Wrench Nation - Car Talk Radio Show

With an illustrious career on track behind the wheel and in recent years as a judge of Formula Drift , https://bit.ly/33817no , we sit down with Ryan Lanteigne at the 2020 Future Collector Car Show, https://bit.ly/2SWw5vQ , in Scottsdale, Arizona to discuss over 200 travel dates throughout the world judging some of the most intense drift racing of the Formula Drift series .

At-Risk Youth Issue Continues Youth involvement in gangs is a serious problem across the country, whether you’re in a big city or the land of suburbia. Many of us see gang graffiti yet glance over it as we have become numb to the blight and crime. The National Gang Center reports that over the past decade, annual estimates of the number of gang members have averaged around 770,000 nationally. Shift Gang Graffiti to Automotive Repair and Car Customization Police departments are stretched thin for resources, yet officers all across our country create or volunteer to help their community. Dragg Racing Against Gangs & Graffiti (DRAGG) https://bit.ly/DRAGGTeam is an innovative afterschool program in the City of Oxnard California where police officers and people from the automotive industry mentor local high school students. A new spin on an old idea; keep the youth focused on the future with positive influences and they will stay out of trouble. This positive learning opportunity teaches youth respons

The Overwhelm of Tool Box Purchases How are automotive technicians preparing for their career? Are we overwhelmed with technology? What is the requirement of a modern day toolbox? Auto mechanics are consistently buying specialized tools that they don’t use often and not giving them a good return on investment. As a business owner, what is the immediate priority over the next few years for an investment in software\hardware that will enable repairing vehicles properly and bring a good return on investment? So many questions and a serious conversation about how we can arm our service operations for success. Industry Leaders Share Expertise Diagnostic Network is an online community of industry professionals and leading industry stakeholders coming together to create the resource to support technicians of today and tomorrow. Founder, Scott Brown, is an ASE Master Certified L1 Technician with over 35 years of professional service industry experience. As an independent shop owner in Southern California, he

Ford v Ferrari Ranking as one of the most vicious rivalries, Henry Ford II and Enzo Ferrari battled it out with grit and brawn representing their perspective race teams on the track at the legendary 1966 LeMans. Carroll Shelby was a maverick and driver Ken Miles was a force to be reckoned with and the storied Ford GT40 Mark II raced to battle Ferrari straight for the win! A HUGE 1 - 2 - 3 finish upset! Stunt Drivers As some of the best movies stem from the thrills of all things automotive. The award winning movie Ford v Ferrari lives up to that tradition and lays out the heroic efforts and racing duels of history. The movie stars Academy Award winners Matt Damon and Christian Bale, and we are excited to interview the racing talents who play their stuntman behind the scenes and behind the race wheel. Tony Hunt is a third generation of a famous racing family. He began his USAC career in rear-engine formula cars and since then has amassed 75 USAC sanctioned career victories and 65 pole positions

Modern Day Engine With millions of direct injection turbocharged engines on the road today, we examine some of the critical and costly failures that may arise due to service neglect. We also will investigate why this combination of power has been widely successful for both MPG and the environment by way of lower emissions, while providing case examples of repairs directly from the service bays that many automotive technicians are experiencing. Industry Ambassador Diagnostic Network https://bit.ly/DiagnosticNetwork is a modern network for technicians and professionals in the automotive, collision, and heavy-duty service markets. A community where auto service industry professionals can learn to use scan tools, scopes, and other diagnostic instruments to their full potential. A place to engage with your peers and industry partners, move your career to the next level, and stay on top of industry trends and technology advancements, by continuously improving your situational awareness and diagnostic profi

Hybrid Vehicle Hybrid vehicle technology has been a mainstay for years with consumers support of a cleaner environment. Some of you technicians may have serviced these vehicles in your garage cautiously, yet generally speaking, with relative ease. With advancements in technology, the difficulty has increased and thus comes the need for additional training and tools. Maintenance & DiagnosticsMore hybrid and electric vehicles will be turning up for service at your repair shop. The sophistication of the diagnostics, special maintenance requirements, dangerous voltage situations, proper safety knowledge, and the future of hybrid vehicles. We take a closer look at these issues with the help of our guest today, Dave Hobbs, Senior Field Technical Trainer and ASE Master Technician, L1, L3 specialist with Delphi Technologies https://bit.ly/DelphiTechnologies Dave’s 40-years’ experience in the industry started as a technician and service manager in his family’s auto electric business in Kokomo, Indiana. He

Electric Vehicle Sales Boom With an economy that is booming and electric vehicle sales on the rise, the one major shortcoming is the inadequate availability of electric vehicle charging stations across cities and suburbia alike. Los Angeles has one of the largest populations of electric vehicles and the growing concern of charging inconvenience could hinder future growth and practicality of these vehicles.  Welcome Solar Charging Stations Envision Solar International, Inc., (Nasdaq: EVSI, EVSIW) https://bit.ly/EnvisionSolar is a leading producer of unique and sustainable infrastructure products for electric vehicle charging, energy security and outdoor media. Based in San Diego, the company is experiencing incredible growth with their EV Solar recharging stations. We talk with our special guest, Desmond Wheaton, CEO and Chairman of Envision Solar, about their solar EV charging products like the the patented EV ARC™ (Electric Vehicle Autonomous Renewable Charger), the world's only transportable but p

Industry Veteran with Heart & Soul  Mitch Schneider is a 52-year veteran of the automotive service industry. A fourth-generation auto repair professional, certified master technician, and for more than 37 years, operated Schneider’s Automotive, a successful six-bay, family-owned and operated service facility in Simi Valley, CA, PLUS accomplished trade journalist. As a result of his knowledge and experience, he presents his first acclaimed novel, Misfire: What To Do When Things Aren’t Running On All Cylinders. https://bit.ly/MitchSchneiderMisfire What Makes Mitch Smile Through it All We discuss the early years of Mitch's career, his insightful and lighthearted approach of stories written in many industry publications over the years, and what kept him going through it all. Mitch has an incredible talent for making us smile and causing us to pause and reflect. With stories of life lessons learned from his career, martial arts practice and health crisis, he sought deeper ways to center his spirit while

Racing Career Lays the Foundation We are excited about our first guest of the new year whose racing career at race circuits across the globe during the 80's and 90's are legendary. We are honored to have Formula 1 and Indianapolis 500 driver Derek Daly https://bit.ly/DerekDaly share his incredible experiences, including surviving one of the most dangerous Formula 1 crashes in 1984. Derek shares his passion for racing and takes us back to that harrowing time of the crash and his incredible road to recovery. After retiring from racing, Derek became a long-time respected racing commentator for ESPN, NBC, CBS and Fox Motorsports. Now as an author and public speaker, Derek shares the tactics and strategic cultures adopted by world-class racing teams and delivers a roadmap for businesses seeking to shift their teams from great to extraordinary. Largest Car Show on Grass We also welcome Peter Volny of Scuderia Southwest to share the upcoming 7th Annual Concours in the Hills https://bit.ly/ConcoursintheHills2020

It's a Wrap! It has been an incredible year for us spending time with you while bringing an awesome array of talented automotive topics and guests. For our final LIVE show of 2019, we review some of YOUR favorite episodes based on podcast download popularity. All of these shows and our complete catalog, are on our website to hear in full at https://bit.ly/WrenchNationListen #148 Discovery​ Channel Street Outlaws​ with talent, BoostedGT​ #154 Robert Redding, The Redding Group, Lobbyist for Automotive Service Association, talks cybersecurity #155 Palestinian Drift Racing Star, Noor Daoud #158 Nick Sutton, Author of The DeLorean Story #160 The Spectacular Automotive Art of Princess Vidita Singh #161 The Soaring Growth of Electric Vehicles in China with Hong Kong journalist, Echo Huang #167 Steve Saleen, Bringing Race-Proven Performance to the Street Happy New Year and Thank You! With 2020 approaching, we also discuss plans for next year, beginning with an exciting show on January 8 featuring guests Derek Dal

Reflection Propels the Journey We sometimes reflect about how we arrived as automotive technicians, service advisors or owners of our operations. It is the sort of reflection that we lean on regarding those difficult days or hardcore challenges. We all have our stories and life experiences that make us who we are today. Many of you race on the weekend or are carving out the ability to someday hit the race circuit professionally, of which we can all agree, is no easy task. Hard days and long nights while we continually reflect on how far we have come so we can continue the courage to keep moving forward. The Racing Roller Coaster Mechanic, shop owner, race car driver, journalist and novelist, Burt Levy https://bit.ly/TheLastOpenRoad is no stranger to the highs and lows of racing, or wrenching on his vehicles, while always keeping his spirit tucked tight to the automotive industry. Whether humble race beginnings behind a somewhat ragtag Triumph TR-3, to ultimately competitively hitting it hard on the SCCA (S

My Car Crashed. Now What? How many of us actually think about the details of a repair after a collision? Do we realize the intense process of skilled craftsmanship and technology challenges that technicians overcome while quietly nursing back to health your ride after a fender bender? You notice the airbags where horrific, the body damage was pretty nasty and it seems that every instrument cluster light is on. For the most part we don't and quite frankly that is understandable, after all, you have better things to worry about. We tow the vehicle into our chosen collision repair shop, receive a rental and wait patiently until our prized vehicular possession is all doctored up and ready to hit the road again. A Behind the Scenes Look at Collision Repairs We offer an exclusive look at the incredibly sophisticated world of collision repair, welding, paint and all things fender bender service that you may be taking for granted. The amazing amount of training involved to get this perfect, and the amount of adva

The Journey of Automotive Parts The trade wars that are currently going on are historic, especially as it relates to the automotive industry and manufacturing. GM’s Romulus Powertrain plant makes about 400,000 V-6 engines a year for high-margin Cadillac SUVs, light pickup trucks and other GM vehicles, while the process of manufacturing the critical pistons can lead to a cross border journey that most are not aware of. The Romulus built V-6 uses 235 parts from 100 primary suppliers. Sixty-seven ship from factories in the United States, 13 from Mexico, eight from Canada and 12 from elsewhere in the world. Most of the electronics come from Asia, which is a big deal. Trade Wars & Tariff Battles As the fight continues to position the United States in a leading role for manufacturing, we will discuss how the current tariff climate truly affects the end retail user from automotive consumers to the automotive technician, reliant on auto parts and tooling required to produce in a timely and cost effective manner. O

A Historic Race Exhibit  Picture some of the most prized racing vehicles assembled all under one roof. The kind of collection that would have you taking steps back in time during race history, an era of phenomenal race proven vehicles, along with fantastic journey of the drivers who mastered those legendary winning championships.   Phoenix Art Museum Hosts Legends of Speed  Featuring more than 20 legendary cars by Maserati, Mercedes, Alfa Romeo, Ford and more. An extraordinary collection of cars driven by some of the greatest drivers in the history of racing including Dan Gurney, A.J. Foyt and Stirling Moss. Now through March 15, 2020, these cars are on loan to the Phoenix Art Museum by some of the world's renowned car collectors. Legends of Speed offers up an experience for car enthusiasts of all ages. https://bit.ly/LegendsofSpeedPhxArtMuseum We are thrilled and honored to have car enthusiast, car collector and the man behind bringing this exhibit together, Phoenix Art Museum Board of Director Co-Chair

Top Fuel Alcohol Dragster Racing The rumble and raw speed of a Top Fuel Alcohol Dragster is an incredible thing to witness and quite frankly, the in-between rounds back in the pits is a true mechanical wonder to experience as a fan, no matter how old or what background you have. That visceral acquaintance with horsepower leaves us all in a wonderment longing for more. In a world of constant change, the NHRA has never ceased to deliver that consistent attraction for fans, while inspiring future generations to get behind both the wheel and picking up a few wrenches behind the flywheel. First Woman Champion As the award winning 2019 Top Alcohol Dragster Champion, Megan Meyer https://bit.ly/MeganMeyerRacing since the age of 10, has competitively raced with the grit and zeal of a seasoned veteran. She grew up around the sport of drag racing as the oldest daughter of renowned championship winning driver and team owner, Randy Meyer. She has stepped up time after time setting up at the starting line while offering

Corvette Enthusiast Mike Yager bought his first Corvette in 1970 when he was just 20 years old. When he saw there was no Corvette Club in his area, he started one. As the club grew he made the observation that there wasn’t a place where a Corvette fan could purchase Corvette merchandise. To remedy that, he bought whatever he could find that related to Corvette and started making it available at Corvette club events and car shows. When that worked out, he got a $500 loan to start a company that has now grown to become one of the world’s largest suppliers of parts and accessories for Corvettes… Mid America Motorworks. https://bit.ly/MidAmericaMotorworks Corvette Fun Fest In 1994 Mike Yager and the team at Mid America Motorworks staged a relaxed Corvette show to thank their customers and share the Corvette hobby. An enthusiastic crowd of 1,200 people brought 350 assorted Corvettes to Mid America Motorworks' corporate campus to celebrate. By 2006, thousands of Corvettes filled every available space on the grou

Military Vets Struggle for Employment We are a country that is proud of our military heroes regardless of party lines or affiliations.. What about those veterans that are returning from overseas and their prospect of a career to support their families and future and find it to be a struggle? According to many statistics and reporting, this is not always an easy transition for them and arguments that could be made on both sides that would suggest there are serious problems that need to be addressed for both the veterans and potential employer. The Shortage of Mechanics The shortage of automotive service technicians is indisputable, even as the industry debates its numerous causes. That gap threatens the financial health of all areas of transportation, including new car dealerships and the independent automotive marketplace. With a shortage currently top dead center in the industry and what is often a tough segue to civilian life for veterans and military families, are we as an industry seeking out the talen

Popular Rides   We are all familiar with the major brands of vehicles being displayed on everything from bus billboards to the wildly expensive listings during the Super Bowl. The in your face branding of some of the most popular vehicle brands is at times annoying, yet let's face it, highly effective.   Not So Popular  What about the more obscure vehicles that you may not have heard of. Those oddball vehicles over time that did not quite make the list of "must be seen in" latest cruiser? In fact, some of the most weird and mechanically odd vehicles that were as serious to a vehicle designer and engineer, but not so much with the motoring public. Imagine searching the globe for these unusual vehicular oddities and sharing with the world these unique wheels of weirdness. Senior editor for Jalopnik, https://bit.ly/JalopnikJasonTorchinsky author of Robot, Take the Wheel: The Road to Autonomous Cars and the Lost Art of Driving https://bit.ly/JasonTorchinskyBook and producer of Jay Leno's garage, Jason Torchins

Critical Shortage There is a critical shortage of automotive technicians and the U.S. Labor Bureau estimates about 46,000 automotive technicians will be needed by 2026. Today’s cars have more computing power than the system that guided Apollo astronauts to the moon. The Apollo 11 spaceship had 150,000 lines of code. Google’s mobile Android operating system has 12 million and the modern car can have 100 million lines of code. Modern technicians spend as much time in front of a computer as they do under a hood. These jobs require people with tactile intelligence, education and interest in S.T.E.M. related training. They need strong technology expertise and diagnostic and problem-solving skills. It’s no longer simply about wrenches and oil. It’s a world filled with advanced equipment and technology, and it requires technicians with sophisticated, high-tech training. Resources to help TechForce Foundation is a 501(c)(3) that champions students to and through their education and into careers as professional tec

Ahead of It's Time Cast as the "Flying Wombat" in the 1938 movie Young in Heart, the 38' Phantom Corsair was way ahead of it's time as an incredibly sophisticated rolling work of art and style. Match that spectacular vehicle with 200 other gorgeous time pieces of vehicle variety at the very first Las Vegas Concours d'Elegance bit.ly/LasVegasConcours and you have a recipe for one of the premiere car shows in the country. The Harrah Collection On loan from the National Automobile Museum, based out of Reno Nevada, https://bit.ly/NationalCarMuseumReno the 1938 Phantom Corsair, along with over 200 eye popping cars, most from the collection of the late casino owner William F. Harrah, and why the museum is sometimes referred to as The Harrah Collection. The museum has authentic street scenes and sounds truly takes you back in time to a special era of automobile manufacturing and styling. Named in the 'Top Ten Museums' by Car Collector magazine. We are honored to have both Jay Hubbard, the museum's collection man