Podcast Archives - Throwin' Wrenches Automotive Podcast · Daryl Scott & Eric Stahl

Episode 84 – Christmas, Compressors & Cupholder French Fries

December 20, 2023·1 hr 42 min·8 clips

Eric opens the holiday special with a ho-ho-ho greeting and a little Santa theater. Daryl plays along, and the two settle into the familiar back-and-forth that makes the show feel like a shop conversation. They remind listeners that this is the final episode of 2023. They also note that a Christmas special has become an annual tradition for Throwin' Wrenches since 2018. The opening jokes lean hard into the season, including a bit about the theme song needing more sleigh bells. The episode then shifts into the hosts' long-running holiday-list format. That structure gives them room to bounce between nostalgia, teasing, and the kind of half-finished setup they are good at finishing together. One recurring thread is their old argument about Christmas movies and car movies. It works because neither host is willing to give in. They revisit the year they clashed over movie picks and the complaint that one choice was still a car movie. The middle of the episode leaves the holiday lane and moves into a discussion of electric-vehicle policy. The hosts push on the idea that people need cheaper cars, not just expensive halo products. They talk about how governments often want fast results from automotive policy. They also point out that those rules can feel like they are picking winners and losers before the market has settled anything. Toyota comes up as a reference point. So do the pressure points from places like California, Massachusetts, and New York. The conversation frames EVs as a possible bridge rather than a full answer. It keeps coming back to affordability, realism, and the gap between what sounds good in a hearing room and what works in a driveway. Near the close, the hosts swing back to Christmas nostalgia and talk about Peter Billingsley, a newer holiday special, and his move into directing. They also grumble about The Break-Up being a bleak watch. The episode ends the way the show often does, by drifting into a side story and turning it into one more piece of regular-host chemistry.

As heard by us

A Christmas garage hangout that folds policy talk and movie gripes into easy listening.

Throwin' Wrenches closes out 2023 with an easy garage-hangout rhythm. Seasonal banter, a list-driven holiday special, and a run through EV mandates, cheaper cars, and the gap between policy goals and what consumers actually want to buy all stay in view.

Read the full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

You want Throwing Wrenches' final 2023 Christmas special, with sleigh-bell jokes, recurring host bits, and a list-driven holiday sendoff.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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