Podcasts

Daily Podcast - Lieberman Edition: I Love the Mitsuoka Himiko

By Justin Berkowitz
December 3, 2008 -

Oh sure, it looks like a Morgan. But it’s not. Fresh from Mitsuoka, the same company that turned an Infiniti M35 into some kind of time warp British sedan for James May, is the Himiko roadster. It’s based on the Mazda MX-5, which means it’s great to drive. And the bodywork is just insane enough to walk the border between embarrassing and awesome. While most of TTAC’s finest will probably say it looks like a mutant and they’d rather chew glass than have one, I’ll proudly stand in the minority. Oh, and Lieberman and I talk about a number of rockin’ cars in today’s podcast.

Posted in Daily | Daily Podcast | News Blog | Podcasts | 11 comments

Daily Podcast: How Far We’ve Come

By Justin Berkowitz
November 25, 2008 -

Sure, it was 1925. But do you ever see even slightly similar ads anymore?

Posted in Daily | Daily Podcast | News Blog | Podcasts | 12 comments

Daily Podcast: Yesterday’s Podcast Today

By Justin Berkowitz
November 20, 2008 -

When there’s less to do, it’s harder to get things done. This is a rule. The same as the one about peanut butter and dogs. Anyway, Robert and I spoke about all things bailout on Wednesday. And in other news, the V8 version of the Pontiac G8 gets better pricing with every day - 2008 model year cars with under 10,000 miles are going for the mid $20k range on eBay Motors. This particular one, with 8900 miles, is marginally even broken in and it’s only $23,900. Beats the heck out of the $32,000 MSRP this thing originally had. Imagine how cheap these beasts will be in a year.

Posted in Daily | Daily Podcast | News Blog | Podcasts | 8 comments

Welcome to Podcast Country

By Justin Berkowitz
November 14, 2008 -

With my private jet finally out of fuel, we decided to crash land in North Korea. It turns out to have been a wise choice, because aside from the fact that it’s a tyrannical dictatorship with millions of starving people, there are no “Saved by Zero” ads from Toyota. So that’s a hint of silver lining. Also, while my Gulfstream had poor cell phone reception, I’m able to make all the phone calls I want from Kim Jong Il’s pool house, which he has been kind enough to lend to me. All he wanted in return, oddly enough, was a box of Ray Bans and an the newest DVDs. So, after surrendering my copy of “Employee of the Month” to the Dear Leader, I’m now able to podcast freely.

Posted in Daily | Daily Podcast | News Blog | Podcasts | 6 comments

Daily Podcast: Renting a Car in Europe

By Justin Berkowitz
October 23, 2008 -

I’m going to England tonight. Well, I leave tonight and arrive there on Friday. Hooray! A working vacation is still a vacation, right? Sort of, maybe. Meanwhile, I’m going to need wheels for at least a few days that I’m there (don’t fret though, I’m not maniacal enough to drive in London). While I’m working on a press car for myself, the big question is - if I end up renting something, what could it be? What will it be? It is, for me at least, the closest approximation to a kid in a candy store. Unfortunately, I’ve gotten emails from someone called “Reality.” And he tells me a number of alarming things. The first was “Don’t kill yourself, driving on the left and shifting with the wrong hand.” Well I knew that already, but thanks Mr. R. Second, he said “You know, the European Focus is just better than the American Focus. It’s not something amazing. Especially with a tiny engine.” Yes yes, I know that too. But it’ll still be different. But then Reality dropped the bomb “With your luck, Berkowitz, your rental car is going to be something that’s on sale in America.” Heaven forbid. I’ll keep you updated on this tremendously important story.

Posted in Daily | Daily Podcast | News Blog | Podcasts | 33 comments

Daily Podcast: Lieberman Edition - The Collector’s Pontiac Garage

By Justin Berkowitz
October 23, 2008 -

We just got the fairly obvious news that the Pontiac G8 will die on the vine. Fast forward thirty years. Pontiac cars will only be a historical name, like Lagonda, or Pierce-Arrow. Imagine though, the bitchin’ 1980s-2000s collection that a retro minded old codger could have in his garage:

1. G8 GT
2. GTO (2006)
3. Solstice GXP
4. Trans AM WS6 (2002, with 325 hp LS1 V8)
5. Aztek (for historical purposes, of course).
6. Fiero V6

It could be like all the other cars (like the G5) just never happened. As if.

Posted in Daily | Daily Podcast | News Blog | Podcasts | 22 comments

Daily Podcast: Is It Really 8:20 Already?

By Justin Berkowitz
October 22, 2008 -

Ouch. Normally we shoot to put up our podcasts midday, but wouldn’t you know it, I accidentally stepped on my official TTAC podcasting headset. Between that, and the fact that the car industry is in meltdown mode, we weren’t able to get to a podcast until 6PM. And then I got wrapped up trying to get an idea of the approximate number of Americans and Canadians that will be out of jobs if/when the Chrysler-GM merger actually happens. Since that’s like trying to count the number of lights while driving through the Lincoln Tunnel, I had to give up. And here we are. Have a good night, folks!

Posted in Daily | Daily Podcast | News Blog | Podcasts | 3 comments

Daily Podcast: TTAC Meetup in 2009 … At the Nurburgring

By Justin Berkowitz
October 21, 2008 -

We’re actually planning a few meetups in 2009 for TTAC readers and writers, many of them right here in North America. But with Captain Mike’s upcoming work-related assignment to Germany - a mere one hour from the Nurburgring - we’re going to have a European adventure as well. I’m beginning the search for sponsors (who? uh…). In any case, it should make for a downright thrilling trip, including more than a few frightening rides in the ‘Ring taxi. Separate from driving, I envision copious beer drinking and regional sausages. We’ll be sure to give you plenty of warning ahead of time, should you be planning any business trips to Europe, or be sitting on a pile of frequewnt flyer miles, or actually be an EU resident yourself. I’ll bring the Porsche 911 Turbo, you bring the Nissan GT-R.

Posted in Daily | Daily Podcast | News Blog | Podcasts | 17 comments

What’s missing from the GM-Chrysler coverage. Allegedly.

By Robert Farago
October 20, 2008 -

DaveAdmin over at Allpar Weblogs is just as unhappy with the coverage of the potential GM - Chrysler debacle merger as your faithful TTAC correspondents. But for different reasons. Apparently, it’s OK for the mainstream press and armchair analysts to suggest that this is a done deal, but they don’t “get it” when it comes to what might come next. In the main, DaveAdmin reckons they’re all guilty of the sin of omission. “No article I have seen suggests that maybe, because the Dodge trucks are clearly superior (especially in Class 3-5), that GM might shift over to Dodge’s designs. Only one mentioned the Dodge trucks in any way other than ‘to be canned’ at all, and that was to point out the bad timing of their launch. Ford’s big, trucklike Flex, Toyota’s Tundra (with one factory already being converted to other uses), and Ford’s upcoming F-series were apparently examples of good timing. No article I’ve seen mentions the Hemi except disparagingly, as in ‘dummies make V8s when people don’t want them any more.’ (Four years ago.) Never mind that trucks still need V8s and the Hemi is best in class, especially in variable cam form. No article I’ve seen mentions the Phoenix engines or the dual-clutch transmission technology. The latter, to be fair, appears to be dead at the moment, as Chrysler chose to cancel their launch by picking a fight with Getrag and abruptly canceling all talks.” Yeah, to be fair. It gets better…

(more…)

Allpar Weblogs »

Posted in High Finance | Media | New Cars | News Blog | Podcasts | 11 comments

Daily Podcast: Keep Your Eye on the Balls

By Justin Berkowitz
October 20, 2008 -

The big story in the media, and of course with TTAC at present is the GM-Chrysler merger. Or whatever you want to call it, as the transaction’s characteristics are reported differently with every day. We’re covering that, in all its ridiculous glory (or glorious ridiculousness) with the same “nothing but the truth - and the occasional pun” attitude you’ve come to expect from TTAC. But there’s another, albeit interlinked, story here: the utter failure of the media to report on GM-Chrysler with any meaningful scrutiny or candor. Whether it is the hypocrisy of the reporters or the lack of thoughtful commentary, this casts a shadow on the value of the information and opinions we read and hear, from the Detroit News to CNBC to CNN Money. So while our mantra is focus, focus, focus (with no hat tip to Ford), we’re focusing on the news at present: not just the message, but the messenger.

Posted in Daily | Daily Podcast | News Blog | Podcasts | 2 comments