Fish out of water: V8 gearhead drives Cybertruck and self-driving mode, annoying fellow motorists. Why Charger and Jeep EVs don't connect with buyers, despite 75% energy cost savings.
Cars The Podcast
Cars The PodcastNov 30, 2025
Fish out of water: V8 gearhead drives Cybertruck and self-driving mode, annoying fellow motorists. Why Charger and Jeep EVs don't connect with buyers, despite 75% energy cost savings.
The Tesla Cybertruck is a new electric truck from Tesla that looks very different from regular trucks. It's made to be tough and can carry heavy loads while being environmentally friendly.
The Holden Monaro is a sporty car made by Holden, which was part of General Motors in Australia. It's a two-door coupe that is popular for its performance.
The Pontiac Firebird is a sporty car that was made in the U.S. for many years. It's famous for being fast and having a cool look, making it popular among car enthusiasts.
The Holden Statesman is a large, comfortable car made in Australia. It's often used as a luxury car and can be seen as a fancy version of other sedans.
The Daewoo Statesman is a big, comfortable car that was made in South Korea and sold mainly in Australia. It's designed to be a luxury car, which means it has a lot of space and nice features.
Left hand drive means the steering wheel is on the left side of the car, which is how most cars are set up in countries where people drive on the right side of the road.
Safety standards are rules that cars must follow to make sure they are safe for people to drive and ride in. These rules help prevent injuries in accidents.
A V8 is an engine with eight cylinders that are arranged in a V shape. It's popular in powerful cars because it can produce a lot of speed and strength.
Toyota is a popular car company that makes many types of vehicles, including cars and trucks. They are known for making reliable and long-lasting cars.
Tesla is a company that makes electric cars, which are cars that run on electricity instead of gasoline. They are known for being high-tech and environmentally friendly.
A 48 volt system is a type of electrical setup in cars that helps them run better and use less energy. It supports things like electric steering and other high-tech features.
Rear-wheel steering means that the back wheels of a car can turn, which helps the car turn more easily and stay stable when driving fast. It's like giving the car extra help to steer better.
Muscle cars are fast cars that are usually made in America, known for their powerful engines and sporty looks. They became very popular in the 1960s and 1970s.
The Pontiac GTO is an old car that many people think of as one of the first muscle cars. It was built to be very fast and is now a classic that collectors love.
The Dodge Charger is a big car that can hold a lot of people and has a strong engine, which makes it fast. It started as a two-door sports car but now comes as a four-door, so it's good for families too.
The Dodge Challenger is a powerful car that looks like the old muscle cars from the past. It's known for being fast and fun to drive, making it a favorite among people who love sporty cars.
Hummer is a type of vehicle that is big and strong, often used for off-roading. The new version is electric, meaning it runs on batteries instead of gasoline.
The BMW i3 is a small electric car that uses lightweight materials to help save energy. It's designed for city driving and is known for its quirky look.
Depreciation is how much a car loses value as it gets older. When you buy a used car, it has already lost some value, which can be a good thing for buyers.
A touchscreen is a screen that you can touch to control things, like music or navigation, instead of using buttons. Many modern cars have these instead of traditional controls.
Wiper controls are how you turn on and adjust the speed of your windshield wipers. Some cars have a lever you pull, while others might have buttons on the dashboard or steering wheel.
Mazda is a car company from Japan that makes different types of cars. One of their most famous models is the Miata, which is a small and fun car that many people enjoy driving.
The Pontiac Solstice is a small, two-seat convertible car that looks really nice and is fun to drive. It was made for a few years and is loved by people who enjoy sporty cars.
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First came from the shadows of Matt Rainier. This is cars, the podcast with your host Don
swear. And with me is Mr. Joe Black. How you doing, Joe? I'm doing well. How you doing
really good. That's good. Hey, thanks for tuning in listeners. Good to hear you. We probably
know we're taking a podcast in a little bit different direction. But Joe here is you might
have heard is it is a bit of a retro grout, a bit of a muscle car head, a bit of a gear head.
I'm definitely not a EV guy, if that's what you're asking. Well, do you have to be an EV guy?
No, but I guess that's where the grouch part. I don't know the negativity part.
Yeah, we were going to talk about he's trying something new here.
And you drove a I heard you drove like a stainless dumpster recently. I did.
My buddy, he calls it a ramp truck. That's a good way to put it in Seattle and
basically walking around inside the whole convention. And next thing you know, we're
signed up and I'm driving the Cybertruck Seattle Auto Show. Oh, really? Okay, driving downtown
Seattle. It's like, you know, like a wild man. It's a good thing that it was under control.
How many people flipped you the bird? I didn't see any flip me the bird. I was too busy
concentrating on where I was going and what I was doing because this was all new to me. Okay.
My take on it. They pushed the envelope a little too far as far as styling goes.
And I know there's a reason for the way it looks, why it looks the way it does,
because that that really solid metal, it's really hard to make curves out of it.
That that could be true. You can fold it, but trying to make a curve out of it.
I don't honestly know. If you think about it, if you try to make the car look like that,
I think that'd be pretty difficult. Well, you have a very subtle hot ride. You're
a GTO. Definitely a sleeper. I can tell you this. So when I first was looking at those cars when
they first came out 2004 to 2006, 40 years later from the 74, I myself said, damn, those things
are ugly. Kind of look like a BMW, European car mixed together with whatever. 74 was last year
of the GTO. It had to be pretty pathetic at 74. Yeah, it was like, you could actually get some
horsepower out of some of them. Some of them you could order because if you think 1974,
it wasn't so much in the Trans Am, but you could order pretty much any options you want,
but most didn't. So say if you got like a 1974 Trans Am with a 455 Super Duty,
you could kind of put that a little bit towards the GTO, but not many people did.
So you didn't have that same torque and horsepower. Yeah. So pretty much it was kind of like, that's
when Detroit was going downhill from there. They already knew it ahead of time. Okay.
GTO, you have, it's kind of a clever thing GM did there. They saw these great cars they were
selling in Australia. Yes. Right. The Holden Monero. Yeah. Well, Holden is the division of
General Motors in Australia or it was until they killed it. Yeah. And so basically,
so basically what happened was when they ended the platform for the F body. Yeah.
For the Camaro's and the Firebirds. Yeah. And that would have been 2000 and
hold on in my head. 2002. Yeah. 2002 was the last year of them. You talked about it. Yes. So 2002
was the last year of them. And basically what they did was it's like, Hey, we have all these
motors still. What are we going to do with these motors? Because they were already looking at
different things. Oh, you're right. I forgot about that part. Yeah. So they had all these LS
motors, LS threes, you know, which are the same motors that were actually in the Cadillac,
CTV, or CTSV. Yeah. They had it in that and the Corvette. So actually in that year,
when they brought back the GTO, those are the only two cars that had the same engine.
So they say, Hey, let's bring this and we got to put this to more use. And so they said, Hey,
how about this idea? And debat it's the Monero and just let's make it a GTO.
My brother saw a car called a statesman the other day. Have you heard of a Holden statesman?
I had to look it up myself. I thought I knew everything and obviously not. Is that a wagon?
It was a sedan, a really cool looking sedan. And when I first saw pictures of it, my brother
had sent it. What is this thing? I realized it was that cop car that was sent here. Oh,
it's something like the Impala. Yeah. Okay, yes, the Impala. But somebody had put statesman
badges on it. Yeah, people. So if you're looking at the GTO as in the same one as the Monero,
they the difference is is like on the side marker for the on the fenders. Yeah, that would be a
reflector or actual a safety light. See if you can see it from there. It's a yellow amber safety
light. Yeah, I'm looking at your fender out here. Yep. And of course being left hand drive compared
to right hand drive and everything else you have to change over with that stuff. So safety wise,
and the only reason why in 2006 they did not continue the car is because the safety standards
once again changed the United States with airbags. So the way the dash was made,
this is a deep cut, they could not do that whole change over, they would have to redo that make
a whole new dash for the car in the United States. So we had to reconstruct everything on the inside,
which now you're now you're losing money. Yeah. So say first, forget it, we're not doing anymore.
Low volume car. Correct. So now that we've come this far, and you obviously know a lot about
internal combustion cars, your V8s, especially if it's if it doesn't have V8 doesn't count, right?
If it doesn't have a V8, you lose me after you lose me after V6. I mean, there are some beautiful
V6s, I'm not I'm just saying, but I mean, think of the twin turbos and the Fords, you know, like
they're using the police vehicles and everything else. I mean, they are monstrous and the horsepower
wise they pump them out, but it's like, you got that V8. Yeah, it's like, no replacement for
displacement. Yeah. Okay, so let's go from this. So Joe, this guy who's all about
all about V8, you happen to wind her up to an auto show recently. And you've never been to an
auto show. Is that right? I've been to auto shows, but I have not been to a Seattle one.
Oh, when I was young. So when I lived back East Asia, you know, called like the world of wheels.
And those are a lot of places like Detroit in the wintertime, all these places in New York City,
places that guess what, people want their hot rods at a show. So they put them in these big,
huge auditoriums. Right. So I mean, those types. But when they've had like the new car ones, I'm
like, Yeah, I have no interest in those. But you had a wild hair about driving a how did you end
up in a Cybertruck, the stainless dumpster. So basically, we were going to be doing a podcast
that day. And my co partner here, he was sick. Yeah. And so I called up my buddy, I was like,
Hey, man, I was like, you want to go check out this auto show up in Seattle? Yeah, you and Lance
went up there. Yeah, I glanced at it, what I could find. But they did have like 20 muscle cars.
I'm like, you know what, I have no content this time of year. Yeah, I said, let's go. Yeah,
I said it's worth it myself. And so we got up there and I knew about seeing the 20 cars. But
I'll tell you what, I did walk through all the areas and looked at the new cars. And I was impressed
with a lot of the things Toyota seemed to be doing the biggest man, I'll tell you, they had some
vehicles up there and you wouldn't believe the prices of them, but they had some remarkable vehicles.
Especially you know, what was kind of cool was the colors. Oh, some of the colors vehicles, but
then everything's like white and gray and black. No, they got some colors that I'm like, Hey, you
know what, I'm thinking for the GTO because the paint is not that great a condition that I'm
thinking of doing a wrap. So it has red interior. So I'm kind of like, kind of like a battleship gray.
Oh, oh, that would look sharp. But they also had some colors up there were like sandstone
on the Toyota's. So it's kind of like a light tan beige color. And I'm sitting there saying,
Hey, that color might look good. You know, all these different colors, I'm saying that might
look good on a wrap. So just crossing my head. But yeah, pretty much EV cars popped up in somehow
we ended up Lance wants to he's thinking about buying a Tesla. And so we end up talking to,
I don't know, maybe it was the female came up and asked us. He was intrigued. I don't know.
That's how they try to do it. They try to, you know, hey, I'm not trying to say anything about
people, but I'm like, you know, you get a good looking lady out there and guess what, they're
trying to push these cars. And they're like, Hey, how you doing? You know, well, she has a nice
smile and it's like, you start talking and you're like, Oh, okay, you want to try this out for a
drive? So Lance is like, Oh, he signs up for the to get the information on it. Well, I signed up
for it too. You know, so they take her, yeah, they take our little, you know, mine was your age
hotmail, whatever it is. So I give them the information. So I'm like, Okay, I'm just giving
that they're gonna send me some stuff in the mail rank and serial number. Yeah, they go,
I'll get some junk mail. Okay. So I'll read it. And so next thing you know, Lance, the gentleman
says, he goes, Oh, yeah, you want to go for a drive? Oh, we're gonna go for a drive? He goes,
No, you want to drive? I'm like, hell, yeah, I want to drive. So what happened was is Lance
didn't have an interest in driving. He was interested in the car, but it's like, he goes,
Which one do you want to drive? I go, hell, I want to drive the Cybertruck, man. Yeah. You know,
I didn't say what my thoughts about it were, but I'm like, I just know when I see him going down
the road, most people's thoughts. Yeah, you see it going down the road. And you're like,
Well, look at that beast. And isn't that kind of funky looking, you know? Yeah. And so I'm like,
Yeah, I'm like, so we went and I was all signed up. And next thing you know, I'm sitting in the
driver's seat and driving through Seattle about five miles. We have a mascot. Yeah,
our mascot's here. Cowboy. How are you doing cowboy? And it was, it was a good time. I mean,
I'm not going to lie, but it's like, I was really concentrating on it. He goes,
You want to put it in self drive mode? I go, Oh, no, I'm driving this thing.
Just like an oversized golf cart. Yeah. You know, and people see it and they kind of get
intimidated. They're like, get out of the way. They're like, like, this is like something out of
like Terminator. Nobody tried to throw a steel ball through your side glass. No, I did some people
probably giving funky looks or, you know what I mean? But I can't lie. I've done the same thing
myself. Yeah. Well, that thing is, you know, the engineering on it is impressive that this,
it's got a 12 volt system. It's got a 48 volt. Right. It's the first car to have
virtually the entire car is 48 volt. And that's how they are able to do the steering
like that. There's yeah, there's no connection from the steering wheel to the wheels, which is
yeah, because he told me when we're going back into the, they had it in the second floor of
the parking garage. Yeah. And so when we're going up through this way and he says to me,
Oh, take this right. I'm like, I'm going to make that turn. I'm like, Oh my God. And it's like,
Don't worry. He goes, this thing turns like a little Cooper because they're the rear end
steers. Yeah. I like, all right, let's just do it. So just turn the wheel a little bit and there
it goes. Hope to have turned like you wouldn't believe. Well, I'm proud of you for, you know,
trying something different. That's a big man. I'm not going to lie. It was fun. I had a good
time with it. If they asked me, Hey, you want to come up and drive? Hell yeah, I'm going again. Do
it. You know, I mean, I have friends who won't, who refuse to drive an electric car. If it's
mine because they, Oh, I don't want it. Yeah. I've even had people say, Well, I'm, I'm worried.
I'm going to like it. Oh, weird thing to say. Yes. I could, I mean, I kind of looks to see that.
I mean, it is the future. I mean, I just look at it. It's not the future right now. Right now.
But you've seen those chargers, haven't you? The electric ones? Yeah. It's kind of, yeah,
with the exhaust system. It's kind of funny. I haven't heard. I haven't heard one, but
you know what that reminds me of? That reminds me of back in the day,
you get a guy that goes and gets, they still do it. They go get a Mustang. It's got a V6 in it.
And they put everything on it. And then, you know, it's like, they put this exhaust system on it.
And I got to tell you what, most of those exhaust systems, they're terrible. It's like,
please just leave it quiet. You know, I mean, it does not sound well, just in my opinion,
especially when you, you realize what they spent on the exhaust system and stuff, they could have
just got the V8 pretty much because you know what, it's like, I watch a lot of old car shows
for like example for the GTO to go from the like brand new 64 GTO,
right? That was the first year. Yeah, 64 is the first year. So that's technically the first
muscle cars, the GTO. Yeah. Basically, for $279 or something like that, you get the go package,
the GTO package. So you had literally when these cars came out, people going back to the dealership
and saying, I want that instead of the cars that they had bought. So it was it was actually packaged
not a separate model, is that right? Yeah. It'd be a Le Mans or it'd be a Tempest. Oh, wow. And
which we're like, I mean, the Mustang wasn't even out yet. So I mean, you just had these cars,
you know, Pontiac had downsized. Yeah. And people just wanted to steal a hot rod and they were
dragging these cars on the weekends. But guess what, they went straight to the DT GTO for $279.
Well, I had I had some thoughts about that, the charger we were talking about earlier that
the reason why it's just not selling. It's like, you probably like lasagna, right?
I love lasagna love lasagna. But what if it looked like a birthday cake?
No, I just wouldn't, you know, okay, well, what if it's a birthday cake that looks like a lasagna,
it just it turns your stomach. And I think that's they missed something that looks like a shit.
Yeah, it's it's funny you say that because it's like, you know what, it's like, I'm a big sweet
guy. So I love sugar. Yeah. Right. Yeah. And so if you're just looking at something and like say
you're you say you go to you're invited to a party. So we're like, oh, you want to try some of
this, try this and you're walking around and you get to pick off the table and so like, oh,
that looks very sweet, right? You go to take a you get some of it and you go and put it on here
and you look, that's not sweet. You're like, what in the world is that, you know, next thing you
know, it's like some spicy food. And it's like, yeah. So your your mind is prepared for one thing.
And then you and you experience it. It's somehow humans don't like that. And I think that's escaping
that whatever whoever's making the decisions at Dodge or Mopar or Chrysler or Stellantis,
whatever you call them today. Did you know that the charger? So the chargers have always been
four doors. Those Yeah, the last decade or two. Yeah. Yeah. And then it was the challengers that
the two doors, right? But guess what? The charger is now a two door. Yeah, while they're coming out
with a four door one here soon. So I saw one at the car show, I said, I said, oh, I said, oh,
see, you know, I got the challenger, right? And I look at it like, no, that's a charger. I'm like,
so the four doors have gone back to two door chargers. Yeah, I rarely see them on the road.
But I do see them maybe once a week. Yeah. And I don't know, they mean they're going to have the
same issue with the they're going to come out with an electric Jeep here soon. Well, they do have
the Hummer. They have the Hummer and I'm surprised three or four surprisingly seeing more of those
than I thought I would. They're actually they're a good looking vehicle. To charge that it takes a
lot of juice. I was I was calculating that versus our you were doing your homework. I'm trying to
I'm cheap. It's like, it's not really not really saving money owning that thing. Right. I told you
which one I like the most though. If I have to have an EV right now, you know which one it is?
It's the Lucid. Oh, yeah. Those are nice. And they compare the horsepower and I'm not talking
about the newer Lucids. I mean, if you go back about I think it's about five years ago, the air
of the sedan. Yes, it looks like to me, it looks like a Lincoln. And I mean, the horsepower wise,
if it is electrifying 1200 horsepower, it's the highest horsepower on all the cars. I don't know
about now. Like at 1234, like how they had that even. But this beautiful looking cars.
Yeah, so who wouldn't want to drive that? But all these these electric car covers, they do
some stupid stuff, like with the windshields. Did you see the windshield on the Lucid? It's I
think it's a great looking car. The windshield goes all the way from the base of the windshield
all the way over your head. Kind of make it like a sunroof. So can you see I think of practical
things like if you have to replace the windshield. See that I have paid for rock chips and everything's
gone up in the economy, of course, but that's where they say a friend of mine he owns, you know,
he's an insurance agent. So he has all these different companies under him to do it. But he
said a lot of what's why the insurance prices have gone up is because of the EVs. Yeah, because of
the replacement value parts. An example, Tesla, what I learned from the show, which I actually
learned before that, because I was talking to the salesperson. The Tesla is not meant to go 10
years. Those batteries are only good for about six, seven years. But what they're hoping is somebody
replaces that car within that time, because they don't realize you got to take that whole car apart
to put a new battery in there. You got to take I mean, it's like a body off of a frame. It's kind
of situation is integrated. Yeah. So is it really worth replacing one? No, you better off buying
another new one. Right. So they're kind of like disposable, I guess. Yeah. Yeah. Well, I had to
make a I tried to pride myself on making somewhat wise financial decisions. But I was realizing that
because we bought a Tesla earlier this month, and it depreciated more in nine hours than
our forerunner has done in nine years. Right, really? I mean, if they say with any car, you're
going to lose 30%. So you drive it off the lot. 40% depends on the car. But here's my question.
Don't you have a BMW EV also? Yeah, the i3, that kind of question. Which one do you like better?
They both have. Come on. Don't you got it? It's like, you know, if you have two kids. Yeah. You
know, you try to say you don't have a favorite. I mean, I only had one kid. So I can't say that.
But I guess if you had two pets, I don't know. But it's like kind of like, I really like this one
better. You know what? I appreciate the the i3, the engineering on it. It's, you know, the structure
is made of carbon fiber. Right. I hope I never get a wreck in it. Haven't. Oh, it's done, right?
Yeah, I'm sure. Yeah, because there you go. Classic insurance example. Yeah, it's done. Yeah. And
the fact it's got a scooter motor in the back. So once I run out of electricity, I can still
right still keep going. But of course, I bought that used because it it was a depreciation
bonus for a used car buyer. Yeah, just like Tesla. Same thing. Yeah. Yeah. But of course,
we got the Tesla. We wanted the latest. So the base price, what's the base price on yours?
Now is it the one, two or three? Like I'm going model wise in my head.
It's the Y. It's it was right around 50. 50. But they have a lower model, correct?
They've they they just introduced like a stripper model. It's it's the same car, but it's just
missing some missing some features. What, like a coffee maker? I'm just saying, I don't like what
could really be missing in those. Just ridiculous stuff. Give a smaller video screen. Is that what
you're saying? There's no FM radio in it. You got YouTube's. Come on. I know. There's Apple Play.
I did tell you in the car. Yeah, I don't I don't know man who lives on the edge. I do. No, I wouldn't
be watching it. But I'm listening. It's kind of like back in the day when they had MTV. Yeah.
It's like, I wouldn't be listening to, you know, watching it. I'll be listening to it. You know,
and same with country music television had that. I'm like, okay, I would just put that on and
listen to it from from afar. But yeah, I'm a retro grass. So what there were other things like
it doesn't have seat controls on the seat. What are you supposed to do? Well,
yeah, so you've driven ours now. You've driven ours and everything is controlled from the screen.
Correct. It's it's a little hard to get used to. You know, people own Teslas, they they just adapt
to it. But like the wiper controls, there's not a stock for the wipers. Right. So you hit a button
on the steering wheel and then the the speeds of the wiper on the screen, which I don't know about
you. But when I need the wipers, I need them like right now. Yeah, like a trucks going the other way
on the freeway and splashes, you know, 55 gallons of water over the the jersey barrier, you need to
do because you also don't need to like, I know the brake situation is all different and the
plus is like a golf cart. But it's like, okay, take your foot off of the accelerator. And then
guess what? But guess what? You're going 70 miles an hour on the freeway. But that car behind you
is not. Oh, and all of a sudden it just slows down because you haven't hit no brakes. I don't
there's a brake light come on it. And well, it does. It does. Okay. Yeah. I got it. There we go.
Yeah, there is I love I love regen braking. And just like I love a jake brake in a truck. Right.
But if I mean, I've had an itchy right foot before where I have rearranged my shoe somehow and you
take your you're going down the freeway, you lift your right foot for a second, not thinking they
realize Oh, the guy behind you thinks you're brake checking him. Oh, well, you know, that just made
me think it's something funny today when we test drove your car. You know what, we should just
have been like Hugh Hefner. I should have had like some pajamas on in a robe and like a big
old pipe and just walked out there with my slippers on and just climbed in the driver's side and
just let the car take us to yeah, take us to Starbucks and get a coffee. Well, that's that's
why you drove it today. See, you drove that that Cybertruck at the auto show. Yes. And you drove ours
to I wanted to test out the self driving feature on it. I trusted it at 100%. I can't believe you
were as cool as a cucumber out there. We just we didn't even get out of our driveway. And we put in
we put in Costco. Of course, Joe picks the gas station at Costco just for
comic that was a I'm glad you got video on that because that's going to be hilarious.
People were pissed off because we went the car had took us right to the Costco gas station. You
didn't touch it wanted to put us in the lines for the pump and then it's it wanted to go backwards
through the pumps. Yeah, I did a reverse. And so we were going in through the opposite way.
These people are on a Saturday. What the hell is this guy doing right here? I'm like, I'm not
doing it. It's driving itself. Yeah. That's not an excuse. You're an officer of the law sworn
officer. Hey, I was not working. That was on private property. You know, I'm just saying you
know the law. So at that Seattle car show. So they made a point because they knew what I did for
an occupation. Yeah, to say, did you know Las Vegas last year, Badge lost? No, because they
asked you what you do. Okay, listen to that. In Las Vegas, they go, Oh, they just got some
Teslas for their police department. Oh, did they? I've heard of other places. Yeah. Yeah. But I
think they got the cyber I've seen videos of cops, you know, trying them out in Arizona, but I didn't
know Vegas got them. Yeah, they got some and I guess since the cyber trucks and if I have to do
it for law, I'm just saying for law enforcement, give me the cyber truck. You know what I mean?
Just like, I just I'm just saying somewhat bulletproof, be like, like the terminators driving
up to you, right? Well, take me back to where I belong. Yeah, yeah, somewhat bulletproof unless
somebody throws a giant ball bearing at you. Yeah, he was telling me about that when he first
showed me on the screen. Because have you heard about the I think like a ball bearing or something
being thrown at the cyber truck at the windshield or when they first released the mock up the
prototype? Yeah, so they have that actually on the screen when they showed me when we're
getting ready to drive. I said, I don't even know what you're talking about. So he goes,
Oh, let me show you. And it shows it on the screen. That was six years ago. Yeah, see,
that's hard to believe a long time. But I told you you're you feel free to hate on it because I'm
I'm an internal combustion guy. I'm not gonna lie. It was fun. Yeah. Would I buy one? No, I
wouldn't. But it was fun driving it. I tried to justify it. You know, the fuel cost because we've
seen that, you know, I've driven the last five years, the I three, the fuel costs are one third,
one quarter wet. Gassing up is right. You know what's funny was because the very first couple
years ago, I was talking about that situation, I was doing a I was doing a live on my fast cars
and freedom to on TikTok. And what happened was is I met a gentleman and his wife, and I just
started asking questions about it. So me being a smart ass, I pull up to the EVs for the Tesla's
at the Target shopping center. I back up my Pontiac GTO. And I pretend I'm going to be charging my
GTO. But the funny thing about it is, and I'm not saying this is with all drivers, or all owners
of these cars, you would not believe the comments. They said, Oh, I did not know Pontiac had an EV.
I would have got this instead. Yeah, I'm like, I just kind of had to walk away and keep my
bite my tongue, you know, by watching the people what they were doing. But and I think when we
charged up their car, they just came back from Oregon from a wedding. I think it was like 600
mile trip they'd done. And I mean, they would have charged it again. So sometimes you think about
is time money, right? So guess what, depending on who you are. Yeah, I can sit here for 45 minutes
and let my car charge. Yeah, maybe I can't. But anyways, what happened was is, if I'm correct,
I think it cost them. I think it was like $19 to charge it from wherever they were at on on
kind of like it's Philip, that's what we want to call it. Yeah, yeah. And so I'm like, okay, $19
for how many miles. And I took that into thought this morning. So for my GTO, I have to use Super
Unleaded. So, you know, you get points off of different places like Costco, this and that and
everything else, Fred Myers. So this morning, I went to go get gas with my GTO. And it said,
you have 60 cents, a gallon cheaper, or add it onto my card. So I'm only paying. So I only had to
pay like $3 and 60 cents for Super Unleaded for my GTO today. Keep in mind, we live in one of the
most expensive gas. We are the second state in the United States, California, because we have
that 50 cent gas tax. Yeah. And they can actually it's not 50 cents, they can put it to whatever
they want. People get so angry about it. I'm like, y'all voted on these people. You chose this. And
they want to blame the current governor, which is no better than the last one. He's actually worse,
they say. But they voted on this like four years ago. So what are you complaining about? You know,
you people want to keep doing this foolishness. You have no choice. Well, the nice thing is
speaking of gas that having the Tesla freeze me up. So the other car we have can be a fun car.
And I don't know. I don't know what our next car is going to be when we replace the other.
Right. But it's going to be something, something with a tailpipe.
I know that you were talking about that, because I was talking with Lance about that. And I said,
I said, because Lance is he's talked about doing this. And he said, I'm not going to let you talk
to my wife anymore, because she agreed with you. And she did not that I said something that I was
agreeing with her. Yeah. So, you know, he's a big Instagram guy, he's got 100 and something
thousand. Yeah. And so he's talking about shows me a picture of a car. And he says,
hey, what do you think of this car? You know, and I don't even remember what the car was.
And it wasn't like a Lamborghini, but some kind of fancy kind of thing. He goes,
there's only so many of these in the United States. And so the car is like 100 something
thousand dollars, right? I'm like, bro, I was like, what's your intent for the car?
Because I want to make my platform bigger. I was like, you don't buy a car to make your
platform bigger. I said, you do videos on other people cars and let your platform get bigger
from theirs cars. But yeah, I said, what else are you going to do with it? Well, I would just,
let me tell you something. I said, that's a waste of money. I said, why would you do that?
I said, it's going to sit in the garage most of the time. And then he's like,
man, he goes, I'm not going to let you talk to my wife because she said the same thing.
I said, oh, you know what? I said, I've made a lot of foolish mistakes with car stuff in my life.
I'm not going to lie. I said, I just don't want you to make a foolish mistake because
you're talking about a car that it's not worth its value. And it's definitely not worth the
platform you're trying to make bigger. You know, he does well with his Instagram and things like
that. But I said, you want to get bigger with things. And he's a very, very smart businessman.
I said, but that is not that is not a smart idea. Speaking of listening to your wife, I mean,
part of the reason we end up in a Tesla is because I'm always trying to clue my my wife in about,
you know, hey, what, you know, if we replace the car, what do you think you'd want? You know,
I try to just like lead her in that direction. And she finally, you know, she said, well,
if we ever replace the forerunner, let's, let's try a Tesla. And I'm like, okay,
well, how often do you ever get a clear message like that? I'm not that smart, but I've learned
to listen to her. She's made a lot of good decisions. There you go. And I cannot deny.
I've made a lot of bad decisions. That's why I'm here.
Hey, you're still married. I'm not. Maybe I make maybe I didn't make some
bright decisions here and there. I guess I don't know.
Well, anyway, it does, it is nice to have, if you have one electric car, your other car can be a
gas hog. And I'm not talking about something exotic.
But yeah, and so you want something basically, because you'd mentioned this last time.
Something fun.
So you know what, it's kind of like, like you're talking like, do you need a resto mod? No. But
maybe do you just get like an old muscle car? Or just want something clean? And so it's like,
guess what? You say, sweetheart, baby, honey, whatever you call your wife, you're like,
just something we could go cruise on on the weekends and people, you know, we're not trying
to catch attention here, but we get attention from driving a Tesla. So guess what? You go out
there and enjoy the weekend driving around, get the smell of gasoline. Maybe you're getting
something with some power to it. But you're getting basically something that America's been built on,
which is the automotive.
Well, you know what tickles my fancy? I've never driven one, but
car called the Flying Miata. You know, there's a company that takes old Miata's
and puts an LS V8.
I haven't seen it with my Miata's, but I've seen it with some other cars.
Yeah. Yeah, I've seen, I've seen LS's in three series BMWs, old RX 7s. It's amazing how that fits.
Oh, yeah.
A huge V8, like yours, but in a small car.
I've seen it in the Pontiac. What is it? The Pontiac? Was it the VU?
And I've seen it in the Saturn convertibles.
Oh, the Solstice, right?
Yeah, Solstice. Yeah. The Pontiac Solstice.
Yeah, a little fit, huh?
Yeah, the VU is like an SUV, but you're correct.
Saturn Sky.
But also the other one, which is like, yeah, so the Saturn.
Yeah, the Sky.
Yeah, I've seen the LS's and those. I'm like, that's pretty bad ass. I'm not gonna lie.
They should have done that from the factory.
The Corvette would have been out of business.
Yeah, I know it. That's the idea. Something subtle and there would be no clue from the
outside that it's got a V8 until you hear it.
Is she going to go for that?
I haven't run it by her.
I think that's a little bit wild on your part.
Depends on what you're going to spend for your toy. Because that's a toy, of course.
Yeah.
Yeah. How much am I going to spend on this toy? And she's going to be like,
yeah, how many times are you going to drive it?
He's like, it would be our second. We only want two cars. It would be our second car.
Oh, your second car. So then so that means the self-driving Tesla is going to take who to work?
It just depends.
Because you work.
We'll fight over it.
You work at the same hour. So how are you going to do this?
It's okay.
You're going to work at two in the morning or something like that.
You said you can't drive a V8 Miata to work. Is that what you're trying to imply?
How far does you commute?
20 miles each way.
You know, you could because, you know what, in that car, people don't realize this.
When you build something like that, you can get 25 miles a gallon easy out of those cars.
30 miles a gallon.
Oh, with the right with all that horsepower and the gearing.
Yeah, we spin it at 1000 RPM.
No, we did that at my buddy's Mustang.
So one of the first like new edge Mustangs, we put a coyote swap in it.
This was back in 2012.
And when he first put that motor in there and everything else with four 10 gears
and a five speed, then he switched to a six speed.
30 miles a gallon with 450 horse.
Oh, wow.
You seem to be in and you're kind of like, what are you talking about?
I get better miles than these Toyotas are getting.
You know, especially the trucks.
Yeah.
Well, fun.
It's great to get your reaction to going out of your shell, going out of your element here and trying
trying some something more modern than I don't see you quite going to the dark side yet.
Oh, no, that ain't happening anytime soon.
I mean, even if I won the lottery and was a millionaire, I just did.
That's not my thing.
But I admire people who can appreciate all sorts of cars.
I mean, yeah, I mean, it's it's kind of like my thing when I do car stuff.
It's like, you know, like my social media stuff.
I'm like, I am not an import guy.
I'm not a European car guy, JDM, things like that or EV.
But you're willing to try it.
I I respect the cars.
Yeah.
And like, you know, if you're a friend of mine, I'd be like, I respect your opinions of that car.
That's your thing.
It might not be my thing.
But, you know, there's no reason why some people are just like, no, don't want any part of it.
Forget it.
Don't want to talk about it.
No, I mean, where does that go?
Yeah.
I love I love going to places like cars and coffee, griots, caffeine and gasoline officially.
But talking to everybody, I mean, if somebody brings a, you know, a 72 El Dorado there,
I'm going to be all about that car.
And then next to it, somebody has a little JDM K car.
Yeah.
It's even though they're totally different cars, I want to know about them.
Definitely.
I mean, I want to own both of those.
But you could put the JDM car inside the Cadillac.
You're right.
Put it in the car.
Carried around like Boss Hog.
Exactly.
Hey, and again, the name of your channel.
So I'm on social media with Instagram, TikTok and YouTube.
And it's all fast cars and freedom with the number two at the end.
Cool.
Signing out for this week.
Again, you can please reach us at carsthepodcastatgmail.com.
But signing out for this week is your host, Don Swear.
And Joe Black.
And I appreciate you.
Thank you.
About this episode
A V8 enthusiast steps out of his comfort zone to drive the Cybertruck at the Seattle Auto Show, sharing his thoughts on its unique design and self-driving capabilities. The conversation dives into the challenges electric vehicles face in connecting with traditional car buyers, particularly with models like the Charger and Jeep. The hosts also discuss the evolution of muscle cars, the impact of EVs on the automotive market, and the importance of listening to partners when making car decisions. The episode blends humor with insightful commentary on the future of driving.
Avowed Muscle Car addict Joe drives Cybertruck through Seattle. He drives Tesla in self-driving mode confidently through busy gas station {backwards}. Why can't product planners see the disconnect between buyer mindset and the products they develop?
