Cars That Matter

After a brief introduction, Robert takes a moment to marvel at the sheer number of Volkswagens that were produced (1:14) before Russell dives into the unexpected history of the 'people's car'...specifically the Beetle (3:02). Then Robert asks Russell to drill into the history of Volkwagen after the British involvement following WW2 with a man named Heinz Nordhoff (7:19) and VW's efforts to go inte...

After an introduction, Robert asks Diane to explain the goals and purpose of the Historic Vehicle Association (0:59), the qualifications that a car must meet to be included in the National Registry (3:47), and the process the vehicles must go through for documentation (5:07). Robert asks what types of vehicles are up for consideration (7:25) before Diane shares the stories of two of the most recen...

Robert begins by asking Brian to explain how he got into conservation, but more importantly, what conservation is and how it's different than restoration (1:14). Then, Brian shares how his early career spent working on carriage conservation (7:12) prepared him for his transition into 'industrial conservation' and his specialty with cars (9:43). Robert and Brian then discuss the unhelpful instinct...

After introductions, Robert asks David to detail his record-breaking Monterrey auction from August 2019 (2:59), then Bill asks David to review the step-by-step process for getting a car to auction (7:58). After a short break, Bill asks David to detail where his passion came from (12:43) and Robert asks David to take out his 'crystal ball' and take a peak at what's happening to the collector car ma...

Robert re-introduces Frank to the listeners and then asks for Frank to share his 'second' trip to Italy and the people he met there--a menagerie of stars in the world of Italian car design and manufacturing (1:25). After a quick break, Robert asks Frank to discuss the other car designers he met beyond Maserati's (11:25), then Frank pivots into the origins and impact of the Concorso Italiano (13:12...

After introductions, Frank explains the story of how he first connected with Maserati (2:03), before the two men discuss what makes the Maserati designs so special (7:08), and Maserati's emphasis on race car design (10:46). Then Robert asks Frank to talk about his experiences in restoring and driving Maseratis (14:21).  After a short break, Frank details the origins of the Maserati Informatio...

Robert kicks things off after some introductions by asking Jack to detail his family history with racing and cars (1:12), then Jack explains how he approaches and prepares for a race (4:05), before explaining the recently launched Roush iRacing League (5:16). Then, Jack shares his proudest racing moment (8:36).  After a short break, Jack explains the company origins and the services that Rous...

Robert Ross is joined (online) by Pete Evanow, author of the book "Nissan Z: 50 Years of Exhilarating Performance" to discuss Z history, the impact the six generations of the Z-Car had on the automotive industry, and what the future might look like in the collectible market. After introducing Pete, Robert shares his thoughts on Pete's book, "Nissan Z," and Pete shares how the book came to be (1:01...

Robert Ross is joined (online) by Jim Warlick, owner of "The American Presidential Experience," which is going to be auctioned off through Bonham's next month. The collection includes quite a few notable pieces, including two limos from JFK's presidency. Robert and Jim discuss the importance of those cars, their impact on history, and how the auction will benefit the Worker's Legacy Foundation whi...

After some brief introductions and conversation, Robert dives into "Gulf 917" and asks Jay to explain his love affair with the car and why it's such an important car--which has some interesting ties to Steve McQueen...(1:52) Then, Jay explains how the car series changed 'the game' in unexpected ways due to continuously changing 'rules' (6:14) before Robert asks for a quick rundown on what a '917'...

Robert and Curtis begin by considering why the Model T is important in history--and why it's important to themselves (1:16), as well as how the 'assembly line' revolutionized industry around the world (2:50). Then Robert asks Curtis to detail the cars specs (4:42) before 'taking us for a drive' (6:42) and talking about what exactly the car is capable of (9:14). Right before a break, the consider h...

Jay and Robert get right into things by reviewing Jay's earliest memories of cars (1:05) and how his unique education led him to Ford (3:57). Then Robert pivots to discuss the fifteen years that Jay spent working for Ford Motor Company and how the company's ethos continues to set the bar for other companies (5:45), an ethos that Jay was excited to discover with Embraer (8:28). After a short break,...

After a brief introduction and some shared memories about previous guest, Eddie Sotto, Jay and Robert focus in on how to define luxury and how that manifests itself in both the automotive and aerospace industries (1:50), then Jay explains how Eddie was key to connecting Robert and Jay by way of creating the Skyacht One (5:30), crafting the meticulous 'narrative' to showcase the Skyranch One (9:16)...

Robert jumps right in by asking David to elaborate on what SpeedKore's philosophies are before focusing on the company's predilection for Chargers (1:03), before having David review the cars of note his company has built, rebuilt, and enhanced (3:50). Then David explains why car owners should consider carbon fiber as an option for restoring or upkeeping their classic cars (9:16), considers the nee...

Wayne Carini, host of 'Chasing Classic Cars' on television and owner of F40 Motorsports joins Robert Ross (online) to discuss Wayne's talent for locating and restoring classic cars as well as his thoughts on the changing car collector industry.  After a brief introduction, Robert asks Wayne to go back to the beginning and share how his love of cars began and his unique history with the M...

After introducing Christophe, the men discuss Christophe's time with Bentley Americas, specifically the launch of the Continental GT (1:13) before deep-diving into the inspiration and history of the car and how it led to the New Continental GT and some of Bentley's technical features (3:53). Then Robert encourages Christophe to discuss Bentley's New Flying Spur and how it directly effected their p...

From Vintage Air: Jack Chisenhall, President and Founder, and recipient of the Petersen Lifetime Achievement Award, shares his experiences retrofitting older, classic cars with new systems, his time driving on the Bonneville Salt Flats, and what will be the future for 'historic cars'. After a brief introduction, Robert jumps straight to Jack's early love of cars and how he began his career of...

Robert and Andrew begin the conversation by discussing the purpose and origins of Lamborghini Club America (0:38) before diving into Andrew's personal history with the club (4:58) and how the club is organized and the unique benefits it provides for its members (9:25). After discussing how Andrew first began his passion Miuras (14:40) they get into the history of Lamborghini and people who made it...

Before jumping into the subject of Patrick's book, Robert and Patrick get to know each other by discussing when and how Patrick developed his passion for cars (0:24) and the start of Patrick's automobile concept art collection (4:44). The two men begin discussing some of the photos in Patrick's book showing what design studios were like for cars at the beginning, many of which were donated by GM a...

From Lamborghini to Porsche to Bentley and more: Car design - where has it been and where is it going? Robert Ross and Freeman Thomas, continue their conversation about the history, and more importantly, the future, of automotive design. Robert begins by discussing Freeman's career move from Volkswagen to Ford (0:40) and the importance of keeping the feel of driving an 'analog experience' (8:14)....

After an introduction, Robert kicks things off by recounting how the two men met over their love of Porsche (0:24), then Robert backtracks to find out how Freeman fell in love with cars and what led him to study design (3:35). Then Robert steers the conversation to focus on Freeman's time at Volkswagen where he designed the iconic New Beetle (11:10), after which Freeman relays his career move back...

After an introduction, Robert asks Paul (who joins the show from Newport Pagnell in England) to explain Aston Martin Works and what it means for car lovers (1:22) and the detailed archives that help in restoring old cars and preserving history (4:16) before moving onto the options in restoring your car (6:52). Then they move into Aston Martin's 'Continuation Cars' (11:47), review what makes the GT...

After a brief introduction, host Robert Ross dives into the subject of Chris' book (1:10) and the years after Shelby's infamous Les Mans race with Ford (4:08). Chris details the development of the Shelby Cobra after began working at Ford (7:13) before explaining the approach to modernizing the Daytona in the Gr.1 (10:49). Chris then relates some insights into what 'could have been' at the Ford com...

Robert Ross and Terry Karges begin their conversation by discussing the history of the Petersen Automotive Museum (1:26), the incredible people whose collective vision changed the museum to its present iconic build (5:40), and the museum's incredible collection (7:31). Then the two men turn their attention toward 'The Vault' (10:40) and then the process that led them to the museum's redesign (15:0...

Robert Ross and Eddie Sotto jump right back into their discussion by delving into Eddie's Rolls Royce car design meant to accompany the Skyacht, the Regatta(0:33) and then detour into Eddie's time with Ed Roth (4:50). Then Robert introduces Eddie's concept of "Form Follows Fantastic!" and asks him to elaborate (8:18). Then they shift gears to talk about the cars that Eddie's owned and ad...