and a serious IMSA moment in a Pontiac Fiero. The conversation then broadens to mentorship, AI songwriting, EV grid concerns, and how he stays grounded while chasing artistic freedom.
Sung and Emelia talk with John about his biggest passion outside of music - cars. John shares stories from his incredible career, including touring in a GTO, racing karts and snaking Rod Stewart's 930 Turbo. They also dive into the parallels of craftsmanship between musicians and car builders, and discuss the rapid acceleration of technology from area codes to AI.
Follow on Instagram and YouTube @CarStoriesPodcast
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Alfa Romeo Spider
"...ow where you want to go with this. An Alpha Romeo Spider ooh, which I saw at the New York Auto Show in the..."
Mini Coopers
"...nto European cars like Porschas and you know, and mini Coopers, were they a different type of mindset because th..."
Ford Mustang
"... was very like American Iron era, right, like the Mustangs and the Chapelles. Yeah, I never got into the mus..."
Chevrolet Bel Air
"...o Philadelphia me My father had a fifty fifty six bel Air. But almost immediately in high school, and then ..."
Pontiac Gto
"... well. My father. I convinced my parents to buy a Pontiac Gto in nineteen sixty eight. I told them it was just ..."
Chevrolet Suburban
"...while, and then of course we graduated to a Chevy suburban and a van and a bus, et cetera, et cetera. But no..."
Nissan Gtr
"...England, uh, he came over with a nine twenty four gtr and I raced at Daytona. I raced at Limerock."
Pontiac Fierro
"...that's how that started. And that leads us to the Pontiac Fierro. So Daryl and I got a sponsorship for our tour. P..."
Lamborghini Kuntash
"...sign language, but not really. Yeah, it's like if Kuntash had a baby. Yeah yeah, it is."
Request an Explanation
Heard something you'd like explained? We'll add it to this episode.
Sign in to request explanations for terms you heard.
Want to learn more?
Browse our glossary for plain-English explanations of automotive terms, jargon, and concepts.
Help improve this episode
See something that's not quite right? Our annotations are AI-generated and can sometimes miss the mark. Click the flag icon on any annotation to suggest a correction.