The Avants Podcast

Of all the places you might be the most excited and yet most nervous to go to, it’s your Senior Prom. After that it’s probably driving the Nürburgring. This episode is all about getting prepped and ready to go to The Green Hell and back without going broke. We brought in 3 experts to help you out: Tom Roberts, Aaron Kerson, and Curtis Creager.

On this special episode we introduce Leif Bergerson, the newest member of the Avants staff! Leif is helping us run things in California, so we thought it would be best if we introduced him on video. You can still listen in here of course, but if you want to see Leif be sure to check out the Avants YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2QdvcrxWMb0i8Ix1ezpVVg

Dan has a new Raptor coming in March, so of course the mods have already started in January. In this episode we're chatting about those mods that start before your new vehicle even arrives. As odd as this sounds, we actually think it's worth to have some parts waiting and ready to be installed. What mods are you doing before you get your car?  In addition to that, the trailer is already getting it...

Read that again; Colleen Sheehan got to ride to school in a McLaren F1. No matter how cool you think you are, you didn't get to ride to school in a McLaren F1. So now that we got that out of the way, she's also an absolute authority on everything Ferrari and probably has more seat time on the track than most of us do on the road! 

We often thought the glory days of cheap performance cars were behind us, but performance comes in at bargain basement prices today. In this episode we discuss what we think are the real bargains today, and find out we were wrong all along in real time.  In 1994 the Mustang Cobra was $22,425 and had a whopping 240 horsepower, did 0-60 in 5.9 second, and ran a 14.7 second 1/4 mile. Today, the Ford...

We welcome back official Avants Magazine Editor-in-Chief Karl Noakes! Karl is on a rare break from IMSA and chats with us about his new M2, the Hagerty not-so-hot list of 2023, and we all compare our old-man back injuries! It's always a good time when Karl is here!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to everyone! Our long, lost Megan returns to us to join us for Shop Talk this week and we talk all about squashing nuts, the new studio, Borla's electric "exhaust", R8 build updates, and our very adult Christmas lists! Also, if anyone is selling a BAC Mono, let Dan know. 

The Tonkin name is definitely a northwest staple and Brendan Tonkin didn't fall far from the family tree. Brendan talks to us all about the new Ineos Grenadier, track time with dad, overlanding, and more, all while his dog became best friends with Nick while we recorded. Brendan has some big plans for Grenadier owners, so we'll check back with him this summer for more exciting updates.  We also go...

How big of a hammer do you need when you race Baja in a Porsche 911? We seek to answer important questions like these as we chat with James Manning from Rothsport about Baja, Porsches, and…GIN! Not only does James do awesome things like race Baja, but he also is the owner of The Falls Distilling and makes some damn good gin!

With 55 years in the business, Heckmann & Thiemann have seen it all. We get all the good stories from President and CEO Phyllis Thiemann and Master Technician Bryan Reeves. We talk about the stuff classic Porsche people don’t usually like to in this episode like the Cayenne, Boxster, and even RWB, dive into the topic of the air-cooled boom and how it has impacted owners who bought “cheap” 911s...

We went down to Portland to visit some of our Avants friends and partners to the south! This week we finally got to chat with one of the smartest and nicest people we have interviewed to date, Chris Delano, President of IPD. Chris is as true of an enthusiast as it gets, who has always loved Volvos and upgrading them in every way. If you have a Volvo, you need to check out IPD! https://www.ipdusa.c...

Greg Stanley is a great story teller. He gives us the inside details of the recent, record breaking 250 GTO sale by RM Sotheby's and much more about his own collection. 

This week we have a great chat with Vinny Russo, Operations Manager at Westside Collector Car Storage and Special Project Manager for The iD Agency. Vinny talks with us all about his history with Spyker, Hennessey, VF Engineering, and more.  We had some serious audio issues with Riverside, our online podcasting host. Vinny's audio turned out great, and he does most of the talking in this episode....

This week we chat with Kara Coraci Sellentine! Kara keeps the laughs rolling in and talks to us about all things Alfa, Formula 1, working on Jerry Springer, and more! 

With the arrival of the R8 it's time for us to take on the next supercar build! We'll be starting by working with our friends and sponsor, STEK to cover the whole car and add some tint, then we have a few more creative mods to add. We'll be sure to keep you all updated as we go along. There is new, exciting news from Triumph and Ducati who will be entering the very competitive world of Motocross....

When we say Wade Kawasaki never lifts, we mean that figuratively and literally. From humble beginnings working at a service station as a kid, to racing, and coming up all the way up in the automotive industry to Executive Chairman at The Wheel Group, Wade has truly done it all. Wade and his wife Rose continue to play a pivotal role in keeping the automotive industry going and ensuring that it cont...

Dan gets some first hand experience using the surprisingly good "Buy It Now" Autotrader feature and the new E-Ray configurator is live! Does it change your mind on the new Z06? It may have changed ours!

As the UAW strike comes to a close and wages go up, you can bet those CEOs aren’t going to take a pay cut, which means the money has to come from somewhere! Hint, it’s you, the consumer. This week we chat about the strike and how it’s going to be passed on to the consumers. Got some thoughts on the strike? Give us a call or text and let us know at 425-298-7873!

In this episode we talk about the the worst places to drop your pants. We have done a lot of driving all over this great planet and we have found some incredible places to go, but every now and then we come across places you probably just shouldn't stop at. 

Megan has Covid, Dan has a cold, Nick is still getting over his cold, and so of course we spent all of our time being sick browsing Facebook Marketplace for the coolest cars and other good deals. We found a snowcat, a fighter jet ejection seat, R8s, vintage Corvettes, pre-crashed motorcycles, and more! 

This week we have a very special guest, Steve Saleen! Steve joins and talks to us all about the creation of the Saleen brand, Mustangs, the S7, the Bronco, and the upcoming S1! This won't be the last you hear from Steve, he's got a lot more stories coming your way on upcoming episodes. 

Karen Brown has the job we all probably want to have, doing all the awesome car events you keep hearing about! Krissy and Adam met Karen and said she was a guest we just had to have, and sure enough, they were right! Karen has a wealth of knowledge to share and some great stories.

A lot of people have made a name for themselves in a part of the automotive industry, but R.J. De Vera helped make an entire division of it. If you're not working in the industry, you would probably know R.J. as the kid playing Gran Turismo in the first Fast & The Furious, but he was one of the main people responsible for bringing the cars to the movie itself. From his days working in print, t...

If you're in the PNW, you might know Victoria. From working The Shop to playing at the track to rebuilding her various car projects, she keeps herself pretty busy in the car community in spite of also being a full time student. Victoria got into cars on her own, just like any of you can do, and should. On this episode we talk about the unfortunate learning curve of necessity and have a few tips on...

Nick is back from his annual trek of working Monterey Car week! Things are changing down there for sure, so if you haven't been to car week you definitely need to get it on your bucket list sooner than later. While Nick was way, Dan was busy installing a new gym and researching the in-and-outs of doubling or even tripling the horsepower on the Honda Monkeys. Are you a motorcycle tech? Have you gon...