The Tesla Cybertruck is a new electric truck made by Tesla. It has a unique shape and is built to be very tough, making it different from regular trucks.
The EPA is a government agency in the U.S. that makes sure cars are not polluting too much and checks how far they can go on a charge or a tank of gas.
The Ford Lightning is an electric version of Ford's popular F-150 truck. It aims to be a strong and useful truck while being better for the environment.
The Buick Enclave is a roomy SUV that's great for families because it has a lot of space for passengers and their stuff. It's known for being comfortable and having nice features, making it a good choice for long drives.
Car
Datsun mini truck
Datsun was a car brand from Japan that made small trucks. The mini truck is a smaller pickup truck that is easy to drive and great for carrying things.
Car
Triumph TR7
The Triumph TR7 is a classic sports car that was made in the late 1970s and early 1980s. It has a unique triangular shape and was designed to be a fun car to drive.
British Racing Green is a specific shade of green that many British cars are painted in, especially those used in racing. It's a color that represents British motorsport heritage.
Double clutching is a way to help your car shift gears smoothly. It involves pressing the clutch pedal twice while changing gears to match the speed of the engine with the speed of the wheels.
Synchros are parts in a car's manual transmission that help the gears match speeds when you change gears. They make it easier to shift without grinding the gears.
The Ford Expedition is a large SUV that can carry many passengers and has four-wheel drive, which helps it drive in tough weather like snow or ice. It's a good choice for families, especially if you live in places with bad weather.
A manual transmission is a type of car gearbox where you have to change gears yourself using a stick and a pedal. It gives you more control over how the car drives.
A standard transmission is a type of car transmission where you have to change gears yourself, using a clutch pedal and a gear stick. It's different from automatic transmissions, where the car changes gears for you.
Honda is a popular car brand from Japan that makes a variety of vehicles, known for being reliable and good on gas. They have cars like the Civic and Accord.
A stick shift is a type of car transmission that requires you to change gears manually using a lever and a pedal. It's different from automatic cars, which change gears for you.
The Porsche 914 is a small sports car made by Porsche that was popular in the 1970s. It had a unique look and came with different types of engines, making it fun to drive.
The Porsche 911 is a famous sports car that many people love to drive. It's known for being fun and fast, and it has a unique shape that makes it stand out.
Vapor locking is a problem that happens when the fuel in the lines turns into gas instead of staying liquid, which can stop the engine from running properly, especially in hot weather.
A four-cylinder engine is a type of car engine that has four cylinders. These engines are usually smaller and can save fuel, making them common in many cars.
A six-cylinder engine is a type of car engine that has six cylinders. These engines usually offer more power than four-cylinder engines, which can make cars faster.
The Porsche 356 is one of the first cars made by Porsche, produced in the late 1940s to the mid-1960s. It's famous for being a light and sporty car.
Car
Porsche 912
The Porsche 912 is a car that was made by Porsche. It had a smaller engine than the more famous Porsche 911, making it cheaper and a bit different in style.
Electric conversion means changing a car that runs on gas to one that runs on electricity. It's like putting in a new engine that uses batteries instead of fuel.
An air cooled engine is a kind of engine that doesn't use water to keep cool; it uses air instead. This was common in older cars, making them lighter and simpler.
The Cadillac CTS is a luxury car that offers a smooth and comfortable ride. It's known for being stylish and having good performance, especially with its turbocharged engine.
A turbocharged engine is designed to be more powerful by forcing extra air into the engine, which helps it burn more fuel and produce more power. This means the car can go faster without needing a bigger engine.
The Cadillac Escalade is a big, fancy SUV that lots of people love because it looks great and has a lot of room inside. It's often seen as a luxury vehicle, making it popular among those who want something stylish and comfortable.
LIVE
Welcome back, America. This is, to all the cars I've loved before, the podcast where American
history and automotive history meet your history. We have another very special guest this evening.
Well, it is evening, and you can't see me, but it's very close to Mardi Gras season down
here on the Gulf Coast. I am wearing my Mardi Gras crown, purple, golden, green for those
in the know. So welcome back. You'll want to check us out online at carslove.com. Again,
carslove.com. During the conversation, see pictures of cars of previous guests, meet
previous guests, see pictures of them, and, hey, join the conversation. There's a forum
for, if you would like to be a guest, you can meet us, see pictures of us, be part
of what we espouse and what we like to get into, which is your stories. Everybody
has a story of cars. They grew up in, took road trips in with their parents. Their first
car, second car, third car. Some guests see them. Our previous guest last week's episode
had talked about the most recent car his wife got. So, hey, we all have stories.
So before we get into it, I'm going to kick it off to my somewhat esteemed co-host
and senior automotive reporter for this very podcast, Doug. I'm Christian, by the
way, and this is Doug.
Thank you, Christian, for that wonderful intro. Yeah, I appreciate it. Thank you very
much. Yeah, everybody, welcome to carslove.com or, as it's better known as, to
all the cars I've loved before on your favorite podcast platform. And in
automotive news, not too much going on today. We got to be quick because we
have a very interesting guest. Very interesting. Sure. Everybody knows that
this Tesla Cybertruck launched late November. People are finally getting
their Cybertrucks that are not Tesla employees. And there's lots of
speculation out there. Also, just for what it's worth, around the same time,
the EPA changed how they verify mileage of electric cars or range, if you
will. So that's impacted pretty much every automaker in their claims of what
the range is. Indeed. Your range may vary, depending on many conditions, as we
always say. At the same time that they're cutting production, Ford is
cutting production of lightning trucks. So it's a very curious dynamic as we
move forward in this early time. It is. And while the Department of Energy
is really pushing hard, US Department of Energy is pushing hard to get
those chargers out there. Tesla is actually opening up their charging
network to other companies, like Ford and others, starting this year. So we'll
see how that impacts. That might impact a Tesla owner in a negative way,
certainly positive way for other electric owners. But if you have some
thoughts, hit the contact us form on our website. Absolutely. Yeah. Hey,
good stuff. Thanks for sharing that. Yeah, we have all kinds of ways for
you to join the conversation. And you can be one of our guests. And I am very
pleased to present this week's guest, who is a close personal family friend of
mine. We hang out together. Our kids hang out together. I go over to his
house and eat his food. And my good friend, Eric, welcome to the show.
Hello, and thank you for having me. And neighbor, neighbor, we live in
the same extremely exclusive, except for me, enclave near the water in the
Gulf Coast of our fair United States. Well, welcome to the podcast. And as we
were talking, this is where you get to choose, right? Your conversation
about some cars that you've had in your life that have been that have
been important to you. And what what cars spring to mind? Good fellow.
Well, based on what we were discussing before we went live, I thought I
would talk about my first two cars. First two. And my most recent car.
I dig it. I dig it. Are we going to take them in reverse order? Do you
want to do you want to start with the first star of my first love? How
old were you? I was 16 when I got this car. I had learned to
got better life than this guy. I had learned to drive on my father's
work truck. He had purchased a Datsun. If you remember that, I do.
They're a little blue Datsun standard mini truck from a painter. Holy crow.
And he let me go out into the woods or rural areas where we
live and run into trees. Yes. No trees were harmed in the making of
that film in Oklahoma, where we lived in all the
roads. Yeah, I can't see in Oklahoma, but yeah, that's where you grew up.
Right on the road. I'm a native Floridian. I spent most of my
childhood and teen years in Oklahoma. And all the roads there
are on a grid pattern. So every mile you have a road going that's
easy north, south or east west. Yeah, that's easy. So not far
from the house where we lived were a lot of fields and field
fences, but paved roads. So he let me drive there. So I was
really excited to get my first car, which was it was for sale just
down the road, a place where people parked their cars. Just
guy. And I had my eye on another type of car, but I wound up
with the 1977 trying. Oh, oh, it kills me. My TR 7. No, hard
top. Oh, TR 7. Tell us about it. What color Christians
overwhelm right now? But I'm going to take control here. I am
overwhelmed. The color was British Racing Green. I mean,
this is a car James Bond would drive. My first car was a turd
brown Buick from the early 80s. I mean, squarely on the Fisi
side of the color wheel. It was awful. It was awful. I would
have killed for that as a first car. Just like James Bond
licensed to kill. I would have killed somebody. I would have
killed you for your car. I think Jim Bond or Jim Brown
might have driven that car. It was it was as I recall, it was
around the $2,500 mark to purchase. Perfect. We probably
didn't pay that. And it was an awesome car, except for the
need to double clutch. The transmission had some issues.
Wow. No synchros. Synchros get beaten up. They're
optional. And then the it's it had a bad shaking
problem at 55 miles per hour. Well, you know, but it was a
great car. I wish I still had it. It had an interesting
provenance when we got it. And especially when we got rid of
it. Great word. French word. Go ahead. Right. Well, you're
you're steeped in
So that was a fun car to drive around. One of my most
memorable times and it was driving in an ice storm and
learning not to drive in an ice storm because I connected
with a curb. It's a little hard. I cannot imagine that car in
an ice storm. I cannot imagine driving that car. There had
been an ice storm. There was ice on the road. There wasn't an
active ice almost even worse. That's almost even worse
because you know, if there's sleet coming or snow coming,
you're not overconfident. But when you hit that whack
ice, you're cooked. I don't know. I would be over
confident. That's that's the problem with ice on the
roads. You'll do that when you're young. I don't do
that anymore. I don't go out in those kind of conditions. We
don't have them often here, but you'll recall 2014. We just
celebrated the 10 years of the great ice storm that shut down
I-10, the major East West artery here along the Gulf Coast.
Yes. And we had ice here in our little almost beach
community. And no one knows how to drive it. And I stayed
home. The government was shut down for three days. I was
working for the government at the time and I was happy to
stay home. I knew people right on and people in my
family who went out, but that's that and the the great flood
that was about a year before or after that, the 500 year
thousand year flood. That was April. That was mid April of
2014. The ice storm was January 29th of 2014. I thought it
was a year apart, but yeah, we had ice and flooding. And
that's when I decided I need to have a four wheel drive in
the family.
Smart. I think that's always smart no matter where you
live. You know what up north it's it's it's compulsory. Let me
just squeeze in here. I owned a Ford Expedition for that very
reason. When I lived in the I lived in the DC area for 20
years and it was just a dream in the snow. Big, heavy four
wheel drive, sure footed. You know, if you forgot to put
it in four wheel drive and tried to drive in the snow in
two wheel drive, it was an I remember boy, you slip into
four wheel drive anywhere, just like the commercials where
it's bursting through snow banks.
Just go slow. Just go slow. Back to Eric's car, if you will,
Christian. So any, you know, we know it was a convertible. It
was a British car. It was hard top. Even hard top.
Yeah, no, it's great because you don't have to worry about
the canvas falling apart, which is the which is the, you
know, you know, any any redeeming qualities. Obviously,
this is a sporty car. Young young man going to high
school, driving to high school, just ladies. You know, you had
to be pretty popular driving a cool car like crazy about this guy
anyway, but throw in the car. Jiminy Kriggins. That didn't hit
until the next car. But the fun thing about the triumph was
the manual transmission, even with the double clutching. It
was it was fun to drive, you know, as I get older, I
realize now only 3% of cars manufactured in the world even
have a manual transmission. Huh. And the ability to drive
such a car is getting more and more scarce. I put my older son
on dirt bikes, so he would learn manual transmissions. And then
I had a Jeep that he drove around and really liked it
because it had a manual transmission. It's a life skill.
It is a life skill. Yeah, speaking of James Bond, you
know, you don't just jump in a car and that's the first
time you've ever driven a stick. No, or hop on a motor. Well,
he could do it. James Bond could do it. I mean, nobody else
could do it. He's had the training. He's had the training.
The first thing they cover in spy school is diffusing nuclear
bombs and then driving a standard transmission. I mean, I
think that's on the syllabus that it's pre-requisition.
Standard transmission also known as millennial theft
deterrent for that very reason. Anyway, always good to get
a chuckle from the guests, ladies and gentlemen, we're
filmed before a live studio audience, which is asleep. So
one time I was joking around with somebody at the Honda
dealer, and I wanted to drive it wasn't a Honda but a car they
had there. And I said, Hey, what's the sales guy was kind of
annoying. I'm like, Hey, what's this third pedal for? And
he's like, Get out of the car. I said, just kidding.
Of course, I started the car drove it away. That's a good
story. Second car was a stick shift. My first one was
not, but I had some friends who had stick shift cars and there
was no stopping me from there. Still have two stick shift cars.
So I'm a I'm a big fan. It's not fun in traffic, but it is. It
is an art.
I understand. But, but you know what our guest did? He's a
very experienced podcaster because he teased the second
car. So now we have to move with some expedition to the
second car. We do. We did. Oh, are you done? Are we done
fawning over the triumph? I mean, we're we're jealous. That's
obvious. Yeah, I mean, I think Eric shared some good, good
stuff. It's awesome. First car was a hard top before we move
on. How heavy was the hard top?
Oh, no, it wasn't a target top. It was a coupe. The top
was the fixed top crest top. The next car has the target.
Let me be quiet and not tip the hand. Sorry. Second car.
Yes, please. Let Eric continue.
I'll I have to tell you the the post provenance of the the TR
seven. It's a short aside. My father and I traded it to a
professor that he worked with at a junior college. The art
professor, the Bohemian art professor needed a car that his
girlfriend didn't know or his wife didn't know about his
ex-wife. So we traded that car for an acre of land on
Highway 82. No, north of Tallahina, that's not the land you
still own. I still own it. No, I would love to put a triumph on
posts so that for a landmark so I can find the darn thing. It
shall be done. Highway 82 is a motorcyclist highway. They
like to ride it because it's near the Talamina scenic drive
which goes from Tallahina, Oklahoma to Mina, Arkansas
and has beautiful what they call mountains are really big
hills, but the season changed the leaf. So, you know, that's
part of the interesting post provenance of the triumph. That
is a great story. Nice post script. Nice post script. Yes,
very good. The follow up car with the one that I really
wanted was a Porsche 914 signal orange. My God, it had a two
liter engine, not the six cylinder because they in Germany
they've rolled them down the same production line as the
911, but it also had a manual transmission, very fun car, very
awesome to drive, pulled plenty of girlfriends into the Porsche
and it has an interesting post script also, but that was had
for the princely sum of $3,250, which was part of some money
I earned from one of my father's oil speculation
companies. Whoa. Yeah, I love it. Yeah, I see where the
kids your kids get there or the work ethic starting
companies, et cetera, et cetera. That's I was going to get that
maybe they struck oil on that piece of land that they traded the
triumph for. Who knows, might be oily. Not quite. Yeah. The
only acre in Oklahoma that doesn't yield oil is this guy
here. Oh no, it may yield oil. I had 20 acres that were
nearby that an oil company did pay me royalty to put a route on
but a lot of times you don't get them in all right. Yeah,
right. That's exactly right. That's right. I don't believe I
own the middle rights on the acre and no one's offered me a
check yet, but they can certainly call any time and offer me a
check. Look into that. And if they're listening to this
podcast, we're coming after you X on O will need to be
shaped. So the 1974 Porsche 914 had a target top. That's
the removal top. It went in the back trunk, because it was
mid engine and it also had a front trunk where the gas
tank was. So it's kind of it was kind of weird to open the
front trunk or boot to fill up. I dig it. The gasoline which was
less than a dollar a gallon. And well, yeah, Oklahoma's an old
producing state. Oh, yeah. It went over a dollar a gallon
while I was driving it. And it actually made the move with me
here to Florida. I drove it. I drove it from Oklahoma City
to the fabulous Gulf Coast of Florida. How long did you have
that? I didn't have it that long. I think I sold it in the
summer of 1988. It was very expensive to maintain. I can
imagine it had a problem vapor locking. I got some tickets
and insurance got expensive. Oh, and I had some other cars to
drive. So that's for another podcast, I think, but the 914
went to a nice young man from the Northeast, who was here
with his family on vacation, and they had enough cash to put
together. Come on. The $3,250 that I sold to him for with cash
and and travelers checks. Wait a minute. That's more than you
paid. No, I think it was just I think I got out, but I I
learned how to do some mechanic work with German, the most
interesting man in the world. Yeah, that was it. And you
know, the problem really with that car was the vapor
locking. It's not a problem in Munich, where it stays
pretty cool. But down here in the heat, it was it was a
problem. Yeah, right. Because the the fuel injection that they
used had a problem when the engine, the air cooled engine
got hot. So a lot of people did a carburetor conversion on
that. But I had not done that. And although I wish I still
had that car, I'm glad I don't. So Eric, was that just make
sure I understood, was that the 914 six or it was the two
liter for the bigger of the fourth object? There was a
two liter two liter four cylinder. Now my okay, my father
had an investor and friend who was a veterinarian. And I
think he had seven Porsches, maybe 11 he had a we had a
stable full of them. That's when you have a problem. Oh, he
had a solution to his but he advised my dad not to get
me the six cylinder because I was going to die. And I
drove the four cylinder fast enough. I don't drive those
speeds anymore. I just don't enjoy the parasympathetic
nerve response coming down from it. But it was a it was a
really fun car, you know, it handled like it was on rails
to a movie because of that mid, you know, mid engine
placement, just super fun.
Sounds fun. You know, you got I was a lot skinnier so I
could fit in it. The target top was fun to take off and on
I would like to have another target top car. But there are
lots of cars. My current car has something like a target
hang on one of our fans is Oh no, it's just my cohost. I have
a quick fun fact to share. Let's hear it. We're 19 we're 19
minutes into this epic voyage. So we need to skip along
briskly to the third car. We just need you to stop talking
so we can do it. Let's do it. So if you will. So Eric,
I'm a car connoisseur. So fan of Porsches as well. So I
wanted to see if you probably do know this. The 9 14 came out
after the 9 11. And part of the reasoning for it was both
actually it was made by Volkswagen and it was sold as a
Volkswagen in Germany, but sold as a Porsche in the United
States. I don't know if you need I did not know that. Yeah.
And when it first came out, it had the same engine as the
Porsche 356. I think it was a 16 1.6 liter, if you will. That's
why I asked about the two liter. And the reason they slotted it
in is because the 9 11 went so upscale. In cost, they needed
something else kind of in the middle. And even along the way
or at the low end, even along the way, they had a Porsche
9 12, they actually offered it twice, which had that similar
engine probably to what you had two liter four cylinder.
Yeah, it was a great little car. You know, I've heard it
referred to as a super Volkswagen super VW. Yep, just a super
car. I've seen in California, where they make electric
conversions. And that seems to solve the vapor lock issue. I
think it would be an awesome car to have as an electric
conversion, but they are very low to the ground. They're
very old, very small cars. Yeah, I think it I think it
weighed 1,453 pounds. If I'm remembering correctly, yeah,
very light car. Yeah, very light. Very light. Oh, yeah,
boy, two seater, two seater. Yeah, and really awesome car
air cooled engine, vapor lock understandable. Yeah, which led
him to ride off into the sunset into the third act of this
voyage, which was the well, I'm going to skip ahead, almost
three decades to the current car. Yes, but it's special
because my wife bought it for me. It's the white Cadillac CTS
beautiful with beautiful auto with a two liter turbo charged
engine and a sunroof. And the you know, all the windows roll
down and roll up with a punch of a butt, you know, you touch
the button. I like that feature. I like that feature. I
didn't know it was a sports car, a sporty car until my
nephew and my son told me it's fast. I said, what do you
mean? It's fast. I bought it for the ride because it does have
a Cadillac ride. So most comfortable seat I own, including
my reclining couch at home. But that's that's just a great
car because it has all the modern features and amenities. I
don't have lane departure warning. What years is it's
a 2019. Yeah, fewer than 30,000 miles. So I really like
that. I got it because it's predecessor Cadillac had a real
it's someone had smoked in it. So I got this. I got both of
them. I heard. Yeah. But that it's it's a white kind of a
pearlescent white. So it's beautiful. I have dreams of
a red Escalade, but this one is just so nice. And you know,
traveling on the highway and it is just beautiful. You know,
friend of mine who's a car fiction auto that I'm going to
try to get on with you told me that, you know, they're
doing the turbo small displacement engines to meet some of
mileage requirements. And it makes sense because that Joker
gets 30 miles to the gallon on my way. But sporty fast,
wonderful. And it fits into that cafe average of the entire car
manufacturer's portfolio. And I think it's ruined me for other
car brands. Yeah, I hey, that's that's really good. It is
I've driven it. I've driven his car. Beautiful car. Very
fast, very well appointed on the inside. Very good. We're at
23 minutes into the voyage here. So we probably need to
wrap this up. As I said, Eric, the most interesting man in the
world is stories have stories. What happened back in season two
that I promised. So as we wrap up here, any any parting
thoughts on your on your part, so to speak. If anybody needs
an attorney in the Gulf Coast, Florida area, I'll take cars
for fees.
Love that contact me through the podcast. I'm certainly
glad you had me on. I enjoy these stories. I think you and
your boys and my boys have heard some of them, but not all of
them. You know, we got to talk about Paw Paw's car exactly
exactly, you know, all the all the interesting journeys
parents to children to their children to you know, and I
hope to have my father here on the podcast here at some
point. So you're a great guest. Thank you so much for
coming in on short notice. Thanks for having me. Yeah,
thank you. As always, catch us online at cars love.com cars
love.com. Join the story. You need more about Eric meet more
about us. Join the millions of Americans who never heard of
this podcast before. There you will find archived editions,
pictures of us pictures of of other cars. Doug, do you have
anything to to add in before we close out here? No, I
think I think I just want to thank Eric. You know, there's
some great stories. I wish we had more time but we do have
more episodes and more seasons coming up. So find us on your
favorite podcast platform. And just remember to all the cars
I've loved before cars love.com. We have an intake form as my
cohost would say. Drop some ideas out there. Tell us about
your car. If you want to be on the podcast, we love to have
you. It's your show America. Not really. Love it. Thank
you. All right. See you next week guys. See you next
week.
About this episode
Eric shares his nostalgic journey through his first cars, starting with a 1977 Triumph TR-7, a British classic that he learned to drive on at 16. He recounts memorable experiences, including driving in an ice storm and the car's quirky double-clutching transmission. The conversation shifts to his second car, a Porsche 914, which he fondly remembers for its mid-engine design and fun driving dynamics. Eric concludes with his current ride, a 2019 Cadillac CTS, highlighting its modern features and comfort. The episode is filled with humor, personal anecdotes, and insights into the evolution of car ownership.
Eric’s car stories span continents and eras, offering a fun and nostalgic tour of automotive history. A self-described “legal eagle,” Eric starts by recounting his first conquest: a British Racing Green Triumph TR-7 that would make James Bond green with envy. He then takes us into the quirky world of the Porsche 914 – the original VW-Porsche crossover – sharing how that mid-engine gem stole his heart and taught him about classic sports car engineering. Finally, Eric brings us stateside with a Cadillac CTS, reflecting on why “never trust a lawyer not in a Caddy” became his tongue-in-cheek motto.
Throughout his tales, Eric sprinkles in automotive trivia and witty anecdotes from the courtroom to the open road. This episode blends humor and insight, delivering a “best in class” experience for listeners who love diverse classic cars, a bit of luxury, and the life lessons that come with each ride.
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