Let's Talk Cars Podcasts

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Fun, engaging inside line on automotive design and research. Login to Add this to your PlaylistPrimary Format : Technology Language : English Also Listed as: City : Tustin State/Province : CA Country : USA Region : NA User Tags: User Votes: RSS Feed Website People found this Podcast Searching for: View this Podcast on a Google Map. Podcast iTunes Link Text Only listing of Let\'s Talk Cars Podcasts Methings.com listings of Let\'s Talk Cars Podcasts If you like this podcast, you might also like:

View the full archive of Let's Talk Cars Road Noise: The Allure of the Radio Button (Not That Kind) Here at VehicleVoice World Internet Headquarters and Day-Old Seafood Buffet, we divide our copious free time among three things: 1) Chair dancing and lip-synching to "Don't Stop Believing" in an effort to boost industry morale. 2) Impromptu salons, during which we discuss philosophy, world affairs and whether Iron Man was better than The Dark Knight. (Yes.) 3) The Internet. The sweet, sweet, life-giving Internet. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Road Noise: The Allure of the Radio Button (Not That Kind) Here at VehicleVoice World Internet Headquarters and Day-Old Seafood Buffet, we divide our copious free time among three things: 1) Chair dancing and lip-synching to "Don't Stop Believing" in an effort to boost industry morale. 2) Impromptu salons, during which we discuss philosophy, world affairs and whether Iron Man was better than The Dark Knight. (Yes.) 3) The Internet. The sweet, sweet, life-giving Internet. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website September 2008 Fuel Survey So, what's happening out there? The results of the September, 2008 fuel survey are now in. Some of the highlights, after the jump: Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Exhaust Note #32: Audi Continues U.S. Diesel Education Program I just finished the fourth leg of Audi's Mileage Marathon, a coast-to-coast demonstration and competition drive for the best fuel economy from a range of Audi TDI clean diesels. The drive started in New York City on October 6, ending in Santa Monica on October 19. I joined the crew in Las Vegas, which included driving through Monterey, California, and the chance to see the Audi R10 TDI cars take 1-2 in the final American Le Mans Series race of the year at Laguna Seca, their ninth consecut ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website 2009 Ford F-150: First Drive VehicleVoice correspondent Jim Hossack attended a 2009 Ford F-150 driving preview - and reports that it was well worth it. The Dodge Ram is the other big truck news of this season, so we decided to bring you reviews of both trucks this week. Hossack says Ford put on a very thorough, very professional series of presentation, with plenty of opportunity to evaluate the new F-150 and facing competition under a variety of circumstances. Hossack was about as impressed with the passion and enth ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website First Drive: 2009 Dodge Ram New Body; New Chassis; Improved Powertrain VehicleVoice contributors Jim Hossack and Stephanie Brinley had the opportunity to drive Dodge's new 2009 Ram pickup - what used to be called the Ram 1500. We're impressed - there is a lot to like, from looks to features to driving dynamics to capability to interior quality. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Truck Market: Where is it Going? How Do F-150 and Ram Stack Up? With two new and important full-size pickup trucks this fall, at a time of extreme economic uncertainty, what do we see happening to the market in general? And how does the F-150 stack up against the Ram? Since our correspondent Jim Hossack attended both Ford and Ram driving previews, we asked him for some comments. Here we go! 2009 Ford F-150 XLT What's happening in the Full-Size Light Duty Pickup market? Contrary to mass media reports, the full-size light duty pickup market is not d ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Road Noise: My Bumper Sticker Can Beat Up Your Honor Student When you're cruising down the highway, do you ever see a vehicle bearing bumper stickers that indicate the driver admires a political party/sports franchise/deity that you're not especially crazy about? And then you have to struggle against the urge to make rude gestures or run them off the road, because how could they be so stupid as to support the Monster Raving Loonies/Gotham Gators/Flying Spaghetti Monster and then be so stupid as to tell everyone about it OMG can you believe these peop ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Exhaust Note 33: Audi Calls for Lowering Diesel Tax A Sensible Recommendation? Yes, In Fact At the close of the Audi Mileage Marathon we talked about last week, Audi of America's Executive Vice President Johan de Nysschen took a moment between results announcements and meet-and-greets with a few Hollywood celebrities to make a plea to the political structure. Mr. de Nysschen called for a lowering of diesel tax. Good, lowering taxes I like, though for a racing fan like myself, I was more impressed with Audi American Le Mans Series and Le M ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website 2008 Toyota Sequoia Misses the Mark Among the newer products in Toyota's lineup is the Sequoia, updated for 2008 model year. The truck has scored well with owners, winning both AutoPacific's 2008 Vehicle Satisfaction and Motorist Choice Awards. Recently, we found a chance to see what all the fuss is about. It's often tough to knock a Toyota. They typically live up to the reputation they've earned as top-notch appliances you can rely on, even if they cost you a little more up front. Sometimes there is a notable lack of ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Ford's MyKey: Who Says Parents Can't Control Your Speed? And turn that radio down! Today's teens have grown up in a world of fluid and ever-expanding technology, with their parents using everything from V-chips to internet blockers to teddy-bear babysitting cams to GPS trackers to keep better track of them. For many, it is simply part of their world. Parents and kids have the same trust issues to sort through, just the same as when I was a kid and didn't think my mom had any right to go through MY dresser, but parents have more direct tools at ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Road Noise: Share and Share Alike. Or Don't. I have my own car, because I come from Michigan, where people older than 16 who don't own cars are subject to the intense scrutiny and (ahem) gentle persuasion of their local UAW chapters. But when I went to college out of state, I was able to slip free of the car culture and live a glorious pedestrian lifestyle. I hated it. The guy on the Pedestrian Crossing sign is ashamed of not having a car. You can see it in his eyes. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Exhaust Notes 31: More Detroit Merger Talk Are we nearing the end of Chrysler? Or the beginning of a new blended family? Or just another day at the rumor mill? Late on Friday, the first stories began appearing about GM and Chrysler in possible merger talks. And at least in Detroit, dominated the weekend news cycle. GM's stock went up this morning, but given that the Dow was up 5.6% and GM went up only about 3%, the stock bump might have happened without merger talk. GM closed on Friday at $4.89, a number some say is actually l ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website 2008 Mercury Milan - Boring but Good Ah yes, the Mercury Milan, the upscale sister ship to the Ford Fusion. Aimed at younger buyers who want something a little more sophisticated than the Dodge Avenger or Mitsubishi Galant. Mercury aims the Milan at the Nissan Altima, Honda Accord and Toyota Camry buyer. We definitely wanted to take a closer look. To be honest it’s very rare for a 4-door mid-size car from Mercury to really knock my socks off. In terms of sex appeal I typically think Mercury ranks right up there with… well, ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Road Noise: In It For the Long (U-)Haul. Autumn is in full swing here at Vehicle Voice World Internet Headquarters and Discount Wig Warehouse, and that makes me think of moving. My apartment leases always seem to end October-ish, and every year there seems to be a compelling reason why I have to pack everything in boxes and take it someplace else. I've moved seven times in the past six years, so I daresay I've got the expert qualifications necessary to advise you on the proper vehicle for your next move. Illustrative cat is ill ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Exhaust Note #10 - Will VW’s Road to Mainstream Success be Smoothly Paved? Considering just how much Volkswagen is a part of our cultural lexicon, it’s somewhat surprising that there aren’t more of them on the road. Volkswagens have been an iconic part of our automotive landscape, and just about everyone has a Volkswagen memory – whether recent or from long, long ago. Volkswagen enjoyed a tremendous resurgence in the late 1990s with the New Beetle and the fourth generation Jetta. Both appealed strongly to young and young-at-heart buyers, leading to incredible ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website SIX DOLLAR A GALLON GAS This is all conjecture, understand? But we were talking over lunch about the continuing increase in the price of gasoline. That subject has everybody talking, right? Well, crude oil has just gone comfortably over $120 per barrel and we are well on our way to a national average price of $4 per gallon for regular unleaded gasoline. What is doing this? And where is it going? Remember when gas was this cheap? May, 2006. Weak Dollar Since George W. Bush entered the White House, the va ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Nissan GT-R and Nissan Clipper Pickup Earlier this week, a whine of American auto journalists gathered in Cascais, Portugal to drive Nissan cars and trucks from around the world. (Maybe I should explain "whine". A "whine" is a group of journalists. Kinda like a flock, or bevy, or pod, or herd. You can guess why some PR flack came up with the term "whine"). During two days of driving, we were exposed to Nissan vehicles from Japan, North America, Europe and elsewhere. We were able to drive them on public roads through the c ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Stick It To The Man I remember the call like it came just last week, because it did. “Katrina, I have a new car.” “How exciting!” “It…it has a stick shift.” “Even better!” “You don’t understand! I don’t know how to drive a stick. I need you to teach me.” “You’ve made me a very happy woman, grasshopper.” Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Volvo C30 Recharge: GM Is Not Alone with Flexible Platform Concept Not at all unlike the GM E-Flex platform in concept, shown first under the Chevrolet Volt and in Frankfurt under the Opel Flextreme, the Volvo Recharge at the 2007 Frankfurt show used a lithium-ion battery pack to power individual electric wheel motors. (Follow this link to see Volvo's press conference.) The internal combustion engine on board is used for backup and battery recharging only, and has no part in moving the vehicle. The Recharge was designed for plug-in application, with Vol ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website