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F1, Ford’s Future, and the Pope’s Explorer w/ Ford CEO Jim Farley

F1, Ford’s Future, and the Pope’s Explorer w/ Ford CEO Jim Farley

Spike's Car Radio Mar 25, 2026 62 min
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About this episode

The hosts kick off with internet car trivia and Jaguar design-boss Jerry McGovern’s messy departure/PR saga, then pivot to a big personal update: selling their Zagato 356. There’s also a deep pop-culture tech dive on Kramer’s 1973 Chevy Impala—an early experimental airbag setup—and a debate over whether “H-pattern” feel in an automatic is real or just simulation. The show then reviews Toyota’s 2026 4Runner Trail Hunter, covers a viral malfunctioning restaurant robot, and ends with Ford CEO Jim Farley on F1’s 2026 return, his Pope-delivered Explorer story, Mustang racing, and Ford’s EV strategy (hybrids, eREVs, and affordable EVs).

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Technical Too Afraid to Ask
Brand

Jaguar

"...Jerry McGovern from Jaguar has announced he is indeed leaving..."

Jaguar is a car brand known for luxury and performance cars. Here it’s mentioned because the CEO/leadership situation at Jaguar is part of the news.

Term

PR handling

"...this has to be the poster child for some of the worst PR handling I've ever seen in my life. This whole thing..."

PR handling is how a company talks to the public about news. If they communicate poorly, people get confused and trust can drop.

Brand

Ford

"Before we get too deep in the show, Jim Farley, the CEO of Ford is on. Here we are making fun of with Jerry McGovern... Zuckerman and I have decided to fund this car by selling this car."

Ford is a big car company in the US. They bring up Ford’s CEO to talk about where the company is headed.

Brand

Zagato

"It is our Zagato 356... One of nine from Segato."

Zagato is a well-known Italian company that makes special, limited-run car designs. Cars with Zagato bodies are often rare and collectible.

Concept

Pebble Beach

"...we were flying down to Pebble Beach... And I had been offered this car."

Pebble Beach is a big, famous car event where collectors show and sell rare cars. Mentioning it signals this is a high-end collector-car story.

Concept

ballpark price ranges

"And can I ask what the ballpark price ranges? Again, for all of your questions, the Scott Rulo. It's not inexpensive. Oh, I imagine it's not."

They’re talking about rough price estimates. With rare cars, the exact price can vary, so sellers often quote a range instead of one fixed number.

Concept

turn-key ready

"We did this one. This is the best looking one. We picked the right color aspect with it. You need to win the wheels, everything we turn key, turn key ready to go."

“Turn-key ready” means you can buy it and drive it right away. It’s not a project that needs a bunch of work first.

Term

seatbelts

"...like in the late 80s, early 90s of people not wearing their seatbelts that live through horrible accidents."

Seatbelts keep you from flying forward in a crash. If you don’t wear them, the crash forces can be much worse even if the car has airbags.

Term

airbags

"Really? Because these airbags went off and they had no idea... But the thing is like airbags today are smart... This had no sensors. This is a shotgun shell."

Airbags are safety cushions that pop out in a crash to protect your body. Newer cars control when and how they deploy, but older ones could be less precise.

Company

Porsche

"What a show we got for you, ladies and gentlemen. [968.9s] Porsche filed an interesting patent for a shifter this week that I thought was a really [972.7s] cool idea."

Porsche is a car company that makes performance sports cars. Here they’re being talked about because they filed a patent for a new kind of gear shifter.

Term

clutch

"You now have an H pattern with a clutch. This wouldn't be the first time that we've seen this."

A clutch is what you press to change gears in a manual car. It temporarily disconnects the engine from the wheels so you can shift without grinding.

Term

PDK

"But so is the PDK. PDK is the best."

PDK is Porsche’s name for its dual-clutch automatic transmission. It’s designed to shift quickly and smoothly without you operating a clutch pedal.

Term

automatic transmission

"It's still an automatic transmission. Then you're just saying, go into second, go into third, go on the fourth."

An automatic car changes gears by itself. You don’t have to press a clutch pedal to make it shift.

Company

Race deck

"This is from the site, race deck. Race deck installs in just hours. As you can see, he's not dealing with any toxic epoxy coatings or adhesive mess."

Race deck is a type of garage floor made from interlocking tiles. The pitch here is that it’s easy to install and strong enough to handle very heavy vehicles.

Company

Old Man Emu

"It's actually Old Man Emu is from the 70s. ARB is Australian off-road out for the bottom of the 90s."

Old Man Emu makes off-road suspension parts. It’s a well-known brand in Australia that helps vehicles handle rough roads better.

Company

ARB

"ARB is Australian off-road out for the bottom of the 90s. And the roof racks, ARB. So you get some real kit on this."

ARB is a company that makes off-road gear. People use their parts to make SUVs more capable for trails and long trips.

Term

cargo space

"you can see that where Toyota puts the battery, [1652.1s] eats pretty heavily into the cargo space. [1654.9s] So there's like a, there's like a four inch kind of lump."

Cargo space is how much room you have in the back for bags, tools, or gear. If the battery takes up space, you lose some of that room.

Term

air compressor

"Now it does have a built-in air compressor, which is cool. Oh, that's nice. Oh, I like that. Yeah, that's good."

Some cars have a built-in pump that can add air to tires. Off-roaders like it because they can lower tire pressure for grip, then pump it back up later.

Brand

Rivian

"Yeah. Every week. Yeah. And it's, I've, you know, look, Rivian comes standard with one. It's a great feature."

Rivian is a company that makes electric trucks and SUVs. Here they’re mentioned because their vehicle includes a built-in air pump for off-road use.

Term

water bottle storage

"[1772.2s] You can see it has three molded pockets [1774.0s] for water bottles. [1775.4s] So, you know, you can get six water bottles [1777.4s] in the door and then there's like a, [1779.3s] there's like a, you know what I mean?"

Water bottle storage refers to dedicated compartments designed to hold bottles securely, typically in doors or center consoles. Here, the speaker describes molded door pockets that can fit multiple bottles, which improves usability during hot-weather trips.

Term

overlanding

"[1780.6s] It's, no, it's, no, it's like, [1782.0s] if you're overlanding, it's hand, [1783.3s] like literally we were, [1784.6s] it was a hundred degrees or we were filming."

Overlanding means taking a trip where you’re out for a long time and you need to carry supplies with you. Here, they’re saying the door storage is useful for holding water bottles when you’re traveling in hot weather.

Term

USB ports

"So it's just, they have handy USB ports in weird places. [1804.5s] So that's like, if you have a radar detector, you can plug it in there."

USB ports in a car let you plug in devices and power them. Here they’re saying the car has USB spots that are easy to reach for gadgets you might use while driving.

Concept

off-road

"So if off road into your thing, is a trail hunter or a TRD Pro forerunner better than a Land Cruiser? ... He goes out in the off roads."

Off-road capability is about how well a vehicle handles unpaved terrain like trails, rocks, and mud. The conversation frames off-road as a lifestyle choice—comparing trims and discussing taking cars “outside” onto off-road routes.

Term

recovery gear

"Brought the Rivian so that everyone says, you know, what do I need for recovery gear? [1896.0s] The best thing you need is another vehicle."

Recovery gear is stuff you bring so you can help a vehicle get unstuck if it gets in trouble. It can include towing tools, but sometimes the simplest help is having another vehicle nearby.

Concept

roll over

"The best thing you need is another vehicle. So if this thing rolls over, they'll take you to the hospital."

A rollover is when a car flips onto its side or roof. Off-roading can increase the risk, so people plan for what to do if it happens.

Concept

trophy truck

"[1975.8s] and have a nice little lunch and get out and bikes and ride [1978.4s] and try not to get run over by a trophy truck flying over your head."

A trophy truck is a big off-road race truck built to jump and drive fast over rough desert terrain. The speaker is saying you have to be careful because those trucks can come by really fast.

Concept

motorcycle-only trails

"[1981.7s] What's nice about Hungry Valley too, real quick, [1983.2s] is they do have motorcycle only trails. [1985.5s] So if you're learning, you can stay on those."

Some places have trails that are only for motorcycles. That helps beginners because there are fewer surprises and it’s safer than mixing with other vehicles.

Company

ODew

"ODew assists in accounting, marketing, inventory, HR, CRM, manufacturing, and everything in between. All right. So I guess the end is going to be all the robots."

ODew is a business software tool. It’s meant to help companies run things like inventory, customer info, and HR in one place, instead of using lots of separate programs.

Term

CRM

"ODew assists in accounting, marketing, inventory, HR, CRM, manufacturing, and everything in between."

CRM is software for managing customers. It helps a business keep track of who customers are and what’s happening with sales or support.

Term

additive manufacturing

"And we're learning even more, [2526.2s] especially around additive manufacturing. [2528.9s] We've flown a lot of parts"

Additive manufacturing is 3D printing parts. It lets engineers make prototypes faster and sometimes create shapes that are difficult to make the usual way.

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