Daily Recap: Sunday, February 22, 2026

13 episodes

Today's episodes covered a range of topics from driving borrowed Porsche 911s to the operational realities of closing a dealership, with Mike Brewer Motors serving as a case study in dealer financial challenges. Battery health diagnostics came up across multiple episodes, particularly how state of health testing for EVs differs fundamentally from traditional combustion engine assessments. AI tools in collision repair and the growing necessity of social media for dealerships rounded out the technical and business discussions.

AI Systems Transforming Automotive Industry Operations

Agentic AI systems are emerging as powerful tools for automating tasks in the automotive sector.

Open Claw, an AI system powered by Claude from Anthropic that runs locally on laptops or Mac minis, represents a significant development in autonomous AI capabilities.

From Automotive Diagnostic Podcast:

"The really the shifting point was this program that was developed by an independent person called Open Claw. And this is a system that you run locally on a laptop or people are doing it on Mac minis. And it runs, it's powered by Claude, the company is called Anthropic."

Meanwhile, Tekion is integrating AI features into its platform, having launched 3,000 new features in 2025 that include AI-driven solutions for dealer operations.

From Automotive News Daily Drive:

"In 2025, we launched 3000 new features, which includes the AI features."

OEM Diagnostics and Vehicle Programming Technology Advancing Collision Repair

Advanced diagnostic and programming technology is revolutionizing collision repair procedures.

Repairify's Aztec device connects to a vehicle's OBD connector and enables remote diagnostics, repairs, and programming through an internet connection, allowing brand specialists to perform initializations and procedures across the country.

From In Wheel Time Podcast:

"We have a patented device called the Aztec device that will hook up to the vehicles OBD connector. And then we can remotely connect that device with an OEM tool, pair it with a brand specialist that knows that vehicle and we can help perform diagnostics, repairs, initializations, programming events all over the internet for shops all over the country."

This technology is essential for modern collision repair, including specialized procedures like seat weight initialization for vehicles after accidents.

From Automotive Diagnostic Podcast:

"Tommy offers a cloning service for used control modules to make these things plug and play for the vehicle that you're working on. In a lot of cases, he is also able to source the control modules if you're unable to locate one for the vehicle that you're working on."

Episode Spotlights

The Best & Worst Porsche Designs: A 9WERKS x Curb & Canyon Special! — 9WERKS Radio : The Porsche and Car Podcast
On the most expensive Porsche Taycan variant available:

"It was Porsche's Taycan...Taycan Turbo S Sport Turismo. It's a 188 grand worth of Taycan...Outside of a turbo GT, that is, like, the most expensive one you can get"

285 The Battery Health Episode — The EV Musings Podcast
On how independent battery testing for used EVs started:

"In 2018, my brother and a good friend of both of us, Nico, they had that idea to develop an independent battery test for used EVs...they started off in the garage, actually really in the garage of my parents' house, with the BMW i3."

Mike Brewer On Closing His Dealership, Wheeler Dealers Cast & UK Car Market — Road To Success with Benedict Fowler
On how Mike Brewer transitioned from obscurity to Wheeler Dealers:

"I got plucked out of obscurity. A dude who showed on Channel 4 called Deals and Wheels. That was a huge success. I got [headhunted] by Top Gear...And then Wheel of Dealers came along and I never asked for any of it. It just sort of happened."

Preventing Rust with Waxoyl — The Car Doctor Podcast
On extending vehicle lifespan through rust prevention coating:

"If they can coat the vehicle before it's rusted, they can take a 10-year life on that vehicle and go out to 15 years or even higher, maybe 18 to 20 years."

The Bay Shortage Is Bad The Shop Owner Shortage Might Be Worse [E246] — The Weekly Blitz
On the growing vehicle-to-repair-bay ratio problem:

"In 2020, you had about 243 vehicles per bay. In 2022, about 253 vehicles per. And Lang, the people that did the study projected that it's going to top at 261 here pretty closely. And the reason why is bays keep declining while vehicle numbers keep rising."

If You Only Listen To One

The Best & Worst Porsche Designs: A 9WERKS x Curb & Canyon Special! — 9WERKS Radio : The Porsche and Car Podcast

Covers Collaboration between 9WERKS Radio and Curb & Canyon podcasts, Personal experiences driving other people's Porsches.

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13 episodes. 136 car mentions. 202 terms explained. Browse every episode with searchable annotations and plain-language term definitions in the Car Curious app.