Big Car

Dec 29 2024 40 ep. 17 mins 23

Big Car Podcast artwork

The story of the best cars from the past 50 years.

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Alois Ruf interview

Dec 29 2024 35 mins

I was fortunate enough to sit down and chat with Alois Ruf - owner of Ruf Automobile who create very special versions of Porsche cars. Here's the full interview.

Hit with an ugly stick? The Pontiac Aztek Story

Dec 22 2024 13 mins

The history of the Pontiac Aztek, from conception through to its legacy. Why did GM green-light this car when focus groups said they hated it, and why did it come with a tent?

Before Tesla... 1980s Electric Cars (EVs Part 2)

Dec 15 2024 13 mins

In part one we looked at electric vehicles and hybrids from the 1960s and 70s. We now move onto the 1980s where individuals all around the world didn’t want to give up on finding an alternative to the internal combustion engine. These were the days before our knowledge of global warming, and the motivation was around reducing city pollution and freedom from the reliance on foreig

Before Tesla... 1960s/70s Electric Cars (EVs Part 1)

Dec 08 2024 17 mins

You might not think it, but the 60s and 70s were a hot bed of innovation in electric car design. Environmental and political events collided that got people questioning our reliance on the internal combustion engine and thinking about alternatives. So why was so much effort put into electric cars when so few people bought them, and how close did we come to perfecting hybrid and EV

Figaro Magnifico? The Nissan Figaro Story

Dec 01 2024 24 mins

After decades of progress, and at a time Nissan were going to make their next step forward with the luxury Infiniti brand, Nissan’s Figaro was in a sense a next evolution in car design, in progress, but at the same time it was an exercise in looking back, of taking stock of just how far Nissan had come. It was also a conscious effort by its designers to push against progress with

A flop that shouldn't have flopped? The Audi A2 Story

Nov 24 2024 21 mins

At the dawn of a new millennium car buyers were spoilt for choice when it came to really clever and innovative cars. There was the Renault Scénic, the original MPV that showed you can pack a large family into not a lot of car. Then there was the Mercedes A class, a masterclass in space management, with a cleverly packaged engine that allowed for the maximum interior space. And don

Fast & light - the Honda CR-X Story

Nov 17 2024 17 mins

When Europe produced hot hatches in the 80s it was cars like the Renault 5 Turbo and the Ford Fiesta XR2 – great cars that took the regular hatchback and added more power and better brakes. Over in Japan Honda took a different tack. They crafted a new, very low drag shape for the existing Civic. They also removed a lot of weight. Together with a range of powerful yet efficient ra

Is Alpine headed for DISASTER?

Nov 10 2024 12 mins

What’s going on with Alpine? They’ve had one car on sale since 2018, the A110, with only a second model appearing a couple of months ago, and that’s a rebadged Renault 5. In 6 years they’ve only sold 19,000 cars. And it’s not they’re selling $1M exotic Bugatti’s, The A110 is sold as a relatively affordable sports car. Alpine’s parent Renault have poured a LOT of cas

How did THIS happen? The Ford Scorpio Story

Nov 03 2024 18 mins

Ford’s styling department in the 1980s and 1990s could be relied upon to produce hit after hit. We liked the third generation Fiesta, we loved the Mondeo and the Ka, and we positively adored the Ford Focus. But in that period there was one car that stuck out like a sore thumb, the 1994 Ford Scorpio. Buy the Secret Fords book here! Use promo code BIGCAR30 for a total of 30% off th

Italian/Swedish luxury. The Saab 9000 Story

Oct 20 2024 22 mins

There’s a lot of focus on the rivalry between the German big three – Volkswagen, BMW & Mercedes, but in Sweden of course there was a rivalry between the “big two” – Volvo and Saab. So, as Volvo’s cars got larger and went upmarket in the 1970s, Saab must have surely taken note and decided that they had to respond. The result was the Saab 9000, produced even though Sa