Cars on Call

Toyota is leaning into tough off-road trucks at the exact moment US car buyers are hungry for that. Ford is also doing this (to a lesser extent) but it’s a smart strategy. Where's GM?Trauma surgeon safety combined with a rant about 3rd party vendor Comma.ai who can install software that can take over your car. Yikes!A prominent auto industry observer has recommended that some/any high-end manufacturer should make an ultra high-end SUV, think Escalade size Cullinan. What do we think?#carsoncallpodcast #traumasurgeon #traumasurgeonsafety #ultraluxurysuv #rollsroycesuv #toyota4runner #offroadsuv #fordbronco #comma.ai

Cars on Call Trauma surgeon Dr Stephan Moran has opinions about new cars connected to cars from the past, think new Volkswagen microbus 1960s edition versus Volkswagen iD Buzz.But our conversation won't be a boring rehashing of that ho-hum discussion. Instead, we get into cool renewed cars, and, of course, disaster re-dos.Nissan 400Z? Yes, well done. Toyota Supra? No, Toyota messed up. And Ford messed up with the early 2000s Thunderbird (Steve-0 has a story). Dr Moran makes the point that Renault's new Renault's BEV R5 is awesome, as is the neo Renault R8. But ultimately, the neo-Cobra being built by South African who wants to keep a low profile (for now).#carsoncallpodcast #traumasurgeon #fordcobra #shelblycobra #neocobra #silhouette

Kimi Antonelli looks to be a generational talent. Maybe.....Ford is bringing back sedans, namely Mustang sedans. Is it a good idea? We think so.Trauma surgeon safety: As ADAS transitions to self-driving, our trauma surgeon Dr Stephan Moran thinks that highway deaths will start to decline,We love old American cars and reminisce about a bunch of old crazy/awesome/weird vehicles that are gone but not forgotten.Finally, Steve-0 gets into how Porsche is implementing a come-back plan that we think will work. We discuss...#carsoncallpodcast #automotivepodcast #mustang #fordmustang #traumasurgeon #traumasurgeonsafety #porsche #porsche911

Car repos are way up. The average cost of a new car in 2026 is $50k, and that plus high gas prices are the main reasons for that. We discuss repos, The deets:Repos are up 20% from 2025. 60% of new car buyers take out a loan, and 24% of buyers have a loan term of 7yrs or more. Ave monthly payment is $777 for a new vehicle.But - lenders don’t actually want to repo cars: Toyota credit loses $13,602 per repoed vehicle. And many vehicles are wrongly repoed, which is a nightmare for lenders (think deployed military members—CarMax recently paid $500k to resolve allegations it improperly repoed 28 military personnel vehicles)On the flip side, over 10,000 repo companies employing over 18,000 employees exist in the US. They charge about $200-500 per repo. And many of these garner thousands of views on YouTube or TikTok. It’s a profitable business.Trauma surgeon safety: the benefits of dashcams. Get one if you don't already have one. Our trauma surgeon Dr Stephan Moran gets into it.Car spotting: Car Week auction results are way up. 2026: $755.6Mil final sales total, surpassing even the pandemic-fueled frenzy of 20222025: $432.8mil so $756mil is roughly a 75% jump year-to-year, and it blows past the old Monterey record of $471 million set in 2022.Dr Moran has a rant: The new Aston Martin Valen will sell for $2mil but, regrettably, it looks a lot like the Ford Mustang Darkhorse. Dr Moran and Steve-0 have thoughts.#carsoncallpodcast #mustangdarkhorse #traumasurgeon #traumasurgeonsafety #astonmartin #carweek #carreposession #repoman #astonmartinvalen

Volkswagen took the good looking iDBuzz off the US market prematurely. Thankfully, they're bringing it back. We're happy!Trauma surgeon safety: our trauma surgeon Dr Stephan Moran says, "Don't take the doors off your Jeep Wrangler/Ford Bronco!" There's a reason.Steve-0 discusses the (kinda hard to understand) Personal Luxury Coupe craze of the late 1970s/early 1980s. Was it due to the sexual revolution? Maybe.Finally, Dr Moran says bring on traffic calming and other measures to make our roads safer for drivers and pedestrians.#carsoncallpodcast #carpodcast #traumasurgeonsafety #traumasurgery #vwidbuzz #oldsmobilecutlass #personalluxurycoupe #vwmicrobus #vwbuslove

The three of us recently, like all of us during the past six months, bought old but new-to-us cool cars and we discuss. Jeff Bank was the most recent, purchasing a manual Porsche 997.2 cabriolet on Cars and Bids, while Steve-0 traded his E92 M3 for a manual 997.2 coupe, and our trauma surgeon Dr Stephan Moran took delivery of his bespoke ERA Shelby Cobra replica. Steve-0 then rants that Porsche has produced cars that it shouldn't have--a Porsche too far--and it happened again with the Taycan. Now they need to fix the company again. We help.#carsoncallpodcast #porsche #porsche924 #porschetaycan #yolo #enthusiastcar #automotivepodcast #eracobra #narrowhipcobra #narrowhip427cobra #shelbycobra #bmwm3 #997.2

t’s summertime: that means time for drop top cars, which means convertibles. We each name our five favorite all time convertibles and discussTrauma surgeon safety topic: how new technology enables safer towing of trailersCar spotting: Steve-0 spotted a 1987 Ferrari 288 GTO in a Ferrari showroom in California. It can be yours for just $8.9 millionOur trauma surgeon Dr Stephan Moran tells a colorful story from his career. We learn that some people are too mean to die.#carsoncallpodcast #automobile #autotrends #automotivepodcast #rangerover #traumasurgeonsafety #eracobra #convertible #ferrari288gto

Steve-0 tested the new Range Rover recently and talks about it. Spoiler alert: it's great.Trauma surgeon safety: our trauma surgeon Dr Stephan Moran says that the USA has a lot that we can do to prevent pedestrian deaths. Europe does it better.The Ford F 150 Raptor R is unbelievably profitable. So are Cadillac Escalade Vs. How about some respect for these great vehicles from their makers!We talk F1 particularly the old (Lewis Hamilton) and new (Kimi Antonelli)#automobile #carsoncallpodcast #autotrends #automotivepodcast #rangerover #traumasurgeonsafety #f1 #eracobra

Our trauma surgeon ordered an ERA Shelby Cobra replica 4.5yrs ago, and it finally arrived. While not complete, it looks terrific in a very special (and personal) blue color with Air Force fighter pilot leather jacket brown interior. We're excited!Steve-0 has a rant about the Ferrari Luce, the iconic Italian automaker's upcoming four door BEV. He hates it of course, but unlike most observers he blames it on Nepo Baby Hubris--the nepo baby in question being the great industrialist Gianni Agnelli's great grandson John Elkann, Ferrari's Board Chair.Dr Moran's trauma surgeon safety segment involves child safety, and his message is restrain your children properly and never "double buckle", ie - put two kids in one seatbelt.Finally, Steve-0 spotted a Chris Bangle era BMW 645i coupe, and it looked really good. Bangle period BMWs were very controversial when they debuted 25yrs ago, but time has been kind to them and they look good today.#carsoncallpodcast #automobile #eracobra #cobrareplica #ferrariluce #ferrarilegacy #ferrarilucesucks #traumasurgeonsafety #banglebmw #bmw645i #autotrends

Ford will no longer sell Shelby Mustangs. No more GT350 or 500 because Shelby charges $800 per car. Good idea or bad idea? We think good idea.New 2026 Subaru Outback. Seriously ugly!! We discuss.Trauma surgeon safety: self-driving software is getting better, and Ai is helping. Our trauma surgeon Dr Stephan Moran gets into it. John Deere tried to prevent independent shops from repairing their products, and they lost a lawsuit to stop them from doing that. Auto OEMs constantly try to do the same thing. WTF right to repair FTW!We spot a Honda Element. It was a car before its time and we wish it would come back.#automobile #carsoncallpodcast #autotrends #traumasurgeonsafety #automotivepodcast #cartalkpodcast #automotivepodcast #automotivetalkshow #hondaelement #shelby #shelbymustang #shelbygt500

Our trauma surgeon Dr Stephan Moran says that having motorcycle police escort funeral processions is a bad idea. No cops should lose their lives doing this, but sadly some do every year. We need to stop this.GM and Ford have abandoned sedans, and yet Honda sells many Accords every year, and Toyota sells many Camrys. We want the GM Cavalier and Ford Fusion to return. Do you?Dr Moran spots a cool 1965 Ford Galaxie restomodSteve-0 bumps into the man who crashed a 991.2 Porsche turbo S Cab at 211MPH and survived.Steve-0 drove a Maybach Mercedes SL680 and loved it#carsoncallpodcast #automobile #traumasurgeonsafety #autotrends #mercedesmaybachs680 #mbusa

Sonic automotive's Andy Choi returns to talk about selling cars at Steven's Creek BMW.He is joined by his HS friend Karl Schutz, CoC host's Steve-0's son, who discusses how he became a car guy and tech sales.Usual hosts trauma surgeon Dr Stephan Moran and car collector/consultant Adams Hudson are away.#carsoncallpodcast #automobile #autotrends #traumasurgeonsafety ‪@sonicautomotive‬ ‪@bmwofstevenscreek8696‬

Neither trauma surgeon Dr Stephan Moran nor car collector/consultant Adams Hudson were available this week, so we have a special guest.Life-long car enthusiast Andy Choi works in sales at Sonic Automotive's Stevens Creek BMW store, but before that he worked at the Car and Driver Magazine (he had non-automotive jobs in between).Andy and Steve-0 discuss life at the dealership as well as their early car years as well as the enthusiast cars they want (if money were no object).#carsoncallpodcast #sonicautomotive #automobile #automotivepodcast #cardealership #cardealerlife #stevenscreekbmw

Mercedes profits are down mostly due to BEVs so they’re going to pivot to more affordable cars and decrease their focus on AMG and Maybach (ie - except them to ditch “The best or nothing”) Is this smart? We discuss then each name our 3 all-time favorite Mercedes modelsOur trauma surgeon Dr Stephan Moran talks about how the US measures roadway safety in terms of deaths/miles driven, while the rest of the world does it by deaths/inhabitants. We should do it the way the rest of the worls does. Buying a new car is something people dread because dealers deliberately make it an unpleasant experience in order to maximize their profits. Tomi Mikula, the founder of buying service Delivrd, charges would-be new car customers $1000 to have his company buy a car for them, and his company has more business that they can handle. We get into it.Car spotting: Dr Moran visited Japan recently, and boy did he see some cool cars!#carsoncallpodcast #automobile #traumasurgeonsafety #cartok #carenthusiast #autotrends #mercedes ‪@Delivrd‬

Trauma Surgeon Stephan takes his Bullitt Mustang to Magic City Octane Car Show. Lots of cool cars but the vanity plates are the topic of this show. Steve-0 goes on a rant about all the new SUVs are no longer authentic to their origin and are all poseurs.

Lots of graphics! Watch on YouTube!

#magiccityoctane #vanityplates

#carsoncallpodcast #lovefrom #ferrariluce #traumasurgeonsafety #hondacrx #restomods #saab900 #fordmustang #childhoodcarmemories #autotrends #salesanalysis #collectorcars #cartalkpodcast #automotivepodcast #collectingcarspodcast #automotivetalkshow #carreviewspodcast

The upcoming Ferrari Luce battery electric vehicle (BEV) will feature an interior designed by iPhone designer Jony Ive's company, LoveFrom. Their "new" idea is more buttons and knobs, which we like. And to be fair we think LoveFrom is pointing the way toward the car's future cabin design.Steve-0 spotted a 1985 Honda CRX. Honda wowed the automotive world in 1984 with the introduction of four landmark Civic models, the sports car CRX, hatchback, sedan, and wagon. Two years later Honda launched the Accord hatchback and sedan, and the company was on its way to American Automotive Market legitimacy. Our trauma surgeon Dr Stephan Moran discusses the most common injury in car crashes, whiplash. Industry experts are unhappy that whiplash continues to be a problem for passengers, and thankfully progress is being made in this area.Finally, Dr Moran and Steve-0 get into the dream restomods they would like in their garages. #carsoncallpodcast #lovefrom #ferrariluce #traumasurgeonsafety #hondacrx #restomods #saab900 #fordmustang #childhoodcarmemories #autotrends #salesanalysis #collectorcars #cartalkpodcast #automotivepodcast #collectingcarspodcast #automotivetalkshow #carreviewspodcast

Chris Harris had an idea we explore: what car would you drive as your daily driver if it were invisible and you didn’t have to worry about judgment? What about a “weekend car”? We list 5 of each.Steve-0 spots a 1990 Geo Metro. Believe it or not he drove one for a year in the mid-1990s to save money. A 3-cylinder shitbox with 55Hp, the Metro was a true deathmobile. But it was surprisingly well built and so cheap to run. We discuss.Dr Stephan Moran, our trauma surgeon, gets into specific problems seen with older and younger drivers. Both are high risk demographic groups, and he discusses how they can minimize risks.Dr Moran, also an experienced shade-tree mechanic, is frustrated by the recent move by OEMs to replace some electronic parts with expensive "modules" and many steel parts with plastic "equivalents". Ugh he hates it all (so does Steve-0)#carsoncallpodcast #traumasurgeonsafety #automobile #geometro

Sports cars comprise around 1% of new car sales these days, sadly. We discuss, and Steve-0 and our trauma surgeon Dr Stephan Moran pick our five favorite sports cars of all time.Trauma surgeon safety segment: For many years, Dr Moran has been advocating for better crash dummies ("They should have 20 different size and gender dummies lined up, and the tester can pick any one and put it into a car and run the test", is what he's been saying). Chinese manufacturer Geely has built a safety testing facility that can test 60 crash dummies, so finally someone out there has been paying attention and making cars safer through better crash testing. Dr Moran discusses.Stephan spots an insane Honda Accord. Us old guys think it's Fugly, but presumably "da kids" love it.Steve-0 gets into 2025 new car sales data and draws some conclusions: big pickups rule, compact crossovers and big SUVs are selling like crazy, BEVs are fading fast, and BMW is dominating the luxury market (with Lexus close behind).#carsoncallpodcast #automobile #traumasurgeonsafety #sportscar #bmw #lexus

ur trauma surgeon Dr Stephan Moran, frequent guest and BMW expert Jeff Bank, and I livestream the sale of Steve-0's 16mi 2013 E92 BMW M3 6-sp. The last 30min of this auction were pretty crazy. I hoped for $60k-65k and got $78k. I'm very happy, but the new owner is getting a drivers' spec E92 M3 in excellent condition (low miles, one owner, all service done at dealer, rod bearings replaced, no snow/ice/salt, never tracked or autocrossed, max rev 6500RPM)#carsoncallpodcast #e92m3 #bringatrailer #E92m3auction #16kmilesE92M3

The VW GTI turns 50 this year. That’s a big deal and we discuss and list our 3 favorite GTI generationsOur trauma surgeon Dr Stephan Moran discusses the safety problems that software-heavy new cars have and how those problems can be addressed Car spotting: Stephan spotted a 2002 Dale Earnhardt Sr signature Chevy Monte Carlo. We hate it and think Dale Sr would have too, had he been alive.They say that your habits at 21 will be your habits for life. When I was 25, my goal car for when I was 50 - 55 and successful was the BMW 535i. But things have changed. We discuss what each of our 25yo car goals were and what they were when we were 35, 45, and 55, and how much things have evolved over time.#carsoncallpodcast #traumasurgeonsafety #automobile #vwgti #gti