02.16.26: Fog Wrecks & Shipwrecks, Hypermiling & the Stupid Stoplight Button, CO2 is Good for You, Recalls for Quiet Electrics, How Not to Get Arrested by the Police, & Texas VS Evil Chinese Mystery Seeds, + More History (Schmistory)

When life gives you all sorts of junk and a few cups of coffee, you get a smoothie episode (ie: it's in there)...  It was kicked into gear when we watched a dude in Queens bury his neighbor's car during the last snowstorm because their dog won't shut up.  Seems reasonable.  ...Maybe they parked too close to his driveway as well.  Neighbors.  Be considerate and bury the car they use less.  There's a report on alien technology: an app that warns us about glass-holes and their Fakebook spy glasses, concerns that our constant car shopping has gone mental(ist), and a guy in Norway with so much T.D.S. that he Havana Syndromed himself.  Also: Kalifornistan's fuel island is so desperate they're importing gas from the Caribbean, but their highways are so good that the state has four of the five most dangerous superslabs in the country.  Nice work, CA. More in there: Rob Zombie's forgotten hit "Living Dead Tree (Laying on the Roof)", not pulling a Sagan, plus lots of Red Fang, including tales from Pacific Beach at the Doc's and why "Wires" is a gearhead must-see.

When life gives you all sorts of junk and a few cups of coffee, you get a smoothie episode (ie: it's in there)...  It was kicked into gear when we watched a dude in Queens bury his neighbor's car during the last snowstorm because their dog won't shut up.  Seems reasonable.  ...Maybe they parked too close to his driveway as well.  Neighbors.  Be considerate and bury the car they use less.  There's a report on alien technology: an app that warns us about glass-holes and their Fakebook spy glasses, concerns that our constant car shopping has gone mental(ist), and a guy in Norway with so much T.D.S. that he Havana Syndromed himself.  Also: Kalifornistan's fuel island is so desperate they're importing gas from the Caribbean, but their highways are so good that the state has four of the five most dangerous superslabs in the country.  Nice work, CA. More in there: Rob Zombie's forgotten hit "Living Dead Tree (Laying on the Roof)", not pulling a Sagan, plus lots of Red Fang, including tales from Pacific Beach at the Doc's and why "Wires" is a gearhead must-see.

Order, schmorder - this much gearhead goodness doesn't need "order" (especially when an episode at the junkyard had to hit beforehand)...  This episode is in good Garage Hour form: reporting from the industry (the stupid stoplight shutoff feature that nobody likes and does literally nothing beneficial is no longer necessary - kind'a like that belt buzzer from the '70s), musings on interesting/weird/underappreciated automotive trends (hypermiling, anyone?), warnings for idiots (about idiots?) about driving in the fog (because "smart" cars just make soyboys and bullygirls dumber), a couple recalls for bad manufacturing, and a few ideas about not being a psycho liar when you get pulled over by Johnny Law (and advice on how treat the fuzz and NOT to get a ticket when you do something adventurous in your vehicle). Then it's the usual awesomesoup: sheetrock sucks, string cheese and scamorza at Mollica's, the neighbor chick caught pickin' her nose again, why CO2 is just great, why Scapa Flow in particular and shipwrecks in general are just interesting, why you should never plant the mystery seeds, PPIHC 2026, phones not in your bedroom, and COC, Contagion, the Blues Bros., Tom Waits, Dire Straits, and Dog Fashion Disco. 

Order, schmorder - this much gearhead goodness doesn't need "order" (especially when an episode at the junkyard had to hit beforehand)...  This episode is in good Garage Hour form: reporting from the industry (the stupid stoplight shutoff feature that nobody likes and does literally nothing beneficial is no longer necessary - kind'a like that belt buzzer from the '70s), musings on interesting/weird/underappreciated automotive trends (hypermiling, anyone?), warnings for idiots (about idiots?) about driving in the fog (because "smart" cars just make soyboys and bullygirls dumber), a couple recalls for bad manufacturing, and a few ideas about not being a psycho liar when you get pulled over by Johnny Law (and advice on how treat the fuzz and NOT to get a ticket when you do something adventurous in your vehicle). Then it's the usual awesomesoup: sheetrock sucks, string cheese and scamorza at Mollica's, the neighbor chick caught pickin' her nose again, why CO2 is just great, why Scapa Flow in particular and shipwrecks in general are just interesting, why you should never plant the mystery seeds, PPIHC 2026, phones not in your bedroom, and COC, Contagion, the Blues Bros., Tom Waits, Dire Straits, and Dog Fashion Disco. 

Don't shy away from the junkyard when it's time to find a part.  Whether you're a hardcore salvage builder looking for a door skin or it's your first time and you just need a head rest, outfits like Best Foreign Used Parts are ideal - lots of stock, lots of knowledge, and lots of tetanus shots.  Hostus Maximus Justin Fort and Ryan The TBD may be a little biased (It's in there!), but there's a lot to learn from this episode: what parts move fastest, the cars that junkyard shoppers like the most (and where), what to do first when you're heading to the junkyard, and a little bit about this business as a whole.  There's also Dodge R/Ts (Dakota and Caravan), Toyotas, Panteras, Typhoons, Cyclones, Renaults, an MG and a Volvo 240, cars with guns, 'fridges, violins and money, and so many Subarus.  The master of this demonstration of disassembly at Best Parts (Don), also has excellent stories from four decades in the business - crazy finds in the 'yard, what goes on after the gates close, airbag "testing", walking catalytics, hail (No!), junkyard magic, the price of steel, and structural recycling. Soup for you: The Allman Brothers, faces for radio, Colorado Springs and Gold Hill history (schmistory!), R-rated junk car finds, and Johnny Cash's forgotten song about Deloreans. ...And don't trust your lyin' eyes - the Garage Hour is always PG, so the "Explicit" rating that occasionally appears on episodes is just some 'bot that was too drunk to do its job.

Don't shy away from the junkyard when it's time to find a part.  Whether you're a hardcore salvage builder looking for a door skin or it's your first time and you just need a head rest, outfits like Best Foreign Used Parts are ideal - lots of stock, lots of knowledge, and lots of tetanus shots.  Hostus Maximus Justin Fort and Ryan The TBD may be a little biased (It's in there!), but there's a lot to learn from this episode: what parts move fastest, the cars that junkyard shoppers like the most (and where), what to do first when you're heading to the junkyard, and a little bit about this business as a whole.  There's also Dodge R/Ts (Dakota and Caravan), Toyotas, Panteras, Typhoons, Cyclones, Renaults, an MG and a Volvo 240, cars with guns, 'fridges, violins and money, and so many Subarus.  The master of this demonstration of disassembly at Best Parts (Don), also has excellent stories from four decades in the business - crazy finds in the 'yard, what goes on after the gates close, airbag "testing", walking catalytics, hail (No!), junkyard magic, the price of steel, and structural recycling. Soup for you: The Allman Brothers, faces for radio, Colorado Springs and Gold Hill history (schmistory!), R-rated junk car finds, and Johnny Cash's forgotten song about Deloreans. ...And don't trust your lyin' eyes - the Garage Hour is always PG, so the "Explicit" rating that occasionally appears on episodes is just some 'bot that was too drunk to do its job.

Do You Need Some... serious information about the world we drive in from a professional gearhead?  Don't worry, it's a fun romp through the junk we all come up against as thinking people (ie: the geek set).  Hitchikers: do you?  When and where?  Are you protected?  ...What about the little girl who begged for a ride to a homeless shelter and then killed the guy who showed some kindness?  Cold-weather remote-start: what happens when the bureaucrats (Germans, in this case) think they have the right to tell the manufacturer (Toyota, in this case) to take away the feature you bought to "save the environment"?  ...Smells more like a flex than giving a fudge about the planet - a sign of statism, whether it's VW, Tesla, China or your thermostat and your 'fridge conspiring to steal your wallet. "Life, Liberty and Property" were not meant to be a throwaway - this is what we're about: ceramic insulators (neato vintage tech), burgers on toasted muffins (yummo), "Pattern Recognition" (Gibson), "Hitch" ("Road Games"), and '90s funk-metal from Mind Bomb (Yes, have some.).

Do You Need Some... serious information about the world we drive in from a professional gearhead?  Don't worry, it's a fun romp through the junk we all come up against as thinking people (ie: the geek set).  Hitchikers: do you?  When and where?  Are you protected?  ...What about the little girl who begged for a ride to a homeless shelter and then killed the guy who showed some kindness?  Cold-weather remote-start: what happens when the bureaucrats (Germans, in this case) think they have the right to tell the manufacturer (Toyota, in this case) to take away the feature you bought to "save the environment"?  ...Smells more like a flex than giving a fudge about the planet - a sign of statism, whether it's VW, Tesla, China or your thermostat and your 'fridge conspiring to steal your wallet. "Life, Liberty and Property" were not meant to be a throwaway - this is what we're about: ceramic insulators (neato vintage tech), burgers on toasted muffins (yummo), "Pattern Recognition" (Gibson), "Hitch" ("Road Games"), and '90s funk-metal from Mind Bomb (Yes, have some.).

Some Garage Hours are on the gearhead nose, and others (ahem; this one?) start lost in woods and get even loster.  This episode is heavy on the 2A and stupid human tricks, with tales of Big Gov't trying to truncate your right to bear arms, drones being weaponized by faceless white-collared tweakers, and some fool bastard in France with a WW1 shell jammed up his Peugeot. What else? A bunch of snowmobilin' outdoorsmen gather forces to rescue a lost pony named Mouse, an inquiry of what your privacy is worth, and a deluded twit in China who thought it would be a good idea to take a selfie with a hungry leopard.  You were warned... What's more: English accents ain't what they used to be, Virgina won't be worth much for long, laws that ain't worth what they're printed on, and about four tons of Puny Human.

Some Garage Hours are on the gearhead nose, and others (ahem; this one?) start lost in woods and get even loster.  This episode is heavy on the 2A and stupid human tricks, with tales of Big Gov't trying to truncate your right to bear arms, drones being weaponized by faceless white-collared tweakers, and some fool bastard in France with a WW1 shell jammed up his Peugeot. What else? A bunch of snowmobilin' outdoorsmen gather forces to rescue a lost pony named Mouse, an inquiry of what your privacy is worth, and a deluded twit in China who thought it would be a good idea to take a selfie with a hungry leopard.  You were warned... What's more: English accents ain't what they used to be, Virgina won't be worth much for long, laws that ain't worth what they're printed on, and about four tons of Puny Human.