Why Dropout's Lou Wilson Drives a Joker Car
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Term
Joker wrap
A wrap is a sticker-like vinyl covering that gets applied to the outside of a car. It’s used to change the look—here it’s a Joker-themed design.
Car
Dodge Challenger
The Dodge Challenger is a well-known American muscle car. The hosts bring it up because people also put Joker-themed graphics on Challengers.
Car
Dodge Charger
The Dodge Charger is a classic American muscle car. The hosts mention it because people sometimes put Joker-style graphics on Chargers.
Term
Joker scheme
Here “scheme” just means the overall look—like the colors and graphics working together. A “Joker scheme” means a Joker-inspired design people put on cars.
Term
Joker livery
A livery is the car’s overall graphic design—like the big decals and artwork that make it look like a theme. “Joker livery” means it’s styled to look like the Joker.
Car
Corvette
Corvette is Chevrolet’s sports car. In this bit, they’re saying the Joker theme makes sense on a Corvette because the front grille can look like a face—almost like a big smile.
Term
faux face
They mean the car looks like it has a fake “face” because the front design resembles eyes/mouth. It’s a visual joke about how the grille and lights can be interpreted like character features.
Term
grill
The grille is the front part of the car with openings or slats that helps cooling. Here, they’re saying the grille shape can look like a face or smile, which is why it fits the Joker theme.
Term
vanity plate
A vanity plate is a personalized license plate. Instead of random letters/numbers, you pick something you like, and it usually costs extra.
Term
DMV
DMV is the government office that deals with car paperwork like registration. Here, it’s where the speaker requested a special license plate.
Term
license plate
A license plate is the number on a car that identifies it in government records. He’s saying they used a fake one for the episode so they wouldn’t show a real plate publicly.
Concept
Joker themed
It means he wanted his car to look like the Joker from the comics—using matching colors and designs. It’s more about the look and theme than making the car faster.
Topic
Joker car legal/branding workaround
They’re talking about how to make a car look like it’s Joker-themed, but in a way that avoids copying a specific image too directly. The goal is to keep the vibe while staying out of legal trouble.
Brand
Heath Ledger's Joker
This is the Joker character as played by actor Heath Ledger. The host is saying that using that exact Joker image on a car might be legally tricky, so they looked for a more subtle way to reference it.
Place
Monarch Motors in Westwood
This is the name of the shop the host went to in Westwood to get the car customized. It’s where they asked them to apply the Joker-style design.
Car
Honda Civic hybrid
This is a Honda Civic that uses both gas and electricity. The “hybrid” part means it can use an electric motor too, and in this story it’s the car Lou had decorated with a Joker theme.
Term
wraps
A wrap is a sticker-like vinyl sheet put over your car’s paint. It can look great, but it only works well if the shop preps the surface properly so the vinyl can stick smoothly.
Place
LAX
LAX is the airport in Los Angeles. The host is joking that being near the flight path might expose the cars to more stuff in the air, which could make the wrap look worse over time.
Term
patina rust
“Patina” is the worn, aged look a surface gets after being outside for a long time. Here, the host is saying the wrap is starting to look like rust or grime, not fresh and clean.
Term
ground
They probably sand down the damaged spots so the wrap can sit flat. If the surface is bumpy, the vinyl can show those imperfections.
Car
Ford Falcon
The Ford Falcon is a model name from Ford. The podcast mention sounds like it’s mainly about the name being clarified. Without more details, it’s best thought of as a Ford car line rather than a single specific modern vehicle.
Term
battery system
In a hybrid, the battery system is more than just the battery—it includes the parts that control how the battery charges and powers the car. If it’s having issues, the car may warn you or eventually need repairs or a battery replacement.
Car
Nissan Murano
The Nissan Murano is a regular everyday Nissan SUV. They’re just using it as an example to ask whether a funny “Joker” theme would look weird on a normal-looking car.
Car
Mazda Cx90
The Mazda CX-90 is a bigger SUV from Mazda. It’s meant to look sleeker and offer more room than smaller SUVs. People mention it when they’re deciding they want the larger Mazda option.
Term
hybrid version
A hybrid uses a gas engine plus an electric motor. The electric part can help the car use less fuel, especially in stop-and-go or city driving.
Car
Subaru Outback
The Subaru Outback is a family car that’s meant to handle bad weather and rough roads better than a typical sedan. Here, they’re joking that its front design looks like a “smile,” which fits the Joker theme.
Car
Mazda Miatas
The Mazda Miata is a small two-seat convertible made for driving enjoyment. It’s known for having a very recognizable front design. People bring it up because it’s light and feels quick and easy to drive.
Car
Audi Q5
The Audi Q5 is a small luxury SUV. It’s the kind of car people pick when they want something practical but still nicer inside. Here, they’re talking about whether it fits the lifestyle they’re imagining and whether the front design would need changes.
Place
Morro Bay
Morro Bay is a place in California on the coast. They’re using it as an example of everyday driving where the car would feel comfortable.
Car
Subaru Forester
The Subaru Forester is a Subaru SUV/crossover that’s popular for being practical and good in bad weather. Here, the hosts treat it like the starting point for a themed “joker car” idea.
Place
Los Angeles
Los Angeles is a big city in California. The hosts are basically saying you’ll see this themed car driving around there.
Term
body kit
A body kit is a set of add-on parts that change how a car looks. People use them to reshape the bumpers and make the car look more customized.
Part
front bumper
The front bumper is the front cover of the car. When people modify it, they’re usually changing both the look and sometimes how air flows around the front.
Term
RC car
An RC car is a toy car you control with a remote. The speaker is saying the Batmobile reminded them of the kind of remote-controlled car they had as a kid.
LIVE
Welcome back to Talk Talk Nation. I'm your host Joe Weber and I am in the garage of one
of my good friends. You may know him from Dropout or from Jimmy Kimmel, my sweet friend
Lou Zeno.
Hey, what's up, Joe? How are you?
Lou Wilson. Thanks, dude.
Thanks for coming to my garage, dude.
I love it. We're in Lou's garage right now and he's got like a gigantic, what is it,
aluminum or steel?
Steel.
Yeah.
Steel cask for making wine and he gave me a bottle of his 2024 vintage.
Of course, dude. You know, you don't come to Lou's garage and leave empty handed, okay?
I love it.
The least I could do is send you home with a bottle of 2024 Altadena Drive, not available
in store, but you know, so it's a special addition, man.
Yeah, dude. Well, thank you so much for joining us on Talk Talk Nation.
Of course.
If you're not familiar with Lou, you may have seen him on Game Changer on Dropout or you
may have heard him on Jimmy Kimmel. You are the announcer. Is that your official title?
That's my official. I'm the on air announcer for Jimmy Kimmel Live. I do the live from
Hollywood every night.
The golden voice.
Hey, thanks. You know, it's funny because it is, it took me a while to like land. I think
I don't love my own voice. And so for a while I was putting on like a big affect like I
would do like a live from Hollywood.
The Don Pardo.
Yes, exactly. And it like took a while and a few years and Jimmy being like, why don't
you talk more normal now? It's it's much like my voice just with a little more bass and
speaking from my diaphragm.
But I like it. I mean, it's such an iconic voice and I feel you about like not liking
your own voice because I I hate my voice. I hate watching edits and like having to watch
an hour of myself talking every week.
I have a podcast. I do like a D&D podcast or storytelling podcast and I have to listen
to it for our talk back episodes. And I listen to it when I can at 1.5 or two times speed
just to kind of get through my own.
I would slow it down for my friends if I could, but it's like I can't do my own.
I can't do just an hour of my own voice.
Well, that's OK. So that's how I sound.
All right.
Yeah, my my biggest pet peeve about my own self is just I say, yeah, too much because I'm
like, I think I'm a people pleaser.
Yes.
And so I'm always like, oh, I have to feel the silence so they feel comfortable.
Of course, I'm a big spinner as well.
I love like an like I my my mouth moves faster than my brain.
And so like I always want to be talking, even if there aren't words for it yet.
Yeah.
So just like in that moment right there, I'm like feeling until my brain can create
new sentences for me to produce.
That's very relatable. Yeah, I also when I this is we're talking too much about
podcast, you know, it's so meta when you listen on two times the speed and then
you go back to like normal speed, you sound drunk as hell.
Yes. Well, that's it.
It all sounds slow.
Like when I listen because there are a few episodes where I'll listen on normal
speed and it is like, whoa, are we is is it in my head?
It's like I have normalized us talking that fast.
We're like, well, that's how we talk.
And then you're like hearing your actual voice and the speed at which you talk.
And you're like, oh, are we fucked up?
We fucked up that anyone listener.
Yes, exactly. Yeah.
What's the name of your podcast?
It's called Worlds Beyond Number.
We did. It's like a storytelling podcast.
We use D&D and other tabletop systems to tell stories.
Is that on dropout?
No, that is that's independent, baby.
We're we're Patreon supported.
Shout out to all the worlds.
We have a number of patrons.
Yeah, we're Patreon supported.
And that's our space where we get to do our own thing.
And it's also we get to tell longer form stories than we do at Dimension 20.
Very cool.
Well, just a little bit of background about me and Lou.
We both came up through U.C.B.
Upright Citizens for the Comedy Theater in LA.
And the reason that I reached out to you is because we did an episode
with Big Time, which is like another automotive channel.
Yeah. And one of the hosts, Jeremiah
Jeremiah Burton, do you know him?
The name is familiar.
I feel like I've seen clips, but maybe not.
Yeah, we haven't met.
So we were interns at U.C.B. at the same time.
And I think you might have been an intern at the same time as well.
Jeremiah is super tall.
Yeah. Oh, my God.
Yeah. Wow. Yes.
Jeremiah and I worked the same night together.
He he's a great guy.
I truly have not seen him in years.
Is he well? Is he good?
There. Yeah. Big Time is doing awesome right now.
Hell, yeah, dude. Get after it, Jeremiah.
But in the comments, everyone was like, I can't believe the big time in
doughnut and dropout universes are colliding right now.
Wow. Well, he knows Lou.
Like, yes. And so I was like, well, I know Lou has a
f***ing sick car that we want to talk about.
OK. And and if the fans are requesting it, we got to get him in.
So why don't we talk about this was a Honda Civic.
Honda Civic Hybrid 2012.
Yeah. With a very specific.
Yes. A wrap on it.
It's got a Joker wrap, which is also a very specific Joker wrap.
Imagine there's a lot of like dodge chargers and challengers that have
kind of a Joker scheme on them.
People will send me pictures of those.
Yeah. To either be like, look, I found you're like my brothers in Christ,
who are out there also driving for oriented vehicles.
But also because sometimes like somebody will be like, I saw your car
and it'll be interesting because I'll be like, you saw my you.
So I've been home all day.
Yeah. And then they'll send me a picture and it is one a much nicer car.
Generally, like a Dodge Challenger or Charger.
And then, yes, it's got like a it's just it's not they didn't go as hard as I did.
It's just a why it's a purple car with a why so serious or like a
big Joker decal on the back.
Yeah, it's not rooted in, you know, cannon.
Yeah, they didn't go as hard as I did in terms of their
commitment to Joker lore, you know, if you're watching this on YouTube right now,
you may have noticed this 2009 Chevy Corvette Stingray
with a very specific Joker livery on it.
Yes, it is exactly mirrored of this toy on your car.
Yes, I didn't say that very well, but this is it's so funny that this is like.
Like, why does the Joker drive a Corvette?
First of all, it's a great question.
I just noticed or I have seen this before, but on the back,
they've also got, you know, Harley Quinn drives a 1969 Chevy Corvette Stingray,
which is way cooler, way cooler.
The Joker, I guess the Joker, I think the Joker, they were really committed.
And it's a thing that my Honda Civic hybrid cannot do as well.
But they were really committed to the smile.
And I think the specific grill on the 2009 really lends itself to being like a like faux face.
Yeah. Yeah.
This is it does look like it's the Joker smile,
almost like the Leto smile when he's got like front.
Well, I think a lot of people think it's it's I'm more leto oriented,
which is not true.
I go for your favorite Joker.
I guess I have to go like animated Joker Mark Hamill.
That's I think that is the Joker that they're referencing here.
And it's the Joker that I hold closest in my heart, though.
I also have a lot of love for the Heath Ledger Joker.
Who do you think is the most twisted Joker?
Oh, I mean, leto Joker, for sure.
I mean, you read about all those stories of him doing what I think would legally be
called harassment. Yeah.
I've only heard the condom story.
Yes, exactly.
And I mean, need we say more?
I mean, there's just it's funny because I do think that Joker is not the most twisted.
Like, I wouldn't I'm not sure I would call him the most twisted Joker,
but it's the most twisted actor to ever play the Joker.
The most analog to the actual Joker.
Yes, exactly.
Somebody who was like, let me live like the Joker.
You're OK if you want to.
Yeah, you said earlier that you get recognized all the time in this Joker car.
And that that's because it was it's kind of a character on dropout.
Yes, it is.
I participated, I foolishly participated in an episode of Game
Changer with wherein I was given the surprise was on what episode I was given
a folder with 15 tasks.
Myself, Jacob Weisaki and Vic Mikaela's were then given one year
to complete those 15 tasks and that in that year, we would come back and show
off all of the things that we had done and then based on Sam's appreciation
of those different our results would administer points.
And so this was specifically for a task that I think it was task 12.
Is who can get the silliest license plate?
Oh, wow.
So what can you tell the audience what your license plate says?
My license plate is I am DA JKR or I'm the Joker.
I was dead set.
That was going to be what I did.
I was like, I'm going to do I'm the Joker.
I think that's a funny thing.
How is that even available?
That seems like that's what I was also like when I got it.
It was funny.
You I I went extra hard, right?
Like this show was like Lou, you don't have to do it for real.
Like, please don't do it.
We can we can make you a fake license plate that will just live for the episode.
And you guys and that's what my friends did.
And they have great license plate.
Vicks was like a was horse themed and was from a state that they don't live in.
And Jacobs was this very incredible like set diorama that they built around his.
And I think his was like the name of a bug bar, but it was like very cool.
They built this awesome diorama.
But I know my my big like thesis when I was doing the episode was it was like
I was really interested in like time.
And I was like, you have to do things that take long amounts of time to do.
You have to do things that like I like I wanted to do things that were like,
you can't just go do that.
You have to you have to in the case of a license plate, submit the paperwork,
get it approved, pay the registration, get the license plate delivered to fix it
to your car. So I was very committed doing all that.
Isn't it like 50 50 bucks every year to maintain it as well?
Yes. Yes. And I got the the like black and yellow license plate.
So that's like an extra 20.
I think I think it's like normally 25 for a vanity plate.
And then I played 25 for the black and yellow.
Honestly, kind of fucked up that you did the Batman colors for the license.
Well, you know, I was just trying to kind of I wanted it to just the whole world.
And I think that there's something I think there's something like really Joker
in that, you know, in like it's just like pure chaos engine, you know.
But it's yeah.
So I I like went to the DMV website.
I requested the IMD, a J.K.R. license plate.
I had to explain why I wanted it and what it meant.
And I said that it was an homage to two of America's greatest comic book writers.
Something is Mr. Kirby in another name.
Do you feel like you needed to go that far?
No, but I was just really committed.
I think it was also like I was also I feel like another part of the episode
was building out the stories you were going to tell when you showed the like when you
showed off your thing.
That's a big part of Game Changers.
Yes, I keep using this word lore, but like building the world around it.
Yes, exactly.
So I think there was like a part of me that was like, if I need to reference this,
I want to be able to say that like I leaned in just so they knew I was I didn't
want to come off as like a twisted guy who was just doing twisted things.
It's too late.
I want to seem like a normal who was just doing this to honor great comic book writing.
But then I did it was available.
It got approved.
I then had like some weird payment issues.
And I remember having a really when I I had at that point.
So that so there's a weird payment issue where I have to go to the DMV and it's
like hell to actually get the license plate to get delivered to me.
And it actually doesn't get.
I actually ended up needing a fake one for the episode.
So I have a fake one in the episode.
It's not my real license plate, but I also think that's a legal thing.
You can't legally show someone's actual license plate in an episode.
We do that on our channel all the time.
Oh, OK. Well, they lied to me.
I'm not. We use a fake license plate.
Oh, yes. Of course.
Fake license plate.
But so they gave me a fake license plate.
And then but then by the before the episode actually came out,
I had the real one and was driving it around.
But after I had submitted and already decided I was going to do I am D.
J.K.R. I then had the thought and I was like, what if I brought the whole thing
into it? What if I made my whole car Joker themed?
And I think originally I was thinking of something way more like stupid,
like a like a big like Keith Ledger's Joker like on the hood and like why so
serious written all over the car.
But then I was doing some Googling and I found this and I was like, OK,
I think that maybe this doesn't like hit the weird legal space of like showing
a big picture of Heath Ledger's Joker on the car.
This is pretty obscure.
Yes, it's more it's a little bit more.
It's like a little bit more subtle and maybe suggests that I care more.
I'm not I'm not just out here trying to I'm not screaming.
I'm twisted. I'm just living twisted inside.
And so then I went out to Monarch Motors in Westwood and I
sent them a picture of this and I said, can you do this on my car?
It's a Honda Civic hybrid.
And they said, yeah.
And and that was it.
Do you feel like there is any kind of
microaggression when you ask for that?
I think they actually they were I think kind of like really excited to do it.
And like it's like and I think in you see you feel it when I picked it up.
It was like, oh, they really gave a shit.
I I was not expecting I think when I left there, it took them way longer
than they said it would and it drove me crazy because I had to like rent a car
on and off for almost two and a half months.
I like I eventually like took my sister had was out of town and I like went drove
her car turns out it's flat, get a triple A replace the replace the tire,
take it to a shop, get it like fixed up in drivable so I could drive her.
Her car for like the remaining months before I got my car back.
But it was a whole to do.
But I eventually when I pulled up
and came to pick it up, I like couldn't be mad because they had.
I didn't know that they were going to do the ha ha ha's.
I just talked about doing the colors, the like the purple, the white,
the red and the green.
Yeah. But they went out and made all those
individual ha ha ha's and stuck them all over the back of my car.
And I was like, well, shit, I can't be mad at that.
It's so sick. That's actually what sells it.
Yes, that's the thing that really is like, oh, this guy's joker five.
Yeah, because it's it's kind of like the colors are obscure enough where you're
you're not immediately like, oh, that's Joker because there's red and white,
which like normally you just associate green and purple with Joker.
But then if you were none the wiser and you just see ha ha ha, you're like,
what the hell is that?
And you realize that then it then it dawns on you.
But yeah, I remember I told Dropout I was going to do it and they were kind of
like, huh, OK, maybe I don't I if you I guess if you want to.
But then I talked to Vic and Vic was like, go for it.
So that was that I needed there.
Their push was the thing that got me to to go for it.
And here we are three years later.
Yeah. And I'm still driving the big rap looks great, too.
Like it hasn't weathered at all.
We have wraps on our cars at work.
And I don't know if it's just because they're outside all the time or if it's
because we're in the flight path of LAX, but like our wraps just look like ass.
They look like actual like patina rust.
Yeah. And I don't know what's causing it, but this is like super clean.
I mean, they do they do great work.
Yeah, shout out to Monarch Motors.
Make sure that to get them to commit to a time frame.
That works for your life, which I did not do.
They were also like they were very insistent about like,
yo, drop it off, like let's get it going.
And I dropped it off.
And they were like, well, I will say to their credit, right?
My car had like dents and dings and my bumper was a little fucked up.
They they fixed or they didn't fix it per se, but they like ground.
So I think it's if you took the paint off or if you took the wrap off,
my car has a bunch of weird like sanded out areas where they like had to fix
stuff up so that they could lay the wrap flat.
But I mean, that's just they're committed to their fucking craft.
Dude, it's sick.
And do you get a lot of attention for it driving around?
So much attention, man.
Like it's been that's been the most interesting part of the journey is
I don't think what I thought about the fact that I was going to drive a joker car.
I didn't think about how much people would want to interact with me.
I mean, I think that in LA driving is very like solitary experience.
I'm kind of like I'm in my car.
I'm driving myself to wherever I'm going.
You're in your car.
You don't really. Yeah.
Exactly.
If you drive a joker car, people want to get in your bubble.
People people want to get in your goddamn bubble.
I remember like the early ones that were a lot were like people would just
start scream laughing at me while I was dry.
People would be going like they would be doing that.
Well, I was driving and you're kind of like, you know, you're like you're at
like part of the stop sign in a neighborhood street and then somebody starts
scream laughing, you're like, what the Oh, that's yeah, I drive this car.
So you forget I forget.
I think I just drive a normal car and then people like to remind me that I don't.
But, you know, it's it's that it's recently or a couple of times I've had
really interesting interactions.
I had one on the freeway.
I'm driving 70 miles per hour on the 134 and some guy just starts honking at me.
And I look over and I'm like, it's just a guy in a car and he just kind of nods at
me and I'm kind of like, OK, like it was really like, hey, I'm trying to focus on
the road. Yeah.
And then he pulled in front of me and I saw that he had like Batman paraphernalia
on his car.
So I do think that if you have a Batman, if people have like a Batman logo or a
Batman symbol on their car, they like to get at me.
That's more justified than someone just kind of scream laughing out of nowhere.
You know, I kind of that respect because we're both of the world.
You know, we both exist in this reality where our cars are
versions of people in Gotham.
But I think that that has happened a few times.
I get a couple of I get a couple of Batman who will like to like chirp at me.
And then and then I get a lot and then a lot of kids.
I will say that the kids is the is the nicest part.
You will I get a lot of like pulling up to a corner and you will just watch a kid
like point at my car as it drives around.
I live near high school and if I drive by the high school or the kids are out in
the yard, they'll all run up to the fence and I met someone who's kid,
someone who I work with a Kimmel, their kid goes to school near me and I met them
at a party and they were like, I know you.
I see like they are his dad or their dad was like,
this is Lou, he drives a joker car and they were like, yeah, I know.
I like, oh, I see your car around.
And then I was just getting my car washed for this for the B roll.
You're supposed to go into capture.
And I was talking to a guy at the at the car wash and he was like, oh, I know
your car, we taught you are a regular occurrence on the
my local neighborhoods, a Facebook group and Reddit thread.
It's people posting, but also people from dropout probably stop you.
People people from dropout immediately know it's me because I can't hide anymore.
You know, I can't disappear in traffic.
I did have some when I was in I was on Hollywood Boulevard pulling into work
and they did like step off the curb and like knock on my window and that was like
a step too far, but it is like people do.
It's like people immediately do know it's me because there's no one else driving
a joker car with I'm the joker on the license.
Yeah. Do you this is that a reference to that video?
The YouTube video from a while ago?
The I'm the baby.
I'm the baby.
Is it I think I would say through osmosis.
Like I don't I think I have seen the video before
and I definitely like laughed at it and like I know that me and like I was once
over hanging out with Brennan Lee Mulligan and as you roll in and we were all
making we were all talking about we were making we were talking to somebody
said I'm the joker and we were laughing about it.
And then somebody was like, that's a reference and they showed me the video.
So I definitely know it was in there.
But I think that at the time I was like, this is the most efficient way.
Yes, to put on the joker in license plate in in the appropriate allotted
letters you're allowed in the license plate.
That was I knew I could get I knew I could get done and not the that's so funny
that it was kind of just by happenstance.
And then inadvertently, you add this other layer to the iceberg.
Yes, exactly. Even deeper.
We're now we're now in the meme world.
So it's it's not I was not like the meme just like the meme.
But I'm sure that's I'm sure some part of me felt OK.
That that people would understand I'm the joker versus like, you know,
something else, because I know that that exists out there in the world.
Now that I'm thinking about it, that is the most efficient way to get
because I'm joker doesn't really work.
It's not a sexy. You know, yeah.
I think I also really like I just feel like there was something very funny
and being like, it's me.
Like if you don't also you don't want just joker.
Let me spell it out.
Yes, you're like, who am I?
Who's behind the wheel?
It's a car.
It's the joker, baby.
Would you consider yourself
kind of an expert on Batman?
Not at all.
Like not at all, man.
I think it's really interesting because I made this choice
and so much has come from it in terms of like the why of it all because I can't lie.
It is way easier.
My neighbor who's across the street from us, who I guess I'll talk quieter just
in case he's out and about, but he when I moved, I moved to this neighborhood
during the one year later process.
And I talk about it in the episode, but it was just like it was very of very
it was very like strange feeling to be like, hold on, like I'm like I'm pulling
up to my new house that I live and I'm driving this car.
Now you have to explain it to your new neighbor.
Yes. And I had to explain it to my neighbor.
And I chose, I remember and I've never corrected this, but I chose when we first
spoke, I was like, I'm not going to get into all of this shit.
I'm not going to get into the why and the one year later and the silliest license
plate. I just said, yeah, man, I fucking love the joker.
He's my guy because that that's it's so much easier than trying to explain.
Like, do you know dropout?
OK, so on dropout, there's game changer.
Do you know game changer?
OK, so for game changer,
there was like I was so much easier when people asked about it before the episode
came out to just go. Yeah, I love the joker.
I'm all about the joker jokers, my god.
And I really, you know, I was 13 or 14 when the Dark Knight came out.
So I do have a lot of love for the joker and I watched the animated Batman series
growing up. My love for the joker and in that whole DC universe does not go so deep.
Yeah, but you feel like you have a better appreciation for the joker
and the Batman universe afterwards?
Or no, I think so.
I think and especially I think how much like care and love people have for it,
you know, that I think it is like it is interesting.
The conversations a lot of people turns out if you get a livery
a wrap on your car that is like of a certain thing in the world.
People really are like, oh, this is I'm like going to come talk.
Like I have a lot more conversations like the one at the car wash today.
Like because I have this wrap and people will come up to me and talk to me about
an icebreaker. Yes, it is an immediate icebreaker.
They don't know all of my lore to why it is this way.
But they'll immediately start coming up to me and talking about joker
and talking about Batman this world.
So it is like I feel like I have a much greater appreciation for how much
people love this stuff.
I think I think you're about it.
I think that's super relatable, especially with car guys.
You know, you have a dream car.
If you are lucky enough to get that dream car.
Yes, then you want people to ask about it.
Yes, because you know everything about it.
And you can pop the hood, show them your engine and stuff.
Yes, guys are not great at, you know, like talking or or like
putting themselves out there or being vulnerable.
Yeah. So like this is a reason to talk to other people and talk to other
dudes and relate to other people.
Yes, people love, you know, if I, you know,
gas stations have become a place where I just expect to end up talking to somebody
because someone will eventually go not like.
And it's always it's it always it is like it starts with this compliment, right?
It always starts with like that looks that is great.
It looks really good.
And I'll be like, oh, thank you.
And then we'll start talking about it and either they'll be interested
in cars and wraps and they'll ask me if I did it myself or where I got it done.
Or we'll end up talking about the Joker and Batman and how they met it
and how long they've been a fan of it.
So it's like it always it is like it is very much the thing people used to,
especially men used to break the ice and kind of have have a chat.
What do you think the ratio is of people coming up to you?
Men versus women out of a hundred.
Yeah, 98 to two.
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I don't think I'm trying to think.
I mean, women have definitely like comp.
Yes, it's definitely happened.
But it's like, yes, like 98 to two.
Yeah, I feel like for every like eight or nine guys who are like, oh, nice.
There'll be like a woman who honks at me in her car and goes and then I go.
So nothing to like make your girlfriend worried about.
No, no, I don't think my girlfriend is jealous of of me driving around in my
Joker car, just absolutely pulling tail.
As long as we're talking about the Batman universe.
Yeah, I've never been a comic book fan ever in my life.
You know, like I like Batman movies.
I've tried to get into comic books before you got into like, I don't know,
30 days of night, 20 years ago.
That was fun.
But this new Batman, absolute Batman.
Yes. Have you seen it?
I have. I've heard another podcast that I really like.
They they are like comic book nerds like in their past.
Yeah. And you know, my my mom is a big was a big fan of comic books growing up.
And like, you know, everyone, everyone's mom had like a sewing tool kit.
And my mom's was like a DC or no, it was actually more.
It was a Marvel lunch pail that had like the Hulk and Hawk man.
Oh, I'm not Hawkeye.
They did have Hawkeye on it.
But also Hawkeman is that what is Anthony Mackey's characters?
No, birds, birds.
Yeah, it's not. It's something.
Oh, Falcon, Captain Falcon.
No, Captain Falcon.
That's Captain Falcon.
Oh, God, Red Falcon, the winter soldier and the Falcon.
We cannot linger on this.
But that Anthony Mackey's character,
his name is eluding me in this moment.
But yes, I they have been talking about absolute bad man, Batman.
And I feel like I've been seeing more stuff about it.
And I have I have also been thinking about picking it up.
I got laughed out of my comic book store because I I don't you know,
I don't know how to order a comic.
I walked in and I couldn't find on the shelf.
So I said, hey, do you have absolute Batman issue one?
And they were like, what edition?
And I'm like one episode one.
Yeah, exactly.
And they're like, that's they're already on,
you know, back order, 10th iteration, different artwork cover.
And those like the episode or, you know, issue one is being sold on eBay
for hundreds of hundreds of dollars.
And I was like, all right, I guess I was just trying to like read one comic.
But I did start reading it and like everything is flipped.
Yes, he's his parents are like school teachers that get shot at the zoo.
The Joker's a billionaire who never laughs.
Can you imagine?
Can you imagine?
And Alfred is a mercenary that is sent to kill Batman.
Whoa. Yeah.
It's and then like the artwork is insane.
And he's just like the burliest he's ever been.
I've seen like all the absolutes.
The artwork is very like maximalist, right?
Everyone is just like we it is absolute.
We are pushing all of these characters to their like limit.
Everyone's seen like the most horrible drawing of Superman,
whereas the chest is like insanely thick.
I think it's like a good version of that.
Yes, we're leaning in.
Yeah. I mean, that's it.
I feel like I've been I feel like I, you know, I was I was desperate
to start reading again recently and like I, you know, books are fine.
I mean, books are great.
I did be better with pictures, though.
I think it's like I feel like I go to book.
They'd be way better with pictures.
And I feel like I have had your experience that you had at the comic book shop.
I just feel like I've had that at bookstores where I'm like, hi, I need.
Oh, I need a good book.
And they're like, oh, what what book would you like?
And I'm like, oh, a fiction.
And they're like, oh, well, of what genre?
And it's just like there's something about you're trying to be a better
reader in your thirties.
And it's just you feel like you're like, oh, I feel like I'm supposed
to already have a handle on this.
Yeah. But now I kind of am.
But before that, I was like, I'm getting we're going full into graphic novels.
Yeah, I got really into buying just like full compendiums and just going like.
And like, I really loved it.
It was like, you know, you would get like, I get like Civil War, Marvel Civil War.
And it's like, bam, we're just going through all of it.
I got spawn and I don't know.
But I really do love comic books, but I do think it's that it's the same thing
I have with books where you're just like a little bit of like what you're the
what the guy at the comic bookstore put to you where you're kind of like,
which one do you want?
And you're like, oh, yeah, I don't the the the good one.
Like I could tell that after a while, they felt sorry for me and we're trying
to like guide me along.
Yes, but they were still kind of like impatient and like, you don't know what
you're talking about. Yes.
I mean, you know, it is like people are people have deep knowledge
these days in a way that you're like sometime.
I mean, I think it's it was the reason I'd like get nervous about reading
again, where you're like, wow, it just feels like everyone else knows exactly
what to read it exactly how to read it.
And I'm kind of like I downloaded the Libby app and I but the none of the
books I want are available.
Like there are like the world of comics is gone is gotten so wide and deep
with independent comic producers and etc.
That it's just like, yeah, there's a lot.
There's a lot of questions to ask before I feel like sometimes you're
actually at holding and reading the comic.
Yeah.
And I think it's also been splintered, whereas like you have your Marvel
universe movie fans that like die hard, know all that stuff, but don't
read comics at all.
Yes.
And then there's maybe like the comic book nerds that, you know,
hand wave at the movies and stuff like that.
Yeah, it's it's a rich world.
Yeah, I talk about it all the time on this podcast because we're not we
normally talk about cars, but you know, you got your Dodge guys who hate
Chevy's Chevy guys who a dodges and and they laugh at you.
If you don't know like a specific serial number part on an engine or whatever.
And it's just exhausting.
Yes, like just can I be a casual fan?
Well, that's I feel like I'll never forget like in the in the times where I
was like into Harry Potter, you know, turfs now and all that.
But it's not all that, but you know, very solidly.
Yeah.
But, you know, I remember going to a Harry Potter trivia night and I remember
thinking like, oh, I've read the books and I've listened to them on audio.
Book as well.
I'm quite familiar and immediately just getting blown out of water by everyone
around me who's like, what's the name of the third issue of Rita Skeeter's newsletter?
And like everyone's like, and I'm like, what?
Like, did that stay with people?
Was that an important was that actually in the books or was that somewhere else?
No, I think it was in the books, but it's like a line on a on the on a hundredth
page somewhere and you're just watching these people go like, and I remember we
got like four out of 10, right?
And like most several people got 10.
Most people got like seven or eight.
And I remember just going like, oh, I'm not sure I'm a I'm not sure.
I like I am a casual fan.
I in that moment, I feel like I really got put in my place where I thought I was.
I thought I really cared and I'd gone to him.
I'd gone to a couple of midnight pickups and and like I thought
won a trivia contest when I was eight in Washington, D.C.
And they gave me a wizard's hat and I was like, I'm a real one.
And then you go to this trivia night and they're like, you bro, you don't know.
You're not a day one like we are.
And you're like, OK, I'm sorry.
I and I like it was it really changed me.
And then I was OK.
There are there are things, you know, it like set me up for I think like things
like this car where you're like, I like Batman.
I like the Joker.
I'm a fan of some of the movies.
I've read a few of the comics.
But I will meet people who go so deep on it.
And that's I can't go.
I cannot go there with them always.
Yeah. And I think that's all right.
You know, I feel like the Internet has changed us into.
This mindset where you need to be either a diehard fan that knows every single fact.
Yes. Or just stay out. Yes.
And and like casual fandom has kind of left the chat.
Yes. And I think I don't know.
I just try and move.
I don't know. I'm always just trying to move.
With curiosity, you know, it's like if I meet a diehard fan who like who like
when I meet people who love the Joker on that on a on that deep knowledge level,
the thing I the place I can move from is I'm not trying to flex.
This is not there's this is a competition I will never win.
So I guess teach me a little something more about the Joker
so that I have that for the next person I talk to about my car or this or that.
Does this get you in the mood to do more raps?
You know, I think about it a lot because I, you know, this is a 2012 Honda Civic
hybrid with 100 and 25000 miles on it that I have been
told by my mechanic will eventually die because my battery is faulty or some shit.
Are the rechargeable battery?
Yeah, my like the big battery of this car has been a nightmare.
Like, you know, I've put a lot of the Joker.
It has been a pure chaos.
I'll tell you that.
I've had to put like a lot of like there have been a lot of issues with the
battery system. Don't buy a used hybrid car like buy a new one.
I don't know. I don't.
I shouldn't say that too much.
People actually know things about cars.
But if you buy a used if you buy a used hybrid from Russell Westbrook,
Chrysler Dodge Jeep and Ram Russell Westbrook.
Yeah, I went to his he owns like a car dealership in the Valley.
I don't know this.
Russell Westbrook.
And I remember it well, one, because I was I am a big basketball fan.
So it's like I was like, look at that.
I'm going to buy a car from Russell Westbrook.
But they also had a basketball hoop in the in the the lobby.
Nice. And so when I I remember I bought the car and then I was like,
can we film a video on your basketball hoop?
And they let me I shot it behind the back.
It was a was Russell there.
If only Russell Russell was out of your show and off.
Christ, let's be like, what's going to take to get you?
Yeah, you know, he flips a few
Chrysler 300s that goes to scores of triple double that night.
Dude, it was amazing.
But I yeah, I brought it from them as used.
I've had to put a bunch of money into it,
even though it's not it's nowhere near like a car that I'm like I care deeply
about it's just been honestly a lot out of convenience because I have a really
hard time of the cars are a thing that I the world's of cars and car knowledge
is so wide and deep that I get very nervous when it's like, all right,
Lou, time to buy a new car.
And I'm like, which one?
Yeah, I have thought a lot about when this car eventually dies on me.
I will drive it into the ground, but when it dies on me and I have to get a new car.
I mean, theoretically, my license plate will still be.
Oh, you can keep it no matter what car it is.
It's going to be I'm the Joker.
So the question is, does the next car carry on the legacy?
You know, is that going to look weird on a Nissan Murano or something like that?
I don't know. Well, there's only one way to find out.
Yeah. Well, let me.
OK, assuming I mean, God forbid your 2012 Honda Civic.
Yes. Hybrid dies in the near future.
Let me be your car matchmaker.
Really? You tell me kind of what attributes
you would like to see in a car and I'll try to think of a car that I think.
And you promise you're always.
But you need to always think about it as being in a Joker rap. All right.
That's the. Yes. Oh, that's my one thing.
I need you to like because I'm still going to be the Joker and theoretically,
you know, I might, buy the car.
The first thing I'll do is take it to Monarch Motors.
They'll keep it for three people for a full season.
And then I'll get it back.
Not only will I match you with a car, I'm going to match you with a specific
Joker that I think their theme would do well on that car.
Perfect. I love this.
I am a casual guy.
I don't I like I like an easy car.
Sure. You know, we'll start with automatic transmission.
Automatically, definitely.
I've driven I've driven a manual tractor before, but I'm not sure I could do it.
Kind of, you know, I've I've ridden with friends who drive manual cars
and it is it's quite a to do to drive in LA traffic.
Yeah, if you're just staying in first and going to neutral, it's like a pain in the ass.
Yes. So automatic, casual car.
I love I love four doors. Yeah.
Four door sedan or small SUV.
Yes, exactly. We need to have a few friends.
I need friends need to be able to get in the car.
Maybe we go on a camping trip every once in a while.
You have like friends that you would maybe they want more accessibility,
like a lower car to get into or like a kind of a taller SUV.
I wouldn't mind a little bit of height.
You know, I feel like I my car loves to, you know,
if I'm going over like my parents have a really old driveway that's got a crazy angle.
So it's a it's a constant scraping.
So I wouldn't I wouldn't mind a little bit of lift.
But yeah, four doors, casual.
Yes, small SUV or a sedan.
You know, I think probably either hybrid or electric
because I'm trying to do my part for the environment.
Um, you know, thinking about it.
Are there any other any other main sectors?
Maybe I'm missing. OK, what?
Let's talk about lifestyle. Yeah.
Are you going to? I'm a commuter.
So I drive to work four times a week. OK.
So I know gas mileage is important to you.
Yeah, I don't mind. I wouldn't.
I'd love to think about gas mileage.
What do you do on the weekends?
Do you go to the mountains to drive?
Do you take road trips? Do we are road trippers?
We like we like to hit the coast and go.
We love to go up to like Monterey,
kind of Morro Bay, that area. OK.
So, you know, coast, more coastal than mountains, but we like to drive.
OK, I'm thinking
with your lifestyle and your, you know, your love of road trips
and your Central California kind of stuff.
OK, three cars in mind. Love it.
You tell me which which has the best face for a joke or the Joker.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Subru, out back. OK.
So nice, nice and lifted.
Four wheel drive in case you ever want to go off road or anything.
I think they do a hybrid now, like a partial
hydrogen electric vehicle version of it.
So a little bit more gas mileage.
If you want to go sleeker, maybe a cooler look,
how about like a Mazda CX 90?
I think is the bigger one.
They I think they just started doing like a hybrid version of that.
But it just looks cooler.
That comes in a nice red.
Then there's also the Audi Q5, which is their midsize SUV.
I think that actually might have like the best real estate for a Joker wrap on it.
And it's the most like luxury version out of all those.
Got it.
So if you want, I can show you pictures of them, too.
OK, yes. Can I get your photo?
Sure. It's interesting that you mentioned the Audi.
I feel like my I have a good friend, Parker,
who I think is who is constantly trying to push me.
He has been he's been driving an Audi since I've known him.
Yeah. And he's constantly he hates my car with a vengeance.
He hates that I drive it.
He knows that it's it's been bad to me.
He knows that I'm you know, he knows that I'm constantly without it.
He dreams of destroying it and always begs.
He's like, man, we can go to the dealership today.
We could go from the dinner we're having.
We can go straight to the dealership.
We can hook it up right now.
This is the Subaru Outback. OK.
It's it's a definitely more in the lifestyle category of like outdoor people.
Yes. But I can see we could turn that front into a nice Joker smile.
There's a grin there. Yeah, I see it.
You know what I'm realizing and thinking about all this is like
this has such an upturned upturned grill.
Yes, that you do get a definite smile.
Get that. Yeah.
So in that case, I think we need that upturned grill, man.
Mazda Miata's have a very specific face.
Let me just show you.
So like not like not a sinister smile, but that's a smile.
Right. That's a smile for you. That's a face.
That's that's what cars.
That's where they got the idea for cars.
Yes. You know. And unfortunately,
this is not does not check any of your box.
Yeah, but maybe it's my weekend car.
You know, yeah, maybe my weekend car is just a Miata that I put the eye.
I put the I am the Joker license plate on that and I drive.
I drive my Subaru Outback for most of the week.
Yeah. OK. So here's the the Mazda CX 90 hybrid.
Oh, I like that. It's it's good looking.
Yeah, it's hard to make that look twisted, though.
It's not. Yeah, I feel like we might have to do some work, especially.
Yeah, it doesn't it doesn't have the same kind of up.
It's pretty flat across.
OK, and then here's the Audi Q5,
which I think might fit your lifestyle the best.
You're going to be comfortable driving in Morro Bay. I love it.
There we go.
Not much to work with with the front face.
Yeah, but we can.
I mean, we could there's something in there.
Yeah, you might be able to make that work.
I like that. So out of those three, now that you've seen them,
what do you think?
I think it's got to be it's either the Forester or the Q5.
I think if, you know, we'll see where my life is at,
you know, and where I'm at on my path to become in the Joker.
But I could I think one of those two feels right.
I think for the for the sake of this podcast, let's call it the Forester.
I think let's call it the Forester. OK, Forester.
So excuse me, the Outback.
Well, we can do Forester, too.
For the Forester just has I think it's basically the same car.
It just has like more wind, more headroom.
Yes, my parents just bought a Forester, which is why it's on my mind.
Yeah. So I don't know.
We'll keep it in the family.
I have my my parents have the Subaru Forester.
I'll be the son. I'll drive the Subaru Outback.
Son of Forester.
As far as specific jokers. Yes.
Everything's cyclical. Yes. Right. Yes.
So we're coming out of like 90s retro
into early 2000s, mid 2000s,
which had all over print sweatshirts.
A lot of like 80s retro at that point, shutter shades.
Yeah, yeah. Some bright colors might do it.
So I'm thinking we we keep the the Forester.
We'll do Jack Nicholson.
F***ing green. F***ing yes.
Yeah. F***ing yes.
All in all the way, the f***ing in, dude, locked in on this.
Guys, catch me on the streets of Los Angeles
in a year or two rocking a f***ing Jack Nicholson inspired Subaru Outback.
Son of Forester. It's coming, dude.
And then he had like I he had some of the grossest.
Yes, he is.
I feel like he's goes long, long.
And it's like like visceral scars.
Yes. So maybe we'll bring the red.
We'll bring the red kind of up into the purple.
Yeah, you know, we could even have like a we could have someone design a body kit
to redesign that front bumper to just be a little slightly upturned.
Oh, my God. Yeah.
Hell, I'm thinking I'm thinking we so so that Joker,
he he's got mostly purple and green.
Yeah. But then the red and he's got a yellow.
I feel like it's got a little yellow here.
I got to look it up now. Yeah.
Let's get a ride, dude, Joker.
If we're doing modifications to the car, the, you know, the look has to be locked in.
I feel like in my head, he's wearing like a yellow.
He's wearing a yellow shirt and like a blue bow.
Oh, orange. Oh, dude, you called it.
Yeah, dude, that's what's up. That's that. That's blue up.
The silky blue is that at a super
room for us to do this. It's about to be on right now.
He almost has this like Scottish tartan.
Yeah, dude. Oh, that's the seeds.
That's the seed.
We're doing it. We're bringing the interior to do that.
This is done. Done and done.
OK, so Subaru has this thing right now.
All their performance models have like,
or I don't even know if their performance models,
there's a specific like outdoor wilderness version,
but they have like kind of a shiny
seat belts that look like that.
I think they're yellow.
We could do the seat belts in that orange and the tartan seats
and purple is the main color on the outside.
And there's actually no green at all.
Is there no green aside from I think it's hair, just his hair.
Oh, yeah. But that's it.
We could put a little like fake to pay on the top.
Damn, dude. That'd be sick.
Oh, we're going to.
Yes, yes, we'll throw a little to pay kind of those.
They have like the racks on top, right? Yeah.
Yeah, we could throw some hair in between.
Just kind of a little growth.
Yeah, you can even use like Astro turf.
Dude, it's on. That'd be awesome.
Hell yeah. This is crazy.
People are going to see my next car be like,
has Lou lost his mind and then they'll come back to this podcast
and I actually see there's a lot of work.
There's a lot of work that we have a lot of thought and energy that we put in.
Nearly eight minutes of work.
Eight minutes.
We were we were bringing up reference photos.
We were like, we did the work.
All right. All right. We did the work.
We've talked about the Joker car so much that
I do want to ask, what's your favorite Batmobile?
My favorite Batmobile, my favorite Batmobile,
I do think is the I think it's the George Clooney one,
which I think it had the really tall, really tall,
the really tall, like wings on the back, a jet on the back.
Yes, a jet on the back because I had the RC car version of that
when I was a kid that was it was attached to a remote control.
So you it wasn't as cool as a true RC car.
You couldn't let it loose.
Like you couldn't take it to the park and like go nuts.
But you you could get a little action kind of in your living room
with within kind of three feet.
So it had a cord.
Yes, it had a cord attached to the remote control car.
And it only went forward.
There was not like left and right. It was just go.
It was pretty simple, you know?
But I and I remember I eventually had like a proper RC car.
And I feel like I destroyed it within seconds.
So I do think this Batmobile was actually the best it ever was
because it actually lasted longer.
But yeah, that that I feel like because I had that toy, that kind of.
I don't I don't know if Tim Burton directed the George Clooney Batman,
but the really the one with just the massive kind of batwing spoilers.
Huge fans. Yes.
If we're looking at phones, I'm going to pull it up just to make sure I'm nailing it.
Yeah, this one is like really.
There's like a lot going on.
Yeah. Yeah, this is definitely it. This is the one.
And I remember like they must so much going on.
It's like a very it's like very it's also like it's not the like
the Tim Burton one is it has the big wings like that.
But it's I think a little bit like simpler in the body.
This one has a lot of light.
Yes, a lot of rocket kind of stuff.
And I think I remember it had the light up.
It had all the the the light up functions, like all of the stuff
that's going on in the wheels and the the grill.
It's got some blue underglow.
And I think that was the same movie that Dr.
Ice. What is his name?
What's Mr. Freeze? Mr. Freeze.
But honestly, let's roll.
I think we should start our own Batman universe.
We just miss remember everything.
Yeah, exactly.
Dr. Ice, Dr.
Ice, the Joker. Yeah.
You know, it's its own.
Psychic little birdie man, little birdie man.
Yo, it's the it's we're riding in the Batman mobile.
Little birdie man, dog.
He's got his own seat.
He's got his own. Yeah, exactly.
Yeah, this is it's definitely the it's this one with these like
what's that front part of those two things over the wheels that are just
Oh, the like the fenders boxed fenders and they're not boxed.
They're just huge, like separated fenders.
Yeah. And and the the wings are very detailed
and they're kind of coming up from the jet engine.
Yes, like like this instead of like this, you know.
The one that I was thinking about, it might have been the Tim Burton one
where they just look really floppy.
Oh, and you know, the footage was sped up so they look extra floppy.
So they kind of, yes.
Yeah, like, well, this and I know this is the.
Yeah, maybe you're talking about the Tim Burton one, this one
where I got the little ones on the back.
It's got that jet intake on the front.
Yes. Yeah. OK. Yeah.
So that's one is actually speaking of you got your car wrapped in Thousand Oaks,
you said Westwood in Chatsworth.
This there's a garage that has the Tim Burton
Batmobile just hanging out and they like made life size
Hot Wheels to that are insane.
We did it. We did a video there.
Yeah. Yeah, dude.
There's so much crazy car history in the valley.
Just it feels like it.
I mean, I feel like that's LA is such a we're such a car centric place, right?
It's like this is a place where I mean, I feel like I grew up here
and it was like people were driving low riders and like, you know, my
what what neighborhood did you grow up?
What's up? What neighborhood?
I grew up on the east side in Altadena.
OK, but I feel like my grandfather had like a Mercedes,
like a beige Mercedes that was his like crowning achievement.
And he was best friends with his mechanic, Don.
And we were at Don's house all the time.
Was it to have like car matched wheels?
Yes, car matched wheels.
And then I remember he had this like beautiful like leather interior
and he had these like beaded seat covers that I hated as a kid.
But I'm sure like it was, you know, you could tell it was my grandfather's
dream car, like it was all he ever wanted in life was to drive this Mercedes Benz.
But yeah, I think I just feel like being in LA, it's cars matter.
It's like we we we use there's such a part of everyday life.
And I remember I went to college on the east coast and it was crazy
to just meet all these people who who I think like drove occasionally, you know?
Yeah. Whereas like every, you know,
growing up out to Dina is like halfway up a mountain.
So it's like you have to drive every day, everywhere, walking.
I hated walking because I lived on a hill.
So if I was immediately going to be out of breath,
either going to where I was going or coming back from it.
So it was like we were hitting a whip like every every goddamn day.
So I don't know, cars matter here in I think a real special way.
Yeah, I we did an interview a while ago with this guy, Dave Stone,
who started doing cars and coffee coffee after the Altadena fires.
Oh, cool. And he still does it every week and like every week it grows.
And there's more people that come and tell their stories.
Yeah. And there was there's a ton of car history in Altadena.
I don't know if you knew this, but like during the red lining phase of of LA
when, you know, people of color couldn't move certain places.
Altadena was one of the only places that they could get land and have a bunch of cars and stuff.
That's why my that's the main reason my grandfather moved out as he was.
They were him and my dad were seeing houses in other neighborhoods.
Yeah. And kind of having the they're having the real estate agent
kind of turn their nose up at them showing up the houses.
And Altadena was this place where it was like, oh, are you like middle,
solidly middle class and black?
Like here is where you can have like my grandfather had a pool growing up.
And it was, you know, but that was that's where he could.
That's where his money was welcome.
That's awesome. I mean, it's awesome that he found a way to like live out his dream.
Exactly. It's shitty that redlining exists in the first place.
But like because of that, Altadena was like this beacon for low rider culture
and custom culture. And it's sad, but like during the fires,
like a lot of these priceless, you know, historic low riders just burnt up.
Yeah. And I really want to do something to kind of like bring attention to that
because it was like the spot where people think of like, you know,
Compton and Englewood as like where the low riders live.
Yeah. There's a lot in East Northeast LA.
Yeah. Where people don't even talk about 100 percent.
I mean, still over in like Boyle Heights, Lincoln Heights,
there's low rider meets every single week.
Of course. And I think, you know, I think it's it's the interesting thing.
I feel like I learned when I went to school in Boston,
which is, you know, a very different place than LA.
And it was like the image of Los Angeles.
I feel like car culture, especially for black people
that has been shipped out to the world is Compton, Englewood.
Yeah. Tupac, like that, boys in the hood.
It all exists in that sphere.
And I feel like there are these other parts of LA that have,
it sounds like a deep and rich car culture
that have just that hasn't made its way out via media or information.
But, you know, Joe, you're out here doing the goddamn work.
You're out here doing the goddamn work.
Well, Lou, thank you so much for being on Talk Talk Nation.
Always a pleasure.
Thanks so much for coming to my house.
And, you know, I I haven't gotten rid of this rap.
And I guess it's moments like this where I'm glad I'm drop out.
The first thing they asked when we when we ended the episode,
yeah, or like when the episode came out, they were like, Lou,
do you want us to take it off?
And I said, no.
And I didn't know why at the time.
But, you know, it's moments like this where I'm like, well, it's because
Joe was going to come over and we were going to chat about it.
Also, because raps costs like a shit ton of money cost a lot of money, man.
So it was also like I really haven't got like it feels like I can't just do.
We can't just do nine months on this.
Yeah, I did not invest nine months.
I didn't invest in or I didn't invest this much to do this for nine months
and lose it. So yeah, here we are.
Well, Lou, where can people find you?
You can find me at Sweet Luzinho on Instagram.
That's where I live.
I've been mispronouncing it in my head this whole time.
Yes. Well, because there is an invisible end over the end,
because this is in the tradition of tradition.
I don't know what I'm talking about.
It's a Brazilian last.
It's like, yeah, in like it's like little.
Yes, exactly. What what for?
I think sometimes in Spanish is like itto.
This in in Portuguese, Portuguese say it is Zinho.
So I'm Sweet Luzinho at at Sweet Luzinho on Instagram.
Awesome. And then you if you guys want to watch him on dropout,
you're on Game Changer. I'm
I'm on I'm on Game Changer.
I'm on make some noise and, of course, dimension 20.
And then my we didn't even talk about.
We didn't even talk about D&D and then also, yeah, dimension 20.
But then also my own storytelling podcast,
Worlds Beyond Number and find us on on all the socials
and then also Instagram, Patreon. Hell, yeah.
So go find Lou out there.
I do. I want to mention this real quick
because I went and saw you at the Hollywood Bowl when you guys sold out the bowl.
Yes, dude. D&D.
Yes, dude. How do you do that?
That's crazy. It's a great question.
I mean, I were I worked at the Hollywood Bowl when I was in high school.
As many like a Los Angeles high school team does.
And then to perform there was great.
I mean, you know, I think it was all Madison Square Garden happened.
And I think there was this groundswell of support from our fans
from all over the world, super who all wanted to come to New York
and have we've engaged so much with them online.
But this was the first moment we were all going to get to be together in person.
And I remember your character like died in the most unlucky way
with in at the Hollywood Bowl.
You just kept getting screwed over over and over again.
Because and they had an in memoriam segment for me playing.
That was a nightmare to watch.
You know, I ended up we ended up making it out alive.
We made a few death saves along the way.
But it was it was incredibly special, man.
It was a and I appreciate, you know, that is because of the support
and excitement that our fans have had for us that we got to do MSG
and that MSG led to the Hollywood Bowl, which for me, I think was just such
a seminal moment in my performance career and something I'll never forget.
Dude, and and coming from like I still I think it's still on my Instagram
of us doing a show like a midnight show at UCB.
Sounds about right.
Getting paid, nothing like just doing it for fun to seeing you at this level.
It's like really cool.
And I really love that you've made it this far.
And I hope that you have continued luck in your career.
Hey, thanks so much, Joe. We're out here doing it for real.
Hell, you know, you showed up here with real cameras and real microphones,
you know, people clearly people trust you and your talents to make something great.
And let's just keep doing it.
I will be back together in a few years as we talk about my
Jack Nicholson inspired super.
I can't wait. Yeah, I mean, I hope your civic runs for as long as it does.
But I do want to help you into your new Joker mobile.
Hey, thank you, man. I appreciate it.
Well, thanks for watching.
Be sure to hit like and subscribe and follow us.
We have awesome podcasts every week, including Jimmy's podcast, Jimmy's cars
and pass gas.
So be sure to follow us and keep listening.
Thanks.
About this episode
Lou Wilson drops by Talk Talk Nation and the conversation starts in his garage, then zooms out to the “Joker car” persona that makes strangers react in Los Angeles traffic. The hosts connect the Joker look to grille “faux face” styling and compare it to other themed builds, including a 2012 Honda Civic Hybrid with a Joker wrap and a 2009 Corvette Stingray with Joker livery. Lou explains how his Joker license plate got approved, why he used a fake plate for filming, and how the whole bit sparks real-world conversations.
Original notes
Joe sits down with Lou Wilson from Jimmy Kimmel and Dropout fame to discuss his unique daily driver - a 2012 Honda Civic with a Joker wrap. We explore deep Batman lore, find out why The Joker drove a 2009 Corvette and what Lou's next Joker car is going to look like.
Talk Talk Nation
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