The global phenomenon known as The My Car Guru Podcast and the "cliff notes version" of the top 5 episodes

Hey, folks, welcome to another edition of My Car Guru.

I was just looking at the top episodes of all time.

I can track this for the podcast.

I can't really judge how many people listen to the radio program on this radio station.

They try to tell you, well, I guess they make educated guesses and say, you have an

audience of this size, probably.

You just don't know, but with the podcast, it's different.

Everything on the internet can be measured.

So I wanted to see what the top episodes of all time were.

And the top five, the first, the most popular was one called EV versus PHEV versus hybrid.

Here is all you need to know about all this electric car stuff.

So I guess that was really popular because people just didn't really understand the big

deal.

You know, what's the deal with EVs and, for example, what the heck is a PHEV, a plug-in

hybrid electric vehicle?

That's what it is.

That is a car that has a gasoline engine.

It has a battery and it has an electric motor.

And it's one that you have to plug in to be able to utilize, get the full utilization of

the electric motor and the battery because basically what it does, it gives you about 25 to 45 miles

of battery-only range and then the engine kicks on.

And those have sold fair.

What has really sold is just the hybrid and that would be a vehicle with a gasoline

engine, a smaller battery and an electric motor that assists in the motivation of the

vehicle down the road.

My F-150 is a hybrid.

We probably sell 30% of the F-150s that we sell are hybrids.

At least that's the case here at Gateway Ford in Greenville, Tennessee.

We do pretty well with what they call the power boost.

The fuel economy difference isn't that great.

If you take just a regular EcoBoost, which is a 3.5-liter V6 engine with twin turbochargers

that gives it about a 400 or so horsepower.

It's a powerful engine.

It does really good.

Ford decided to go that route as opposed to General Motors with the Silverado went

with a V8 engine and decided to use a technology that was a miserable failure back when it first

came out with it.

I don't know.

I'm thinking in the 80s and basically it's cylinder deactivation.

The Cadillac was one of the pioneers in this.

They called it the V864 engine.

So it was a V8 engine that it would shut off two cylinders or run on six and then

shut off two more and run on four.

You know, if you didn't have much throttle and need to go very fast and then as soon as

you hit the gas, it's supposed to go back to the V8, but they had a problem.

The technology just wasn't very good and those engines were failing left and right, but they

kind of perfected it and went back with it in the Silverado.

And so they've been pretty successful with it.

They haven't been able to overtake Ford, but yeah, the Hybrid is a good option

for somebody that wants to extend their mileage.

Our Maverick Hybrid, for example, it'll get 45 miles to gallon on the highway, whereas just

the regular Maverick, that's not a hybrid, will get about 32 miles per gallon.

So that's a pretty significant difference.

At $2.50 a gallon, it's not as big of a deal as it was when it was 450 a gallon.

But there has been a mad rush to buy hybrids over the last year or so and it has benefited

those dealers that I mentioned, including Hyundai.

They have done pretty well with their hybrids, but yeah, electric vehicles have kind of lost

their luster because of the loss of the $7,500 additional motivation by the federal government.

Second most popular show was if you hit these four targets when buying a new or

used car, you will always get a great deal.

Now these four targets are explained in detail in the MyCarGuru guidebook, which is free.

It's 32 pages long.

A lot more things are explained than just that, but these are basically, this is about

a negotiation philosophy that I have that you do not let the dealership dictate how

this vehicle is going to be bought by you.

You dictate it and you use the four targets as your guidepost.

In other words, you negotiate the selling price separately from the trade value, separately

from the terms of the loan, and separately from what products are sold to you or attempted

to be sold to you in the finance office.

You separate those four things, negotiate them separately.

You'll get a much better deal and I go into great detail as to how that happens.

So that was the second most popular.

I just wonder if the guy that listens in Luxembourg, that's over in Europe somewhere.

I think it's just north of France and just maybe west of Germany, a little country,

real small.

I just went in, I wanted to see what cars would be for selling Luxembourg.

I was just curious because there's this guy that has, somebody has downloaded a bunch

of my episodes that lives in this little town in Luxembourg and I just wanted to see

what the market looked like there and there's car dealerships.

I pulled up this one that sells, is a used car dealer and he had, of course, everything's

in euros as far as price, like here's an Audi RS6 Avant, four liter, V8 bi-turbo, that's

64,900 euros.

It's got 61,000 kilometers on it and it runs on petrol.

That's what it says right here.

Or you could buy, I scrolled on down and here's a Lamborghini Huracan that's, yeah,

it's an Evo Spider.

That's at 324,900 euro.

So this particular dealer, he sells pretty high in stuff, but if you're negotiating in

Luxembourg and you're going into this particular dealership, you can still use the four targets

because we're all humans and it is a negotiation.

He may say that, well, that's the price and I'm sticking with it and even in Luxembourg,

you do have the freedom to get out of there, jump in your car and leave.

So that's what a lot of people do.

The third most popular show was Freak Your Mechanic Out, listen and learn the basics

of how your car engine actually works.

This is where I can get a little bit into the weeds on some of my programs.

I don't remember what number episode this was.

This was back in December 27th of 2022 when I did this episode.

But yeah, when I start talking about mechanical stuff, how it works, you know, what are the

things really that a car owner needs to know?

Let's say that you go into a shop, your engine's making a funny knocking noise

and you go into the shop and, you know, they tell you, well, you want the good

news or the bad news and you say, well, just go ahead and give me the bad news.

You need a new engine.

So, you know, it would be nice to be able to have somebody that you could take in

there and say, would you please explain to this mechanic friend of mine what's

wrong with my engine and why do I need to spend that much money on a brand

new engine?

You know, are there any other options?

These would be nice things to know.

But a lot of people, they just don't have anybody that knows anything about cars.

And so that's why I'm here.

I do get a lot of messages from people all over the country that listen to the

program and they send me inquiries about, usually it's about buying cars,

though. Quite honestly, it's the most frequent topic is, you know, what

vehicle should I buy?

What should I get for my trade-in?

You know, how do I handle this particular situation?

I do get some where folks are concerned about a repair.

More often, it's transmission trouble.

More than anything, then engine trouble.

You know, engines are pretty reliable, for the most part.

There are some companies that have a lot of engine problems like, well,

Toyota had a huge problem with their Toyota Tundras.

They're replacing engines left and right.

Hyundai and Kia had a bunch of problems with theirs.

Ford had a few issues, General Motors as well.

But usually it's transmissions.

And, you know, that's just one of those major components of your vehicle

that most people don't think about maintaining.

You know, you pull into the Jiffy Lube place to get your oil changed

and you do nothing to your transmission.

And it's been 60,000 miles.

And then you wonder why, you know, if it's a CVT, it goes out at 75,000 miles.

And you've got to have a new one.

It's because you should have changed the oil and the filter on that thing

at 30,000 miles.

Check your owner's manual for goodness sake.

It's not that hard.

Okay, I'll take my first break.

I'll be back in just a minute.

All right, this is a different kind of a show where, well,

I am talking about the popularity of certain episodes.

And I just really find it interesting that the one about EVs and electric vehicles

is the number one downloaded of all time.

Because I guess it says something about the people that listen to podcasts

because maybe they're just, I don't know, more interested in the latest technology.

Maybe they're techno geeks like I am.

Okay, so the fourth most downloaded show in the history of my car,

now I have about 500, a little over 500 episodes out there.

I know that's just ridiculous, isn't it?

How could somebody talk about cars and car related things for 500 shows

of 23 minutes a piece?

I don't know, but it's been done.

And I guess the only way to find out is just to go to the podcast

and listen to some of them.

The fourth most popular podcast was What Women Want

and Why Men Need to Listen, Comprehend and Respond Accordingly,

especially when it comes to major purchases.

You know, I guess one of my major points,

I haven't listened to this one in a while,

one of my major points was the difference between men and women

and how men justify these major purchases.

It's almost comical.

Honey, we really need to get that four wheeler.

It'll make such a difference when I go deer hunting.

I won't have to walk near as much, but don't you need to exercise?

Well, yes, I do need to exercise, but I really need this

just so I don't sprain my ankle walking through the woods.

You know, they'll do anything to justify a boat,

a camper, a motorcycle.

What else, what have I tried to do?

I had to justify my first tractor.

And you know, what she doesn't know about,

you don't have to justify.

So I learned that one pretty early on.

I'm not that, that devious though, but occasionally,

I have been a little bit devious

like my last set of golf clubs.

Okay, what women want?

That was June 10th of 2025.

And it was popular.

It went to, it went to Canada.

Let's see, United States was the bulk of it.

Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, South Africa,

Singapore, India and Sweden.

The most popular download place was a little place

called Fall Branch, Tennessee.

Yep.

And then Woodland Park, Colorado, St. Louis, Missouri,

Dandridge, Tennessee, Atlanta, Georgia.

So it's just fun.

It's fun for me to go back and see where these go,

because it just amazes me the power of the internet.

And the fifth most popular show was

what is the most important thing you can learn

about how to do and especially in moments of highest stress?

Now that one was August 8th, 2024.

I don't know exactly what I was going through at that time.

Maybe it was what somebody else was going through around me.

I try to maintain my cool.

It used to be a lot harder when I was younger

as I've aged, I've tempered,

and also I have all these young people working around me

that I have to set an example of coolness

in the heat of battle.

You know, I see over the years

I've seen a lot of customers lose their cool

over an automotive related thing.

You know, it's not fun when you take your vehicle

into the shop for a problem.

You don't know what it's gonna cost.

It ends up being more than you thought probably.

And it's a disruption to your lifestyle.

I mean, I don't guess it's any different

than having to go to the doctor

except if you have to drop your car and leave it

and it ends up, the repair takes longer

and then it goes over a weekend

and you don't have anything else to drive.

I mean, it's a tough thing.

It really is.

And when somebody starts to lose it,

then the service advisors are supposed to let me know

or let my nephew Max or Abby know

so that we can go in and calm things down.

You know, even if we have done everything right,

it still doesn't mean it's not gonna be

an upsetting experience for the customer.

And this is where employees sometimes get defensive.

Well, I didn't do it.

It was the mechanic, you know, that type of argument

where you go to the drive-through

and you order something

and they put the wrong sandwich in your bag.

And I know it's not that big of an inconvenience

but it's still, with the pace of our lives and everything,

it can tick you off and you go back around

and you have to wait in line again,

you finally get up to the window

and say, they gave me the wrong sandwich.

Well, it wasn't my fault.

You know, blame the people in the kitchen.

That doesn't go over real well.

I appreciate an employee that takes ownership of a problem.

Like they did it at Ecklers.

You ever heard of Ecklers?

It's a parts warehouse.

They sell a lot of stuff for vintage cars.

I had to order a new radiator for my 1957 Chevrolet.

So I did it online.

Radiator came in yesterday.

And I went up to the shop for the unveiling.

We opened the box and the entire flange

that goes all the way down the side of the radiator,

the left side of the radiator was bent.

It was bent in.

It was actually welded on incorrectly.

And I said, don't go on it.

You know, and I was really wanting to drive that vehicle.

This upcoming weekend and I'm not going to be able to now.

And so, but I've got other cars.

So I called Ecklers.

They saw the customer hotline.

So I dialed the number.

I had to push a few buttons to get to a human being.

But when I got to the human being,

they were so pleasant, apologetic.

They sent me a link so that I could take pictures of it.

They made the whole process much easier.

I mean, this, I said, this is going to be great.

So he said, somebody will be contacting you

within the next 24 hours.

Well, he was great, but he didn't keep his promise

because it's been more than 24 hours

and I haven't heard anything.

And so now I'm going to have to call him back.

I do have a case number.

So, you know, this is a little hiccup

and I'm not going to go off on them.

You know, I'm never going to do that.

I want, I need the radiator.

That's what I want.

You know, when your car breaks down

and it's in the shop, you know,

you going off like a bottle rocket

probably isn't going to help matters anything.

But sitting down with a service manager

and getting a clear understanding

of what's going on, that will help.

So, you know, these are things that we can learn

or hopefully that we learn over time

in moments of highest stress is just keeping our cool.

So occasionally I will do shows like that.

I had a guy come in the other day, he says,

you know, that's one of the reasons I listen to you

because you don't talk about cars all the time.

You talk about life.

And the fact of the matter is I have learned

a whole lot of life lessons in the car business

and just dealing with people, employees, vendors,

you know, people selling me stuff, buying things,

building buildings, you know,

taking big risks as far as expanding business,

getting burned several times,

learning some painful lessons,

but also just the interactions with the other human beings

that I get to encounter.

It's just a wonderful thing, a great opportunity.

You know, something that I didn't really embrace that much

until my dad passed away.

And I mean, that was his whole purpose for existence

I think was making other people smile

and solving problems when he could for other people.

And you know, that's a heck of a legacy

to live up to and one that I work on every day.

Well, I'll be back in just one minute.

So a couple of final things.

If you have some subject that you would like me to deal with

on a global basis, I can do it.

Just send me a text message 423-552-2020

and tell me what you want me to talk about.

But if you need some one-on-one counseling,

you can lay on my virtual couch right here

in my virtual office.

And we can solve your problem directly

calling the same number 423-552-2020.

And then if you want the My Car Guru guidebook,

you know what to do.

Just send me your email address

and I'll send you one, a PDF of it.

And just like the lady that came in here

just a little while ago from just outside of,

well, she lives really close to Irwin, Tennessee

in between Irwin and Johnson City.

And she said, I want a copy of the My Car Guru guidebook

and I drove all the way down here to get it.

So I printed one out for her and took it out

and we had the nicest conversation.

And she's gonna pass it on to her family members.

And that's what you need to do.

Because it's the people that are in the market

for a car or having car trouble.

They don't know what to do.

They think they have a lemon,

but they're not sure

and they don't know what to do about it if they do.

Then the My Car Guru guidebook has step-by-step processes

to go through to be able to solve those issues.

And you don't even really need to talk to me.

But if you want to, you can.

423-552-2020 or my email address is Lenny Lawson,

2020 at gmail.com and that's how you get to me.

And one more thing, don't ignore the roles,

the very important roles that you play in life,

the things that you should be doing within those roles

often get pushed aside because of our very full to-do lists.

I went through this for many years.

When I would open my planner,

I would start writing down all the things

that I need to get done this week.

And nowhere on that planner was when my kids were young,

playing outside with my kids,

reading a book to them when they go to bed,

taking my wife on a date,

going to Bible study.

The really important things in life

often get pushed aside because of a busy, busy to-do list.

Just remember, nobody on their death bed ever says,

dog on it, I wish I'd spent more time at work.

Keep that in mind this week and I'll see you next time.

The global phenomenon known as The My Car Guru Podcast and the "cliff notes version" of the top 5 episodes

About this episode

EV

PHEV

hybrid

electric vehicle (EV)

Ford F150

PowerBoost

twin turbochargers

Ford EcoBoost

Chevrolet Silverado

cylinder deactivation

V8 engine

Ford Maverick

miles per gallon

Hyundai

electric vehicles

bi-turbo

Audi Rs6

petrol

Lamborghini Huracan

trade-in

transmission trouble

Toyota Tundras

Kia

General Motors

Ecklers

flange

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