A TSD rally is a type of race where drivers need to keep a certain speed over a distance and follow a specific route. It's all about being accurate with timing and navigation.
The Dakar Classic is a type of race where older cars compete, following a specific route and schedule. It's part of a larger event called the Dakar Rally, which is famous for its tough off-road challenges.
The FIA is an organization that makes the rules for car racing and motorsports around the world. They help keep races fair and safe for everyone involved.
Differential parts help the wheels of a car turn at different speeds, which is important when going around corners. They make sure the car handles well and stays stable.
A rally rig is a type of car made specifically for rally racing, which takes place on different types of roads and surfaces. These cars are built to be tough and handle rough conditions well.
The chassis is the main structure of a car that holds everything together, like the engine and wheels. If it gets damaged, it can affect how the car drives.
Spare tires are extra tires that cars carry in case one gets flat or damaged. Some vehicles, especially those used in racing, carry more than one spare tire just in case.
Diesel is a type of fuel that some cars and trucks use. Diesel engines are usually stronger and can go further on a tank of fuel compared to regular gasoline engines.
The Alcan 5000 is a long car rally that takes place in North America, where drivers navigate through tough roads and various weather conditions. It's known for being very challenging and exciting for car enthusiasts.
Mecum is another famous auction house that sells classic cars. Unlike Barrett-Jackson, sellers can set a minimum price for their cars, which can mean fewer cars are sold at auction.
Barrett-Jackson is a well-known auction company that sells classic cars. They don't set a minimum price for the cars, which can make buyers compete more and sometimes pay higher prices.
In a no reserve auction, there isn't a minimum price for the items. This means that buyers can bid as much as they want, which can lead to higher prices for popular items.
Dual exhaust tips are two openings at the back of a car that let out exhaust fumes. They can make the car look cooler and sometimes help it run better.
The Honda CR-V is a type of car called an SUV, which means it's bigger than a regular car and has more space inside. It's great for families because it can carry a lot of stuff and is known for being dependable.
The Nissan Rogue is a type of SUV that is good for families because it has a lot of room inside and is easy to drive. It's known for being safe and comfortable for everyday use.
The Cupra Born is a new electric car that looks sporty and is good for the environment because it doesn't use gas. It's designed for people who want a fun car that also helps reduce pollution.
The Ford Model T is an old car that was made a long time ago, and it's famous because it was one of the first cars that regular people could afford. It changed how cars were made and helped many people get their own vehicles.
LIVE
Welcome to another In-Wheel Time Podcast.
Welcome to the In-Wheel Time Car Talk Show.
Just ahead we talked to Mercedes-Lilian Call about her run to the Dakar Rally.
Plus Jeff has his motor minute and I'll review the new Mazda CX-50.
Just ahead of the In-Wheel Time Car Talk Show, how do you along with Mike out of this world
Mazda coming to you live in a living color from Neaterville, Texas and we always need more Jeff
Zeekin and Don Armstrong. Glad that you could join us on this Saturday morning for our live show.
If you are listening to a podcast we invite you to join our live show. Get a head up,
leg up on all of the stuff that we talk about in our podcasts. So thanks so much for joining us
today and I think we're going to go to the Great Northwest and join Mercedes-Lilian Call
who's joining us now hopefully with information about her venture. Hi honey.
There you go. Hello, how are you? Well we're pretty good thank you.
Going to talk about the Dakar Rally. So where are you? Are you back up in the Northwest?
I am in the Pacific Northwest. I'm actually home right now so that's rarity but yes I am home.
Okay good. Where's Andy? In the other room. Because this is all about you.
Yeah this one's actually me. I feel like I have an empty space right here because he's always on
the show with me so but I'm on in solo this time with you guys. So well it's good to see you and
we are really excited to hear about the Dakar Rally. So first of all let everybody know if you
will what the Dakar Rally is. Yes the Dakar Rally is probably one of the
biggest and most grueling desert rally raids in the world. It's been going on way back when it
started in 1978 I believe it was as the Paris to Dakar Rally or Paris to the car rally that
started in Paris and ended in Dakar Senegal. Throughout those years it had moved you know
continents and it shifted and now the last let's see I think since 2020 it was in Saudi Arabia.
So there's multiple facets to the Dakar Rally. You've got multiple different vehicle classes
with this big desert rally. It's all based on accuracies. You have to follow a certain route so
you have a driver and a co-driver and then you have the main Dakar Rally which is basically the
fastest the most efficient you can get to the finish line and then underneath that you have
what is called the Dakar Classic which is all the classic rigs like old Pajeros the Land Rovers
you know you have it all these different old vehicles and they are an accuracy
regularity with you know like a time like a timespeed distance or TSD rally that we've been on
the show talking about. They have to be perfectly on speed on course not late not early and they
have a different route to follow. So the Dakar Classic runs under the actual Dakar Rally umbrella
so to speak. I see so and well you're and you're familiar with being on time and making your points
and hitting certain time parameters and speed and all that stuff because that's what you guys
trying to yeah I mean that's what you guys that's what you guys have been doing here
about lately and so how what did you drive? I actually this time I didn't compete that would
be a huge bucket list if I can get Andy and me to find a money tree or a large sponsor in a
vehicle we'd love to be able to run the Dakar Classic. I mean we've got heck we've got our
Pajeros on the other side they did the Alcan 5000 sitting over there we've got an old Jimny we've
got you know vehicles that could do it but you know that's a huge huge effort. What I did is I
actually competed I'm not competed there's my competitor right here I actually covered the
event so I was on behalf of Jaguar Land Rover hosted and I covered the three new defender teams
as they competed as well as the whole Dakar Rally so that was what I was over there for I was there
for about stage two and stage three so it was more of a brief period but it was really interesting
to see them in the flesh on the ground boots on the ground actually rallying in full rally mode
see the vehicles back the Bivouac get a tour of the Bivouac and they're they're a huge entourage
setup of all the semis with all the different parts and pieces and meet some of the staff and
some of the heads. Well now you've got a connection with Subaru have you talked to them about maybe
sponsoring you and getting an entry over there? Yeah you know someday you never know you never
know I we've partnered with Subaru for many many different things on the latest being the Transamerica
Trail you know where we took a cross-track wilderness we built it up or they built it up under our
direction and we literally did over 7,000 miles across the United States a lot of it was off pavement
so I think 3,184 miles of it during that 29-day adventure was off pavement and we were self-supported
living living out of the car. But who's counting? Yeah you know who the navigator is right? That's
right uh so tell us about this class that you were involved with the defender stock class
what explain that? Yeah so that so the stock class is kind of a revamped class uh that defender
was instrumental with the governing body FIA or FIA to basically update to say okay a lot of these
vehicles way back when in 1978 1982 you know what have you were production vehicles because you
didn't have all of the the aftermarket ability you didn't have all the technology you didn't have all
the stuff of what some of these vehicles can do today and so they wanted to update a lot of the
regulations to make it more friendly for manufacturers like Defender like Toyota and other future
manufacturers to be able to come in and compete in a revamped stock class so Jaguar Land Rover you
know of course is the big umbrella then you have Defender underneath it so Defender said we're going
to sign on for three years right the W2RC rally raids starting with Dakar in 2026 that was the
first one of their three-year run that they're doing so there's a lot more rallying to see with
Defender coming up um so what they did is they basically said okay we're going to sign on we're
going to do three teams of very accomplished racers from all around the world uh two Americans actually
um uh Sean Berman and then also American Sarah Price um were the two that were uh kind of
rounding up the six people but take all of that figure out what vehicles that they wanted to
actually build again adhering to the new and revamped uh uh regulations test it all you know
come up with the parts come up with how they're going to build it you know what shocks are they
going to use what tires are they going to use all this type of stuff in mind you they have to have
all the support network around them with about 100 you know I don't know 120 different people I
support and figure this all out and I think it was less than 18 months and oh yeah you got to
compete too so there's a lot that was going on with it there were semis upon semis that had
things like um you know tools tons of tools my gosh if I could have just a small section
of that in my house I'd just be a you know woman in heaven um they had one with consumables they
had one uh with uh differential parts with spare engines with you know all sorts of different
parts and pieces and when we got the tour the guide said yeah we could pretty much rebuild
an entire d7xr rally rig if we need to um so as they were going through when I was there of course
they just started with stage two when I was boots on the ground there of the 13 total stages
and they were ironing some things out like um like Stefan Peter Hansel and uh Mike Ametki that
that was the other team they had some power steering issues they were trying to figure that
out and then uh Sarah and Sean had really taken a big blow underneath their um their chassis and so
they had some issues there and they were trying to iron that out and come strengthen things
all within regulations so you know but that happens with everybody right you know there's
there's people that have different mechanical issues or people that have uh blown tires I mean
these d7xr rally rigs all three of them they have three full-size spare tires for instance um and a
whole bunch of other parts and pieces so so you've got all these diesel all these big rigs and all
these supplies and the trailer so does this encampment move with the race every day uh not
necessarily every day that's a really great question because when I flew in so we were
visiting family from the Midwest so I went from the Midwest so Minneapolis to Dulles to the east
coast had to lay over there then went to Riyadh and Riyadh to Alula and Alula is more on the western
side of Saudi Arabia and that's where the bibwak was just getting set up because they just I think
they came from Yambu don't quote me for stage two and stage three so they were building that bibwak
so as the rally actually goes around the whole entire country there are points where you might just
be doing some sort of a loop and then ending back in Alula you might be moving the whole entire
entourage up to the next point all the way around the country until the finish yeah but if the rate
I guess what I'm trying to visualize is if the racers leave early in the morning and they're
going to point B at some point let's say they're not coming back to that one that whole small
city's got to move in a day yeah because your people have got to be there if something breaks
they got to be there or go to there but they're not doing a thousand miles an hour either on the
ground right so they I think it's a few hundred kilometers that they do each day again don't
quote me because this is my first actual being boots on the ground at Dakar but um they do have
they do have stages and days where they have a pit crew or they have a pit stop in the middle of
the day sometimes they don't if it's a marathon stage so there's a lot of moving parts um and
that's something that I would love to learn more of exactly how this all works I mean heck if I had
my way I'd fly back there again for 10 minutes if I had a chance but I'd love to be able to cover
this event for the whole entire duration I mean it's almost it's about two weeks of like actual
you know hands-on total you know balls of the wall rally you know when you when you think about it
it's a crazy desert rally but so intense and so um it's such a storied legendary event um that's
been going on for decades and other spectators um spectators you know you can you can watch it in
parts online um there's not I you know I don't even know if anybody really knows where the course
is there may be opportunities if you can you know if you know where they are to try to see to catch
them uh in action uh you know we had a chance to go out during stage three to see the defenders
coming through one two three just super competently all in one where there was kind of a a bivouac a
small little you know bivouac side area set up um so I think that was maybe a known point
but it all it all fluctuates I mean when we were there for stage three there is a bit of
uncertainty as to where the the course was going to be because the prince was coming in
uh and and so there was you know lockstep beat police all of the security and security and
was he coming in to watch the rally I believe so yeah yeah they're very so we didn't have a chance
to see that uh but when we were there you know we saw the police at every exit and this and this
and then we got wind of a couple people said the prince one person said the king I'm not sure I didn't
have a chance to see that part of it but yeah then I had to shift things of course just to
to be protective did you sign any hero cards for him you know with with all that the media
attention and the police that happens when we do remotes yeah yeah we had to have police
we fully understand all that yeah so so there's really warrants yeah the warrants are the problem
so so they're racing across the desert so they don't really go through towns where the spectators
would be is that right that's a really good question um I would think since it is mainly the
the main part of the dot car mind you is is a speed event accuracy but speed as far as how fast
you can go and the fastest wins those certain stages and then of course the fastest person
per each class can win their class and then so on and so forth I couldn't imagine that they would be
very close to cities I know that we drove a little while to go outside of Alula during my time there
that's a really great question I couldn't imagine because you'd have populations you've had
you know people with you know just uh normal vehicles being out on course I mean when I was
there you saw people driving on the sidelines you know very close to where they were people walking
very close to where they were racing and for me as a photographer and a journalist I'm always just
I always have my eye on where I can move like where I can escape if if somebody loses control I mean
it's motorsports right you know people need to place their trust in these racers to make sure
they're not going to go off course and then kareen into you know some common vehicle just
driving on the side so yeah interesting I'll tell you what did did Andy go with you no no he didn't
this is a solo trip for me wow lots of rarity too yeah you know sometimes we do things differently
I mean I just came back from Dakar and then I went to Subaru launched down in California
was actually finishing my malaria medication preventative malaria medication down in California
which is odd in itself but then he went to Death Valley uh with Ford so you know we do shift from
time to time well man I'll tell you what you know we've we followed you guys for quite some time
now and things have really ballooned for you uh with your motorsports especially and uh being
involved in in all of these different events that you guys go to it's so much fun to live life
through you and you're such a great spokesperson I can't imagine you know that
we'll be left in the dust when you know today's broadcast by Mercedes Lillianthal is going to
be sponsored by Mercedes Benz of the world yeah well you never know world domination might not
be that far away yeah I'm kidding it's all kidding aside you know I think for us and I speak for
Andy as well you know rally like we do a lot of times to be distance rally by us or TSD that's
what you know it's more known over here but over there they call it regularity rallies
I know different competitions call them enduroes but this accuracy thing whether it's based on
being on point for speed or the fastest it's so electrifying it it's like you know for us when
we compete we're always media right so we compete and then we also are media too so we wear many
hats and we photograph things as well but to be around like like minded gearheads to be around
all these really cool vehicles and in such passion and and to be able to see new things and travel
the new places especially Saudi Arabia it was my first time in the Middle East and traveling
solo as a woman across the world to do this that's a whole nother you know podcast in itself but
but to me it's such a neat and just wonderful experience every single time we do it I just
can't get enough of it and to hopefully share that to the world and say hey guys you know yes
there's NASCAR yes there's American football but there's a whole nother world of really cool things
that's called you know TSD rally or Dakar rally and and all of these that you need to pay attention
you need to because it's just so electrifying I just want to say while you were gone Andy throws
great parties he really does that second day party was off the it was just yeah you were wondering
about the trash can he throws beer bottles well but not right he knows how to entertain I'm telling
oh yeah oh yeah yeah he might have learned a thing or two from me so
there is that so what's next on your list yeah that's that's a great question speaking of rally
we let's see in July Andy and I are going to be doing the car rally in Colorado which is
brand new rally it's the Colorado Adventure rally which has since been doubled in size and still
has a wait list it's a time speed distance rally I think it's going on for three or four days
and then Alcans summer for this year is going to be happening as well but we are tight-lipped as to
the vehicle or anybody that we're partnering with stay tuned on that so what what where is the
Colorado event going to take place that starts near Denver boy I can send you the link as far as
where it is but if you look up Colorado venture rally and there's like a motorsports.com or
website that has all the details I don't know exactly where the loop it goes I don't know that
right off the top of my head okay well we're going to look that up because you know my youngest
daughter is in Denver so oh yeah sure yeah and well I'll tell her and if she has the time maybe
she can hook up with you guys yeah definitely I mean it's this rally is going to be mostly on
pavement but there are some dirt sections so I think it's under I want to say maybe the
six or seven hundred miles in total and of course then you know you know hot on its heels
beginning of September the Alcan 5000 is going to be massive it is 11 days this time it goes all
the way up to the Arctic Ocean which we've never been in the summer and then it goes all the way
back down and it goes of course into Alaska and then halfway up to the actually past the Arctic
Circle up there to Coldfoot back down again that's all if you do all of the extreme control
optional routes which we always do because of course we test a vehicle you got to test the vehicle
you got to research it's research yeah it is it is and you know the Alcan being the mother of all
rallies over here in in North America I mean yeah if you're doing you know a thousand thirteen
hundred miles of dirt and gravel alone I think this next rally if you do everything Alana says
about 6300 6300 miles and 11 days think about that that's awesome well why young people do it
that's right and they are so let's stay in touch and I guess I with your next adventure coming
up is going to be Colorado you say uh yes I'm sure that there'll be things in between but
that rally is in July yes in July Mercedes it's great to talk to you great to see you
what a fun story and thanks for sharing with us we appreciate you till Andrew said hey we'll do
we'll do thanks fellas appreciate you thank you talk to you again soon all right just ahead
just motor minute and a review of the new Mazda CX 50 when the in-wheel time car talk show continues
right after this break the Tex-Mex dining experience is defined by loopy tortilla
your destination for taxes as best beef fajitas and frozen margaritas since 1983 loopy tortilla has
served authentic and time-tested recipes made with the freshest ingredients atmosphere is
part of the award-winning experience at loopy tortilla all developed in the little house near
highway 6 and i-10 in west Houston visit any of the loopy tortillas and you'll see the same
attention to detail in each and every location start your loopy experience with queso flamiado
and guacamole along with a classic frozen margarita dine on famous loopy beef and chicken fajitas
or pepper shrimp brochette or a fish or vegetarian entree and finish with a scrumptious flan for dessert
find loopy tortilla in houston college station bowman austin san Antonio and dallas fort worth
there's a texas location near you the recipes are authentic and time-tested the ingredients
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apple or android in wheel time podcast can be found everywhere on the stream and through downloads
whether you're on the road or at home and jones in for a different kind of car talk show give in
wheel time a try honest new car reviews fun informative interviews with real car people
weekly automotive news features like jeff's car culture and mike's driving destinations all on
in wheel time check us out on serious xm podcast i heart radio or while you're shopping on amazon
through amazon music mm-hmm in wheel time dot com has a list and we know you love lists
but the live in wheel time car talk show every saturday tender then central time
on in wheel time dot com youtube and facebook check us out it's free and don't forget 30 minute
podcasts of our shows can be had from your favorite podcast store okay time now for jeff's motor
there you go and we can be had so i've been watching barrett jackson's past couple weeks
at the end of january and i just gotta raise some questions in my head that what's the
difference between the barrett jackson's and the world and the meekum auctions of the world
well the two leading auction houses for classic car collectors each with unique features and
strength so the differences are with barrett jackson typically has no reserve auction format
meaning that the cars are sold without a minimum price leading to a higher sell-through rate
more across the block at about 98 percent this creates a competitive bidding environment when
buyers may pay more for desirable vehicles on the meekum side they allow the sellers to set
reserve for their cars reserve pricing for their cars which leads to a lower sell-through
based you know pretty much to compare to barrett jackson and it's a lot less so the volume of
cars meekum generally sells a larger amount of cars because of that they sell about 1811
significantly more than barrett jackson's 1343 so the same period same kind of auction types
but they're set up a little bit different types of vehicles barrett jackson is known for its focus
on high-end vehicles particularly muscle cars american classics attracting more serious collectors
looking for a unique and valuable car meekum offers a broader range of vehicles including
classic antiques modern exotics making it appear to be a wider audience the barrett jackson
holds fewer auctions auctions each year typically around four major events including the well-known
january event scott's dale is the one i've previewed uh highlight for all the collectors
kicking off the season meekum conducts auctions more frequently with the events through roughly
once a month providing more opportunities for buyers and sellers to participate through the year
so overall depending on what you're looking for in a classic car or an auction car there's a lot
of local auctions but not these big boys so check out what you're what you're looking for what you
want to collect if it's just a daily driver how much money you have do you want to buy cheap and
sell high whatever whatever you want to do they've got that auction for you i want to buy cheap there
you go i want a lot from my money okay okay good luck don't you'll be waiting to admit until
matthew's will come yeah matthew's like you can get that pretty cheap now they've got a little
flusimal model the matthew's little model yeah all the tires are flat that's okay it's a beater
time now for this hour's car review i had a chance to drive the 2026 mazda cx 50 uh the
available trim levels i don't know what they are because i didn't write them down
many just say many great you know this is what happens when i do this at work
and the fact of the matter is is that i get interrupted a lot
to your work yeah so anyway there are several additions and i had the 2.5 liter turbo meridian
addition which is new this is a small suv seats five exterior changes from last year
well it was all new in 2023 so it is a relatively new version of the cx 50 sharp looking front fascia
nicely proportioned grille meridian addition has a huge flat roof rack on the top of it that looks
kind of funny it's also got a big sticker on the hood says meridian addition uh squinty rear tail
lights and dual exhaust tips black plastic wheel trim that's wheel well trim what i liked about it
the overall body looks great on this what could use improvement maybe perhaps tone down the
disproportionate roof rack i don't know it just looks funny sitting up there it's flat
and it kind of like you could tie down another car up there interior highlights nicely designed
horizontal dash love the center console design with the radio volume knob right down there
by the shifter comfortable seats two rows overall gets high marks cargo room adequate for this small
suv i liked pretty much everything what could use improvement as i said many times the infotainment
operating system needs a redesign engine as the title suggested it was a 2.5 liter four cylinder
engine with a twin scroll turbo turns out 227 horsepower with 310 pound feet of torque through
a six speed automatic transmission it will tow up to one ton uh miles per gallon rated 23th city
29 highway for combined to 25 i got 22.2 miles per gallon over 500 dot oh miles wow yeah great
yet dot no anything what i liked this has got perfect power it's just right for the size vehicle
the weight of the vehicle and it runs well what could use improvement i would suggest that you
check out the hybrid version that's four thousand dollars more but you get better gas mileage ride
and handling uh standard all-wheel drive on all trim levels for this vehicle look at use improvement
this is one of the best handling suvs in its segment wow and i would definitely want to check
that out if you're into a semi performance kind of thing if you're a really a guy that likes the
way his car handles this is one i think that you'd appreciate because you know most suvs are
basically built for the road or for off road right and they got a squishy kind of uh chassis on it
this one does not squishy squishy i like that it's a very technical term um let's see hand me my squishy
base trim price 34 645 price is tested 44 675 the base model price drum roll please
29 9 oh wow 29 9 so competitors on the base model price include the Honda crv for 39 20
the toyota rav for 31 9 and the Nissan rogue for 29 thousand and 90 dollars so i think it's
one for you to look at there you go uh next week we're going to review the lexus rx okay it was
going to be the nx but some reason they pulled it and said i'm going to give you the rx status
you can give me that rx any old time which is go right ahead yeah please do i didn't want to get
this in because i think it's important at least for my generation um ed iski iskandarian died last
week oh he was born before the great depression he's been around a long long time and if you're not
familiar with him he was also known as the cam father oh it was while in high school in la that
iski built the famous black model t ford roadster that would define the best of that class of art
and engineering he was a car guy through and through uh elegant uh laughing skull radiator cap
the cast himself in high school metal shop to the maxi heads edelbrock triple manifold and
vertex magneto that are still on the car and the car still survives today it served in the army
air core um it was said that iski cams could get more power out of almost any engine with no penalty
from his famous five cycle cams to the ultra rev kits with rollers iski cams were the sought
after components for speed horsepower and torque and still are to this day hot rod noted that in
addition to camshaft profiles iski designed valve springs and first high density chilled iron
lifters for top fuel cars and anti pump up hydraulic lifters plus he was among the first to
sell cams lifters and springs as a matched set a small block Chevy with one of ed's cams was the
first to make more than one horsepower per cubic inch is also a pioneer in marketing starting
with the famous white t shirts that said iski racing cams and bright red letters i'm sure you've
seen it yep those were the hot commodity back in the day and uh he even offered contingency money
to racers who used his products don prudhomme one of the early beneficiaries of iski sponsorships
crediting the cam father with helping get his career going on the drag strip he also sponsored
future gracing racing greats don garland simicky thompson among others he was 104 years old wow
this week wow so she'll be missed all right um hey if you'd like to get in touch with us
shoot us an email the addresses info at in wheel time dot com we are back after this quick break
the texmex dining experience is defined by loopy tortilla your destination for taxes as best beef
fajitas and frozen margaritas since 1983 loopy tortilla has served authentic and time tested
recipes made with the freshest ingredients atmosphere is part of the award-winning experience at
loopy tortilla all developed in the little house near highway six and i-10 in west houston visit any
of the loopy tortillas and you'll see the same attention to detail in each and every location
start your loopy experience with queso flamiado and guacamole along with a classic frozen margarita
dine on famous loopy beef and chicken fajitas or pepper shrimp brochette or a fish or vegetarian
entree and finish with a scrumptious flan for dessert find loopy tortilla in houston college
station bowman austin san antonio and dallas fort worth there's a texas location near you
the recipes are authentic and time tested the ingredients always fresh loopy tortilla east
pretty good abeler android and will time podcast can be found everywhere on the stream and through
downloads whether you're on the road or at home and jones in for a different kind of car talk show
give in will time a try honest new car reviews fun informative interviews with real car people
weekly automotive news features like jeff's car culture and mike's driving destinations
all on in wheel time check us out on serious xm podcast i heart radio or while you're shopping
on amazon through amazon music mm-hmm in wheel time dot com has a list and we know you love lists
that's it for this podcast episode of the in wheel time car show i'm don armstrong
inviting you to join us for our live show every saturday morning on facebook youtube
twitch and our in wheel time dot com website podcasts are available on apple podcast spotify
stitcher i heart podcast podcast addict tune in pandora and amazon music keep listening and we'll
see you soon
About this episode
Mercedes-Lilian Call shares her insights from the Dakar Rally, detailing the challenges and strategies involved in this grueling desert race. She discusses the revamped stock class featuring new Defender teams and the logistics of supporting such a massive event. With anecdotes about her experiences on the ground, including interactions with competitors and the extensive support network, listeners gain a unique perspective on what it takes to participate in one of the world's toughest rallies. The episode also touches on the history of the Dakar and the evolution of vehicle classes over the years.
Sand roosts. Moving cities. Split-second calls. We sit down with Mercedes Lilienthal for an unfiltered look at the Dakar Rally—what it is, how it really works, and why accuracy can matter as much as speed. From Saudi bivouacs that can rebuild cars overnight to the reimagined stock class spearheaded by Defender, Mercedes shows how a modern OEM program comes together under tight regulations, compressed timelines, and the relentless pressure of 13 stages.
We pull back the curtain on the logistics: when a bivouac loops vs leaps, what a “marathon” day does to crews, and how three full-size spares can still feel like not enough. You’ll hear how spectators find safe vantage points, why photographers always plan escape routes, and how even a royal visit can reroute a live stage. Mercedes explains the craft behind regularity and TSD rallying—holding speed, nailing time, and staying on course—plus why that style of precision racing is so addictive for data-driven drivers and navigators.
Then we look ahead. Mercedes and Andy gear up for the new Colorado Adventure Rally and a summer Alcan 5000 that stretches more than 6,000 miles if you opt into every challenge, reaching the Arctic Ocean and back. We switch lanes to auctions with a sharp breakdown of Barrett-Jackson vs Mecum—no-reserve drama vs reserve strategy, sell-through rates, and who buys what—and close with a driver-focused review of the 2026 Mazda CX-50, a compact SUV with standout handling, a willing turbo four, standard AWD, and an infotainment system that still needs polish. Finally, we honor Ed “Isky” Iskenderian, the Camfather whose matched sets and bold ideas powered generations of racers and hot-rodders.
If you love rally raids, overlanding, OEM motorsport programs, classic car auctions, or just well-sorted everyday vehicles, this one’s for you. Follow the show, share it with a friend who dreams in dunes and stage notes, and leave a quick review—what part of Dakar’s ecosystem fascinates you most?
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