The Weekly Driver Podcast

Marc O'Dell is the expert you want to talk with when there's an issue with your car. For the past two-plus years he's worked as an auto expert for JustAnswer.com. The platform connects people with live doctors, lawyers, veterinarians, mechanics and other verified and vetted experts for real-time assistance, insight and answers to just about any question or problem. The service, available with diff...

WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca has a diverse annual motorsports calendar. It began this year in April with the Trans Am Superfest and continues through mid-October with the Velocity Invitational. Next month is the busiest time of the year with the iconic facility heavy into the mix of Monterey Auto Week. Barry Toepke, Director of Heritage Events & Public Relations at WeatherTech Raceway, is our g...

Chris Bright remains as enthusiastic and energized as the vintage car enthusiast and businessman was last July when his new company Collector Part Exchange debuted. Bruce Aldrich and I interviewed Bright last summer, just before Monterey Auto Week, for Episode #190 of The Weekly Driver Podcast. Collector Part Exchange: Nearing One-Year Anniversary Chris Bright is the co-founder of Collector Part E...

The VW Golf is the third best-selling car in history, behind the top-selling Toyota Corolla and Ford F-Series of pickup trucks. More than 35 million of the versatile vehicles have sold since the car's debut as a 1974 edition. With the motoring icon approaching its 50th anniversary, author Russell Hayes has expanded and upgraded his book The Volkswagen Golf Story to include the full Golf 7 range an...

Matt Moore, Senior Vice President of Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI), oversees the organization's research program, the collection of vehicle information and the production of loss data. A complementary company to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, HLDI processes insurance data from companies that represent approximately 85 percent of the U.S. private passenger auto insurance market. I...

Spencer, Kristi and Kade Stevens, otherwise known as the Adventurtunity Family, live full-time in their RV. The family is traveling throughout the United States, embracing a lifestyle they've determined is best — at least for now. Spencer is our guest this week on The Weekly Driver Podcast. Co-hosts Bruce Aldrich and James Raia talk with the husband and father about the trio's RV adventures. He di...

Mike Mueller is an automotive expert among automotive experts. A journalist for more than 30 years, he has written and provided accompanying photography for more than 30 books on the Ford Mustang. He's contributed images to many additional books and he's written for many prestigious industry publications. Mueller is my guest this week on episode No. 218 of The Weekly Driver Podcast. Author Mike Mu...

Every winter for the past 17 years, proprietors of Lapland Driving School in Sweden prepare acres of frozen tundra for the specialty automotive niche of drifting while ice driving. The facility, offering 14 varied circuits on nearly 3,000 acres, is located at Lake Udjaur near Arjeplog in Sweden. It's a three-hour airplane flight from Munich, Germany or Paris, France. Ice Driving: Fast & Controlled...

Al Unser Jr., born into one of motorsports' most prominent racing families, won the Indianapolis 500 twice and two IndyCar Championships. But he was also troubled. Unser abused alcohol and drugs and it destroyed a marriage. Friendships ended and he was arrested multiple times for drunken driving and domestic violence. Unser's struggles and his winding road in recovery is the subject of the new boo...

Joe Wiesenfelder is the executive editor of Cars.com and he's immersed in the future of EVs — electric vehicles. According to the website's recent data, about one-third of car buyers are actively looking to purchase their first electric vehicle. But many questions remain with the anticipated growth. Wiesenfelder and his colleagues are counting on it. Wiesenfelder is our guest on this episode of Th...

Colton Herta is 21 years old and he's been behind one steering or another since he was age six. Go-karts to Indy cars and several racing classes between, Herta is now competing at his best as the NTT IndyCar Series concludes this week in Long Beach, California. Herta (Andretti-Autosport), the youngest driver to win an IndyCar race, successfully defended the Grand Prix of Monterey title he won two...

Giles Chapman is a prolific automotive journalist whose book topics have ranged from the importance of car badges to the history of Land Rover. His latest title is "Jaguar Century: 100 Years of Automotive Excellence." Jaguar Century chronicles the company and its remarkable vehicles. It covers the manufacturer's start in 1922 by William Lyons and William Walmsley, and it reports on the current F-T...

Tesla isn't new to controversy and nor is the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), and both are back in the news. The NHTSA, previously critical of the electric vehicle manufacturer, recently said its conducting a preliminary evaluation into the carmaker's self-titled "Autopilot" systems after 11 crashes in nine states. NHTSA has questioned Tesla after 11 of its cars were involv...

Donald Osborne is an opera singer, museum CEO, international business owner and one of the voices of the Concours on the Avenue in Carmel, California. He knows cars and people and the gift of gab. Osborne recently returned from Europe but in plenty of time for Monterey Auto Week. The coronavirus and its variants are in different stages in Italy and England, where he attended globally renowned auto...

Learning how to operate a manual transmission car or truck was a rite of automotive passage for drivers of a certain age. It's now a rarity, with a few exceptions including a campaign introduced by Hagerty. The American automotive lifestyle and membership company, Hagerty in July announced, as part of its 10th anniversary of the Hagerty Driving Experience, a mission. Its goal: to teach 500 people...

Chris Bright is a vintage car enthusiast with an empathetic ear toward other automotive fanciers who can have difficulty finding parts for their unique vehicles. Or maybe they have a garage full of parts and don't know what to do with the load. To help, Bright recently debuted CollectorPartExchange.com. It's a modern-day swap meet. As the site is promoted it's "Open 24/7/365 and spans the globe. O...

Tesla innovation has changed the automotive world with a lot of industry firsts. Its latest designation is the top spot on the latest American Made Index (AMI). Introduced 16 years ago by the editors of Cars.com, the AMI analyzes a range of factors to determine the  percentage of new cars and trucks made American The Tesla Model 3 has a new title: the most Anerican made Kelsey Mays, the assistant...

Tim McGrane has a long, varied career in the automotive industry. It's steered him to his current role as the CEO of M1 Concourse in Pontiac, Michigan. The 87-acre playground for auto enthusiasts includes the world’s largest community of Private Garages and a 1.5-mile Performance Track with its own private Motorsports Club. A native of England whose previous experience tenures at Blackhawk Museum...

Motorcycle racing and lots of related activities will add to the always-full calendar of motorsports with the debut of West Coast Bike Week at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. The community-focused, 10 days of racing and fan interaction will be geared toward those who enjoy all things on two wheels. Barry Toepke, Director of Heritage Events & Public Relations for the raceway, is our guest on this...

Proud car owners aren't often at a loss for words. It's part of the enjoyment of sharing artwork of wheels. The artists at Respoke Collection offer another way to showcase a favorite machine or a showroom full of automobiles or motorcycles. Forward a quality image online to the company's online presence, and it will return a vehicle rendering on canvas or on paper in dimensions as large as 24x36....

Many cars have failed, but none quite like the Edsel. Scott Gunnari knows all the stories. But the vintage car collector enjoys the car named after Henry Ford's his son as much as any collector of any brand. Gunnari, the lead inspector for Page One Automotive, the automotive fleet and event management service company in Brisbane, California, has had six of the much-maligned machines in his collect...

RVTravel.com is the country's pre-eminent recreational vehicle website. It reports on every conceivable component of tthe ever-expanding industry. It has expert text and video, twice-weekly newsletters, daily tips, a huge social media presence and a forum. Its new feature is a weekly podcast. Scott Linden, a long-time television and radio broadcaster and an avid RVer, is the host of the podcast wh...

After a postponement and cancellation because of the COVID-19 pandemic, LA AutoMobility and the LA Auto Show will be back later this year at the Los Angeles Convention Center. Collectively, the automotive industry can't wait. Plenty of other auto shows didn't occur last year and won't until later this year. But organizers of the Los Angeles show, the first major industry event of the season, decid...

There's always a lot happening in the auto industry. But it's been a particularly wild ride lately. Tiger Woods crashed a new 2021 Genesis GV70. I test drove a 2022 Rolls-Royce Ghost for four days. And a new coffee table-sized book on the new mid-engine Corvette C8 has been published. Co-hosts Bruce Aldrich and James Raia discuss the three topics and more on this episode of The Weekly Driver Podca...

New car sales are hurting during the COVID-19 pandemic. Used cars, car subscriptions, leasing, etc., are increasingly popular. Clasiq.com hopes for its share of the marketplace as an online start-up. As its name implies, Clasiq.com sells classic cars. It streamlines the process of buying and selling a classic vehicle. Classic car start-up Clasiq.com specializes in buying and selling classic cars....