A “halo car” is a flashy, attention-grabbing car a brand builds to make people notice them. Even if it’s expensive to make and doesn’t earn much profit, it can still help the company sell other cars by creating hype.
The Audi R8 is a high-end sports car with the engine placed toward the middle of the car. The hosts mention it as an example of a “halo car,” basically a model that makes people want to buy into the brand.
The “Texas LFA” sounds like the Lexus LFA, a rare, expensive supercar made in small numbers. The host is saying it wasn’t as effective at creating hype for the brand as some other cars.
The Lexus LS 400 was Lexus’s early luxury flagship. It was meant to make people take Lexus seriously and to get customers to walk into Lexus dealerships.
The Lexus ES 250 was one of Lexus’s more accessible models. The point here is that the early flagship success helped sell the “regular” Lexus cars too.
BMW’s 7 Series is their biggest, most upscale sedan. The discussion implies Lexus was trying to challenge that “premium benchmark” positioning with a better deal.
Mercedes-Benz’s S-Class is their “top” luxury car. When the hosts say Lexus tried to undercut it, they mean Lexus aimed to compete with the best without charging the same kind of money.
“Hyper aspirational” means a car is marketed as an extreme dream or status symbol. The hosts are saying the LS 400 wasn’t trying to be that kind of unreachable fantasy.
The Chrysler PT Cruiser was a quirky, retro-looking car. The hosts argue Chrysler used it as a kind of marketing hook—something affordable and eye-catching—to get people into showrooms.
The Acura NSX is Acura’s famous high-end performance car. In this segment, it’s treated as a “halo” model—basically the car that helps a brand look exciting and attracts buyers to dealerships.
Here, “showroom” just means the dealership where cars are displayed for customers to look at. The hosts are talking about which marketing approach gets more people to visit the dealer in person.
The Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution is a high-performance Mitsubishi that’s famous with car fans. It’s often seen as a car that helped make Mitsubishi more exciting and respected among enthusiasts.
The Mitsubishi 3000 GT VR-4 is the stronger, more performance-focused version of the 3000 GT. The speaker is saying that this top trim is the best example of a “halo” car, because it’s the one that really feels special.
The Mitsubishi Eclipse is a sporty Mitsubishi coupe. Here, they’re talking about the second-generation Eclipse and how it helped attract buyers—kind of like a “cool” car that gets people into showrooms.
“2G” means the second generation of the Eclipse. It’s a shorthand enthusiasts use so they’re talking about the specific redesign era, not every Eclipse ever made.
A “2G DSM” is a specific generation of Mitsubishi Eclipse, and the GSX is the sportier turbo/all-wheel-drive version. Fans like them because they’re sporty and look great, and they have a strong enthusiast following.
The Nissan Sentra is a more budget-friendly Nissan compact car. In this discussion, it’s used as the cheaper, less “halo” option compared to the flashier Z-car.
The Nissan 240SX is a classic Nissan sports coupe that became really popular with car enthusiasts. People like it because there are lots of parts and it’s often used for performance builds.
“Hardbody” is a nickname for a Nissan pickup truck. They’re using it as an example of another Nissan model in the lineup that marketing could push buyers toward.
The Chicago Auto Show is a big car event where companies reveal new cars. The hosts bring it up to set the scene for when the NSX and Miata debuted.
Term
went way long in the tooth
“Long in the tooth” means it was getting old or outdated, but it kept going. Here, the hosts are saying Chrysler’s product stayed around too long before it stopped making sense.
“2.7 liter” is the size of the engine—how much space the engine’s cylinders have. Bigger displacement often means the engine can make more power, though the exact outcome depends on the design.
The Chrysler 300 is a bigger, more traditional American sedan from Chrysler. In this conversation, it’s mentioned as another car you could buy instead of the PT Cruiser.
Dodge is a car brand associated with Chrysler. In this segment it’s mentioned to explain how different brand names were connected in the past.
Brand
Ken blocks of the world
Ken Block is a famous driver and online personality known for flashy rally-style driving. The host is saying that kind of fame can help make people interested in certain performance cars.
An “entry level sports sedan” is a regular sedan that’s made to feel sporty, but it’s not the most expensive performance car the brand offers. It’s meant to be a more affordable way to get into “fun” driving.
The Subaru WRX is a performance Subaru with a turbo engine. The hosts are saying the WRX was the “regular” option they got, instead of the more hardcore STI.
They’re talking about a Chevrolet Camaro from a styling era people nickname “catfish.” The point is that it’s the classic American way—using a V8 engine for power.
The BMW E36 M3 is a performance version of the older BMW 3 Series (from the E36 generation). The point they’re making is that the M3 is the one people notice, more than the regular 3 Series models.
The BMW Z8 is a rare, stylish BMW roadster known for being a special, enthusiast-focused car. It’s not a common daily driver—it’s more of a “wow” car. The hosts mention it as an example of a halo car.
The Chevrolet Corvette is a famous American sports car that enthusiasts often see as a top-tier model. In this segment, the hosts are using it as an example of a car that can feel like a brand’s “headline” vehicle. They’re debating which cars deserve that halo status.
The Ford Mustang GT500 is the more extreme, higher-performance Mustang version. The hosts are saying it might qualify as a “halo car,” because it’s more special than a regular GT. They also note that whether something counts can depend on what else is going on in that time period.
They’re talking about how the most special cars often don’t stay around for long. When a car is limited and people still want it later, it can become very expensive. The hosts say that’s why some halo cars can keep gaining value over time.
Understeer is when a car doesn’t “turn in” as much as you want. Instead of following the corner, it tends to slide outward because the front tires lose grip first.
The Audi TT is a small sporty car with a recognizable design. Here, they’re talking about the earlier TT as a more fun, enthusiast-friendly choice—especially with a manual transmission.
The Audi RS3 is a hot version of Audi’s smaller cars. It’s made for quick, sporty driving, and the hosts are saying it’s one of the few Audi models they actually like.
The Audi RS6 is Audi’s big, serious performance car. They’re saying they like that Audi makes something this extreme, even if it doesn’t emotionally grab them.
The Audi RS5 is a high-performance version of the A5. In this conversation, they’re basically saying it doesn’t do much for them compared to other picks.
The Volkswagen Beetle is a famous, long-running small car. They’re bringing up the newer version (“new Beetle”) as an example of a model that landed well when it came out.
The Ford Mustang is a famous American sports car. Here they’re talking about the early, cheaper Mustang versions—ones that weren’t the top performance models, but were still stylish and affordable.
A “six cylinder” is an engine with six combustion chambers. It’s often used as the cheaper, more everyday option compared with bigger, higher-performance engines.
“K code” is a factory engine designation used by Ford to identify a specific high-performance 289 V8 setup. The “289 GT” refers to the performance trim/engine combination, and in this segment it’s brought up as a more serious performance Mustang compared with the base cars.
“Two plus two” means the car has seats for four people: two full seats up front and two smaller seats in back. It’s a common way to describe certain coupes.
The Ford Escort is a smaller, everyday Ford model. They’re saying Ford used a similar formula later—selling a lot of them by keeping the car affordable while still making it appealing.
Car
Nissan 510
The Nissan 510 is an old-school compact Nissan that became a favorite with car fans because it was fun to drive and easy to modify. The hosts are referencing it as an example of the kind of “want it” car they think companies should make.
The Cadillac Cimarron is an older Cadillac model that many enthusiasts see as disappointing compared to what the brand name usually promises. The point here is that the hosts think Cadillac shouldn’t have gone that direction.
“Electric cars” are cars that run mostly on electricity stored in a battery. You usually charge them by plugging them in, and that’s why some people are still deciding whether they want one.
Upselling is when a salesperson (or the sales process) pushes you to buy a more expensive version of the car. Here, it’s mentioned as part of why entry-level pricing is hard to keep low.
“Price creep” means car prices slowly go up over time. Even if the car doesn’t change much, adding extra features and safety stuff can push the price higher.
The Scion XB was a small, box-shaped hatchback. It was meant to be practical, but people liked it because it looked different and felt more fun than a typical commuter car.
The BRZ and the Toyota 86 are two similar sports cars that are meant to be affordable and fun. They’re not the flashy “top-of-the-line” kind of car—more like a driver’s car you can actually buy.
The GR 86 is Toyota’s newer take on the 86 sports car. It’s designed to be light and fun, and it shares a lot of the same basic idea as the Subaru BRZ.
The Honda CR-Z was Honda’s attempt at a sporty, stylish small car. The hosts are saying it didn’t quite become the kind of exciting “regular-person” car they were hoping for.
The Veloster N is the sporty, track-oriented version of the Veloster. It’s meant to be fun and fast without costing as much as the most expensive performance cars.
The Ford Maverick is a smaller pickup truck that Ford marketed as a cheaper way to get into a truck. The hosts are pointing out that its price has changed over time, which affects how "cheap and inviting" it feels to buyers.
A convertible is a car where the roof can be folded down or removed. Since the roof helps the car stay stiff, convertibles usually have extra strengthening so they don’t feel flimsy.
A reinforced chassis means the car’s frame/body is strengthened. Convertibles need this because the roof is gone, and the roof normally helps keep the car stiff and solid.
Sports suspension is a suspension setup tuned to make the car feel more controlled and responsive. It usually handles bumps and steering inputs in a more “driver-focused” way than a softer setup.
Term
triple layered hand fitted
A triple-layer convertible top uses three layers of material instead of one, which helps keep out noise and improve insulation. “Hand fitted” means the roof is put together and aligned carefully by people rather than just by machines.
Close-ratio means the gaps between gears are smaller. That helps the engine stay in the “right” rev range more often, so the car feels more lively when you drive it hard.
A fuel-injected engine uses sensors and injectors to spray fuel in a controlled way. That usually makes the engine respond better and run more efficiently than older carburetor setups.
Renault is a major French automaker that the speaker associates with the car’s likely origins or engineering. In this context, it suggests the Alliance may have had shared development influences or components tied to Renault’s involvement.
Term
captive import
A “captive import” is basically a car that’s tied to another company’s design or production, even though it’s sold under a different brand. It’s like the brand is “borrowing” the car from a partner.
This is a BMW 318 cabriolet, meaning a 3 Series convertible from the 1980s. The hosts are debating whether it was truly designed as a convertible first, or if it was more of a later adaptation.
CIS is a specific older style of fuel injection used on some European cars. It’s not the same as newer electronic fuel injection, and it works in a more mechanical/pressure-based way. Knowing CIS helps you identify what kind of injection system the engine has.
“Cabrio” is just another word for a convertible. It means the car is designed to have an open-top roof that can fold down. The host is saying the car they’re talking about isn’t one of the obvious convertible candidates.
The BMW Z3 is a classic BMW roadster/convertible from the 1990s. It’s often remembered as an affordable way to get a rear-wheel-drive BMW driving feel. In this segment, it’s just one of the cars being considered and rejected.
The BMW Z1 is a small BMW roadster/convertible-style car with a very distinctive design, including doors that slide out in a unique way. Here it’s mentioned as one of the possible cars the host is ruling out.
Term
a1 chassis car
A “chassis” is the car’s main structure/platform. When someone says “A1 chassis,” they mean a particular platform family that can be used for multiple body styles. The host is arguing that this car’s base structure wasn’t originally designed specifically for convertibles.
This is a 1989 Volkswagen Cabrio, a convertible version of a VW model from that era. The big point is whether it was designed as a convertible from the start or just modified after the fact.
PCP is a type of car payment plan where you make monthly payments and then deal with a bigger final payment at the end (or return the car). They’re using it as a joke about softening the blow.
A Ford Focus is a compact car you can buy new or used. Here, the speaker is working on one because it’s running badly and they’re trying to find what part is causing the problem.
The valve cover gasket is a rubber seal that keeps oil from leaking around the top of the engine. If it fails, oil can get where it shouldn’t and cause running problems.
Spark plugs are the small parts that create the spark to light the fuel in the engine. If they’re old or wrong, the engine can run rough, so replacing them can help diagnose the issue.
LIVE
In a world with entirely too many shows about cars, this is another Pointless Automotive
podcast.
Hello, Chadwick.
Hello, Frank.
How are we doing this evening, man?
Oh, boy.
I'm frazzled, but good, largely.
The good news is I don't think I will get any phone calls, mid-podcast this week, involving
the death of a family pet.
So that's good.
I like it.
Yeah.
Yeah.
How are you?
Vibe killer to the max.
I don't do that.
Well, mostly because I'm out of pets, but you know, whatever.
Oh, where there's a will, there's a way.
True.
How am I doing?
I'm doing pretty good, man.
I'm definitely not purchasing, I fucked up again.
All right.
We'll talk about it.
We'll talk about it in PCP.
Let's bury the hell out of that lead.
Yeah.
The Saturn owners manual of 1997.
We'll get into that.
You gave me a little bit of a tease, but I actually, there's more to this story and
I want to know.
Always.
We'll cross that bridge when we come to it.
Speaking of bridges, I don't, Leon bridges.
Alter bridge.
I don't know.
I don't know how to get this out of this.
Um,
Now, um, what I was going to say is, um, the, okay, you're familiar with the concept of
a halo car.
Do you?
I am.
I just want to say that you just did the most crazy, slow down robot thing I've ever
seen.
It was like max headroom.
Oh, it was.
It was pretty fucking wild.
We're a whole like 48 seconds into the podcast.
Should, should we just have this as a, a sign where maybe I should reboot my shit or should
we just raw dog right into it?
Let's, let's rod dog it, man.
Let's commit.
We're, we're dogging.
We're rocking and we're dogging.
And, um, if, if I start glitching out, um, then enjoy, but, um, okay.
So yes, the concept of a, a glitchy podcast and the concept of a, a halo car is everyone
knows the halo car, right?
You have the, the, the big crowning expensive limited production, lose money on every unit
sold, um, big flagship car that sits in the dealership and people want to come and they
want to come see it.
And then they, they, you know, maybe the manufacturer sells a few hundred, maybe a few thousand.
Um, and it's all in an exercise to get people in the showroom and flex your engineering
and styling and, and well, honestly, if we're being honest, marketing might, right?
Famous ones.
Uh, you know, the Audi R8 was a very good halo car.
Sure.
Texas LFA, not really a great halo car.
And this is a great car, but yeah, yeah, yeah, um, do you like, I don't, I personally,
I personally believe no, I, so I, such as maps.
So I personally, yes, the US Americans, um, the Iraq.
So no, um, I'm not a big believer in the halo car.
I, I personally believe that the halo car is largely a, an excuse for people at an OEM
to spend a bunch of the OEM's money to build something in the sake of coolness and hubris
and, um, shiny thing.
And if we lose money, halo car, it brings people into the showroom.
It's, it's, it's the, um, publicly funded stadium project for billionaires of the car
world.
Um, and I'm a much stronger believer in the anti halo car, which is the cheap aspirational
car that gets people in a door and you sell them in droves and you make money on them.
Um, but it gets people into the show, into the showroom.
And so we'll talk about that.
Yeah, I'd like to talk about the anti halo car, which is good cause you, you do take
an anti stance on everything, my friend.
And, uh, you've been identified as a, uh, he's a dissenter everyone.
Uh, but here's the deal.
I'm ready to play devil's advocate on this one because there are, and I've got
some good examples cited where halo cars did the right thing.
They actually succeeded as halo cars.
And like, first off, best automotive creativity job had to be coming up with a halo
car versus a big, you know, big volume pushing car, right?
Like the person that developed the camera, that's exciting, but you are facing
way more cost cutting measures, like the financial people are breathing on your
neck, whereas the halo car, it's open checkbook cause it's a platform to display
technology, interesting ingenuity, you know, that, that's the kind of stuff you're
pushing, but with a regular car, they're like, well, do you really need, you know,
the cushion to be soft?
See, oh, we're, we're all, we're already getting into the, the, um, I feel like
there's some weird cringy influencer term for like a, the debate zone.
Like there'd be some, I don't know.
But bro, let's hit, let's hit it with Lexus.
You said Lexus LFA, I would argue that the LS 400 was the original halo car
because that was, you know, they're, they're shot right across the, the bow
of Mercedes Benz, to be honest, and all the other prestigious luxury brands of
the early nineties.
The LS 400 sold at a loss, did not sell a large amount of units.
It pulled people into this new Lexus dealership model, in which case they
purchased ES 250s halo car worked.
Yes, I will say what's a little bit, a little bit different is that was never
at the LS 400, the original LS 400, really, really interesting case study on
what's interesting about it is I think it's like a semi halo car.
And I say that because that was never a limited production, like hyper aspirational
thing, in fact, it was built to undercut the S class and the seven series.
And, and it succeeded at that.
But to your point, a major competitor of Lexus at the time, one of their biggest
launch, they went the opposite direction and they launched with an anti, what I
would consider an anti halo car.
And when I say anti halo car, I don't mean the Camry.
What I mean is something like the PT Cruiser, which is a an entry level.
And whether it's an entry level sports car or an entry level mass production thing,
it's a it's a cheap thing that people look at and go, oh, that's really cool,
whether they should or not in the case of the cruiser.
But at the time they say, that's a cool thing.
I'm going to go to my local fucking Chrysler dealership, which nobody
inspires to spend any time in, but they go there for the cheaper, the cheaper
offering instead of going there for the halo car offering.
So Lexus is a great example because they they took what worked really well for them,
which was let's make a product that's better than the German flagships and have
it be cheaper and which worked really well for them while Acura, I think made
an anti halo car in the original Integra 86 Integra, where like we have a new brand.
We're going to have this like cheap, sporty, interesting semi aspirational product.
Bring it to market and we're going to get people in the showroom, not with the legend,
which they did, but the NSX.
Yes, ultimately, that's a that's an incredible example of a halo car.
And whether you think that works for Acura or not, this is debatable.
I think that was a pretty successful halo car as far as getting people in the classroom
into the showroom.
I think the Integra was just as integral Integra.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, into getting people into the showroom.
And so that's where like it becomes an interesting juxtaposition of like,
how are you getting people into the showroom?
Do you do with the halo car?
Do you do with an anti halo car?
And your team halo car, which makes this really fun because I'm team anti halo car.
Yeah, yeah, you know, I think there's different levels of success
we could measure right in this, like some halo cars did succeed at that test.
Some were just absolutely misrepresenting the brand.
I think if we dial back the clock, like we we often do in this on this quaint
little podcast we have here, let's look at Mitsubishi.
I I love Mitsubishi.
You love Mitsubishi.
Two other cars that come to mind for me, I probably call halo cars were the
3000 GTV or four.
Got to say it, very expensive compared to the rest of their lineup and very tech
heavy, very performance minded car way ahead of its time.
We could all agree on that.
That was the successful halo car from Mitsubishi later to be mirrored
by the Lancer Evolution, an aspirational sporty performance car that pulled people
in that dammit, I can't float an EVO eight, but I'll take, you know, like a regular
at the time, what was it?
The later earlier the mirage, but then you got a base Lancer.
Maybe you got the rally, maybe you got the Australia edition, you know, with a man.
Well, maybe I kind of still want one of those yellow, please.
But, you know, you know what I'm saying?
It's like, I think those were two successful halo cars for a brand that
like has lost all of its its luster and fan appreciation.
I think both the 3000 GTV are for an EVO, which probably weren't huge volume sellers,
right? But got the brand a lot of attention, like a lot of positive attention.
Yeah.
And what's interesting, sure, like, yeah, I agree.
Especially I honestly feel like the EVO
did more for the brand at the time it arrived than the 3000 GT.
I think the 3000 GT VR4 is a better example of a halo car, although it gets
a little it gets a little sticky when the same car is available in a much,
much lower trim level, which the 3000 GT was.
Yeah, the SL, right?
Right, because I don't know that Mitsubishi needed a sales boost in 1991, 1992,
as much as they needed it in 2004, 2005, 2004 or five.
Well, and I'm speaking of the US market, like that's what we're probably
dabbling in just the US market today, right?
Like, because the EVO was that creature much earlier than it came
from the States in the early 2000s.
It was like in the mid 90s in the rest of the world, right?
But what do you think?
Call it 1995.
What do you think got people into the showroom?
More. Do you think it was a 3000 GT or 3000 GT VR4?
Or do you think it was a 2G eclipse?
I'd argue it's 2G eclipse.
I bet you that got more people into the showroom.
But the price difference was like half, right?
Like it was half the price of a 3000 GT VR4.
I think like the allure.
I think so.
It was pretty close.
Like they were good.
That 2G eclipse was like hot, it still is.
But it was really hot.
It was a hot car.
Hot after Fast and the Furious for sure went up like several.
Yeah, that was later.
But yeah, I still think the 3000 GT was like the kind of like amazing car
because it was just it was a different level, right?
You didn't go in there.
You know, maybe you wanted to check out a 3000 GT VR4 and you saw a 2G
like GSX sitting there and you're like, wow, all wheel drive.
Wow, two liter, four G63 turbo.
I like this stuff.
I agree the 2G DSMs are fucking sweet looking.
They still look good.
They still look very good.
The post-facelift ones look even better.
Yeah, for sure.
Well, how about and I like just thinking of like, OK, what were
manufactured that had a halo car and an anti halo car simultaneously?
How about Nissan?
Nissan early 90s.
OK, I'm going to go Z car, Z 32, 300 CX, halo car 100 percent.
Pretty pricey compared to other cars on the market.
Twin Turbo V6, very tech heavy again, which we're seeing like the 90s was
the time to to to platform your tech in front of everyone.
How about the S class or the S chassis cars like an S 13, S 14?
Those were aspirational, not everyone bought them.
But you know, maybe you went to Nissan because you saw what they were doing
in the world with those or you saw what the Z was doing.
And you walked away with a Centra.
Maybe you walked away with the Centra SCR, which is I think an aspirational
sporty car. Yeah, B 13 SCR.
I mean, at the time, though, I think that works.
That math works.
I think the Z car.
Was getting more people in in in van.
But like the NA car auto, I don't I don't know.
It's it I want I would want to look at.
Because also was tricky with these on at the time is.
They, yeah, to your point, yeah, they had they the 240 SX, they had a 200
SX, they had an NX.
2000 and 3200
Yep.
So they had a breadth of different.
Offerings.
And so it's hard.
I don't know that they had a true.
They had all singular anti they had Maximus.
Right. But those are just regular S cars.
Yeah, but people went in there and saw Nissan doing some things.
It works. Well, that's that's the meat, right?
Like you're you're dangling the carrot.
Whether it be a halo car or an anti halo car to get them to buy your
Ultima or your stanza or your access or your, you know, hard body.
What I think is an interesting conversation of what do you think was
the more successful for, let's say Mazda in 1993?
What do you think got people more in in the showroom?
Was it the FDRX seven or was it the Miata?
I think the Miata.
I I agree.
I think a Miata is a I think Miata is still.
The crowning achievement halo car.
Today, yeah, for a month, Chicago auto show, 1989 NSX and Miata
premiered at the same.
What an auto show.
Let's go.
Yeah, I agree.
The Miata with its price point with what it offered, which was not offered
by anyone else, right?
Yeah, affordable, reliable.
We have to put in a big old fucking caps lock on that reliable compared
to the British cars it was modeled after Mazda Miata pulled people in.
I agree.
I think still does.
I mean, I mean, your entire branding exercise would not exist without the Miata.
And look, we're still around.
The the RX seven did come back as a reimagined as an RX eight.
Not none of the magic, right?
Captured, really, like maybe 30 percent of the magic and the Miata is still
soldiered on today.
Today still soldiers on.
So yeah, I mean, it's I have a like just thinking about because it's funny,
like the anti halo card, like I mentioned the PT cruiser, not because I love
and I just really enjoy mentioning the PT cruiser.
No, I know.
And and and Brian Nesbitt and the works.
But like that was such a a I mean, those were coming in huge
ADM and way worse.
Yeah.
And like if you look at how successful Chrysler was, certainly compared to today.
But they were like in the mid to late 2000s, the production run.
Because what they killed up the PT cruiser in 2010, I think, which is far too late.
But yeah, yeah, yeah.
Let's say 2000 or 2001 to 2010.
Chrysler was very relevant and it went way long in the tooth and
and didn't didn't work anymore by the end.
But the early days, I mean, that, you know, you go in, oh, I'm not going to pay
10 grand 80 ADU.
80 AM, I should say, for a PT cruiser.
But hey, look, there's a there's a base 2.7 liter 300 Chrysler 300 over here
or a seabring or a car or yeah, or right at us.
Stratasert with the manual.
Let's go. There you go.
So like, which was a dodge, I guess, the Christ of Cirrus.
And let's face it, there's no standalone only Chrysler.
Dealers like there were others.
Chrysler, Dodge, was Plymouth.
Oh, Plymouth was dead by then.
Whatever.
Cheap was in Michibishi.
Who knows?
But it got people in the showroom.
Like another one that I think really is actually an enthusiast.
Approved, enthusiast approved anti-halo car and really changed.
A car company for the better for a long time.
WRX.
Super 2002 WRX.
Was absolutely put Subaru in a wildly different position.
Absolutely.
And they were previous to that.
And it got young people interested in Subaru and they weren't before.
It got enthusiasts interested in Subaru and whether that was both that
whether that was also bolstered by the Ken blocks of the world
and and on on, who knows.
But that wouldn't have happened if it wasn't for that car here state side.
I would put that in an anti-halo car category of like,
this is an entry level sports sedan
that got asses in the door and really got people to consider other offerings
from a manufacturer they would not have considered them previously.
I kind of wonder, though, about the WRX because we ate it up.
We we shoveled it in our mouths.
We asked for more because the rest of the world had been getting WRX.
It's been getting STIs.
We did not have the STI in 02 and 03 here in the States.
And I speak for yourself.
I contracted several STIs in 2002 and 2003.
That was because you were too fast and by by curious.
I think that's the movie about that.
But we wanted the STI.
We glad gladly accepted, you know, the WRX offering for it is a great car.
I still respect the bug IWX a ton.
But the STI would have been more that expensive
because it magnitudes dollars more to buy a STI versus a WX at the time.
But when that 0405 STI came out,
that was kind of a real halo car, if you think about it, just like an EVO.
Yeah. Right.
So the WX was what?
That was like a $21,000 car new 22 because we wanted the STI.
If we had the STI at the time, the STI would have been the halo, right?
But just because we we didn't sack up US to import the hottest car.
We got the WRX.
That became the anti halo car.
We had the STI.
We would have gladly purchased that to transport yourself mentally back to like 2001.
I can easily.
I remember how sick of a car was that car?
Dude, because so a lot of us were driving like V8 catfish Camaros.
And then the WRX came out and it was like,
why is this car this little four cylinder, four door Japanese car
able to hang with an American V8?
So, yeah, wild times, right?
When you can buy supers for like 12 K, but Mark Forest.
No, dude, I do.
I agree. I think that was an attainable anti halo car
because we didn't get the big boy.
Yeah. Yeah.
Like what other like to swing the other way real quick,
like what other like straight up halo cars?
Do you really think we're like properly successful?
I mean, we talk all right.
Yeah. How about the M cars?
And I mean, the cars are tough, though, because it's
it's it already exists in like, like saying M3.
Sure. OK, you've got a you got a 325 or 328 or 318.
Right. But it was the M that got the attention, right?
If the 325 was top of the line, which it was in the E30, right?
Except for the M3.
But like E36, 325s or 323s are not top of the line.
But I'm sure you could go look at an E36 M3.
It's 1997.
You go in there and like, God, this thing's this thing's a rocket.
This thing's so cool looking.
Look at the mirrors, Frank.
I don't. The side mirrors.
And then you get a 323.
I don't consider any M cars, halo cars.
I would consider a Z8, a halo car.
But at the time, like running concurrently.
Did we I don't do you consider other than like a ZR one?
I see a ZR or a Corvette, a halo car, like a ZO, like a Z.
Well, ZR one or ZO six when it was top of the chain, right?
For those years, I consider that a halo car. Absolutely.
Yeah, it's it's interesting.
Like are we looking for GT is very much a halo car. Right.
A Mustang GT is not a halo car.
No, but I think a GT 500 is getting close. Maybe.
Like a new GT 500, right?
Like, I think that's I think you kind of have to I suppose you have to score
it within whatever's in it's the time period, right?
Like, because there are whatever they're offering at that particular time.
A lot of halo cars have pretty short life spans, right?
Like they're flashing the pan technology things.
They sell them for a couple of years.
Like they're limited.
They become insanely expensive and they just keep gaining value, right?
That's that's the standard for halo cars, I think, too.
SVX. That was a pretty shit, shit job of a halo car.
I fucking love those things.
Tell me, tell me, when you see a clean SVX, here's the thing.
SVX came with a manual.
I think we're talking a different story.
I really only because it was the box away from being nineties.
Five speed manual would have changed how the SVX is viewed now.
100 percent now, for sure.
Yeah, I don't know.
I don't know that would have.
I don't know.
I think that car might have been too awkward, no matter what, to be successfully in period.
Dude, how good do they look clean, though, today?
Like today in today's rose tinted glasses, they're great.
Yeah, you see a clean SVX.
Yeah.
But yeah, but it was funny.
So like the R8, right?
Everyone sucks.
But oh, the R8 is an amazing halo car.
It's the gold standard for a modern halo car.
It made Audi far more interesting and viewed as a premium manufacturer
as compared to before when they were making, you know,
basically understeer mobiles that are that are tarted up Volkswagen's.
Well, at that time of the R8 coming out, the Audi TT was the real hero.
That's that.
That was going to be the point I was going to make is I think actually that
original two to five guys with a six speed manual is a proper heroic car
from the brand. Good.
Good for them making that car.
Correct. Yeah, I would like.
And I think Audi's been pretty dire straight as of late.
If you're asking me as far as like desirability, like RS3, cool.
The rest of the line, I could not care less.
Even RS5 and honestly, even the RS6, I love that it exists.
It it does not make any part of me semi swollen with blood.
Yeah, it just doesn't.
And I and I don't know why it should, but it doesn't.
If they launched a new TT.
A sub $60,000, because suddenly that's a cheap car now.
Yeah, right.
Interesting, good looking, the right size.
Yeah, gasoline powered TT.
That would be that would be dope.
Oh, I like it.
That would be a proper anti halo car for a company that really needs it.
The new Beetle.
When the new the new 99 and a half 2000, whatever it was, I guess was 98.
The new Beetle came out.
That was kind of a big fucking deal.
Definitely a big deal.
Those jetties at that time, that 99.5 fuck that thing.
That thing or four.
Nothing fucked.
It literally fucked.
Yeah, it did.
I'm sore about it.
But like I still want a GLI so bad with the recaro seats from that period.
And that one point eight turbo in a six speed manual.
Yeah, I guess it'll settle for an early GLX with a manual at the VR six.
I know that I want that.
I want the recaro's tonight.
I don't want the fucking leather, bro.
I want the recaro's and I want those BBS wheels.
And the factory.
No, they look really, really good.
It's so good.
That like bright, medium blue.
Yep.
Really, really good.
I just don't I don't love the one point 18.
It's fine for me.
I know, but the rest of the car does fine.
Did you know what?
Let's get let's see.
Well, now they're getting kind of hard to find.
But yeah, yeah, the winner, winner, right?
In that deal, they're both pretty cool cars.
Quick, quick honorable mention for anti halo car.
1965 shows up, 64 and a half, even, and and.
Mention a reasonably good Ford before 1964
That wasn't a Ford Mustang.
The O.G. Ford Mustang, we talk about, like you mentioned, like the O.G.
T. 500 whatever.
Yeah, the ninety percent of Mustang sold, our six cylinder.
Yeah, cheap as hell, basic transportation, but like sexy.
Still looked great.
Yeah, like looks good, reasonably reliable, cheap to buy.
That altered the trajectory of the American car.
Yeah, and not because of, you know, the GT 350 or the, you know,
the two plus two, you know, K code 289 GT, those are great.
You could argue that that was a semi halo car situation for for Ford at the time.
But they sold that was such a smaller draw compared to.
Hey, you know, I'm whatever 22 and I want like good transportation
that doesn't look like, I don't know, a plume of the valiant.
Let me just go, let me go and go get a Mustang for the same money.
Ford, they'll sell 600000 of them in a calendar year.
Ford repeated that magic with the 1987 Ford Escort.
So this is what it would have been known.
This is true.
Yeah, with the yeah, yeah, with the Ford exp.
Oh, that's a good one, though.
Easy. Yeah.
So like, hey, look, I think there are eight.
There's a huge number of manufacturers right now.
That would be incredibly well served.
Not putting any time and effort into it, launching a new halo car
and instead launching a new anti halo car.
Whether that be Nissan launching, you know, a 510
Like I talked about.
Fair. Yeah. Or, you know, well, Cadillac shouldn't launch a Cimarron.
But like there are there are, you know, more of a want a man, you know,
anyone who's remotely interested in new cars
and is kind of hemming and hawing about like, I don't know,
electric cars are doing a lot for me, except for what?
Rivian R three.
Anyone I know that's like, oh, dude, that's the one.
No, like it looks really cool.
It should be affordable.
It's small.
Like that would be a killer halo anti halo car that just is not on the market
today or tomorrow, maybe the year after that, who knows.
Yeah. But like there are so many good.
Brands that like are floundering,
like if if if Volkswagen relaunched the Beetle today and did that.
Yeah. Or Chrysler did anything.
Or not. Maybe they should.
I don't I'm not advocating for a new PT cruiser.
But if they did, did an anti halo car,
like anything that's like eye catching and affordable
and a new car gets people into. Sure.
I agree. Stripper spec, it's missing.
We talked about it ad nauseam, right?
Like, right. But what the world?
Not the fucking slate.
No, no, but I'm talking like something like in period, we joke,
like Cavaliers and other Scourts for pieces of shit, yet they sold
fucking hundreds of thousands of them a year, right?
We need but in today's marketplace, there's so much upselling.
There's technology, you know, you know, just scope creep.
There's technology, you know, technology, safety,
all that obviously adds to price creep, right?
So we're dealing with that today.
So it's really hard for a car company to say, you know what?
We need to because the lines what?
Fifty K right now.
Average, new use or a new car.
56 or something.
It's ridiculous.
So there's no like and you have to go back for beaters.
Make modern beaters like prepare for 20 years for now.
Please print some beater cars for us to enjoy later in life, right?
Like some strip and like affordable cars.
There are like.
If the Scion XB came back, but not a scion, right?
Or like that was a pretty basic transportation product.
But they found a way to make it desirable.
Yeah, that's the styling.
Six cylinder Mustang.
That's marketing.
That's the there's a lot of that to a certain extent.
The the BRZ FT 86, whatever we're calling it nowadays.
FRS twins originally.
Yeah, the GR 86 now and 86.
It changes like once an hour.
Yeah, 1984.
You know, that's sort of an anti halo car.
I mean, certainly in the sports car world.
Like and there's failures.
There's been carting the Honda CRZ was a failed attempt at an anti halo car.
Sure.
You know, I would say ultimately it was on the market for a little bit,
but I would say that the Veloster.
Ultimately, I love a Veloster N.
But like that are spec.
I think that'd be a fun scoop for low cash.
500 a scoop that would you can not find one of those.
Good luck. Yeah.
Yeah. And the answer is yes, please.
But sure, but like there are.
It's there are failures out there.
I would argue it's almost more difficult
to build an anti halo car than build a halo car.
I mean, look at all the 700000 dollar cars
are floating around out there right now between the Konex eggs
and the Nicole Scherzinger's and the and on on.
Um, so it's not an easy thing to do.
But like somebody's got to figure out a way to do it.
Let's get the when the Ford Maverick first launched
and it was like 22000 dollars.
Yeah. You know, you could make an argument
that that was a quality anti halo car.
Now it's like 30. Yeah.
But creeped up. It's just cheap now, apparently.
I don't know.
I don't know. I think I think the anti halo car
is a more effective way to bring people into a showroom
and not have it be a complete money suck.
Yeah, because most of these halo cars, they don't make money.
They just don't.
It's true.
So I think I think there's different gradients of success
like based on what we talked about, like some were successful.
I think and then what a halo car is,
like some periods, it was easy to define the halo car.
Sometimes they just have their nicest, coolest,
tech heaviest thing be the representation of the brand.
But I hear what you're saying.
I think the world doesn't need like a display of force,
if you will, to show what a brand can do.
I think the brand needs to come out and say,
hey, this is for the fucking people.
This is what we have.
And this is what's going to pull attention to our brand.
And it's I think that's it.
It's a yeah.
Well, yeah, it can't be just like the Homer or it can be the home.
I don't know. Well, I.
Just got racking peanuts during. Come on.
Yes, peanuts.
Yeah, dude. No, it's that was a good topic, man.
I agree. I think I think there were definitely gives and takes
and like halo execution.
But yeah, dude, the truth is out there.
You got you got a favorite halo car.
Dude, LFA hands that but I want to own fuck.
Yeah, bro. Oh, boy, dude.
Easy, easy.
Unless you're going to say both
so I can fate on W 12.
No, no, no.
I am the problem.
To be clear, I've never driven an LFA.
So I can't I actually I actually largely like the way it looks.
I know some people don't like it.
I think it looks pretty good.
It's unique. The problem with an LFA is that an LC 500 is like.
Didn't exist at the time, Frank.
No, but I don't know.
But like now for one tenth the cost.
Or like, I don't know.
I think 4G, like the OG, like 2005 ish 4GT.
Um, pretty brah.
Isn't that a Triton engine? Get out of here.
Yeah, yeah, exactly.
It's it's been the spark plugs.
The fuck yeah, it's I don't know.
Let's be real, neither of us are halo car guys.
No, but any any going to happen, although you've owned one.
Oh, NSX. Yeah, that was yeah.
Different 32 DX.
Yeah, when you trade Pokemon cars or something for it, then you're cool.
Magic, the gathering.
Thank you very much.
Yeah, clear.
Clearly, you're not a planeswalker.
No, no, definitely.
I think I just got sued by Wizards of the Coast just mentioning you.
Absolutely. Yeah.
They counterspelled you for saying that.
They did expel Aramis.
I don't know. All right.
Stick a fork in it.
It's time. It's time to get quizzical.
And I think I'm quizzing you if I'm not.
You are. And I'm ill prepared.
I am fucking I'm going to unload on you.
You should. Oh, spicy index before you explain the game.
I'm going to say this one's probably a four out of 10.
Oh, which means I'm going to fail.
You're fucking when you say it's like eight, then I like get it quickly.
When it's four, I'm going to like forget.
I'm going to forget Volkswagen exists.
I can hear you when I say it's easy deactivating portions of your brain
to sustain like energy.
Yeah, shut down sector cerebellum.
Go up. I'll find it.
Go ahead and explain the game, my friend. Oh, boy.
OK, so in today's humiliating for me episode,
what's going to happen is my friend, your friend,
Chadwick here has found himself all by himself
a print ad for some sort of publication
for a car.
He's going to read this print ad.
He's going to read the type copy from it,
and it's going to be somewhere from the 1980s, 90s to the mid 2000s.
Once he's done reading it,
it will he's going to redact out anything super overly identifying.
And then it will be incumbent upon me and you playing along at home
to guess within 10 minutes and three guesses
with some hints interspersed in there, should I need them?
Make model and approximate model year of the vehicle discussed in the ad.
Speaking of disgust, I'm ready.
Chadwick, you ready to throw some some shit at me?
Let's go for it, man.
So I'm I'm giving you this week a one pager
vehicle photo represents the upper 6570 percent of the page.
Side profile passenger side vehicle is white cloudy sky above head.
Very nice.
The tagline is the sun you've always wanted.
S U N for clarification.
All right. The rising sun.
He's reading into it already, folks.
Some people, the saying goes, want everything.
The sun, the moon.
I'll give you the moon at the end of this episode and the stars,
which is to say they want a blank.
The car that gives you a perfectly logical excuse to own something
that's an absolute kick to drive.
Oh, boy. So we have some potentially time.
Need some kicks.
Sensitive.
It's obviously a kick.
Take our blank built by blank.
I can't give that away yet.
Sure. It was designed from the outset
to be a convertible.
It has a structurally reinforced chassis
and sports suspension that loves bumpy roads and patchy pavements.
Well, on top of that, there's our top triple layered
hand fitted with a real glass window.
And with a five speed, close ratio,
gearpox and a one point eight liter fuel injected engine.
It's not just the lack of a roof that'll make your hair stand on end.
So if, like many people, you visit your blank dealer and decide
you've got to have a son like this, not to worry.
Chances are you won't have to wait nine months for delivery.
Oh, boy.
It was a little play on a pregnancy.
The sun digs about differently.
Frank, it's on them.
It's really closer to 10 months.
They will knock you up at this dealer.
Ten minutes on the clock.
What do you got for them?
They will seed your box.
I think you got this one.
OK, one point eight, absolutely reeks of a captive import.
Five speed manual, close ratio.
What's interesting is it doesn't.
It almost isn't.
It's a kick to drive, but it doesn't reek of sports car, necessarily.
I don't know.
Bumpy roads and patchy pavement, right?
Exactly.
Golly, which makes.
It would make me think it's like a tracker.
But those were all one sixes.
Vitara later was a 16 or two.
Oh, I don't think it got the 18
This is this is not a Bertone freestyle.
Are you sure?
Yeah, I finally answer, Bob.
Boy, OK, 18
Convertible.
Bumpy roads and Schmidt.
I'm thinking.
Because blank by blank reads like a Chrysler ad.
T.C. by Maserati, right?
But it's not no T.C.
That'd be a 22 or, you know, twin cam or and, you know,
even though it has a glass window.
See, here I am being treated by the four and ten.
Um.
18 blank by blank.
We don't have a door count.
I'm assuming it's a two door.
We don't have drive.
I'm assuming it's rear, although it's a bad assumption to make.
Captive imports.
Oof, OK, just so I'm not sure.
Venture, yes. Yeah, exactly.
Just so I'm not sitting here thumbing myself audibly.
OK, let's say this is.
A.
The Fonz, finally.
It's a in my brain is jumping the shark as we speak.
So, um, OK, let's say.
This is.
A.
Daw.
With a fucking 18
See, that's what's tripping me up.
Hmm. A lot of one eights out there.
I know, but anything that's coming in my mind.
Right now, aren't one eights that like one sixes or two os or two twos.
Bump, boop, boop.
OK, this is a captain stabbing out it.
This is a.
Jesus Christ.
It's not Jesus Christ.
It's not our Lord and Savior door.
The star allegedly.
I didn't watch him die for my sins.
Okay, um, let's get rid of many colors. I I ain't see I ain't seen it
Goddamn, okay
Let's just get the ball rolling and say this is a
Dodge
It's not it's not though
Um
Okay, let's just say this is a 1980 you know what okay, let's say this is a
an
1987
Eagle premiere can know
AMC Alliance convertible final answer
No
No, no is the answer my friend. How can I see you're in the right direction? No goddamn idea
You just heard what came out of me like I don't know what to say
Was that your best guess? No, absolutely not you would country of origin help and it's been a long day
Or cotton it of origin what what can I do to help you?
Would country be too strong and yeah, yeah a continent of origin
You're up, okay
So that that probably eliminates most of the shit that's been bouncing around your head. Yeah
I mean except for the except for what I guessed
Because that that would have been a Renault product
Still a Renault product
We've already done the flay go my friend I know the
AMC Alliance
Okay, so some AMC Alliance, I believe you have five minutes left four and a half great
I can't think of any
Five-speed close ratio gear packs 1.8 liter fuel injected engine it's so fuel injected
Blank by blank unless it's not a fucking captive import which would be weird
And then just like meeting into some bullshit. You're probably ready into some bullshit. Okay. Bye is a specific
Other automotive adjacent company to help them develop this car
Interesting so not necessarily a captive import. Okay
Develop designed for the outset to be a convertible so it's not a cavalier Z24 convertible
Right, which I'm just because I'm gonna run out of time here. Okay
I'm gonna say this is a
I
Just just to get us moving and this is gonna be incorrect
but there are people
Hurdling there. Yeah, there are I'm just gonna say this is a
1985
BMW 318 cab
Financer oh, that's you were much warmer. Okay, but I wouldn't say the
318 cab was designed as a convertible right first, right?
Right country of origin sure
You're a few years early. So this would be late 80s
Like the latest of the 80s if you will right 89 German
18 five-speed close ratio
Convertible milk my goddamn prostate
First off it's been a long fucking day
I think I think that I think the audience is with you. I think yeah
But also they are
It's a morning. It's a morning through. Okay. I don't know how else
Okay, how it's gonna help you I
Don't know. Um, we got Germany. I told you it's 80 89 is on moon stars. Oh, we got a year now
Okay, 89 German
89
Germanium 1.8 fuel injected 1.8
Fuel injected which means lots of things CIS could be
It's not a cabrio
It's not anything from from
Mercedes-Benz
It's not a Porsche product
Probably not what fucking second product could this be
It's it's not a Z3 Z1
Constantly forgetting the existence of hopefully
Cabrio doesn't count because it's not I mean it's very much. It's an a1 chassis car even an 89
It's not it's not built from the ground up to be a convertible
Fucking opal no
But I got like 40 seconds left you have 50 seconds. Oh boy, I'm good. I'm good at nailing that close to that
That's good
I'm going to be just down trodden here in a moment German 1.8 liter convertible
Round up close. There's not a lot of these. There's not a lot of cars that are hitting that. Yeah
No fucking Germany this the name of this vehicle is only on a convertible
Man, I'm already just like I
See the steam
It's because you called it it's because you said it was four out of ten
Sorry, bro
Okay, let's let's let's find some five seconds take a hail marriage to me anything
This is a 19
What fucking manufacturer I'm missing
This is so on this is so this time. I'm gonna let you toss one out man
um
This is a
1989
Volkswagen Cabrio final answer wrong. It'd be a two-liter anyways it wouldn't
This and I'm gonna give it to you. It's a 1989 Volkswagen Cabrio lay
That's some horseshit that was not ground up to designed to you sir
No, for better. We do not take print ads. I understand
Right, I understand. It's
There it is Sun, you's always wanted it
Why don't white is dope got the Wolfberg edition wheels you you sir
I think the curse is self-imposed that you go. I always forget about the folks who I can product is
But no, I just I don't um it is a 1989 Volkswagen Cabrio lay
Well, first off, I spent like seven minutes thinking it was a captive import based on the language
15 seconds late on the secondly that is maybe one of the poster children of not
Designed from the ground up to be a convertible take our cabriolet built by Germany's Carmen coach works
I could not say Germany's no like it Carmen would have a game over
I like to say I'd good job
No, no
But I said to sheet your effort. I read too deeply
You did you can't you cannot take that verbatim. I took the bait. goddamn bait. I
Got masterfully baited
It's usually a good situation. All right, so we move on it congrats ish
And do a little PCP to take that edge off to soften the blow. Yeah, PCC is that fair?
What if you've over have you done any project car progress Frank man just to keep the me being unhappy thing going?
A little bit okay, I'm so
unhappy
With with the this isn't that kind of podcast bro. No, it yeah, it's about to be the sorrow cast
Um
I'm so unhappy with the Ford Focus man. It bro. What is going on in the process of just getting my goat by the screw
so what
Simplest fucking thing in the world. He's still talking about valve cover comes off because the valve cover
Gasket is leaking. Yeah. Hey whilst I'm here
I
Spark plugs easy. I have new ones motorcraft OEMs. Oh put those in there. Perfect. We love it
Put it together started it up. Hey, it's running like dog shit
Let me look check everything out all the connections including the connection to the
Vct the variable check the gaps bro getting there
To the the Vct solenoid which you don't have to remove to get the valve cover off
But you have to unplug and this is going back several weeks way
I talked about this a long time ago, but I did all that I broke a fucking stud
I fish it out of the head. I do all the thing. I put it together running like dog shit
I go to check and I go to check the I unplug. Well, let me make sure the connection to the Vct is
Correct because rough running terrible throttle response
All signs of a bad Vct solenoid when I unplug it. Whoa, there's engine oil in the pigtail
Okay, okay, that means so I now that's a specific part. It's no longer
It's an LA you can't get it anymore
Somebody makes a kid with a Volkswagen part that's retrofitted and modified and that you got a splice in the wiring and picked up great
Whatever I put that in do all the things
still runs like trash mm-hmm
Okay, no like no change runs identically with the new part. Oh shit. Well
Maybe I got the wiring mixed. That's where I left it. So yesterday I
Spent some time with it. Okay. Let me deal with this my younger brothers in town. I'm lending him the Lexus
He's hitting time for a month. Okay, so I'm like, I'll lend you my Lexus so you don't have to rent a car for a month
I've got plenty of beaters. I'll figure it out. Mm-hmm
Okay cars got let me go work on the Ford now see have I driven a Ford lately? No, I haven't I need a bit of very long time
In a minute. This is your your cheap budget rally car from October several channels when it was supposed to rally. Yeah
So, okay fine. Um, so I go. So, okay. Well, maybe I've reversed the polarity on the wires
Okay, because one is even though it's just a magnetic fucking solenoid
Sure on off on off it shouldn't matter, but who knows, right? So if I flip them
No change
Okay
It was a valve cover and
Spark plugs there's only so much that can go wrong here. So if I pull the spark plugs out I checked them
They they smell a little
Fuel-y they're not wet
But like they don't look quite right, but I looked at their gapped right they match the old ones
I compare them with the old ones
There's actually a little bit more thread on the old ones than on the new ones
Okay, and I look and there's a different part number the part number of the ones I have say
They work for you know
2001 to 2010 Ford Focus including SVT
The old ones say they're SVT specific
Okay, let me put this has to be the difference the old ones have a deeper thread so they go into the head more
Yep problem solved great put the old plugs back in right no change runs like shit runs
Identically absolutely no change so you go. Okay. Maybe it's still this is VCT. I unplug the VCT
So I'm not running with no connected like just completely unconnected I
Get a check engine light for camshaft position
implausible
Okay, well, that's a change it ran exactly the same
Huh, but now I have a check engine so I clear the check engine like I plug it back in
Still runs the same
All right fine. What if I got a bad part?
Okay, I
Run caught I've run a continuity test on the old VCT
Supposed to be a resistance test. I should say it's got continuity resistance was at like 23 ohms
It's supposed to be between 5 and 15. Hmm. How to spec but as I'm holding it there. It's slowly coming down
and
Settles it on like 13 and a half which is okay weird
But whatever I try the new part
It's a three and a half ohms
Better, I guess in spec great. I
Jump both the old solenoid and the new solenoid the old solenoid has oil coming out of the pig
The out of out of the part like where the pig the harness plugs in that's interesting
So like it had a bad seal needed to be replaced great. Hmm old one. I hit it with 12 volts
I hear it clicking it seems to be working same with the new part
Fucking working
Put it all back together. Okay. What if there's like a weird relearn thing? I don't know disconnect the battery
Leave it disconnected for 20 minutes put it back
No change
I'm going to I ordered plug wires
Just because maybe one of them is not now because I looked at it
Now there's not happy and I but that's the thing. I'm not getting
Check engine light for you know cylinder one misfire so miss far. Yeah, no random misfire. I'm getting none of that. Huh I
Changed the valve cover gasket. I pulled the valve cover off to make sure like what if I left something dumb in here, right?
Yeah, what if I left like a nope it all looks perfect. It looks great
There wasn't like a clean definitely not like a brand or hose or vacuum hose that might say single breather hose
Okay, that all all it it goes from it's like a PCB to the
Unmetered side of the air box. Okay, so even if it had was like broken in half
It's still it's on the unmetered side. It's on it's on the unmetered side of the math
So it shouldn't matter it could be pulling just straight atmosphere wouldn't matter, right?
And I checked the hose I didn't pull I didn't check it at the good plugs in the back of the box
I didn't like unplug it from there. I didn't touch over there, but like hmm shouldn't matter
So I've ordered plug wires just to see but I I'm at a
Damn dude and I test I and I tested
voltage
With key on power at the solenoid to make sure it's getting proper voltage to actually fire
And with key on power, it's getting eight point or eleven point eight volts
Hmm, so it's getting the power to to function the solenoid. I
Don't know I checked
Checked at the am fuses like I don't I'm gonna throw spark plug wires at it. I don't think that's what it is
Probably can't hurt. I don't yeah, it's not gonna hurt
Yes, one of them had the cylinder number we had a part where it was a little there was like a little pinch in the wire from the
It's got like the wire cover in the valley of the the valve cord. I
Don't know. I'm really unhappy about it because it's like the simplest shit
Possible armor, but it's just nothing. It just won't work and it's really it's really frustrating
I don't want to just keep blowing fuel into the cat and now I need a cat and it's SVT specific and oh Jesus
Yeah
Yeah, cursed cursed oof cheaper alley car drama continues
Two rumors later. Yeah, right? So
My PCP was the XTERRA. So like now that we don't have a budget
I can do maintenance that I should have done before we went on an adventure
I talked about brakes last time time for those fluids. Remember how I told you I had no history of fluids being done
Mm-hmm, bro
I think the diff was the only one that's ever been touched because they had to reseal the diff at one point because there was like
You can tell there's extra sealant. So that had pretty fresh looking
Fluid in it. So I read it as a rear diff. Yeah, rear diff
Which is the most common one that gets touched right because it's easy to access. It's like when it leaks
It's obvious actually. Yeah service, right?
So on on this vehicle you do have, you know, your front diff you have a transfer case
You have a transmission and you have a rear diff
Two there's three different fluids to do those four parts two of them share
Which is really annoying
You have to buy big bottles that only some of them need like a fraction of a quart
You know how it goes and you need to have a different pump for each one all that fun stuff
So it's a it's a lot of work to do this but I was able to do all the fluids none of them
I the transmission fluid was especially disgusting. Have it ever been touched a 180000 miles
There were no leaks all the fluid came out was a good amount. So that was I hadn't I didn't have shifting issues
I didn't have anything like that. So I used a really good quality fluids. I think I used a lot of valvoline products
Which are highly recommended for the exterior community
But yeah, that was a full day of just pulling old fluid in
Putting new fluid in and just the amount of waste you create now
You have to dispose of your your diff fluid your trans fluid all that kind of it's kind of crazy
But these are things you don't have to do that often they never dude. What is up with drivetrain fluids never getting touched?
I feel like that in power steering fluid people don't fucking touch it, right?
Will you take my will side on one?
Fluid controversy. Are you gonna talk about some well the wives tales lifetime automatic fluid?
Is that where you're coming at me with yes and no not the lifetime?
But the ones where when people go, oh, it's a 180000 miles and don't touch it now
No, you can't touch it now now if you change the fluid the fluid is the only thing keeping that transmission alive
And it will instantly shit the bed and yeah, oh you you can't do it
You can top it off, but that's it don't you dare change that fluid now
Oh, because all those metal how the friction
Material that like should be like in all the clutch packs and suffer floating around in the fluid being mad
Yeah, the metal shavings are getting recycled back into the gearings. No, dude. That is the securing cancer with like
Ignorance heroin
And and vodka and hydroxychloroquine
But what I said was lifetime fluid like the whole like if it's been in there so long
Just let it run the life of the vehicle. You have to get a you get a you've ruined it
I can't believe you did that. You just you just wasted your transmission, bro. No, it's so stupid
I hate the fluid was the only thing keeping alive. You needed a transmission yesterday. Yeah, I did and it would not
I've heard that from like
Died in the wall. Oh like very mechanically
Savvy car people and I just yeah, I
Refused to believe like there's so many reasons. That's a stupid stupid stupid. So so good thing right old fluid
Absolutely old fluid couldn't couldn't mistake it for clean fluid if you had to none of the magnetic drain caps had any metals stuck to them
So which is awesome killer like that fluid was good quality, right?
Whatever Nissan put in that thing in 2008 killer and that truck definitely has some mileage. That's confused
Yeah, I do fucking good for them. It there were no metal shavings. So that was that was great to report
What else they do? Oh, I bought a car. I bought another car last
Last week I bought a motorcycle this week. I bought a car. I'm on a fucking kick brother
Get can I just tell you like?
so
And and Chadwick here will tell us all about it. I sent him a link to this car
What three nights ago two days ago something like that and you're like, dude, it's already on my radar
But like it's about nininininin. I'm like, dude, they're asking under two grand
It seems like a pretty rad buy even if it doesn't check all your boxes and then low and behold like whatever
36 hours later just takes me a picture of the thing like yeah, that's how we operate
So you sent me a link it was the the newer link
He had an older link that I've been on there for actually three weeks
That I had saved and that's when he didn't change the price on that one. So he took half the price away
So he had it listed for 17 and change. Yes mark down from like 25 or 26, which is a good deal
This is a 1997
Saturn SW one in the ad to in real life and for Saturn folks out there or non Saturn folks
Let me tell you something that's a that's a camshaft count in that number
So you get the 1.9 single overhead cam or you get the 1.9 do overhead cam with the two
This was a two hiding as a one and I think that's what kept some people what else did it have a
Manuel which is hell. Yeah, brother a fucking amazing by the way feeling manual manual
I drove it back from Berlin game tonight
Dude, so he had it for 17 and change
It was rougher than the photos would let you know how the paint. Yeah, you're like who like at first glance like dude
This thing looks really good. It's gold. They got out of the paints pretty hammered and you squint like oh, I guess it is
It is hammered clear coats gone like every Saturn from that period
No, dense because it's plastic are interior frame here. You're really good
No headliner didn't know that mystery until I got in there. I had liners been removed
What else is interesting? It's it's not perfect brakes are fucking hammer gone like
When you hit the brakes, so those are all
I got it clean title 140,000 miles smog registered
1500 bucks take it running driving five-speed manual SW to
140 killer perfect dude. Yeah, right my sweet zone. Um, those are timing chain cars
I looked easy the ancient bay pretty clean dude
So I was like and then I looked at your ad that you sent me and one of the photos you could zoom in
In the original ad you couldn't and see that it said twin cam which is Saturn's like yes lingo for dual head cam
And now once I saw that I'm like holy fuck. I'm getting this
I think the production numbers are pretty low on the sw2s with a manual sure
I think because they're out with the manual the sw they only did for a few years before it became the
The l you know the l series of cars, which was not as good
Yeah, yeah the l series because they had the s series and that's the second gen of the s series
Yeah, well remember the sw's didn't come out with the s cells and sc's they came out before sws were a few years later
Right, you could still get it in the first gen. Yeah, right at the I think it was the very last year in the first
But yeah year two so like 94
This being a 97 seven means it's obd2. It's a whole bunch of good shit, dude
And it's like he has new tires on there. No name tires
I'm kind of probably going to do a project beater series to see like for $2,500
Can I make a good looking reliable daily?
Because that's really hard to do in 2026
It's really hard to do that. I would be really I mean first off you could
Yeah, I also get a lot a bunch of various like rock auto clearance parts will get a lot of that car sorted
The headliner is going to be a challenge. That'll suck. Um
but
It would be really really tempting
to like
Tastefully mod
That thing like if you lowered it a little bit put it on like tees or something. Oh, it could be nasty. Yeah, um
For not a lot of money open the intake a little bit of exhaust ronal bear wheels like you can do
I would say fun stuff. I wouldn't mess with like that stuff so much. Oh, I would but like to make it like that's the experience momentum wagon
Like no, I need the noise the JDM doilies on the seats like even though it's certainly not JDM
It needs such a deep clean
I kind of just wanted to be an example that this is what you can do with a beater for sub
2,500 bucks because I'm at like 15
So I figured a thousand for like brakes headliner and you said smogged and tagged
Smogged and tagged dude. That's unreal like it's unreal to watch and it's kind of enthusiast spec
It's a wagon manual which is kind of weird in itself right like so gold on tan
Yeah, fucking grandma spec. Um
It's so cool though, dude. It like I'll be honest. It's a little rougher than I thought but you know, it drove
Dude, the steering is like heavy like on like usually that period of car like a
Single weight and the uh the power steering fluid
There's no power steering fluid. Um the pump died like five years ago
But no, it's like got a good weight to it. It's just it's very composed little vibration at high speeds probably a tire balance
I'm excited. I'm gonna really just I'm not gonna blow the budget on this one, bro
I'm gonna just do like $2,500 tops and make myself a competent leader daily. I'm deeply jealous
Does it AC blow cold? AC ice cold
Uh
Dude, bro
The windows are fucking wonky, but whatever they still roll down eventually and they go back up so that counts now
Now I what I haven't thought about like Saturn searching in a while
Man, it's a dangerous. I gotta get some rings dog. I gotta do the Saturn thing
Yeah, it's my first Saturn broke my Saturn cherry tonight. Um, I'm super pumped. I'm gonna drive this fucker to work tomorrow
I'm not joking. Oh, yeah, this is gonna be my beater because I gotta do the chains the timing chains on the x-tera. So
Yeah, it's it's fucking Saturn time, baby. So, uh, just I love it. I'm like, I'm gonna stop buying vehicles
We bought the x-tera. motorcycle the vtr 250 and now we got a Saturn
What what an interesting garage I've got right now. Let me tell you I I
I'm jealous. I need to I'm sitting here just like beating my head against the the svt wall
You're out here just like wagon mogging me
Anyway, should we should we um, we definitely should shut this down out of here. It's late. It's been a long day. You're out buying Saturn's I'm
Floundering, um, I'll carry the shield. Let's just pull the let's ripcord here. Um
Thanks for making it this far and yeah, and and and all of the things dear listener or watcher
We are on the youtube's if you're not paying attention there if you are I'm waving at you right now. Hi
We also we're also doing the uh, the patreon thing
So if you like what we do and you want to support us
Not just uh financially but also emotionally
You can do that go to patreon.com slash ap a pod
Link is in the description if you're doing the listening thing
And check us out there for as little as five dollars a month. You can buy us terrible
terrible liquors
in beers and and and like just random like
Hard soup. I don't even know what if it's out there and it's terrible
We drink it on our additional patreon members only episodes, which we're behind. We actually got to record a couple of those here
We um, uh our late night confidential episodes. So check that out
Otherwise keep coming back for more on the freebie world. We love you too and um, if you want to stalk me you can do that
It's at the photographers garage, but mostly just keep coming back here. That's what I care about. How about you Chadwick?
Oh, yeah, auto obscure garage. You can watch my personal endeavors for rescues restorations and reviews
Uh, just it's yes. Yeah, Saturn content coming up for sure. Yes. I'm gonna drive it like a beater for a while though, bro
I'm gonna live that life. Uh, es 300. I did some work on that. That's how uh,
Xterra stuff's coming
I think I got the fluid episode that we just talked about today
Uh, which is kind of fun to see that nasty ass fluid
You can't smell it unfortunately because that's the best part about doing drive through
Oh god, so good scratch and sniff other places. But yeah, thanks. Check me out there. But yeah, again
Yeah, we're glad to have you guys. We we love this and we love having you with us
So I I'm just thinking of you making like a sick momentum rally car out of that
You are mad dude. This thing's gonna be the best daily I've ever owned. Don't worry about it. All right
I'm gonna go dream about Saturn till you guys have a good night. Peace out guys. See you at the launchpad. Bye
Original notes
OEMs LOVE to build themselves a nice and sexy "Halo Car" in order to flex their engineering and styling muscle, under the guise that it will become a shining beacon to draw people into the showroom. Is this bunk? What about the "Anti-Halo Car" which is a cheap and entry level offering that does the same thing without all the cost involved? PT Cruiser vs. LFA!? Let's discuss!
