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(11-17-2019) – What could be better than talking with the lanky and affable former Wheeler Dealer Edd China? Hanging with Edd on his “casual lofa” motorized sofa and yes, it does have front and back lights, turn signals (in the flower pots), a speedometer in the clock, hand controls for gas (a “Reece’s Peanut Butter Cup handle), brakes (a can of beer) and steering (a pizza container with an actual faux pizza inside).
Randy and his wife Marta had a chance to take a ride with Edd (it’s all over our social media). We’re told the “lofa” can get up to 80 miles an hour, but we’re not so sure we want to be a passenger at that speed unless we are covered by layers of bubble wrap!
Where’s Edd now on your TV? Edd has some answers, plus we talk about his great book “Grease Junkie”, his electric ice cream truck, his car rebuild show on you tube, and fans ask Edd questions! Check out the podcast below, LISTEN, LIKE, SHARE, FOLLOW US, and SUBSCRIBE! (it’s free)
(11-09-2019) – If you liked Part 1, Part 2 with Steve Strope from his “Pure Vision” workshop includes talk about his TV show “Hand Built Hot Rods”, the ‘73 Challenger won by So Cal’s Kevin Na at the Challenge PGA event at the Colonial Golf Course in Texas, what car he has in store for the same event in 2020, and how Steve is a musician, and plays in a group!
Please LISTEN, LIKE, SHARE, COMMENT, and SUBSCRIBE (it’s free)!!
(11/09/2019) – The man behind some cool classic car builds at his “Pure Vision” shop in Simi Valley, California sat down with hosts Randy Kerdoon and “Hot Rod” Bob Beck for some opinionated conversation in TAC 168. (And 169). Steve Strope had a 6 episode run on then Velocity TV (now Motor Trend) in a show called “Hand Built Hot Rods”. He’s always been outspoken, so we managed to ask a question about the recent accident involving actor/comedian Kevin Hart’s custom 70s Plymouth ‘Cuda with a Dodge Demon 800+ horsepower engine under the hood, on Mulholland Highway in Calabasas.
As the media reported, Hart was the passenger in the car one night with a friend behind the wheel, and the friends fiancée sitting basically on the hump in the back (there was no back seat, similar to an AMX set up)….when they turned onto Mulholland….went a short distance and drove off the road into a ravine causing serious injuries to Hart and the driver. Will there be lawsuits against the Cuda builder and will it result in air bags in all future builds and more??
You are going to want to hear Steve’s response that THAT…..In Part 1 of our 2 part interview!
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(10-29-2019) – Talking with Ant Anstead of Wheeler Dealers is always fun! He’s always well spoken, funny, knows how to wrench on cars, (despite as he puts it, “no formal training) and is a bit “Type A”. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, after all it takes “drive” to get to where he is in the automotive world.
After recent remodeling of their Huntington Beach workshop made their “green room” disappear, we bolted into the office of producers Chris Hill and Henric Nieminen where they were (unknowingly) about to participate in our talk with Ant! What followed was a fun back and forth about his new son “Hudson” (with wife Christina Anstead of HGTV’s “Flip or Flop”), diaper genies, why can’t movie theaters offer “kettle corn”, just how many times he washes his hands a day, and….oh, yeah….his new show “Ant Anstead – Master Mechanic” on the Motor Trend app!
Ant did take Bob and I to task (tongue in cheek) for not watching the show in advance of the interview, but usually someone sends us a sneak preview of the show. Eventually, after listening to Ant….guilt crept in and the realization of how affordable the app is, and it was pretty much a “must do” for car guys, we sprung for it.
REVIEW : that Ant Anstead-Master Mechanic is a great show. It also reminds me a lot of his wife’s solo show, “Christina on the Coast” in style with a faster pace than WD, fun snippets and something that Christina doesn’t do….address the audience (or the 4th wall). You leave every episode feeling like you and Ant are buddies and he’s letting you follow him around as he’s putting his Alfa shaped Formula one classic roadster together. It’s worth a look, and….if you get the Motor Trend app, then you can watch pretty much anything that’s ever aired on the former Velocity Channel and More! My favorite, is catching the Steve Magnante’s “RoadKill Junkyard Gold”, and one day, I’ll try watching 15 years of the original Top Gear!
Click below to listen to our fun talk with Ant, Chris, Henric, Bob and myself….and note Ant says one day we can do a podcast IN his classic 56 Porsche! He said it, it’s in there….
Please LISTEN, LIKE, SHARE, and SUBSCRIBE!! A new Talking About Cars is uploaded every Thursday!!
(10-29-2019) – What’s it like growing up the son of a big time TV and movie actor? Ron DeFore explains how he found out his dad, Don DeFore, co-star of 1950s and 60’s classic’s ”the adventures of Ozzie and Harriet“ and “Hazel” was a bit of a celebrity! Ron’s story of how his dad used to get 1 year leases on cars for a mere 1 dollar bill, is evidence of what can happen to a TV Star, plus Ron has other great car stories AND Disneyland stories.
Don DeFore was more than just an actor, he was a shrewd businessman too. He’s the first actor to ever have a restaurant in his name at a Disneyland restaurant. Ron has great stories and there was a lot of laughs with him, Randy and Hot Rod Bob Beck!
Listen by clicking the player below. Please LISTEN, SHARE, LIKE and SUBSCRIBE on social media!!
(10-12-2019) – Every year, Southern California’s “Motor Press Guild” holds a “Test Drive O’Rama” where Manfacturers bring vehicles and “automotive journalists” drive them in….MPG’s Drive Day! My automotive line up began with a prototype LEXUS RX. F series SUV
It’s a well handling vehicle with great cornering and very comfortable inside. (Listen to my “open mic” with a Lexus rep)….then I climbed into the cab of a Ram “Rebel” Diesel!
Which performed like you’d expect, except it’s a diesel, and didn’t smell like one. Very capable wheels that always make you think you’ve had a testosterone injection afterwards. Then….from a reall big truck to a not so big 4 door
The Fiat 500 L….”L” for longer than usual…..as you see I sort of took it…Four Wheelin’….then I got big again with …the Hyundai Palisade
With a remarkable “blind spot” camera that shows up when you turn on your turn signals…and it shows up on your instrument cluster….
And then I wrapped it up with a lottery earned Aston Martin DB 11 Voltage!! (Insert James Bond movie song here). Then I compared notes with Corvette Story’s Paul Pollock and the “MotorHead Mama” Amelia Dalgaard!
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(10-12-2019) – My stepson Stan has been a proud owner of a 1991 Mazda Miata over a year now, he’s replaced the engine with a newer, low mileage model, reupholstered the interior, and put in a roll bar with determination you normally see on TVs Wheeler Dealers. So Marta and I decided to trek down to the recent “Japanese Classic Car Show” in Long Beach, CA to check out not only the usual Bugs, Beamers and Celicas (oh my)….but the more unusual models imported like Skylines, and yes even the Nissan “Gloria”. (Think Asian Pontiac)
I love oddball, unusual cars you never see, and now that 25 years have flown by, those cars are now eligible to import to the US. This is the 58 Rambler-ish looking 62-65 Nissan Cedric
Or a later Cedric/Gloria with “Mustang” looking taillights.
I caught up with the owner of a Datsun Z…”Sportwagon”, a car that was actually a model envisioned by the Z original designer along with a Z “Targa” and a Z that could actually fit four passengers as well as the two seater Z fans know and love. Jay Ataka worked with the original Z designer and made his own “Sportwagon”. Also the guru behind the Mazda Miata, Tom Matano, talks about how the vehicle came about, and the deal Mazda cut him when he wanted a Miata of his own. (You are not going to believe it!). Plus, what if you wanted your own Skyline, Gloria, or other car from Japan….or one from Austrailia or wherever. Sean Morris of Top Rank Importers on the how to’s of reaching out and getting a car anywhere in the world!
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(09-29-2019) – When actor Robert Patrick turns on “the look”, the first thought in your mind should be…”uh-oh”. You’ve seen it as a liquified metal “T-1000” in the Terminator 2 movie, we’ve seen his nicer side in the CBS TV Show “Scorpion” and back to his harder edge in his various appearances as a motorcycle gang member. The things that bring a smile to his face are racing cars, driving his new rat rod GMC truck and ….driving his Harley and all electric motorcycle!
We (myself and Hot Rod Bob) caught up with Patrick to talk about the return of the “Love Ride” in Southern California in November, his cool rides, what happened to the ‘73 LeMans” in Scorpion that was actually a ‘71, and what he and his Harley dealership (he’s part owner) in Santa Clarita did on POW/MIA day some weeks ago, and….in a rather candid conversation, Hot Rod Bob talks about him serving in Vietnam in the 60s. Remember to please subscribe (it’s free) so you can find out when a new podcast has uploaded and follow us on social media on Facebook, Twitter (@talknaboutcars) and instagram, and Bob on GAAS on all sites.
(09-22-2019) – When we last caught up with automotive writer and editor Elana Scherr, she had just left Hot Rod Magazine for this show called “Roadkill”, where she was to be editor of their magazine. Soon, she was doing video car reviews, was a passenger in a formula 1 car, Roadkill videotaped an episode in her backyard featuring a “C” body Road Roadrunner (an explanation of the “C” part in the podcast), why Elana wants Randy’s wife to text her with a distinct message about her car collecting habits, and more! It’s always fun to have Elana on the show, check out her talk with me and “Hot Rod” Bob Beck in studio 25!