Motor Trend Audio

We return from our time in Asia and kick-off a discussion on the history and reasons behind why most cultures drive on the right side of the road while over a third of the world still drives on the left. We also meet a German auto enthusiast who happens to be a commercial pilot. He buys cars auctioned in Japan and travels the world in search of needed replacement parts.

Mike Floyd, Editor-in-Chief of Automobile, shares his experience of attending the fabled 24 Hours of Le Mans. We also chat with Motor Trend's Editor-at-Large, Angus MacKenzie, to talk more about all things Ferrari.

For the past couple years, Ford has organized a road show of products and technology called the EcoBoost Challenge. We attend one of the stops to experience the vehicles, driving courses and training.

The BMW 3 Series has been the leader of it's segment for many years. Time and time again, competitors have failed to dethrone the best luxury sport sedan on the market. Enter the Jaguar XE. We go behind-the-scenes to report on Motor Trend's August 2015 cover story chronicling the showdown between these two top-shelf sports sedans.

Anyone who has aspired to design cars should know about these three great design schools. We talk to Stewart Reed, Chair of the Transportation Design Department at the Art Center of Pasadena. We also chat with internationally recognized automotive designer and alum of the College of Creative Studies in Detroit, Paul Snyder. Finally, we spend time with Tom Matano (aka Mr. Miata), Executive Director of the School of Industrial Design at the Academy of Art University located in San Francisco. These institutions have educated many of the great designers working today.

The Ferrari Challenge comes to Sonoma Raceway and we get a chance to check out a healthy amount of Ferraris. We also meet with Ferrari Challenge head coach Didier Theys, who discusses his racing career and the training and support owners receive as part of this client-only racing series. Finally, Mark Paddock at San Francisco Ferrari tells us all about the dealer's relationship with the Challenge, the Ferrari experience and other going-ons at the dealership.

We learn about Mazda's national "Racing Accelerates Creative Education" (R.A.C.E.) program, which takes to the classroom in an effort to encourage interest among Junior and High School students in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) education. We also learn about the REVS program at Stanford that forges new scholarship and college student experiences around the past, present and future of the automobile.

Steve Earle is considered the "godfather" of vintage racing in North America. In an extended conversation, he discusses the origin of the historic races in Monterey, continuing the tradition at Sonoma Raceway, and the birth of the SVRA (Sportscar Vintage Racing Association).

Charlie and Shawn catch-up on a number of current 2015 model vehicles as we get behind the wheel of three SUVs, including a Land Rover Range Rover, Jeep Cherokee and Subaru Outback on an off-road course. We're also able to put a few other vehicles through their paces on the Laureles Grade and Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca and we give your our brief impressions on the likes of the BMW i8, Jaguar F-Type, Alfa Romeo 4C and Dodge Hellcat among others. In the process, we learn much more about the BMW M series, too.

Two of Honda's designers talk about very different vehicles--the Civic and the NSX. Coincidentally, both had a brush with these respective cars in their youth. Coincidentally, they both mentioned their mothers. Coincidentally, we produced this on Mother's Day. We love you mom!

Bob Heil has spent a lifetime perfecting sound. He started out as a musician playing the organ and transitioned to refining sound as an engineer. In the process, he revolutionized live sound for rock n' roll bands like The Grateful Dead and The Who...and oh, by the way, owned quite an impressive list of cars. We also chat with journalist Nicholas Frankl, who went to his first F1 race at 6 weeks old. Needless to say, he's been around the sport for quite some time and most recently attended the Long Beach ePrix. He gives us his thoughts on the event and Formula E in general, in addition to his dislike for the whirl of electric engines.

Renovo is an electric supercar being developed in the Silicon Valley. It's beautiful, it's fast and it costs half a million dollars. Dave Alfonso is not as beautiful, is kinda fast, but knowing him is priceless. Listen in as he reminisces on his relationship with the Andretti family, his love for Alfa Romeo, and riding Ducatis in Italy.

Lincoln reveals the Continental Concept at the 2015 New York International Auto Show and we chat with the designer, David Woodhouse. Jaguar also shows off its subtle design of the all new XF and Maserati, flush off an absolute sales boom in 2014, looks to push the envelope with the flagship Quattroporte and the higher volume, more affordable Ghibli.

The Motor Trend editorial team gathered in New York to witness the unveiling of many new models. Join Angus MacKenzie, Jonny Lieberman, Scott Burgess and Ed Loh as they offer frank commentary and uncensored opinion on the cars and concepts revealed at the 2015 NYIAS.

In the San Francisco Bay Area, there are nearly 50 cars driving themselves around with varying degrees of autonomy. Though the fully autonomous car may be years away from realization, the development pace is full speed ahead. Audi is one such manufacturer that believes self-driving cars are on the horizon. We talk to Audi about its Piloted Driving technology in the A7 Sportback concept, nicknamed "Jack," which drove itself on the highway from the Bay Area to Las Vegas. We also talk to Motor Trend's Testing Director, Kim Reynolds who made that trek.

The Mazda Miata, celebrating it's 25th Anniversary, was based on the great British lightweight sports cars of yore. We wanted to explore vehicles beyond the traditional British nameplates and we dug up some great little known sports cars. We talk to the owners of a Honda S600, Datsun Fairlady 1600, Opel GT and Sunbeam Tiger.

Co-host Shawn recounts his recent trip to New Zealand and his experience driving there. This reminds Charlie of a recent conversation regarding Airstream, the venerable trailer. Switching from historic to leading edge, the guys learn about an iris-based identity authentication system called EyeLock, and how it relates to cars.

Hyundai and Ford reveal concept cars at the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS). Hyundai surprised many with the Santa Cruz Concept that sure looked like a pickup. The Ford GT was, for many, the star of the show and we spoke with Steve Saleen to gather his impression of the reveal. Also nearby was Jim Farley, longtime Mustang aficionado and Ford executive.

We discuss the all new, 2015 Ford F-150 and its utilization of aluminum as well as the challenges posed in repairing bodywork. We also spend time reviewing the process of paintless dent repair. Once shrouded in secrecy, paintless dent repair has become a well-accepted and highly skilled trade.

Jeep is on a roll and has aspirations to grow worldwide. We talk to Jeep's Director of Brand Product Marketing, Jim Morrison, about its current success and future plans. The all new Jeep Renegade will be built in Italy for a global market. We also get to hear from Head of Jeep Design, Mark Allen, as he describes the 2015 Jeep Renegade but first, Mark talks to us about his own experiences and career.