Private equity is a type of investor group that puts money into companies. They may buy a business and try to make it more profitable before selling later.
Term
Q1
Q1 is just the first three months of the year. The hosts are talking about how Porsche did financially in that early part of the year.
Operating profit is basically how much money a company makes from running its main business, after paying the usual day-to-day costs. The hosts say Porsche’s operating profit has been falling.
Rimac is a company that builds electric-performance technology and cars. In this segment, they’re talking about Rimac’s partnership with Bugatti and how much of the venture Rimac owns.
A joint venture is basically a partnership where two companies work together on the same project. They share ownership and decisions, so the “who owns what” part can be important.
HOF Capital is mentioned as an investor/owner involved with Bugatti’s current ownership. They say it owns 45%, meaning it has a significant share in the business.
They’re talking about Volkswagen Group’s set of car brands and how they range from cheaper models to the most expensive, fancy ones. Think of it like a company that owns many different “levels” of cars.
The Volkswagen Passat is a regular, everyday kind of car. They mention it because the Veyron’s key fob was reportedly shared with the Passat, which is a surprising cost-saving detail.
A key fob is the little remote you use to lock and unlock your car, and sometimes to start it. Here it’s mentioned to show that even a supercar can use shared, off-the-shelf components.
Koenigsegg is a company that makes very extreme, high-performance supercars. The hosts are talking about how accessible the people behind the brand can be.
Company
Rehmats
Rehmats is mentioned as a business partner in a deal that affected who owns part of Bugatti. The hosts are saying that ownership changes can shift how the brand operates.
Porsche is a well-known sports-car brand. In this discussion, they’re saying Porsche would bring experience in building cars as part of a larger partnership.
The Bugatti Veyron is a very expensive, ultra-fast supercar. They’re saying that if there’s less support for cars like this, it makes the idea of owning one less appealing.
They mean keeping the resources needed to support the car for years. That usually includes having replacement parts and the ability to service the car properly.
They mention the Wall Street Journal, which is a well-known business newspaper. The point here is that the car topic was covered in a mainstream news story.
They’re talking about a proposed law that would stop Chinese cars from coming into the U.S. That would limit what car brands you can buy, because the cars wouldn’t be allowed to enter the country.
Tariffs are extra taxes added when something is brought into a country. If the U.S. adds big tariffs to imported Chinese cars, the cars usually cost more for buyers.
The Mercedes-Benz G-Wagon is a luxury SUV that’s famous for being tough and off-road capable. Here, they’re just saying Sean was driving one during the interview.
The “Long Wheelbase S90” is a Volvo S90 sedan with extra space between the front and rear seats. They’re bringing it up as an example of a car people might not be able to bring across the border anymore.
The Polestar 2 is an electric car (an EV) made by Polestar. In this segment, it’s mentioned as a specific example of a car the hosts are talking about in relation to a proposed ban.
Bob Lutz is a famous person in the car industry—an executive who’s often quoted about cars and business. Here, the hosts bring him up to support a point with a quote.
The Buick Envision is a Buick SUV—basically a crossover that’s meant to feel a bit more upscale than a regular family car. Here, they’re talking about it as a standout Buick compared with how people usually felt about Buicks.
They’re talking about a possible U.S. rule that could stop Chinese-made cars from being sold here. The phrase “in theory” implies it’s more of a proposal or discussion than something already fully in effect.
A V8 is a type of engine with eight cylinders. More cylinders usually means more potential power, and it’s often used in bigger or performance-oriented cars.
Turbocharged means the engine uses a device that compresses air before it goes into the cylinders. That helps the engine produce more power without needing a bigger engine.
This means the car’s main structure is built from carbon fiber in one integrated shell. It’s designed to be strong but lighter than many traditional body structures.
Plug-in hybrids are cars that use both a gas engine and an electric motor. You can charge the battery by plugging the car in, so some driving can be done on electricity.
Formula One is the highest level of major international race car competition. Saying someone is “losing Formula One” means they’re not doing as well in that top racing series.
Producing cars in the US means building them locally instead of shipping them in. That can help with cost and pricing, and it can also help companies meet local rules.
A price war is when car companies keep lowering prices to attract buyers. When everyone does it at once, it can hurt profits and make it harder for companies to stay healthy.
McLaren is a well-known performance company, especially in racing. The point of the mention is that the engineer coming over has experience from a very high-level performance environment.
Concept
reliability play
A “reliability play” means trying to make cars more dependable so they break less. The hosts are saying this situation isn’t mainly about that.
The Tesla Model 3 is an electric car made by Tesla. They’re talking about it because it can be built in China, and that matters to the policy being discussed.
The Shelby GT350 is a high-performance version of a Ford Mustang made with Shelby branding. People talk about it because it’s known for being sporty and performance-oriented. The episode also mentions the naming history, which matters to fans.
Nomenclature just means the naming system—what a company calls its models. They’re saying Ford changed the labels (like GT350/GT500) instead of keeping the old names.
The Shelby GT500 is a very high-performance version of a Shelby Mustang. It’s designed to be stronger and more aggressive than the lower-performance versions. The episode mentions the naming history because fans care about how these trims are labeled.
Dodge is a car brand. They’re mentioning it because Shelby has worked with more than just Ford Mustangs.
Car
Ford Shelbys
“Ford” here is being mentioned because some high-performance Shelby versions are based on Ford models. Shelby is known for making special performance cars. The conversation is about how those cars are identified by name.
The “Shelby badge” refers to the Shelby branding used on certain performance cars. The badge carries marketing and heritage value, and the hosts connect it to brand following and pricing.
The Shelby Cobra is a classic sports car associated with performance and racing. “Shelby” refers to the company/person behind the car’s famous version, and “Cobra” is the model name. People talk about it because it’s one of the most iconic old-school sports cars.
This is a Dodge Daytona that’s associated with Shelby branding. The hosts are clarifying which Daytona they mean, because there’s a more famous Shelby Daytona people often think of first.
Company
Autobsture Garage
They mention “Autobsture Garage” as the place that sold the car they’re talking about. That helps explain where the car came from and what kind of listing it was.
The Dodge Dart is a type of Dodge car. Here, they’re talking about it like a model they’d like to see come back or get reviewed, connected to what Dodge’s parent company might do next.
Platform sharing means different car models are built on the same basic “skeleton.” That helps the company spend less money and build cars faster, even if the final cars still look and drive a bit differently.
Stellantis is a big car company that owns multiple brands. Here, the hosts are talking about a news story involving employee health complaints at the company’s headquarters.
Badge engineering is when the same basic car is sold under different brand names. The differences are usually small, like badges and styling, rather than a totally new design.
The Chrysler Pacifica is a minivan. An “off-road Pacifica” would be a version meant to handle dirt roads and rough terrain, but the speaker doesn’t trust Chrysler to do it well.
The Toyota Sienna is a family minivan. Here, they’re saying they want a version that’s lifted and better suited for dirt roads—basically an “off-road” Sienna.
A “lifted” vehicle has increased ride height, usually via suspension changes, to provide more ground clearance. That helps with obstacles like ruts, rocks, and uneven dirt roads, which is why the hosts connect “lifted” to their idea of an off-road minivan.
A “platform” is the car’s main design foundation. If a company builds a new platform, it can use that same base for several different models and make future cars cheaper and easier to develop.
The Dodge Ram is a large pickup truck made for hauling and everyday truck use. It’s the “Ram” brand within Dodge’s truck lineup. People mention it because it’s a well-known, capable truck model.
The Jeep Avenger is a small SUV that Jeep sells in Europe. The point here is that Jeep’s lineup overseas can be different from what you might think of as “Jeep” elsewhere.
The Dodge Avenger is a car model name. The podcast is pointing out that there’s also a “Jeep Avenger,” and the names can sound similar even though they’re different cars. It’s mentioned to avoid confusion.
Brand
Maserati Alpha
This sounds like a Maserati model name, but the exact car being referenced isn’t clear from the snippet. If you can share more of the surrounding audio, it may be possible to pin down the exact model.
The Dodge Charger is a popular American muscle car. The discussion here is about whether it’s still sold with a V8 engine, which is a big part of what people expect from Chargers.
The Dodge Challenger is a muscle car from Dodge. The hosts are using it as an example of what happens to the lineup when Dodge isn’t selling those cars anymore.
“Electric” means the car uses an electric motor instead of (or in addition to) a gas engine. They’re debating whether the lineup is moving away from V8s toward electric options.
The Ram ProMaster is a van made for work, like carrying cargo or tools. The podcast mentions it has a nine-speed transmission, which is how the car changes gears. It’s brought up because it’s a practical vehicle for business use.
A nine-speed transmission is an automatic gearbox with nine different gear settings. It helps the vehicle choose the right “gear” for the speed and driving conditions.
A class action lawsuit is when many affected customers team up in one legal case. In this story, the claim is that the van’s computer is set up so it won’t use the top gears, even though it’s supposed to.
Fuel economy means how far the car can go on a given amount of gas. Higher fuel economy usually means you spend less money on fuel and emit less pollution.
Term
TPA
TPA is an acronym the hosts mention while talking about testing, but they don’t explain it here. It likely refers to a specific testing or approval step, and you’d need the full episode context to know exactly what it means.
Mothers is a company that makes car cleaning and detailing products. The hosts are saying they’re partnering with them and will use their products as part of the show.
A detail spray is a quick cleaner/shine product you spray on the car and wipe off. People use it to keep the paint looking good without doing a full wash.
Term
concoctions
“Concoctions” is used to describe custom-mixed chemical blends—essentially the formulated recipes for detailing products. It’s not a standard automotive term, but it signals that they’re making experimental mixtures in a lab.
In this context, “parking lot” is being used as the informal test area for product trials—cars that arrive and park there may be treated as potential test vehicles. It’s not a technical term, but it’s central to how their product testing is described.
A “product test car” is a vehicle used to evaluate how a car-care product performs in real conditions. Here, the speaker implies that cars parked at the facility could be used for informal testing of sprays and wipes.
Water spots happen when water dries on the car and leaves behind marks, often from minerals in the water. They can be annoying to clean off and may need special detailing products.
That’s a Mercedes-Benz E-Class wagon that was upgraded by AMG. AMG is Mercedes’ performance division, so it’s a much faster, sportier version than a normal E-Class wagon.
The S14 is the engine that powered the E30 M3. It revs high, but the speaker is saying it doesn’t feel super strong on its own, so other upgrades were used to improve the overall car.
“Aero” means the car’s shape and surfaces that affect how air flows around it. The speaker is saying they tried to improve airflow, but it was done in a strange way—like filling gaps to make the hood area extra smooth.
The Ferrari 612 is a Ferrari grand tourer—meant for comfortable, fast long drives. The host is saying they’re ready for that kind of car.
Term
Stick swapter
This sounds like a “manual swap,” meaning converting a car to use a stick shift instead of an automatic. People do it to make the car more fun to drive.
Term
late OTO
They mention “late OTO,” but it’s not clear what that stands for from this snippet. It could be a nickname for a car-buying or build situation.
The Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution is a sporty car made for strong performance. The “Evo 6” is a specific older version of that model. People talk about it because it’s designed to grip the road well and drive enthusiastically.
This is the sixth-generation Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution. It’s a turbocharged, all-wheel-drive performance car, and in this conversation they’re talking about manual versions.
The Jaguar XE Project 8 is a special, more performance-oriented version of the Jaguar XE. They’re saying they want something that a well-known car reviewer (Harry Metcalfe) has highlighted.
Harry Metcalfe is a well-known car reviewer. When someone says they want a car “Harry has breathed on,” they mean they want something he’s talked about and endorsed.
“Cat delete” in this conversation doesn’t mean removing emissions equipment. They’re saying it’s a custom look/graphic change—something that makes it look like there’s a “cat” on the side of the car.
A catalytic converter is a part of the exhaust system that helps reduce pollution from the car’s fumes. They’re clarifying that the “cat delete” term they’re using isn’t about removing that part.
“600 horsepower” is a number that tells you how strong the engine is. Higher horsepower usually means the car can accelerate harder, especially compared with more normal cars.
“Four cylinders” means the engine has four working sections. It’s a common engine layout—typically smaller and more efficient than bigger multi-cylinder engines.
The Toyota Supra is a sports car from Toyota that enthusiasts love. It’s known for being quick and fun to drive, and it’s a popular choice if you want a real performance car without going full supercar.
Concept
four-seater cars
“Four-seater” just means the car can seat four people. That usually makes it more practical for everyday life or bringing friends along compared with a two-seat sports car.
Term
four-seaters
“Four-seaters” just means the car can seat four people. They’re thinking about getting something with a more practical back seat.
A “power trunk” is a trunk you can open and close with a button or switch instead of lifting it by hand. They’re making a joke that the trunk is the only thing you can’t really mess up while driving.
A “money shift” is a bad gear mistake where the engine spins too fast. It can cause serious damage, so it’s one of the most feared driving errors.
Term
gentleman's agreement
This phrase means an informal, agreed-upon rule between companies. In this context, it’s about how horsepower numbers were reported differently, especially between Japan and the U.S.
Term
torque number
Torque is the engine’s twisting force that helps the car pull strongly. They’re saying the car’s updates increased torque, even if the horsepower rating didn’t change.
The Porsche Carrera GT is a very special Porsche supercar. It’s rare and has a big V10 engine, and in this segment people treat it like a “holy grail” car at car shows.
“Air-cooled” means the engine is cooled mainly by air flowing over it, not by circulating liquid coolant. Some car fans really love air-cooled engines because they’re part of certain classic Porsche designs.
Concours events are high-end car shows where cars are judged in detail. People who go to them usually care a lot about having a car that’s in excellent, original condition.
The Porsche 959 is an older Porsche supercar that’s known for being very advanced for its time. It has a distinctive shape with a long hood. People talk about it because it’s rare and technologically notable.
The Ferrari 599 is another V12 Ferrari, newer than the 575. The hosts are saying its engine avoids a particular maintenance step (the belt service) that the 575 needs.
The Ferrari 575 is a V12 Ferrari meant for cruising. They’re pointing out that it’s generally strong mechanically, but you still have to do scheduled maintenance like a belt service.
A belt service means replacing or checking a belt inside the engine at the recommended time. If it’s not done and the belt fails, it can cause serious engine damage.
“Conversions” here means changing one car so it uses parts or setup from another car. They’re saying the similar transmission helps make that kind of swap work.
“Six-speed” means the car’s transmission has six forward gears. They’re mentioning it because having a similar gearbox makes certain swaps/conversions easier.
Term
challenge wheels
“Challenge wheels” are a particular style of wheel used on some Ferraris. The hosts are saying the car looks especially good with that wheel design.
Term
OTOs
“OTOs” sounds like the hosts’ shorthand for a particular set of options on the car. The clip doesn’t explain what it stands for, so it’s hard to pin down exactly.
The E30 M3 is a classic BMW M3 from the E30 generation. People love it because it’s a driver-focused sports sedan/coupe that feels very “old-school” and fun to drive.
The BMW 5 Series is a comfortable, mid-size luxury car. The podcast is talking about older performance versions from different years, like the E28 M5 and E34 M5. People discuss these because each older version drives a little differently.
Concept
90s plastic cars
This is a nickname for cars from the 1990s that used a lot of plastic in their construction or interior. The host thinks that kind of feel went along with the cars not driving as well.
E46 is the name enthusiasts use for a specific generation of the BMW 3 Series. It’s from the late 1990s/early 2000s and is popular with car fans. In this chat it’s being compared to other BMW models.
“Stripped down” means the car is more basic and less loaded with extra features. The idea is that it’s lighter and more focused on driving feel. In this comparison, they’re saying the E30 M3 is especially simple.
The podcast is talking about a 1969 Ford Mustang Mach 1. It’s a classic Mustang model that was made as a more performance-focused version. People mention it because it’s a well-known older muscle car.
The 428 Cobra Jet is a big V8 engine option Ford offered in that era. It’s the kind of engine muscle-car fans look for because it was designed to make serious power.
A replica is a car made to look like a famous older car. Some replicas are done really well, and others are put together cheaply—so quality can vary a lot.
Ford has a famous sports-car name called the GT. Here, the speaker says most people talk about the Ford GT when they think about Ford’s racing success, instead of the Daytona Coupe.
A constructors championship is a season title for the car maker, not just the driver. It’s based on how well the manufacturer’s cars do across the races.
Term
billet lower
“Billet” means the part is cut from a solid chunk of metal. It’s often used for suspension pieces because it can be stronger and fit more precisely than cheaper manufacturing methods.
Control arms are parts that help hold the wheel in the right position and let it move over bumps. “Billet” control arms are made from solid metal, which can make them sturdier and more accurately made.
A tubular chassis is basically the car’s frame made from welded metal tubes. Hand welding means people build it by hand, not just by a fully automated factory process.
A “331 V8” is a V8 engine with a specific size (331 cubic inches). “Built” means it’s been modified inside for more power or durability, not left as a standard factory engine.
ITBs are throttle valves—one per cylinder group—so the engine can breathe more precisely. “Electronic” means the throttle is controlled by a computer instead of a purely mechanical cable.
A roll cage is a strong metal frame inside the car meant to protect you if the car flips or crashes hard. It also takes up space, so it can make entry and exit tight.
The Lamborghini Espada is a Lamborghini that can seat four people. Many Lamborghinis are only two seats, so this one is different. People talk about it because it’s a more practical Lamborghini option.
The Lamborghini Countach is a famous, very extreme supercar. They’re comparing the Viper to it to say the experience is so intense it can leave you feeling worn out.
That’s a way of measuring how much power actually reaches the tires. It accounts for losses inside the drivetrain, so it can be lower than the number you see in brochures.
They’re talking about the Ford Fiesta ST, which is the sporty version of the Fiesta. They’re using what it sold for to show what cars like this cost right now.
The Ford Fiesta is a small car. The “Fiesta ST” is the sportier version, meant to feel more fun to drive. The podcast is talking about one that was sold and how good it is.
They mean the original price/spec sheet that used to be displayed in the car’s window. It’s used to compare the car’s original “new” price to today’s sale price.
GTI is short for a sport version of the Volkswagen Golf. It’s one of the most famous “hot hatch” cars, and the hosts are comparing it to other small performance hatchbacks.
They’re talking about auctions where people bid on special car-related experiences, and the money goes to a good cause. In this case, it supports a women’s motorsports program.
Singer is a car brand famous for special, highly detailed Porsche 911 builds. The hosts are saying you can tour where they work, as part of a charity auction.
The Mazda Miata is a small two-seat roadster made to be easy and fun to drive. It’s known for being light and responsive rather than for being extremely powerful. That’s why people often debate what should happen to it in the future.
The C8 Corvette is a newer Corvette generation from Chevrolet. It’s known for putting the engine in the middle of the car, which helps the car feel more balanced and agile.
A mid-engine car puts the engine more in the middle of the vehicle, not all the way in front. That usually makes the car handle more smoothly because the weight is better balanced.
The Toyota MR2 is a sports car where the engine sits closer to the middle of the car. The hosts mention it because it was one of the earlier affordable mid-engine options.
The Pontiac Fiero was a sports car with the engine placed more toward the middle. It’s mentioned as an example of a cheaper mid-engine car that existed before.
The Lotus Elan is an old-school British sports car famous for being light and agile. The hosts are saying the Miata’s early design idea was inspired by that kind of car.
The GT86 is a small, affordable sports car meant to be fun to drive. The hosts are saying they think it would have been even cooler if the engine were in the middle instead of the front.
The Ferrari 360 is a famous Ferrari sports car. It’s the kind of car that looks and drives like a supercar, and it was popular enough to really put a spotlight on people who talked about it online.
“Notoriously unreliable” means the car is known for breaking down or needing repairs more often than most. The point here is that some people will still keep driving one even if it’s a headache.
Car
Mercedes-Benz SL65
The Mercedes-Benz SL65 is a fancy, fast roadster from Mercedes. It’s not as famous as some other supercars, so the hosts are saying it might be harder for most people to get excited about it.
Concept
P1
“P1” is a name people use for a very rare, very expensive supercar. The hosts are saying that even cars like that can be turned into something people want to watch.
Concept
Pint My Ride
“Pint My Ride” sounds like a car makeover-style show. The hosts are using it to say that some kinds of car-content get people interested, even if the specific car isn’t the most famous one.
They’re using “trajectory” to mean the path of how something becomes popular. In this case, it’s about how a car’s fame or video success builds over time.
Term
non-challenge grill
“Non-challenge grill” appears to be a mis-transcription or a specific in-joke term for a grille design that doesn’t match a “challenge” look. In context, the hosts are describing a bulbous grille style and how it stood out visually.
The Tesla Model Y is an electric SUV made by Tesla. Doug is being told to watch a video about it—especially why someone picked the entry-level (base) version.
“Value prop” means the main reason a car feels worth the price. In this case, they’re saying the Model Y’s best selling point is that it’s relatively cheap for what you get.
Topic
lease it for 99 bucks
They’re talking about leasing, which means you pay a monthly fee to drive the car for a while instead of owning it.
The Maserati GranTurismo is a luxury sports car meant for comfortable driving over longer trips. It’s designed to feel sporty, not like a basic commuter car. The podcast brings it up as a car someone was considering or thinking about.
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Hello, and welcome to THIS car pod!
I'm Kenan. I'm Felipe.
I'm Doug. Ryan Lopez is off camera. Let's start with the news!
Yes, Bugatti is the big news story of the week.
Porsche is divesting. You heard about this?
Of course.
This is a big story. Porsche has had some financial troubles.
They used to make a lot of money. Now they make very little money.
They decided to sell their steak in Bugatti to private equity.
You don't have any thoughts on this?
They're just for context on them as a whole. Operating profits in Q1 were down 22% a year.
They do maybe need some cash.
Porsche needs some cash. Their profits fell something like 90% between 24 and 25%.
They only made $407 million last year. That's all they made.
It's a tough life.
To be fair, their expenses must be unbelievable.
Revenue was like this, and expenses were like this.
You've seen the factory.
They got a lot of German fellows in overalls.
They got that bridge.
That's expensive to maintain.
They sold their steak in Bugatti and Rimac, which is like the same.
I've never really understood it.
A few years ago, there was a joint venture of Bugatti and Rimac.
I've never really understood it, and now I don't have to.
It's all sold.
But you still have to understand the joint venture.
I don't. JV, come on.
You have to do that.
So is Porsche and his Volkswagen completely out of Bugatti now?
I remember there being a weird situation where,
yeah, sorry, Volkswagen is fully out of everything Bugatti, Rimac.
Wow.
That's a big deal.
That is a big deal.
Volkswagen is what resurrected Bugatti, in essence,
gave us the veyron and started the whole thing.
Is that true, Felipe?
No more Volkswagen and Bugatti.
So what's going to happen?
I don't know, but HOF capital, Hoff capital, very proud of Bugatti.
It's up there in their list of portfolio companies now.
Oh, God.
They own a 45% stake.
The Rimac screw bones, a 55% stake.
Obviously.
I suspect nothing will happen.
This is it.
So the Volkswagen lineup went, this is sad,
because the Volkswagen lineup went from the very lowest tier company,
Skoda, all the way up.
Huh?
Say up.
No, I said what I said.
All the way up to Bugatti at the very, very top, right?
Yeah, that is a lie.
They had Lamborghini.
You could go Lamborghini, Bentley, the whole,
there was this whole gamut.
And wait, they have Opel, right?
No.
So I said that's Opel.
Oh, right.
Okay.
Because that would have been the...
Yeah.
Say it still exists.
Nope.
Nope.
And now there's Bugatti's gone.
Lamborghini is our pinnacle brand.
To be clear, Bugatti's still around.
Yeah, but let me tell you something.
You know what happens when private equity owns a car company?
It's not Volkswagen.
The thing that made Volkswagen special with Bugatti,
at least when I was a boy,
was that Volkswagen had this fellow named Ferdinand,
like the bull,
and he was in there at the Bugatti,
and he just decided that he would spend whatever it took
to create this absolute iconic world-class ultra car
that was the fastest thing anybody had ever imagined.
And private equity has the exact opposite opinions.
Do you know what I mean?
Like, they lost money.
I mean, Porsche's straight...
Volkswagen's straight lost a ton of money on Bugatti.
Yeah.
Yep.
Initially.
Presumably they've made money since then.
I think they had held some more times costs.
So now it's all over.
Plus, they can't share.
I mean, remember, the Veyron had a Passat key fob.
They may very well still have some parts sharing.
You can do that even if you're not co-owned.
I know, but we're all sad about it.
I don't have any emotion whatsoever about it.
I'm shocked at that.
You don't have emotion about a nice thing.
I'm stunned.
Or anything at all.
Or anything at all.
Bugatti in your mind isn't a special thing.
Like, when I think of the car world,
I think of Bugatti as sort of the pinnacle brand.
And the cool thing about Bugatti,
the cool thing about Koenigsegg was that you can meet the guy.
The cool thing about Bugatti was that it was developed
by a real company.
But if we're honest...
I feel like in 2021, when the joint venture with Rehmats
was created and like ownership went to Porsche
for a portion of it.
Yeah.
And then the Rehmats Group for the rest.
That already changed the fundamental...
Yeah, but Porsche is Volkswagen.
Volkswagen is Porsche.
They have been ever since they were making cars for that fella.
Yeah.
Back in the 40s.
My view on this remains...
Hey, what fella?
You know, you remember him.
You know the more I hear about that guy, the more I don't like him.
The point remains, Volkswagen is out.
Yeah.
What a...
They did say when they started the joint venture,
like we're combining the like new technological aspects
of Rehmats, which is doing a lot of EVs at the time,
with the like expertise that we as the Porsche brand
that Volkswagen have in building cars.
Don't you just trust Bugatti less now?
Any desire I had to have a Veyron,
which was actually some desire, some actual desire,
definitely have kicked it around.
I have less desire today.
Yeah.
Without any support for those cars.
I mean...
They still exist.
They're still maybe French, maybe Italian, maybe Croatian.
We don't know.
Volkswagen had the money...
We never understood.
Volkswagen had the money to spend to keep stuff around
for the Veyron.
That's not good.
I don't see that happening going forward.
It's still a billion dollar brand.
That's a guess for what Bugatti wants.
Yes, but it will eventually be a car that was made,
you know, 30, 40 years ago at some point.
We're really going to continue to support this thing.
Volkswagen might have said yes to keep the brand.
They were only briefly Italian.
Right.
And it was a completely different operating.
But you'd hear Bugatti a year soon.
The factory was beautiful.
No, no.
That's a common misconception.
I know.
I believe it's true.
The French.
They...
This guy in Italy...
Romano Artioli.
He bought Bugatti for a brief period and moved the whole thing to Italy.
Smart.
And then it all went belly up and then Volkswagen bought the remnants with him
and brought it all back to what they consider to be France.
Great Italian tradition.
It completely failed.
And the factory was beautiful.
But it's still there.
What is Romano Artioli's legacy?
The Lotus Elise.
The name for the Lotus Elise.
His granddaughter.
He owned Lotus and named the Lotus Elise after his granddaughter.
Regardless, it has now got to be no longer part of it.
But they have some private equity money and that's going to work.
Everything's going to go great.
Can't wait for the tour beyond.
Move on to the next news story.
Oh, Chinese cars.
My God.
Chinese cars have been absolutely blowing up.
I go to the Wall Street Journal.
They're not literally.
Front page of the Wall Street Journal there.
And no, they're not blowing up.
My God.
Quite the opposite.
They're very nice.
The party.
The party will be happy with us.
That's right.
I go to the front page of the Wall Street Journal and there's an article about Chinese cars.
And I click on the article, which I was interviewed for apparently on background.
No, it was fine.
I love giving better quotes.
It was all good.
Yeah, I know.
I don't have much interesting to say.
However, I click on the article, go through the article, and I've discovered something interesting.
Some of the Democrats, those are the people in the Congress have introduced the most ridiculous
bill where they want to ban Chinese cars, not only from the U.S., where they're essentially
already banned for a variety of reasons, from being built or made or sold, but from even
entering the United States.
It is a while.
By the way, Bernie Moreno, who owns a lot of cartilages in Ohio, in the research.
He also is in support of this.
He's part of it too.
Big surprise.
But like Jamie Raskin, who's like one of your Lib heroes, is part of it.
And they even entering.
So here's what they're going to do if the Libs get their way.
Here's what they're going to do.
You're coming over, you're a tourist from Mexico, which by the way, here in San Diego,
I see a Mexican car.
It's the most frequent license plate I see aside from California.
Do you agree?
I mean, there are hundreds and hundreds I see every single day.
And a good portion of them are Chinese cars.
Because they have a compelling product that's sold in Mexico.
You come up to the border.
Okay, you're in a Kia Rio.
You're good.
You can go over.
Oh, you're in a car.
Let's check the venue.
Let's start with L.
I'm so sorry.
You can't come over.
You're just a tourist driving a car.
You're not allowed to bring it into America for a day to go to SeaWorld.
These people are so stupid.
I want to give a little bit of context because it's vaguely important.
So right now, Chinese cars, if they are broadly not allowed in the U.S.
and face very steep tariffs, if they do come.
And the Trump administration has basically said,
on top of those tariffs, we won't allow some manufacturers.
Yeah.
Generally.
I'm oversimplifying a little bit.
He, President Trump, opened the door a little bit during a speech a few weeks ago,
saying maybe we can, with the right terms, allow some Chinese manufacturing
if they manufacture them in the U.S., but they're Chinese brand.
Which I totally support.
We'd allow it for the Koreans.
Right.
And there's been a little bit of a reaction to that of both Democrats and Republicans,
but a Democrat wrote that letter saying,
no, we shouldn't allow the Chinese cars here under any condition.
Jamie Raskin, who seemed until today like a fairly reasonable individual,
views Chinese cars even driving in America as an existential threat to the car industry.
And why is that?
It's because someone might see them and say, damn, that's a pretty good car.
Jamie Raskin's ex, by the way, he's a congressman from suburban Maryland.
There's no production in his district.
He abuses an existential threat that we might see Chinese cars
and decide, oh, they're actually not so bad.
Yeah.
Which, by the way, is the premise of that Wall Street Journal article.
It's a bearish thing.
In the border towns, they name El Paso, but San Diego is true here, too.
You see those cars and they are appealing.
When I was interviewed for this article, I was on the phone while I was driving.
Sean's G-Wagon, actually.
And I told the, at the end of the interview, I told Ryan Feltner and wrote the story.
I told them I'd seen several Chinese cars while we were talking.
Yeah.
But over the ban now, they can't even drive over the border.
By the way, I do feel for the people that drive Buick Invisions or the Long Wheelbase S90.
Yeah, what about that?
Both of which are being said.
Imagine if, Jamie Raskin, of course, there's no idea about any of this stuff,
but imagine if he knew there were already Chinese cars.
They've already infiltrated the Buick Invision, has already infiltrated our country.
And the Long Wheelbase S90.
And presumably some number of Teslas that were built in China and sold in Canada,
which was allowed, they've come over the border.
God knows where they are now.
Oh, no.
Aren't there even probably other Volvos?
There were probably Volvos.
Only the S90 was built there.
I think for a little while, Polestar 2's built in China.
Oh, my God.
Don't hold me to that.
Jamie Raskin, we gotta ban the Polestar 2.
Don't worry, though.
The consumer, the car buying public has already done that.
Can I read a quote from Bob Lutz?
Because I sent this to you earlier, but I find it to be one of the best quotes I've got out here.
Okay, go ahead.
Bob Lutz.
Bob Lutz, can you describe Bob Lutz?
He's like the quintessential American automotive CEO.
He was an automotive CEO, yeah.
Also wild.
Insane, yeah.
He said that he had an epiphany earlier this decade about how advanced...
When is this...
Bob Lutz, I'm learning, is 94.
When is this quote from 1993?
The quote is for the...
In preparation for this article.
You're kidding.
Bob Lutz is still giving interviews?
I believe so.
He's not doing it.
That's what it implies.
Apparently in this article, he's quoted us saying that earlier this decade,
he had an epiphany about how advanced Beijing has become when he bought a Chinese made Buick Envision.
Bob Lutz purchased a Buick Envision.
Because of the total silkiness and sweet refinement,
he said, I thought, boy, if they know how to make Buicks like this in China,
they obviously know how to make great cars.
Pull up a picture of the Buick Envision.
For those of you who don't know, the Buick Envision was the single most mediocre vehicle manufactured
and sold in the United States in the last 15 years.
Please go back to...
Yeah, I mean, honestly, any of them, but the first, yes, I do.
It was that one that was really so offensive.
Boy, I'll tell you, Bob Lutz, if they can build a Buick like this one,
America doesn't stand a chance.
The total silkiness...
It really stirs the soul.
180 horsepower, 2.4-liter four-cylinder,
and the cloth seats were pre-stained.
The total silkiness and sweet refinement of the vehicle.
The truth of the matter is, of course, this car was not available to consumers
because it was such a big hit with Hertz Evers.
There weren't any left over.
What a shame.
Couldn't buy one.
You couldn't find one.
High demand.
Anyway, Chinese cars banned from America in theory.
That's what the Libs want.
However, it would be really bad if it happened because the next news story is...
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That's some Chinese company, Great Wall, Filippo's hero company.
Probably.
He's a socialist.
He's a communist.
They're not my favorite of the manufacturer.
He has a favorite Chinese car company.
My favorite is MG, because it's a heritage.
Just like my Graham Pappies.
Anyway.
All right.
At the Beijing Auto Show, they revealed additional information
about a platform that they actually talked about at CES.
But they are thinking about launching Great Wall Motors,
GWM, named after, indeed, the Great Wall.
The GF sub-brand, which is a great faith, but they have a...
The old GWM GF.
They have teeth.
The Trump people are concerned about Chinese cars being sold
in the United States.
I reviewed a car called the Feng Cheng Bao.
What was it called?
The Feng Cheng Bao.
Leopard 5.
Leopard 5, but that was a loose translation.
But don't forget about the BYD Seal and the Dolphin.
That's true.
They had a car called the Dolphin.
Regardless, they've announced that they're working on a V8,
a four-liter turbocharged mid-engine V8,
and a carbon-fiber monocoque chassis.
To take on Ferrari.
Yeah.
Your company is going to get taken down by GWM.
Let me tell you something.
I feel okay.
We're going to be fine.
No.
Ferrari's moved on to six-cylinder powertrains, plug-in hybrids.
And the V12 SUV that they currently build.
Speaking of SUVs,
Great Wall also said that this V8 is going to find its way into the tank,
which is a giant bulky thing that they make.
It's a big SUV.
Ferrari's over here.
A mid-sized SUV.
Ferrari's over here, but it looks bulky.
It's like the G-Wagon.
It looks bulky, but it isn't.
Ferrari's over here with their six-cylinders,
and they're losing Formula One,
unlike Cadillac, who wins.
Not so.
Of course enough.
Great Wall is coming in with a V8.
Now, why is a Chinese company developing a gasoline powertrain of any kind
let alone a V8?
They've made clear that this is not aligned with current trends in China.
But they want to compete internationally,
and they do think that,
especially in the US and especially in the supercar segment,
they need a V8.
I'm reading between the lines here and the belief that Great Wall
thinks that the barriers for the United States for Chinese cars to enter
may fall.
Yeah, I do imagine they all sort of thinking maybe about the Middle East
where there is some appetite still for...
The Great Wall and that kind of question.
Yes, they certainly are thinking about that.
A lot of the Chinese manufacturers,
especially this week at the Beijing Auto Show,
is wrapping up.
There have been a lot of press cycles and interviews.
A lot of them are saying,
we do expect that we'll be trying to establish a dealer base
or production in the US in the coming years.
There's certainly an outlook towards that.
Chinese manufacturers,
the competition in China in the automotive space is quite tough.
The Chinese automakers want to sell cars not just to China.
They need to survive fundamentally.
There's like 100 Chinese brands.
Profits are massively declining because of a huge price war
that is happening, driving prices down.
BYD is one of the largest, has had quite horrible earnings in Q1.
They need to expand to Europe.
They need to expand to the US,
which is if they're successful,
likely be their second largest market after China.
That expansion matters.
And they think that if we bring,
I think Great Wall Motors is thinking,
if we bring engineering from...
They have an engineer that was a chief engineer from McLaren for a while.
Right. Known for the reliability.
This is not a reliability play.
This is a performance.
And they think that it can work.
And so clearly they're taking steps towards that.
I think that it's interesting...
I'm not sure about cool,
but I think that it's interesting that they're taking steps towards that.
I think cool.
Didn't you just say it's cool that they're taking steps towards that?
Clear, I think.
Roll the tape back.
Roll it back.
I don't remember what I said.
I just vamp. I don't know.
Regardless, definitely kind of an odd situation,
especially considering the...
At the simultaneous with this V8,
you have Jamie Raskin trying to ban the thought of Chinese cars in America.
So they're named after the Great Wall,
and we have a Great Wall for our own ideological...
We get a Great Wall.
Yeah, it's the Border Patrol at the thing looking at VINs
trying to figure out if their car was built in China.
Oh, I'm sorry.
Your Model 3 was built in China.
You can't come.
Go back and find the Model 3 that was built in Texas.
You've come right over the border.
Silly ridiculous.
Dumb lawmaker BS.
Repeated reminder that lawmakers have no idea what's going on.
Speaking of people who have no idea what's going on,
and speaking of MG and Great Wall are great Chinese...
Where is this going?
The day of driving in my Kuntash?
Sure, yeah.
They barely knew what was going on, let's be honest.
I pull up next to it.
It stopped late there.
I'm up the street, actually, just up the street.
I pull up next to an MG.
Like a real MG?
That's interesting that you say that.
I think they're all real MGs,
which is why when the guy said to me,
wow, I haven't seen one of those in a while,
I said to him,
I haven't seen one of those since I drove the Cyberster.
How did he react?
I didn't actually say that, but I should have.
Most of it because A would be dumb,
and B, you can't be heard over the car.
He's talking to me.
I'm like, dude, don't.
All right, next one of these.
Oh, wow.
All right, Shelby.
So we've been talking the Dark Horse and the Dark Horse SC
for Supercharge.
Very cool car.
Our out now have been talked about, they've been revealed.
There's been an open question of why they got rid of the Shelby GT350
and Shelby GT500 nomenclature.
We have learned this week that Shelby was apparently taking
an $800 per vehicle cut of the Shelby branded models,
and that was enough for Ford to decide we're done with that.
Wow.
We're keeping our $800 and Shelby name,
the Shelby name is meaningless to us.
The Shelby name is worth less than $100.
So now they're like.
Everybody's trying to cut costs in here or there.
We got the tariffs to deal with.
And so Ford decides to cut heritage.
Tens of millions of dollars were paid out there for.
How many could they have sold?
14,000 units of the GT500.
That's 11 million.
And apparently it's another 20 plus million for the GT350.
$800 a car.
It's real money.
I mean, it's real money.
I would argue that it probably,
we'll see what happens with the Dark Horse,
which I think is lovely.
It has not been a great seller.
There appears to be one in the office.
It's not a Dark Horse GT.
I don't know what that is,
but I knew when I saw GT350, I knew what that was.
Right.
Is it worth $800?
Probably.
That's the question.
I mean, the Shelby brand has been so inextricably linked
to the Mustang since its inception in essence.
Well, and to Dodge.
Well, he did work for Christ for a time.
Last car Carol worked on was the first Inviper.
I agree with that.
There's all these Ford Shelby's,
there's all these Chrysler Shelby's.
What the hell's going on?
The GLH, a great vehicle.
Very great.
It goes like hell.
But I don't know, I'm in two minds about it
because the Dark Horse is really cool,
but I agree.
When I see the Shelby badge as a Midwestern,
I know what that means.
Probably worth the 800 bucks.
Shelby had such a, there was such a following there.
I wonder if it also prevented them from using Cobra
because they did Shelby,
but for some reason didn't bring back Cobra,
which they haven't used in so far.
You'd think that's where they would have gone
if they wanted to get a Mustang performance trend,
but they said they came up with this new one,
which is Dark Horse,
which I think has been a little bit confusing to enthusiasts,
to be honest.
Is that the new Shelby?
Cobra must be Cobra.
They must own it because they've Shelby Cobra.
That was where that came from.
Maybe so.
I mean, Mustang Cobra was also a thing
for a long, long, long, long time.
Decades and decades.
It might be related there.
Who knows?
I don't really know where the trademark's live, but...
$30 million.
Some big amount of money went to Shelby.
Now, I think Shelby deserves a big amount of money.
They got a cool brand.
For God's sake, didn't we all love the Chrysler Laser Shelby?
Oh, the Daytona.
Daytona.
Remember the Daytona?
Yeah, the one from...
Yeah.
Front-wheel drive hatchback Shelby.
Do you remember this car?
Of course.
Oh, you do?
You do not.
You were living in Italy.
I'll find out in a second.
Not that one.
What year was that?
2000.
Dodge Daytona Shelby.
Oh, yeah.
I'm not talking about the real Shelby Daytona.
Yeah.
Oh, yeah.
Of course I remember this.
This.
Yeah, of course.
We hosted one.
Let me tell you something.
This car had at least 140 horsepower.
We'll find out.
We'll see.
The Shelby Z.
I don't think it even.
Sold by Autobsture Garage.
174 horsepower.
174 horsepower.
200 pound feet, though.
This thing was a mover and a shaker.
That's a good looking car.
That's the interior of this car.
It was fine.
If you're ready for it.
Oh, yeah.
Oh, I want that in my life.
It is so shiny and purple.
Are you disappointed that you're not a part of this?
Yeah, I am.
I've always wanted to review all these 80s Chryslers.
None of them work right.
Now that Ford is no longer paying them.
Maybe they'll come out with other partnerships.
Maybe we can get the Dodge Dart back.
All right.
Give us our next new story, please.
I'm good.
All right.
Speaking of the Dodge Dart.
There is a report that was exclusive to Reuters this week.
That Stalantis is going to focus the majority of its investment in four brands.
They have 14 brands, as we've talked about before.
Those brands, dead.
No, that's not actually true.
Those brands will have some like platform sharing and like.
That's not even really what they said.
Maybe some local.
You are totally out of character, out of line with what actually was reported,
which is that they're going to focus on a couple of brands.
God, I just click on Stalantis and hit news to pull this story up.
And the thing is coming up is Stalantis employees complain of nosebleeds, migraines, vomiting.
Detroit News.
Stalantis HQ ailment complaints.
What we know.
Stalantis HQ investigated by Michigan after employee illnesses.
Stalantis workers raised health concerns at Auburn Hills HQ.
Oh my God.
I will give the actual reliability is so bad.
It's affecting the people.
They are still going to make all the brands to be clear.
They currently have, although they have made clear that they may dispose of some in the future.
That may not be the word they use, but that's what I hope not.
They're going to dispose of some, but they will obviously still do some like badge engineering platform sharing with other brands
and have some region specific.
I want to make a point.
Can you name the four brands, Kenan?
Yeah, it's Kenan and I will.
Please.
It's Jeep, Alfa Romeo.
No.
Oh, sorry.
The four that survived.
Yeah.
Jeep, Alfa.
I guess Ram.
I don't remember the other two.
That's really unfortunate.
What are they?
There's four.
You can only remember two.
Well, those are the only ones.
Can I tell you why I don't think this?
What are they?
Jeep, Ram, Peugeot and Fiat.
The reason I don't think this is a big news story, they already are only focusing on the primary brand.
Jeep has gotten the brand like Chrysler that has a minor facelift.
Did you see that Chrysler is reportedly legitimately considering making an off-road Pacifica?
I did and I decided not to include it.
You know what makes me sad about that?
I wouldn't buy it.
Even though last week I said I want an off-road minivan, I don't want an off-road Pacifica.
I want an off-road Sienna.
I don't trust the Pacifica.
Listen, I think this is great and I'm thrilled that you're doing this, Chrysler.
I don't trust your vehicles to go off-road.
I want a Sienna.
Give me a lifted Sienna.
Give me a lifted Odyssey.
Toyota, you listen?
Basically, what they've said is.
Probably not.
Jeep, Ram, Peugeot and Fiat are going to receive the largest investments in new platforms, new engine, new powertrains, whatever.
And the other brands will also share those, will benefit from that technology development,
but will have kind of smaller budgets.
It is interesting not to call out Dodge as a brand that they're focusing on.
They sell one product.
Yeah, but until yesterday they sold one unbelievably popular product, which was the Challenger and Charger.
Oh, sure.
You're right.
I'm sorry.
They sell two products.
I forgot about the Challenger entirely.
Or the Charger or whatever it's called.
You get my point though.
It's interesting that there's not a focus on trying to...
Those cars were some of the top sellers for years and there's not a focus on trying to like...
Because if you think about the other Peugeot Fiat and the truck brands, there's not a Dodge Charger in there.
You know what I mean?
So don't really get...
Ram will certainly be truck chassis development, et cetera.
Jeep will develop all the SUVs and I imagine there'll be a Durango that is shared with that, whatever.
Fiat and Peugeot, I don't understand what they're going with for differentiation.
I imagine Peugeot will be slightly...
Fiat will probably be their low-cost brand because they're the largest market in the South American markets.
Peugeot will be the European brand.
You need Peugeot for Europe or for France specifically.
You can't get rid of Peugeot because the French government will lose their mind.
I'm surprised that they're investing in both.
I imagine Fiat will have to be their cheap tertiary market development for cheaper cars.
And Jeep, honestly.
Fiat is the car version and Jeep is the SUV version.
You know, Jeep overseas has become very different from Jeep real estate.
The cars are not even related.
For example, not the Dodge Avenger, the Jeep Avenger.
You go to Italy and there's Jeeps and I'm looking at them.
It's an Italian brand.
Yeah, it is. It is now.
And it's like, what is this thing?
It makes sense.
I think it makes sense the four brands they're choosing to focus on.
I am interested to see what will happen to the other brands,
but unlike you who thinks they're going to go away,
I think they're still going to get cars.
They will just not be the recipient of the primary focus.
Jeep obviously has to be the big one because it's the only one that has real clout.
No performance component is somewhat interesting, though.
There's no Maserati Alpha in that.
They'll make cars.
That's what I'm saying.
With no Dodge, you're not focusing on Charger Challenger.
I don't think Pujo Fiat creates a car that the Charger Challenger could be.
So then you're thinking, wait a minute.
Isn't that still a priority?
We want our V8s.
Well, no, the V8s are for the Rams.
It's electric.
We want our V8s.
There's no Charger sold with a V8.
It's going to be like tomorrow.
I will say Jeep of the Solantis brands in the U.S.
Jeep has a 47% market share.
Ram has 34%.
47% market share of the Solantis brands in the U.S.
And Ram has what?
37%, 34%.
You know, if you had looked at that five years ago when Dodge was still selling the Charger
and the Challenger, those numbers wouldn't be the case.
Right.
Or 15 years ago when they was all branded Dodge, wouldn't be different.
Yeah, definitely that, too.
All right.
What's our next news story?
Oh, yes.
Speaking of Chrysler, I can't believe we're going to talk about this.
This is just such a great story.
We're going to tell the story all alone.
All right.
This is a Ram Pro Master.
It is advertised as having a nine-speed transmission.
And indeed, the transmission has nine speeds.
There's nine gears.
There are nine gears.
But there's a class action lawsuit right now that it is intentionally programmed to never
go into gears eight or nine.
This is what the lawsuit alleges.
Alleges, yes.
That the transmission is, for various reasons, even though it's a nine-speed automatic, has
programmed it so it will never reach eighth gear and ninth gear.
Now, I know what you're thinking.
Oh, no.
What do I do without my gears?
When you rebuild the transmission, you'll have two.
You don't need to...
They said, was that gear made in China?
You can't come in here.
You can't use this one.
It is just such a ridiculous story.
That's a ridiculous story.
Plus, what are the damages?
Right.
That is a great question.
Yeah.
What are they doing?
Are they just saying it's cute?
Fuel economy?
Right.
That's the only thing I can think of.
But the TPA...
The TPA, so I wouldn't have gone into eighth or ninth for testing either.
Yeah.
All right.
Move on to our next story, please.
Oh, yeah.
Me and Mothers.
Folks, this is a massive deal.
This is the biggest new story of the week.
We are partnering with Mothers.
Yeah.
Mothers makes the finest detailing products in the world on the planet.
And we are now partnering with Mothers.
We've got Mothers stuff over there in the thing, in the podcast set.
We are going to have Mothers products integrated.
There's going to be all sorts of cool Mothers things that come out of this.
I want to tell you a story.
All right.
I went up to their headquarters, which are somewhere north of here.
Maybe it's Orange County.
Maybe it's Los Angeles.
We don't remember.
Nobody knows.
And they were great.
We met all the Mothers people.
It was a lovely experience.
I met Mother.
Wait, there's a Mother?
I met Mother.
She is real.
She is a woman.
She is Mother.
You know, I never really thought about the name, but it's actually because there's a Mother.
There is a Mother.
Mothers, to this day, despite being this big detailing powerhouse is a family owned company
and Mother is at the top.
Wow.
Yeah.
And then her sons like how?
She has two sons who run the business.
And then there's obviously like employees and like an office and all that.
They were real car enthusiasts.
It was super fun going up there and meeting them.
We got to see all their cool cars.
At one point I tried to make my own detail spray.
How did that go?
Let me tell you something.
There's a fellow there at the Mothers and he sits in the lab all day long.
He's got a 100 series thing.
Oh.
Clean, I assume.
Yeah.
He sits in the lab.
Well, I'll tell you a story about that.
He sits in the lab all day long and he makes the things.
The concoctions.
Yeah.
He's like a wizard kind of.
And he said that if anybody who enters the parking lot and parks their car, it's considered
to be fair game that you might have a product test car.
He said to the point where when like plumbers come by, they're like, cause those are like
the dirtiest cars.
They're like going out to the plumbers trucks without necessarily even asking and just kind
of spraying and wiping.
That's the way.
Anyway, we have a person that there's going to be a lot of cool stuff that comes out of
this.
A lot of cool stuff.
You're going to love it.
You, the audience member are going to love it.
Can I share something we're doing to celebrate?
Yeah.
What are we doing to celebrate?
We are giving away five massive prize packs.
There's a link in the description below.
Each winner is going to get a co-branded bags of cars and beds and mothers.
I have one of these bags.
Have you seen it?
No.
Cause you've took it.
You ain't getting it.
Damn.
What, what, what if I,
Unless you win the giveaway.
Yes.
You know what?
Your cars are always so filthy.
You really need to enter that.
I have a store.
He needs more than just.
I know.
He needs me.
I cleaned my car this weekend.
Cause I was going to drive it and I cleaned it and we have all the mothers products and
then it rained and now there's water spots.
Now you understand.
And I understand you're paid.
You understand.
I obviously will clean it again in weeks and it'll be fine.
Good news.
Good news.
We got mothers products over there.
Behind them.
Behind Lopez.
The, the Detailer bag which is co-branded and really cool is loaded with the gold ceramic
line, a bunch of towels, a hundred dollar gift card to the cars and beds merch store,
everything you need to get your car auction ready.
So there's five of these and you can, how can you win?
You go into the link in the description, mothers.com pages giveaway to enter.
The link will be live when this podcast goes live.
This is a big deal.
Mothers and cars and bids begins and my formulas will become hooded.
Oh, oh, oh, oh.
Okay.
Can you name any single tool on display in the photo?
Tool?
Yeah.
What do you mean by tool?
I, the, the product.
It's a machinery.
It's an equipment.
Oh, like the lab stuff?
Yeah.
What, what do you mean?
The, the microscopes?
The boroscopes?
The stethoscopes?
The seismometers?
All right.
Let's move on to the talk cars segment.
The toilet car segment this week is brought to you by Filippo's water spots.
I want to talk about, I'm a little annoyed by them.
I want to talk about a few things.
There's actually three really important things I want to talk about.
Oh, okay.
Actually for me only two, but maybe we can get Ryan Lopez involved in something else.
I want to talk about this.
I have decided I'm announcing on the pod today.
Wow.
This is official.
I've decided that I've peaked with two-seater cars.
The three that I have, I can't do any better and I'm not gonna.
I'm going to keep them for the foreseeable future and that's it.
A 40.
I can't afford anything that I like more and I don't want anything else.
I've thought about all of the options.
You don't know how many times I've Googled exotic car and then strolled.
Hoping there's something I forgot.
So I've moved on to four-seaters.
I've got the three-two-seaters game over.
Four-seaters.
So I made a little list of, and now that I have the kids, they like participating in the cars anyway.
I'm going to start accumulating four-seater cars.
Like I accumulated two-seater cars.
My initial plan was that one car in my garage would have four seats and that would be for my family car.
That is no longer my plan.
I'm just going to start kind of adding them in as I see fit.
Oh, they're going to, they're going to, because you already actually have two four-seaters.
Well, we don't count the G-Wagon because it's an insipid driving experience.
So you're going to just keep at it.
The street in front of your house is going to just be.
No, they're all going to be parked in the office.
So.
Sure.
Why not?
That's not foolish or anything.
Here's what I'm looking for.
And I am dead serious that I am like ready to start buying these cars whenever they start appearing.
Okay.
Great.
Dead serious.
These are the cars on my list.
First off, that E55 AMG wagon from 2001, the S210 with the third row.
Me and Rami are still looking for one.
We're going to find that car.
That's not even really part of this.
That's its whole separate thing.
The four-seaters I'm looking for that will live in the 993s world.
My plan was originally to have the 993 for a year to sell it, get other cars,
to have kind of a lineage of four-seater cars.
Now I'm just going to go willy-nilly.
I appreciate this approach.
Mark IV Supra Turbo.
It's time.
I want a stock Mark IV Supra Turbo Renaissance red post-facelift ideally.
Bring it to me.
I want an E30 M3 Sport Evo.
I think I have a neighbor with one.
I'm going to test drive it on Friday.
Can you describe for me the difference between the E30 M3, the E30 M3 Sport and the Sport Evo?
I don't know the E30 M3 lineup.
Filippo.
Very simple.
The Sport Evo is the one that the rich got.
Fair enough.
No, it was a little more dialed in.
It was a little more focused.
Actually it was a little more power too.
One of the problems with that car was that it was...
The S14 is a little anemic, but they added lots of stuff to it.
The Aero is obviously one of the bigger things they messed up.
They even put rubber filler in hood gaps to make sure that it was perfectly smooth for Aero, which is crazy.
It is a special car.
They cost an absolute fortune, but he's going to find out if it's worth it or not.
Mark IV Supra, I don't even care.
I just want to start getting these four Seaters and having the experience.
I truly think I've maxed out my true Seater experience.
Let's go a different direction.
This happens.
We've seen this happen a lot.
I'm not getting rid of the two Seaters.
I just truly think that I can't do any better.
I'm certainly not trying to earn more money to get to a better car.
Ferrari 612.
I'm ready.
I want a 612.
Stick swapter.
Yeah.
But I'll do it if I have to.
I'd rather have a late OTO.
You know the OTO.
Of course.
One to one.
Filippo doesn't know what that is.
No, I knew that.
That's okay.
Go back to sleep.
Next car.
Delta Integraula Evo 2.
Hell yeah.
Evo Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 6.
Left hand drive.
Wow.
Only.
And this one will surprise the audience the most because all these are manuals.
This one's a tip.
The Jaguar XE Project 8.
I want something that Harry Metcalfe has breathed on.
He is my idol.
I was going to say that you recently watched a Harry's garage video on this vehicle.
Well, that's not why I put it on the list.
I put it on the list and then I watched the video, which made me even more happy that
I put it on the list.
Harry Metcalfe.
Our lord.
A living legend.
Yep.
I don't know if he was actually responsible for anything to do with this car, but he's
got one.
He's got a purple one.
He was.
I don't...
It's nebulous because it's the Project 8 and the Project...
Yeah, whatever.
Anyway.
His car is cat delete.
Which does not mean what you think it means.
It doesn't mean catalytic converter.
Absolutely.
For these cars, there's a giant graphic that you could get.
The Jaguar side profile.
The actual cat on the side of the door and it runs the length of the car.
It's like the most aggressive...
Harry's car is the best choice you've ever made.
But I only want the car with cats and it's plural, by the way, because it's on both sides.
There is a giant cat graphic on the side of this car that it literally goes from the very
rear to the front door.
Yeah, pull one up.
XC Project 8.
Let me 300.
They were going to make 300, although Harry says they actually made less.
And look at this cat.
If I want this cat car and I want it now and I want it with cats and...
Gotta have cats.
I want to tell you something.
This car has 600 horsepower and it's...
I also like the XC, generally.
Okay.
That's a weird take that is supported by anybody else.
Okay.
You can get a used one for like four.
I was looking there, too.
Let me tell you what's on Undertrader right now for XC's.
There's like 100 of them, right?
More than that, I'm sure.
99 of the 100 are four cylinders for six grand.
And then there's one Project 8.
I do want to throw out there.
Look at this cat.
Look at this cat.
We have here at the Cars and Mids office two of the things on that list already.
Is that influenced your decision in any way?
Yeah.
I drove the 612 and the Supra.
I loved them both.
They were already on my list, but I've driven them and I'm like, yep, they should be on
my list.
So I'm going to consider.
So my point is...
Yeah.
I'm just going to start buying.
I love this for you.
I'm not going to wait till one's gone and do a whole, oh, this one's out, this one's in.
We're just going to start accumulating a four cylinder.
Four-seater cars.
We have peaked with two-seaters.
It is time to move on to the next realm of car.
When one comes up.
I'm ready to buy a Supra in the room.
Literally right now.
So when you say four-seaters, it doesn't mean just two-door four-seaters.
You mean four-door four-seaters.
I guess.
Four seats.
Apparently initially this started because I wanted only two-door four-seaters because
of the kids.
But then I was poking around in the Supra over there.
Yeah.
I'm already like dangerously close to outgirl.
I need to get a Supra like yesterday.
We're like, it's tight back there.
And so then it hit me like, maybe I should add some four-seaters.
And that's how we got the Delta intergralle the length.
These are cars I've always wanted minus the project date, which I didn't want until yesterday.
Although Harry in his video on the Autobahn hits 200 miles an hour.
Yep.
Yeah.
Harry's real.
This car does 200.
How many sedans ever built have done 200 miles an hour?
Seriously?
Yeah.
Not many.
E-60M5's done it.
The E-60M5.
Yeah.
What else?
A lot of these BF cars are limited and stuff.
Yeah.
This thing can do 200.
You've never even been in a car that does 200.
I have, but admittedly I've never been 200 miles an hour.
Yeah.
It's more like a theme for you.
It's like an overarching thing.
I've been in the room.
You've been in the room.
Yeah.
I've been in the room.
Okay.
Anyway, we're going on four-seater cars.
Are you ready for this?
Because there might be six, eight more cars in this office.
You've owned that 911 for what?
Six months?
Yeah.
Never been in it while moving.
I don't think I've sat in it.
Yeah, but it's around.
It doesn't impact my life.
It's around.
And I appreciate that.
Yeah.
Aren't you going to appreciate if a Supra's around?
No.
I'm just ready for the text when you inevitably actually don't want these cars.
What do you mean?
I love the 993.
It's been great.
We will get that text.
I'm over cars.
It will happen.
You won't get it if I get a Super Turbo because I'll tell you, I drove that white one.
But I'm most worried you don't get it.
There is nothing greater than driving a Mark IV Super Turbo.
Really?
One of the great experiences.
You want to know why?
Yeah.
Because you know that nothing you do can possibly break the power trunk.
Except that.
You can money shift it like Nick of the TT RS on an on-ramp and it will still continue to ride.
Yep.
Unless you're Rob Freddy and you break it constantly.
You remember his?
His Super Turbo was always broken.
He probably had a 1400 horsepower.
Yeah.
He did.
I'm going to go with 320.
Oh, he's right here.
Right there at 320.
Felipe was shy to learn that it had more than 276 horsepower.
They all have 276.
But what you need to understand is all those cars that were rated at 276 in Japan, when
they were sold outside Japan, they gave them the correct horsepower rating.
The Super actually had a few differences between the Japan one and the U.S. one.
Like the 3000 GT, they just openly gave the correct horsepower number in the U.S. and
lied in Japan.
The gentleman's agreement.
The other thing I want to talk about is, yeah, over the years the Super got like different
things in the engine to make it faster and it boosts up the torque number.
Horsepower stayed at 276.
What a coincidence.
Buying glasses used to be one of the most annoying experiences on the planet.
You walk into some store, the styles all look like they were designed in 2004, the lighting's
bad, and then they hand you a price tag that makes you wonder if those frames were made
out of like recovered Ferrari Formula One carbon fiber.
I'm just trying to see.
I don't want a spreadsheet to figure out what's happening here.
That's why I'm obsessed with Warby Parker.
Nothing comes close on quality, price, and selection.
Once you buy from them, you realize how much easier they've made the whole thing.
The virtual try-on is a total game changer.
You point your camera at your face and you can see the frames and try them on in real time.
I've tried other virtual try-on features that feel super janky, but with Warby Parker,
it actually works.
You can genuinely tell how a pair is going to look and fit before you ever click buy.
And the price prescription glasses start at just 95 bucks.
You used to have to choose between flimsy and outdated frames or spending half of your paycheck on glasses.
With Warby Parker, they just fixed that.
Plus, it's not only prescription glasses.
They do contacts, online eye exams, sunglasses, all in one place.
They've got over 300 retail stores across the United States if you'd rather go in person.
And here's a cool one.
For every pair they sell, they give a pair to someone in need.
Over 20 million pairs distributed so far.
Pretty hard to beat that.
Right now, buy one prescription pair and get 20% off any additional prescription pairs
at warbyparker.com slash cars.
That's 20% off additional prescription pairs when you go to warbyparker.com slash cars.
We went to the concourses.
We went to the La Jolla Concourses Delegance.
Yes, we did. A sacred event to us.
Kenan participated.
Kenan cleaned the F out of the Carrera GT.
Did you see it?
I did. It looks great.
And then I saw it here in the office looking great.
And then some things happened and then I saw it looking great again.
Well, yes.
I posted a story on my Instagram.
So Saturday night, the night prior, the concourses are all held on Sundays.
And the night prior, it rained like crazy.
The weather was very, I mean, it was unbelievable.
The amount of water in La Jolla was just like really insane.
So I naturally, who had spent six hours on Friday,
dialing in the Carrera GT was very nervous about this.
The Carrera GT was in the garage during all that.
But the next morning.
The next morning we went and it was raining.
We woke up and it was pouring when we were leaving to go to the car.
Yes. I was apoplectic.
But we got all of my detailing stuff together.
I'm like, well, so be it.
All of his mother's detailing products.
Yeah. So we put all of it.
I got all the stuff.
We got it in the car.
We got the car.
Being in a Carrera GT while it's raining is scary.
He was very careful with it.
Doug understands that car's reputation.
But we got there.
It wasn't that bad actually.
I cleaned the car up initially.
Then started to rain some more.
I cleaned a little bit more.
Then it rained again.
And so what I said was, in essence, I cleaned the car
two and a half, three and a half times maybe.
But then it did stop raining.
The sun came out and all was beautiful.
And you know what?
The Carrera GT was a big hit.
It was.
I realized something.
All those people who have air-cooled,
who go to concours events,
the Carrera GT is like their god.
They're like, oh, I got a.
What is that?
The 959?
I got a long hood.
And this is what I, oh, wow.
You know, those people don't care about the 19.
It's a hyper trap.
Yeah.
So we were in the hyper car classes with the Carrera GT.
There was some heavy metal.
I did submit it for judging,
which I now think was a mistake,
because looking at the rest of that class,
it was like, why Rosonda?
You know what I mean?
Right.
Like Carrera GT was like the,
the concours car of that class.
You know, manual brown interior.
Yes, it was.
It was parked.
It was crazy that a park it.
We were between a Bugatti Veyron.
Super sport.
Nice.
And a Gumpard Apollo.
It was a wild lineup of cars.
Like I said,
Park it here next to the Bugatti.
Yes.
Which we were very happy about.
But nonetheless, it was a wonderful event.
We had a great time.
We had a great time.
As we always do.
Filippo even came temporarily.
I was there for some amount of time.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Wearing a suit jacket.
And Doug was dressed nicely.
Not wearing a t-shirt.
I know.
It was surprising.
Yeah.
It made me put on a suit.
I did.
I wasn't going to.
And then I saw a picture of Doug
wearing a dress shirt.
And so I put on a suit.
What were you going to wear?
Hawaiian?
Yeah.
Hawaiian.
Anyway, that was the thing.
Four-seater fun cars and concours.
Those are my talking points today.
You know, you could get a vintage Ferrari
for two plus two,
and then take that to a concours.
Should I put one of those masks?
Yeah.
I literally did a dive
into every four-seat vintage Ferrari.
And I came to the conclusion
they're all ugly.
And that includes the 612, by the way,
but at least it drives well.
I drove that 612
with an unbelievably athletic car.
It is just so sporty.
Acceleration and steering and handling,
it is incredibly athletic,
despite the fact that it's
as long as a Toyota Highlander,
which is not an exaggeration.
It is so athletic.
It looks longer.
So good.
And the 612 has benefits
from this wonderful powertrain,
which was the wrong engine.
I remember everybody said that
at the time.
It's the old engine,
and the new engine is that with the 599.
Right.
Well, from a reliability standpoint,
as the ages come,
the 612 actually is like the car.
Yeah.
That is like the most reliable
Ferrari from that era.
Yeah, it is.
The 575 drivetrain,
which it has is very stout.
You still have to do a belt service on it,
which you don't with the 599's engine.
But yeah.
And the fact you can do the conversions,
because again,
the 575 came with a six-speed,
as did the 612.
It's a really appealing car
that's gotten a lot of flag for the way it looks.
I think in a dark color with the challenge wheels.
Yep.
Which is all the OTO's.
All the OTO's.
Yep.
Ferrari knew what they were doing at the end.
At any minute,
one of these cars could be in our life.
That would be cool.
I'm there for all of it.
I really actually,
believe it or not,
despite what I've said in the past,
I would like for you to get the E30 M3,
because I'm alone as a BMW guy
in our friend group.
And it would be nice
to have another M owner in the car.
I have only ever had one BMW.
Yep.
An E36 M3 sedan,
white with a five-speed.
Yeah.
Years ago.
Yeah.
One BMW.
Wow.
It was faster than the one you were going to buy.
I've always been an E30 M3 fan.
I've driven a bunch of them.
I love them.
I love how they look
and I love how they drive.
I know they're slow.
But they are just some of the most
communicative,
kind of bare-bones, sporty.
Like,
it is just a wonderful experience.
And I think that
the next generation of car in general
lost a lot of what made the E30 M3 so special.
I think the E36 grew a bit too much,
became a bit too plastic,
lost a little bit of just the overall
simple, basic focus.
And that was true
for basically every brand in the 90s.
This E30 M3, just there was,
in the E30 in general,
just had this wonderful,
like,
basicness about it.
That was just so perfect the way that car drove.
Yeah.
I don't totally agree.
I think the E36 M3's interior
is definitely not the nicest place to be.
The E30 M3 interior is nicer than the E36 M3, for sure.
Yeah.
But it's still not that nice.
It's fine,
but I wouldn't call it nice.
But the E30,
I don't know,
I like the E36 BMW,
I like six-cylinder power.
The 90s cars.
It's the core competency engine.
I really think,
looking back on it,
I prefer the E28 M5 to the E34 M5,
and I prefer the E30 M3 to the E36 M3.
The next generation,
the 90s plastic cars,
I don't think they drove as well.
I don't think they were as athletic.
And I think BMW didn't regain that again
until the next generation of cars,
which of course is your M5 and the E46.
The best air,
the BMW,
the golden air.
I love the E36 M3,
to be clear,
I think it's a great car.
But we're comparing it against
E30 M3,
which is really one of the more
like just basic stripped down.
It's just like
when everybody asks us to rank stuff,
it's like,
they're all good.
They're all really good.
I hope you're,
I hope you're ready for it all the way.
Well, if it's for Felipe,
I can take it.
We've already done that.
Priya says,
what else could it be?
Okay,
bring on the American car situation.
Yes.
So I recently went up
and reviewed a couple of cars
that are coming to Cars & Bids
very soon.
One was a 1969 Mustang Mach 1,
red,
with a fireman license plate
that is,
it was a deep stiff salute to America.
It was very cool.
For those of you into those cars,
it was a 428 Cobra Jet car
with the intake on the hood.
So it had the shaker hood
and all that.
And at four speed,
it's like the one you want.
More manly was that car than Felipe.
If you had to rank them,
that my car would have made you.
No, no, no, no.
You.
Not even the same species.
73 out of 50.
No offense.
That car,
like Harry Chester,
scary.
The steering is like,
you know,
kind of not particularly great.
I do myself a scary tune.
Easiest car I've ever done
a burnout in.
It was like,
I just breathe on the throttle.
It's like everything you aren't.
It really,
it really is like,
antithetical to you
as like your spirit.
Yeah.
It's not the same.
But it was so cool looking.
No, it is not efficient.
Cause it's a seven liter V eight.
In essence,
the four 28.
But I,
I love the way it looked.
I thought it was really cool.
But of course,
like,
not particularly precise to drive.
You know,
the car,
you know,
everybody talks about American cars.
I can't believe these giant engines
and they're all float.
It's like,
well,
you drive a modern one.
They're all pretty good.
You drive one from the late 60s
and you're reminded
how all over the place.
Yeah.
You can,
if you go back with American cars
at all,
you cut to get where they got the
reputation.
Like if you're to drive
American car today,
you don't understand why people say
American cars don't handle as well
as European cars.
You drive a new Mustang,
GT 350,
whatever that is.
And you're like,
this is pretty good.
But you start going back even a
little bit.
And then if you go back a lot,
you go back to the beginning where
Oh,
right.
And they sold a gazillion of them
at the time.
I'm like,
Oh my God,
people bought this,
but only to Americans,
but only to Americans.
And it,
it is cool as hell.
No question.
Like to look at and to listen to
it is really,
it's coming up on the site.
It's coming up on the site.
It's also going to be at the
velocity.
Invitational that one with a bunch
of other cars that we've selected
will be there on May 29th through
the 31st.
Really exciting.
It's at our first in-person auction
event.
You can still bid like you would
normally on the cars and bids out
through the platform,
but the car is going to close
there on the 30th.
And it's really cool.
It's going to go live on the 12th.
You can take a look at it.
Velocity.
This is going to be great.
So the,
whether you're going to be able
to bid,
but then is there going to be
like a bid caller in person
or are they just going to end?
And is there going to be a screen?
Is there going to be a screen?
We will have something.
He's going to have a screen.
Yeah.
It's like an iPad.
If you're there in person,
we can help you,
help you get set up to bid.
If you're not already,
you can also bid obviously
from the app while there
or anywhere in the world.
If you want to be there at the
event, check the link in bio
or check the description below
for a coupon code to the velocity.
This is so exciting.
How many cars are going to end
right there on the,
on the premises?
We will have something like
we're targeting 15.
We may exceed that by a little
bit.
This is in Sonoma?
It's Sonoma Raceway.
The cars are going to end
right then and there.
It's very exciting.
This is a very exciting event.
The car is really cool.
Yeah.
It's, and it is a nice one.
So definitely go check it out.
But I also drove another car,
another American car.
Just yes.
This is the other day.
That's going to be.
You did all this this week.
I did.
On Monday I flew up and did that
and flew back.
Tuesday I then did another car.
I drove.
So I drove a Daytona Coupe replica.
Now when I say replica,
Shelby Daytona Coupe replica.
Not the one.
Not the 80s one.
No, this is the one.
Not the dog Shelby.
No, this is the one.
Everybody's seen Ford versus Ferrari.
Everybody likes to focus on the Ford GT.
This was the first American car to go out
and actually kick ass at Le Mans.
And it won the 1965 constructors championship.
Like huge deal.
This like this upset the tables with Ferrari.
But this replica,
when I say replica,
it is,
it is the,
there's a spectrum to that word.
Right.
And I say this at the beginning of the video.
When you say replica,
a lot of people picture these badly cobbled
together Fierros that look like vaguely like
Ferraris from a distance.
Yep.
If you've had a couple to drink.
This car is on the other end of that spectrum
where it is built beautifully.
It has billet lower,
billet control arms,
a hand welded tubular chassis,
a built 331 V8 with electronic ITBs.
I mean, it is a serious car.
And I got one looking at it and talking about it.
I tell the story of the Daytona,
the original, why they're so iconic.
Cause it's a great story of like
American engineering coming.
And I love that story.
But also then I talk about this car
and then I get to drive it at the end.
And initially I was a little scared of this
cause it is a race car.
It is stripped out,
getting in is really hard.
You got to climb over a roll cage.
The seats are very narrow.
You're in, it's really tight.
I get in the car,
instantly comfortable with it.
I could not get over how well dialed in it was.
And that thing was so damn loud.
And I was like, you watch in the video,
I am like so happy and so just like,
at one point it's rare that I do this
cause I talk a lot.
I stopped talking and just like went for it
and just so you could hear the engine
and get the experience.
At one point the car was vibrating so violently,
it actually knocked out the camera for a second
and then it came back and was like totally out of focus.
But that's how visceral and alive this thing was.
And the way I phrased it is the spirit of the original
was really alive in this car.
And it was very satisfying.
Does it make you want a car from this era?
Yeah.
I have become,
my eyes, thanks to the Kuntosh largely,
have been open to these older cars
and the experience they offer.
Because you can't be doing or thinking about anything else.
Like there's, you can't focus on anything.
Are we ready to go down this path?
You know.
Should I add the Espada to my list of four-seater cars?
Yes, you should.
The Espada, well no, the Espada's on my list.
I'm going to take that one.
Are you going to get a Viper
or are you going to go get something from the 60s?
No, no, I still think I need to do a Viper
because despite being made in the 90s,
that thing is from the 60s.
It's not as close as you can get.
It's short of one of these replicas.
Not that one, but like a super four-seater.
Yeah, well so it's kind of makes me wonder,
cause I am going to do this car eventually.
The first thing a lot more than I thought I'm going to do.
The Viper?
The Viper, yeah.
Cause I light, I mean this thing,
I got out of this car
much like you do with the Countach
and I was like, I'm tired, my ears hurt.
I have a headache and I've never been happier.
I don't want to touch it for a while.
Right.
But like you don't want to drive that
maybe even once a week.
But it was just like,
I just couldn't get over the experience how cool it was.
Yeah.
And it just opened my eyes.
These visceral cars.
I know I'm getting more into old cars myself.
As the modern cars just become faster and more BS.
Yeah.
Point and shoot BS.
It's plenty fast.
Yeah.
This car had 444 brake horsepower at the wheels.
And it doesn't weigh much yet.
You went and drove a Ferrari Daytona as well.
Yeah.
Like these are the experiences.
It's tight.
Maybe we just should start focusing our way into old cars.
Let's lean in.
Let's lean on into the old stuff.
I'm just saying like a lot of people write them off.
It's like until you've,
if you have the ability to experience one of these cars,
if you're given the opportunity,
you absolutely should do so.
It opened my eyes to how special they are.
Yeah.
That makes sense.
I totally agree.
I totally agree that the feel,
the nature of those old cars is really, really, really better.
They're alive in a way that new cars are just not.
And can't be either.
By the way, both videos coming out of the Cars and Bids YouTube channel.
Cars and the Bids YouTube channel.
The cars we saw.
The Daytona's coming too.
Daytona's not going to be on in velocity.
It's to be determined.
But like, but the video will be live on the Cars and Bids there.
And the Mach 1 will be up there.
Next up, I want to move on to the market report.
The market report is brought to you by Cars and Bids.
That's what this is.
Whoa.
Really?
Yes.
Yes.
You didn't realize we were trying to sell you.
But we are.
Gotcha.
We're not doing this for fun.
The first thing, the first bit of market report,
Ken, can you pull up over there on the website?
Can you type into CarsandBids.com?
Elon.
So we just sold a Lotus Elon for $23,000.
That car is so cool.
I don't know if it's high or low.
This is a market report.
I am merely reporting.
Back to you, Filippo.
Great.
Let's talk about Fiesta.
$23,000.
Here, I'll stay on theme.
Let's talk about other cars for $23,000.
Go to the Fiesta ST that we just sold.
This is a really nice Fiesta ST for $25,000.
The sticker on this car, the window stickers that it's in here,
was $23,000.
Yeah.
The fact that Ford, and no other manufacturer,
is selling a small hot hatch in the US,
is what is driving the price of these to stay incredibly stable
and above MSRP, despite having 14,000 miles.
There's no downward pressure on these.
So these are going to stay.
And you can't buy a newer version of it.
People want it, because it's a great experience.
I understand why Ford killed their cars.
I understand the reasoning.
And ultimately, it has worked out for them,
I think, largely from a product perspective.
But this era, this and the Focus ST and the Focus RS,
they were all excellent cars.
Man, imagine if they had kept going down that road.
Yeah.
And I agree with you.
The market is interested in the car still at what it costs,
more or less, because it was a great car,
and there's nothing else that you can get.
No, it sounds like it.
What does it have?
The GTI?
You can get a GTI still,
which is around the same money, to be honest,
for a base GTI.
This is more engaging.
Right.
And it's smaller, and it feels more raw, I think.
I get it.
Better steer.
But it's notable.
The other auction that I want to talk about really quickly,
if you type in Dirtfish,
we are doing a bunch of charity auctions alongside the folks
at Dirtfish.
We have an incredible selection of auctions
that the Dirtfish team have curated.
They're great driving school up in Pacific Northwest,
including a Lea Block sign, her race suit,
a bunch of racetrack experiences,
and a bunch of other really cool experiences.
These are all for charity.
100% of the proceeds go to the Dirtfish Women
and Motorsports program.
Go check them out.
Private group tour of the Singer headquarters.
That's pretty cool.
If you're at the Singer.
Spike Feristan, this is your chance.
That's so true.
That's so true.
That's so true.
For up to 65 guests.
It's already up to seven grand.
Yeah, that's a cool thing.
But yeah, please legitimately do check these out.
They're all for a good cause and they're kind of fun.
Okay, that's cool.
I want to move on to questions.
Questions, questions.
The questions, of course, are brought to you by
Ken and Z39M5, the greatest carver manufactured.
That's correct.
That's specific one.
You can ask questions for next week's pot.
You go to carsandbids.com.
You click on the community tab
and then the podcast questions section.
And last week you said that the people,
the questions weren't very good.
The questions weren't great last week.
This week they were voluminous.
There were a lot of them.
They were also pretty good.
We could do better.
Give us your questions.
Please give us your questions.
We want good questions.
Good, good, good questions.
Starting with from oink, oink, doink.
Do you think, do you guys think that the Miata
should go the way of the C8 Corvette
and go mid-engine?
You know, it's kind of a ridiculous question on its face.
The idea of the Miata, a cheap car being mid-engine.
But there was a time when I was a child,
when Filippo had not yet existed,
that there were actually a lot of cheap mid-engine cars.
Toyota made the MR2.
Pontiac had the Fiero.
It wasn't like out of the realm for this to happen.
There were like mid-engine sports cars.
It was like a thing.
The Honda beat, for God's sake, was like four inches long.
And that's all gone.
Obviously, if the Miata wanted to be its most capable,
it would be cool to have a mid-engine cheap car again.
I don't think anybody's doing it or planning on it.
Yeah, it's interesting.
Because the Miata's focus was being like,
their design brief was the Lotus Elan,
the original one, not the one we just sold,
which was a classic British roadster.
Engine up front, rear-wheel drive, super lightweight,
very high-revving, like that was kind of the focus.
But it is interesting.
The idea of a mid-engine Miata.
I'm not sure if the Miata specifically should go mid-engine.
It's not really what it was thinking of.
That's not its point.
It's never been.
But that wasn't the Corvettes either.
The Corvettes would always be the most kind of
advanced supercar fighting car for less.
I do think that it would be cool if there was some movement.
Honestly, I wish the MR2 would come back.
I agree.
I think the SW20 MR2 is one of the coolest
damn cars ever to exist, and I just wish it would come back.
I really, really, really, really do.
I actually think the GT86 program,
it should have been a mid-engine two-seater sports car.
They're going to be like, it is a mid-engine.
It's a front mid-engine.
Yeah, rear mid-engine.
True.
True.
True.
Next question from Colin Doud, 27-deer Doug.
Does cars and bids, being cars and bids,
mean you would never buy from a competitor?
If the perfect Supra or 911 GT2 came up for sale
and bring the trailer, would you buy it?
I'm not buying any 911 GT2s, Colin Doud.
I just said I'm off two-seaters.
Well, he's not listening.
Not listening.
He's unbelievable.
Incredible.
No, remember, I said a couple of weeks on this podcast,
I will not buy any more Porsches.
Except if the right GT2 comes along.
No, I'm done with two-seaters.
Oh, I'm serious.
I am done.
I have zero interest.
If the right GT2 came along, I'd say,
cool, I'm not buying it.
Zero interest, not buying two-seaters anymore.
You know, my understanding is when you make these hard lines
in the San Buoy, are they flexible?
No, not.
I think this is, I think this could still have.
The windshield blows up.
Which one's more even flexible on?
I was off cars.
I'm off cars.
Then you bought two cars in that same year.
Three years off cars.
Three long years.
I'm not buying any cars this year.
The same year I bought a Carrera GT.
Oh, that's so fun.
But if the car, if the Supra,
I'm definitely not getting any more two-seaters, truly.
I have none on my mind.
I don't have space.
It doesn't add anything to my life.
If the right Supra came and bring the trailer,
I'd buy it.
I'm going to tell you something,
and I'm not going to get too far under this.
Cars and bids, people have bought cars on bring the trailer,
and bring the trailer, people have bought cars on cars and bids.
That's all I'm going to say about that.
I think that if the right car lists, you buy it.
You know what I'm saying?
None of us can afford to buy cars from arms off the bees,
so that's that.
But yes, I think that that.
You know what they sold this week?
What did RMS say?
They sold a bunch of stuff in Europe.
Okay.
And it was like, yeah, I have 50 for 10 million.
Yeah, Monaco for the historic sale.
You know what else they sold?
They sold like Jackie X's like a pocket book or something.
It wasn't exactly that, but it was like,
it was like Fangio's like, like mechanics notes or something.
And they sold like a bunch of stuff like that.
And for like the estimate, it was like 3,000 Euro,
and some of it sold for like 80,000 Euro.
But it was like old school, like stuff.
That's cool.
Yeah.
Yeah.
I'd do that.
But we can do that.
We can afford that.
We can.
The fees are too rich for my blood.
Right.
Yeah, 12%.
No, I completely agree with that.
The answer to the question is,
if you would buy a car on other platforms,
I would because sometimes you have a choice.
I ain't selling on other platforms.
Let me tell you that,
especially after some recent sales.
You know, cars and bids is the place.
That's all I'm going to say.
Factually.
Next question from Josue.
This is a great question that's devoted to me,
but I think we should all really think about it.
Okay.
Dude, Doug, if you were to purchase a vehicle today
to recreate what you did for your channel with the Ferrari 360,
what would you choose?
So the question, that car like blew up the YouTube channel,
got a lot of attention and started things off.
Yeah.
That's important to contextualize.
What would you do if you were trying to do that today with a car?
I think it is.
You couldn't have a 360.
It's like not interesting.
No, no, no.
I mean, I don't even know a lot of the super cars.
Like a lot of people found out that they don't really garner
that much attention.
I mean, Tyler Hoover talked about this when he bought the Veyron.
There's waning interest over, like after like three videos.
Hamilton collections out there, click baiting people,
trying to get people to click on his, the disco was bad.
What would you do?
Like what?
And assume you can't have that kind of,
you don't have that kind of money to spend.
Like what would you actually do?
Well, I mean, I kind of did.
I didn't have that long.
The SL65, I was shocked at how much attention that got.
There are a lot of interesting cars.
I think if you buy something that is notoriously unreliable
and you live with it.
The bell curvy enough.
Like an SL65 is a little bit too obscure to like,
I think the reason the Ferrari resonated
was it was like a Ferrari, a Ferrari.
A Ferrari, yeah.
Which doesn't matter anymore.
I think Tavares has taught us that you can do that
rebuilding a P1 or mad Armstrong with a, with a Shiro.
Yeah.
He also taught us you can do that with Pint My Ride vehicles.
Yeah.
It's like something that like resonates with people, but.
Do you think the Pint My Ride car gets more than two big videos?
Oh, of course.
Like that Ferrari, I rode that thing's.
trajectory.
Non-challenge grill for a whole year.
Yeah, bulbous non-challenge.
And nothing quite replicated that even in your own.
That's true.
I mean, I don't know.
It's just such a different landscape now.
It's like, it's hard to imagine.
Because you were just, wow, this guy has a,
that's how I found you.
It was, wow, this guy has a Ferrari.
He's doing stuff with it.
I don't think a car is enough.
I don't think there's like a single car anymore.
I think like a story and like a build
can still kind of work for the right car.
You know, why don't I review that low res car?
Yeah.
Oh yeah.
If you didn't like took that to the McDonald's drive through.
Yeah, that would still work.
That would still work.
That would bring, that would go viral.
Unfortunately, you can't.
You could get some great content out of driving a low res car
through the McDonald's drive through.
But you've reviewed that ferret tank or whatever.
Yeah.
How did that do?
I think it did well, but that was back when all the videos like blew up.
I don't know the answer, but I would do,
you would have to be something so absolutely ridiculous
that it like also did well with shorts and like did well.
Shorts is the key.
I'll tell you what, get an asspark owl.
There you go.
All it takes is a few million.
That's the problem.
It also has to be a car you couldn't buy
for about what the 360 cost, you know.
Because other, like if I had a zillion dollars,
could I think of something?
Yeah, I would make an iceberg car.
And what it would be is.
Would it melt?
Well, that's, you would click on it to find out, wouldn't you?
That's one video.
Do seals live on it?
That's another video.
It depends on the answer to part one.
I don't even know if that is part one.
I don't think part one is the melting.
I think I'm going to make you watch like six videos before you find out it melts.
See, he's still got it.
Yeah, that's right.
Greatest mine in YouTube.
Dear Doug, from Drake.
Dear Doug, just watch the question about,
just watch the video about the Tesla Model Y.
Why did you choose the base?
I'll tell you what happened.
You know the story here?
Yeah.
First off, I think the base, you know, it's interesting.
I got a lot of hate and a comment.
You're just the base.
Of course it's terrible.
People said something like that.
It's like, wait a minute.
Your brand, who you kind of weirdly, awkwardly shill for on Twitter,
produces this car.
Yeah.
It's a car they make.
Yeah.
Like, what do you mean?
Of course it's terrible.
This is a vehicle that is manufactured by the company.
If they're not proud of it, if they think it's terrible, why is it on sale?
I think a big story of the Model Y is the value prop.
I think that's honestly the primary story of that car.
I don't think, I think it does a lot of stuff well,
but I think the value proposition is the thing that it does the best.
And the base car has the best value prop and people in the comments,
they didn't know an outright said this, but it was sort of implied.
You should review the good one, but talk about how cheap the base is.
We don't do ads here, folks.
That's how they did newspaper ads back in the 90s.
Come on in.
We can lease it for 99 bucks.
And then you show up and there's like one car on the lot.
This is a car they make.
They sell it.
What am I supposed to do?
We reviewed it.
We borrowed it.
We got it on Turo.
We reviewed it.
It was kind of mediocre, to be honest.
But it's a product they manufactured.
You can't blame me for it being bad.
Call Elon.
It is funny.
When I started reviewing electric cars, you reviewed an EV.
You were a lib.
People would get in the comments, but you are a Democrat.
You're so pro EV.
I can't believe you're doing this.
This is horrible.
Real cars have gas engines.
I would get so much hate about being a liberal.
And now you review.
And if you don't say good things about a Tesla, now you're a liberal.
Wild.
You've got to say good things about the electric car.
The world of wild.
This is amazing how quickly.
Jesus.
I wanted to ask one last question here, which is kind of an interesting one.
I don't know if you know this.
Ryan five ever asks, I know you don't do politics wink, but do you know that Mallory
McMorrow, a United States Senate candidate in Michigan, won a design competition to
become the 2018 Mazda three.
Have you been following Mallory?
I know that she is her husband is Ray Wirt, who is Mallory's husband.
Ray Wirt founded Jalopnik.
There we go.
And was the original editor of Jalopnik along with what's his name, the crazy guy who moved
back to Hungary.
The Gawker media crazy guy.
What's his name?
You remember the guy.
Nick Denton.
So Nick Denton and Ray Wirt.
They started Jalopnik and she became a state senator in Missouri and is now running for
US Senate in Missouri and I'm sorry, Michigan.
And like it seems like a possibility it should actually get elected, which is interesting.
The people of Michigan, which includes your family, will not take kindly to Missouri being
mistaken here.
Dude, I'll be honest with you.
I live in Michigan way more.
It's interesting, isn't it?
It is interesting.
Did she design?
Did you know about this?
No, I did not.
Did you know she was running for Senate?
Yeah.
Oh.
There you go.
I'll tell you why I support Mallory.
She's a Democrat.
She's a car person.
You know, one time, I'm going to tell you a story.
One time I went to the White House there in the Washington, D.C. and parked in the White
House Oval.
There was a Mazur...
This was during the Trump years.
It was a Maserati Gran Turismo and I was thinking, okay.
Okay.
Somebody I'm not going to vote for next.
The car world is going to be fine.
We have a car person in the White House.
Who was it?
Who was it?
I don't know.
Not in the Senate.
Like...
No, no.
This was in the White House ellipse.
Oh, you didn't say that.
Not the Capitol.
The White House.
This was someone who worked in the White House who was driving around in a Gran Turismo.
We had an in, Filippo.
And now Jamie Raskin is the band people from driving here from Vancouver.
Oh, my God.
I was just trying to go to pubs.
Spring is for the winter.
They won't let me in.
Okay.
That's that.
Thank you so much.
God.
It's ridiculous.
It's the stupidest thing ever.
It is a tough proposal.
Okay.
You got anything else?
No.
Best car pod ever.
You don't have anything else you want to plug?
I do actually have one thing.
I got one thing.
The key channel.
We're six videos in to the key channel, which Sean is in charge of.
And the video this week includes our very own Ryan and Joe spend time in an earth rumor,
which I'm incredibly jealous of.
And I'm, please do go watch it.
I've seen like a rough cut and it's fantastic.
And so I'm excited for that.
That's podcast over here.
Yep.
Thank you all so much for watching.
Hi Ryan.
Goodbye.
Goodbye.
Goodbye.
Bye.
About this episode
Porsche’s Bugatti stake sale and a proposed U.S. ban on Chinese cars kick off a wide-ranging conversation about auto industry pressure, policy, and global competition. The hosts also dig into Stellantis’s brand priorities, Ford’s Shelby licensing decision, and a Ram transmission lawsuit. Later, the tone turns more personal with car wish lists, concours impressions, replica builds, and reflections on what makes older performance cars feel special.
Have a question you want answered on the podcast next week? Ask HERE https://crsnbds.com/PODQUESTIONS
Welcome to THIS CAR POD! Doug DeMuro & Friends offers weekly expert insight and opinion on breaking automotive stories, the car market, and audience Q&A.
Thank you to our sponsors!
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Chapters:
00:00:00 This Car Pod!
00:00:14 Porsche Sells Bugatti
00:06:24 Chinese Cars Are Here
00:13:55 Chinese V8
00:19:07 Why Ford Killed Shelby
00:22:52 Stellantis To Focus On Four Brands
00:28:06 Promaster Lawsuit
00:29:13 Doug Went To Mothers
00:33:03 Talk Cars!
00:33:24 Doug's Peaked For 2-Seaters
00:44:27 La Jolla Concours
00:50:40 Kennan Drove A Mach-1
00:57:45 Market Report
00:58:08 Lotus Elan
00:58:34 Ford Fiesta ST
00:59:49 Dirt Fish Auctions
01:00:38 Community Questions
01:01:16 Should The Miata Go Mid Engine?
01:03:05 Would You Buy A Car From A Competing Site?
01:05:32 If You Remade Your Ferrari 360 Video Today, What Would You Choose?
01:08:50 Why Did You Review A Base Tesla Model Y?
01:10:55 Did You Know The Mazda 3 Designer Is Running For Senate?
01:13:20 Key EarthRoamer Video
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