The Avants Podcast

We recorded this episode live at the Avants Magazine Launch at MotoFish in Redmond! This little bonus episode includes stories from Zachary Philip, one of the first Rivian R1T owners, Sean McDonough, the Exotics “Gatekeeper”, Alex Kochis, who’s Luftgekühlt Porsche 911 Safari is featured in this issue of the Avants Magazine, and Michele Graaff, who wrote the main Land Rover article for the most recent issue. If you missed this event, you missed out. We hope to see you at the next one!

If there is one common theme we have found among the many successful professional drivers we have interviewed, it’s that they work harder than anyone else we know to succeed. Benjamin Pedersen is no exception. Twice-a-day workouts, multiple hours in a simulator, engineering sessions, it’s all just part of a normal day for Benjamin. Now living in Indianapolis, Benjamin joins us online for this interview and tells us everything you ever wanted to know about the road to IndyCar Racing. If you’d like to know more about Benjamin beyond our interview, be sure to check out the article by Karl Noakes with images by Keith Scott here: https://www.avants.com/news/the-rise-of-benjamin-pedersen

For the first official Avants Podcast, we bring in the Alpha of Alfas, Fred Russell! Not only is he an expert in all things Alfa Romeo as the President of the Northwest Alfa Romeo Club, he also has one of the most interesting careers you will ever come across. As a full time collection manager, Fred gets experiences most of us can only dream about. No one just handed Fred the keys and said “have at it” though; listen to how he got here and what makes him uniquely qualified for this particular role.

After almost 4 1/2 years, the Rain City Supercars Podcast comes to a close with this final episode. We have taken an opportunity to join our friends in Avants and the show going forward will be the official Avants Podcast! We won't be changing the format of the show much and you'll be treated with more guests from near and far. You won't need to subscribe anywhere else and over the next week you'll see our logo and title changes pop up. You will still have access to all the old episodes, just now under the Avants umbrella. We were some of the first members (4 and 6) of Avants and Avants was one of our first sponsors. We couldn't be happier, or prouder, to be an official part of their team going forward. Thank you to all the listeners who supported us along the way, our guests who became friends, and our sponsors who helped us make this show into something we never imagined it could be when we started. 

Don't just get there, enjoy the drive! 

In news that will probably shock almost no one, The Rain City Supercars Podcast is now officially The Avants Podcast. We have been working with Adam and Avants for almost 4 1/2 years now and we could not be happier to officially announce this change. We will be creating shows in the same way we always have, but now with more guests from all over the world and an even bigger show. The full catalog of our show will still be available and you won't have to update any of your subscriptions, so just kick back, relax, and enjoy the drive!

When we first recorded this episode we thought we had a pretty good idea of how the market was working, but after talking through it we realized we needed to bring in an expert. We reached out to our good friend of the show, Brian Elich, who gave us some great insights on buying a car in the current market, a different point of view on ADM, and some insight on the Tesla effect.

We welcome back Justin Osmer, founder of Turn-In Point Consulting, as he shares stories from the Forza Horizon 5 launch, driving Route 66 in his RS6 Avant, and a little info on a recent Bring A Trailer auction. If you don't want to take a massive road trip after hearing this episode, you might just be dead inside. 

To see more of Justin's travels find him on Instagram at FatherFlywheel.

If we're being totally honest, we never really know what we’re going to get when we book a guest. Chad Haugen, owner of Leather Tech in Bellevue, came highly recommended and he absolutely lived up to the hype! We went to Chad to see his shop and some of his work first hand and left booking him to do some work for us! Not only is he an expert craftsman, but he turned out to be an all around interesting person and a great interview for anyone to enjoy, well beyond just be an expert on interior repair. From starting his business at 19 to talking about learning Hindi to relate to the people in his community more, we know you’re going to love getting to know Chad.

Check out Chad’s business, Leather Tech at https://leathertechrepair.com/ and don’t forget to use your Avants discount for 15% off! And to keep your interior from needing Chad’s work, use our RCS10 code at Griots Garage for Interior Care and Cleaning products, which Chad does personally use and recommend (and they don’t even pay him to!)

On this episode we walk you through all the basics of towing a trailer! We discuss all those acronyms about weights, how to load a trailer properly, how trailer brakes work, and even balls and shackles! We also talk about the film Dan was in, "F#", by our friends at Driven Motion! 

When the members in Avants asked what basic tools everyone should have, we answered in a big way with this extended length show and a huge write-up on our Tips and Links page. We believe these are the most essential tools you should own, and also a few you may not have thought of that come in really handy. We also talk about different price points and why some tools are absolutely worth the money and some just are not.

Check out the giant write-up here where we talk about everything form pick sets to fluid pumps: The Home Mechanic’s Automotive Arsenal