CarStories

This week, Vaughn Gittin Jr drifts into the studio to talk about his rise from getting his first car to finding a love for drifting to competing against the best of the world before becoming a two times Formula Drift champion. Kyle and James then talk about what is next for Vaughn and his Ultimate Funhaver, his partnership with Ford and the all new RTR Mustang.  

Sara Price is a Hoonigan who loves to burn fuel be it on two wheels where she won medals at the X Games. 4 wheels where she has made cameos in movies for her skills behind the wheel, UTV's where she crushes it in the dirt or now on Hill Climbs, where she tackles "street". Kyle and James were glad to get the chance to stop by the museum to tell us all about her need for speed, enjoy!

This week on CarStories, Ryan Millen drops in to tell Kyle & James what it’s like to be a pro rally driver for Toyota Racing and what went into his incredible undefeated 2017 season in the mighty RAV4. We also talk about the land of the Long White Cloud and the Leadfoot Festival. Listen in!

Sam Smith is the superstar editor at large for Road & Track Magazine and former editor at Jalopnik. CarStories host Kyle peered into Sam's creative process as a globe-trotting automotive journalist and got him to recount some of his most memorable experiences from the driver’s seat.

James and Kyle made their way north to spend two days in the valley, and had a chance for a great conversation with Beau Boeckmann President and COO of Galpin Motors. Inc. Beau practically grew up on the showroom floor under the tutelage of his father, Bert Boeckmann, who is widely recognized as the most honored and successful automobile dealer in America. Topics include growing up at the dealership, navigating USC, working in the industry and of course the legendary Pimp My Ride. Enjoy!

This week James and Kyle somehow managed to trick Mr. Adam Carolla into letting them into his podcasting compound in the San Fernando Valley and sitting down for an episode of CarStories. You know Adam from his many fine podcasts and television appearances as well as from his exploits with Dr. Drew Pinsky and from his work as a documentarian. Adam is a serious automotive enthusiast and has the world's best collection of ex-Paul Newman race cars and Kyle and James had a blast sitting down with him in his studio and picking his brain.

Monterey Car Week is legendary among auto enthusiasts for bringing out some of the rarest and most exciting cars from around the world. We set CarStories host James McKeone loose on the Monterey Peninsula and he managed to secure interviews with some incredible folks including Valentino Balboni, Marcel Massini, and Alan Galbraith. So sit down and prepare for an insider's look at the exclusive world of Monterey Car Week!

Will Roegge is an incredibly talented filmmaker/awesome human and you may know him has half of the team behind the documentary Keep Drifting Fun as well as being instrumental in capturing some of the craziest shots from Hoonigan's Gymkhana series and the newly released Climbkhana. Will stopped by the podcast to talk about his work with Hoonigan as well as with his mentor, Jeff Zwart. Kyle and Will also find time to nerd out over Russian Arm rigs and lots more. Don't miss this one.

Brian Scotto is the co-founder and Chief Brand Officer for Hoonigan Industries, best known for the crazy car exploits of their other founder, Ken Block. Brian is an incredible guy with a huge wealth of talent and knowledge when it comes to cars and car culture and he has helped turn Hoonigan into one of the world's biggest automotive lifestyle brands. Kyle and James were lucky enough to get Brian in the CarStories hot seat just days before the official launch of Climbkhana, the latest Hoonigan masterpiece which sees Ken Block rocketing up Pike's Peak in a 1200+ horsepower twin-turbocharged Hoonicorn Mustang. Brian is also great because he's one of those guys who if you can get them talking, they'll just keep talking indefinitely and typically end up saying some really interesting stuff. This episode is a long one, but it's one of our favorites. Give it a listen and then make sure to go check out Climbkhana on YouTube!

Loren Healy is an incredibly accomplished rock crawler and off-road racer who competes in the mind-bending Ultra4 racing series. A frequent sight at events like King of the Hammers, Loren has built a loyal following and recently left his day job to race full-time. He and his wife were in town for Nitto's Auto Enthusiast Day and we somehow managed to convince them to drive to the Petersen from Orange County to sit and talk to James and Kyle. 

Simon Kidston is one of the most interesting people you've probably never met. He is the owner of Kidston, a classic automobile consultancy unlike any other. He comes from a family of racing enthusiasts and pioneers and he has built a career and a life around his love of automobiles. Kyle and James were lucky enough to convince him to take a few hours out of his Los Angeles vacation to visit the Petersen and tell his story, and let's face it, when someone parks their Mercedes 300SL Gullwing in the parking structure after having shipped it from Europe, it's going to be a story worth listening to. Simon has an almost encyclopedic knowledge as as a well-developed set of opinions and tastes where sports cars are concerned and he's not afraid to voice them. This is one of Kyle and James' favorite interviews, please enjoy!

Gard Hollinger is the engineering and design genius behind Arch Motorcycle. He's been neck-deep in motorcycles since he was a kid and has gone on to found several businesses including the incredible ChopRod custom shop. Eventually, he hooked up with Keanu Reeves and built a bike out of Mr. Reeves' Harley Dyna and the rest, as they say, is history. Now Arch is a thriving "production custom" motorcycle company that designs, builds, and assembles its bikes here in Southern California. Gard and their new Sales Manager, CarStories alumnus Heath Cofran rode up from the South Bay to sit down with James and Kyle to talk about bikes, design, modern architecture, growing up in the NW, and much more. This one is super fun. Enjoy!

Shane Tecklenburg is a master of MoTeC tuning and over the years he has built himself a reputation as being the guy to go to if you have a fuel-injected race car and you need to extract maximum power from your current set up. Shane is a mostly self-taught tuner, getting his start with a Briggs & Stratton engine for which he cobbled together a fuel injection setup out of junk he found in his dad's shop. Now he spends his days tuning land speed racing motorcycles, 2000hp drag Supras, and much more. In this episode, Shane sits down with Kyle to geek out on fuel injection tech and talk about how he became the wizard he is today.

Taro Koki is the guy behind GTChannel, one of the most popular network of automotive channels on YouTube as well as the guy who convinced the producers of Japanese motoring video magazine, Best Motoring to let him do dubs and subtitles in English and bring the joy of their Tsukuba Battles to the world. Taro is an interesting guy with a lifelong love of automobiles and a willingness to jump headfirst into new technology before anyone else. James and Kyle were thrilled to sit down with Taro to talk about the genesis of GTChannel and much more.

Ari and Zack are lifelong friends who somehow, through the machinations of fate and the weirdness of the world, managed to end up as co-editors of the redesigned and rethought Motorcyclist Magazine. We were super excited to have them in the CarStories studio before they left for a trip up the coast on two tiny adventure motorcycles. In their conversation with James and Kyle, they talked about growing up with bikes and racing. They also went into what it's like to helm a modern, industry-leading publication and how they balance that with the increasing demand for video content. They also scheme ways to get James on a motorcycle in a way that wouldn't get him divorced. Gear up, this is a fun episode!