The Thing About Cars

Guest Robert Drake wants to talk more about the labeling of battery terminals, and asks "What is it about a Dodge Charger that makes some idiot think they're immune to traffic laws?" Mickey brings up a security question for keyless entry vehicles. Dawn is On The Autobahn. Her window is fixed, but the seatbelt is broken. And the CD changer is not doing well, either. Mickey grinds some gears and the words "nasal deployed meatball armature" get worked into the conversation. We welcome your support via Patreon and your questions and feedback via our website.

Loxley Brown from Athena Racing joins, Mickey, Misty & Ben. We explore Athena Racings dedication to giving opportunities to girls. Athena Racing is the all-girls STEM education program applying STEM principles to the track and life. You can learn more about them at athenaracing.org. In the News, Misty dishes on Formula One livery designs; talent turnover within F1 racing teams; and then just starts picking random fights with her husband, Ford and Ferrari. In That New Car Smell, Ben talks about Rivian's electric trucks and SUVs, which should be out later this year. Lotus is bringing out an SUV? There are some spy photos boiling up of other new models, and Tesla's new cyber-truck terrifies Mickey. And, who did China beat at car building in 2019? We welcome your support via Patreon and your questions and feedback via our website.

TTAC goes international! We welcome Misty from The Netherlands to a new Two Girls & a Car episode. In Relationship Roadster, Amanda delves into Ferraris. Mickey grills Misty on her love for Formula One racing, and we learn about how Misty is learning to navigate multi-use traffic circles amidst tram tracks and bicycles. Ben's Lotus update: his 1970 Elan Plus 2 has hit the road! Unfortunately, it's leaving oil on the road. Listener Jennifer Bell writes in to ask the best way to junk a car. Listener Robert Drake writes in about auto repair shops going out of business because they can't keep good mechanics. Elizabeth Parks writes in with her Worst Car Story, a Cadillac Cimarron. And, Mickey stumps the team with BMW GPS faults. We welcome your support via Patreon and your questions and feedback via our website.

Dave does a segment we're calling “True Crime Auto” in conjunction with the law firm “Screech, Screech, Brake, & Bang." He discusses the most commonly stolen cars in America, and cars associated with the top crimes in history. Special Guest Lav Luv talks about the Power Up Tour that he made across the country in his Tesla, his love of Teslas, and his desire to do a more extensive Power Up Tour in the future. Ben has a moment talking about Oldsmobile and divulges something disturbing about his driving teacher. Mickey wants to know what happened to the Boogiemobile, shares a Worst Car Story about Amy’s 1981 Chrysler New Yorker, and wants to see a shopping mall for cars.    We welcome your support via Patreon and your questions and feedback via our website.

We recorded this show on New Year's weekend while sitting around in pajamas drinking mimosas. Dawn on the Autobahn explores winter inclement weather driving safety tips, while the guys ask "why the hell are you on the road to begin with?" What grinds Mickey's gears THIS week? Replacing buttons with touchscreens on the dashboard. Listener Karen describes the braking problems with her worst car, a '72 Dodge Dart. This leads Ben to nostalgically recall his own early history with a brake failure. And listener Kathy hated her Chevy Caprice Classic, which leads Dave to nostalgically pick a fight with his college roommate Paul over parallel parking. Reddit asks about power steering issues in a salvage title, and we discuss the Cunningham's automotive preferences. We welcome your support via Patreon and your questions and feedback via our website.

Ben notes there’s something interesting going on with Cadillac on “That New Car Smell.” Dawn looks into the future with some predictions in her segment, “In The News.” Dave says his car-buying plans have been hijacked. Robert sends in a question about battery design.  We try to convince Ben to do an instructional video on how to properly jump start one’s car.  We welcome your support via Patreon and your questions and feedback via our website.

We delve into the history of the Lincoln brand. In Cultural Collision, Dave and Dawn hit the road to discuss the history of the motorhome and its role in American culture. Our guest Arp brings us a discussion on "The Zen of Options" and asks the question: "Do we need rain sensing wipers and ventilated seats?" Ben takes a moment to talk about convertibles. (No! Dawn still doesn't have her rear window fixed yet!) In listener questions, we discuss why you might smell a horse in your defroster. Marisa writes in with her worst car story: a Renault Le Car. We welcome your support via Patreon and your questions and feedback via our website.

Today, Dave takes on the Chevy Camaro in Cultural Collision, and its ownership of the testosterone niche market. Beka confesses to one of deepest, darkest secrets, ever. Ben takes a moment to talk hotrods and the parallels to jazz music. Beka rejects naming her segment "Wheels with Winifred." Listeners write in with more worst-car stories, including a Pinto, the "Little Red Fireball of Death." We welcome your support via Patreon and your questions and feedback via our website.

Amanda tells us all about ambulances, and she should know since she's been in a few--luckily she wasn't the patient! Dawn takes us back to the '80s for a fond look at a weird but fun era in which cars managed to be cool despite the world conspiring against them. Mickey still wants a Mister Two and Ben confesses his lust for a Scirocco. IROC-n-Roll! Put on your parachute pants, mousse-up your hair, and come along for the ride! Be careful if you can't drive 55 though, because our Grand Trivia Auto question is about extremely high fines. We welcome your support via Patreon and your questions and feedback via our website. TTAC records at Strongbox West, in Atlanta.

Dawn on the Autobahn explores traffic signs of the world, and Mickey's got a thing about dealer stickers. Dawn regales the panel with strange traffic signs around the world, and initiates a savage game of Punch-Buggy between Mickey and Dave. We learn the history of cobblestones, and why it makes driving in downtown Savannah a challenge. Our guest Trent makes the case for hatchbacks. Dealership stickers grind Mickey's gears. We continue our investigation of listeners' worst car experiences, and learn about the early days of automotive insurance. We welcome your support via Patreon and your questions and feedback via our website. TTAC records at Strongbox West, in Atlanta.

In That New Car Smell, Ben talks about how the current weakness in the new car market is strengthening the used car market; guest Lee Anne Patterson joins us to talk about NASCAR racing news and the joys of the Bourbon Trail; we still don't have a name for Beka's news segment but we talk about flying cars, a hit-and-run at a car show, a the latest news from "Florida Man"; Mickey reads listener stories about the worst car they ever owned, and we advise listener Laura on new cars under $15,000. We welcome your support via Patreon and your questions and feedback via our website.

The Holiday Season is upon us! In a departure from our usual format, the TTAC crew talks about Christmas gifts for their cars and drivers, as well as gifts for the car enthusiast, both serious and humorous. Our guest for this episode is Mario, who talks about his interests in cars, Volvos, Hondas, but not McLaren! On behalf of all of us at The Thing About Cars, we hope you and yours are all remaining safe and warm. Happy Holidays! We welcome your support via Patreon and your questions and feedback via our website.

In Cultural Collision, Dave talks about the role of the Ford Thunderbird in American Culture; we welcome back and catch up our good friend Greg; in honor of Halloween, Ben Takes a Moment to discuss the history and design of hearses; and listener mail addresses how not kill yourself while changing a battery & the impact of wildfire smoke on air filters. We welcome your support via Patreon and your questions and feedback via our website. TTAC records at Strongbox West, in Atlanta.

Beka's News in the Fast Lane leads the panel to speculate on how to insult a driverless car and a dogmatic debate on the stick shift; show guest Tim Rogers discusses Petit LeMans; we delve into Beka's rodent hostage situation; in Dawn Drives the Decades, we discuss about how smaller, lighter cars came on the scene in the early 1960s; and Mickey reads a story in Listener Mail that leads to a discussion of DIY repairs that wind up costing more than taking it to a shop. We welcome your support via Patreon and your questions and feedback via our website.

It’s a lovely day in Atlanta, but Ben confides that he’s depressed over the current new-car line-up. Our special guest Jim tells us why he is corrupt. Today in the news… Where is Starman? Mickey admits that he pretends to be on “The A-Team.” We answer your listener questions about GM, SUVs, and leather versus modern fabric. And what’s in that asymmetrical bump? We welcome your support via Patreon and your questions and feedback via our website.

Beka starts off with a story about big engines, quarts and liters, and V-8's for everyone! Amanda introduces us to the Subaru Ambassador program, and talks restaurants, road trips, dream cars, and Subaru Love. Dawn goes retro with some history about 70's era automobiles, and how the entire industry changed moving forward from that decade. Mickey shares listener tales about the worst cars they ever owned. And this week's Grand Trivia Auto question is about The Cannonball Run. We welcome your support via Patreon and your questions and feedback via our website.

Mickey gets some one-on-one time with our friend Tim to talk about all the grassroots, street legal fun you can have with your car. We go over a variety of experiences offered by such organizations as Chin Track Days or the Sports Car Club Of America. Drag-racing, Autocrossing, Rallycrossing, and other events any driver can enjoy to learn more about their cars, and safe, fast driving. There's a lot to go over, so keep your ears peeled! Maybe you'll see us at a future track event. We welcome your support via Patreon and your questions and feedback via our website. TTAC records at Strongbox West, in Atlanta.

We did record this in time for October, but technical difficulties prevented its publication until now. Please enjoy our AUTOBERFEST Episode. There's lots of German automotive trivia. Dawn introduces her segment "Dawn On The AutoBahn." Dave knows quite a lot about the Oscar Meyer Weiner Mobile and TTAC issues a challenge to the Oscar Meyer company. Dawn introduces our guest, Carmella. Ben Takes A Moment. At least, that's the name of Ben's new segment, "Ben Takes a Moment." Something is really grinding Mickey's gears. Beka has a news segment (which needs a better name). Come along for the ride! We welcome your support via Patreon and your questions and feedback via our website. TTAC records at Strongbox West, in Atlanta.

The gang visits Italian Car Day 2020 in Atlanta, Georgia. Ben wrangles this episode's Grand Trivia Auto as part of a book giveaway to gift a couple of books from our friends at MotorBooks. We see a lot of eye candy and talk about why we don't see more Italian cars in the American market on a Cultural Collision Segment with Ben and Dave. Dawn is glad not every Ferrari is red. Ben thinks Mickey should not get a Maserati. And Dave wrangles a segment about going to car shows. We welcome your support via Patreon and your questions and feedback via our website. TTAC records at Strongbox West, in Atlanta.

It was a cold and windy day that found Ben and Mickey talking about their anticipation for the upcoming Italian Car Day and the giving away of a couple of books from our friends at Motorbooks publishers. We hope to see you Saturday at Italian Car Day Atlanta: https://www.italiancardayatlanta.com/. We welcome your support via Patreon and your questions and feedback via our website. TTAC records at Strongbox West, in Atlanta.