Car Tech in 2025: What’s Next for the Automotive World?

How to Drive Safely on Ice: Tips for Staying in Control

Holiday Road Trip Hacks: Stress-Free Travel Tips for the Season

Thanksgiving Gratitude: Automotive Innovations We’re Thankful For

The Evolution of Heated Seats: Comfort Meets Technology

The Real Cost of Car Ownership: More Than Just Gas

The Best Cars for Winter: Handling Snow, Ice, and Slippery Roads

Car Maintenance Myths Debunked By debunking these common car maintenance myths and following practical advice, you can ensure that your vehicle remains in top condition without falling for misconceptions.

What to Do When You Get a Flat Tire: A Safety Guide

Top 10 Classic Cars to Own

Solo Road Trip:There’s something uniquely liberating about hitting the open road solo.

Making Sustainable Choices: Driving Toward a Greener Future

Reviving the Classics: The Resurgence of Vintage Cars in Today’s Automotive Scene

Recording Preparations: We’re looking forward to our conversation. We’ve summarized this list of Recording Preparations in case it may be useful as you get ready for our recording session.

Embrace the Autumn Vibes: As the leaves change color and the air turns crisp, fall presents the perfect backdrop for car lovers to indulge in their passion.

Racing Fun with Dystany Spurlock: We welcome motorsports goddess Dystany Spurlock to the table, one of the fastest women on two wheels!

Gettin’ Vintage: We’re all in good form as we welcome Paul D’Orleans to the table to discuss all the things that turn his crank.

Too Drunk To Shift Gears: Misty is walking like an Egyptian away from Tim’s Pharoah joke, and due to a guest who canceled we tackle other topics.

Formula SAE: 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.

Don’t Ride Alabama Style with a Carolina Squat: find out what this means…

Viva Italiano: In this week’s TTAC, Tim starts the show with an intriguing Italian trivia question.

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… Read more: Greg Hinze's MG Midget Adventure

Cars give me cognitive issues!: Mickey confesses Ford-lust, but it wasn’t enough to entice our guest to show up.

Please Steal Mickey’s Car: 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!

I Kept The Car: 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!

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.

Athenians at Indy: Loxley Brown returns and almost makes Dave go straight! Some of the girls from Athenian regales us with her experiences at Indy in the DHL-sponsored experience that Loxley announced a couple of episodes ago.

24 Hours of Lemons: Mick Opalak tells us about his experiences driving in the 24 Hours of Lemons, which is probably the mostest funnest racing series EVER!

Mangling Bollards: if you’re a manufacturer of bollards, please sponsor us!

Big News: 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

I Am No Longer Infected: 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.

Lookin’ at Corvettes: We speak with professional photographer and author Richard Prince about how he turned his love for cars into a career.

Can You Import a Car As An Individual?

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?… Read more: Undiscovered Classics

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.… Read more: Happy Dawnukkah with Dan Plan!

We apologize in advance for our our kitchen apparel fashion tips. With a three of our crew missing, the remaining cast members try to channel our missing mates (seance not included.) We discuss the action and results of the 2023 24 Hours of Le Mans sports car race, which leads to creating The Thing About… Read more: Le Mans, Mazdas, HyperMilers, Mickey & Mayhem

Ben’s buddy Derek tells us about his road trips around the world. Namibia! West Africa! Kazakhstan! Connecticut! What do they have in common? You can find warm Coca-Cola everywhere in the world! We welcome your support via Patreon and your questions and feedback via our website. Support The Thing About Cars by contributing to their… Read more: Road Trips with Derek

The Mistyry box: Misty gets a shipment from the ‘States.

Nobody here but us cheeckens with Micky away on the west coast.

Misty sets a new record for getting to moist, our guest is a no-show, and Dave sheds some light on J.D. Power.

Ben reviews a BMW X5.

It’s a One-Butt Kitchen: Mickey is going to send Misty a mystery-box and also announces that he’s purchased a house that will eventually have his dream-garage, and we’re all waiting for the garage-warming party!

Loxley Browne of Club Athena makes a quick visit to talk about a special event in partnership with DHL and Andretti Autosport. Seven dedicated “Athenians” will be chosen to spend two days trackside with Andretti and DHL Express team members as they learn from industry experts and have fun with hands-on experiences.  

Our guest no-shows, so the panel goes on a corvette-conversational-out-of-body experience.

Misty’s Miata Madness

Formula SAE racing: Returning guest Dean Case tells us about his involvement with the Society of Automotive Engineers’ student programs including racing.

Playing with Hot Wheels: We speak with Hot Wheels historian and brand ambassador Mike Zarnock about all things Hot Wheels.

Peanut Butter and Tire Sammiches! The crew starts with culinary bravery- what don’t you want in YOUR sammich? We welcome Greg Barner back to the table to discuss tires. Is Goodyear’s new sustainable tire as good as it sounds? What about Michelin’s airless tire?

Good Wishes and Duct Tape: Mickey generates his own susnspots! Dave and Jay from The Auto Authorities podcast join us to tell us all about their iAtoAgent business for being your agent to buy cars. What cars are always in demand? Have we found our new theme song? Misty has a thing about things that start with F.

Don’t Deny The Fun! How much intelligence is required for defensive driving? Misty is no longer contemplating sewing underwear for her cats but still has a serious grudge against Ford. How much charge can you get from an electric Dodge Charger? How much cheezy fake exhaust-noise does it need? Does Mickey need a muscle-car or an SUV? Tune in and be offended!

Shortest Episode Ever: Dave sounds phlegmish and has BeeGees in his carburettors. Do you really need those BG services that dealers offer? Should you kiss your mechanic? Misty rants about Dutch Mazda dealers. Tim’s rental car REALLY wants him to BRAKE!!! And just what the heck does Escalade mean anyway?

Film-maker Scott Hardie made a documentary about Paul Moller, who has worked for decades to make flying cars a reality. Is Moller a genius or a crackpot?

Paul Sher talks about his work with movie and TV cars. How much fun is it to drive the A-Team van?

We are visited by Sam Fiorani, who has a background as an automotive salesman, author, show judge, industry forecaster and museum board member.

I’ll Tell You In A Second: Dave has a special challenge for us because he missed us all horribly and trivia asks us when the rumble seat last graced us with its presence.

Regular listeners of The Thing About Cars will know that since the beginning of the show, I’ve been driving a Mazda and loving it. Unfortunately, in late December of 2021 that Mazda got totaled. It was a 2013 Mazda 3 hatchback in the top-of-the-line iGrand Touring trim level. I’d bought it gently used in 2015… Read more: LONG-TERM TEST: 2019 MAZDA CX-5

After some exhaustive research, Ben lets us know which vehicles are most likely to be Left Lane Bandits and slow us down in the fast lane.

A Blast From The Recent Past In this casually non-themed episode from a few months back, we do a poor job of foreshadowing already released The Abby K episode, then the gang meanders around some random topics to give us their take on: Flying Ferrari F1 cars at Imola, Italy. How can we do a… Read more: Bonus Episode: Random Topics

Abby K rocks our show. Professional rock singer and bassist Abby K joins us for this episode and we learn: Is she the sister of Alice Cooper’s and Demi Lovato’s guitarist Nita Strauss? Why does former TTAC guest Ricky Rachtman give her career advice? What kind of cars does an up and coming rock star… Read more: THE Abby K

Professional rock singer and bassist Abby K joins us for this episode and we learn: Is she the sister of Alice Cooper’s and Demi Lovato’s guitarist Nita Strauss?

TTAC seeks Marketing / Social Media Intern

More Miata Madness: As we continue with Bob Hall’s history of co-designing the original MX-5 Miata, we find out: What car Bob refuses to design in the future. Why “Designed in California” is a positive message about a cars and other products to the global audience. Concept cars: why we see some in production and… Read more: Bob Hall, Part 2

Bob Hall, Part 2

Much ado about Miatas: We are joined by Bob Hall, one of the founding fathers of the original MX-5 Miata. Among the unique questions that are answered: What pricing number is considered lucky in Japan and China? Why was the original Miata priced higher than it needed to be and why did the price point… Read more: Bob Hall: Co-Designer of the Original Miata

Bob Hall: Co-Designer of the Original Miata

Or: Tag, You’re It   The display of registration status on cars is a funny thing, in both senses of the word. The humble license plate, number plate as they call it in the UK, or just plain ‘tag’ as many Americans call it, goes back almost as far as the automobile itself and serves… Read more: GR8 PL8S

Sometimes we replace the cars we love. Ben reveals how he was involved in a multiple mangled Mazda mishap which led him to buying a new (to him) car. Misty misses her mate’s Mazda and is not a fan of the replacement. Nissan’s recent styling ideas are brought into question and Dave speaks up for… Read more: Roses & Birthday Cakes

Roses & Birthday Cake Sometimes we replace the cars we love.

The gang discusses which vehicles sell best in the USA overall and region by region. The results then lead us to a journey meandering around: Which vehicles can haul and tow which items and where? Which vehicles are best for tailgating and what items could and should be brought along? If you are an American… Read more: A Tailgating Culinary Corner Short Stack

A Tailgating Culinary Corner Short Stack

Dreams, the demi-monde, a double header of trivia, dangerous Jeddah, and where in the world is Dennis’ McLaren. Mickey starts off with his odd dreams, and Dave speaks fondly of weaponized silence and the demi-monde nightlife. Mickey hits us with a double dose of trivia. Misty cries foul on the Jeddah GP, and waxes poetic… Read more: Weird Dreams are Made of Cheese

Dreams, the demi-monde, a double header of trivia, dangerous Jeddah, and where in the world is Dennis’ McLaren. Mickey starts off with his odd dreams, and Dave speaks fondly of weaponized silence and the demi-monde nightlife. Mickey hits us with a double dose of trivia. Misty cries foul on the Jeddah GP, and waxes poetic… Read more: Weird Dreams are Made of Cheese

We’re all fired up today but the BBQ will have to wait. Grand Trivia Auto asks who first made cars in Japan. Dave wants to know what all the formulae in racing mean, Tim tries to explain it but we go down the rabbit-hole of engineering and competitiveness in different types of racing Misty confesses… Read more: Gettin' Racy with Phil the Anthropomorphic Bollard

We’re all fired up today but the BBQ will have to wait. Grand Trivia Auto asks who first made cars in Japan. Dave wants to know what all the formulae in racing mean, Tim tries to explain it but we go down the rabbit-hole of engineering and competitiveness in different types of racing Misty confesses… Read more: Gettin' Racy with Phil the Anthropomorphic Bollard

We are joined by our friend Spencer for a wide-ranging discuss of ambulances and the life of emergency medical providers. We kick off with a discussion of Sharena sol. We unbraid the Pontiac rope drive. And, we learn the real meaning of the Pontiac Fiero! We promised the link to the Suicide Prevention Lifeline. If… Read more: All Things Ambulance & Pornographic Licorice

We are joined by our friend Spencer for a wide-ranging discuss of ambulances and the life of emergency medical providers. We kick off with a discussion of Sharena sol. We unbraid the Pontiac rope drive. And, we learn the real meaning of the Pontiac Fiero! We promised the link to the Suicide Prevention Lifeline. If… Read more: All Things Ambulance & Pornographic Licorice

Our guest Liam tells us about his unique collection of British motor vehicles and a Mopar econobox; British car jokes abound.The gang tries to remember which Mitsubishis are Dodges, which other Mitsubishi is a Chrysler and which Chrysler Corp.’s cars are amalgamations of parts from yet other manufacturers. Apparently, if you know more about this… Read more: Gaffney's Butt On A Stick

Gaffney’s Butt On A Stick

Ben’s on some really good back pain medication and advises us on how long to refrigerate our car parts. He also presents our trivia question pondering the meaning of Pantera – both the car and by the associative property, also the metal band. Dave is shocked to find that Pep Boys no longer carries fuses,… Read more: The Gear Grinding Special

Ben’s on some really good back pain medication and advises us on how long to refrigerate our car parts. He also presents our trivia question pondering the meaning of Pantera – both the car and by the associative property, also the metal band. Dave is shocked to find that Pep Boys no longer carries fuses,… Read more: The Gear Grinding Special

Mickey and Ben drool over some really cool German cars! We lament a lack of sausage and beer, discuss older and newer German cars, admire many of the ones present, get indecisive about which one we’d like to take home, but abandon our indecision to go find some schnitzel. It was an AUSGEZEICHNET day to… Read more: Deutsche Klassik 2021

Mickey and Ben drool over some really cool German cars! We lament a lack of sausage and beer, discuss older and newer German cars, admire many of the ones present, get indecisive about which one we’d like to take home, but abandon our indecision to go find some schnitzel. It was an AUSGEZEICHNET day to… Read more: Deutsche Klassik 2021

Ford’s Bronco Pickup, Mustang Mach E, taking cats on car trips. Carrol Shelby, Spokane, WA, Hagerty goes public. Mickey lets us know that Ford’s Bronco Pickup version might be a miss while the Mustang Mach E might be a hit. The whole gang tells tales of taking cats on car trips. Ben relay’s his sightings… Read more: Riding in Cars With Cats

Ford’s Bronco Pickup, Mustang Mach E, taking cats on car trips. Carroll Shelby, Spokane, WA, Hagerty goes public. Mickey lets us know that Ford’s Bronco Pickup version might be a miss while the Mustang Mach E might be a hit. The whole gang tells tales of taking cats on car trips. Ben relay’s his sightings… Read more: Riding in Cars With Cats

KTM Ambassador Paolo tells us all about his adventures traveling the world on two wheels. We hope he survives India! Misty wants to get violent with root-vegetables, and a listener question gives us gas but we’d rather have a limoncello. We welcome your support via Patreon and your questions and feedback via our website. Source… Read more: Riding the world with Paolo

KTM Ambassador Paolo tells us all about his adventures traveling the world on two wheels. We hope he survives India! Misty wants to get violent with root-vegetables, and a listener question gives us gas but we’d rather have a limoncello. We welcome your support via Patreon and your questions and feedback via our website. Source… Read more: Riding the world with Paolo

Clint, from the Car Space (formerly known as The Auto Riff) podcast joins us to talk about how he got sucked into cars and into podcasting. We talk about running boot, running things into houses, Japanese K-Cars. Dave preemptively apologizes for his distant Canadian relatives, then we all fall slightly in love with K-Cars. Clint… Read more: Dave's Not Here, Man.

Clint, from the Car Space (formerly known as The Auto Riff) podcast joins us to talk about how he got sucked into cars and into podcasting. We talk about running boot, running things into houses, Japanese K-Cars. Dave preemptively apologizes for his distant Canadian relatives, then we all fall slightly in love with K-Cars. Clint… Read more: Dave's Not Here, Man.

Dawn, Ben & Mickey take a field trip to Italian Car Day, 2021, thanks to our friend John Montgomery. (Who knew that Italian Car Day welcomes French cars?) We explore the history of the Alfa Romeo logo. Ben reminisces about his “Ferris Bueller” joy ride in his father’s Alfa. The panel discusses whether to tell… Read more: It's All Sixty Year-Old Ferrari Parts

Dawn, Ben & Mickey take a field trip to Italian Car Day, 2021, thanks to our friend John Montgomery. (Who knew that Italian Car Day welcomes French cars?) We explore the history of the Alfa Romeo logo. Ben reminisces about his “Ferris Bueller” joy ride in his father’s Alfa. The panel discusses whether to tell… Read more: It's All Sixty Year-Old Ferrari Parts

After a multi-lingual introduction, our guest Jennifer expresses the love she had for her 1994 Ford Ranger. Mickey gives us 2, (yes, two!) trivia questions for the price of one. Misty lets us know where you can find a VW Microbus bar attached to a pool. Speaking of drinks, we debate which alcohol fueled group… Read more: We've Got a Thing That's Called Ranger Love

After a multi-lingual introduction, our guest Jennifer expresses the love she had for her 1994 Ford Ranger. Mickey gives us 2, (yes, two!) trivia questions for the price of one. Misty lets us know where you can find a VW Microbus bar attached to a pool. Speaking of drinks, we debate which alcohol fueled group… Read more: We’ve Got a Thing That’s Called Ranger Love

Mickey explains the unintended hiatus with an apology. We welcome your support via Patreon and your questions and feedback via our website. This podcast is powered by Pinecast. Source link

Mickey explains the unintended hiatus with an apology. We welcome your support via Patreon and your questions and feedback via our website. This podcast is powered by Pinecast. Source link

The hosts of Full Circle With Nick & Fred join the group, touching on the finer points of 1980’s Porsches, Mustang Shaming, and Hurricane Shaming, among other things. We find an alternative to The Tail Of The Dragon, hear stories of insects invading automobiles, and the gang tries to solve a condiment Catch-22. We welcome… Read more: Spiders In A Sentra

The hosts of Full Circle With Nick & Fred join the group, touching on the finer points of 1980’s Porsches, Mustang Shaming, and Hurricane Shaming, among other things. We find an alternative to The Tail Of The Dragon, hear stories of insects invading automobiles, and the gang tries to solve a condiment Catch-22. We welcome… Read more: Spiders In A Sentra

Misty is in love with “Claudette,” wants to give her gifts, and can’t let her go. On the other hand, Ben enjoys playing the field on a weekly basis (automotively speaking, of course). The gang ponders a listener’s question about what you lose when you disconnect a vehicle’s battery. Our trivia question has us thinking… Read more: The After Dark Special

Misty is in love with “Claudette,” wants to give her gifts, and can’t let her go. On the other hand, Ben enjoys playing the field on a weekly basis (automotively speaking, of course). The gang ponders a listener’s question about what you lose when you disconnect a vehicle’s battery. Our trivia question has us thinking… Read more: The After Dark Special

Mickey ponders purple’s poor popularity. Misty prefers pink and likes things that run like a sewing machine. Ben breaks the news that the company who brought us Prius zealots likes electrically powered vehicles only if they also have an internal combustion engine. Dave and Ben discuss what determines if a car is a classic or… Read more: The Ginger Lesbian Conundrum

Mickey ponders purple’s poor popularity. Misty prefers pink and likes things that run like a sewing machine. Ben breaks the news that the company who brought us Prius zealots likes electrically powered vehicles only if they also have an internal combustion engine. Dave and Ben discuss what determines if a car is a classic or… Read more: The Ginger Lesbian Conundrum