RoundAbout: Car Culture and Auto News with a Different Spin

Anybody and everybody is somebody, even nobody, on this week’s episode of RoundAbout, #41, the (you probably already guessed it) “Body” episode. Our intrepid panel dives into a wide-array of stories, discussing everything from an artist that turned his Lada’s rusted-out body into a robotic sculpture to how video game fanatics can virtually test-drive the Chevy Volt … with their bodies. We also take a look at North Korea and how the isolated hermit kingdom is making a new push to go green, possibly to clean up its tarnished image, PLUS we get a first-hand recap of E3, the Electronic Entertainment Expo, that recently wrapped in Los Angeles, California. Learn more about Microsoft’s innovative Xbox 360 Kinect and some of the hottest new automotive game titles coming down the pike. All that and a whole lot more on this week's stupendous installment of RoundAbout, #41, The 'Body' Episode.

Once again, our fearless leader Craig Cole has fled the country in search of weinerschnitzel and pretzels, but filling the void in his stead is none other than Rumblestrip, himself, Eric Trytko. This week Eric gets his Lawrence Welk vibe going as he takes RoundAbout into uncharted territory for the 'Bubbles and Water' episode. The Hydrokultur Nios and Zooop EV bring foretell a future populated by "bubble cars." Meanwhile, a UK study reveals that using water instead of windshield wiper fluid could literally kill you--and we don't mean from poor visibility. Then we talk about a bubble in the stock market that just may burst all over Toyota and Tesla. All that and more, plus our Blind Spot uncovers a vehicle that is very literally one horsepower and we play a waterlogged edition of our favorite game The Price is CORRECT!

Just like a RoundAbout intro crafted by Craig Cole, sometimes you never know what you’re going to get. Due to unprecedented popularity (Read: No theme ideas) we offer up our second-ever “Grab-Bag” episode. That's right, second! A Chinese intersection where no one follows traffic laws is a bundle of slow-motion hilarity. A Jeep CJ and a Miata get together to produce an unspeakable monstrosity. Porsche sees MINI's Road Atlanta challenge and raises it an FU. There's a lot to enjoy in this week’s supersized, especially random installment of RoundAbout, The 'Grab Bag' Episode - Mk II. Enjoy!

Whether you’ve washed your hair with soap because you ran out of shampoo, built a canoe out of drywall or even resorted to eating haggis, we’ve all had to make do at one point or another. Join the RoundAbout gang this week as they barely scrape by in the 38th installment of the show. If you’ve ever wanted to own a thoroughbred sports car but just don’t have the means, listen in to learn about a pedal-powered Porsche replica that’s built out of crap you’re guaranteed to have lying around the house. Talk about making do with what you’ve got! In similar fashion, a group of Chinese students built a replica Bugatti Veyron out of … wait for it … cigarette packs! Learn about the hilarious vanity license plate that one tree-loving arborist wanted to snag for his ride. Too bad the Michigan Secretary of State said “no plate for you!” Now he has to make do with something else. Enjoy all that and a whole lot … well, some more on this week’s awe-inspiring episode of RoundAbout, #38, the “Scraping By” episode.

Just like Noah’s Ark the RoundAbout crew goes biblical this week with an animal-themed extravaganza. Please, join us for the “All God’s Creatures Great and Small” episode with a lineup of critter-inspired news stories. Find out what road had to be shut down because of a plague of frogs! Then we tackle the rumor that Dodge is dropping its long-standing ram’s-head logo. Is it going back to the Star of David? After that we take a look at a new and super-secrete type of engine that’s designed to power unmanned aerial vehicles. All that and more, plus we chat about Mercury meeting the Grim Reaper in our BLIND SPOT Story of the Week followed by a peek IN THE GARAGE where, among other vehicles, we talk about the (de)merits of the smart fort-wo (ugh) again. Make sure your generic-brand ear buds are firmly seated in your listening organs then crank up the volume on your no-name MP3 player, this is RoundAbout number 37, the “All God’s Creatures Great and Small” episode.

“Why don’t you pull into my garage and tell me how that makes you feel?” Join the RoundAbout crew this week for another wild, wacky and mildly off-putting episode of the most God-damn stupendous podcast ever. This week we delve into the frightening inner workings of the human mind with the “Psy-Car-Logy” episode. On the docket: those crazy Dutch make bizarre concessions to panic-stricken people taking their driving test. “Isn’t that weird?” A thief admits that stealing cars is a better high than meth. Who knew? And do airbags cause more harm than good? All that and more, plus Volvo has an embarrassing mishap during a safety demonstration which we discuss in our “Stupid Car Trick” segment. So skip your meds, restrain yourself or just do what the voices in your head have been whispering all along, listen to this week’s installment of RoundAbout, the “Psy-Car-Logy” episode, but don’t take my word for it.

Change the oil, check the tire pressure and fill the tank, we’re going on a road trip! Join Miss Motor Mouth herself, Michelle Naranjo; producer Ben Sanders; and host Craig Cole for another dazzling installment of RoundAbout, “The Ultimate Road Trip” episode. We’ve decided to do a tweet-up meet-up in the center of the lower 48 states near the town of Sidney, Nebrasky. We’ve each picked our favorite vehicle to drive and some interesting items to bring along for the ride. One of us would make the trip in Russia’s hottest new SUV. We discuss the merits of a portable food-cooking machine that’s nothing short of friggen’ sweet. We delve into the perverted and unspeakable lengths one Australian woman went to to try and get a new car … or rather, two cars. Lern everything you never wanted to know about oil with our "Tip of The Week." And is Michelle going to be a grandma soon? There's only one way to find out. Join us as we discuss all of that PLUS a whole-lot-more-than-you-can-probably-handle-in-one-sitting on RoundAbout, “The Ultimate Road Trip” episode.

Pucker up for this week’s installment of RoundAbout, the “Love” episode. Join the usual suspects PLUS Colin Bird of the Auto Bird Blog as they square off for a lively, and in this case, long-winded discussion about an array of automotive topics and news tidbits. What are some of the signs the honeymoon is over with your new vehicle? Listen in to find out. Saudi Arabia loosens certain restrictions on men and women traveling together in the same car. How salacious! Going against the grain, one supplier company believes that manual transmissions will be making a comeback. The ultimate automotive fanboy gets an unbelievably elaborate headstone modeled after an ultimate driving machine when he pulls into the big parking lot in the sky. All that and more, plus we talk about the Cadillac CTS-V In The Garage and we look for a correlation between how fast men drive and the size of their exhaust pipes, if you catch my drift, with another edition of Psy-Car-logy. Get some protection! It’s time for RoundAbout number 34, the “Love” episode.

This week on RoundAbout the gang dives into a selection of spooky and macabre news stories in the “Life After Death” episode. A Puerto Rican motorcyclist gets a creepy sendoff atop his beloved two-wheeled machine. Chrysler tries to resuscitate its moribund Sebring with a last-minute name change, but little does the company know, the Grim Reaper cannot be cheated. “Dr. Death’s” vintage Volkswagen van goes up for sale, but some people (cough – eBay – cough) have no sense of humor. In the Garage is devoted to the 2011 Ford Fiesta now that the embargo has finally lifted. All that and more, plus we break ground with a brand-new segment called Unsolicited Advice where we help people in the market for a new – or not so new – vehicle find the one that’s best for them. Just like $0.10 wing night at your favorite dive bar you do not want to miss out on this week’s exhilarating installment of RoundAbout, the "Life After Death" episode.

Just like Tom Hanks in that movie from the ‘90s, sometimes you never know what you’re going to get. Whether you’re a prospector panning for gold, a would-be member of high society scratching off a lottery ticket in hopes of winning big or you’re forced into an office gift exchange during the holidays, the outcome of your efforts, or luck, is never certain. For lack of a better option, this week on RoundAbout we venture into uncharted territory with an unusually eclectic theme in our first-ever “Grab-Bag” episode. Submitted for discussion this week, a man in the UK gets busted for drunk driving in something ridiculous. We find a C3 Chevy Corvette that’s received some unusual chassis work. Plus we talk about Audi’s sexy new drop-top when we go In The Garage. All that and more on this week’s installment of RoundAbout, The 'Grab Bag' Episode. Enjoy!

We’ve all done it, or rather, had to do it – and some of us more than others. We may have started our careers scouring burnt pudding off of nursing home kitchen equipment; we may have even been forced to serve time in a half-way house for a little run-in with Johnny Law, either way we’ve all had to pay our dues in one capacity or another. This week on RoundAbout we invite you to pay up or shut up with a lineup of stories ranging from absurd to astounding. An English woman flips her driver’s training car on her second time out on the road motorway. One unfortunate man gets socked with a $200 fine for being the victim of a rear-end collision. And a group of youngsters has to serve some time for an innocent car-to-car paintball fight that turns tragic, sort of. We also go all Battlestar Galactica in our Blind Spot story of the week, plus we chat about what we’ve been driving In The Garage. With RoAb-regular Jeffrey Ross out of action (he’s getting married, finally) we invited muscle-car fanatic and blogger Dave Braddock to take his place. Also making the rounds is the auto mainstremist himself, Eric Trytko, as well as Miss Motor Mouth, played by Michelle Naranjo. Autoblog writer Zach Bowman, Producer Ben Sanders and host, Craig Cole are also on hand.

The group is back for this magical episode, now available at an unbelievable price: free. Isn't that great? Isn't that wonderful? In honor of the amazing iPad we bring you the 'Game Changer' episode. An aftermarket installer is the first to embed an iPad into the dash of a Toyota Tacoma despite the device's lack of 3G or GPS. Rooster Teeth sees if a real-life truck can really be driven effectively in third-person view as it would be in a video game. A fully-functional Bugatti Veyron made out of LEGOs not only drives but can retract its hard top and shift gears. All that and more, plus our Blind Spot this week asks what's more dangerous: a woman driver, an old one or perhaps both, we play another riveting round of Meet Your Roadmates, and we take calls from the RoAb Hotline!

This week we bring you something a little different as we offer a RoundAbout-style NY Auto Show wrap up. We'll go through all the big reveals and announcements coming out of New York this year. So join us as we give you all the info you need to know.

This week our own Zach Bowman goes from the frying pan into the bubbling cauldron as he grabs the reigns from Craig Cole and dutifully attempts to steer RoAb in the right direction. But it turns out that Mr. Bowman isn't the only one In Hot Water this week. A mysterious driver (or is he?) destroys a Zonda incurring nearly half a million in damage--and it's still not totaled. Toyota, already feeling the heat over some gas pedal thingy, decides to go scuba diving in the bubbly depths when it decides to cheat in racing. A driver gets absolutely steamed when he sees an Obama bumper sticker and attempts to remove it the hard way. All that and more, plus our Blind Spot brings us a story of crocodile-skinned Bentleys, Zach and Steven Ewing pit VW Golf gasoline and diesel versions head-to-head, and it's time once again for your favorite game show--this week, the West Coast edition!

Well, Jesse James' Cinnabun has been lost and found (again). Turns out it was a red-letter week for pets and automobiles, and so we bring you the 'Pet' episode. A cat lady is fined thousands for keeping a herd of unsanitary creatures in her car. An ambitious dog mauls a couple of Crown Vics, tearing off the bumper and biting through the tires of one of them. An '88 Scirocco even gets the Pet-Project treatment when it's modified, Mr. Fusion-style, to run off old coffee grounds. All that and more, plus we get a Stupid Car Trick double-header featuring out of control semis, Meet Your Roadmates returns with a Misunderstood Classics edition, and the ever-educational Tip of the Week is here again.