Motor Trend Audio

Imagine having daily access to a fleet of exotic and classic cars, and the lifestyle to boot. Experience the world-class craftsmanship of a Rolls Royce interior. Feather the throttle of a Porsche 911 GT3. Feel the thrill of track day behind the wheel of a Formula One race car. Sure, ownership of a high-performance or luxury vehicle is within reach for some aficionados, but not all. Believe it or not, there is another way to drive that car you always dreamed of. Join a shared-ownership car club. This week we meet Zac Moseley, co-owner of one of the best known clubs in the U.S., the Classic Car Club of Manhattan. Zac shares his passion for the club and its activities, and elaborates on the cars available to club members. On the west coast, Frenchman Chris Carel founded the appropriately named Fast Toys Club and the genesis for how the club and its events came to be. Among Fast Toys' stable of exotic and collectable cars, are a few bona fide race cars like the Pescarolo Le Mans prototype and Mustang Boss 302S. Speaking of racing, you'll need a playground for burning rubber. Enter M1 Concourse. A private garage concept, Brad Oleshansky and Jason Haddad tell us all about this new car haven in the Motor City that allows you to store and work on your vehicles, provides access to an on-site performance track and a retail village all for like-minded enthusiasts.

Autonomous features are being incorporated into vehicles at a rate that outpaces consumers' awareness of the feature's name and function. Studies have shown that incorporating brake override, adaptive cruise control, lane departure warning and adaptive headlights would save up to 10,000 lives a year. Mark Rechtin, the Cars Content Development Team Leader at Consumer Reports, extolls the virtues of brake override and how Consumer Reports ratings are now impacted by manufacturers who make advanced driver safety systems standard across a model line. Deborah Hersman, CEO of the National Safety Council, also joins us and informs us that 40% of consumers are unaware or confused by the features of their own car. As such, the National Safety Council has teamed up with the University of Iowa to create the website MyCarDoesWhat.org, to educate the public on the ever-changing world of car safety features.

Bright lights, TV cameras, huge crowds, celebrities, music, food, attractions and "automobilia" on sale. This is the Barrett-Jackson auction. Renown for showcasing some of the world's greatest collector cars, Barrett-Jackson auctions are spectacles that most car lovers can only dream of. Celebrating it's 45th anniversary in 2016, Charlie and Alex decide to partake in the Barrett-Jackson festivities in Scottsdale, AZ. A newbie, Alex describes the carnival-like atmosphere first hand and recommends the best way for a buyer to participate. Throughout the day we encounter several participants, including Aaron Shelby, grandson of the late Carroll Shelby, who was in attendance to buy one of his grandfather's Series-1. We also chat with Mike Kennedy of "Airplane Repo" fame on the Discovery Channel, who flew Burt Reynolds out to the auction help sell the original 1977 "Smokey and the Bandit" Pontiac Firebird Trans Am. Finally, we meet up with Ken Block who's in attendance for the auctioning of a 2016 Ford Focus RS to benefit The Junvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and he talks about his work on the Gymkhana video series.

Bob Lutz has had a rich and storied career in the automotive industry. His experience spans a 47-year career, that include leadership positions at GM of Europe, BMW, Ford, Chrysler, and back to GM where he retired as vice chairman in 2010. Since then, Bob has been involved with a number of projects including VLF Automotive with Gilbert Villarreal and Henrik Fisker. Bob is also an accomplished author and an active jet and helicopter pilot that shows no signs of slowing down. Through an extended interview, Bob shares his unique perspective on the auto industry—past and present.

Co-host Shawn lives in San Francisco, can own one car and has a short but hilly commute to work. When he is choosing a car to own he needs to compromise his desire for a performance car with the consideration of driving and parking in the city. We discover and talk about new options for urban mobility that could handle a short commute. These mobility solutions could free Shawn up to own the car he dreams about for performance and track driving.

David Kennedy, Editor-in-Chief of the Hot Rod Network is pushing the boundaries of the term "hot rod" with his ongoing project. Most people envision a hot rod to be a pre-war coupe whose interior and exterior has been customized and its engine modified for higher performance. However, for David it's a full-size 4-door pickup...with a diesel engine...that is 4WD. In our conversation with David he expands on his project truck, explains how hot rodding is being redefined and how the two go together.

The Acura NSX was a stunning and memorable car when it made its debut in 1990. Now over 10 years after the first generation was discontinued, the brand's second generation halo car is finally ready to hit the market. We've been teased with concepts of the new NSX over the years at different auto shows and events. It wasn't until the completed car was revealed that we got a chance to speak with exterior design leader Michelle Christensen. We also get a chance to drive the NSX on, both, the street and at the track and review its performance with Nick Robinson from Acura R&D. Listen in as co-Host Alex Stack joins Charlie to compare design and driving impressions.

Mazda invited Charlie and Shawn to tour its collection of historic vehicles. Located in the basement of the Mazda Research and Development Center in Southern California, the collection showcases the company's historic cars, trucks, concepts and race cars as well as the company's rotary engine and manufacturing technology. Mazda motorsports spokesman Dean Case gave us his background, followed by insight into the Mazda motorsports development ladder and some of the well-known drivers with roots to the program. While touring the collection we had the chance to meet Mazda's design manager, Ken Saward, in addition to Randy Miller, a motorsports engineer who touches on the heritage of the MX-5 and how, for 2016, it will be available as a Global Cup Car straight from the factory in Hiroshima.

Fritz first visited the podcast on Episode 40 and we couldn't wait to get him back. He is a longtime friend of the program who buys,yber sells and owns lots of vehicles. All of his vehicles work hard, many get modified, some even expire but they are all loved and cared for by this effervescent enthusiast. Listen in as Fritz shares stories about his unique, varied and unusual fleet of vehicles (Swedish Army Unimog, anyone?) and the adventures he has had in them.

The SEMA Show is the place to see all the new, creative and innovative automotive products that power and transform the automotive industry. We meet Mike, a 17-year-old with health issues whose wish was to some day be able to attend the largest automotive aftermarket event in the world. The Make-A-Wish Foundation made Mike's dream come true and sent him to Las Vegas to take in the SEMA Show and we add to that dream by introducing him to legendary builder Chip Foose. We're also joined by SEMA VP of Marketing, Ira Gabriel, who tells us how anyone can attend SEMA Ignited—the official post show after party open to the public featuring many of the unique cars on display, the builders, food, music, celebrities and more. Our last guest is Brian Lohnes, co-founder and managing editor of BangShift.com, who also moonlights as a race announcer and has all kinds of cool stories to go with his cool announcer voice.

Our friend Mimi is the Executive Editor of Marin, a local lifestyle magazine for a county situated between San Francisco and California's wine country and one of the more affluent and well-educated populations in the United States. She was surprised to learn that a local chef drove a Pontiac GTO to the Farmer's market. She charged us to find other restaurateurs in the area that drove heavy metal. We speak with Ben Balesteri at Poggio Trattoria in Sausalito about his fabled 1970 Pontiac GTO. We then met Tim Humphrey at the Tiburon Tavern and talked about his 2010 Dodge Charger. Finally, Ged Robertson met us at Shoreline Café, one of his establishments, to discuss why he drives a 1970 Cadillac Fleetwood Convertible.

Every year, the staff of Motor Trend does extensive testing of dozens of new vehicles and awards the best overall Car, Truck and SUV in each category. Winning the Motor Trend Car, Truck or SUV of the Year award is one of the most coveted automotive honors around, and for good reason. No one goes as far as Motor Trend to fully evaluate and track-test vehicles to determine the single best vehicle in each category against six key criteria: advancement in design, efficiency, engineering excellence, performance of intended function, safety and value. This year, for the first time, Motor Trend announced the winners at a festive industry wide award ceremony. We speak with the recipients moments after they receive their award.

We revisit actor Ed O'Neill to check up on how he likes owning a Tesla. He also talks about his wife's new electric Fiat 500. However, the real reason we visit was allow him the opportunity to drive the all-new Mazda MX-5 Miata. He drives it for a day and he gives us his overall impression of the vehicle as well as how he believes it compares to his Porsche Boxster S. We also catch up with Hollywood car guy Josh Hancock again, this time on the Fox Studios lot to try to talk about upcoming movies and the cars they will feature. Josh can't divulge too much about the movies, but he shares lots about the new Petersen Museum and the cars he would recommend to the stars.

Charlie makes the annual mid-winter trek to Detroit for the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS). It's seems like it's never easy to get there but always worth the effort as the NAIAS is one of the most significant Auto Shows in the world. Who better to muse over this year's show then career auto journalist Paul Eisenstein, Publisher of The Detroit Bureau. Join a worn out Paul and Charlie as they recap the significant events and cars of NAIAS 2016.

Whiteroof Radio (WRR) is a podcast that for 10 years has talked all about MINI. Don Burnside ("db"), the host of WRR, joins us to share insights on all things MINI, podcasting and his love for Motor Trend Audio. Ralf also joins the show this week as a revenge visit. He had previously been on Episode #60 and wanted to defend his preference for sedans. Heck, he flew back over from Germany so we had to air his grievance...but only cause he's a fan of the show.