Car Show! with Eddie Alterman

We're sharing an episode from another Pushkin podcast, Business History. Hosts Jacob Goldstein and Robert Smith examine the surprising stories of businesses big and small, bringing to life the greatest innovations, the boldest entrepreneurs and the craziest mavericks in the archives of commerce and finance.It's 1945. The Volkswagen factory has been bombed and members of the staff have been arrested as war criminals. So how did the company turn around in just a few years and begin making Beetle cars that became a global sensation? Big political and economic moves helped - but a British Army officer, Walt Disney and a New York ad agency also played pivotal roles in turning a car that Hitler had championed into the favourite ride of surfers, school teachers and hippies.    This is part 2 of a two-part series. Check out part 1 from last week. Find more episodes of Business History on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get podcasts.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We're sharing an episode from another Pushkin podcast, Business History. Hosts Jacob Goldstein and Robert Smith examine the surprising stories of businesses big and small, bringing to life the greatest innovations, the boldest entrepreneurs and the craziest mavericks in the archives of commerce and finance.The VW Beetle was the biggest selling car of all time, and it found particular favor with people like hippies and surfers. But this icon of the 60s counterculture had its roots in Nazism. The Volkswagen—the People's Car—was an obsession of Adolf Hitler. He wanted to transform Germany into a land of drivers—and needed an affordable, but reliable automobile. Germany's private auto manufacturers knew the project was doomed to failure. So Hitler assembled a team of designers and factory managers to enact his vision - even if that meant enslaving workers and committing murder. This is part 1 of a two-part series on the VW Beetle. Find part 2 here next Wednesday. Find more episodes of Business History on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get podcasts.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Toyota Land Cruiser returns as a more affordable SUV, Tony and Eddie take it off-roading to find out if it lives up to the Land Cruiser name. For more on the Toyota Land Cruiser visit Car and Driver online.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Lamborghini Huracán Sterrato is designed to play in the dirt, so we get it dirty. After a spirited drive, hosts Tony Quiroga and Eddie Alterman talk to Lamborghini’s chief technical officer Rouven Mohr to get the inside story on the Sterrato. For more on the Lamborghini Huracán Sterrato visit Car and Driver online.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In our Car of the Year finale, the finalists from rounds 1-4 now go head to head! Eddie, Malcolm, and Alonzo Bodden talk through the finalists, explain why they deserve a place in history, and decide the Car Show Car of the Year once and for all. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In our penultimate round, the contenders are the Ford Bronco Raptor, Genesis GV70, Honda CR-V, and the Land Rover Range Rover. Car and Driver Senior Editor Ezra Dyer and Eddie go round for round with the middleweight class and crown a winner. Eddie then takes us on a very luxurious drive. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode, Eddie and Green Car Reports’ John Voelcker evaluate four industry-leading EVs: the Ford F-150 Lightning, BMW i4 M50, Hyundai Ioniq5, and the Cadillac Lyriq. Then we take the winner out for an electric-powered spin.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Eddie is joined by hot rodder, muscle car enthusiast, and Car and Driver Senior Editor Elana Scherr to weigh in this week’s contestants: the Audi RS3, Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing, Hyundai Elantra N, and the Honda Civic Type R. Then Eddie takes the winner out for a drive in Southern California.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In round one of our tournament to determine the car of the year, Eddie is joined by Matt Farah to debate the various merits of the Corvette Z06, Nissan Z, Toyota Corolla GR, and Porsche 718. What does the future hold for this coveted but shrinking segment? Plus, Matt tells us about the saga of ordering his frozen-berry metallic Boxster, and why it might be better than a 911. Eddie then takes us for a spin in the winner.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Car Show will return on November 30 with a 5-episode tournament to determine Eddie’s highly subjective pick for best car of the year. We’re not just talking about performance and spec sheets though – these cars will become future classics, the ones historians and anthropologists will wax on about. Featuring guest judges Matt Farah, Elana Scherr, John Voelcker, Ezra Dyer, Malcolm Gladwell and more. May the best car win!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Eddie helps new father Malcolm Gladwell shop for a family car. They put a souped-up crossover, a Swedish luxury wagon, and... a minivan to the test to help him find the perfect balance of comfort, style, and safety.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Envisioned as the antidote to the dowdy station wagon, the minivan became more stigmatized still, as it gave power and locomotion to a new entity: the helicopter parent. In a two-part series, Eddie examines the evolution of the family hauler, and asks the question: How did we go from kids unbelted in the rear-facing seat of a station wagon to strapped in and facing forward in a minivan, all within the scope of a few years?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Veyron is what happens when unlimited money and colossal ego meet the hardest automotive-engineering questions ever raised. It was built to be the fastest production car in the universe and also the most expensive. This is the story of what it takes to create something the world couldn’t imagine. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Eddie sits down with muscle car guru Mike Musto, who didn’t totally agree with Eddie’s take on the Golf GTI being Generation X’s Pontiac GTO, in Car Show episode 6. If you haven’t heard that episode, you might want to listen to it first. Then, Eddie and Mike discuss the ever-expanding definition of the muscle car, the possibility of an electric version, and how car culture breaks down all of those categories anyway. You can find more of Mike Musto on The Hemmings Hot Rod BBQ Podcast. Note: We’re releasing this week’s Detours for free! To get more exclusive content from Car Show and ad-free episodes, consider becoming a Pushkin+ subscriber, on Apple Podcasts, or pushkin.fm/plus.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Eddie talks to Lake Bell and Rob Corddry about the cars that shaped their adolescent years and turned them into car geeks.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Proud VW evangelists Malcolm Gladwell and Eddie agitate for a reappraisal of the VW GTI as a historically monumental vehicle—at least to Gen Xers.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Corvair was Motor Trend’s Car of the Year for 1960, yet the car hit bottom just three years later. In this episode, how battles over safety shaped the future of the Corvair, the car industry, and America itself. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Why did we send a car to the moon? How did we design something for an environment we knew nothing about? How did we get it up there? Plus: a behind-the-scenes peek at GM’s current lunar rover project.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Porsche 928 was meant to replace the Porsche 911. Instead, it cemented the 911 as the Porsche icon. In this episode, Eddie investigates why the incredibly great Porsche 928 failed so spectacularly, and was never able to win the hearts and minds of the Porsche faithful. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Malcolm Gladwell joins Eddie to share this ode to sport-sedan purity, before automation and excessive trim ruined everything.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Jeep was created in the 1940s to serve the battlefields of World War II. It glided into France on D-Day, it slogged through the Bulge. Today you can find Jeeps cruising the Jersey shore, or parked in someone’s garage next to a Mercedes-Benz S-class. But it still remains true to its military roots. It’s still—defiantly—the most American vehicle of all time. So why does this anachronistic, out-of-step vehicle still sell so well? The answer may surprise you. If you’d like to keep up with the most recent news from this and other Pushkin podcasts be sure to sign up for our email list at Pushkin.fm.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Coming soon from Pushkin Industries: a show about why we drive what we drive. Hosted by Eddie Alterman, longtime editor of Car and Driver. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.