Hooniverse – Details, episodes & analysis

Come with us as we explore this through-line in both the figurative and literal senses, touching on topics like new car sales, market trends, and the imminent demise of a storied designer’s latest attempt at branding. And who remembers the Plymouth Prowler?

When you’ve got an illuminated 7-foot-tall middle finger on a pole, it’s pretty clear. 

The main issue is a denied building permit, but the giant obscene gesture? Totally allowed. The State can’t stop it. 

It’s been there since 2018, and it’s probably not what Vermont legislator Ted Riehle had in mind when he pushed through the state’s billboard ban 55 years ago.

The Finger’s not a billboard, and it doesn’t advertise anything. But it is a sign. Of unintended consequences.

Project cars are never done and they're rarely easy, right? This week Jeff talks about the issues he's sorting out on the Jag before it heads over to the smog shop. And out of nowhere, the Montero alternator died in the middle of a drive. Ron is also having issues sorting out minor issues on a project Porsche he helped manage for a friend.

After that we talk briefly about the Tesla news related to the recall, then dive into your questions.

There's no news this week. It's time, instead, to dive into the past three months of comments on YouTube. This means we're going to find confusing messages. We'll find hateful messages. We will find the sort of stuff that people typically wouldn't have the guts to see to another person face to face. And we will laugh, and we will enjoy it all.

Friend of Hooniverse Jonathon Klein joins us on show this week. First up, we dip into the news where we discuss:

• BMW not building an M version of the Z4 or giving a manual gearbox option.
• Audi revealing the e-tron electric SUV.
• Pricing been announced for the Ford Edge ST.
• Waze is now usable with Apple CarPlay

After that, Klein tells us what it's like to drive a Bugatti Chiron. The lucky bastard also drove David Lee's Monza 3.6 Evo Ferrari Dino restomod. 

Chris and I kick things off by discussing the fact that Bugatti will not be building more W16 engines in the future. Rolls-Royce believes nanobots are the future of engine maintenance. BMW has a self-riding motorycle in the works. After the news we switch gears to answer some questions before talking about what we've been driving and doing.

Josh Ostrander joins us on the show. He recently returned from Gridlife in Atlanta, where he saw drift cars, time attack machines, and late-night music performances all at the same venue. We also talk about the insanity that is a $180,000 2002 BMW M5, answer your questions, and talk about our own cars.

As for press cars, this week it's the new Hyundai Veloster R-Spec.

There's some solid news this week. Audi plans to offer an extremely limited run of manual transmission Audi A4 sedans. These will be designated as Ultrasport models and only 40 will be built. Jeep is launching its first limited-edition JL Wrangler with the new Moab Edition. Formula E wants an off-road racing series and will call it Extreme E. Finally, DriveTribe is a black hole for cash.

After slogging through the news it is on to your questions before diving into what's going on with us. That includes a trip to Yosemite with the Audi S5 Sportback, getting my Benz fixed, and being hopefully that The Wombat will start on its new path beginning next week.

Chris finished the studio and we've got video cameras, which means there's going to be a live-streaming version of this podcast on YouTube. As we record the show, we'll do it live but also still offer up the audio-only version through ShoutEngine. In the post on Hooniverse, I will place both the video and the audio versions so you can choose which one you'd prefer.

In this episode, we talk about:

-Aston Martin announces the power output of the Valkyrie's 6.5-liter V12 engine.

-A 2002 BMW M5 is estimated to fetch $140,000 to $180,000 at auction during Monterey Car Week

-Toyota is pricing the Tundra TRD Pro within a grand of the Ford Raptor

-A crash-damaged Porsche 959 is going to be auctioned at Pebble Beach.

After that we dive into your questions before chatting about our own rides. My Benz is running hot which is leading to some stumbling issues. The Wombat might have an engine lined up. Chris is still happy with his new-to-him Porsche Macan. I spent a week in a Dodge Charger Dayona 392 and will be swapping into an Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio this weekend.

Chris and I are back in the studio and we've got some news on our own cars. Mine is that the Wombat no longer plays host to a non-running HEMI and transmission. Those are out, sold, and gone! Chris has bigger news in that he bought a Porsche Macan S as his new daily driver. His Ford Fiesta will be up for sale soon as well.

In this episode we also chat about Rally Rd, which is a very interesting project that sales shares in vintage cars. It's basically a stock market of sorts for expensive old machines.

Finally, we dive into your questions before realizing it's getting late in the summer season and no one cars about podcasts right now.