Daily Recap: Tuesday, March 10, 2026
34 episodes · If you only listen to one: America's Hidden Desire to Live Car-Free — The War on Cars
Volkswagen's operating profit dropped $12 billion year-over-year, while Chinese EV makers continued their push into new markets as Zeekr preps its 009 minivan for Europe and BYD doubles down on fast charging over battery swapping. The shows also covered Porsche 911 generations, with the 997.1 flagged as an undervalued buy, and wrapped with data on aggressive driving patterns broken down by vehicle type and driver demographics.
Headlines
Volkswagen Group's Operating Profit Drops $12 Billion
Volkswagen Group's operating profit fell 54% in 2025, a decline of roughly €11 billion ($12 billion) to €9 billion.
The drop was driven by tariffs, Porsche EV writeoffs, and lower sales in China.
"Volkswagen Group, their operating profit fell 54% in 2025... they lost $12 billion in just one year."
Episode Spotlights
Magnus Walker
Magnus Walker joins Matt Farah to talk about his extensive Porsche collection and his path from the UK punk scene to becoming one of the most recognizable figures in car culture.
Why the 997.1 Is Such a Sleeper Buy Right Now ($38K Porsche 911)
On the 997.1 Porsche 911's current market value positioning:
"997.1s really weren't on my horizon because frankly, Will, the prices have gone up quite a bit...the value vacuum, right, the .2s go up and people say, well, those are expensive and I can't afford those now. So what is a predicate for that? What can I have that is like that?"
On which driver demographics pose the highest road safety risk:
"the worst, the fastest drivers, the most reckless drivers...Men under 45 driving any RAM pickup truck. Yes, you people are not only driving too fast, you're also the most competitive drivers. You do not like being passed on the interstate."
We Break Down Recalls, Auctions, And Industry Shakeups So You Know What Matters
On Ford's rear view camera failures in Bronco and Edge models:
"One of the recalls affects about 850,000 Bronco and Ford Edge models. It's related to a computer module that May overheat and shutdown, preventing the rear view camera image from displaying as intended."
Stop Winging Human Resources in Your Auto Repair Shop [RR 1082]
On building structured hiring systems for independent auto repair shops, covering multi-stage interviews and culture-fit screening.
If You Only Listen To One
America's Hidden Desire to Live Car-Free
An ASU study found a significant share of Americans want to live in places where they don't need a car — but the infrastructure doesn't exist yet. The episode digs into the gap between what people say they want and what the built environment actually offers, and what that means for transportation policy.
"only about 10% of the survey respondents actually don't have cars... the remaining 90% or so of our survey respondents own cars. But that's pretty representative of the fraction of people who do and don't own cars in the United States."
By the Numbers
Most-Discussed Cars
| Car | Mentions |
|---|---|
| Chevrolet Camaro | 5 |
| Porsche 911 | 5 |
| Porsche Cayman | 4 |
| Ford F150 | 4 |
| Ford Bronco | 4 |
| Ford Mustang | 4 |
| Jeep Wrangler | 3 |
| Chevrolet Silverado | 3 |
Trending Terminology
| Term | Mentions |
|---|---|
| horsepower | 8 |
| trade-in | 3 |
| transmission | 3 |
| BDC | 3 |
| battery swapping | 3 |
| electric vehicle (EV) | 2 |
34 episodes. 317 car mentions. 652 terms explained. Browse every episode with searchable annotations and plain-language term definitions in the Car Curious app.