Cars and Comrades

The '70s and '80s were a wild time. Especially in North and South Carolina, where teenagers were driving school buses, and in North Korea, where the government was stealing Volvos. Back in the present, everyone's getting COVID, including three of us. Stay safe out there people! Main topic at 38:30 Email us with tips, stories, and unhinged rants: carsandcomrades@gmail.com // Our social media links...

Bryant went for a ride on the Denver Trolley, a restored old electric trolley car that runs a short route in downtown Denver, mostly for tourists, children, and rail nerds. More information here: http://www.denvertrolley.org/ // More photos here: https://www.instagram.com/p/CecnwD0Oot1/ // Email us with tips, stories, and unhinged rants: carsandcomrades@gmail.com // Our social media links etc: www...

Bill Lear invented radio equipment, the 8-track player, the Lear Jet, and founded the Vapordyne company to research steam-powered vehicles. Notable events in his life include working with a deposed monarch, naming his daughter after a lighting fixture, and the fateful purchase of a sailboat. Plus: Bryant contemplates e-bikes, Conner pisses off the neighbors, and Zach's Danger Ranger accumulates pr...

We get caught up with all the news about Elon Musk, gas prices, Ford's false advertising, giant trucks, and Carvana. But first: Zach has a weird encounter with a mechanic, Conner recaps an amateur drifting event, Bryant strips a wheel stud, and Brandon fights a brake bleeder. Main topic at 55 min Email us with tips, stories, and unhinged rants: carsandcomrades@gmail.com // Our social media links e...

Automation has been stealing working class jobs since the days of Ned Ludd, and Czinger is kicking it up a notch with their 3D printed car. You might think that your white collar engineering job is safe from automation, but the Czinger was largely designed by computers too. What does this mean for the future of work and the working class? Listen for our speculations. But first, project car updates...

Part seven (and the last) of our seven-part series on the life and work of Walter Reuther with the Turn Leftist podcast. Who was Walter Reuther and why might he be important to leftist car enthusiasts? Walter was a labor organizer who became the President of the United Auto Workers (UAW) as well as the Congress of Industrial Organisations (CIO). Walter had a broad vision for what the labor movemen...

We're back with more trikes, at various levels of scammyness and electrification. In the meantime we've managed to pick up a rival leftist car podcast. Main topic at 50:00 Email us with tips, stories, and unhinged rants: carsandcomrades@gmail.com // Our social media links etc: linktr.ee/CarsAndComrades // Music from the free album Polygondwanaland by King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard: kinggizza...

Why is the world of three-wheeled vehicles full of startups, scams, and sketchy shitboxes? We explore the early history of motorized trikes, from primitive microcars made of wood and leather, to rollover-prone economy cars made of fiberglass. Plus: Zach pines for the new Ford Maverick, Bryant and Brandon wonder at an old Maverick with a lawnmower carb, and Conner gives a quick update on the ongoin...

The ghost of Thomas Midgley Jr. fucked up the editing in an attempt to hide the truth about leaded gasoline, but we've fixed it now. Thanks to hexbear.net user comi for telling us about the problem. The new GR Corolla is here, making cool turbo noises and AWD burnouts! And Elon Musk continues to be a turbo-douche, this time in his attempt to buy twitter for some reason, ostensibly to do with “free...

Part six of our seven-part series on the life and work of Walter Reuther with the Turn Leftist podcast. Who was Walter Reuther and why might he be important to leftist car enthusiasts? Walter was a labor organizer who became the President of the United Auto Workers (UAW) as well as the Congress of Industrial Organisations (CIO). Walter had a broad vision for what the labor movement could achieve f...

Contrary to popular belief, not everyone living in the Soviet Union spent their free time staring at gray concrete walls and drinking vodka. People liked to have fun, and one of the most popular pastimes in the USSR was auto racing. In this episode we explore the history of Soviet racing, from tractor autocross in the ‘30s, to circuit racing in the ‘80s, with a brief diversion to talk about Cuba a...

The history of public transit in 20th century America was hugely impacted by the General Motors streetcar conspiracy, but was it solely responsible for the death of trolley networks, or were other forces at work? Has “real communism” really been tried? How is building communism like fixing your car? Is the Miata the most UwU car ever? We attempt to answer these questions and more in this week’s ep...

Before automobiles and buses, most city dwellers got around via streetcars. Also called trams, trolleys, or light rail, they are still a big part of mass transit today. In this episode we chart their evolution from simple horse-drawn carts to modern electric-powered trains, and explore how capitalism made them worse, and labor militancy made them better. But first we catch up on our project cars,...

Brandon's story about quitting Werner. Clip from our most recent episode, #39 - It MUSK Be Time For The News. Full episode here: https://rss.com/podcasts/carsandcomrades/398246/

Car related news for dialectical gearheads. This week we explore the Canadian anti-vaxx "trucker convoy" protests, discuss what does and doesn't make an owner/operator petite bourgeoisie, cover the misdeeds at various Elon Musk-owned companies, labor news from Mexico to Mississippi, and the totally unbiased hiring of Biden's niece as a lobbyist for GM. PS: Bryant used the wrong word for Roma peopl...

Part five of our deep dive into the life and work of Walter Reuther with Turn Leftist. This episode mostly covers the 1950s and Reuther's rise to the top of the UAW and CIO, and his brokering of the AFL-CIO merger. Who was Walter Reuther and why might he be important to leftist car enthusiasts? Walter was a labor organizer who became the President of the United Auto Workers (UAW) as well as the Co...

Part two of our exploration of the history of bicycles. This one mostly covers the 20th century, including ways that bikes were used in warfare, as transportation for billions of civilians, and for fun stuff like mountain biking. Main topic at 37 min Social media links etc: https://linktr.ee/CarsAndComrades Notes/Links/Sources: Wikipedia: History of the Bicycle // The Bikes of World War II // Swis...

Part four of our deep dive into the life and work of Walter Reuther with the Cars and Comrades. Who was Walter Reuther and why might he be important to leftist car enthusiasts? Walter was a labor organizer who became the President of the United Auto Workers (UAW) as well as the Congress of Industrial Organisations (CIO). Walter had a broad vision for what the labor movement could achieve for worki...

You might take it for granted that a bicycle has two spoked wheels with rubber tires, pedals, a chain, a diamond-shaped frame, and functional brakes, but this was not always the case. In this episode we explore the early history and development of the bicycle, and its evolution from a toy for rich douchebags to a catalyst of the feminist movement. We also complain about silly grad student projects...

Part two of our deep dive into the life and work of Walter Reuther with the Turn Leftist podcast. Who was Walter Reuther and why might he be important to leftist car enthusiasts? Walter was a labor organizer who became the President of the United Auto Workers (UAW) as well as the Congress of Industrial Organisations (CIO). Walter had a broad vision for what the labor movement could achieve for wor...

We've been busy working with Turn Leftist on the Walter Reuther episodes for over a month now, so we had some catching up to do on our various project cars. The supercharged Marlin that Bryant mentioned: https://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2011/07/b-f-e-gp-lemons-day-one-roundup-dodge-stealth-leads-626-and-supra-close-behind/#more-402082 Email us with tips, stories, and unhinged rants: carsandcomrad...

In which we discuss Lordstown Motors, Nikola, and other various electric car start-ups. Why are are most of them financially mis-managed yet valued in the billions? Does capitalism really breed innovation? Does Zach's truck still have green reverse lights? And what do electric cars have to do with the children's TV show Blue's Clues? Find out the answers to all these questions (and more) on this w...

We're posting this episode early because a lot has happened with Lordstown Motors in the last week, and most of it is bad news if you're invested in the company. We also discuss Tesla's creative stretching of the truth regarding the acceleration of their latest "Plaid" performance package, and an entitled asshole who thinks the law doesn't apply to him (not Elon Musk). Plus the latest mechanical f...

In which we express our annoyance and hatred of many of the sillier trends and fashions in the car world (mostly to do with ugly or tacky mods). After that we take a look at an unusual form of public transit, the Gyrobus (which sadly has nothing to do with Greek sandwiches). Thanks to hexbear.net user acealeam for suggesting this one (since the time since recording chapo.chat changed its name to h...

In this episode we catch up on our project cars, respond to some listener mail (46:28), discuss some dumb shitty gadgets that promise to improve your car's fuel economy and performance but do the opposite (1:09), and a few news stories (1:50). Complete Notes: https://web.archive.org/web/20211213042137/https://shoutengine.com/CarsComrades/improve-your-fuel-economy-and-defeat-patriarchy-wi-102055 No...