Alex and Randy talk about The Bridge IX on the site of America’s first road course, a rare Volvo, well-to-do East Coast villages, the followup Cars and Coffee in Bridgehampton, and a dry-aged Mustang followed by a rapid-fire perusal of their current BaT watchlists.
Alex, Randy, and special guest Beck shoot the breeze about a German car from New York, the German car it replaced, the German car oil on Alex’s garage floor, brake failure stories, “how much hot rod” is appropriate for driving 2,000 miles, slow cars on the Interstate, favorite recent sales, the 2k Sellers Club, and popular Questions of the Week.
Randy interviews Spike Feresten, comedy writer and host of the “Spike’s Car Radio” podcast. They discuss sharing car craziness with the masses, the learning curve of car collecting, the Audrain Concours, grading the Grenadier, what a Bentley convertible says, modern Broncos, vintage Range Rovers, charity auctions, and celebrity lurkers on BaT.
It’s time again for your favorite game, The One-Year Garage. This time it’s one of the best automotive years imaginable: 1965. We have the crew’s picks as well as Randy’s hot take on the second-series GTO, flippy-floppy driving, too many windshields, deep pulls from the Brits and Germans, a tidbit from Le Mans, Alfa Romeo naming, and more.
Alex is joined by none other than Donald Osborne to talk about the interesting POS, sage suggestions for sellers and politicians everywhere, self-editing, ignoring one’s own hard-earned advice, cars as an investment in happiness; driving a Le Monstre replica at Goodwood, and adventures on the old Targa Florio route.
Alex and Beck sit down to catch up with Matt Schiller, CEO of Snappr—the professional-photos-anywhere agency that supports our BaT Plus listing photography service. The Australian Bay Area transplant talks about starting the company in Sydney with no intention of moving into the automotive space; assures us that even CEOs have excuses for looking at BaT instead of working; reviews the importance of accurate and numerous photos for large purchases made over the internet; and goes into some very telling stats gleaned from Snappr’s seven-year relationship with BaT (the numbers don’t lie: better photos sell more cars for higher prices!).
Please help us extend a warm welcome to one of BaT’s favorite designers, teachers, sellers, and all-around renaissance men: Raffi Minasian, known in these halls as @raffi. He talks with Alex about his father’s “trial by fire” mechanical training program; the roots of his obsession with car design; learning to drive in a 1952 Crosley (with doors!); human- and object-based empathy; a novel way to stay calm in the BaT comments; accidentally becoming a star seller for other people’s cars; the odd calmness that 1,200 live BaT auctions can provide; his unorthodox, Pegaso-centric introduction to Art Center College of Design, his future alma mater; his 16 years in die cast design at Franklin Mint; insights into shifts in popular culture; embracing the ridiculous; and the Beetle as a gateway drug.
In a BaT Podcast first, we gather to hash out one of our favorite movies: none other than Bullitt with Steve McQueen. We talk about the evasive plot, filming details, background car spotting, San Francisco landmarks, regenerating hubcaps, unintentional stunts, the film’s sartorial choices, and of course, the most famous car chase in the movies.
The BaT Podcast is a great way to get to know the minds behind BaT. Today a couple of them discuss a notable Success Story, an upcoming epic road trip, a special movie screening, the NEC Classic Motor Show, hot laps at Goodwood, odd badge engineering, sage advice that we have all ignored, the perfect first stick shift, recent watchlists, and more.
Three souls play our popular One Year Garage podcast game, highlighting picks for the best sports car, family hauler, truck, daily driver, and wild card from 2012. Also discussed: The Audacity of Taupe, less-than-ideal motorcycle features, Lexus colors, nauseating phrases, the dearth of shooting brakes, a Cayman R’s demise, and McLaren confusion.