Episodes

Randy Borcherding drops a surprise that instantly changes the vibe: he’s moved Painthouse out of Houston and into the mountains of Utah. We talk through the why behind the decision, the reality of relocating a hands-on custom car business, and what it feels like to start a new chapter at 60. Randy also shares how the move becomes official only recently, why he keeps things quiet until the dust settles, and what he actually gains day to day with less humidity, friendlier traffic, and a new pace o...

A 300-car convoy is a moving story, and we catch it while it’s happening. We get Sabre Sparkman and Bobby on the phone as they roll into Blanco, Texas, sharing a real-time update from the Hot Rod Tour of Texas, including the Victoria kickoff night, the symphony at Town Square, and what it takes to get hundreds of cars and 600 plus participants fed, fueled, and back on the road without chaos. We dig into what makes this tour work: all-new routes through the Texas Hill Country, smart lunch stops ...

Helium is the last thing most drivers think about until a car can’t ship because a chip can’t ship. We follow a surprising thread from helium balloons to the clean rooms where semiconductors are made, and why a strained global helium supply can raise fresh questions about automotive chip availability. If you remember the pandemic-era semiconductor shortage, this conversation makes one thing clear: the next bottleneck might come from a material most of us never associate with cars. We break down...

Watching a car run on a dyno is pure theater, but the numbers can also save you money, guide smarter tuning, and even keep you safer. We head to Northeast Texas Community College in Mount Pleasant, Texas, to talk with Austin Maness from the Carol Shelby Auto Institute about their Dyno Day event and what really happens before a vehicle ever makes a pull. We get clear on what a dynamometer measures, why rear-wheel drive matters for their setup, and what participants actually learn from horsepower ...

Glowing tires were once pitched as one of the most dramatic developments in automotive history, and we can’t stop thinking about how close it came to being real. We dig into Goodyear’s illuminated tire experiment from the late 1950s and 1960s: translucent polyurethane “neothane,” dye colors, and small lights mounted inside the rim so the whole tire could shine at night. It’s a perfect slice of retro car culture, equal parts engineering ambition and marketing bravado, right down to the promise th...

A modern car can fail you in two very different ways: a broken part you can hear and feel, or a software and security issue you never see coming. We start with the real-world stuff first, running down this week’s biggest automotive recalls, including the Ford F-150 transmission problem that can trigger an unexpected downshift, plus a long list spanning Kia, Hyundai, Honda, Toyota, Lexus, Tesla, Volkswagen, and more. We also revisit the Takata airbag mess and the simple step that still matters mo...

Gas at $6.50 a gallon changes the mood of any car conversation fast, and it kicks off a wide ranging hang with auto journalist Jack Nerad as we compare California’s pump prices with the rest of the country and unpack the idea of a coastal “weather tax.” We talk about why the Golden State stays irresistible to visit even when the politics, taxes, and cost of living feel like a constant headwind, and what those pressures mean for everyday drivers. From there, we get into the good stuff: what’s ac...

Recalls are supposed to be rare. This week proves they’re practically a genre of automotive news all by themselves. We start by sorting through a big stack of safety and compliance issues across major brands, from Ford truck and SUV problems like wiper arm failures and trailer braking or signal concerns to GM’s backup camera glitches and even scarier talk of rear wheel lockup risk on diesel trucks and SUVs. If you follow automotive recalls, new car reliability, or just want to know what could af...

EV demand slows down, a classic American brand hints at a sedan return, and BMW flat-out says software is now the core of the car. That’s a lot of change for one Saturday, and we talk through what it means for real drivers and real enthusiasts when factories idle, platforms get shared, and “digital functions” become as important as horsepower. We hit the week’s automotive news from multiple angles: GM’s EV production pause in Detroit, the surprising direction of Buick’s future lineup, and the b...

The Ford Model T gets talked about like a simple origin story, but the real history is full of weird details and big misunderstandings. We walk through the facts that actually explain how the Model T changed American transportation and manufacturing, including what it cost in 1908, why “black only” became a thing, and how Ford’s choices around simplicity and efficiency helped put everyday drivers behind the wheel. We also clear up a major myth: the Model T didn’t launch with the moving assembly ...

A giant EV factory can feel like a town’s future on opening day and like a crater on closing day. We sit down with Sunderesh Heragu, professor at Oklahoma State University and President of the Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers, to unpack what really happens when EV manufacturing plants, battery factories, or assembly projects get paused midstream. We talk about why EV production is built differently than internal combustion, and why that difference can make a restart or a quick repla...

The gas price sign can feel like it’s mocking you: crude oil dips on the news, but your local station still sits above four dollars a gallon. We walk through the real mechanics behind that disconnect and why it’s rarely a simple one-to-one relationship. From supply and demand to politics, weather, shipping constraints, and the time it takes crude oil to become finished gasoline, we map the chain that turns headlines into what you pay at the pump. If you’ve ever asked why prices jump fast but fal...

A one-door BMW microcar shows up at a Texas cruise-in and instantly steals the whole parking lot. We’re live from the Tailpipes and Tacos Cruise-In in Katy, and we sit down with the owner of a 1959 BMW Isetta to unpack why this tiny, strange-looking classic is actually a rolling masterclass in packaging and creative engineering. From the front-opening body to the steering wheel mounted on the door, the Isetta is proof that great design is not always about speed. We also zoom out into the real l...

The easiest way to understand car culture is to hear it happening in real time, with engines cooling in the parking lot and families weaving between rows of chrome. We’re live from the Easter weekend Tailpipes and Tacos cruise-in at Lupe' Tortilla Tex-Mex in Katy, Texas, where breakfast tacos, hot sauce debates, and a surprise Easter Bunny are all part of the soundtrack. Then we jump into a fast, addictive “sold car roundup” game: we name a car, guess the sale price, and reveal what it actually...

The moment a repair estimate lands, every driver asks the same question: am I maintaining a car or financing its last years? We get specific about the “sell it” repairs that blow up budgets fast, from a blown head gasket to a transmission replacement, cracked engine block, air suspension failure, and the kind of electrical problems that eat shop time without guaranteeing a clean fix. We also talk overheating damage like warped or cracked cylinder heads, heater core replacement that requires majo...

New car shopping feels like it should be getting easier, yet the spring market is doing the opposite. From our live remote at the Tailpipes and Tacos Easter edition at Loopy Tortilla in Katy, we break down why U.S. auto sales are sputtering as the season changes and why volatility may be back on the menu. We connect the dots on the big forces squeezing buyers right now: vehicle affordability, a jump in gasoline prices, soft job growth, and consumer confidence that just is not there. We also tal...

Your car does not usually “die” in one dramatic moment. It wears you down with a stack of estimates, a new noise every week, and that sinking feeling when the shop calls back. We’re broadcasting live from the Tailpipes and Tacos cruise-in at Lupe Tortilla Tex Mex in Katy, Texas, and we bring the same energy you get walking a real parking lot full of drivers, hot rods, classics, and daily beaters with stories. Along the way we talk community, the fun of showing up even when the weather threatens,...

Seven big events can shape your whole driving year if you know what you’re looking for. We lay out a coast-to-coast hot rod and classic car travel plan, starting with the Goodguys Del Mar Nationals and the Pigeon Forge Spring Rod Run, then moving into the Hot Rod Tour of Texas, the massive Hot Rod Power Tour, the Goodguys Summit Racing Nationals in Ohio, the NSRA Street Rod Nationals in Louisville, and the bucket-list Woodward Dream Cruise. If you’ve been searching for the best hot rod events, s...

Gas prices are high, but the fastest way to make them worse is chasing “savings” with the wrong plastic. We sit down with Chip Lupo from WalletHub to sort out the confusing world of gas credit cards, gas rewards, and cash back credit cards, including why some gas cards run 30% to 40% APR and the one rule that makes rewards actually work: pay it off in full every month. We get specific about how to choose a card without wrecking your credit score, from hard inquiries and timing your applications...

Stellantis ticketing employees for parking a rival-brand car at headquarters is the kind of story that sounds petty until you realize what it reveals about modern car culture and workplace control. We react to the reported policy, the fines, and the “wrong spot” rules, then connect it to other brand-loyalty pressure we’ve seen at manufacturers and even at dealerships where driving anything else meant a long walk from the back of the lot. It’s a real question for any auto worker: should your empl...

Half of the frustration people feel at a dealership service department often comes down to one thing: nobody tells them what is actually going on. We dig into a new wave of customer complaints and online reviews that call out unclear updates, shifting timelines, and the awkward silence that starts the moment your car disappears into the bays. We talk about what great service advisor communication looks like, why “fast” is now a baseline expectation, and how the best fixed operations teams focus ...

Snap-on may be the headline brand, but it’s not the only way to build a serious mechanic tool setup. We walk through the tool brands professional mechanics reach for when they want strong build quality, fair pricing, and a warranty that actually helps when something breaks. Along the way, we talk about what “premium tools” really means in a working garage, and why availability and easy replacement can matter more than status. We also get honest about the kind of buyer pain that never shows up i...

Southeast Texas can feel like a straight shot on the map, but it’s packed with stops that turn a simple drive into a full day of stories. We build a listener-friendly route through the Golden Triangle, starting in downtown Beaumont with the Texas Energy Museum for the oil boom history that still shapes American energy and industry. From there we keep it walkable and air-conditioned with the Art Museum of Southeast Texas, then step into a restored 1927 station at the Fire Museum of Texas, capped ...

Tailpipes and Tacos in Beaumont isn’t just a backdrop for us, it’s the whole point: real car people showing up early, swapping stories, and rolling through like a moving car museum. We’re live at Lupe' Tortilla watching everything from classic Chevy metal to modern muscle, and we hand out the Chili Pepper Trophy awards for Best Hot Rod, Best Classic, and Best Modern Classic. If you love cruise-ins, car shows, and the small details that make a build stand out, you’ll feel like you’re standing rig...