TAC 165 – doing an 007 with a DB 11 & meeting the “MotorHead Mama”

Posted on by October 12, 2019
Reply

(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!

PLEASE LISTEN, SUBSCRIBE AND SHARE!!

TAC 164 – a Z sport..wagon? & a talk with the “Miata Man!”

Posted on by October 12, 2019
Reply

(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!

Remember, please LISTEN, SUBSCRIBE AND SHARE/RETWEET!

TAC 163 – A Chat with a Terminator & the “Love Ride” returns!

Posted on by September 30, 2019
Reply
Hosts Randy Kerdoon, “Hot Rod” Bob Beck and guest Robert Patrick

(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!

Robert Patrick as Cabe Gallo in “Scorpion”

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.

TAC 162 – the wild car rides of journalist Elana Scherr!

Posted on by September 22, 2019
Reply

(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!

TAC 161 – Heather & Erica take a “ROAD TRIP!”

Posted on by September 22, 2019
Reply
Car aficionados Heather Storm & Erica Schrull

(09-15-2019) – This has been quite a year for turnover when it comes to TV car show hosts. Edd China (exited Wheeler Dealers over a year ago), Rachel De Barros exiting All Girls Garage, and most recently, Heather Storm, the 2nd female co-host at Garage Squad (remember the first, Laurel Bohlander who was there for only 1 season, and oh, yeah, by the way, she’s the wife of Indy car driver Tony Kannan). Bottom line? Change happens.

So what happened since? China has written a book and will join us on a later Talking About Cars….Rachel is hitting the car show circuit and working on her Gearhead Diva brand, and Heather is cruising America in her ‘65 Mustang for her own youtube channel. Heather joined forces with car “influencer” and Mopar nut Erica Schrull for a cruise from the Bay Area to Newport Beach where she hopes to have fans greet her at the early Sunday morning Balboa Car Show where she will do an episode of her podcast with Brad Fanshaw. Wherever Heather lands, her fans will eagerly follow her!

NOTE : The podcast has been recorded already, no need to show up from 7a-9a on Sunday

Check out the latest from Heather and Erica!!

TAC 160 – Speeding down the salt with the “Mississippi Mench!”

Posted on by September 7, 2019
Reply

(09-07-2019) – Sometimes there are podcasts where you plan for weeks in advance, like at a SEMA show. Then there was TAC 160. “Hot Rod” Bob Beck and I were talking about some future ideas for podcasts, as Bob had just recently returned from “Bonneville Speed Week”, where hot rodders drive their “souped up” wheels down the salt flats near the Utah-Nevada border at amazing speeds. (This was before we heard the gut wrenching news about Jessi Combs death trying to replicate an over 500 mile an hour run on a dry lake bed in southwest Oregon). We thought about salt flats racer to bring on the show and a Salt Lake Tribune article brought up the name George Poteet. He was a legend on the salt, so I thought, let’s see if we could find him. One hour later…..Bob and I were interviewing THE George Poteet on the phone while quietly thinking to myself, “Well THAT worked!”. I love it when a plan comes together!

Less than a week after our logo became ‘sticker art” on a BLM sign, we were told that sign was coming down and sent elsewhere to be displayed.

LISTEN anytime/anywhere to our podcast, George is an interesting guy, has driven over 460 mph on the salt, loves his classic cars (he has over 100 of them), just bought back his “car that got away”, enjoys California, but the Memphis resident just doesn’t want to live there! Don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE (it’s free), rate us 5 stars on iTunes and leave a review!!

TAC 159 – RIP Jessi Combs (1980-2019)

Posted on by August 31, 2019
Reply

(08-30-2019) – Doing our “Talking About Cars with Randy Kerdoon” interviews over the years has given me chances to get to know car show personalities, car builders, TV and Movie Stars and guys and gals who just love cars! One of my favorites was back in 2015, when Jessi Combs drove up on her motorcycle from Orange County to our TAC studios on the Miracle Mile to chat about what she had going on at that time. I approached Jessi because she seemed everywhere and had done so many things with cars. TV hosting (Mythbusters), car building (Overhaulin’), car repairs (All Girls Garage), yet she still had time to race vehicles on sand, salt and just about everywhere else. When we did the interview, I was not disappointed. She was such a genuine person, easy to laugh, incredibly focused, who vastly enjoyed what she was doing, but not totally sure why she had been so successful.

This week, we are honoring Jessi by replaying that interview (before heard only on our Southcloud channel)….giving you one last chance to get to know the woman behind the welder, after she died this past week attempting a land speed record on a dry lake bed in Oregon. No official cause of death has been reported yet, but Combs was driving a jet car trying to beat 512 miles an hour…..and as you’ll hear her say in our interview….there was no talking her out of it.

RIP Jessi. The car community and your fans miss you already.

TAC 157 – Manson’s car, Madsen’s car, a Subaru powered Ghia?

Posted on by August 17, 2019
Reply

(08-17-2019) – Anyone who sees the movie “Once Upon a Time in America” starting Leonard DiCaprio, Brad Pitt and Margot Robbie have to be amazed by the stunning visuals. How Quinten Tarantino and his crew managed to recreate Hollywood in 1969. Sure, he could have gone to Vancouver to do it, but he did it….IN HOLLYWOOD! Certainly the building makeovers were key, but (for our purposes) the cars were incredible. According to Picture Car Coordinator Steve Butcher and Car “Captain” Leonard Jefferson…..

“Once Upon a Time…” Picture Car Coordinatior Steve Butcher, co-host Randy Kerdoon, Picture Car Captain Leonard Jefferson

…..the movie used just under 2,000 classic cars! Some were purchased and fixed up for the movie, others were borrowed for the scenes needed. I’ve always found it fascinating about the car stories behind the movies. Why that car? How did they get that car? The behind the scenes decision making! Steve and Leonard give us car people who love the stories, some great tales. Plus some rather creepy stuff about the 1959 Ford Galaxie used as the Manson “family’s” transportation that fateful night it approached Roman Polanski’s home where Sharon Tate, Abigail Folger and two others had no idea what was about to happen.

A 1959 Ford Galaxie Crown Victoria (not the actual car from the movie)

It’s so much stuff, I’ve split it up into a 2 part podcast…..Part 1 is already online, Part 2 will drop on Thursday morning, 730am Eastern, 430am Pacific on Radio.com, iTunes, Apple Podcasts, and KNX 1070 dot com and here soon after. Check it out by Clicking below and listening. It’s quite the story.

Don’t forget to LISTEN, SUBSCRIBE (it’s free), while on social media LIKE, SHARE/RETWEET, and if on iTunes Rate us 5 stars and write a review!!

TAC 156 – Being a Starsky & Hutch bad guy & comparing TV & Movie Torinos!

Posted on by August 10, 2019
Reply
Host Randy Kerdoon, actor/stuntman Charlie Picerni, Joey Torino, Johnny Torino (Torino owners)

(08-10-2019) – NEAR LAX – Another fun moment at the recent “Hollywood Show” autograph event was when I noticed two Starsky & Hutch “Striped Tomato” Torinos out front of the Hotel. There I met “Joey Torino” and “Johnny Torino”. Owners of the two cars. They pulled me in with the news that the TV Ford Torino and the Movie Torino had differences! WHAT?? Didn’t notice that before? Altho’ honestly I admit I could have been distracted by watching actresses Amy Smart, Molly Sims, Carmen Electra & Playboy alum Brande Roderick in the movie. Apparantly the Movie version was more “red” than the TV version….and

The movie version of the Torino, notice the curve of the white stripe

…..while the “L” shaped decal was different in the movie version than the TV version (see pics above and below)

Then, I met Charlie Picerni, the type of background actor we’ve seen hundreds of times, but never knew who he was, in the opening credits of the show….

Yes, that’s Charlie in the circle

Torino pursued by really long Lincoln with jazzy music going on, close up of Starsky & Hutch, Torino and Lincoln do a 360 degree turn, Torino goes into parking lot followed by bad guy Lincoln, Starsky & Hutch jump out of Torino and drag bad guys out of Lincoln and onto the hood. The Driver of that Lincoln….was Charlie Picerni. He later became Paul Michael Glaser’s stunt double. Cool story in this week’s podcast for fans of the show and the movie.

Click below to listen, and then go on social media and like it on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter and share/retweet it to your car minded pals! If you are an iTunes listener, please rate us 5 stars and give us a review!! Thanks for your support!!

TAC 155 – the “Unknown Comic” downplays the need for a reverse gear & “Hot Rod Bob” speaks!

Posted on by August 3, 2019
Reply
Murray Langston (as the Unknown Comic), Host Randy Kerdoon

(08-03-2019) – I was privileged to meet Murray Langston at a brunch with celebrities and comedians at Jerry’s Deli in Studio City many years ago. Invited by my radio idol Gary Owens, I sat at the “round table” to break bread with Johnny Dark (Late Show, Donny & Marie), John Rappaport (producer of MASH), singer/songwriter Harry Middlebrooks, the late Chuck McCann, comedian/actor Sam Kwasman, Laugh In’s Ruth Buzzi & husband/actor/car guy Kent Perkins and many more. We spent more time laughing and telling stories than eating the lox & eggs or Matzo Brie! In the process, I became friends with Murray and many others in that group!

It was one of my best “Hollywood” moments, that became a weekly occurance for me. I didn’t know Langston had any car stories, but I knew he was funny, so I cornered him at “the Hollywood Show” and peppered him with car questions, and career questions! You will like what you hear below!

I’ve finally decided to make it official. My occasional co-host Bob Beck now has a segment on Talking About Cars. It’s the “Hot Rod Bob Report”….this week we talk about an east coach dragstrip that refuses to allow EVs (Teslas, Leafs) to drag race on their strip! And has the C8 Corvette already sold out for 2020? Listen below….and please share, like, SUBSCRIBE, rank us 5 stars on iTunes and write us a review! Thanks!