Jason’s New Project: VR6 Mk3 Cabrio Incoming — The Carmudgeon Show w/ Cammisa & DTS — Ep. 204
There is never a such thing as owning too many Volkswagens...
...or so they say. Is that really true?
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Bidding farewell to his Honda Beat to make room for another topless driver, Jason's newly acquired 1996 Volkswagen Cabrio finally makes it home after much anticipation - but not without the drama that comes with a 1000 mile roadtrip home in a 29 year old Volkswagen arising from a low-mileage slumber. Fear not - the Mk3 Cabrio doesn't replace the Mk1 Cabriolet, rather, it will supplement the Cabriolet and the Scirocco with a few extra creature comforts and soon-to-be VR6 power.
Jason's journey begins in Washington, where he picked up the Cabrio just freshly serviced at Griot's Garage for some pre-roadtrip services. The first stop at Techtonics Tuning in Sheridan, Oregon reveals the opportunity to get the Cabrio on the dyno and see just how few horses remain in the original 2.0L ABA engine. A worth bonus - the entertainment value of watching various Volkswagen burnouts and engine explosions amongst a live audience.
Jason & company are not without misadventures - including but not limited to several roadside tire repairs (thanks, Granada Tires) and a crank(y)shaft position sensor that threatens to leave them stranded on more than one occasion. But it's the friends you make along the way that make it worth it - most noteworthy, a random mid-route encounter with Tom Hale who drove his Maserati 4200 GT all the way from Connecticut.
All that and more, on this episode of The Carmudgeon Show.
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Gordon Murray Saved Car Week - Does It Matter? — The Carmudgeon Show w/ Cammisa & DTS — Ep. 203
There is technically no overall winner of Monterey Car Week. But unofficially, it's safe to say - the GMSV S1 LM takes that title.
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The Carmudgeon Show Sponsor, Vredestein Tires:https://www.vredestein.com/
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Monterey Car Week was more than three weeks ago now, yet we're still having withdrawals. This week, Jason and Derek dive deeper into their individual experiences at the world's most anticipated automotive event of the year, how the event has evolved with new audiences and activities, and how we might expect the event to change next year given these changes. From The Quail, to Concours D'Lemons, to Motorlux, to drifting at Monterey Motorsports Fest, Car Week always has something for everyone.
Amongst those highlights, Jason and Derek discuss their exclusive peak around the new Gordon Murray Special Vehicles concept cars: the S1 LM and the Le Mans GTR. Both cars pay tribute to the McLaren F1 in very different ways, but match in their bespoke 4.3L NA V12 powerplants.
Derek also discusses his time driving the new RUF Tribute with Alois Ruf himself in the passenger seat. Yet another restomod phenomenon, the new RUF shares very few parts with a Porsche 911 - Jason and Derek discuss this latest evolution and how it compares to the SCR that they've both driven at previous car weeks.
All this and more, on this week's episode of The Carmudgeon Show.
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The Alpine A110 isn't a French Lotus; it’s a Mini McLaren — Carmudgeon Show Cammisa & DTS — Ep. 202
A French forbidden fruit enters the studio on this week's episode - none other than the Alpine A110. But hang on...how did this non-25-year-old import end up on US soil? And WHY is it here?
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The Carmudgeon Show Sponsor, Vredestein Tires:
https://www.vredestein.com/
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Manufactures keep telling us that lightweight sports cars for the masses aren't possible to produce anymore due to rising safety standards. And yet, here we have the Alpine A110 - an incredible mid-engined, sub-2500-pound sports car you can buy brand new that can do far more than just be cute and French. In Jason and Derek's rigorous testing, they find it's compact, athletic, fast, comfortable, and premium-feeling - disappointing, it certainly is not. Derived from the original A110 which dominated various stages of motorsport throughout the 1960s and 70s, it's no surprise that Renault-Alpine knew where to reference their framework when developing this car for the European market.
Jason and Derek discuss throughout the episode how the little Alpine compares to the likes of the Porsche 718 Cayman range, the Lotus Emira & Lotus Evora, the Alfa Romeo 4C, and even the McLaren 570S. It's a shame Stellantis still hasn't found a way to bring this wonderful machine on sale stateside after announcing an estimated 2027 arrival via the Nissan USA dealer network - but given current complications with tariffs, we're not all that surprised.
And before you ask - yes, it's the same one you saw buzzing around Monterey Car Week and featured on The Smoking Tire w/ Matt Farah and Zack Klapman. The man who brought it here is our hero for a variety of different reasons - more on that during this episode of The Carmudgeon Show.
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Car Week Kickoff At Motorlux — The Carmudgeon Show w/ Jason Cammisa & Derek Tam-Scott — Ep. 201
Jason and Derek escape the studio this week to record from Hagerty's Motorlux event, the kickoff to Monterey Car Week 2025. We join them at this year's highlighted Bruno Sacco display, featuring designs that defined Mercedes-Benz in the 80's, 90's, and 2000's. The legacy of Sacco certainly lives on - but maybe not quite in the ways you might have originally thought...
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The Carmudgeon Show Sponsor, Vredestein Tires:
https://www.vredestein.com/
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Rumor has it, Sacco never designed a single car himself. But how is that possible?
In this episode, Jason and Derek discuss the ways in which Sacco's design philosophies defined Mercedes-Benz's image and technological growth over several key decades. We celebrate his achievements as a individual designer, but in reality, it took a village to build his legacy. Sacco was a "manager of minds" - one who is attributing for communicating and executing his vision across an entire team of designers, eventually building a department that had not previously existed but would eventually become a key in Mercedes-Benz's corporate function.
The display includes Jason's W201 190E 2.3-16 Cosworth and Derek's Bornite Metallic S124 E320 Wagon. Also featured is a 40th Anniversary R129 Mercedes-Benz SL500, a C124 300CE Convertible, and two C126 560SEC Coupes. But of course at Motorlux, that's just the tip of the iceberg, with a slew of other incredible cars and airplanes on display.
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Go Rallying With Your Friends — The Carmudgeon Show w/ Jason Cammisa & Derek Tam-Scott — Ep. 200
In celebration of 200 episodes of The Carmudgeon Show, Jason Cammisa and Derek Tam Hyphen Scott debrief their recent weekend-long Pacific Coast Rally with friends.
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The Carmudgeon Show Sponsor, Vredestein Tires:
https://www.vredestein.com/
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Indecisive between his BMW 850CSi and his two BMW E30 325is, Jason chooses Beatrice the Bronzit 325i sedan as his rally companion. Derek, leading the pack, brings along his newly acquired Porsche 911SC stuffed with a Euro high-compression 3.2L. They are joined by friends in a Mazda FD RX-7, Mercedes-Benz R129 300SL, Volkswagen MK5 GTI, BMW Z3 2.8, and a Mazda NC Miata - all of whom compete for the worst fuel economy achieved over the weekend. The final answer may or may not surprise you…
Jason and Derek also discuss expectations of Monterey Car Week 2025, which is happening this week! They cover parties such as Motorlux, upcoming auction hammer prices from Broad Arrow, RM Sothebys, and Bonhams, plus a comparison of what to expect vs. other international car events such as the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este.
Derek also gives us a collector car market update, including some rather frustrating changes to import duties and other new tax implications being laid down by the federal government.
All this and more, on this week’s episode of The Carmudgeon Show.
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Part of the Hagerty Podcast Network, the Carmudgeon Show is a comedic, information-filled conversation with Jason Cammisa and Derek Tam-Scott, two car enthusiasts who are curmudgeonly beyond their years. Proving you don’t have to be old to be grumpy, they spend each episode talking about what’s wrong with various parts of the automotive universe. Despite their best efforts to keep it negative, they usually wind up laughing, happy, and extolling their love for cars. Which just makes them angrier and more bitter.
Jason Cammisa is an automotive journalist, social-media figure, and TV host with over 300 million views on YouTube alone. Jason’s deeply technical understanding, made possible by a lifelong obsession with cars, allows him to fully digest what’s going on within an automobile — and then put it into simple terms for others to understand. Also, a Master’s Degree in Law trained him to be impossible to argue with.
Derek Tam-Scott still tries. He’s a young automotive expert with old-man taste in cars, and a Master’s Degree in Civil Engineering — which means he knows how to be civil to Jason. Or at least he tries. With a decade and a half’s experience buying, selling, driving and brokering classic and exotic cars, he’s experienced the world’s most iconic cars. And hated most of them.
Ireland