Episode 55 – Trillionaire Elon, A Giant SEMA Chevy Crate Motor and Ali MacGraw’s Eyebrows

Welcome to the automotive podcast that crosses boundaries. Some of those boundaries are subjective, others happen to be international.  Also, welcome all the SEMA 2022 travelers looking for an automotive podcast that’s worth a damn!

Did you know that we’re the #1 Automotive Podcast in Burkina Faso? Neither did we until recently. Maybe we’ll do a remote show there one day. Maybe not.

In other news, we’ve just finished putting the second coat of wax on Episode 55, and we hope you enjoy it!

To join in on the fun of the show, just email us at info@throwinwrenches.com or post a review on iTunes to be heard around the world!  

Thanks to our Sponsors

Fort’s Toyota of Pekin

Casey Law Office

Arena eSports

Race Daily Kill

Air-Cooled Edition

1960 Citroën 2CV	1960 Karmann Ghia	1960 Chevrolet Corvair
Air-cooled flat 2-cylinder	Air-cooled flat 4-cylinder	Air-cooled flat 6-cylinder
9 hp	49 hp	80 hp
1,323 lbs	1,750 lbs	2,414 lbs
$1,195	$2,245	$1,984

Eric & Daryl actually agree on this one: Race the Ghia, Daily the Corvair, and Kill the 2CV. 

Projects

Eric

• Brake line woes for the ’97 Tacoma farm truck.
• We finally cleaned the barN for the fleet of cars.  And camper!
• The retro camper repairs and improvements are ongoing.
• Supra lost its radio. Will we replace it before putting it away for the winter? 

Daryl

• Haven’t had the cars out since Friday Night Lights, which seems like a year ago.
• Need to tidy up the garage and get stuff tucked away for winter.
• Lord, help me… 2022 will be better. I need to make my stuff a priority. 

Headlines

Car Companies—Including Porsche, GM and Toyota—Have Big 5G Plans

Source: The Wall Street Journal

Porsche is one of a handful of automakers that have teamed up with telecom carriers to build small, local 5G networks to try out the technology as they develop new car models. High-speed networks are so new that automakers still need to test, or in some cases design, the equipment they need. But they have big ambitions for the technology: Manufacturers aim to use the high-speed networks to do a host of things, including downloading crucial software updates on the go, updating digital maps with greater speed, and sounding alerts about road conditions. The cars might also communicate with smart infrastructure such as traffic lights and buildings so that a self-driving taxi would know that the stoplight at the next intersection is red.

America’s most stolen cars in 2020

Source: Autoblog

#	Vehicle Make & Model	Total Vehicle Thefts	Increase from 2019	Most Stolen Model Year
1	Ford F-150	44,014	13.0%	2006
2	Chevrolet Silverado	40,968	25.7%	2004
3	Honda Civic	34,144	2.8%	2000
4	Honda Accord	30,814	0.2%	1997
5	Toyota Camry	16,915	8.0%	2019
6	Nissan Altima	14,668	9.8%	2020
7	GMC Sierra	13,016	16.6%	2005
8	Toyota Corolla	12,515	3.1%	2020
9	Honda CR-V	12,309	21.9%	2000
10	Dodge Ram	11,991	6.2%	2001

Chevrolet unveils its biggest, most powerful V8 engine ever ahead of electric push

Source: Fox News

The Chevrolet Performance division has revealed the biggest and most-powerful naturally aspirated V8 engine it has ever built, even as General Motors accelerates its transition toward electric power.

The 632-cubic-inch ZZ632/1000 crate engine was designed for drag racing builds and not meant to be used on the street. The 10-liter mill is rated at 1004 hp and 876 lb-ft of torque on pump gas without the use of any supercharging.

Chevy’s current top offering is the ZZ572/740R Deluxe, which is rated at 727 hp and 680 lb-ft.

The iron-block ZZ632/1000 was designed with a redline of 7,000 rpm and features electronic port injection fed through symmetrical ports built into its CNC-machined aluminum head, forged aluminum pistons along with a forged steel crank and connecting rods. Chevrolet said a single engine was subjected to 200 simulated runs during development without issues.

Pricing for the ZZ632/1000 has not yet been announced, but it will make its public debut at the SEMA show in Las Vegas this November ahead of the start of deliveries in early 2022.

Ford’s fleet customers send mixed signals on electric vehicles

Source: Reuters

Ford Motor Co sees a robust market for electric trucks and vans by 2030, but it is facing some early pushback from commercial customers that are a key audience for the automaker’s new F-150 Lightning and E-Transit, a top executive said on Thursday.

The Lightning pickup and E-Transit van “are targeted at real people doing real work,” said Ted Cannis, chief executive of Ford Pro, at the Reuters Events Automotive Summit.

But some of those potential fleet buyers are taking a “wait and see” attitude, partly from a lack of experience with electric vehicles and partly from a lack of clarity on government policy and regulations around EVs.

“In the U.S., we see 70% of the full-size bus and van industry going electric by 2030. That’s more than 300,000 vehicles annually,” Cannis said. “And we expect a third of the full-size pickup (market) to go all-electric by 2030, which is more than 800,000 vehicles annually.”

With electric work trucks and vans, Cannis said, fleet customers can save money on fuel, maintenance and repairs, “but there is still a fear of the unknown” about EVs among both employees and managers.

International News – Short takes

• Hertz is buying 100,000 Tesla Model 3’s to keep in stock at major U.S. airports and some European cities beginning in November, 2021. EV’s will then make up 20% of Hertz’s fleet and be the largest purchase of EVs by a single buyer.

• The Geneva Auto Show is cancelled for the third straight year. No 2022 show thanks to COVID-19, the chip shortage, and lack of enthusiasm. The annual event used to draw 600,000 visitors.
• The next big production crisis? A magnesium shortage. Thanks to a Chinese monopoly on magnesium, the shortage is credited to a recent mandate to cut energy consumption by slashing production by 50%. Germany is calling for diplomatic talks with China after a 75% price increase in magnesium imported into Europe.

Moment of Musk

Source: Business Insider

In one day, Elon Musk made $37 billion and slammed Democrats’ plan to tax billionaires.
Here’s what he meant when he said the government will ‘come for you.’

Elon Musk this week critiqued Democrats’ latest plans to tax billionaires to pay for their social spending plans, saying on Twitter:

Eventually, they run out of other people’s money and then they come for you.

Exactly. Eventually, they run out of other people’s money and then they come for you.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 26, 2021

If the tax becomes law, Musk would remain the world’s richest man by a healthy margin, at a net worth of roughly $202 billion, as of Tuesday’s market close. Bezos would be the second-wealthiest American with a net worth of about $149 billion.

Musk’s Monday stock windfall would still be worth more than most Americans make in their lives. A 23.8% tax on the jump would turn the $37 billion profit into a $28.2 billion gain.

If that sum made up Musk’s entire net worth, he’d still be wealthier than 99.5% of Americans.

Cars of the Weak

Daryl

1972 Honda N600 – $3,950

Source: Facebook Marketplace

This is a prime, rust-free example of an early Honda Microcar that started the big import takeover right after the OPEC crisis a year later. A trendsetter. We never see these anywhere, especially in the midwest. This one is in Missouri. 

From the ad: 

1972 Honda N600 manual transmission, overall decent shape other than the left fender. Have quite a few extra parts that go with the car. Was last running about a year ago. 999.   (Have messed with it some and have gotten it started) 

This is Japan’s version of the Mini.. and was 400 lbs lighter than a VW Beetle of the same time. It set the tone for economy cars for decades to come. 598cc two-cylinder air-cooled motorcycle engine puts out 46 horsepower, and is shifted through a 4-speed manual. I’d love to own it as an example of early Japanese design. 

---

Eric

I just watched Love Story on Amazon prime (God help me). In case you don’t remember, Ryan O’Neil is called preppy or something by Ali MacGraw with her fully natural eyebrows in 1971.  A piano ballad plays a song called the theme from Love Story over and over … and over.  Ali dies in the end and every woman who is 60 to 70 believes that Ryan O’Neil is a saint because he loved her to the end.  He probably became a priest and never loved again.

Thus, every piano recital that I have been to over my lifetime has a young lady playing “Theme from Love Story” somewhere in the program.  OMG!  

Anyway, I believe the car that gets a lot of play in the movie as well as a 1950’s MG TC. 

They drive this sucker all over the most elite territory of the North East with the top down. Weather be damned! The car sounds good They rock the convertible.  It’s a noble fight that Chet and Muffy fight as they pretend to be fighting their destiny of stuffy elites.  

Because of this dedication, I hereby dedicate this car of the weak to Ryan and Ali. 

1952 TC  MG Convertible original -$15,000

Source: Facebook Marketplace

A brief search for this ride on Facebook marketplace finds this listing, rich with information.  

Good Solid Car for Restoration 

The engine runs fine.

Located in Newaygo, MI

All that’s left is to buy it and bring it home, only to wait for the coldest day to arrive so we can take a drive in an uncomfortable British sportscar!

As always, thank you for liking and sharing this show on your favorite social media sites. Rock that iTunes review and we’ll drop some stickers in the mail for you. Hit us up anytime at info@throwinwrenches.com.

 

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Spotify | RSS