The Thing About Cars

We welcome motorsports goddess Dystany Spurlock to the table, one of the fastest women on two wheels! She does some cool things on four wheels too, and we really enjoyed the conversation- she's so much fun! Her enthusiasm for motorsports is wonderfully contagious, so tune-in and enjoy the ride! Misty isn't moist for once, and Westy fans can rejoice the glorious return to USA. We had lots of fun going around the track for this episode, and no bollards were harmed! We welcome your support via Patreon and your questions and feedback via our website.

We're all in good form as we welcome Paul D'Orleans to the table to discuss all the things that turn his crank. He's into cars and motorcycles but mostly motorcycles, and has become a top-notch impresario for curated content relating to motorcycle history and culture, as well as being a really fun guy to talk with. His love of the subject is undeniably strong and infectious and he'll make you want a vintage motorcycle. If you're looking for endless fascinating rabbit holes of moto-history to explore, Paul's your man and he can tell a lot of great stories. Dave had 35 tabs open after ten minutes! Ben audibly drools over a 1928 Bugatti. Come along for the ride, it's a blast! We welcome your support via Patreon and your questions and feedback via our website.

Misty is walking like an Egyptian away from Tim's Pharoah joke, and due to a guest who canceled we tackle other topics. We start out serious with the idea of putting anti-impaired driving interlocks in all cars but then we lighten it up with switching gears (not easy in Dawn's Mercedes, apparently), then shift into which country's cars are the most difficult to repair. Tim grew extra elbows to get to some spark plugs, while Ben contrasts the ease of working on different Lotuses. Misty relates it to her sewing machines, and Tim reels us all back in with a trivia question that relates boring industrial theory to cars. We welcome your support via Patreon and your questions and feedback via our website.

Do All Engineers Have Talking Frogs? The gang interviews Steven Tubbs from Kennesaw University's Formula SAE Team, a co-ed team of students who secure funding for, engineer, design, build, and race a small formula style car in intercollegiate competition. We find out what roles there are for team members getting degrees in engineering, whether is is mechanical, aerospace, electronic or materials, as well as those getting degrees in accounting, business, marketing and management. Graduates who participate in Formula SAE strengthen their skill set and, much like an internship, can help blaze a path to getting a job in their field of choice, which can be anything from working for auto manufacturers, or even for professional race teams in Formula 1, IndyCar, IMSA and NASCAR, plus work in non-automotive fields. We find out how to test race car aerodynamics using a Ford F350, when and when not to use A.I., and how the team members gain skills in team building, leadership training and giving presentations. Unfortunately, Trivia Czar Tim couldn't join this episode as he was fulfilling his Papal Nuncio duties. We welcome your support via Patreon and your questions and feedback via our website. This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

F.I., F1, and tires, tyres, tires! In this episode, we find out why tires used to be white and why restaurants have Michelin stars. In other tire topics, Tim remembers the F1 tire wars of the early 2000's and how it led to the US Farce 1 GP of 2005. We contemplate the long lead times of getting repair parts for newer cars from a dealer. Ben, on the other hand, can get all of the parts for his 1972 Lotus in 3 days. Suzanne has issues with her Jeep's aftermarket fuel injection system. Suzanne is trying to enter the all women's Rebel Rally in California next year. Mickey is torn between getting a 2017 MX5 or Fiat 124 Spider; or maybe a Hemi Charger / Challenger. Misty claims she can get a sewing loom into her MX5, but is that why she looks like she just got back from a killing spree? We welcome your support via Patreon and your questions and feedback via our website. This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

Mickey cleans out his inbox of random topics that he's collected over the last couple of weeks. In this week's TTAC, Tim starts the show with an intriguing Italian trivia question. Ben digs into how car drivers are revving up inflation. Not enough men prioritize stimulating Dave, and "dicknugget" becomes a TTAC term of art. The team digs into the Consumer Reports annual Car Issue and their alleged "Top Brands." We hope everyone enjoyed British Car Day in Suwanee on May 19th. Misty has a fabulous fish and chips recipe. Misty gushes on Lando in a "super cute" F1 update. And, "magma!" We welcome your support via Patreon and your questions and feedback via our website. This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

There is no more Georgia story than "I went to buy a tractor, and brought home a car." After a strange discussion of supply deliveries to a brothel in Amsterdam, we welcome back our old friend Greg Hinze to discuss rehabilitating his MG Midget. We leverage Misty's knowledge of rehabilitating sewing machines and looms to rebuild a Midget! Ben has notes on using superglue, condoms and diaphragms to get the car running. Mickey tries desperately to keep us on topic, but all we could agree to is that Greg must not name the car Bridgette the Midget. We welcome your support via Patreon and your questions and feedback via our website. This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

Mickey confesses Ford-lust, but it wasn't enough to entice our guest to show up. Misty shifts wet noodles trying to haul a loom across The Netherlands and learns what we all knew already: she won't like any car as much as her MX-5. Cognitive issues going from one car to another has Ben using his wipers to signal turns, while Misty's car has lady-humps to guide the way. Tim has the rational and historical perspectives as always, and we learn about the automotive origins of QR codes. We welcome your support via Patreon and your questions and feedback via our website. This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

Tim tells us more than we need to know about brakes, and Dave reveals why Italian cars got him a restraining order. Mickey wants to impulse-buy a car, and Misty thinks he's over-thinking it. Should he buy an El Camino? We hope The Muppets don't sue us! We welcome your support via Patreon and your questions and feedback via our website. This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

We get off to a depraved start with a quick discussion of non-automotive products from automotive companies, such as magic wands and earth-movers. We're also happy to announce that VW have brought back their currywurst! Mickey is planning to go car-shopping and the list of things to look at is getting crazy. Things devolve quickly as usual. We give Italian and French cars some love, despite (or because of?) French weirdness. Grand Trivia Auto keeps on truckin' and the stirrups are enormous!! We welcome your support via Patreon and your questions and feedback via our website. This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

We meet Susanne, who has recently competed in the 2023 Rallye Aïcha des Gazelles. This is an ISO 14001 certified rally raid in which all of the drivers and navigators are women. They compete to drive on or off-road to multiple way points each day in the shortest distance possible, without using GPS. We find out what vehicles are the most popular to use and where to find them, how to communicate where few people speak English, how to navigate without GPS, how much does this cost and how does one get started in learning how to drive in this kind of event? Our trivia question concerns automotive production in Delaware. As a bonus, we find out what is the best kind of cheese if you are lactose intolerant. We welcome your support via Patreon and your questions and feedback via our website. This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

Loxley Brown returns and almost makes Dave go straight! Some of the girls from Club Athena regales us with her experiences at Indy in the DHL-sponsored experience that Loxley announced a couple of episodes ago. Too many interesting moments to detail in a short description, so enjoy! We welcome your support via Patreon and your questions and feedback via our website. This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

Mick Opalak tells us about his experiences driving in the 24 Hours of Lemons, which is probably the mostest funnest racing series EVER! Misty enjoys a sausage-fest and Dave calls Human Resources about it. Tall tales abound, as does the spirit of camaraderie! Wanna be a race driver but don't have any motorsports connections? This is the race for you! Waffles never tasted so fast! Can the TTAC crew be tech inspectors for this thing? We welcome your support via Patreon and your questions and feedback via our website. This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

Misty isn't moist but Tim is damp. A chinese EV-prototype is built on the last remnants of Saab's engineering and we're OK with talking about unsprung mass. Misty updates us about what's going on in F1, including the latest indignity suffered by Phil the bollard, female progress in F3, and Danica Patrick's anti-progress comment. We discuss problems with towtrucks and get into price-differences for auto parts and what you're really paying for. Grand Trivia Auto keeps on truckin! And if you're a manufacturer of bollards, please sponsor us! We welcome your support via Patreon and your questions and feedback via our website. This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

Dave is abnormally normal, Mickey and Misty have power washer issues, and Ben may have had a close encounter with an airbag. Loxley Brown joins us to share all the news about the big things happening with Athena Racing, but not without giving Dawn an awkward moment of silence. Loxley's big news is that her girls get to go to Indianapolis Motor Speedway and see how everything works behind the scenes and meet some drivers. Big props to DHL for making it happen! Athena Racing/Club Athena is an excellent STEM college-sprep program for girls that you should check out and support! They're doing great things. We also discuss what foods we have in our cars' gloveboxes. We welcome your support via Patreon and your questions and feedback via our website. This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

We welcome Bob Hall back to the show! Misty is knitting a gay blanket, and Tim gets us going with a very technical trivia question about a fictional car. Bob has lots of interesting perspectives about product planning and new vehicular technologies while Misty has a moment about her MX-5, Dave's car is DAMN WOKE!, and Mickey wants a pocket-nuclear weapon. Ben is stuck in traffic. Bob knows a thing or two about '58 Plymouths. We welcome your support via Patreon and your questions and feedback via our website. This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

We speak with professional photographer and author Richard Prince about how he turned his love for cars into a career. His new book - Corvette 70 Years: The One and Only - covers all 8 generations of America's first sports car and he talks to us about how his passion for Corvettes started, his favorite cars and what's in his garage (not all of them are Corvettes!). We also find out what car is too valuable to race, who Richard's clients are, and what kind of outlaw Richard is (or is not). Misty wants to go to Spa, and we're not talking about hot-tubs. Mickey has serious camera-envy. Richard has done a lot of fun things and has been to a lot of cool places and we wish we had all day to talk about it! If you're interested in Corvettes, you need his book. We welcome your support via Patreon and your questions and feedback via our website. This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

Keis, Corvettes and Cappuccinos We discuss what it takes to bring in a car to the USA that is not already sold here by the manufacturer. What if you want to bring in that Lada, Nissan Skyline, Porsche 959, Honda Acty or Suzuki Cappuccino into the the USA? Is it better to order up a new one, get a used one or get an "antique" one? Can you do this yourself or should you get a broker? What legal stipulations must one follow to get it through customs? Does it take Bill Gates levels of money to do this? In our trivia question, we find out what was the only year without a Corvette? Misty admits to being late, but the test came back negative... We welcome your support via Patreon and your questions and feedback via our website. Support The Thing About Cars by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/the-thing-about-cars This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

Cars from the 1950's and 60's that you've probably never heard of. Do you think you know about classic cars? What about rare cars? Some car buffs might recognize the brands Frazier or Devin but mention "Grantham" and they might think you are talking about Downton Abbey. What about Allied, Glasspar, Ferber, LaDawri or Voodoo? We speak with Geoff Hacker and Mike Puma of Undiscovered Classics about their passion for limited production vehicles from the 1950's and 60's. We find out about sports cars, streamliners, RV's and even race car transporters that were conceived and built by individuals and small companies with bodies typically made from fiberglass. Join us to learn about our guests and their passion for finding, researching and restoring these sometimes one-of-a-kind gems. You'll find out the history of these cars, what they do to restore and then display them at internationally recognized events such as Pebble Beach or Amelia Island. We welcome your support via Patreon and your questions and feedback via our website. Support The Thing About Cars by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/the-thing-about-cars This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

Dan Plan from the Midwest Racing Connection, an expert on short track racing, visits the gang on Dawn's birthday and sees us at our befuddled best. Dawn relives her 21st birthday. Misty's new nickname is "Racing Nugget." We start a conspiracy theory that JFK was killed by Mr. Bean. Phil the Bollard survives bollard carnage. And, we learn which car featured the first production turbocharged engine. We welcome your support via Patreon and your questions and feedback via our website. Support The Thing About Cars by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/the-thing-about-cars This podcast is powered by Pinecast.