Bring a Trailer Podcast

Alex, Tyler and Beck welcome first-timer Christian, the head of our Customer Service team and one of the people at BaT who is most observant of the human personality (even if he can't ever remember the customer service number, which is 415-787-0961 for anyone looking). Christian gives a quick description of the Customer Service landscape before the crew get down to a couple vintage Questions of the Week, covering phantom old car sounds; a seized Alfa V6; the automotive form of ignorance=bliss; a sudden nosedive in a '90s Honda; why they tell you to check your torque settings after 500 miles; stuck-open throttles; cars that left big impressions; and what model year they'd choose to get stuck with forever.
The group then moves on to the somewhat more intense subject of where modern internet freakout culture and confirmation bias collide with conspicuous wealth and discomfort with change, most commonly exemplified by something along the lines of "There's no way that [insert an auction result you don't like or understand here] is real!" Our wise and experienced staffers, who are closer to the realities of the car auction market than anyone, offer up the reasons that yes—it is real.
Follow along! Links for the listings discussed in this episode:
20:43  Question of the Week archive
34:05  758-Mile 2004 Honda Element EX 4WD Sold for USD $42,750 on 3/06/2025
39:49  One-Owner, 23k-Mile 1999 Acura NSX Zanardi Edition #22 Sold for USD $628,000 on 9/23/2026
40:11  @speedman9000 Member since February 2024
44:23  1952 Jaguar XK120 Roadster Sold for USD $64,507 on 9/18/2026
45:32  8-Mile, One-Owner 2006 Ford GT Heritage Edition Sold for USD $2,101,000 on 8/04/2026
47:56 Acura NSX NA2 Auction Results and Ferrari F430 Auction Results
48:11  Mercedes-Benz Sprinter Auction Results
51:55  251-Mile 2012 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Sold for USD $775,000 on 7/8/2026
55:03  1973 Fiat 850 Sport Spider Sold for USD $4,058 on 9/17/2026

Randy interviews none other than Bruce Trenery, founder of the famed collector car dealership Fantasy Junction in Emeryville, California. They talk about growing up in the Berkeley hills, littered with the discarded but interesting cars of avid travelers; opening the first version of the shop with a partner in Berkeley before taking it solo in 1978; buying an all-star collection in 1982 and just about breaking even; how the fickle Euro impacts the company's overseas business; Bruce's appreciation for Bring a Trailer and specifically the expert commentary; Aurelias growing on trees; and how his son Spencer, a big name in his own right, grew up at the dealership and only occasionally torpedoed sales as a toddler.
In his trademark quiet and humble way, Bruce drops bombs about driving a vintage Bentley across Europe with no preparation during the Chernobyl disaster, running the Mille Miglia in six spectacular cars, buying a Horch from Robin Hood, and purchasing a Delahaye from a Texas palm reader with good advice about airplanes. He talks about the infamous FJ photo wall, gives sage words about honesty in the car business and how nice a car it truly makes sense to own, makes a tongue-in-cheek (or is it?) prediction regarding the '34 Packard, and describes a harrowing attempt at La Carrera Panamericana in a Hudson.
Follow along! Links for the listings discussed in this episode:
0:52  FantasyJunction BaT seller page
14:52 Lancia Aurelia model page
27:14  32-Years-Owned 1931 Chrysler CD-8 Sport Roadster
28:52  Bristol make page
30:30 1987 Porsche 962 IMSA GTP

Randy, Alex, and Beck attempt to talk about British cars. Instead, they cover vigilante gardening; the new Grand Tour; getting to know The Intercooler; an oddly aggressive door handle issue; a very hard-working girlfriend; terrifying death traps; and R. Buckminster Fuller's Dymaxion three-wheeler at the  National Automobile Museum.
But there's room for the Brits yet! The trio go on to discuss Allard vs. Healey Silverstone; BaT's overall favorite Bugeye; which carmakers are actually still British; love for '90s Land Rovers; sailing an M100 Elan into a cow pasture; what car traits and accomplishments are the most quintessentially British; the best car to stick a Buick/Rover V8 into; a philosophical question about the TR7 and TR8; an uninformed question about the Lotus Esprit V8; our upcoming appearance in Hangar 113 at the Bicester Scramble on October 4; and their favorite Brit car listings ever on BaT.
Follow along! Links for the listings discussed in this episode:
7:58 The new Grand Tour hosts on replacing Clarkson, Hammond & May The Intercooler Podcast
8:35 The light fantastic The Intercooler  Volkswagen XL1 article
14:36  Vortec-Powered 1962 Land Rover 109 Series IIA
20:13  Dymaxion Car at the National Automobile Museum
24:17  1950 Healey Silverstone
26:52  1951 Aston Martin DB2 Vantage and 1954 Aston Martin DB2/4 Saloon 5-Speed
28:53  1960 Austin-Healey Bugeye Sprite 5-Speed
32:52  Morgan Plus 4
33:11  1,275cc-Powered 1959 Austin-Healey Bugeye Sprite
37:11  46k-Mile 1999 Lotus Elise
42:04 35k-Mile 2006 Aston Martin V8 Vantage Coupe 6-Speed
49:56  Small-Block-Powered 1964 Jaguar Mk II
57:04  59-Years-Owned 1950 Allard J2
57:49  46-Years-Family-Owned 1961 Aston Martin DB4
57:56  1960 Jaguar XK150 FHC 3.8L w/ Overdrive
59:59 1969 Lola T70 Mk.3B Coupe
1:00:50  Ex–Mario Andretti 1985 Lola-Cosworth T900

This week, Randy welcomes Andrew Frankel, renowned automotive journalist and founder of The Intercooler Car Magazine—BaT's newest partner in the UK. They talk about the beginnings of the magazine during the pandemic; its expansion into a podcast and YouTube channel; their recent event, termed "a concours for cars that get used";  the world's highest-mileage Carrera GT; a shared ethos of "interest in everything" and gaining credibility for the right reasons; the superhero  motoring journalists who inspired Andrew; and the idea of using journalism on Instagram.
As one might expect for a man of his background, Mr. Frankel arrives with a healthy collection of great stories. He tells Randy about using editorial privilege to test old racing cars, recounts his experience driving a 1970 Porsche 917K in the late 1990s, and describes ghostwriting for (and racing against!) his good friend Stirling Moss. Frankel wraps things up by determining the "Peak Car" era, ruminating on the dangers of downforce, putting forth the single most important metric of motor racing, and appreciating the privilege of working only with people one chooses.
Follow along! Links for the listings discussed in this episode:
2:58 8-Mile, One-Owner 2006 Ford GT Heritage Edition
11:44  The Intercooler website
35:21  How two friends changed the way enthusiasts buy cars forever // episode 306 The Intercooler Podcast
36:01  October 2026 Scramble at Bicester Motion

Alex and Beck discuss the sudden dissolution of Alex's car cred, the joy of automatic distance control, and some bad habits of highway travel; the CyberCab versus the Volkswagen XL1; why EV companies don't compete in racing series; the downside of a cohesive design language across all models from a brand; a lovely picture of vacationing with children; and "feeling poor" in a Ferrari on the Monterey Peninsula.
They move on to answering some Questions of the Week from the popular series in BaT Features, in which they cover such disparate subjects as Inspector Gadget, the Ninja Turtles, and Tail Spin; forced tension on movie characters; a double-wing F40 amongst the Prii; ways to improve a Delorean; tow trucks as bodyguards; Cord pipes, SVO Mustangs, and Autozams; a genius idea for new YouTube content; middle-aged men with nothing better to do; merit badges; a dad's requirement to click tongs; and Tom Sawyering Boy Scouts into maintaining your car.
Links for things mentioned in this episode:
4:17 The light fantastic The Intercooler article on the Volkswagen XL1
17:48  Blu Elettrico 2014 Ferrari LaFerrari
22:44 The Mohr Imports Monterey Car Week Collection
23:44  Question of the Week category on BaT
39:04 Modified Twin-Turbo 1981 DeLorean DMC-12 6-Speed
39:42  Matt Farah's 4,400-Mile 1983 DeLorean DMC-12 5-Speed
49:49 1954 Moretti 750 Gran Sport Vintage Racer
Got suggestions for our next guest from the BaT community or One Year Garage episode? Let us know at podcast@bringatrailer.com!