The Weekly Driver Podcast

There's never a dull moment in the automotive industry — recalls to new technology, debuting vehicles to car shows. In many ways, the world revolves around transportation.  Co-hosts Bruch Aldrich and James Raia discuss several issues on Episode #80 of The Weekly Driver Podcast. The Tu Simple autonomous truck was displayed the GTU conference in San Jose, Calif. Image © James Raia/2019 As a weekly a...

The huge truck cab couldn't have been any more conspicuous. It dominated the back of the main showroom at the recent GPU Technology Conference in San Jose, California, and attracted plenty of attention. The all-electric prototype from TuSimple is aimed at providing cheaper, more-efficient long-hauling trucking. TuSimple, with offices in China and the United States, is among numerous startups worki...

The automotive industry manufactures two cars a second. Never have so many had access to motorized transportation. In the next 15 years — the time it will take to build the next billion cars — the automobile expectations and the experience they provide will transform completely. It's the focus of a new podcast series called The Next Billion Cars, hosted by futurist Mark Pesce. He’s our guest on th...

Groupe PSA is the multinational manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles sold under the Peugeot, Citroën, DS, Opel and Vauxhall brands. In late February, the French company announced it will soon re-introduce Peugeot to the North American market. Larry Dominique, President and CEO, PSA North America, Inc., is our guest on this episode of The Weekly Driver Podcast. Co-hosts Bruce Aldrich and Jam...

Alex Guberman is as passionate as anyone about the electric vehicle industry. A recent transplant from the Silicon Valley in the San Francisco Bay Area to Sacramento, California, Guberman runs E For Electric on YouTube. Guberman, now driving his third Tesla, is prolific. He produces three videos per day for his channel. He breaks electric vehicle news. He discusses trends in the industry. And he p...

Rivian debuted two concepts last November at the Los Angeles Auto Show and attracted as much attention as any vehicle at the automotive industry's first major show of the year. The all-electric concepts, the R1T pick-up and R1S SUV, have gained substantial attention since. The vehicles' debut is scheduled for late 2020 through direct sales. The Rivian concept is an all-electric SUV with 0-60 mph s...

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) began in 1966 and since 1990 it has announced a Most Wanted List of Transportation Safety Improvements. Its recently released list for 2019-2020 includes 46 recommendations. Bruce Landsberg, the board's vice chairman, is our special guest on this week's episode of The Weekly Driver Podcast. Bruce Landsberg, Vice Chairman of the National Transportatio...

Driving Essentials XE is an interactive and engaging driver training simulation made specifically for Xbox. It teaches new, teenage drivers how to deal with dangerous situations without actually being in danger. The vast majority of all serious teen crashes are due to critical (and preventable) mistakes — lack of judgment, lack of experience and driving distracted. Bob Davis, the Founder & Chief E...

More than 40 years ago, Top Gear debuted as a monthly, 30-minute magazine-style, automotive-related program on the British Broadcasting Corporation. It was based in Birmingham, England, and the initial episode’s topics included speed traps, fuel economy and strange road signs. A year later, the program expanded to a weekly format and it was broadcast for nearly a quarter century. David Ankin (cent...

WalletHub.com does studies, and it does them well. It makes sense because it’s a personal finance website that relies on facts and figures and number crunching for consumers. In the automotive field, WalletHub has a series of studies, the most recent on the 2019 Best & Worst Cities to Drive in. The numbers are revealing. WalletHub reports California is among the worst states to driven in. WalletHu...

John Lamm is a journalist and photographer who has worked for decades for many of the automotive industry's most prestigious magazines. He's also the author of several books, including the new release, Supercar Revolution: The Fastest Cars Of All Time. Sub-titled "The one-stop guide to world-class supercar and their battle for ultimate performance and supremacy," Lamm's coffee-table-sized volume i...

Tyler Swedensky is the new car manager at Future Ford in Sacramento, California, and he's good at what he does. With co-host Bruce Aldrich driving and me observing as a back- seat passenger, Swedensky recently took us for a test drive and preview of the 2019 Ford Edge ST. The 2019 Ford Edge ST is the manufacturer's new performance SUV. Image © Bruce Aldrich/2019 Ford is marketing the new vehicle a...

Max Mack has owned his share of vehicles. Like other car enthusiasts, he appreciates fast cars and automobile history, and he likes to associate with like-minded individuals. It's why the Sacramento businessman began Driven to Drive. Mack organizes social meet-ups among car enthusiasts and businesses around Northern California — wineries to urban locales. It a great way to mix and share automobile...

With the end of one year and the beginning of another, it's always a good time to look back at what happened in the automotive world in the past 12 months and pick cars of the year. It was an ideal time to be part of an industry in 2018. Alternative fuels, ride-sharing platforms, alternative fuel, and the increasing interest in vintage cars and trucks. It was a whirlwind year. The Genesis G80 and...

Welcome to another episode of The Weekly Driver Podcast, our last broadcast in 2018 and our 66th episode. Co-hosts Bruce Aldrich and James Raia interview Ian Sweeney and Julie Blackley. The Weekly Driver Podcast #66 reports on on-demand insurance and best end-of-the-year new car deals. Sweeney is General Manager of Trov Mobility based in Danville, California. He explains the company's motto: "Insu...

Welcome to the latest episode of The Weekly Driver Podcast. We have a two-part broadcast with an entrepreneur from Australia and a discussion with an insurance industry analyst about driving hazards during holiday travel. Our first guest is Ian Davidson, the co-founder of GOFAR. It's a telematics device that connects vehicles to the cloud. Winter weather increases potential driving hazards. Named...

Welcome to another episode of The Weekly Driver Podcast. In this week's two-part presentation, we recap the recently concluded LA Auto Show and we discuss drivers' habits during the holidays with Laura Adams of DriversEd.com. As the first major auto show of the year, the LA Auto Show is always chock-full of innovation. This year was no different. Two concept vehicles, Byton and Rivian, both soon s...

Day 3 of the LA Auto Show was the last of the Media Days. The public show opened its 10-day run today (Nov. 30) and will continue through Dec. 9. A handful of vehicles attracted a vast amount of attention, and representatives of two of those companies are our guests on Episode #63 of The Weekly Driver Podcast. The Rivian Concept pick-up truck and SUV are potential competitors for Tesla and were fe...

Welcome to Day 2 of The Weekly Driver Podcast's special coverage of AutoMobility LA and the LA Auto Show. Today (Nov. 28) was the opening day for media previews of new car debuts, and it didn't disappoint. While co-host Bruce Aldrich produced Episode No. 62 remotely, James Raia (your other co-host) was reporting from the showroom halls of the Los Angeles Convention Center. Cadillac showcased its n...

Welcome to our special podcast episodes from AutoMobility LA and the Los Angeles Auto Show. For the past few years, AutoMobility LA has showcased the ever-advancing technology in the automotive world. Our first episode is direct from the technology tent on the eve of the opening day of the traditional show. The Byton concept SUV has a 49-inch touchscreen interface. Image © James Raia/2018 Co-host...

Ray Elliott of Los Gatos, California has been a tow truck driver in the Silicon Valley for more 20 years. He witnesses stupidity on the freeway daily. Elliott has arrived on the scene of every kind of accident imaginable, sometimes before law enforcement personnel or first responders. He has seen fender benders and death. Ray Elliott, a veteran tow truck driver in the San Francisco Bay Area, filmi...

The LA Auto Show began more 100 years ago and it's always changed with trends in the automotive industry — pick-up trucks to alternative fuel vehicles. This year's show, scheduled Nov. 29-Dec. 10 at the Los Angeles Convention Center, will be no different. More than 60 vehicles are confirmed to make their North American or global debuts. Manufacturer specialists, once known as Sirens, are an enduri...

Mike Quincy is an expert among car experts. For nearly 20 years, he's purchased, driven and evaluated cars for Consumer Reports. The well-respected magazine and website has tested vehicles for decades, and it's considered the automotive industry's most objective resource. Lexus took the top spot in the 2018 Consumer Reports' reliability survey. Image © Bruce Aldrich/2018 Mike is our guest on episo...

Depreciation isn't often the top priority for car buyers, but it's particularly important for consumers who keep their cars for many years. The online automotive search engine iSeeCars.com recently released its survey of vehicles with the most and least depreciation. The site analyzed more than 4.3 million new and used vehicles to identify models with the lowest and highest depreciation after five...

Laura Adams knows as much as about distracted driving as anyone. But her knowledge isn’t from experiences as a driver or passenger. She’s as an analyst who studies statistics and is shocked at what the numbers reveal. Adams, based in Austin, Texas, works for DriversEd.com. The online driving school and driving safety resource headquartered in Oakland recently released the results of its inaugural...