podcast Archives - The Weekly Driver

#276, John Vincent, U.S. News & World Report, talks Best Cars, Brands, LA Auto Show

Podcast: Play in new window | Download ()Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | MoreJohn Vincent is the Senior Editor and Correspondent/Vehicle Testing on the Autos team at U.S. News & World Report. With more than 25 years of experience in the automotive industry, Vincent knows new cars, manufacturers and trends in the industry. The former long-time newspaper reporter is our guest this week on The Weekly Driver Podcast. Co-hosts Bruce Aldrich and James Raia talk with Vincent about his publication’s recent release of its Best Cars of 2023 and 2024. Besides individual rankings throughout the spectrum of the industry, the publication also selected Best Car Brand (Honda), Best SUV Brand (Mazda), Best Truck Brand (Ram) and Best Luxury Brand (Rivian).

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Travel author Jessica Dunham: The Open Road is her passion

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 33:11 — 76.0MB)Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | MoreJessica Dunham is a veteran journalist whose passion as a travel writer is the open road. She knows the well-traveled roads along Route 66 and Interstate 5. And she knows the less-visited locales, like the night sky over Marfa, Texas, which includes mysterious blinking lights. Dunham, the author of “The Open Road: 50 Road Trips in the USA” is our guest this week on The Weekly Driver Podcast. Co-host Bruce Aldrich and I interview Dunham about her latest book (it’s an updated edition) and also about the pleasures of traveling — on good days and bad days. She discusses how the many places she’s

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#273, Car talk with Car Talk’s enduring executive producer, Doug Berman

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 40:31 — 72.0MB)Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | MoreDoug Berman is the unofficial third brother of the admired comedy team and automotive soothsayer duo of Thomas Louis Magliozzi and Raymond Francis Magliozzi. They were more well-known as “Click and Clack, the Tappet Brothers.” They were co-hosts of Car Talk, the NPR radio show, for 25 years. Thinly disguised as a weekly program about automobile repair, the program was more about the banter between the brothers and an endearing relationship with their call-in audience. The former mechanics diagnosed engine problems, but they also provided advice, notably about relationships. Comedy reigned. Behind the scenes, Berman has coordinated the show since its early days. A

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#271, Industry expert John Vincent talks lingering UAW strike, updates EVs

John Vincent, senior editor and automotive correspondent for U.S. News & World Report, has more than 25 years of experience covering the auto industry. In addition to reviewing vehicles, he has vast expertise in auto financing, leasing and buying. He’s also an expert observer and commentator regarding the current United Auto World strike. As the strike approaches its one-month duration, Vincent is our guest on this episode of The Weekly Driver Podcast. Co-hosts Bruce Aldrich and James Raia discuss with the veteran writer the current status of the strike and what it means to the automakers and union members. How have the communities throughout the Detroit area been affected? Has the strike changed the industry for consumers? Does Vincent see

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#257, Data reveals public hasn’t embraced EVs

Divya Sangam, an industry expert at ValuePenquin.com, the LendingTree.com insurance division, is immersed in EVs, the Electric Vehicle segment of the automotive world. In a recently released survey, Sangam detailed the still-niche electric vehicle market. Specifically, Sangam, citing numerous statistics, reports exactly what is stressed in the survey’s direct headline: “High Costs & Safety Concerns: Why Millions of Americans Aren’t Buying Electric Vehicles in 2023.” Sangam is our guest this week on The Weekly Driver Podcast. Co-hosts Bruce Aldrich and James Raia discuss with our expert the various reasons the market share for EVs hasn’t substantially improved. And we discuss the unlikely success that awaits the federal initiative’s mandate to have EVs account for at least 50 per of new

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#256 EagleRider expands global motorcycling rental reach

EagleRider is a California-based motorcycle rental, touring and subscription company addressing the increasing two or three-wheel needs of experienced and novice motorcycle riders. Shawn Fechter, Senior Vice President of Brand Experience for EagleRider, is our guest on this episode of The Weekly Driver Podcast. In late January, EagleRider announced 18 of its 52 international locations are now accepting credits to be redeemed by Club EagleRider members in the company’s monthly subscription service. The company’s services, available on six continents, include rentals from Harley-Davidson, BMW, Yamaha, among others, as well as adventure and electric bikes. Podcast co-hosts Bruce Aldrich and James Raia talk with Fechter about the growing industry. “As the world reopens, international travel is soaring in popularity, and the

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#167, Honoring Steve Casagrande and the family’s Bel Air

A REMEMBRANCE Stephen Casagrande was my dentist for about 35 years. His office was in midtown Sacramento, a few blocks from my office and a restaurant we both often visited called Cornerstone. Like he was with many patients, Dr. Casagrande became a friend. He called me Jimmy. Several years ago, I noticed Steve and his son Michael, who is now my dentist, preparing to leave on a father-son trip. They were packing up a family car, a 1956 Chevrolet Bel Air Beauville, at Mike’s house. He lives with his wife and children across the street from a close friend in East Sacramento. We talked about the car some, and I remembered to ask Steve about it more on my next

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#254, Wife, husband share RV travels in new book

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 28:52 — 27.4MB)Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | MoreBonnie and Grant Sinclair are high school teachers in Georgia who also enjoy the outdoors as part-time RV enthusiasts. As wife and husband, Bonnie Sinclair has co-authored an RV travel book with her husband Grant Sinclair. The Sinclair’s first book USA RV Adventures has just been published by Moon Travel Guides. The authors’ comprehensive debut includes 25 flexible RV trip itineraries. While taking a break from teaching and RVing, the Sinclairs were our guests on Episode #254 of The Weekly Driver Podcast. We spoke with the couple on their vacation on a cruise ship near Cozumel, the Mexican island in the Caribbean Sea. Co-hosts

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#252, iSeeCars.com analyst Karl Bauer talks used cars

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 34:02 — 27.7MB)Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | MoreKarl Brauer is an automotive analytics wonk. It’s a compliment to the work and enthusiasm the lead analyst for iSeeCars.com has for number crunching, comparisons, trends and all things related to buying, selling, appreciation and deprecation of cars and trucks. He’s eloquent while discussing what might otherwise seem mundane. Brauer is our guest on this episode of The Weekly Driver Podcast. He’s a repeat guest for all of the above reasons. Co-host Bruce Aldrich and I can’t get enough of the site. Its surveys include data from millions of cars and the topics are relevant, including the least and most depreciation of new cars

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#243, RVs, car-sharing, Rivian, expensive cars

Co-host Bruce Aldrich and I get caught up on the automotive industry on this week’s episode of The Weekly Driver Podcast. Bruce and his wife Alene took another trip in their new RV towed by their new pickup truck. I had my first experience renting a car for a day in the peer-to-peer, car-share industry. We also discuss the continuing troubles of Rivian, the upstart electric vehicle manufacturer, and we visit the list of the world’s top 50 most expensive cars. For their longest excursion and sixth trip in their fifth-wheel RV, a 29-foot Keystone Cougar towed by their 2022 Ford F-250 pickup truck, Bruce and Alene traveled from Sacramento along the North coast of California and into Bandon, Oregon.

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#237, Support The Weekly Driver website, podcast

Bruce Aldrich and I have co-hosted The Weekly Driver Podcast for more than four years. It’s available on all major podcast platforms, including TheWeeklyDriver.com. The independent automotive website, which I edit and publish, has been online since 2004. In this episode, Bruce and I discuss two books about as opposite as feasible — although both are about the automotive world. We introduce the books as a way of also introducing listeners to the podcast and visitors to the website to Patreon. The platform allows visitors to the site to support our efforts. The Weekly Driver Online Since 2004 At the bottom of each page is a Patreon logo. If you click on the icon, another page is presented that lists

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#236, Pulitzer Prize winner Joe White’s auto newsletter

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 35:06 — 48.2MB)Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | MoreJoe White has reported on the automotive industry for more than 40 years. Primarily based in Detroit throughout his career, White worked for The Wall Street Journal for 28 years, including tenures in Brussels and the United Kingdom. Since 2015, White has been employed by Thomson Reuters, the international data company and news service. He writes Auto File, a free, three-day-per-week electronic auto newsletter. It’s chock-full of business-oriented news stories and trends in the automotive industry. While co-host Bruce Aldrich is traveling, I interview White on this week’s episode of The Weekly Driver Podcast. Like the always changing financial landscape, the automotive industry is

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#234, Marc O’Dell answers your car questions 24/7

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 31:57 — 43.9MB)Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | MoreMarc 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 different payment tiers, is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. O’Dell, who has more than 25 years of automotive repair industry experience, is our guest this week on The Weekly Driver podcast. Car Repair Needs? Answers Online Co-hosts

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#232, Cruise driverless ride share debuts in San Francisco

After several years of negotiation and testing, Cruise was at the front of the autonomous line last week. It became the first driverless taxi service in San Francisco to charge for its services. The limited service area program features solo occupants getting rides in Chevrolet Bolts. The system is currently geofenced to the Northwest corner of the city of San Francisco, mostly residential areas in a grid of low-speed streets. Co-hosts Bruce Aldrich and James Raia talk with Jackie Shannon, Director of Product Management at Cruise, in this episode of The Weekly Driver Podcast. The episode was taped the day after Cruise’s debut. We were curious to hear about the company’s feedback from passengers the day after its first night

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#231, Bruce’s RV update, new retro trailers, Cruise taxis

Not too many days pass without the automobile, truck or RV industry abuzz. But it’s not always about Elon Musk, Tesla and the latest delay of his electric pickup truck. Sometimes, Bruce and I just have to get caught up in other auto news, and that’s what we do on this episode of The Weekly Driver Podcast. We cover several topics. Bruce and his wife Alene recently returned their fifth trip in their new fifth-wheel RV, a 29-foot Keystone Cougar, towed by their 2022 Ford F-250 pickup truck. Bruce updates listeners with his tales from the road — hot weather to windy driving conditions. “We’ve got it down; my wife and I,” Bruce says. “We know what to do. But

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#225, Chris Bright talks Collector Part Exchange success

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 33:31 — 46.0MB)Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | MoreChris 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 A few weeks later, we met him and his business partner and co-founder Aaron Laliberte at the annual show to talk all things vintage cars and online businesses. Bruce is on vacation this week traveling on another sojourn with his wife Alene in their new Recreational Vehicles So I interviewed Bright from