Latest / That Car Show / Diamantes on the Soles of His Shoes

Transcript

Diamantes on the Soles of His Shoes · That Car Show

0:00
Ticket us Evaparatum. Copy us.
0:04
Distract us. Blame us.
0:09
GPSM. It's that car show.
0:12
And what didn't we talk about this week, guys?
0:16
Lindsay checked out Avant's on the green with our Avant's
0:20
friends in the PNW. Some awesome stuff in the mix,
0:24
like those guys. Car week coming up, Avant's
0:27
party. Take care of your your boys,
0:30
girls. Let's see, going down the list,
0:33
Dan has more adventures in car rentals and comes up with a
0:38
template we should all use moving forward.
0:40
VW Buzz that there's some controversy around there that
0:46
doesn't involve Epstein. We talk about prices for the
0:49
Cayman GTS, which are crazy at the moment, and those are just
0:54
on the ones that have been previously wrecked.
0:56
We provide an ode to the classic Range Rover.
0:58
I think it's a car that we all like.
1:00
Kind of wish they still made cars like that.
1:03
Didn't even get to the new Singer.
1:06
It's got lights that pop up, but they're very cool.
1:09
Did I miss anything guys? No, I think that's.
1:13
Events on the green. Yep.
1:16
Well, that was the first thing, Dan.
1:17
Did you? I didn't hear you say that.
1:18
That's OK. I thought you said the first
1:21
thing was kind of adventures in car rental.
1:25
I think that's an intro. Tune into that car show.
1:27
We know we will be. Again all.
1:31
Right. Well, welcome back to that car
1:33
show. I'm Lindsay and I'm here with
1:36
Ryan. And we think Dan's going to be
1:38
here momentarily, but for now, we thought we would just get
1:42
things going and oh, there you go.
1:46
I'm sorry, I'm lying. You wouldn't believe it.
1:48
I was at this Coldplay concert last night and you wouldn't
1:51
believe what happened. Wait, tell us everything.
1:56
How about that, huh? Yeah.
1:58
There's nothing to do with cars, but yet it's something I find
2:01
fascinating. We're all talking about it.
2:03
That is the news item of the day.
2:07
Check your local tabloid if you don't know what we're talking.
2:09
About look about caught red handed.
2:11
Set the Internet on fire. Not in the way that those maybe
2:15
wanted to, but. So in a nutshell, there was this
2:18
couple. I think he's married.
2:20
I think she was recently divorced.
2:22
Yeah, he's the CEO of, I think astronomy.com.
2:24
No idea what that is. Let's just refer to it as
2:26
astrology.com moving forward so we don't get sued.
2:29
And she was just brought on recently as head of HR, and they
2:35
were at this Coldplay concert, I think in New York.
2:38
I don't know actually, but yeah, my favorite.
2:40
Baseball stadium or something and.
2:42
And I guess Chris Martin has a kiss Cam that he likes to direct
2:45
at couples in the audience and he decided to direct it at them.
2:49
Yes. And the best part was the two of
2:53
them have no chill unfortunately for them because as soon as the
2:57
camera was on them, they flipped out and it was very clear that
2:59
they did not want to be caught on camera together.
3:02
Yeah, yeah, they were obviously like in a box because, you know,
3:05
the guy's a CEO, right? And but yeah, to the unknowing
3:09
eye, they just like, looked like a couple in love, you know,
3:12
middle-aged. I don't probably early 50s or
3:14
something. I'm guessing not kids you know
3:16
our age. Right, my favorite part of the
3:18
clip is them freaking out because it immediately told
3:21
everyone watching that something was very.
3:23
Rare. Yes.
3:23
Yes. Yes, yes.
3:25
Yeah, giant neon sign. It's always the HR person though
3:30
isn't it? I don't know if it is is true or
3:33
fact, but I've got a statement. Let's say he's released a
3:36
statement. I think so.
3:37
I've got no facts to say that this is actually his statement,
3:41
but it sounds like it could. Be.
3:43
Should I? Should I read it out?
3:45
Please. I want to acknowledge the moment
3:48
that's been circulating online and the disappointment is caused
3:54
or was supposed to be a night of music and joy.
3:56
He was at a Coldplay concert turned into a deeply personal
4:01
mistake playing out on a very public stage.
4:06
I would I want to sincerely apologize to my wife, my family,
4:10
and the team at Astronomer or whatever the name of the company
4:14
is. You deserve.
4:16
Yeah, you deserve better from me as a partner, as a father and a
4:21
leader. Yep.
4:23
This is not who I want to be and how I represent the company.
4:27
I think it was their first date or something.
4:30
Which it was clearly not. This is going to get worse, I
4:34
promise you. I promise you.
4:36
I am taking time to reflect, to take accountability, and to
4:41
figure out the next steps personally and professionally.
4:44
I ask for privacy as I navigate that process.
4:48
Now, this is the bit that is probably going to make you spit
4:51
out your tea, your whiskey, whatever, all right?
4:54
So pull over, swallow your drinks.
4:56
No, Carry on. I also want to express how
4:58
troubling it is that this should have been a private moment and
5:03
it became public without my consent.
5:06
I respect artists and entertainers, but I hope that we
5:10
can all agree to think more deeply about the impact of
5:16
turning someone's life into a spectacle.
5:19
And as a friend once said, lights will guide you home and
5:24
ignite your bones. And I will try to.
5:26
Fix you. Get out of town.
5:29
Wait, is that for real? So I I think that last line that
5:33
I hadn't read till just then means it wasn't a real
5:35
statement. OK, OK, who knows, but it's a
5:37
good effort. That's amazing.
5:38
But you know what? That is a very, the tone of
5:41
that. Yeah, yeah, is very deflection.
5:44
I'm the victim, whatever. That's very accurate.
5:46
For somebody that. Yeah, yeah.
5:47
Behave that way so. Do we?
5:49
What does astronomer.com do? Do we know this?
5:52
I don't know, but I think what we're going to hear is that this
5:55
was part of their guerrilla marketing plan to get a bunch of
5:57
publicity without buying any advertising.
6:00
I mean, I've never heard of astronomer.com.
6:03
No, but we all have now. So could be a bargaining chip
6:06
for him when he goes in to negotiate his severance and he's
6:08
like, but look at the visibility I've brought to the
6:11
organization. Does he go into HR to negotiate
6:14
that? It is a mission critical
6:18
analytic AI and software company.
6:21
So if they are looking to sponsor any podcasts, yeah,
6:26
maybe. Take it all back.
6:27
We're open to a discussion. I am just so sick of that type
6:31
of person, right? What a piece of shit.
6:33
And you know, I'm not going to mince words here, just that that
6:37
attitude, right? Take responsibility for
6:41
yourself. And you know, I mean, you're at
6:44
a Coldplay con. It's nothing to do with cars.
6:46
I realize I just, I, we're talking before we start
6:48
recording. The older I get, the, the, the
6:50
less inclined I am to suffer fools.
6:53
And boy, this is exhibit A, huh? So, I mean, and you know, the
6:58
three of us lead our lives perfectly ethically.
7:00
You. Know morally, you know, straight
7:02
edge, you know but. My glass house is doing just
7:05
fine. But man, I just that made my
7:09
day. I just, you know, I mean, I
7:11
just, it's fun to to see someone get their, they're due once in a
7:14
while. Calm is a bitch, isn't it?
7:16
Right, it is. It is.
7:18
Could you eventually? She remembers names and drives a
7:20
big bus or something. Speaking of driving, and we have
7:26
a bit of, I'm, I'm sensing a bit of a theme tonight because we
7:29
have another news item with a British celebrity and maybe Dan
7:34
can help enlighten the rest of us with the insurance and outs
7:37
of the British driving penalty system because Emma Watson
7:42
recently lost her license for six months for speeding like 6.
7:47
6 miles over the speed limit or something wasn't.
7:49
It that might seem doesn't it? That might seem like the the
7:52
biggest crime in history, right? 8 miles over at the speed limit,
7:56
but it was the. There's no margin.
7:59
The fact that in the UK on your driver's license you get a
8:03
points system, so they issue you with up to 12 points, so you
8:09
start with zero and every. Like a reverse option.
8:12
Yeah, there we go. So every time you incur some
8:16
sort of traffic violation in terms of either speeding or
8:18
similar, like maybe using your cell phone without it being
8:22
hands free or driving without a driver's license, sorry,
8:26
license. That's a biggie.
8:28
That's a big one. Or seatbelts.
8:30
You get points. So our good friend Emma was on 9
8:35
points and I think that then goes to court because it's a
8:40
decision about license being banned, etcetera.
8:42
Right now, the biggest question I was thinking about is what
8:47
spell could she cast to get out of that?
8:50
So I've got a couple here, right?
8:52
Yeah, OK, the fuck you do. Yes.
8:56
So ticketers Evaporatum might help.
9:00
I like that one. Copy us as in police cop, copy
9:06
us, distract us and then blamius GPSM for the GPS.
9:16
So if only she'd had her wand with her, she'd have been.
9:19
Fired right I. Know they're like, ma'am, why
9:21
did you drive straight through the roundabout?
9:23
Well, the GPS told me to. Told me to do so.
9:26
Yeah. But these cars end up in the
9:28
sea, isn't it? Right?
9:29
And they blame the GPS. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I think.
9:33
Well, I think at a minimum, I think that's a that car show
9:36
challenge for us and our listeners.
9:38
Should you find yourself in a close encounter with law
9:41
enforcement, yeah, we're going to do like a Super Troopers
9:43
challenge and you have to work in one of the names of those
9:46
spells in conversation. Yeah, yeah.
9:50
The good thing is this news item distracted the media from the
9:54
real news item, which was Emma Watson at the Coldplay concert
9:59
snuggling up at the box. No, I'm kidding.
10:02
Anyway, man, I've never seen one of those movies.
10:04
I've never seen a Harry Potter movie.
10:06
Is that? Well, I think now you have to.
10:07
If we're discussing them on the show, then you have to go do
10:10
your research after. Yeah, yeah.
10:12
Watch all the movies and read all the books.
10:14
My spells practice, yeah. Exactly.
10:17
So what was she driving? That's the most important thing.
10:19
Do we know? It was an Audi it.
10:21
Was an Audi. It wasn't a broom.
10:23
It was not a broom. OK or whatever they.
10:24
She the broom was in the shop, so she was driving her Audi.
10:28
But yeah, I mean, kind of unexpectedly this week has been
10:31
a lot of car related news items or, you know, not car related,
10:36
depending on what we say. But I'm sure we've all seen the
10:39
picture of the roof yellow bird that fell off the transport
10:42
truck in Santa Barbara and Poor went out for the car and the
10:47
transporters who I would imagine are open to new opportunities
10:50
now. Is it still a yellow bird if
10:52
it's black? I know I was surprised that they
10:55
come in colors other than yellow, but.
10:57
A Blackbird, right. But that yeah, yeah.
10:59
So if you didn't see this, yeah, it was it was AI don't know what
11:02
the company was. It was one of these
11:03
transporters, these high end transporters.
11:05
It was on the the lift. It was on the second level.
11:07
It was the ramp was out. It was horizontal and the nose
11:10
of the car was at the end of the ramp.
11:12
The ass end of the car was on the ground.
11:14
There was someone in the driver's seat and he was
11:15
flipping off the camera. Yeah, well, that was the fact
11:19
that the video came out. Then people are saying, OK, this
11:21
was not photoshopped, because when the still pictures came
11:24
out, people said please God, let this be a bad prank if somebody
11:28
has Photoshopped this. And then the video surfaced and
11:30
obviously the guy in the driver's seat was flipping off
11:32
the cameraman. But you know what, bro?
11:36
What's? The car work right now, million
11:38
and a half. No, no, no.
11:40
So a few of them have been up for sale lately.
11:43
There's obviously only 29 in existence.
11:46
There was one that broke records, I think it was at
11:49
Amelia or somewhere on the East Coast, but that had such low
11:52
mileage. I think it went for like 6 and a
11:54
half million. Oh shit.
11:55
But a regular, a regular yellow bird.
11:58
So one of the 29 without low mileage.
12:00
I think there's going to be 1 at car week, but I they go for
12:03
about four to four and a half million.
12:05
OK, wow, I'm way off, but well, everything's getting more
12:08
expensive, guys, right? And apparently that's.
12:10
Including the yellow birds. Yeah.
12:13
Well, I mean, I think anybody that's transported a car,
12:16
especially, you know, we know how much these cars mean to us
12:19
and they become like a member of the family or our babies.
12:22
And there's like one of those moments that really gives you
12:26
heart palpitations as a car enthusiast is either having a
12:29
car brought to you that you haven't seen or putting it on
12:33
transport, you know, to do something with it.
12:36
And you just go, please let it because we've all seen these
12:38
videos. It can go terribly wrong.
12:40
It happens all the time. That's the crazy thing.
12:43
And. There was a there was a picture
12:45
that was circulating a couple months ago.
12:46
It was sent to one of my family members and it was a silver, I
12:49
think it was a vintage Lambo. And it was almost identical,
12:52
like the front was still up on the ramp and the back of the car
12:57
was on the ground. And then there was a video in
13:00
Florida of a 962 that almost rolled off and the only reason
13:04
it didn't was because the guy standing on the ramp saw it and
13:07
held on to the car and managed to keep him from falling off.
13:09
So it does happen. So I would.
13:12
Like to acknowledge? Yeah, no, I mean, and these are
13:14
vintage cars and things, things go wrong, parking brakes snap,
13:17
you know, brakes fail, whatever. But I would think that just as a
13:21
as a just a point of practice or whatever, you would put a chalk
13:25
behind the wheels just every time because it looks like it
13:29
just rolled off. Like multiple layers of kind of
13:33
backup. I mean, you'd hope like you'd
13:36
hope for everyone involved because nobody wants to be like,
13:39
none of us wish that on the guy who was in the car.
13:42
Yeah, that's not a position. No, that's just, I mean.
13:45
You know, nobody wants to be the person who's supposed to be
13:48
taking delivery of the amazing car.
13:51
It's all bad. Because I understand and I'm
13:53
sure this is different from carrier to carrier, but
13:55
obviously, you know, through our activities, we've dealt with
13:59
these, these carriers, these companies.
14:01
I believe that most of the big companies, these people are
14:04
independent contractors. So they own their rig, they are
14:07
insured, right? I mean, it's, it's their own
14:09
insurance policy. And then they basically fly the
14:12
flag of whether it's reliable or, you know, these big
14:15
companies. So I, you know, I, I, I think
14:19
it's on that guy. And you know, if that car is $4
14:22
million plus, I mean that that's bedtime I would think.
14:27
I mean, that's just, and, and I guess I have a question too,
14:30
does do they charge more if it's a more expensive car?
14:34
I always thought it was kind of just one price or whatever.
14:37
Fees, I think, yeah. Yeah.
14:39
I don't know, because I think it depends on how the insurance or
14:42
the liability is structured because especially if it's an
14:45
independent contractor, yeah, you have to imagine the
14:48
liability insurance they'd have to carry would be incredibly
14:51
steep. Yeah, yeah.
14:53
And I would think they would tie that in.
14:54
But I know like when I've gotten quotes to transport cars, it's
14:59
been a set rate. Yeah.
15:02
You know, there's a local couple of local transport companies
15:05
here and they've they ensure that the load up to 25,000,000.
15:10
OK, OK. Because they deal with high end
15:13
car companies, you know, cars and stuff.
15:15
Yeah, yeah. I don't know what like excesses
15:18
or you guys call them deductibles would be.
15:21
Right. Yeah, Yeah.
15:23
I don't really ever want to find out.
15:25
No, right. No, no.
15:26
And as I understand that these guys are these women who drive
15:30
these trucks, I mean, they are at the top of the trucking heap,
15:32
right? Like they make good money, but
15:33
the stakes are high, right? And right.
15:35
And, you know, Exhibit A, but, you know, is it last year's Car
15:39
Week, there was a car that caught on fire, some concept
15:41
car. Yes.
15:42
Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's right it.
15:44
Was the Ford Probe, that's right, which we had.
15:47
Just seen at Pebble if I recall. Yeah, we all just saw it, right?
15:51
And I had spent like it. It drew me in, and I ended up
15:54
spending like, more than a few minutes with it.
15:57
And so then to find out it was that car that burned like just a
16:00
few hours later was even crazier.
16:02
And then I just learned recently there was a second one that
16:05
caught on fire same day. And it really didn't get any
16:08
coverage, but it happened twice, you know, on the same day.
16:13
Was there a probe into the cause of the fire?
16:16
But I'm it doesn't even. Well, but that that was what was
16:21
interesting about that, as they said, because it is a one of
16:24
one, but it was basically disintegrated, yeah.
16:26
I mean, that was awful, that. We're bringing the chassis back
16:29
to the collection and we might restore it, but we might not,
16:33
but we don't know. Yeah, that's.
16:35
But that they weren't, they weren't going to just write it
16:37
off. They were going to save what was
16:39
there and then just kind of take their time and process it and
16:42
they might bring it back to life.
16:44
But that I mean it would be it's like restoring an airplane where
16:47
like obviously all the parts are new.
16:50
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, you know, if they ever
16:52
find Amelia Earhart, that plane's coming back.
16:54
That's going to be flying in two years.
16:57
That's what's so interesting to me about vintage cars versus
17:00
vintage airplanes is vintage cars.
17:02
The discussion is like, is it numbers matching, you know,
17:05
engine and chassis and all of that.
17:07
And the criteria for a vintage airplane to be considered
17:11
accurate or authentic, all you have to have is basically the
17:14
VIN plate. Like it's the VIN equivalent on
17:17
the airplane because they're sort of like, listen, we need it
17:21
to be air worthy. Yeah, yeah.
17:24
Not going to get picky, you could make the same argument.
17:28
We want the cars to be roadworthy too, but there's a
17:31
mindset of like, but if it's not the original pieces on the car,
17:33
it doesn't count. We should get Mark Foster from
17:36
Lion Air Museum on sometime. I bet he died.
17:38
I know thing or two to say about that.
17:40
He is the reason that I know that little tidbit.
17:42
See, there we go. But in other Automotive News
17:48
that has raised people's blood pressures this week, what do we
17:50
think about the new Range Rover placeholder ish logo for when
17:54
the other one's too long? We're fired up tonight,
17:58
listeners. Yeah.
17:59
Have you seen it? It's what is it?
18:01
It's an R on top of an R, basically a mirrored R on top of
18:04
an R. Yeah, that pretty much is this.
18:07
The same agency Jaguar hired, Like what's going on over there
18:09
in the UK? Dan, let's speak for your
18:11
people. Wow, we we say Jaguar.
18:13
For us, how do you say Range Rover, Range Rover, Range Rover?
18:21
Yes, yeah, it's it's weird, isn't it?
18:23
I the only thing I thought when I saw the Lego was it would make
18:26
like a good gangster rapper gold Oh.
18:30
My God, yes, yes. Yeah, the necklace medallion is
18:34
perfectly suited for that, so maybe.
18:36
That's what they were thinking. That's you know.
18:38
You can only imagine, like, all of the agency meetings and,
18:42
like, billable hours that went into that and to end up with
18:46
basically a new rapper medallion.
18:49
Yeah. And what's interesting to me,
18:50
too, is the company's been in business for decades.
18:54
Uh huh. And they've never run into like,
18:57
this is the first time they're feeling a need for like a tinier
19:00
logo. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
19:02
What's wrong with the Oval? Right.
19:04
Well. But Range Rover is its own brand
19:06
now, right? And has been for a few years,
19:08
right? They've sort of separated from
19:09
Land Rover. So the lesser you know, I guess.
19:13
Yeah, they. Defenders or whatever.
19:16
Huh. But so maybe.
19:17
That's what it. Is it's more, they're kind of
19:19
distinguish it more. It's, it's pretty, it's pretty
19:22
awful. And you know, someone who like
19:25
literally went to school for this.
19:27
I, I don't know how this, I guess they've got a good
19:29
salesperson because, you know, talk a good game because this is
19:33
just a whole lot of nothing. And you see this a lot and
19:37
especially when a brand like Jaguar or, you know, Land Rover,
19:40
they have such a legacy. I kept sorry, I can't do it,
19:43
right. They have such a legacy, right?
19:45
You can mine the past, right, for something, right, Right.
19:48
I mean, there's just so much there.
19:50
You're I mean, most, you know, if you, if you've ever designed
19:53
a brand for like a startup, you dream of something that's got 80
19:56
years of history, right? Like it's just, I don't
19:59
understand. And I saw I had a moment of Zen.
20:03
With a classic Range Rover the other day I was driving down the
20:06
street and across the intersection at the other light
20:09
was a white probably would call it like AI don't know a 1990
20:14
like county LWB or something like that white doing them with
20:17
the Harden Harman Kardon. You know, it's a long wheelbase,
20:20
you know, and it it was perfect. It was meant and it was such a
20:24
good looking thing and it brought me back to when those
20:27
were new or newish and what they represented and how aspirational
20:31
those things were and how I begged my Chrysler minivan
20:34
driving parents to go and test drive one in 1987 when those
20:38
were, you know, brought to the states or whatever, right?
20:40
And they were just so cool and they're and unique and nothing
20:43
like them. And it's just, you know, it was
20:44
almost like, you know, if you drove one of those, you really
20:47
were trying, you know, you, you sought that out.
20:49
You didn't fall into a Range Rover.
20:51
I mean, they used to run these great ads in National
20:53
Geographic. And you know, that and the
20:55
Rolex, right, with the all the things we sort of aspire to now.
20:58
But think about how that demographic has changed.
21:00
Obviously, they probably sell 20 times more vehicles, 100 times
21:03
more vehicles than they did, you know, in the 90s.
21:06
But have they lost their way? Is this just the latest example
21:10
of that? And because once it's gone, it's
21:12
gone. They still sell so many, don't
21:15
they? Yeah.
21:17
They have no sales issue with. Them no, well, they're carrying
21:19
a Jaguar Land Rover, right? I mean they're carrying you
21:21
know, and I've got cicadas that I got my door open because it's
21:25
hot here and I can only hear them when I speak into the mic
21:27
and then it so that's what's going on.
21:29
We have. We're infested with cicadas all
21:31
of a sudden. We have a little National
21:32
Geographic element this. Week currently in the jungle,
21:36
right at the at the helm of a a Camel Trophy Land Rover.
21:42
But thoughts? I mean, like I that's the car I
21:45
want. I want to buy a Range Rover.
21:47
You know, I want that car now. I want that vehicle now, but it
21:50
just that no longer exists. Well, I mean, what do you think
21:54
about the design of the modern ones?
21:56
Because I think I think it's an interesting sort of thought
21:58
exercise. You go like this, this whole
22:00
like new supplemental logo thing feels a little frivolous and
22:04
silly and unnecessary. But it doesn't change how I feel
22:07
about the cars. Like that's a, that's a dream
22:10
car for me. I mean, I was lucky enough to
22:12
live in England a little bit in college, and that was when I
22:15
really sort of zeroed in on those.
22:17
And it was like, OK, I will have one at some point and I will
22:21
know that I have arrived when I do that.
22:23
Did you keep your 12 points? I did.
22:26
I actually did not drive because I was a.
22:27
Student OK, OK, but yeah. And I, I I'm with you.
22:31
I would love to own a brand new Range Rover.
22:33
It wasn't for the damned depreciation.
22:34
And if I could afford the thing I maybe I would drive one.
22:37
I they're beautiful. They're great.
22:38
You know a 2 year old, but they're not used to be.
22:41
But oh, that's, that's that's right.
22:44
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Me and my HR director just
22:47
whooping it up in a you range over a bit.
22:50
Sounds like a title for the show.
22:51
Doesn't. He be in the HR.
22:52
Director. Maybe it will be Dan.
22:55
Maybe it will. Be meet our new HR director you
22:58
at a. Coldplay concert.
23:02
God, I wish we still did those intro songs like I did on the
23:04
steering committee. That's.
23:05
Right. Sure there was a.
23:07
Tenure will likely be brief, but we'd like you to meet her.
23:12
Yeah, 20 bucks. They were driving a new Range
23:14
Rover to the show. Yeah.
23:16
Yeah, but but you know what I'm saying?
23:18
Like I long for what that car was.
23:21
I is I and I would love to own one now, but it wouldn't be the
23:24
same. I want one of those cars in
23:25
period right. That was something special.
23:28
Remember they had the little like speakers above the the
23:30
Hatch in the back. They had that the funky shifter.
23:33
I mean they you know, they just were were such cool vehicles and
23:37
I just no one's taken a $140,000 Range Rover whatever off road.
23:42
They're just not but people took those off road back then, right.
23:45
They weren't precious in the same way.
23:47
They, you know, if you, if you rolled up in something like
23:49
that, it was kind of like rolling up in a Mercedes wagon
23:51
or whatever. That was real money.
23:53
That was real. You knew what you were doing.
23:54
And I just, I missed cars like that.
23:56
It was the quiet luxury, like I think in some ways things are so
24:00
conspicuous now. And before, like you said, it
24:04
was a very subtle, like you definitely noticed it and you're
24:07
like, all right, either those people are living way beyond
24:10
their means or they're doing something right.
24:11
But either way, I like the cars. But Dan, what was it like?
24:16
You know, I mean, Brian and I are speaking about this from the
24:19
American perspective. Like what was it like being in
24:22
Britain at the time with those cars?
24:25
Yeah, I so we used to have Range Rovers, but I wouldn't say we
24:29
were affluent in any shape or form.
24:32
We used to have like 6 year olds.
24:35
In fact, G935 FNO was the number plate shows how and and it was
24:42
the sort of car that we would go on family holidays with and you
24:45
know, we would go to France and we would find a beach and drive
24:48
onto the beach with the car and you know, dad would give me
24:51
driving lessons and so it. Went up a smoke and.
24:54
Life, it was like, yeah, a lifestyle.
24:57
It was kind of like a lifestyle car for the family.
24:59
Yeah. But obviously the brand new ones
25:02
were the ones that were aspirational and in the UK
25:04
they're aspirational. So, you know, we were having the
25:07
older ones. But to, to get a brand new one
25:08
that yeah, you'd, you'd made it. You had good money.
25:11
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, there's some, I mean, we
25:13
don't have the equivalent here. When you think about it, like
25:16
that's been the official car of the royal family.
25:19
Yeah, In the UK, like that adds something that you can, you
25:23
know, something intangible that like, no, you the brand, like
25:27
they wouldn't want to shake it. But like we don't have an
25:29
equivalent here. We just knew they were special.
25:32
No, the Escalade is not it. No, but it is the official car
25:38
of our version of royalty. Yeah, and probably tracks better
25:41
with that, that gold hood ornament on your chain.
25:45
But yeah, I just, it just really hit me how far we've come, for
25:49
better or worse. And I think personality goes a
25:53
long way and personality is so rare in a new car anymore,
25:57
right? So anyway, yeah, pulling out for
26:01
what? What was range?
26:03
Rover Exactly. Well, I had a funny I was
26:05
watching. I don't know if you guys have
26:06
watched The Dirty John miniseries, but I was watching
26:10
that this week and I always catch myself looking in the
26:14
background at the cars. I don't know if you guys do
26:16
this. I feel like it's a car person
26:19
thing. Well, it'll take you out of it
26:20
if it's wrong. Right.
26:22
Well, and there was one movie years ago, it was like a made
26:25
for TV movie. And I was watching it and I
26:26
figured out who the villain was because I was looking at the
26:29
cars in the background. And I was like, well, his car
26:31
shouldn't be. Wait a minute.
26:32
Yeah. Solve the murder because I was
26:35
looking at the cars. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
26:37
But they had, they had several old Broncos and there was one
26:41
junkyard scene and it was like cars from the era of Range Rover
26:45
you're talking about, Ryan. And it was like a vintage Ford
26:48
Escort. And then there was like an 80s
26:50
Cadillac Deville and like 2 old Broncos from, you know, the
26:53
early 90s. And it was just like, it was a
26:56
different time for sure. Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's a whole
27:00
other discussion. I have friends who, you know,
27:01
work on their own cars and apparently the finding a good
27:04
junkyard is hard anymore for a number of reasons.
27:08
But anyway, health and safety as you Brits would say, the fact
27:12
that cars just aren't made to last in quite the same way and.
27:15
All that. Yeah, well, and that's, that can
27:17
be a very thankless business. We had family friends that ran
27:21
like a salvage yard for years. And they said the most, one of
27:25
the most challenging things was keeping the parts, keeping them
27:29
organized and finding a system to label them that stood the
27:35
test of time. Because they said we tried all
27:36
these different things and we could put, you know, grease pan
27:40
or you could do markers or whatever.
27:42
But if the part was there long enough and nobody needed it, the
27:45
label would fade. And then you're standing there
27:47
going, what is this? Yeah, yeah.
27:50
So it takes a a lot of dedication for the you know
27:54
which which you appreciate when you need to go mining the
27:57
junkyard for parts. But it's a fascinating like,
28:00
it's one of those challenges you don't really think about if
28:03
you're not in the business. Take your kids to a junkyard and
28:07
instill that love. I haven't been to one in years,
28:09
but when I was a kid, my dad had an old 46 Chevy pickup truck and
28:13
the whole time he had it, he was searching for, I think it was a
28:15
left rear Fender, right? Never found one, but we had a
28:20
lot of good memories. You know, there for a few years
28:23
hunting junk yards in eastern Kansas.
28:26
And this is the fact that I remember that right.
28:28
It was it was, you know, sights, the smells, the, you know,
28:31
whatever. It was junk yards a good time.
28:34
So that sounds like there's a book there.
28:35
It's like the Bridges of Madison County, the junk yards.
28:38
Eastern Kansas of eastern Kansas.
28:41
Ryan's autobiography, The Early Years.
28:44
It was the best of times. It was the worst of times.
28:49
Junkyard Gate Creeks opened yet again.
28:52
Lindsay, I just got a message from our friend Abel Fong from
28:55
Avance. You were just there in Avance.
28:59
I was. Sorry for the segue.
29:00
Yes, no, that's perfect. So Toria and my daughter and I
29:04
got to go to Avance Classics on the Green, which is their annual
29:09
event at the Chateau St. Michel winery in the Seattle
29:12
area. And it was actually the 5th
29:15
anniversary of the event, but it was my first time getting to go
29:19
and it was so lovely. Like we kept commenting while we
29:23
were there how nice it was. I mean, it's a beautiful
29:26
setting. You drive in and the winery has
29:29
this long driveway lined with trees.
29:31
So this year the theme was red. And so they lined the drive with
29:35
all red cars, which was so cool. And so they had Ferraris and
29:40
Porsches and a Jaguar and a Fiero and a Corvette.
29:44
And it just like it was very visually impactful and you, you
29:47
knew immediately or like this is going to be something special.
29:50
And then we kind of wound around and even the parking lot cars
29:54
did not disappoint. There was a very Zenvo esque
29:58
Porsche Spyder Rs that had a wrap on it that was like blue
30:02
and purple glitter. And it reminded me of the Zenvo
30:05
that I got to see in LAA couple months ago and then.
30:09
You probably had a glass of wine in your.
30:12
Almost. I was on roof for a glass of
30:13
wine. So the theme was the same, yes.
30:17
Yeah. And there was a GT3RS in the
30:18
parking lot, GT500, Mustang, McLaren's, Bentleys, Lambos.
30:23
And then of course, you get into the event and it was such an
30:28
interesting mix. They had a obviously Ryan, your
30:33
favorite, and I was very sad you weren't there to experience it
30:36
with me. Was it magenta?
30:38
RWB? Oh, you sent me a picture.
30:41
I know. Yeah, wonderful, I mean.
30:43
I got tagged at least one Instagram post.
30:46
Yeah, but my comment was the paint looks too good.
30:48
Like So what? What, did they take it somewhere
30:51
else after the midnight, you know, chop shop, you know.
30:54
Possibly. I mean, the paint looked
30:56
amazing. So I was like your feelings
30:58
about RWB and I'm using the royal you like any of the
31:02
feelings about RWB aside, this one was in beautiful condition,
31:06
so that made it kind of fun to. See.
31:09
They had a first Gen. Bronco that was bright red that
31:11
was super fun. There was a beautiful vintage
31:13
silver Aston Martin that was, you know, James Bond vibes.
31:18
And then there was the M5 touring wagon in that launch
31:21
green, and they had a one of the Radial Manx and there was a De
31:29
Tomaso Pantera and a Radical and they Matt Farah was there.
31:36
He was the celebrity. Yeah, we got to.
31:38
See him? So that was really fun and I got
31:41
to enjoy my new Sheffield Black Diver 1A with the green accents,
31:46
which I love so much. And it went so well with the
31:49
green classics on the green event.
31:52
And yeah, and so they also have the winery has wine that you can
31:56
sample. And so it's delicious and it was
31:59
perfect. Damn straight.
32:01
Yeah, exactly. Umm, my.
32:04
Oh, and they had a Grand National there, which was.
32:06
It was such an interesting. Mix.
32:08
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, you know.
32:10
I saw one driving on the street the other day, just some guy
32:12
driving one like it's been years right since they got special and
32:16
no one drives them anymore. Yeah.
32:18
You know, that's a pretty cool looking thing going down there.
32:20
It is. I mean, we were talking.
32:21
About. Like it's it's such a funny,
32:24
like it's such a unique kind of it's really its own thing
32:27
because it's a Buick. But now they have this cult
32:31
following and even at the time it was such a sleeper, but
32:34
they're so recognizable. So it was it was really fun to
32:38
see that like it was a really good mix.
32:40
They had this beautiful green, you know, Lotus Esprit and they
32:46
like, they had a beautiful green Urus.
32:48
Yeah. And then they had a white
32:50
typhoon, which our friend Michael would have enjoyed.
32:53
Nice, nice. That was one of the first cars
32:55
when you walked in, so that was really fun.
32:57
And then and they had an F40 on the lawn.
33:01
What a little of a turn out of ants it was.
33:04
It was really cool because it was so like you never knew what
33:07
was next, and it was. The contrast was really fun and
33:10
there was so much different stuff to look at.
33:12
And then they had a 356 art car that was really beautiful.
33:16
It reminded a lot of people of the Janis Joplin Porsche, but
33:19
like the art was really well done, which is not always the
33:23
case. And so it was pretty I.
33:25
Think you're being, I think you're being kind.
33:29
Well, in this case, I mean in this one had like a yellow,
33:31
yellow lab on it and it had a solar system on the roof.
33:34
It was just, it was very cool and, but I think they, one of my
33:40
favorite things was the display of Harlequin Volkswagens 'cause
33:44
they had wagons and they had, you know, Golfs and then they
33:48
had a bug, which is I think the only one in this area.
33:53
And that specific one played a significant role in Tori and I
33:57
getting together as a couple. So that was probably my favorite
33:59
car of the event. By the way, Tori's Instagram
34:03
game on fire. I know he does these bar high.
34:08
Yeah, yeah, yeah. He does these things for us.
34:10
And I think Spikes Car Radio and maybe a couple of other shows,
34:13
and I don't know how he does them, but he spent some time
34:15
they're they're, they're well curated.
34:17
They're funny. They're, you know, so.
34:20
Hand confirm he goes to a lot of trouble and I think this week's
34:24
triumph was the Bentega with the Manx on the trailer.
34:29
After we talked to Matt, because that is that's Matt's car week
34:32
rig. Right.
34:34
But putting that together so he could put it in the synopsis
34:36
took some doing so. So does that mean if we name a
34:39
car, there's a chance it might appear on the Instagram post?
34:42
That is correct. What is the most obscure car we
34:45
can name? How do we ruin Tori's week?
34:49
Yeah, go find a picture of that one.
34:51
Yeah, well, so far we've named a Grand National, a Typhoon, a
34:54
Lotus Esprit and a Harlequin. Easy.
34:57
That's like in a because that in a heartbeat.
35:00
Child's play. Come on.
35:02
Yeah. So what?
35:04
Was that ugly car, Ryan, that you quoted once?
35:06
Safari. Something Safari.
35:08
Oh yeah. God, that's a callback.
35:12
There was some guy, I think he was like an American
35:14
industrialist or something, who it was this, this car that where
35:19
he basically, you know, sometimes people lengthen cars.
35:22
He widened a car and then the intent was like for African
35:25
hunting trips or whatever. And so it was like, I don't look
35:28
like a Packard or a, I don't know, a 50s, whatever that was.
35:33
You know, you had elevated seats in the back.
35:35
I mean, I'm sure that they were upholstered an elephant or
35:37
something. Do you remember?
35:38
Yeah, I, yeah. Yeah.
35:39
That was a while ago. Yeah.
35:41
He was, he only made like 12, but there was one on cars and
35:44
bids at one point a few years ago.
35:46
And it was just a spectacle. And I think it sold for
35:48
something absurd. But yeah, that was a car with
35:52
presents. What was the car?
35:55
What's the one that they mentioned on Spikes every now
35:57
and then? And it's got a really bizarre
35:59
name that is escaping me at the moment.
36:01
And it was like a one off and it was blue and Spike drove it.
36:07
Do you guys know what I'm talking about?
36:09
Oh God, yeah, yeah, that was like a 90s.
36:12
It was the name. Driver but.
36:13
I can't think. Of what it is, yes, it what it
36:15
had it was like the had like an Armenian name or something.
36:19
Yeah, right. And.
36:20
It'll come to me in 3. Hours.
36:21
Maybe our listeners and viewers can tag us and yeah, give us the
36:26
name in. The Urabian.
36:28
Yes, yes, yes. Something.
36:29
I'll declare that I can't do it and then it will come to me,
36:32
yeah. There was really something.
36:34
Yeah, the UAVIAN Puma, which would have fit.
36:36
New avian, that's what it was. The new avian, Yeah.
36:39
Yeah, yeah. So that's that's what we got.
36:41
But yeah, so I went to look at a Cayman GTS that is up here for a
36:48
friend today. But I think, Dan, there was a
36:50
news item that you had shared that you wanted to chat about.
36:55
Was this the? I shared it yeah, right.
36:58
But I I can't get over what GTS 4 point O's are going for.
37:02
In some cases, I think that they're going for more than GT
37:05
fours, right, If they're specced right, which is crazy.
37:10
And there was one, a beautiful one at with our friends at
37:12
Porsche of Colorado Springs, you know, really nice car, but you
37:17
know, and not that I, you know, I'm a a bucket lover
37:20
necessarily. It didn't have buckets and it
37:22
was it was I'm sure, I'm sure you could find a few GT fours
37:28
priced less than than this thing.
37:29
And I just, I, I can't get over what they're going for.
37:32
So it's like they're having a moment.
37:33
And I know Dan, you had a couple couple you rented a couple bad
37:38
ones, couple bad apples out and about, but you, you just drove 1
37:41
and what you think like what would you take one over GT4?
37:45
What's? I would want to try the manual
37:48
in the 4.0 GTS and then that's still on the on the list to try
37:52
and test drive. Yeah.
37:54
But but yeah, you're right. I'm I've been looking and those
37:57
prices aren't aren't going South anytime soon.
38:00
You know, it's effectively the same motor.
38:02
I think it's down 15 or 25 horsepower or something.
38:04
You know, I'm sure there's some detailed differences, none of
38:08
the arrow, but great looking wheels on those.
38:11
And I think you know, as a as A1 car or as a, you know, a more of
38:15
a daily driver makes so much more sense because you don't
38:17
have quite the overhangs, but different suspension, different
38:22
suspension. So that's a big one.
38:24
It's still a wonderful car, but I wouldn't pay more than I would
38:26
for AGT 4. No, I think that's what that's
38:29
definitely what was catching my attention too, because there
38:31
were a couple that were like around the year of the GT4 and
38:38
you know, not that much lower in price.
38:40
And it's like, well, if you're that close, you know, I guess it
38:43
depends, like you said, Ryan, if it's if it's supposed to be your
38:46
daily that changes the consideration or changes the
38:48
calculus. But yeah, it's it was
38:51
fascinating to see that the GTS market is as hot as it is right
38:54
now, especially when you compare it to the GT4 prices.
38:57
Right on the box to stuff. I think one of the reasons is
39:00
that you're a lazy person, all right, because you don't want to
39:04
have the hassle of assembling the roof on the spider.
39:08
So if you go for the the box to convertible, it's a button up
39:13
and down. Right.
39:14
Oh, OK. Right.
39:15
That's a good point. That's a good point.
39:18
Also we're we're calling out all the all the lazy.
39:23
We're not saying that all spider owners are lazy.
39:25
I'm definitely not saying that. And Jeff Jones, if you're
39:28
listening, it's definitely not you.
39:29
I would never say. That nor is it you, Dan
39:31
McGuinness. You drove 1, Lindsay.
39:35
Sorry. You drove 1.
39:37
No, I didn't drive it, just went to look.
39:39
Yeah, it was. It was a wild car dealership
39:43
experience and I've had you know more than my fair share most of
39:47
most car people have. And what does that mean?
39:48
Like it was like a buy here pay here which I still don't know
39:51
what that means but type lot or. No, like it was not a, it was
39:57
not a manufacturer lot, I'll say that.
39:59
OK, OK. But it was not a, it was not a
40:02
lot where you would normally be concerned about, you know, well,
40:04
I don't want them to have my home address or something like
40:06
that. It wasn't.
40:07
It wasn't reputable. No, that's those are Nissan
40:09
dealerships, sorry. Yeah, you said it.
40:13
I didn't. I'll never stop calling.
40:16
I went to went to look at a specific 1 and got there and
40:19
realized the transmission was different than as advertised.
40:23
It was advertised as a manual, which is what this person is
40:25
looking for and then but turned around and they had another one
40:29
that was a manual. Only there's a way you could
40:31
tell. Right.
40:34
And I'm like, wait, I was so careful to check the listing, it
40:37
definitely said. Manual.
40:39
And it was so interesting because the one that was manual
40:43
had, you know, a lot of orange peel in the paint in an area
40:47
that was different than what was showing on the Carfax as where
40:51
the incident had been. And so there were definitely
40:53
some like, huh, All right, Well, I mean, if the price was right
40:56
and it's a fun car, you could maybe see.
40:59
But we said the the market is hot, so.
41:04
And and and so if it had orange pill, does this mean it had body
41:07
work done because. Yeah, yeah.
41:09
So so far every car between the two of you that you've looked at
41:13
Cara GTS 4 point O has had body work.
41:16
Right. Interesting.
41:17
And the one guy I know here in Denver who's got one, that car
41:21
has had body work. Well, and what made it even more
41:26
I guess of a good story, but like a this is not the right
41:29
scenario because the salesperson immediately started pre
41:35
explaining why the Carfax was not going to be clean.
41:37
And it was like, oh, and then it then it did list that there had
41:43
been an incident, but was it a different area of the car where
41:45
we could see the orange? Oh wow.
41:46
OK. So this was either multiple
41:49
incidents or it was a much more significant incident.
41:51
Yeah, you had been on a carrier, a transport.
41:55
Yeah, next door throwback to what we were talking about
41:57
earlier. Was thrown off the carrier,
41:59
Everything's fine. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
42:01
Yeah. So just, you know,
42:03
disappointing. It was, it was disappointing.
42:06
And the approach from the salesperson was very like
42:09
nothing to see here. And it just, it made me think
42:11
too like, if you aren't as well versed in what you should be
42:15
looking for or what orange peel even is, it's also really easy
42:19
to to find yourself in a bad situation or end up with
42:22
something that's not what you thought it was.
42:24
Or, yeah, you know, it just it made me grateful for like, the
42:29
knowledge that we all have and the critical eye that we bring
42:31
to it. But yeah, it's just, it was
42:34
wild. Speaking of bad dealerships,
42:39
this is a hyper local reference, but I posted on Instagram.
42:41
I reposted it from someone. It was a picture for the
42:44
quadrant for pictures the the Four Horsemen of bad drivers in
42:47
Denver, and one was a Texas plate.
42:50
One was having anime characters peeking up through the windows.
42:55
The third was a temporary paper tag.
42:57
Colorado probably expired in 23, you know, 2023.
43:01
And the fourth one was a car from Sharper Rides, which if you
43:05
know, you know, it's got this green sticker.
43:07
And when you see one of those, like on a Chrysler 200 behind
43:10
you, watch out, because bad news is coming.
43:15
I I would add to that boxes of tissue on the back parcel shelf.
43:18
Oh, no, not a good driver. Pillows on the back parcel
43:23
shelf. You know it's not a good driver,
43:25
Yes. Maybe some Werther's candies in
43:27
the centre console I think is what you're getting.
43:30
That, Yeah, I think, I think there's something definitely in
43:33
the air this week. Yeah.
43:34
Even just the drivers on the road, just on like normal,
43:38
running around doing errands. I'm like, everyone has lost
43:40
their minds. Yeah.
43:42
Like, yeah, I chased a woman down today just to get a picture
43:45
of it. She was in a do you know the oh
43:49
God, Mercury made a car. That was it was the the small 4
43:53
door early 2000s wasn't the Mariner, but they it was the
43:56
Antigo. What is it?
43:59
They did the Mercure, but that was like a.
44:01
No, no, this was like early 2000s.
44:03
This was, yeah, there was a Ford equivalent.
44:07
I I don't even remember. What was it like the Mercury
44:09
escort equivalent? It was the mid size so it would
44:12
be the same as the Ford. They did a hybrid of it.
44:15
You'd know it if you saw it. But I haven't seen one of these
44:16
in years. And on the back of this car was
44:20
a a plate that said private and exempt.
44:24
It was obviously a fake license plate.
44:25
Probably some sovereign citizen bullshit thing.
44:28
And it pissed me off so much because I pay my taxes, I
44:32
register my car right? I'm a responsible ish, you know,
44:35
citizen. They called the police and I
44:37
reported it because that pissed me off so much.
44:40
Again, it's like. I'm not what?
44:42
Not having it. I'm not having.
44:44
Driving. I'm traveling.
44:46
Traveling, that's what it is, and you can go down a whole
44:48
YouTube rabbit hole with that stuff.
44:49
But. I never wanted to be a cop so
44:52
much as I didn't, but anyway, it's.
44:56
Never too late, right? That's I think it is.
44:58
I think there is an age cut off and now that I'm nearing 50, I'm
45:02
probably out of luck, Dan. But you'd be great undercover,
45:04
and that would be. No one would ever guess.
45:07
Oh my gosh, there's a lot about Porsches.
45:13
Maybe I can infiltrate the the transporter, you know, cabal
45:18
that's dropping cars left for insurance claims.
45:21
Yeah. Do we have any Porsche related
45:23
crimes? We can put them on No, no, no.
45:27
Tell them to call back next week, No.
45:29
There's a response. It's a.
45:30
Responsible people there's. Porsche people anyway.
45:32
Exactly. Well, so have you guys.
45:34
Heard about the stop sale order on the ID buzz that was issued
45:38
recently. Explain that because I was a
45:41
little. Confused with what?
45:42
I Hold on, right? Let's pause for a minute.
45:43
Like. In order to have a stop sale,
45:45
does that mean that they're actually selling cars?
45:49
So that's what makes this such an.
45:50
Entertaining discussion item because Volkswagen has issued a
45:54
stop sale order on the ID Buzz without saying why.
45:58
And normally when a manufacturer does that, they say stop sale or
46:03
that's a stop drive order and they say because XYZ.
46:06
So they haven't said anything, which has set the Internet and
46:09
the rumor mill and the, you know, conspiracy theorists
46:13
ablaze. And the, the like most prevalent
46:17
rumor right now is because they weren't selling at all.
46:21
Volkswagen decided to try and like distract from that or cover
46:24
it up or whatever by issuing a stop sale order.
46:28
Really. They're like, no, no, they're
46:29
not selling because. We can't.
46:31
So discuss. Well, I will say I've got a
46:35
couple of friends. Who have got them and absolutely
46:37
love them? Yeah.
46:38
I thought they were popular but I never.
46:40
See them? Yeah, they up in Seattle and
46:42
they, they. Love them.
46:44
I mean, obviously the the range isn't great and there's an
46:46
expensive electric car, but yeah, and I'm assuming, I don't
46:51
know were they liable for the tax benefit because come
46:54
September, that's all going away, isn't it?
46:57
Well, and that's I heard that they like.
46:59
A large part of the reason they weren't selling was because of
47:01
the tariff like concerns and the way that was impacting the
47:04
price. But since the stop sale order,
47:07
I've seen two or three on the street up here.
47:09
Yeah, interesting also I think in that.
47:12
Article which I think you sent, which was from Autoblog, so, you
47:16
know, incredible. Yeah, you know, I hear I.
47:18
Hear they, they, they. Have good writers there.
47:21
Yeah, yeah, yeah. But they said.
47:23
That the ones. That people want are the 2 tone
47:25
ones. And so there may be something to
47:28
the fact that they didn't send nearly enough 2 tone ones.
47:30
And I was thinking about like, yeah, everyone I've seen has
47:32
been a 2 tone one. Yeah.
47:34
And if you're going to get one, I think that's the one to get.
47:36
But they were talking about even Volkswagen, I think, on a
47:38
corporate level, was thinking about wrapping them to like, you
47:42
know, turn them into two-tone, you know, to mitigate their
47:45
lack. Of 2 tone I guess.
47:47
Yeah, but it's not. Like they're clogging up dealer
47:49
lots here. I don't, I don't, you know, I'm
47:52
seeing them on the lot. Here there are a handful, but
47:57
you know, I'm seeing as many on the road, but maybe that's I
48:00
don't know, I'm not on the they just need to make a car.
48:03
Isn't it like? Wouldn't you say it's a good
48:05
Pacific Northwest car if you don't have to go far?
48:08
Yeah. And like you said, if they're.
48:11
Like range aside, which obviously puts a damper on it,
48:14
but there's a lot of exploring and over landing and weekend
48:17
camping and that kind of stuff that happens here.
48:19
And it's very well suited for the climate and the terrain.
48:23
So yeah, it's, I guess that's an interesting sort of like in an
48:27
area where that isn't a big thing, you could see maybe they
48:31
were selling even less. And so they're like, how do we
48:34
save the reputation of this car without just admitting that they
48:38
aren't selling the way that we hoped outside of they're like,
48:41
OK, so we're going to wrap them while we're we have the stop
48:44
sale. Yeah.
48:45
And then we're going to come back with a venue.
48:47
Yeah, yeah, yeah. There's something going.
48:49
On yeah. So stay tuned on that.
48:51
We'll see. If the we'll see if the truth
48:53
ever comes out. Can I talk about the?
48:56
Worst car rental I think I've ever had.
48:59
It just happened. Before the.
49:01
Theme for this week. Is.
49:02
Car news items that have made your blood boil.
49:05
Yeah, Regalus and I rain from. Naming the car rental company
49:12
because. At the end of this story they
49:13
they have potentially saved themselves.
49:16
We will see. But I was going up to Laguna,
49:20
which from Laguna Seca, which is the track.
49:22
So from LA that's about a 55 and a bit hour journey and I booked
49:28
instead of driving my Audi, I thought I'll put a convertible
49:30
and head up the coast. So I booked a car and arranged
49:33
to pick it up at 4:00 on Friday afternoon with an idea that I
49:37
might get out of LA and traffic and everything else ish might
49:42
escape some of it before the rush hour.
49:45
And I got to the car rental place and they told me they
49:48
didn't have a car. So like just nothing for you?
49:52
There, there was no car but. You were living the Seinfeld.
49:57
Where he goes to pick up his car and he's like, we have AI have a
49:59
reservation and she's like, Yep, we have your reservation and no
50:02
car and we don't have a car. Yeah, what's the point?
50:05
So. Net.
50:06
Net is they. Said sorry, I'm thinking about
50:08
this. Yeah, the reservation holds the
50:11
car, right? You can take reservations all
50:14
you. Want if there's no car, it
50:15
doesn't matter dear. Sorry I.
50:19
I'm it's 4. O'clock and I booked you for
50:22
4:00. I'm there at 4:00 and they said
50:24
we found you one, but it's the other side of town.
50:28
This is LA, so it's not energy. That's not a reasonable
50:32
proposition. Proceed to drive me to Sunset
50:35
Blvd. Where I get to their office in
50:39
Sunset Blvd. and the car's not there.
50:43
So we're now not there. We're now 30 minutes.
50:46
After I was due to pick the. Car up.
50:48
They then wait and pick up another employee in the car with
50:51
me and gets in the bag and we drive the car wash.
50:55
Oh my God. So at this car wash, I can see
50:59
the Mustang and it's clean, it's looking beautiful.
51:02
It's it's only got like 3000 miles on the clock.
51:05
So we do the walk around, we do the inspection, I think in the
51:08
car and excusing my French, I say, what the fuck is this?
51:15
It was 6 miles left in the tank. Oh wow, who hands you a?
51:19
Car in the middle of sunset. Blvd. with six miles left in the
51:23
tank. Well, I've got one of three
51:24
guesses right. So.
51:28
I complained and I was shown little empathy some and was told
51:32
that we they had no obligation to put fuel in the tank and that
51:38
I would be, you know, I'd collect it as it was and they
51:40
had no ability to say how much fuel was in the tank.
51:44
So we're about 40 minutes. If only there was a gauge that
51:48
would tell you how much. Fuel we're about. 40 minutes.
51:52
After when I was due to pick the car up and I'm not on the road
51:54
yet. So I then navigate through
51:56
Sunset Blvd. and find a gas station fill up and hit the
52:00
road. As you are driving.
52:03
I get this text and it's this car company.
52:06
Hey, how's your rental going? And I think I responded back
52:10
with diabolical and. So the next thing I.
52:15
Got is, we're really sorry to hear that someone will contact
52:18
you during office hours. And this was getting beyond 6:00
52:21
at this point. So I kind of my expectations
52:24
weren't that they were going to call me that night.
52:26
So, but the next morning, all the offices open at 8:00 AM and
52:30
by about 10:00 I'd heard nothing.
52:33
So I then sent them another text saying you promised to contact
52:37
me and you haven't at one PMI get an e-mail from the the
52:42
rental company. We're really sorry.
52:43
We want to understand what went wrong, blah, blah, blah.
52:47
So I then proceeded to write War and Peace in terms of my
52:51
response to them and how it's pretty close.
52:53
I saw he shared it with me. Yeah.
52:55
It's a model for all of us moving.
52:56
Forward though. But they template yeah, swap in.
53:00
Yeah. Yeah, yeah.
53:01
So listed all the. Issues listed recommendations on
53:05
how they could have done better against each issue.
53:08
Yeah, it was a proper consumer survey.
53:11
And so then they contact me and they said, you know, we're
53:15
really sorry we're going to, we're going to give you a day's
53:19
rental free back. So they'll credit me a day's
53:22
rental. And I said, look, I don't feel
53:24
that's good enough. I don't feel that you've
53:27
acknowledged the issues and that I.
53:30
If that's the best you can do, then I won't accept it and I
53:35
just won't use you again. Like it wasn't about the money,
53:37
it was about the gesture. So I was told that I could speak
53:42
to the the manager the next day when I was due to return the
53:44
car. Part of me did think about
53:47
leaving it in the car park with the engine on all night so that
53:51
I could get into one mile so that when I delivered it back,
53:54
there wasn't enough gas in the tank to get it to a gas station
53:58
with a hey, this is Carla. I didn't do that.
54:01
I took the higher ground. I talked to, yeah, talked to the
54:05
manager. Manager was great, was very
54:10
attentive, you know, listened. They said, they said to me all
54:15
we can do is give you the, the one day credit.
54:19
And I said, well if that's the case, thank you, but no thank
54:22
you. I said I am going to rent a car
54:24
in two weeks time. And she said to me, well who you
54:27
going to rent with? And I said, well, that depends
54:30
on you, doesn't it? They're like, first of all, now
54:33
is not the time Lady. Right.
54:35
So what I what they've agreed to do, Yeah.
54:37
Is in two weeks time, they said if you book the cheapest car,
54:41
which I think is a Mitsubishi, Mitsubishi Mirage, you book the
54:46
cheapest car, we'll give you a oh, that is the cheapest car,
54:48
that is the cheapest. Car in the world, Dan.
54:50
Yeah, yeah, that's tiny little wheels and.
54:53
One of. Two things is going to happen in
54:55
two weeks time. OK.
54:56
I mean, they're going to be driving down the South Coast
54:59
impressing all the ladies in a Mitsubishi Mirage or they're
55:03
going to give me a convertible. So watch this space.
55:05
And if they don't give me a convertible in two weeks time, I
55:08
will be naming and shaming. I was going to say you're going
55:10
to dox the you're going to dox. The car rental company.
55:14
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Or I could.
55:16
Do the thing that guy in the Subaru did and just drive it
55:18
through the window. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
55:21
By the way, Dan. They stopped making that in 2024
55:24
and at the time it was the cheapest new car you could buy.
55:27
Also with the smallest wheels and tires on a new car available
55:31
in the US at the time, I believe.
55:32
So it's practically a roller skate, isn't it?
55:34
It's. How bucket 2/1 for one for each?
55:37
One for each. Foot.
55:38
Yeah, that would impress. The ladies, Dan.
55:40
There we go. I've got a brand new set of
55:42
roller. Skates.
55:43
I wear cars for shoes, wink. Wink, Yeah.
55:48
I mean, there's another. Title for the show I wear.
55:50
Cars for shoes, I think selfishly for the sake.
55:54
Of the show and sort of the social media content you're
55:58
hoping for The Mirage, Yeah, you're dead.
56:01
To me. Then too.
56:02
But for Dan's blood pressure, I'm really rooting.
56:04
For whatever the fanciest, nicest thing.
56:08
Which, by the way, haven't they? Already given you a mirage once.
56:12
What did they give me now? They gave me something really
56:14
crap. Was it?
56:15
No, I'm sorry. That car that didn't exist, It
56:17
was just a mirage. Oh yeah?
56:19
Well, The Mirage. Writer humor.
56:24
Oh my. Gosh, so we will.
56:26
See, but I, I don't know if I don't know, it was just me and
56:29
that wasn't a bad experience and I've just had good experiences,
56:31
but it felt like a bad experience.
56:33
Serious question with the British accent, do you?
56:35
Think that that takes you further in these situations.
56:38
OK, thank you. I thank you.
56:40
I appreciate having a Brit and on the upgrades.
56:42
I think it does, yeah. What I do, my secret is I walk
56:45
in and go. Have you got anything fun?
56:47
And I think at that point, they realized, well, this is a car
56:50
person. Yeah, this is, you know, a
56:52
British accent. Let's see what we can do.
56:55
And it usually 9 times out of 10, it usually works.
56:57
Huh. They're like, who is this
56:59
character? I mean.
57:00
Let's see what we think. It's not like your boy at
57:03
Monterey. Car rental easy my friend Eli.
57:08
And actually. I think I take your best Nuabian
57:11
please. He's like, you know what?
57:14
We're fresh out of UAB and Puma, but can I interest you in a
57:17
brand new Forerunner? That's Eli's move, and I will
57:21
take it every time. I love it.
57:22
Yeah. Eliot Avis.
57:24
Is the best. Super.
57:25
Oh, that's right. That's a callback, Eliot.
57:27
Avis, how's Eli doing these days?
57:29
I don't know. We'll have to go to Car Weekend.
57:32
In a few weeks time, right? We'll have to pass.
57:34
That's going to be here. That's four weeks from today,
57:38
yeah, or less right 4. Weeks minus.
57:41
A day, I think I fly in on the 13th, which I think is a
57:43
Wednesday or Thursday. I was going to say, I think, I
57:46
think Pebble. Is a month from tomorrow?
57:48
Yeah. Possibly.
57:50
But yeah, it'll be here before we know it.
57:52
Yeah. But I feel like, I feel like our
57:54
blood pressures have been raised enough this week and maybe we
57:57
need to rest up for Pebble. So I think we should probably
58:00
call it before we find anything. Yeah.
58:02
Yeah. Well, just be the three of us.
58:04
This. Year at Car Week.
58:06
I know it'll be fun. Yeah, I'm excited.
58:08
Yeah, we need to talk Michael into coming with us.
58:11
Oh yeah, So, Michael. Is our official. 4th member of
58:15
the podcast and as of a couple. Of weeks ago so.
58:20
Welcome on board, Michael. That's right.
58:22
Yeah, it's super happy to. Have him with us.
58:24
And. Yeah, he'll be popping in from
58:26
time to time as our adventures take one of us away.
58:31
So we're very excited to have him on the team.
58:34
But I think I think we all will stop where we are now and say
58:40
thank you so much for joining us.
58:41
Yes, yes. And remember, always be driving
58:44
where that car show and we'll see you next week.