Hooniverse

Matt Farah of The Smoking Tire stepped off the catamaran and onto our podcast the other day. Our conversation took a meandering course starting with the premise that real luxury is going to mean "handmade." We talked about Matt's Boxster Spyder and Meyers Manx before taking a tack into sailing dinghies on Long Island Sound and the benefits of catamaran tourism. There's a lot of r...

It's the perfect follow-up to last week's Vault episode with Jonny Lieberman. Ross spent a week with the gas-powered 2026 Dodge Charger R/T Scat Pack, which was a hot topic when they talked last August, too. In addition to the driving impressions, we talk about the state of the industry amid an absolute storm of fast-moving events. EVs may be dead. Or they may be ready for greatness. Give...

Like a forgotten board tape from a Grateful Dead show (did Ithaca '77 ever actually happen?) this episode got lost under the seat of the digital Microbus that drives the Hooniverse. Jonny Lieberman joined Ross in August 2025 for a wide-ranging conversation that covered his fledgling Youtube channel Driving With Jonny , the ICE-powered Dodge Charger, wristwatches for all you horologists, and fi...

Vaughn Gittin Jr. joins the Hooniverse Podcast to talk about the latest with RTR, and it's a lot.  We talk about:  Restoring his original S13 and 2005 Mustang drift cars Factory Mustang RTR and Bronco RTR models straight from Ford RTR Spec models and what it takes to build out a specialist manufacturing operation.   And we finish up with a solid discussion of this year's King of the Hammer...

Have you ever spotted a prototype or test mule in the wild? Ross ran into the Porsche Cayenne EV on a California canyon road. Not literally. Dan and Ross talk about the encounter that seemed to spook the Porsche drivers, and then move on to the GMC Yukon Denali and finishing with some project Lexus GX and four-wheeling updates.

It all started with a Buick GNX. Dan and Ross catch up in this episode inspired by Hooniverse editorial chatter. And we branch off from there to talk about how nostalgia isn't harmless. While in California, Ross saw a Porsche Cayenne EV test mule up-close while it was in the care of some very shy engineers. Driving impressions include the BMW i7 M70 and Cadillac Lyriq-V.

Dan and Ross chat with Jack and Mark from Savagegeese about their comparison test of the ultra-high performance Corvette ZR1, Mustang GTD, and 911 GT3RS

It was going so well, until that glitch. While the show is cut short, there's still an hour of Ross and Dan talking about project car updates, a couple of things that caught our interest while SEMA news was dropping, and the outlook for EVs. PLUS! we tease the guest for our next episode (their name starts with "S" and rhymes with "savagegeese." That's right, we'll b...

On the latest episode of the Hooniverse Podcast,  XPEL’s  James Melfi and Steve Janisse join to talk PPF and more than you ever thought you wanted to know about window tint films, the technical details and engineering that goes into them, and of course, what the crew is driving and some recent news items. There’s never a shortage of opinions, and you’ll get smart about PPF; talk about a win-win! C...

Ross catches up with Patrick Costello, showrunner of the re-booted Ice Road Truckers series

Ross, Chris, and Kamil are back with Episode 374. Recorded in July and then slow walked (by...you know who you are); it's ready for your ear holes. Adventures, off-roading, hauling with a Wagoneer, Ginetta racing, and is that rear slider powered or non powered?

Our brief hiatus is over! Ross Ballot, Chris Tracy, and Kamil Kaluski introduce some format changes for Hooniverse Podcast 373

Like a project car on blocks, sometimes it takes longer than you'd expect to get rolling again. Here's our first episode of 2025, and we start it off with guest Doug DeMuro to talk about the enthusiast and new car market and some favorite recent drives. It's a conversation that takes a lot of twists and turns, but is never boring. Listen now! Patternicity video clip from Niles Heckman used with pe...

Here's a snack for your ears. We've packaged all the intros since our relaunch into a single episode. We’re proud of our new format, and we think you’ll like this treat. Full show links are below. We’ll be back soon with the first Hooniverse Podcast episode of 2025. Sounds Great, Still Filling? Welcome to the new Hooniverse Podcast! Hooniverse Podcast Episode 367: You Could Just Not Hooniverse Pod...

Nobody in Boston had heard from Halifax for much too long.  Something was wrong up there. And it was bad. It was a traffic accident with a two-mile blast radius. Roads were impassable. Railways were twisted. People resorted to digging with their hands to get to trapped victims. And that night, a blizzard buried the city in two feet of snow.  And it was the event that began a yearly tradition of gr...

Short circuit nature and you’re gonna get a shock eventually.  Despite the mutual love and deep respect between man and beast, the fact remains: Sometimes they bite you.

Novelty and improvement are strange bedfellows.  Most of the time you get one or the other. And improvement might just mean a bump in short term revenue or stock price bump.  A new AND better experience for you?  Those are the rare ones.  Here’s some new things we’ve seen lately. You decide what kind of an improvement they are.

Come with us as we explore this through-line in both the figurative and literal senses, touching on topics like new car sales, market trends, and the imminent demise of a storied designer’s latest attempt at branding. And who remembers the Plymouth Prowler?

When you’ve got an illuminated 7-foot-tall middle finger on a pole, it’s pretty clear.  The main issue is a denied building permit, but the giant obscene gesture? Totally allowed. The State can’t stop it.  It’s been there since 2018, and it’s probably not what Vermont legislator Ted Riehle had in mind when he pushed through the state’s billboard ban 55 years ago. The Finger’s not a billboard, and...

We're back after a short break... and Ron has been working on his cars! We also talk about Pikes Peak and I've got a new show to tell you all about as well.

Hey, we talk about actual automotive news in this one! On the list of things we cover, we've got the 2024 Ford Ranger Raptor, Hyundai N Vision 74 Concept, Toyota Tacoma about to be revealed, Lamborghini Sterrato, and an R34 Nissan Skyline that sold for crazy money.

Ron and I wander through a few fresh auction results from Bring-A-Trailer. We discuss Ron's potential switch-up of his automotive objects of desire. I tease a new project. Then we dive into your questions. Links from the show: https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1967-ford-mustang-fastback-140/ https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1984-500sl-mini-go-kart-by-lorinser/ https://bringatrailer.com/listin...

We get right into it... I sold the Jag. My 1986 Jaguar XJ6 with the Chevy V8 swap was offered for sale on Cars and Bids, and the auction result was awesome. The car has now traded hands and my garage is empty for the time being. It's time to focus on the Montero and maybe finally get the Mercedes wagon up and running. After we talk about the Jag, we move into the Instagram questions.

Our guest today is Patrick Costello. He's a television producer that's handled a lot of automotive content, including Top Gear USA. His most recent project, however, is the new show Rennervations. This is a build show on Disney+ with big ambitions and it's hosted by Jeremy Renner.

Ron and I talk about: The Dodge Demon 170 Genesis G90 E-Supercharged Mercedes EQS SUV Ron talks about his work trip, I give quick updates on the Jag and the Montero, and then we dive into Instagram questions.