Bring a Trailer Podcast

Alex, Randy, and Zac talk about the minimum standard for age and drivability on Turo (see also: can Alex list his Cord there?); when a Frontier is a Tacoma; the brief cultural moments (and distinctive BaT model page charts) spawned by the Cybertruck, Bronco, and Hummer EV; the best hometown spots to jump cars; other high school hijinks; an utterly believable prediction about how and when Randy will finally acquire that '32 Ford he's always wanted; Alex's recent run of bad old car luck; (related) saving a marriage with a hybrid NSX; and the injustice of naming the new Waymo van "Ojai."
They move on to some of their favorite recent BaT sale and no-sale results, with pauses to talk about BaT usernames at the dinner table, the relative merits of special New Beetles, a Singer mystery, reliving past lives through cars, and a great idea for a new website feature.
Follow along! Links for the listings discussed in this episode:
3:55 Tesla Cybertruck model page
4:43  GMC Hummer EV model page
4:57  Ford Bronco U725 model page
7:56  Tesla Goes Airborne on Los Angeles Street KTVU FOX 2 San Francisco
14:30  239 Flathead-Powered ’31 Ford 5-Window Coupe 4-Speed
28:54  1956 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing for Charity
29:32  Ten Tenths Motor Club Track Session & Hendrick Motorsports Tour Experience for Drive Toward A Cure
29:59 137-Mile 2020 Ferrari 488 Pista
30:07  Euro 1983 Ferrari 308 GTS Quattrovalvole w/Koenig Widebody
32:13 18k-Kilometer 2001 Volkswagen New Beetle RSi
37:17  Supercharged 1947 MG TC
38:19  20k-Mile 1993 Mazda RX-7 R1 5-Speed
38:28  42k-Mile 1994 Mazda RX-7 R2 5-Speed
39:00 Ford GT Heritage Edition on BaT
39:11  1990 Porsche 911 Carrera Coupe by Singer
44:35 1989 Porsche 911 Carrera 2 Coupe by Singer
49:18  27k-Mile 2001 BMW Z8
49:54 1976 Chevrolet Cosworth Vega Hatchback Coupe 4-Speed
50:02  1984 Renault R5 Turbo 2
50:27 Dinan-Tuned 1974 BMW 2002 Turbo 5-Speed
50:36  2007 BMW M5 Touring 6-Speed Conversion
50:47  26k-Mile 1996 Porsche 911 Turbo
51:09  1989 Aston Martin Lagonda 2-Door Conversion
51:17  1967 Maserati Quattroporte Series II Fire Truck
51:27  1996 Porsche 911 Turbo
51:37 1986 Acura Legend Sedan 5-Speed for the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation
51:43  32-Years-Owned, S54-Powered 1991 BMW M3 NASA/BMWCCA Race Car
51:57 1980 Tatra T613 Ambulance
52:09  Modified, Original-Owner 1984 Ford Mustang SVO
52:19  S62-Powered 1972 BMW 2002 6-Speed
52:30  1966 Shelby Mustang GT350H
52:38  Euro 1983 Mercedes-Benz 500SL 6-Speed
53:13  1955 Imperial Newport Hardtop Project
53:29  Volkswagen Beetle-Style Utility Trailer International
53:43  RoW 1983 Porsche 911 Turbo Coupe EV Conversion
53:53  Ex–Randy Travis, 21k-Mile 1991 GMC Syclone

Alex, Randy, and Robert enjoy the surfeit of hot rod action currently on BaT, compare their various top speed experiences and give a preview of an upcoming discussion about the movie Ronin before moving on to rehash two rallies they drove in last weekend. Randy and Alex participated with their fathers (and Randy's son) in the Genau Rally, in which all had a great time despite experiencing various levels of old-English-car drama; they discuss "limping it" vs. "nursing it" home. Bobbo, meanwhile, partook of the much more intense Overcrest Lost Coast rally in Northern California, wherein drivers negotiated tarmac and dirt stages, long days, temporary failures to proceed, and their inferiority to a superstar Citroen SM. We discover Randy's favorite sentence and hear about regions of California somehow never explored by our three natives.
Alex employs an artful segue into what cars, contrary to the current "everything is getting more expensive" narrative, can be had as relative bargains these days on BaT (the cars that are coming to you instead of getting away from you). The cover vintage Jags, modified 914s, a  jujitsu-based Steve McQueen connection, a drum-brake-swapped Zanardi NSX, jumping "industry" BMWs, and when a V8 doesn't even count. Randy insists that he's normal.
Follow along! Links for the listings discussed in this episode:
0:29  Hot Rods category page
1:14  Olds 324 Rocket-Powered 1940 Ford Coupe 5-Speed w/Tri-Power Intake
1:35  210+ MPH, Supercharged 302 Chevy-Powered ’32 Ford Roadster Bonneville Land Speed Record Car
12:30 Mid-Engined Masterpiece: Justin Cashmore’s 1960 Renault Dauphine Avants website
23:30  Citroen SM model page
28:36  1938 Ford Standard Coupe
31:08  Porsche 914 model page
33:56  1964.5 Ford Mustang Coupe D-Code 289 4-Speed
45:24  1984 Pontiac Fiero 2M4 4-Speed
48:25  Ford Bronco U725 model page

Alex, Randy, and Beck welcome Robert, returning BaT staffer/podcast first-timer/one of our favorite people to the table to talk about the best cars of 1989. They first discuss recreational test drives and Loma Prieta memories (for those alive at the time, anyway) as well as embarking on a bit of cultural scene-setting, and then dive right into their picks.
Alex sets an unusual stage by going Wild Card first, throwing everyone for a loop and sending them scrambling for essentially the weirdest picks they can think of. No one takes some of the most obvious choices, because who needs another F40, after all? The crew wraps up with a frankly embarrassing array of honorable mentions, heavily weighted toward (but in no way limited to) offerings from the Blue Oval and the other American carmakers struggling for relevance as the '90s loomed in the near distance.
What are your top five picks from 1989? Tell us how far off the mark we were, and get us thinking right!
Follow along! Links for the listings discussed in this episode:
13:57  Mazda 767 on Wikipedia
16:45  Pristine 69k-Mile 1990 BMW M3
17:11  1990 BMW 325iX Touring 5-Speed
19:17  Ex–Mark Martin 1989 Ford Thunderbird NASCAR Race Car
21:14  1989 Ferrari 328 GTB
23:01  35-Years-Owned 1987 Porsche 944 Turbo Cup
25:22  18k-Mile 1988 Mazda RX-7 Turbo 10th Anniversary 5-Speed
26:44  2,200-Mile 1989 Mazda RX-7 Turbo II 5-Speed
30:05  19k-Mile 1989 Ford Taurus SHO
31:20  Second-gen Nissan Maximas on BaT
33:31  Volvo 740 Turbo Wagons on BaT
36:26  1989 Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.5-16 Evolution Is on BaT
38:44  1989 Saleen Mustangs on BaT
40:17  Ex–Jim Farley, Supercharged 1989 Ford Mustang Saleen LX Hatchback 5-Speed
41:05 Saab 9000 Turbos on BaT
42:11  Aston Martin V8 Vantage (1977-1989) Model Page
44:00  Dodge Shelby Dakotas on BaT
47:02  LS3-Powered 1989 Toyota Land Cruiser FJ62
48:22  1990 Jeep Cherokee Pioneer 4×4
50:57  1983 Mercedes-Benz 280GE Cabriolet
1.57:59 1989 Plymouth Voyager SE Turbo 5-Speed
59:04  Ford Escort GTs on BaT

Alex and Randy, fresh off our recent gathering and film screening of  the forthcoming documentary series Route 66: The Main Street of America in Flagstaff, Arizona, discuss Randy's father-daughter trip from Riverside to Flagstaff in his red Chrysler 300B; learning the Chuck Berry version of Get Your Kicks on Route 66 backward and forward; swimming against the stream on the notoriously east-to-west road; the first post-prohibition liquor license in Chicago; the captivating documentary and the great, historic Orpheum Theater in which we got to see it; giving cars a reason to live; the temptation of the vintage motel and gas station business; love for the desert Googie diner; a brief "stroad" explainer; teaching kids patience and flexibility on the road; and that most elusive and necessary part of any good road trip: time.
They move on to a game of picking their top five ideal cars to do the whole route in, along the way discussing aesthetic over speed; candidates from a stakebed farm truck to a Duesenberg; if one could make the drive appropriately in a non-American car; whether a convertible is really a good idea; a Swiss tourist who had Randy pegged within seconds; and specific instances in which roll-up windows prove important.
What are your top five rides for the Mother Road?
Follow along! Links for the listings discussed in this episode:
12:55 Route 66 BaT Gathering at the Orpheum Theater in Flagstaff, Arizona
35:05  347-Powered 1970 Ford Mustang Boss 302 4-Speed
35:42  Lot 1: 1970 Ford Mustang Boss 302
38:25 Ford F-Series 1953-1956 model page
41:26  1926 Duesenberg Model A Opera Coupe
45:53  Volkswagen Beetle (1958-1979) model page
47:53  1957 Chevrolet Nomads on BaT
48:46  1957 Chevrolet 150 2-Door Sedan Fuelie 3-Speed
50:29  1950 Buick Super Estate Wagon
53:32  Supercharged 1956 Ford Country Squire Wagon
54:18 239 Flathead-Powered ’31 Ford 5-Window Coupe 4-Speed
1:00:06  54-Years-Owned 1939 Ford Deluxe Coupe
1:01:31  1963.5 Ford Galaxie 500XL Hardtop Fastback R-Code 4-Speed
1:05:58  1961 Chrysler New Yorkers on BaT

This week, we have something a bit different for you: a guest episode from our esteemed partners and pals over at The Intercooler Magazine in the UK. Episode 334 of The Intercooler Podcast was recorded this past Sunday at the final Bicester Scramble of 2026, during which BaT took over the massive Hangar 113 with the help of our Local Partners Sports Purpose and Chase Classics. Alex Porter, your regular BaT podcast host, joined Andrew Frankel and Gez Medinger in front of a live audience to talk about what made Alex happy this week (spoiler: it's his recent mastery of the British roundabout), play a Porsche-themed version of their popular Buy, Borrow, Burn segment, and reveal the Bring a Trailer Car of the Week.
The latter leads into a discussion about the context for and reception of the first-generation Boxster, one of the unsung (at least less-sung) heroes of the modern Porsche era. They then cover the early history of BaT, which is less familiar to our friends in the UK than to our US community; the similarities between US and UK car culture; and a frank overview of not only how, but why BaT works as well as it does.