Cars on Call

John McNamera, a small Buick/GMC dealer on Long Island stole $450mil from GMAC from 1980-1991 by selling 248,000 conversion vans that didn't exist. How did he get caught? GMAC finally figured out that the vans had no VINs. Steve-0 talks about it and how it happened right near where he grew up. Have you noticed the e-Bike boom? Our trauma surgeon Dr Stephan Moran talks about how they're jus...

A Chinese transport ship carrying electric cars across the Pacific Ocean catches fire and sinks, shades of the famous Felicity Ace that caught fire and sank three years ago in the Atlantic Ocean. The Chinese ship doesn't have a stripper name, but it sends the same message: transporting EVs by ship is dangerous and can cause ecologic disasters. Thanks to retired Ford CEO Alan Mulally the US has...

Dr Moran goes to Tuscany for a wedding. Now he wants to move there. Hyundai branding that even non-car enthusiasts get. That's smart. Automotive journalist Steve Schutz tested a Mercedes Maybach GLS recently. The guys discuss. Automotive safety: our trauma surgeon Dr Stephan Moran addresses "Swangers", window tinting, and other car mods that subtract from safety. Bottom line, don't do it. Thanks t...

Nissan bringing back the XTerra. We’ve been pushing for that and Nissan finally listened! Trauma surgeon safety. Dr Stephan Moran gives us another lesson in automotive safety from his unique perspective  Our automotive journalist Steve Schutz gives us tidbits from Q1 new light vehicle sales Dr Moran discusses the new 2026 Hyundai Palisade. Despite a dash of Range Rover, it looks distinctive and lu...

Dodge hints they're resurrecting their V8 engines including Hellcats. Yay! Trauma surgeon safety: fatalities on our highways are dropping, and Dr Moran discusses. We hope this trend continues. Doug DeMuro said Ford should make a Lincoln version of the Bronco, and we get into it. Like Doug, we think it would succeed. Ford please do this! Steve-0 spotted a mid-1980s Nissan Pulsar NX. What a weir...

Our trauma surgeon Dr Stephan Moran discusses the recent Trump tariffs (25% on imported vehicles). He hates them, and Steve-0 is mostly opposed. We hate higher prices for cars and parts, but we like manufacturing jobs coming back to America. Steve-0 spotted a 1992 Saturn SC2. Saturn was GM's 90's effort to compete with Honda and Toyota, which failed. We get into it. Dr Moran's safety s...

Adams and trauma surgeon Stephan Moran are away, so Steve-0 and his long time friend, automotive journalist Ed Barrett, discuss what it's like being an active and published member of the motoring press. Neither of us is famous like the writers from Car and Driver and Jalopnik, but we enjoy access to press cars and have been invited to many cool events. We talk about it. #carsoncallpodcast #aut...

Steve-0 spent a weekend in Newport Beach (the epicenter of SoCal's Orange County) and saw a lot of cool cars. We discuss. Our trauma surgeon Dr Stephan Moran talks about the safety advances that accompany active driver assistant systems (ADAS). He loves it but wants each system to include driver monitor systems (DMS).Adams introduces the topic of great cars let down by lousy engines. There are...

Our trauma surgeon Dr Stephan Moran talks 2025 Formula One. Will the great Lewis Hamilton win a championship for Ferrari? Stephan thinks so and tells us why. Noted car collector and consultant Adams Hudson thinks muscle cars are fading as desirable collector items and goes into why. Then Steve-0 discusses Audi's 14% sales drop from 2023 to 2024. Part of the reason for that drop can be found by...

Steve-0 runs down 2024 new car sales: BMW leads the luxury market with Lexus number 2, pickups still rule, BEVs are stalling, and hybrids are surging. Oh, 24,000 people bought cybertrucks?!! Our trauma surgeon Dr Stephan Moran gives some love to modern ADAS (active driver assistance system) systems. Thanks to better software and machine learning, ADAS has become less "Karen" and more &qu...

Nissan had their CEO Carlos Ghosn arrested and jailed in 2018. Now the company is on life support. Lesson to any major corporation anywhere in the world: Don't have your CEO jailed unless you absolutely have to. Our trauma surgeon Dr Stephan Moran discusses cars that have high death rates and why they do. Adams spots a new Aston Martin. Will Aston Martin survive or go the way of Nissan? We get int...

Adams went to the spectacular Chatanooga Auto Show and loved it. Luftgekuhlt was there along with an incredible array of gorgeous classic carsOur trauma surgeon Dr Stephan Moran discusses upcoming pedestrian safety regs that he thinks will save livesWe channel Mark Greene of Cars Yeah and pick the car we think we areAnd finally Steve-0 rants about how three Euro-trash owners, especially the Curren...

Steve-0 will be driving from Atlanta to Manchester-by-the-Sea, Mass in 2025 so he bought a 997 Gen Porsche 911 from Dick Barbour for the trip. He talks about it. Trauma surgeon safety: newly retired Air Force Colonel Dr Stephan Moran, MD talks about the Automated Emergency Braking state of the art. Bottom line, it's not ready yet. We found a published list of 50 underappreciated cars. The list...

A 991.2 Porsche Turbo S cabriolet (!!!) crashed during a law enforcement-sanctioned Sun Valley Idaho high speed event. The driver and his passenger (!!!) crashed at approximately 205MPH, and miraculously lived (although they were both severely injured). Why a cabriolet and why with a passenger?!! Wtf?!! Our trauma surgeon Dr Stephan Moran weighs in with unique insights. Listeners/viewers, don'...

This is the first of three special episodes focusing on the legendary AC Shelby 427 Cobra. Stephan has owned a Unique Motocars 427 replica and is currently building an ERA Narrow Hip 427 Street. Bobby Crumpley is a Ford enthusiast, former guest, and sold the highest result for an ERA Street on BAT that he built. Adams who has owned everything but a Cobra, joins in. In this episode we talk about th...

Trauma surgeon Stephan Moran MD is away, so Steve-0 and Adams take over CoC. Steve-0 argues that 2024 seems a lot like how things were 50 years ago. Adams describes his experiences at the high quality Highlands car show in North Carolina and the national PCA parade #carsoncallpodcast #steveautos

Cars on Call is going bi-weekly. We think this will provide a better product, and we hope our listeners and viewers will agree. Adams is away this week. He'll be back, but we miss his incisive wit and insightful commentary. Autobahn Adventures is a travel company that arranges trips to Europe that involve driving new Porsche 911s at high speed on the autobahn, spectacular tickets to watch the...

Car spotting — Adams saw a New VW GTI and loved how it’s a cool sporty car for everyone  Steve-0 talks about Air Water Porsche show in Orange County, Ca Adams Nissan Z rant  - They took a great car and ruined it! Steve-0 rant — Robert Eaton was a momentous figure in the auto industry, and not for good. If not for him Chrysler would be alive and American rather that Euro and dying Crazy car deals —...

New Renault Alpine A110s were spotted testing in Fla. Will the divine A110 come to the US? We definitely hope so! 5/1/2024 is the 30th anniversary of Aryton Sennas death. We discuss this great and complicated figure. Trauma surgeon safety The Porsche 911 turbo turns 50 this year. We say happy birthday! Adams talks about its history and evolution then lists the 5 most collectible models. And then...

News: Supra isn’t selling. Just 484 in Q1, less than 671 Nissan 400Zs (and way less than 1930 Porsche 911s or 8600 Corvettes). Car spotting: the sublime 2018 Lexus GSF. Better than that year's BMW M5? Trauma surgeon safety Infiniti is now irrelevant as a luxury brand. After starting at the same time (and in the same place) as Lexus in 1989 they went from promising newcomer to not quite keeping...

#carsoncallpodcast #steveautos #traumasurgeonsafety We celebrate the Ford Mustang's 60th birthday! Stephan goes through the original pony car's 60 years, generation by generation. Steve-0 talks new Mustang sales: spoiler alert, it sells way better than its competitors, the Chevy Camaro and Dodge Challenger, both of which are going away. Then Adams gives us a list of the most collectible Mu...

A new Toyota 4Runner is coming and we have a lot to say about it. Adams spotted a Gen 2 Toyota MR2. He likes it, but Steve-0 doesn't. Trauma surgeon Stephan Moran MD talks self-driving cars, starting with the recent Tesla settlement with the family of an Apple engineer who died behind the wheel of a Model X using Autopilot in California, and moving on to active driver assistance systems (ADAS)...

News: Q1 new car sales highlights: Bronco/full size pickup sales down, small regular and luxury crossovers up, Maverick killing it. Adams spots an early 2008 Mercedes SLR McLaren. Both companies expected big success, but things didn't turn out that way. Our trauma surgeon Dr Stephan Moran talks about the recent decrease in highway deaths and how we have a long way to go to reach zero deaths (w...

News: Easter wknd is *the* Jeep off road event of the year in Moab, UT. Jeep typically brings a few concepts for their most active fans, and this year they brought 4 good ones. Trauma Surgeon Safety: CoC trauma surgeon Stephan Moran, MD talks about automated driving systems and why they don't work unless they come with robust driver monitoring systems. Car spotting: Adams spots and discusses t...

Ford halted production of their best-selling F-150 because sales are softening. GM and Ram are also experiencing a slow down in sales of their full size pickups. We blame climbing interest rates and higher prices. Trauma surgeon safety: CoC trauma surgeon Dr Stephan Moran discusses the fact that the well-publicized death of billionaire Angela Chao in a submerged Tesla Model X was complicated by th...