The Weekly Driver Podcast

Julie Blackley is a favorite guest on The Weekly Driver Podcast. She's an analyst for iseecars.com, the Boston-based online automotive search engine and research website.

Blackley is a whirlwind of automotive industry statistics, and she's the first guest who's joined us three times.

Used Toyota Sienna vans in beige are a great car color for good discounts, according to iseecars.com.

During this episode, Bruce Aldrich and I discuss with Julie how certain exterior car colors are more likely to result in significant savings for used car shoppers according to a recent study the company conducted.

The automotive research firm analyzed more than 4.1 million vehicles to determine which car colors were more likely to provide deals, defined as savings of at least 10 percent of a car’s market value.

The analysis found less-popular colors don’t always amount to the most significant savings. Both common and uncommon colors can provide deals to used car shoppers.

The average vehicle has significant savings on 11.3 percent of its inventory. The car color where consumers are most likely to find a deal is beige, which is 24.3 percent more likely to have a deal than the average vehicle. Ranking ninth in terms of popularity among vehicle colors, beige is not among the most popular color choices for consumers . . . black, white, silver and gray.

The Volkswagen Passat, Chevrolet Malibu, Chevrolet Equinox and Toyota Sienna are among the most popular cars available in beige.

Julie also discusses how the industry and public have reacted to the current survey on iseecars.com.

In previous episodes, Julie discussed:

Best End of the Year Deals (Episode #66)

Best Depreciation After Five Years of Ownership (Episode #57)

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Please send comments and suggestions for new episodes to James Raia via email: [email protected].

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Like other ollectors, Joe Palmer of Sacramento has a passion for vintage cars with character, and chrome. If a vehicle has a long history, Palmern takes pleasure in sharing its pedigree.

The real estate businessman and musician currently owns 14 cars and he's possessed more than 30 vehicles. He likes Lincoln, Cadillac and Rolls-Royce. And he also has a 1956 Bentley and a 1966 Ford Mustang.

Joe Palmer of Sacramento has a collective of 14 vintage cars.

Palmer, 59, is our guest on this episode of The Weekly Driver Podcast. Co-hosts Bruce Aldrich and James Raia talked with the collector recently from inside one of his vintage Lincolns that was just purchased a young woman from Southern California.

The Lincoln and many of his other vehicles are located in the backyard of his Midtown Sacramento home. He has the 23rd of 25 Rolls-Royce ever made and he has a 1941 Lincoln that weighs nearly 4,000 pounds and has a V12 engine.

Palmer enjoys tinkering, restoring and talking about all things cars. He appreciates little things about cars as much as how they perform. He likes the loud sound of big, booming horns. And he appreciates moveable emblems as much power. He knows the value of vintage cars, but he also seemingly equally appreciates them as works of art and history on wheels.

The Weekly Driver Podcast encourages and appreciates feedback from our listeners. Please forward episode links to family, friends and colleagues. And you are welcome to repost links from the podcast to your social media accounts.

Support our podcast by shopping on Amazon.com.

Please send comments and suggestions for new episodes to James Raia via email: [email protected].

All podcast episodes are archived on www.theweeklydriver.com/podcast

Every episode is also available on your preferred podcast platform:

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Everett Anton Singer, known mostly by everyone as Tony, is a vintage auto poster collecting expert and founder of Automobilia Monterey. It's the memorabilia segment of Monterey Auto Week, the yearly August gathering of car shows, auctions and nearly every component of the industry.

Expanded to three days this year, Singer's vintage automotive posters were an integral part of the show held at the Embassy Suites in Seaside. And he's our guest on this week's episode of The Weekly Driver Podcast.

Tony Singer is an expert in the niche collecting market of vintage auto posters.

Co-hosts Bruce Aldrich and James Raia discuss with Singer the world of vintage auto poster collecting and as well the larger scope of car memorabilia.

Singer, who has been in the vintage automobile poster business since 1980, publishes the website www.vintageautoposters.com. It features a vast collection of posters and other memorabilia.

Our guest discusses various areas of poster collecting: automotive-related movies and celebrities to racetracks and iconic events. He also details fraud in the industry, how the marketplace has changed and his travels around the world to find rare authentic posters.

As Singer states on the website:

"Whether building a collection or seeking a single decorative piece, most discerning buyers have sought expertise and personal service. The vast inventory begins in the late 1890s and runs primarily through the 1960s, featuring marque, event, and product advertising.

Each poster is guaranteed original and is professionally archival linen mounted. Sizes are indicated in inches. Also available is a fine assortment of vintage auto-related window cards, signs and pins."

Monterey Automobilia in 2020 will be held Aug. 10-12.

The Weekly Driver Podcast encourages and appreciates feedback from our listeners. Please forward episode links to family, friends and colleagues. And you are welcome to repost links from the podcast to your social media accounts.

Support our podcast by shopping on Amazon.com.

Please send comments and suggestions for new episodes to James Raia via email: [email protected].

All podcast episodes are archived on www.theweeklydriver.com/podcast

Every episode is also available on your preferred podcast platform:

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The yearly LA Auto Show is about a month away. It’s always a must-attend event as the first major car show of the automotive season despite its unique dates near the end of the calendar year.

Alexis Evans, the show’s communications director, is our guest on Episode #107 of The Weekly Driver Podcast.

The Byton all-electric sports car debut at the 2018 LA Auto Show. Image © James Raia/2018

Co-hosts Bruce Aldrich and James Raia discuss this year’s show with Evans. The event’s public days are scheduled Nov. 22 to Dec. 1 at the Los Angeles Convention Center.

The location is the multi-floor, multi-hall venue for dozens of manufacturers and the North American or global debuts of their vehicles. With the vastness of the LA Convention Center, the show provides an all-encompassing automotive experience.

It’s all about entry-level cars, top-end luxury vehicles, the ever-expanding alternative fuel industry, custom made machines and unique concepts.

In addition to her communications’ responsibilities, Evans also oversees the top-10 start-up competition, Hackathon, for Automobility. It’s the four-day press and trade show that precedes the public show.

With several halls of new vehicles, Evans shares tips for attending the show. She explains that unlike visiting a car dealership, the public is encouraged to ask manufacturers, sometimes called ambassadors, about the new vehicles. The carmakers’ representatives aren’t salespeople, but happy to help.

Evans reminds potential visitors the LA Auto can be a hands-on experience. Test drives are offered by many manufacturers. Several companies have interactive exhibits.

The LA Convention Center is located in one of the busiest areas of metropolitan Los Angeles. Evans provides suggestions for parking and well as public transportation.

Comprehensive details are available via the website https://laautoshow.com.

The Weekly Driver Podcast encourages and appreciates feedback from our listeners. Please forward episode links to family, friends and colleagues. And you are welcome to repost links from the podcast to your social media accounts.

Support our podcast by shopping on Amazon.com.

Please send comments and suggestions for new episodes to James Raia via email: [email protected].

All podcast episodes are archived on www.theweeklydriver.com/podcast

Every episode is also available on your preferred podcast platform:

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iTunes

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Sometimes forgotten in the 100-year legacy of Bentley is the English manufacturer's legacy at LeMans, the famous French racetrack and its 24-hour race.

Joseph Bentley, the company earlier in-house designer was against the idea of participating in the event. He believed it was too severe to race a car at top speeds for 24 hours.

Andrew Noakes' new book celebrates Bentley on its 100th anniversary.

But after attending the race, Bentley changed his mind and the manufacturer changed its perspective. Bentley won five of the first eight 24 Hours of LeMans events beginning in 1924, and the legacy of the luxury vehicle had begun.

Andrew Noakes, the author of the new book 100 Years of Bentley, writes about Bentley's legacy at LeMans and many other topics in his volume that celebrates the manufacturer's centenary.

Noakes is our guest from England in Episode #106 of The Weekly Driver Podcast. Co-hosts Bruce Aldrich and James Raia discuss with Noakes the celebration of of the iconic carbuilder, from its earliest models to its modern-day vehicles.

Featuring more than 200 images, including some never seen in prints, 100 Years of Bentley include the history of W.O. Bentley’s early days as a railway engineer along with his first attempts at modifying French DFP cars, to the company’s early racing exploits.

Despite its prominence, Bentley has endured financial difficulties. One result was its acquisition by Rolls-Royce in 1933. The respective brands’ vehicles were exceedingly similar, particularly during the 1970s.

The companies separated in 1998 after a contentious legal negotiation. Rolls-Royce is now owned by BMW; Bentley is part of Volkswagen AG.

Bentley’s reliance on others for its continuing heritage doesn’t diminish its long tenure of individualism.

It's all in the book and it's all part of our interview with Noakes. Please join us.

The Weekly Driver Podcast encourages and appreciates feedback from our listeners. Please forward episode links to family, friends and colleagues. And you are welcome to repost links from the podcast to your social media accounts.

Support our podcast by shopping on Amazon.com.

Please send comments and suggestions for new episodes to James Raia via email: [email protected].

All podcast episodes are archived on www.theweeklydriver.com/podcast

Every episode is also available on your preferred podcast platform:

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Robert Nagle is a Hollywood star. But he’s unheralded except for industry insiders who know his stuntman and engineering talents. Name a movie with the hard-to-fathom automotive scenes and Nagle problem was part of it.

Nagle’s current project is the soon-to-be-released movie Ford v Ferrari, and he’s our guest on Episode #105 of The Weekly Driver Podcast.

Matt Damon and Christian Bale star in the racing movie Ford v Ferrari.

In 2015, Nagle was awarded an Academy Technical Achievement Award (with Allan Padelford). The honor was presented for the self-propelled, high-performance, drivable camera and vehicle platform dubbed "The Biscuit Jr.”).

The platform was named after a similar giant rig put on mechanical horses on to film the actors up close in the movie Sea Biscuit. The vehicle was also used in the movie Aviator.

Tragedy struck when the platform was lost in a fire. Biscuit Jr., was made a few years later. And it's an integral part of Ford v Ferrari.

The movie, which premiered at the recent Toronto Film Festival and Telluride Film Festival, is scheduled for nationwide release November 15.

The movis stars Christian Bale as British-born driving icon Ken Miles and Matt Damon as Carroll Shelby, the visionary car builder. They’re dispatched by Henry Ford II and Lee Iacocca, then an executive with Ford, with the mission of building the Ford GT40, a new car with the potential to finally defeat the perennially dominant Ferrari.

Shelby and Miles battle corporate interference, the laws of physics and their individual demons to build a revolutionary race car for Ford and challenge Ferrari at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1966.

During our podcast, Nagle discusses working with Damon and Bale and training the actors to a skill level above what they'll need to for the movie.

Nagle also discusses his long tenure in filmmaking and gives us behind-the-scenes insight into working with famous actors, the art of his craft and revisits his long career.

The Weekly Driver Podcast encourages and appreciates feedback from our listeners. Please forward episode links to family, friends and colleagues. And you are welcome to repost links from the podcast to your social media accounts.

Support our podcast by shopping on Amazon.com.

Please send comments and suggestions for new episodes to James Raia via email: [email protected].

All podcast episodes are archived on www.theweeklydriver.com/podcast

Every episode is also available on your preferred podcast platform:

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iTunes

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Chuck Woodbury, publisher of RVTravel.com, is the preeminent expert in the ever-evolving recreational vehicle community. He's traveled throughout the United States and in several other countries, documenting his journeys via the RV lifestyle.

With his website and electronic newsletters, Woodbury and his contributors provide the industry’s leading source of news and information.

Chuck Woodbury, publisher of RVTravel.com, joins The Weekly Driver Podcast to discuss the ever-changing RV industry.

Woodbury is also one of the few repeat guests on The Weekly Driver Podcast. Co-hosts Bruce Aldrich and James Raia cover multiple components of the industry in episode #104.

As we previously discussed, the RV industry offers many types of vehicles and various ways to experience a mobile lifestyle — as a getaway weekend or as part-time or permanent residence options.

Woodbury is an advocate for the enjoyment of the RV world. But he's also a savvy watchdog of an industry ripe with major issues.

Too many RV buyers are taken advantage of by RV manufacturers offering vehicles poorly constructed. Buyer recourse in the industry needs revision. Some financing programs benefit the sellers, not the buyers.

Woodbury's website and his free comprehensive weekly newsletter and his five-times-per week travel tips newsletter are must reads for RV travelers and those considering it.

Revisit our first interview with Woodbury about the RV industry from February 2018 in Episode # 25.

The Weekly Driver Podcast encourages and appreciates feedback from our listeners. Please forward episode links to family, friends and colleagues. And you are welcome to repost links from the podcast to your social media accounts.

Support our podcast by shopping on Amazon.com.

Please send comments and suggestions for new episodes to James Raia via email: [email protected].

All podcast episodes are archived on www.theweeklydriver.com/podcast

Every episode is also available on your preferred podcast platform:

Google Play

iTunes

Spotify

Stitcher

iheartradio

Poor newspaper delivery, slow internet speed and increasing utility costs are constant public annoyances. But arguably at the top of the list of everyday frustrations is the worsening condition of roads.

The Reason Foundation has been reporting on the issue for nearly a quarter-century. And in its recently released 24th Annual Highway Report, the libertarian think tank based in Los Angeles reports the nation's roads are deteriorating.

U.S. roads crumbling again after years of improvement.

Baruch Feigenbaum, lead author of the Annual Highway Report and assistant director of transportation at Reason Foundation, is our guest this week in an abbreviated edition of The Weekly Driver Podcast.

We experienced technical difficulties in this episode, but podcast co-hosts Bruce Aldrich and James Raia discuss the new report with Feigenbaum. He explains the reasons for fluctuation in yearly results and how states react to the Reason Foundation's determinations.

In the current report, North Dakota, Virginia, and Missouri have the best performing, most cost-efficient state highway systems. New Jersey, Rhode Island, and Hawaii have the worst.

The 24th annual report is a definitively summarized:

"After decades of incremental progress in several key highway categories, the Reason Foundation's Annual Highway Report published finds the nation’s highway conditions are deteriorating, especially in a group of problem-plagued states struggling to repair deficient bridges, maintain Interstate pavement and reduce urban traffic congestion."

Feigenbaum, who has am eight-year tenure with the Reason Foundation, reports:

"In looking at the nation's highway system as a whole, there was a decades-long trend of incremental improvement in some key categories, but the overall condition of the highway system has now worsened.

"We see some improvement on structurally deficient bridges, but pavement conditions on rural and urban highways are declining, the rise in traffic fatalities is worrying, and we aren't making needed progress on traffic congestion in our major cities."

The 24th Annual Highway Report, based on data that states submitted to the federal government, ranks each state’s highway system in 13 categories, including traffic fatalities, pavement condition, congestion, spending per mile and nd administrative costs, among other data.

The new report uses state-submitted highway data from 2016. It's the most recent year with complete figures currently available. Traffic congestion and bridge data from 2017 is included in the report.

North Dakota ranks first in overall performance and cost-effectiveness rankings of state highway systems for the second straight year. North Dakota’s rural and urban Interstate pavement conditions both rank in the top 10 and the state has kept its per-mile costs down. Virginia jumps an impressive 25 spots in the rankings—from 27th overall in the previous annual report—into second-place in performance and cost-effectiveness. Missouri, Maine and Kentucky round out the top five states.

The state highway systems in New Jersey (50th), Alaska (49th), Rhode Island (48th), Hawaii (47th), Massachusetts (46th) and New York (45th) rank at the bottom of the nation in overall performance and cost-effectiveness. Despite spending more money per mile than any other state, New Jersey has the worst urban traffic congestion and among the worst urban Interstate pavement conditions in the country.

The study finds pavement conditions on both urban Interstates and rural Interstates are deteriorating, with the percentage of urban Interstate mileage in poor condition increasing in 29 of 50 states. One-third, 33 percent, of the nation's urban Interstate mileage in poor condition is concentrated in just five states: California, Delaware, Hawaii, Louisiana, and New York.

It’s not just urban Interstates with the rougher pavement, however, the Annual Highway Report also finds the percentage of rural arterial principal roads in poor condition hit the worst levels since 2000.

Similarly, the study’s three traffic fatality categories —overall, urban and rural—all show more fatalities in 2016 than in any year since 2007.

The most positive news in this year’s report is on bridges, where 39 states lowered the percentage of bridges deemed structurally deficient. Unfortunately, 18 percent or more of bridges remain structurally deficient in these five states: Iowa, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, and West Virginia.

With Americans spending an average of 35 hours a year stuck in traffic, traffic congestion levels are about the same as in the previous report. Drivers in New Jersey, New York, California, Georgia and Massachusetts experience the longest delays due to urban traffic congestion in their metro regions.

The Annual Highway Report finds states disbursed about $139 billion for state-controlled highways and arterials in 2016, a four percent decrease from approximately $145 billion spent in 2015.

Dean Seavers has long appreciated vintage cars. He's owned several, a passion that continues a family heritage. Seavers' now-deceased father worked for General Motors in Fremont, California, and his son learned about mechanics and vehicle history at a young age.

Seavers is also a renaissance man. He likes old stuff in his East Sacramento home. He appreciates craftsmanship from yesterday. Seavers' interests are represented ideally by his current favorite automobile — a 1961 Studebaker Lark VIII station wagon. He's owned the car for about three years and seemingly knows every inch of it.

Dean Seavers of Sacramento owns a 1961 Studebaker Lark VIII. Image Courtesy of Dean Seavers.

Seavers is our guest on Episode #102 of The Weekly Driver Podcast. Co-hosts Bruce Aldrich and James Raia talk with Seavers at a coffee shop near his downtown Sacramento workplace.

Seavers, a procurement officer for the State of California, sometimes drives his Studebaker to work. But mostly it's a weekend car and he enjoys working participating in Studebaker clubs of like-minded folks.

The Studebaker company, which celebrated its 100th anniversary in 1952, ceased automobile production in 1966. The Lark was made from 1959 to 1966. Studebaker and Packard were once aligned. Both companies independently and together made heavy vehicles with lots of chrome. The vehicles were simultaneously innovative and problematic.

Studebaker owners are passionate about their cars as any vintage car enthusiasts. Seavers is no exception.

Please join us in this episode, a lively discussion with Seavers. He talks about acquiring parts, working on his vehicle and his appreciation for Studebaker. It's a manufacturer he believes is largely under-appreciated.

The Weekly Driver Podcast encourages and appreciates feedback from our listeners. Please forward episode links to family, friends and colleagues. And you are welcome to repost links from the podcast to your social media accounts.

Support our podcast by shopping on Amazon.com.

Please send comments and suggestions for new episodes to James Raia via email: [email protected].

All podcast episodes are archived on www.theweeklydriver.com/podcast

Every episode is also available on your preferred podcast platform:

Google Play

iTunes

Spotify

Stitcher

iheartradio

Ferraris and Porsches are fine and define precision performance. Mark Aldrich appreciates those iconic cars as much as anyone. But the Aliso Viejo, California, lawyer's preferred vehicle is a 1959 Metro 1500.

When high-end machines arrive at car shows with their distinctive growls, massive engines or flawless designs as mechanical works of art, Aldrich makes his entrance in a 60-year-old masterpiece.

Attorney Mark Aldrich drives a 1959 Metro 1500 convertible. Image © James Raia/2019

Aldrich is our guest on Episode #101 of The Weekly Driver Podcast. Co-hosts Bruce Aldrich (no relation) and James Raia discuss with Mark his nearly lifelong interest in Metropolitan, Nash, Rambler and all vehicles under the umbrella of the American Motors Corporation.

I met Mark and his friend at the Concours on the Avenue, the early week gathering during Monterey Auto Week on Ocean Ave. (and many side streets) in Carmel. The 12th annual show, held in mid-August, as it is every year, featured the full spectrum of vintage cars and trucks.

Surrounded by muscle cars, a massive military vehicle and monstrous sedans replete with protruding body parts and lots of chrome, the Metro may have looked out of place. But it wasn't, and it never is in other automotive events.

"The car gets a lot of attention because it is unusual," said Aldrich. “We live near Laguna Beach where a Porsche doesn't get a second look. This car goes down the street and people look. My saying is 'Children laugh and dogs bark.' "

Aldrich bought the Metropolitan 33 years ago for $3,000 and the extend the legacy of his family owning classic, simple American cars.

The Weekly Driver Podcast encourages and appreciates feedback from our listeners. Please forward episode links to family, friends and colleagues. And you are welcome to repost links from the podcast to your social media accounts.

Support our podcast by shopping on Amazon.com.

Please send comments and suggestions for new episodes to James Raia via email: [email protected].

All podcast episodes are archived on www.theweeklydriver.com/podcast

Every episode is also available on your preferred podcast platform:

Google Play iTunes Spotify Stitcher iheartradio