Hooniverse

Jeff Glucker is on the road again, and he's reporting in after spending some time in NY and Virginia. Glucker was up in NY to sample the all-new Lexus RC F, and then hopped on a plane to Virginia to sample some Volkswagen goodness.

This is a special shorty episode, as it's an On The Road Again episode.

This week we reunite with an old friend Mr. Alex Roy. Alex and Blake are both fresh back from Pebble Beach where they experience all manner of automotive obscura. Blake regales us with his story of riding his Moto Guzzi to Pebble while pailing in comparison to the epic journeys of George Egloff. Alex shares his experience with Jerry Wiegert of Vector fame. Blake reviews the A3, CLA and Alfa 4C we discuss the merits of Chris Bangle's BMW designs, abysmal Viper sales, Ferrari's GT cars and of course Alex's Morgan 3 Wheeler.

This week Zach Bowman a.k.a. The Ginger Fox (@Z_Bowman) of Road & Track joins Blake and myself on his way to Pebble Beach.  We discuss the impossibly slow motorcycle journey he and Blake are about to embark on Jaguars, home built 3 wheelers, the Big Book of British Smiles, Miatas, Mitsubishi Evolutions and of course Zach's famous Project Ugly Horse.

It's time for another special episode from the road. This is the one you've heard Jeff talking about, where he is in Scotland, in a castle, on loch ness... drunk.

Have at it!

Jeff Glucker and Blake Z Rong are joined by Matt Farah. You know Farah from The Smoking Tire, /DRIVE, his handful of appearances on this very podcast, and now, /DRIVE+.

The crew dive right into it to learn about the move to a subscription-based platform for the /DRIVE video series. It's a fascinating topic right up until we're interrupted by a rather fascinating person coming into The Smoking Tire offices. Bucky Lasek temporarily stops the proceedings as Blake and Jeff go mega-fanboy for a moment.

Things get back on track and Farah tells us more about the /DRIVE+ move. He has to leave to attend to Mr. Lasek (who is appearing on TST later in the evening), so Blake, Jeff, and Producer Chris get into their own cars and what they're driving to finish off the show.

Guest Abe Drimmer joins hosts Jeff Glucker and Blake Z. Rong in the podcast palace. Topics range from a meager power bump for the Viper on to the introduction of the all-new Polaris Slingshot. The Mad Max Fury Road trailer comes up, as does the Infiniti Eau Rouge, which has been recently tested in prototype form by a small handful of folks.

From there we delve into a sad update on Blake's Miata and a happy update on Jeff's Civic.

This week Jeff is out of town and leaves Blake and myself to our own devices. We deliver a number of tangents cleverly disguised as segments including...

• Live TV Audiences
• So You Think You Can Dance
• Blake reviews the new Cadillac Escalade
• Android Auto & Apple Carplay
• Drunk Drivers vs. Texting Drivers
• Hydrogen Fuel Cells vs. Batteries
• Elon Musks plans to rule the automotive industry
• Chevy SS now with 100% more manual transmission
• Monster Miatas

For the first time in a long time, the whole crew is back together. Hosts Jeff Glucker and Blake Z. Rong are joined by both producers, Chris Hayes and Zack Klapman. This means they dive right into what everyone has been up to, which means a wide range of car adventures. Blake recently returned from the same Nashville-based Nissan event that Jeff spoke about last week, Zack was driving all over the country for a few different things includeing an IMSA race and a country-wide Rally, and Jeff's prepping for a few more adventures.

The talk changes to what we've been driving, which includes the 2015 Cadillac Escalade, and a few other machines old and new.

So we're trying something new today. Jeff is reporting in from the road, as he's traveled to Nashville, TN to sample the entire Nissan lineup. After a day of driving, Jeff sits down to let you know how the cars were, about a few special gems that were available to drive, and what he's got coming up when he gets back home.

He's also easily distracted by the chick in the AT&T commercial...

We may occasionally rant against all-things BMW on this podcast, but deep in our dark hearts there lies a soft spot for the Bavarian beasts. This seems to be the case for Jeremy Whittle and Jason Seaver, because the pair are part of a company called Bavsound. Essentially, Bavsound is an audiophile haven aimed at making BMW vehicles a better place to listen to music.

Hosts Jeff Glucker and Blake Z. Rong dive right into the chatter with the Bavsound crew to get the low down on all things automotive audio. We learn that Pink Floyd can make you cry under the right circumstances, paper speakers aren't terrible, and factory systems can always be improved upon.