Car-Chum

Send Car-Chum a Text What are the last two cars you drove?  Not your everyday conveyance, obvs.  That was the plan for this edition.  And I stuck to it.  My auto-journalist, Car-Chum Mike kind of did his own thing to do with Bugattis.  That was no bad thing though and it all made it through the edit on the grounds of being jolly interesting.  A Bentley, a Tesla and a terrible joke all feature alon...

Send Car-Chum a Text The forgotten and the obscure.  Brands and models you might never have heard of.  But, worry not, Tony and his Car-Chum Mike have heard of them and accidentally demonstrate a little knowledge here and there.   So, listen and learn along with this episode of Car-Chum! Support the show

Send Car-Chum a Text Ever dreamt of taking to the water?  All that freedom, tranquillity and relaxation.  What if you could drive to the sea, river or pond and just…well, carry on driving straight in?  That’s freedom for sure, but maybe not so tranquil or relaxing.  This week Tony and his Car-Chum Mike explore the niche world of the amphibious car.  Ahoy! Support the show

Send Car-Chum a Text Before you tick the box, ask yourself do you really need a subwoofer in a Smart Car?  Or a built-in vacuum cleaner in your Honda?   Options:  they’re a great online pastime and a real manufacturer money maker.  But which should you choose, and which should you lose?  Tony and Mike are your guides on this week’s Car-Chum. Support the show

Send Car-Chum a Text Licences of all sorts – and yes, that’s spelled correctly – I checked!  From birds to trucks and booze to tests, this episode covers everything you (don’t) need to know about vehicular licences.  Not just licenses, mind:  training and testing, too.  It’s all here on this week’s edition of Car-Chum. Support the show

Send Car-Chum a Text This week’s big announcement is Car-Chum confirming its 2022 availability to officiate at closing ceremonies.   Also, Tony is proven right on Romanian pronunciation, he gets all thoughtful about the future and promises to spend more time on his motorbike.  Meanwhile Mike surprises everyone by reviewing some big new car releases for panned for the year ahead.   The Car-Chums do...

Send Car-Chum a Text From CarPlay to coaches, this week’s Car-Chum podcast has it all.  How about robotised manual gearboxes from Saab (the Sensonic, remember them?), a daily driving Model T and a Golf GTI chase with a 1950s Bristol?  Yep.  All of that, too.  Ferraris, fat Lexuses and Dacias all duke it out for a coveted page on this year’s Car-Chum Calendar. Support the show

Send Car-Chum a Text Ever wondered what the Coke Truck is in real life – a Freightliner, Scania or Kenworth?  Or how about which car Chris Rea was in when he wrote ‘Driving Home For Christmas’.  And what type of Dodge was it that the Beach Boys said Santa used to deliver gifts?  Somehow, a Volvo 340, Chrysler Alipne, Skoda Estelle, Lotus Sunbeam, Reliant Robin and a Renault Alliance 11 also make a...

Send Car-Chum a Text I mean, it is as amazing as it sounds.  Much like the mildly unpopular Engine Size Quiz 1; just more American as the capacities get bigger.  This week, Tony challenges Mike to join him in naming a make and model for every size of engine – picking up from where we left off in Episode 8 – 3 litres.  Bonus points for interesting anecdotes and facts…who wins this round? Support th...

Send Car-Chum a Text Ever felt as is a car has over-promised and under-delivered, or under-promised and over-delivered?  If so, you’ve picked the right episode of Car-Chum. This week Tony and Mike pick out some of their favourite hits and misses.  Mercs and Audis vie for attention with Porsche 912s and NSUs.   From the USA to Germany and from Japan to the Isle of Man, there’s delight and disappoin...

Send Car-Chum a Text Luckily Tony and Mike don’t like revelling in mistakes, missteps and rubbish – unless it’s of their own making.  So despite the title, all – well almost all – is positive in this week’s Car-Chum.  What could have been a morose memorial to Mitsubishi in the UK was more celebratory of their achievements and 50% of the Car-Chum team thinks the Tigra is a good design.  See?  Posit...

Send Car-Chum a Text For the love of driving.  Great machines that delight and maybe surprise.   Tony and Mike pick a few favourites: some driven from the back, some from the front, a couple driven at the Nürburgring, one at Castle Combe, some on road and one on rally stages.   Add some Jaguar Daimler Heritage Trust specials – like the Austin Powers Shaguar, plus the A8 Ronin chase and you’ve got...

Send Car-Chum a Text Tony and Mike discuss cars that *may be bought by default for reasons beyond talent alone.  You know – the trinket, the must have, the be seen in.  And at the other end, cars that are bought because everyone learns in them.  Yes, Nissan Micra, you. I’ve also looked at Citroen’s new Ami while Mike has driven a converted 2CV.  Fear not though, that’s somewhat countered by Chevy...

Send Car-Chum a Text Just a decade ago the sky was blue, the sun shone every day and you could buy any car you wanted for sixpence.  So why didn’t we?  This week, Mike joins Tony again to kick off the new series by dwelling on the recent past!  All the cars we could have bought – nee should have bought and a few that we’re glad we didn’t.  That, plus much more of course, in this week’s Car-Chum. ...

Send Car-Chum a Text Well, it was supposed to be a sneak peak behind the scenes, but we soon discovered there wasn’t much to see.  So Mike talked about models and car chases while I went for car brochures and press cars.  I’d like to say it’s better in reality than description… Support the show

Send Car-Chum a Text How we dart seamlessly between a humble 1.3litre Cavalier and a mighty seven hundred horse Hellcat has to be heard to be believed.  Chuck in a couple of Matras, a Manta, Mercedes and an M1 and you have this week's Car-Chum. Support the show

Send Car-Chum a Text A new take on a variety show this week for CarChum.  It started out as cars that just missed the mark, but ended up with a Skoda Felicia Pickup and a couple of average travel guides.  And then there’s motorbikes, trains, busses and lorries.  Probably the only things missing are planes.   Support the show

Send Car-Chum a Text I name a capacity; you name a car, model and preferably a fact that is both a fact and interesting.  Add to that a no-Google guarantee. Sounds like fun, no?  If you like that sort of thing.  Luckily Tony and Mike do like that kind of thing and even accidentally displayed a hint of knowledge.  Loads of brands, loads of models, a few things you might not have known before.  That...

Send Car-Chum a Text A pet peeve of mine – jumbled junk in the car – particularly stuff that doesn’t really do anything useful.  It’s not just accessory shops that are guilty; manufacturers, too, can get a little carried away.   It’s not all iffy though: ever heard of a Vibrasonic, do you know who designed the interior of the first Dicovery, and which cars have umbrellas?  You’ll be blessed with a...

Send Car-Chum a Text If you’re looking for the most complex description of Saab’s model line up and numbering system or you enjoy questionable renditions of ‘Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off’, allow me to recommend this week’s edition of Car-Chum.  If you want a considered and serious digest on second generation car models like Ford’s Capri, the C2 Corvette, Mercedes W210 E Class and the Jaguar MkII...

Send Car-Chum a Text The height of fashion and cutting edge social media trailblazing for Tony and Mike this week as the chums reveal the cars that influenced their formative automotive years.  From the Ford Country Squire to Fiat 131 Mirafiori, from the Vauxhall Senator to the DeLorean DMC-12 – this episode has it all.   Support the show

Send Car-Chum a Text Mike teaches Tony how to say Alpine (as in A110), Tony teaches Mike how to say Pallas.  And was Marcus Tandy’s A610 really an Alpine when it blew up in the last episode of BBC’s Eldorado? Support the show

Send Car-Chum a Text Exploding aircon, taped-over service lights, dogleg gearboxes and stationery Rover P6s.  It’s a quality start for Car-Chum.  Support the show

Send Car-Chum a Text Tony accidentally stumbles on Mike’s favourite subject – cars of TV and Film fame.  Turns out, he knows rather a lot about it.   Ghostbusters, James Bond, Dukes of Hazzard, Inspector Morse and, of course, The Blues Brothers all feature on this star-studded episode of Car-Chum. Support the show

Send Car-Chum a Text Swedish-square design, dependable dating and tiny wheels all feature along with an unbreakable Range Rover Classic and the marvellously mundane Sierra, Montego and Volvo 240.   Support the show