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THE DRIVE with Alan Taylor | #339

Are you ready to have your senses teased by the latest automotive news? We begin the show with Karl Brauer, Executive Publisher of Kelley Blue Book, who just attended the Goodwood Festival of Speed. He gushes about this amazing event that takes place on the estate an English Royal and explains that it was an opportunity for manufacturers to show off their newest designs as well as vintage models. He excitedly sounds off about his opportunity to drive a McLaren 570S Spider and be driven in a McLaren Senna by Bruce Senna up the hill climb at the event. Karl then tells us that he is about to attend an event for the 2018 Mustang Bullitt and for the pure electric Audi e-tron® that they will be racing up Pikes Peak. Changing gears, automotive journalist, BJ Killeen, reviews the 2018 Hyundai Sonata Eco which comes with an MSRP of $22,000. This great little car achieves 28-mpg in the city and 37-mph on the highway – talk about efficiency! Then Alan shares his review of the 2018 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat Widebody and tells us that this car is almost as amazing to drive as his Demon. It has a V8 supercharged Hemi, a widebody 26Z package, and had an MSRP of $77,770. Next up, Steven Cole Smith raves about his love for the 2018 Dodge Challenger Hellcat and tells us that he can’t help but drive around to show it off when he has one. He then talks about the answer to the question that no one is asking – autonomous racing. He doesn’t understand why they are trying to take the human element out of the equation, which is what keeps the races interesting. He also discusses Chevrolet’s lack of success in NASCAR this year and presumes that it is because of the Camaro body they are using. Lastly, we are joined by Chris Duke, Host of Motorz TV, who reviews the 2019 Chevrolet Traverse and explains why it is well worth the price. He also riles us up about the Craftsman Re-launch coming up in August, which will feature celebrity guests such as Alan Taylor, Richard Rawlings, Chip Foose, and Wayne Carini. This episode is packed full of automotive goodness you don’t want to miss!

 

• [00:00:00] Goodwood Festival of Speed
• [00:06:05] McLaren Senna Tops the Bucket List
• [00:12:30] Weight, Torque, and Horsepower
• [00:19:51] Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat Widebody
• [00:29:36] 2018 Hyundai Sonata
• [00:35:53] Dueling Car Reviews
• [00:42:14] Hellcats Deserve Amazing Praise
• [00:48:30] Autonomous Racing at Goodwood
• [00:54:45] Chevrolet Falls Short in NASCAR
• [01:02:06] Alan’s Alaskan Adventure
• [01:11:21] Craftsman Re-Launch in August
• [01:18:08] 2019 Chevrolet Traverse

Discover more about segments and guests below…

[00:00:00] Goodwood Festival of Speed

The Goodwood Festival of Speed takes place on the estate of an English Royal in London, which is spread across the entire property. Kelley Blue Book’s Executive Publisher, Karl Brauer, got the opportunity to attend this car enthusiast’s nirvana for five days. There is everything from automotive artwork, racing, off-roading rally stages and Porsche even celebrated their 70th year anniversary with a great display. The festival gave manufacturers the opportunity to show off their newest releases as well as their classics. One portion displayed McLaren F1s, Enzo Ferraris, Bugattis and many more of the coolest cars from the last 20-30 years. There was also ‘The Run Up the Hill’ which was essentially the driveway of the property but equated to a multi-mile run and the cars would do timed races up to the top. Learn more about this epic playground for car lovers.

 

[00:06:05] McLaren Senna Tops the Bucket List

There is sometimes a bucket list item on your list that you didn’t even know existed! Well, Kelley Blue Book’s Karl Brauer just had an experience that he rates near the top of his list.  Not only was he feasting his eyes on all of his dream cars, he also drove around a McLaren 570 Spider. Then, he took a once-in-a-lifetime ride in a McLaren Senna driven by the son of Ayrton Senna, Bruno Senna. He tells us how crazy this ride was in terms of horsepower and capability and the start price is at just about 1-million dollars. Karl then decided he needed to at least sit in the driver’s seat when his Ford GT concierge happen to call, which made him joke that his concierge knew something was wrong. Jokes aside, Karl was really impressed by these cars and was ecstatic to learn that when he returned back to the States he had a McLaren 570 Spider waiting for him to drive. What car tops your bucket list?

 

[00:12:30] Weight, Torque, and Horsepower

In terms of horsepower, the weight of the vehicle makes a significant difference, and the lighter the ride the more impressive the horsepower. Karl Brauer of Kelley Blue Book tells us that the McLaren 570 was built to be somewhat of a daily driver that is equipped with 570-HP. However, the McLaren Senna is a whole different monster and is barely street legal with 789-hp and weighs less the 2,700 pounds. The Senna has an even better weight to horsepower ratio than the McLaren P1, which is unbelievable. Alan and Karl compare the weight of the McLarens to their Demons which is 4,200 pounds with 840-HP and while their drag cars are faster in a straight line the McLarens would kill it in a circular race. Switching lanes, Karl tells us that he will soon be attending an event for the Mustang Bullitt and then one for the Audi e-tron® where he will race it up Pikes Peak.  Get revved up with us now.

 

[00:19:51] Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat Widebody

It was love at first sight when Alan first saw the 2018 Dodge Demon and he knew he had to have that powerful machine. The love is still strong but this last week he had the opportunity to drive the 2018 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat Widebody which made him realize just how amazing of a job Dodge has done with the Challenger. The Hellcat is a great everyday car with a spacious interior and is ready to leap with the slightest toe touch of the gas pedal. The beast under the hood is a 6.2L supercharged V8 Hemi with 707-HP and has a base MSRP of $77,770. Alan admits that if he ever sells the Demon then he would have no problem owning one of the Hellcats. However, with 22-MPG highway and 13-MPG city saddle this machine up with a $1,700 gas guzzler tax, but that is a small price to pay for an excellent machine. Learn more about the 2018 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat Widebody.

 

[00:29:36] 2018 Hyundai Sonata

While there are a ton of fantastic muscle and performance rides out there, we must address the everyday driver. Automotive journalist, BJ Killeen, reviews the 2018 Hyundai Sonata and this little car is a great starter car. BJ explains that she really likes the 22” alloy wheels and was quite impressed by the extras this car had to offer. She was a bit sad that it only came with an AM/FM radio, which is rare in new cars these days. Then, Alan also discusses his powerful Dodge Demon and explains that it is important for people to know how to drive a machine like that before they buy one. When he bought his Demon, they offered a free Drag Racing Program at the Bondurant Racing School in order to prepare them for owning that kind of power. Whether you need a commuter or a thrill ride – tune in now.

 

[00:35:53] Dueling Car Reviews

There really aren’t any bad cars anymore and so when automotive journalists get their hands on them they really have to dig deep to find anything negative about them. Automotive journalist, BJ Killeen, continues to review the 2018 Hyundai Sonata and explains that the interior felt a little inexpensive and on top of that the floor mats were even an added expense. Despite that, it was a super fun car to drive, great fuel economy, and excellent performance. Alan then touches on the Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat again and then tells a story about the older cars he saw in Ketchikan. It was interesting to be in a place where it’s difficult to ship in new cars and also see how weather damaged the existing ones were. Every vehicle has a story, what’s yours?

 

[00:42:14] Hellcats Deserve Amazing Praise

Sometimes there’s a ride that just makes a car guy swoon and the Dodge Challenger Hellcat is one of those. Automotive journalist, Steven Cole Smith, raves that he is also driving a Hellcat this week. As soon as it showed up he scurried off to the drive-through at McDonald’s right away to show off this amazing machine. He cannot say enough great things about the Hellcat and even Alan says it’s almost as good as the Demon. The guys also talk about emerging technology and how the integration into vehicles is becoming more advanced. What are your thoughts on new-fangled screens in your car?

 

[00:48:30] Autonomous Racing at Goodwood

Race enthusiast, Steven Cole Smith, joins us to talk about the answer to the question no one is asking. Autonomous race cars are most likely here to stay and Steven tells us that they even had one at the Goodwood Festival of Speed that raced up the Hill Climb without a person in it. Steven thinks that it’s a bummer that they’re working hard to remove the human element of racing, which is part of why he loves it.  Alan and Steven also discuss how there’s a learning curve associated with these new cars and while the autonomous features can be great, sometimes they’re frustrating to get used to. Does your car keep you safe or distract you?

 

[00:54:45] Chevrolet Falls Short in NASCAR

In the past, Chevrolet has always done well in the NASCAR circuit but automotive journalist, Steven Cole Smith, tells us that this year they are falling short. Last year they won seven out of eight races, this year we are over half way through the season and they’ve only won one. Steven speculates that the reason they are not succeeding is because of their new Camaro body. According to talk amongst other journalists, Steven explains that you can put a car in a wind tunnel to test its ability but you can’t throw the other cars in with it for an accurate representation of how its aerodynamics would do on the track. He fears that if they don’t start doing well soon then some of the Chevrolet dealers will wonder why they are spending so much money sponsoring NASCAR. Steven also notes that they have lost a lot of really good drivers such as Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and Jeff Gordon. Will Chevrolet stumble upon a win before the season is over?

 

[01:02:06] Alan’s Alaskan Adventure

Alan sounds off about his exciting adventure to Ketchikan, Alaska that he recently took with a group of fun guys and did interviews for his Entrepreneur Weekly podcast. The bald eagles were like seagulls up there and he even saw a ton of sea lions. He tells us that he flew in a 1953 seaplane that went smoothly off the water before he even knew it. A friend invited him to this Genius Network event at which the group of guys fished all day and then in the evenings they would sit around and talk about how they could improve life and share success stories. The head of the event, Joe Polish was kind of like Tony Robbins and it was really inspiring for Alan to learn from him. Learn more about this crazy trip up north now.

 

[01:11:21] Craftsman Launch Event in August

We’re approaching a very exciting time and we’ve been waiting for it for some time. The Craftsman Launch Event will be taking place in mid-August and Chris Duke, Host of Motorz TV, is here to chat about it. They’ll be showing off 1,200 new tools and celebrity guests such as Alan, Chris, Richard Rawlings, Chip Foose, and Wayne Carini will be in attendance. In preparation for the event, Chris Duke has been doing tool giveaways on his Instagram every other week and they’re usually $70-100 sets of tools. Switching gears, Chris begins his review of the 2018 Chevrolet Traverse and shares that it’s a mid-size SUV that falls somewhere between the Tahoe and the Trax. The model Chris got was the top trim model that came in at $54, 590 and while that may seem expensive to some, you get so many amenities. Listen now.

 

[01:18:08] 2019 Chevrolet Traverse

Chris Duke continues his review of the 2019 Chevrolet Traverse and reassures buyers that even though the top trim model is in the $50,000 range, it actually starts out at $29,999. His High Country trim package had many different features because they were really trying to make up to the price they are asking. Chris loved the techy side of things, of course, so the 8-inch touchscreen and the MyLink Audio system really got him excited. A whole display moves vertically and reveals a cubby with a USB port for hidden device-charging. It had a 360 bird’s-eye view camera that allowed you to view anything around you from the top. A piece of cool tech that he didn’t expect to see as an option was a small lens near the backup camera that had a toggle switch that will have the backup camera appear in the entire rearview mirror. Is there a feature to your new car that you can’t live without?

 

Explore More with Helpful Credits:

• Contributor: Karl Brauer | Executive Publisher, Kelley Blue Book
• Contributor: BJ Killeen | Automotive Journalist
• Contributor: Steven Cole Smith| Automotive Journalist, Racer.com/Automobile Mag
• Contributor: Chris Duke | Host, Motorz TV
• Website: Kelley Blue Book
• Website: karlbrauer.com
• Website: Goodwood Festival of Speed
• Vehicle Mention: McLaren Senna
• Vehicle Mention: McClaren 570 Spider
• Vehicle Mention: Audi e-tron®
• Vehicle Mention: 2018 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat Widebody
• Vehicle Mention: 2018 Hyundai Sonata Eco
• Vehicle Mention: 2019 Chevrolet Traverse

Episode Credits:

• Program Host: Alan Taylor
• Producer: Dave Milligan
• Production Assistant: Joanne Bolden
• Audio Engineer: Dave Milligan
• Copy Editor: Jess Baumgardner

Our Sponsors & Supported Charities:

• Austin Hatcher Foundation
• Barrett-Jackson
• Brembo
• Bridgestone
• Craftsman
• Dodge
• Foundation of Human Understanding
• Go RVing
• KIA
• Patriot Outreach
• Shell
• Subaru

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This episode was produced by Entertainment Right Now (ERN). If you found value in this episode, and you’d like to hear more, please consider leaving us a review on iTunes and be sure to subscribe to our podcast so you don’t miss a beat. Your feedback helps us to reach more enthusiasts around the world! If you have a question you’d like us to answer, please leave a comment below or e-mail us at info@ernlive.com.