Driving School; Dodge Charger Review; 1981 Classifieds; Q&A
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In this episode of The Smoking Tire Podcast, Matt Farah kicks off with a celebratory 420-themed intro, reflecting on his past experiences with smoking and sharing nostalgic stories from his college days at Smokey Joe's Bar. He then dives into a detailed review of the new Dodge Charger six-pack, praising its practicality and spacious interior but criticizing its underwhelming engine sound, lack of fun driving dynamics, and stiff, unrefined ride. Despite its visual appeal and 19 MPG highway average, Matt finds it unexciting and ill-suited for its intended role as a GT car. He contrasts this with his positive experience at the Skip Barber racing school at Sonoma, where he earned his competition license, highlighting the value of data-driven feedback and instructor guidance—especially compared to the more generic coaching at Skip Barber. The episode also covers a fun road trip to Zion National Park and a drive through the desert, featuring a mix of classic cars and modern EVs, including a Tesla Cybercab and a Lucid Air GT. Matt shares insights from a dinner with Alex Roy on the differences between Waymo’s safety-first self-driving algorithm versus Tesla’s time-optimized approach. He then explores vintage classifieds from December 1981, revealing incredible bargains that would now be worth millions, and answers listener questions on topics ranging from watch choices and car ownership to the future of physical controls and the ethics of gatekeeping in car culture. The episode closes with a tease for an upcoming project: a custom-built Benzito with a detailed engine swap explanation coming soon.
The new Dodge Charger six-pack is practical and spacious but lacks driving excitement, with a droning twin-turbo inline-six and a stiff, unrefined ride.
Skip Barber's advanced racing school offers valuable data-driven feedback, making it more effective than Spring Mountain's more generic coaching.
Vintage classifieds from 1981 reveal massive undervalued opportunities—cars like the 1955 Porsche Speedster and 1971 Miura SV were dirt-cheap then but are now worth millions.
Waymo's self-driving cars prioritize safety over speed, taking longer routes to avoid dangerous intersections, unlike Tesla's time-optimized FSD.
Physical gauge clusters are unlikely to return due to cost and the need for digital displays to convey modern vehicle data.
…and 3 more takeaways available in PodZeus
420 Celebration & Nostalgia
Matt opens the episode with a 420-themed celebration, sharing personal memories of smoking in college bars, including a story about hiding weed in a cigarette pack at Smokey Joe's Bar.
Dodge Charger Six-Pack Review
“It's not a serious performance car, which was unfortunate. It just didn't feel like a serious performance car.”
Skip Barber Racing School Experience
“The breaks we take... are really important because one, you can analyze what you're doing. Two, you need to rest your brain and kind of calm yourself down a bit and process.”
Desert Road Trip & Self-Driving Insights
“Waymo's optimizes for safety. Oh, boy. That's why a Waymo will take longer to get places than Tesla FSD supervised or a – because it will take the safest route.”
1981 Classifieds & Vintage Car Bargains
“That car, half a million, 600, 700,000, something like that if it's a nice one.”
“Waymo's optimizes for safety. Oh, boy. That's why a Waymo will take longer to get places than Tesla FSD supervised or a – because it will take the safest route.”
“That car, half a million, 600, 700,000, something like that if it's a nice one.”
“It's not a serious performance car, which was unfortunate. It just didn't feel like a serious performance car.”
Host
Matt Farah
person
Dodge Charger
other
Skip Barber
organization
Waymo
organization
Tesla
organization
Ferrari
organization
Porsche 911
other
TST
brand
Alex Roy
person
Lamborghini
organization
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