Advertise on podcast: Hank Watson's Garage Hour - Cars, Trucks, Beers & Guns

You can push the commies into CA but you can't shove them into the Pacific (yet) - let's watch them take another run at ruining car culture with the mileage tax!  ...If you don't advocate for it, you're going to lose it.  We noticed that Bubba Wallace of NAS-Used-to-Be-Interesting-CAR fame is still a tool.  Then Ford built a pickup with headlights that don't work at night, Hyundai built a luxubarg with seats that heat so well you might catch on fire, and Dodge built a van with steering that doesn't work when it's wet.  Seems sensible.  Oh, and another win for the prefers-CDs crowd... What's more? ...Another Hillclimb Special (featuring the Propellerheads), a back and forth on whether the Carrington Event or the Bevington Object supports the latest developments in the mystery of Amelia Earhart, Ska Brewing's Mexican Logger, the wonderment of keeping a calendar that's actual, and an Excellent Weirdo R.I.P. for Walter Koenig, best known for his work as Star Trek's Ensign Pavel Chekov.

You can push the commies into CA but you can't shove them into the Pacific (yet) - let's watch them take another run at ruining car culture with the mileage tax!  ...If you don't advocate for it, you're going to lose it.  We noticed that Bubba Wallace of NAS-Used-to-Be-Interesting-CAR fame is still a tool.  Then Ford built a pickup with headlights that don't work at night, Hyundai built a luxubarg with seats that heat so well you might catch on fire, and Dodge built a van with steering that doesn't work when it's wet.  Seems sensible.  Oh, and another win for the prefers-CDs crowd... What's more? ...Another Hillclimb Special (featuring the Propellerheads), a back and forth on whether the Carrington Event or the Bevington Object supports the latest developments in the mystery of Amelia Earhart, Ska Brewing's Mexican Logger, the wonderment of keeping a calendar that's actual, and an Excellent Weirdo R.I.P. for Walter Koenig, best known for his work as Star Trek's Ensign Pavel Chekov.

Okay, brass tacks... Remote cameras: deactivated or removed (Flock and your municipal enablers, we're looking at you)?  Auto recalls: are more good or bad, and at what point should the corporate makers just make better corporates cars (ahem, Ford and Subaru - two sides of the recall coin)?  Are we watching the beginning of the pushback against electric cars and their smaller, hazardouser fellow machines like scooters and motorcycles and kids' "toys"?  Are so many electric busses undelivered that Uncle Donald is considering renaming the companies "Solyndra"?  ...And have these electric cars and their "drivers" become such an issue that we're right to be suspicious of the oddly loud political backing they're getting? While we're at it: Anchovies and sardines and clams on a pizza (Dad-style), breweries that make good beer but the brewery experience is notsomuch, the Toys 'R Us report, a dude named Brent bought Cerro Gordo above Lone Pine and you should go there, ...and speaking of politicians and their suspiciousness, a doofus from Kalifornistan is trying to regulate your BB gun like a firearm.

Okay, brass tacks... Remote cameras: deactivated or removed (Flock and your municipal enablers, we're looking at you)?  Auto recalls: are more good or bad, and at what point should the corporate makers just make better corporates cars (ahem, Ford and Subaru - two sides of the recall coin)?  Are we watching the beginning of the pushback against electric cars and their smaller, hazardouser fellow machines like scooters and motorcycles and kids' "toys"?  Are so many electric busses undelivered that Uncle Donald is considering renaming the companies "Solyndra"?  ...And have these electric cars and their "drivers" become such an issue that we're right to be suspicious of the oddly loud political backing they're getting? While we're at it: Anchovies and sardines and clams on a pizza (Dad-style), breweries that make good beer but the brewery experience is notsomuch, the Toys 'R Us report, a dude named Brent bought Cerro Gordo above Lone Pine and you should go there, ...and speaking of politicians and their suspiciousness, a doofus from Kalifornistan is trying to regulate your BB gun like a firearm.

Soooooo much going on...  We've got a good pile of the gearhead questions that stir your brain: birds that crash into cars, 18650 batteries that power stuff, buffaloes (or is it bisonoes?) that don't like pickemups, why Dad insisted we  find parts at the junkyard (Volvos and Cutlasses and Lambda Sond, oh my), why tiny cars and side-by-sides won't survive American traffic, whether Porsche can get its head out of its political a$$, more evidence that Jaguar going woke definitely Bud Lighted its profits, BMW's decision to trade its humans for artificial idiocy, and whether or not auto manufacturers can make small electrics competitive with plain old efficient workabouts (the Courier-versus-Ranger debate). Paging Mr. Squeaker...  There's also a proper Excellent Weirdo R.I.P. for sporting and national monster "Iron" Mike Ditka (a man who was so Chicago that his name became an entire style of speech, and whose realness became an entire way of life), plus where'd we park our SR-71, why used boxcar and semi-trailer hardwood is awesome, using car-care products around the house, and so much Amon Tobin.

Soooooo much going on...  We've got a good pile of the gearhead questions that stir your brain: birds that crash into cars, 18650 batteries that power stuff, buffaloes (or is it bisonoes?) that don't like pickemups, why Dad insisted we  find parts at the junkyard (Volvos and Cutlasses and Lambda Sond, oh my), why tiny cars and side-by-sides won't survive American traffic, whether Porsche can get its head out of its political a$$, more evidence that Jaguar going woke definitely Bud Lighted its profits, BMW's decision to trade its humans for artificial idiocy, and whether or not auto manufacturers can make small electrics competitive with plain old efficient workabouts (the Courier-versus-Ranger debate). Paging Mr. Squeaker...  There's also a proper Excellent Weirdo R.I.P. for sporting and national monster "Iron" Mike Ditka (a man who was so Chicago that his name became an entire style of speech, and whose realness became an entire way of life), plus where'd we park our SR-71, why used boxcar and semi-trailer hardwood is awesome, using car-care products around the house, and so much Amon Tobin.

This stupid "Flock" blanket-camera issue isn't stupid anymore - the good ol' U.S. Constitution did its job and got in the way of illicit, illegal and immoral tracking of you and interfering with your right to roam sans Big Gov't's intrusion.  Loss of trust?  Misuse by authorities?  Local municipalities fighting with the operators over who gets to sell your data?  Warrantless investigations?  Companies backpedalling and lashing out over the sudden attention they're getting?  It's all in there.  To keep your brain moving, though, there's some thoughts from a professional gearhead about the other side of the coin, including the problems poised by masked intentions, malicious motoring and minibike malcontents.  ...And when the civil (nondestructive) disobedience begins, blame France (or Canada). What, more?  Stunt carpentry, finance geese, nice owls, bald "rip your truck apart" eagles, fun with Marble, supersauce for your bubbling, and some Fatso Jetson.

This stupid "Flock" blanket-camera issue isn't stupid anymore - the good ol' U.S. Constitution did its job and got in the way of illicit, illegal and immoral tracking of you and interfering with your right to roam sans Big Gov't's intrusion.  Loss of trust?  Misuse by authorities?  Local municipalities fighting with the operators over who gets to sell your data?  Warrantless investigations?  Companies backpedalling and lashing out over the sudden attention they're getting?  It's all in there.  To keep your brain moving, though, there's some thoughts from a professional gearhead about the other side of the coin, including the problems poised by masked intentions, malicious motoring and minibike malcontents.  ...And when the civil (nondestructive) disobedience begins, blame France (or Canada). What, more?  Stunt carpentry, finance geese, nice owls, bald "rip your truck apart" eagles, fun with Marble, supersauce for your bubbling, and some Fatso Jetson.

The Garage Hour used to do a lot more Second Amendment things, but times are so full of gearhead news (and client to-dos) that we've been remiss.  No longer!  This 'uns a bit of a catch all catch-up, with tales of the White House standing up for our rights in and out of court, folks doing the right thing even when someone else cries shame, how fighters and citizens in Ukraine have embraced the shotgun like so many doughboys did in WW1, and how some fool banning conservatives from adopting cats calls the question about sensible people banning trannies from adopting firearms. There's plenty to go around: an Excellent Weirdo R.I.P. for the '85 Bears' silent stalwart, Walter Peyton blocker and all around good guy Matt Suey (weird because he was so normal), Musorgsky's "Night on Bald Mountain" versus 'froading up your local Bald Mountain at night, long Garands, loaning professional drivers your car, and rock from Snail, Monolord and Led Zeppelin.

The Garage Hour used to do a lot more Second Amendment things, but times are so full of gearhead news (and client to-dos) that we've been remiss.  No longer!  This 'uns a bit of a catch all catch-up, with tales of the White House standing up for our rights in and out of court, folks doing the right thing even when someone else cries shame, how fighters and citizens in Ukraine have embraced the shotgun like so many doughboys did in WW1, and how some fool banning conservatives from adopting cats calls the question about sensible people banning trannies from adopting firearms. There's plenty to go around: an Excellent Weirdo R.I.P. for the '85 Bears' silent stalwart, Walter Peyton blocker and all around good guy Matt Suey (weird because he was so normal), Musorgsky's "Night on Bald Mountain" versus 'froading up your local Bald Mountain at night, long Garands, loaning professional drivers your car, and rock from Snail, Monolord and Led Zeppelin.

So much brain, so little bandwidth...  Hostus Maximus Justin Fort invaded the Automotive A.D.H.D. studios and rallied Primary Knowledge Unit Matt West for an hour of high-density car-guy madness.  Pour the Thai tea and lock the hatch, because the gearhead time-space interruptor is on.  From the battle of Toyota versus Subaru to EZ Subies and blown 22REs, and the EJ257 versus the FA24, plus the eternal question of "If I bought 300hp, why can't I use them all?", these two overintuited car geeks went after it.  HFS.  More?  Junkyard versus O.E...  Where "red sticky" grease came from...  How International and Mercury made better engines than the factory...  Why your car is following you...  Why the O.E.s put SCCA memberships in the glovebox of new cars...  Tach dumps under the overpass, and mechanic-owned cars on the menu... While we're at it: Roy Scheider, "Final Countdown", cohost nicknames, boba from the Coffee & Tea Zone, and desert metal from Fatso Jetson, Kyuss, Queens of the Stone Age, Masters of Reality, Screaming Trees and Yawning Man.

So much brain, so little bandwidth...  Hostus Maximus Justin Fort invaded the Automotive A.D.H.D. studios and rallied Primary Knowledge Unit Matt West for an hour of high-density car-guy madness.  Pour the Thai tea and lock the hatch, because the gearhead time-space interruptor is on.  From the battle of Toyota versus Subaru to EZ Subies and blown 22REs, and the EJ257 versus the FA24, plus the eternal question of "If I bought 300hp, why can't I use them all?", these two overintuited car geeks went after it.  HFS.  More?  Junkyard versus O.E...  Where "red sticky" grease came from...  How International and Mercury made better engines than the factory...  Why your car is following you...  Why the O.E.s put SCCA memberships in the glovebox of new cars...  Tach dumps under the overpass, and mechanic-owned cars on the menu... While we're at it: Roy Scheider, "Final Countdown", cohost nicknames, boba from the Coffee & Tea Zone, and desert metal from Fatso Jetson, Kyuss, Queens of the Stone Age, Masters of Reality, Screaming Trees and Yawning Man.

Yeah, we've got a little catch-upping to do - busy happens...  On 9/11's 25th anniversary, the Garage Hour goons got a little lost in the moment (find the French documentary from NBC (?), find the Nova special about why the towers fell, and then pour one out for those who won't be coming back), but also honored the importance of living and doing with the tragedy still in mind.  With gearheads everywhere still rolling around in the tail end of summer - endless summer - it's time to detail up, cruise out, go where you feel, and enjoy the far end of summer.  Additional car guy goodness: gearheadventures with Matt at Automotive A.D.H.D., winged or wingless, Bobcat repair, gas prices, a Miata versus a 600RR, and another win for "32 Hot Rod Hits" There's more: don't spill your hydration, Regular Bill and Admiral Rickover, Link Wray and Dick Dale, and a very tired Hostus Maximus.

Yeah, we've got a little catch-upping to do - busy happens...  On 9/11's 25th anniversary, the Garage Hour goons got a little lost in the moment (find the French documentary from NBC (?), find the Nova special about why the towers fell, and then pour one out for those who won't be coming back), but also honored the importance of living and doing with the tragedy still in mind.  With gearheads everywhere still rolling around in the tail end of summer - endless summer - it's time to detail up, cruise out, go where you feel, and enjoy the far end of summer.  Additional car guy goodness: gearheadventures with Matt at Automotive A.D.H.D., winged or wingless, Bobcat repair, gas prices, a Miata versus a 600RR, and another win for "32 Hot Rod Hits" There's more: don't spill your hydration, Regular Bill and Admiral Rickover, Link Wray and Dick Dale, and a very tired Hostus Maximus.

A look over the shoulder from the Gearhead Consultancy about how to make yourself ready and able to enjoy a week off-roading in the hills...  We've got mechanical touchpoints to get after on your buggy (and in it), a basic list of tools and juices, ancillary gear that'll have you pretty damn prepared before you head out, and a few thoughts on sucking info and technique out of your fellow 'froaders rather than just sucking.  There's also some trucks worth taking, dude's worth having around, maps worth reading, tech worth ignoring, and ideas worth executing. There's more to it: marble in Marble, Irish whiskey in Justin, lumberjacks in Russia, and transmissions in LS400s.