The Car Curious Weekly for June 21, 2026

The Car Curious Weekly is a look at what the automotive podcast world is talking about, who's saying it, and what patterns emerge when you listen to all of them at once.

June 14 - June 20, 2026 · 228 episodes across 158 podcasts.

9WERKS Radio documented how FOMO and dealer tactics are warping the Porsche collector market. Clutch Culture broke down what auction manipulation looks like when you're inside a rigged bid.

The Porsche Collector Market Has a FOMO Problem

9WERKS Radio spent a full episode on where the Porsche enthusiast market stands in summer 2026. Investors are back, stock is drying up, and one dealer tactic is drawing the word manipulation: list a car at an inflated price, then pull it fast.

9WERKS Radio : The Porsche and Car Podcast:
Summer 2026 Porsche Marketplace: Market Manipulation, Older Car Appreciation & Hidden Gems

"When I talk about manipulation, it's... people will put it on for a hundred grand and then they'll take it off straight away."

Scarcity is the lever. No 997 GT2s are on the market. Eight 991 coupes with under 40,000 miles are listed in the UK. Thin inventory triggers FOMO, and FOMO pushes buyers to act before they've thought it through.

"What you then get is FOMO, because as soon as people start thinking, oh, I'm going to miss out — they go and buy stuff."

The episode covers more than prices. Older air-cooled Porsches and manuals keep appreciating because they're becoming scarce, and that scarcity is partly manufactured. Dealers pull listings to reset buyer psychology. Investors re-entering the market push prices up on anything rare.

Bloomberg Hot Pursuit hit the same theme from the brand side this week: Ferrari steers buyers through entry models first, building the perception of exclusivity at each step.

Bloomberg Hot Pursuit!:
BMW's Profit Warning, Ferrari's Polarizing New Strategy & Porsche's Wagon Delete

"It creates the perception of status and scarcity and complete elitism in the most desirable way."

Dealers manufacture scarcity with listing tactics. Automakers manufacture it through allocation. The premium car market runs the same playbook from both ends.

Online Car Auctions Have a Rigging Problem

Clutch Culture walked through auction manipulation in practice: shill bidding, dealer accounts disguised as independent buyers, and outcomes decided before bidding opens.

Clutch Culture Podcast:
#083 - Americans Are Keeping Cars Much Longer, Car Auction Manipulation, Right To Repair, & More

"So it didn't matter what the bids were, the cars were already sold."

One listener stayed in a suspicious auction to confirm the car wouldn't sell. It didn't. Dealers run accounts that hide their identity, driving prices up while looking like independent bidders.

"Shill bidding, running accounts where it makes it look like it's not coming from a dealer, but it was actually a dealer."

The effect shows up in pricing. Cars with bad modifications trade at $40,000 to $70,000, where the hosts put the honest number closer to $20,000. Manipulated auctions set artificial floors, and those floors make clean, unmodified examples harder to price and harder to find.

Hidden Gems

Episodes worth checking out that you might have missed:
- Following Fedex (Wheel Bearings), Unique road-trip data on how drafting behind trucks, highway speed, and real-world weight affect EV range, plus hands-on previews of the hybrid Subaru Crosstrek and V2G/sodium-ion storage tech most casual listeners miss.
- 356: Diagnosis Of An Uncommon No-Start Condition (Automotive Diagnostic Podcast), Deep technical dive into restricted exhaust as a hidden no-start culprit, complete with real case studies (rodent-packed exhausts, clogged catalytic converters) and hands-on diagnostic tricks that dealerships often overlook.
- An Actually Usable VW Bus: The Kindred EV Bus, Carmudgeon Ep 241 w/ Jason Cammisa & Derek Tam-Scott (The Carmudgeon Show), Rare access to a bespoke EV conversion shop detailing frame reinforcement, multi-location battery packaging, and suspension engineering, plus candid critique of its surprising lack of regenerative braking that even EV experts miss.

Quotes of the Week

"Tesla has rolled the updated center touchscreen and the black headliner out across all of its Model Y trims here in North America, yes, even the entry-level one."

Episode 567: Tesla Adds Yet Another New Paint Color on Ride the Lightning: Tesla and EV Podcast

"So it didn't matter what the bids were, the cars were already sold."

#083 - Americans Are Keeping Cars Much Longer, Car Auction Manipulation, Right To Repair, & More on Clutch Culture Podcast

"They've got to offer 100% of the product, 100% of the time, every customer."

#24 - Monday Minute | 100% of the Product, 100% of the Time on The Independent Dealer Podcast

"The new electric ones are classified as low-speed vehicles, or neighborhood electric vehicles."

The Best Cars for Summer #58 on The Driveway

Recommendations

If You Only Listen To One

77,000+ Miles. 38 States. One Legendary VW Krust Bus Dave Broenen Ep70, DubLife Diaries The VW Lifestyle Podcast

Dave Broenen drove a VW Krust Bus across 38 states and 77,000 miles. He talks through what that actually requires of the car and the driver.

More Episodes Worth Hearing

• S2 Ep37: How To Look RICH On A Budget & Lotus Carlton UPDATE! (The AutoAlex Podcast), A good-natured mess of an episode in the best way, dog fun-run banter, a cursed Lotus Carlton project, debates about which Aston Martin gets the most attention at the lights, and real project-car pain like heater matrix leaks and waiting on E46 injectors. The hosts have easy chemistry and the conversation wanders in entertaining directions without losing the thread.
• B(aT) the Movies: Gone in 60 Seconds (1974 and 2000) (Bring a Trailer Podcast), Tyler and Cam dig into both Gone in 60 Seconds films with genuine enthusiasm, comparing how chase scenes are actually filmed, arguing about Eleanor mythology, and getting into the weeds on a 996 owner's manual cameo. It's a film-and-cars crossover that works because the hosts clearly care about both sides of the conversation, and the Eleanor legal saga tangent is worth hearing on its own.
• #155 Building the Ultimate 90s Garage with a House to Match (Best In Class), A dream-garage thought experiment that stays grounded enough to be genuinely fun: pop-up headlights, homologation cars, why the 90s hit a sweet spot for reliability, and whether you'd actually drive a Countach or just stare at it. The hosts debate use versus display with real conviction, and the Nakamichi sound system tangent is a highlight.
• Consumer Behavior: Used buyers can fine-tune a search like never before. CUV just a regression to Model T form factor? Ford's radical streamline of offerings. (Cars The Podcast), The CUV-as-Model-T-reincarnation argument alone is worth the listen, it reframes decades of automotive design history in a way that actually holds up. The used-car search and ergonomics discussion is practical without being dry, and real stories like the GTO hunt and pandemic BMW i3 purchase keep it from feeling like a market report.
• 356: Diagnosis Of An Uncommon No-Start Condition (Automotive Diagnostic Podcast), A diagnostic episode that gets genuinely weird, the root cause being a clogged catalytic converter mimicking anti-theft behavior is the kind of thing that reframes how you think about diagnosis. The rodent-packed exhaust case is memorable, and the hosts are honest about the limits of their own tools and working conditions.
• C.R.E.A.M. #87 - Ben's S2K Sold, Vans Are The Best and The New M3 (C.R.E.A.M. (The TDC Podcast)), The S2000 sale story is a good opener, how fast a car moves when priced right, and the Porsche Cayman reliability talk and engine-out repair cost reality check are honest and specific. The Nürburgring trip planning and van-life chaos give it range, and the hosts clearly enjoy the conversation.
• Episode #229 - Is Nissan Making a Comeback? (Another Pointless Automotive Podcast), A genuinely engaged debate about Nissan's direction, the Z as a halo car. The case for a body-on-frame v6 xterra, what Nismo could do as a brand if given room. The detours into Celica GTS ad decoding and hands-on repair stories keep it from being just another brand-strategy episode.
• Following Fedex (Wheel Bearings), The EV road trip efficiency angle is specific and practical, how drafting behind a FedEx truck actually moves the needle on range, and what highway speed does to consumption. The hybrid Crosstrek preview and the V2G/sodium-ion storage discussion give it good variety, and the hosts bring real technical knowledge without being tedious about it.
• 153: Audi e-Tron Bargains And The Motor Problem You Can't Ignore (Batteries Included), The deal-hunting framework, 800-volt EV, under $30k, under 30k miles, under three years old, is a useful filter for anyone shopping used EVs right now. The Audi e-tron coolant intrusion warning is a genuine heads-up that could save a listener real money, and the lemon law buyback thread is more nuanced than it sounds.

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228 episodes. 2814 car mentions. 9152 terms explained. Browse every episode with searchable annotations and plain-language term definitions in the Car Curious app.