Hank Watson's Garage Hour - Cars, Trucks, Beers & Guns
12.23.15 (MP3): Garagey Kind'a Christmas! Fools in the Rain (SoCal Drivers VS the Liquid Lobotomy), Duct Tape Halfshafts, Powerstroke Fords, New Star Wars Heckling, Life of a Farm Truck, + Hawkeyes VS Gophers & Homemade Grill Repairs w/ Rebar

When you get gearheads together for good talk radio, you know what to expect: a whole lot of random awesomesauce like blown bushings, auto repair with timber, Murphy's Law, snowboard versus ski, filthy 4Runners, long-range shooting, rebar barbecues (a rebarbecue), Big Government VS your hobbies, Jabba the Hut and whatever the Hell a camper rifle is - and that's before the caffeine sets in.

So many tales of Garage Hours past…  Get a newb cohost and the old gems come percolating back to the surface - Majid from GSR joins Houstus Maximus Justin Fort for a Christmas Eve Eve attempt at analysis of the roadways' dire state at the hands of a wet San Diego winter, and everything descends into Trooper parts and gunshot residue.

From there, the Garage Hour goons go for gearhead: farm trucks, iron pall versus trichinosis, weird laptop Mitsubishi vans, blowtorches and remarketing, the free speech of warning other motorists about a speed trap with your headlights, whether the pizza guy will get to your house faster than the police when you call, the hilarity that is a DUI checkpoint, and the shame that is how the CHP leaves crash shrapnel on the roadway to be cleaned up by your tires.

Oh, and yes, this is our Christmas episode, so we're extra festive.  If you'd like the high-res snooty M4A version of this episode, look for the same date without an "MP3" tag on it.

Direct download: HWGH122315mp3.mp3
Category:gearhead personality -- posted at: 10:12pm EDT

12.23.15: Garagey Kind'a Christmas! Fools in the Rain (SoCal Drivers VS the Liquid Lobotomy), Duct Tape Halfshafts, Powerstroke Fords, New Star Wars Heckling, Life of a Farm Truck, + Hawkeyes VS Gophers & Homemade Grill Repairs w/ Rebar

When you get gearheads together for good talk radio, you know what to expect: a whole lot of random awesomesauce like blown bushings, auto repair with timber, Murphy's Law, snowboard versus ski, filthy 4Runners, long-range shooting, rebar barbecues (a rebarbecue), Big Government VS your hobbies, Jabba the Hut and whatever the Hell a camper rifle is - and that's before the caffeine sets in.

So many tales of Garage Hours past…  Get a newb cohost and the old gems come percolating back to the surface - Majid from GSR (and his dad Mo) joined Houstus Maximus Justin Fort for a Christmas Eve Eve attempt at analysis of the roadways' dire state at the hands of a wet San Diego winter, and everything descends into Trooper parts and gunshot residue.

From there, the Garage Hour goons go for gearhead: farm trucks, iron pall versus trichinosis, weird laptop Mitsubishi vans, blowtorches and remarketing, the free speech of warning other motorists about a speed trap with your headlights, whether the pizza guy will get to your house faster than the police when you call, the hilarity that is a DUI checkpoint, and the shame that is how the CHP leaves crash shrapnel on the roadway to be cleaned up by your tires.

Oh, and yes, this is our Christmas episode, so we're extra festive.  If you'd like the low-res caveman version of this episode, look for the same date with an "MP3" tag on it.

Direct download: HWGH122315.m4a
Category:gearhead personality -- posted at: 9:48pm EDT

01.30.10 (MP3): Classic! Fat-Foot Recalls & Toyota Mother-Computer, Daytona & LeMans 24Hrs, Miata People, Death @ 1000ft in a Cobra Gunship, Nain Rogue & Mothug Doug, & Why Danica Patrick's a Nasty Jerk

Yo! Who wants a C4 'Vette? How 'bout one with a motor as big as a whale with a cog-drive blower that works just great for smokey 'Jersey burnouts?  Make the check out to Mothug Doug.

Don't blink or you'll miss this excellent early Garage Hour, complete with Hostus Maximus Justin Fort, Grizzly Chris and Dirty Dave, as well as a bucketful of big words, the Chicago flag, Toyotas and Mazdas and that creepy "Zoom-Zoom" thing the Miata people do, the difference between stinky rat mummies and the smell of death from 1000ft over Iraq in a Cobra gunship, Spyker buying SAAB, Geely buying Volvo (and whatever the Hell a Geely is), and What the Hell #2: Nain Rogue.  Yup, Detroit's got a demon, and we don't meant the unions - they're more of an unwanted vampire-zombie lovechild.

It IS the Garage Hour, however, so there's got to be racing - we've got the Daytona and LeMans 24 Hours, what it's like to attend in person, and why Juan Pablo might be fast, but he's still a nozzle.  There's also some storyline about the Panoz LMPs from LeMans and why they're so awesome despite never having won the whole scheme, plus how to get Danica Patrick to stop being such a prissy twat - now that she's in NASCAR, just let Tony Stewart beat her up.

This one's special, by the by, because it's the foundation for one of the original Garage Hour promos (as heard on-air for years).

If you'd like a high-res version of this episode, grab the one with the matching date and no "MP3" in the title.

Direct download: HWGH013010.mp3
Category:gearhead personality -- posted at: 2:22am EDT

01.30.10: Classic! Fat-Foot Recalls & Toyota Mother-Computer, Daytona & LeMans 24Hrs, Miata People, Death @ 1000ft in a Cobra Gunship, Nain Rogue & Mothug Doug, & Why Danica Patrick's a Nasty Jerk

Yo! Who wants a C4 'Vette? How 'bout one with a motor as big as a whale with a cog-drive blower that works just great for smokey 'Jersey burnouts?  Make the check out to Mothug Doug.

Don't blink or you'll miss this excellent early Garage Hour, complete with Hostus Maximus Justin Fort, Grizzly Chris and Dirty Dave, as well as a bucketful of big words, the Chicago flag, Toyotas and Mazdas and that creepy "Zoom-Zoom" thing the Miata people do, the difference between stinky rat mummies and the smell of death from 1000ft over Iraq in a Cobra gunship, Spyker buying SAAB, Geely buying Volvo (and whatever the Hell a Geely is), and What the Hell #2: Nain Rogue.  Yup, Detroit's got a demon, and we don't meant the unions - they're more of an unwanted vampire-zombie lovechild.

It IS the Garage Hour, however, so there's got to be racing - we've got the Daytona and LeMans 24 Hours, what it's like to attend in person, and why Juan Pablo might be fast, but he's still a nozzle.  There's also some storyline about the Panoz LMPs from LeMans and why they're so awesome despite never having won the whole scheme, plus how to get Danica Patrick to stop being such a prissy twat - now that she's in NASCAR, just let Tony Stewart beat her up.

This one's special, by the by, because it's the foundation for one of the original Garage Hour promos (as heard on-air for years).

If you'd like a low-res version of this episode, grab the one with the matching date and an "MP3" in the title.

Direct download: HWGH013010.m4a
Category:gearhead personality -- posted at: 2:07am EDT

10.10.09 (MP3): Classic! Strafing B-25s + Doolittle Falsies, Robocop VS Detroit Unions, Ford VS Poncho VS Chrysler Burnouts, CamRon's Swine Flu VS Cohagen Raising the Price of Air, Dirty Dave VS the SEALS, Shine VS Lightning, & Metallica VS Kyuss

Sporty vintage Garage Hour reload - from Dirty Dave's creepy shoes and Grizzly Chris's Mogfest plans to which makes (Ford, Pontiac or Chrysler) do the best burnouts.  Like the inevitable gravy of which the Garage Hour is full of, we descend from there into the depths of strafing-only B-25s in the Pacific and how much real estate you plow up with ten forward-facing .50-cals, Robocop and his best bud Clarence Boddicker and how the unions did far worse to the city of Detroit than either one of these guys could on their worst day, and the wonderment that is the Bossco magnetic work light.

From there, it's 100% gearhead - shine versus lightning (either its corn or apple - you choose your poison).  Off-Road Expo.  Chopping the top your Miata at home for fun and pleasure.  Salmonella.  Party commuting in a tweeting bugeye WRX.  Nacho from Wisco and the price of air.  Dirty Dave challenging SEALs to a fight.  And if you like rock, we've got Metallica, Kyuss and the Blues Brothers in this one too.

If you want the high-res version of this episode, look for the same date without "MP3" in the title.

Direct download: HWGH101009mp3.mp3
Category:gearhead personality -- posted at: 7:17pm EDT

10.10.09: Classic! Strafing B-25s + Doolittle Falsies, Robocop VS Detroit Unions, Ford VS Poncho VS Chrysler Burnouts, CamRon's Swine Flu VS Cohagen Raising the Price of Air, Dirty Dave VS the SEALS, Shine VS Lightning, & Metallica VS Kyuss

Sporty vintage Garage Hour reload - from Dirty Dave's creepy shoes and Grizzly Chris's Mogfest plans to which makes (Ford, Pontiac or Chrysler) do the best burnouts.  Like the inevitable gravy of which the Garage Hour is full of, we descend from there into the depths of strafing-only B-25s in the Pacific and how much real estate you plow up with ten forward-facing .50-cals, Robocop and his best bud Clarence Boddicker and how the unions did far worse to the city of Detroit than either one of these guys could on their worst day, and the wonderment that is the Bossco magnetic work light.

From there, it's 100% gearhead - shine versus lightning (either its corn or apple - you choose your poison).  Off-Road Expo.  Chopping the top your Miata at home for fun and pleasure.  Salmonella.  Party commuting in a tweeting bugeye WRX.  Nacho from Wisco and the price of air.  Dirty Dave challenging SEALs to a fight.  And if you like rock, we've got Metallica, Kyuss and the Blues Brothers in this one too.

If you want a lower-res version of this episode, look for the same date with an "MP3" in the title.

Direct download: HWGH101009.m4a
Category:gearhead personality -- posted at: 6:50pm EDT

10.02.10 (MP3): Classic! Distracted Driving Facts w/ Crash Rates for Alcohol VS Device, Outlawing VS Mocking Stupid People, Education VS Laws, GH Ideas for Getting Even w/ Distracted Drivers, How Cops Know, + Nasty Vauxhalls, Diesels, SB Cobras & Evos

This is one of those episodes that we weren't sure how it would turn out - esoteric topic, lots of research and numbers, and a host of personal realities that may not jive with the facts. Boy, were we wrong - what a great episode.

Distracted driving: it causes more accidents than drunk people, is ignored by more people, is engaged in by more people, and makes it way more likely that Garage Hour hosts will screw with you on the road.  Stupid drivers, beware: you ARE a target, of both Hostus Maximus Justin Fort, Mr. Dustin (Top Earner) and Dirty Dave, and of any motorist who's sick of your Bott's dot/Braille-driving/lane slowing/exit-missing/signal-ignoring foolishness.

The Garage Hour goons have calls in from Hoosier Eric (didn't crash) and Jaime from Off-Road.com (with tales of seven-second 1-ton diesel trucks), and then it's back to distracted drying, the NHTSA and AAA's failures to recognize (or decision to ignore) the problem, how states with sensible people (Indiana, anyone?) tend to weed out the idiots, why parents are a necessary (and often missing) element of driving fails, and why you're safer with a beer in your gullet than with a phone in your hand.  Batting cleanup: the fact that the cops and carma will get you if the Garage Hour doesn't, but then again, we'd be happy to do it if carma won't, and we list how we'll turn your distracted driving into disturbed ditching.

Following that, we chase down all that other garagey goodness: blown Vauxhalls and their weirdly awesome noises, small-block Cobras and how to flog them around the Nurburgring, the Bullitt crashing sound, Subie wrenching, tractor dodging, propane farts, Evo and STi paint, and why on-ramps should be called "Speed Up, You Moron" lanes.

If you'd prefer the smooth, dulcet tones of an M4A version of this episode, just search for the same date without an "MP3" tag.

Direct download: HWGH100210mp3.mp3
Category:gearhead personality -- posted at: 4:56pm EDT

10.02.10: Classic! Distracted Driving Facts w/ Crash Rates for Alcohol VS Device, Outlawing VS Mocking Stupid People, Education VS Laws, GH Ideas for Getting Even w/ Distracted Drivers, How Cops Know, + Nasty Vauxhalls, Diesels, SB Cobras & Evos

This is one of those episodes that we weren't sure how it would turn out - esoteric topic, lots of research and numbers, and a host of personal realities that may not jive with the facts. Boy, were we wrong - what a great episode.

Distracted driving: it causes more accidents than drunk people, is ignored by more people, is engaged in by more people, and makes it way more likely that Garage Hour hosts will screw with you on the road.  Stupid drivers, beware: you ARE a target, of both Hostus Maximus Justin Fort, Mr. Dustin (Top Earner) and Dirty Dave, and of any motorist who's sick of your Bott's dot/Braille-driving/lane slowing/exit-missing/signal-ignoring foolishness.

The Garage Hour goons have calls in from Hoosier Eric (didn't crash) and Jaime from Off-Road.com (with tales of seven-second 1-ton diesel trucks), and then it's back to distracted drying, the NHTSA and AAA's failures to recognize (or decision to ignore) the problem, how states with sensible people (Indiana, anyone?) tend to weed out the idiots, why parents are a necessary (and often missing) element of driving fails, and why you're safer with a beer in your gullet than with a phone in your hand.  Batting cleanup: the fact that the cops and carma will get you if the Garage Hour doesn't, but then again, we'd be happy to do it if carma won't, and we list how we'll turn your distracted driving into disturbed ditching.

Following that, we chase down all that other garagey goodness: blown Vauxhalls and their weirdly awesome noises, small-block Cobras and how to flog them around the Nurburgring, the Bullitt crashing sound, Subie wrenching, tractor dodging, propane farts, Evo and STi paint, and why on-ramps should be called "Speed Up, You Moron" lanes.

If you'd like a low-fi/easy-downloading MP3 version of this episode, just search for the same date with an "MP3" tag.

Direct download: HWGH100210.m4a
Category:gearhead personality -- posted at: 4:33pm EDT

08.15.09: Classic! Clunker Program Logic FAIL, Shovel-Head Drifter (So 'Jersey!), Puking Down Rainer, Chuck Dempsey on Goodyears & Desert-Race Goodness, Barona Drags Funny Car Nights, + Liver Patrol @ Jack Murphy

Raise deflector sacrasm!  It's a classic Garage Hour.  There are serious issues to bring to the light of day, such as the Kardashian administration's ongoing Cash for Clunkers program fails (destroy a perfectly good car and/or truck lately?) the pending fails powering electric car manufacturers and their government stilts, and the hosts' pending partying at Qualcomm… ahem! Jack Murphy Stadium pre-Chargers fail.

The Garage Hour goons also reach deep into Hostus Maximus's bag of great race-team relationships (no, not the people with the shouting, the people with the racing) for an interview with Goodyear-shod Chuck Dempsey.  Chuck, Justin and cohost Grizzly Chris talk about the 860hp Speed Technologies Class One buggy, Trophy Truck (hey, we've got to put that 6000lbs somewhere), Pro 2 (it's cheaper to crash) and Super Light (it's cheaper to race), Best in the Desert (BITD), Southern California Off-Road Experience (SCORE), and take time to take a shot at Carl "Big Shoulders" Rentedzeder…  Renezedder…  Rentalcenter…  Whatever, the rich guy who crashes everyone.

It's the Garage Hour, however, so you can depend on them to as big life-questions too, such how awesome District 9 was, whether Kalifornistan's on fire again, how to puke so much you can't climb Mt. Rainer, as whether Morgan Freeman can be a ninja in a suit, why Admiral Ackbar has potential as a president (and a cereal called Ackbar Flakes), why that big-hair New Hersey-lookin' muscledude with the tire-smoking '69ish Mustang Fastback is hitting himself with a shovel, and how to answer a rhetorical question with a rhetorical answer.

If you'd like to listen to the MP3 version of this episode, just search this show date with "MP3" in the title.

Direct download: HWGH081509.m4a
Category:gearhead personality -- posted at: 12:26pm EDT

08.15.09 (MP3): Classic! Clunker Program Logic FAIL, Shovel-Head Drifter (So 'Jersey!), Puking Down Rainer, Chuck Dempsey on Goodyears & Desert-Race Goodness, Barona Drags Funny Car Nights, + Liver Patrol @ Jack Murphy

Raise deflector sacrasm!  It's a classic Garage Hour.  There are serious issues to bring to the light of day, such as the Kardashian administration's ongoing Cash for Clunkers program fails (destroy a perfectly good car and/or truck lately?) the pending fails powering electric car manufacturers and their government stilts, and the hosts' pending partying at Qualcomm… ahem! Jack Murphy Stadium pre-Chargers fail.

The Garage Hour goons also reach deep into Hostus Maximus's bag of great race-team relationships (no, not the people with the shouting, the people with the racing) for an interview with Goodyear-shod Chuck Dempsey.  Chuck, Justin and cohost Grizzly Chris talk about the 860hp Speed Technologies Class One buggy, Trophy Truck (hey, we've got to put that 6000lbs somewhere), Pro 2 (it's cheaper to crash) and Super Light (it's cheaper to race), Best in the Desert (BITD), Southern California Off-Road Experience (SCORE), and take time to take a shot at Carl "Big Shoulders" Rentedzeder…  Renezedder…  Rentalcenter…  Whatever, the rich guy who crashes everyone.

It's the Garage Hour, however, so you can depend on them to as big life-questions too, such how awesome District 9 was, whether Kalifornistan's on fire again, how to puke so much you can't climb Mt. Rainer, as whether Morgan Freeman can be a ninja in a suit, why Admiral Ackbar has potential as a president (and a cereal called Ackbar Flakes), why that big-hair New Hersey-lookin' muscledude with the tire-smoking '69ish Mustang Fastback is hitting himself with a shovel, and how to answer a rhetorical question with a rhetorical answer.

If you'd like to listen to the high-zoot M4A version of this episode, just search this show date without the "MP3" in the title.

Direct download: HWGH081509mp3.mp3
Category:gearhead personality -- posted at: 12:04pm EDT

10.24.15 (MP3): Pure Garage! Detailing Dirty Trucks, Microfiber VS Cotton, Dry VS Detail, Tire Goo VS Preservative, Mothers Powerball, Car Care Resources, + Frankenmower, Nacho & Sheriff Clark, STi VS Elise & How Politicians Cause Water Shortages

Instead of the usual everyone's here madness, it's time for a garage-pure one-on-one with Garage Hour Hostus Maximus Justin Fort.  Sure, he'll ramble and go on about road-racing and shooting raccoons, but between the segues there's a lot of great thinking about how to detail your filthy truck (and why it's always a great idea to make a clean truck dirty).

There are the resources: detailguide.comMothers.comOff-Road.com, and griotgarage.com.  There are the logics: what towels to use, what detailer works, which tire sprays help and which are a pain, plus sealing against corrosion (or corrosion because of it), changing towels, cotton and microfiber, why drying is different from detailing, how to clean and polish powdercoating, and the chemicals of instant detailer.  There are also the go-tos: Anderson Truck Trail, CA's dangerous ideologue politicians and how they cause water shortages, and pop-tops versus twist-offs (ouch).

Following the tales of detailing, there's the Frankenmower, schitzo iPod tracks, shooting raccoons, fuel pumps and fuel filters, potting plants with trail dirt, and tire grooving with Nachos from Wisconsin.

Music: Big John Bates, Type "O" Negative, Cream, Zep, the Rev.

Beer: Sea Dog's Blueberry Pale, Ballast Point's Grapefruit Sculpin, and Twisted Manzanita's Rustic Red.

Now, we demand you go make your truck dirty.  If' you'd like an M4A version of this show, just search the same date without the "MP3" tag.

Direct download: HWGH102415mp3.mp3
Category:gearhead personality -- posted at: 3:45pm EDT

10.24.15: Pure Garage! Detailing Dirty Trucks, Microfiber VS Cotton, Dry VS Detail, Tire Goo VS Preservative, Mothers Powerball, Car Care Resources, + Frankenmower, Nacho & Sheriff Clark, STi VS Elise & How Politicians Cause Water Shortages

Instead of the usual everyone's here madness, it's time for a garage-pure one-on-one with Garage Hour Hostus Maximus Justin Fort.  Sure, he'll ramble and go on about road-racing and shooting raccoons, but between the segues there's a lot of great thinking about how to detail your filthy truck (and why it's always a great idea to make a clean truck dirty).

There are the resources: detailguide.com, Mothers.com, Off-Road.com, and griotgarage.com.  There are the logics: what towels to use, what detailer works, which tire sprays help and which are a pain, plus sealing against corrosion (or corrosion because of it), changing towels, cotton and microfiber, why drying is different from detailing, how to clean and polish powdercoating, and the chemicals of instant detailer.  There are also the go-tos: Anderson Truck Trail, CA's dangerous ideologue politicians and how they cause water shortages, and pop-tops versus twist-offs (ouch).

Following the tales of detailing, there's the Frankenmower, schitzo iPod tracks, shooting raccoons, fuel pumps and fuel filters, potting plants with trail dirt, and tire grooving with Nachos from Wisconsin.

Music: Big John Bates, Type "O" Negative, Cream, Zep, the Rev.

Beer: Sea Dog's Blueberry Pale, Ballast Point's Grapefruit Sculpin, and Twisted Manzanita's Rustic Red.

Now, we demand you go make your truck dirty.  If' you'd like an MP3 version of this show, just search the same date with the "MP3" tag.

Direct download: HWGH102415.m4a
Category:gearhead personality -- posted at: 2:56pm EDT

08.18.12: Flaming Fiskers, Hot & Humid VS HWY Stupid, V8-Zeta, Daytona & Rolex Prototypes VS Diesel, Gov't Motors VS 'Vette Design, Red Bull F1 VS Lincoln Tunnel, Cop Armor VS Cop Donuts, + 9mm VS .45 ACP & Mayor Filner VS Madrid?

What'cha like?  Some road racing like the production and prototypes at Circuit Giles Villeneuve in Canada?  How about the return of GM's good ideas with the rebirth of the G8 (or another GM fail with our analysis of the new 'Vette?)?  Want some news on self-immolating Fisker Karmas, and should they have stuck with making scissors?

It's the Garage Hour - we've got that, plus puking politicians, catfish-faced mayors, tales of pinkos from the Obammunists in office.  This episode also has what cruisers cops prefer (and a little insight on why), some thoughts on how to make your crappy cars all run (just sell your nice ones), why Charlie Sheen is doing ads for Alfa, and what damage has been done by the gub'ment's heavy foot on the neck of the new Corvette's designers.  After that, it's all tupperware jokes, what handgun goes best with skinny jeans, and why Miatas run too hot.

If you'd like an MP3 version of this podcast, just search for the same date with the "MP3" tag.

Direct download: HWGH081812.m4a
Category:gearhead personality -- posted at: 3:36pm EDT

08.18.12 (MP3): Flaming Fiskers, Hot & Humid VS HWY Stupid, V8-Zeta, Daytona & Rolex Prototypes VS Diesel, Gov't Motors VS 'Vette Design, Red Bull F1 VS Lincoln Tunnel, Cop Armor VS Cop Donuts, + 9mm VS .45 ACP & Mayor Filner VS Madrid?

What'cha like?  Some road racing like the production and prototypes at Circuit Giles Villeneuve in Canada?  How about the return of GM's good ideas with the rebirth of the G8 (or another GM fail with our analysis of the new 'Vette?)?  Want some news on self-immolating Fisker Karmas, and should they have stuck with making scissors?

It's the Garage Hour - we've got that, plus puking politicians, catfish-faced mayors, tales of pinkos from the Obammunists in office.  This episode also has what cruisers cops prefer (and a little insight on why), some thoughts on how to make your crappy cars all run (just sell your nice ones), why Charlie Sheen is doing ads for Alfa, and what damage has been done by the gub'ment's heavy foot on the neck of the new Corvette's designers.  After that, it's all tupperware jokes, what handgun goes best with skinny jeans, and why Miatas run too hot.

If you'd like an M4A version of this podcast, just search for the same date without the "MP3" tag.

Direct download: HWGH081812mp3.mp3
Category:gearhead personality -- posted at: 3:16pm EDT

10.17.15 (MP3): Backcountry Range Day, w/ Second Amendment Awesome, Close-Quarter Fun & Touching Steel at 700yd, Plus More VW Diesel VS Electric & Bureaucratic BS, Truck-Use Goodness, Volvo People, Traffic Laws & Delicate Bicycle Wienerkids

Some Garage Hours are put together in breweries, others in garages, a few at gun stores, some more in the studio, but when was the last time you got to hear a broadcast from a covert black-ops and first-names-only three-letter training range in backcountry San Diego?  Yeah, try to contain your 2A jealousy.

The Garage Hour goons - with sometime cohorts and full-time shooters Matt Klier of Active Shooter Defense School (as well as ASDPink) and Smog Mike - made their way to this excellent spot in San Diego's remarkably rural backcountry for a day of tactical thinking, paramilitary designation, handgun drills and reaching out with the long guns.  Grab the podcast - Hostus Maximus Justin Fort needed something to do when he ran out of bullets - and have yourself some.

Fighting the distraction of endless range time and chats with the shooters that be, Justin also delves into a few ditties about ballistics (the little he knows), traffic and newbie drivers for fun and liability, bike lanes and the new victim status that is pedal power, local off-roading, lone-wolf terrorism's asymmetrical threat to America.  Then the lethal amigos track back to gearhead - VWs ongoing battle with the auto workers' union and the Kardashian administration, the wonder that is efficient diesel power (don't let the fools on the news trick you - VW's getting the Obama treatment), and why Volvo people are a different kind of people.

If you'd like a version of this podcast in M4A form, just search for the same date without "MP3" in the title.

Direct download: HWGH101715mp3.mp3
Category:gearhead personality -- posted at: 3:53am EDT

10.17.15: Backcountry Range Day, w/ Second Amendment Awesome, Close-Quarter Fun & Touching Steel at 700yd, Plus More VW Diesel VS Electric & Bureaucratic BS, Truck-Use Goodness, Volvo People, Traffic Laws & Delicate Bicycle Wienerkids

Some Garage Hours are put together in breweries, others in garages, a few at gun stores, some more in the studio, but when was the last time you got to hear a broadcast from a covert black-ops and first-names-only three-letter training range in backcountry San Diego?  Yeah, try to contain your 2A jealousy.

The Garage Hour goons - with sometime cohorts and full-time shooters Matt Klier of Active Shooter Defense School (as well as ASDPink) and Smog Mike - made their way to this excellent spot in San Diego's remarkably rural backcountry for a day of tactical thinking, paramilitary designation, handgun drills and reaching out with the long guns.  Grab the podcast - Hostus Maximus Justin Fort needed something to do when he ran out of bullets - and have yourself some.

Fighting the distraction of endless range time and chats with the shooters that be, Justin also delves into a few ditties about ballistics (the little he knows), traffic and newbie drivers for fun and liability, bike lanes and the new victim status that is pedal power, local off-roading, lone-wolf terrorism's asymmetrical threat to America.  Then the lethal amigos track back to gearhead - VWs ongoing battle with the auto workers' union and the Kardashian administration, the wonder that is efficient diesel power (don't let the fools on the news trick you - VW's getting the Obama treatment), and why Volvo people are a different kind of people.

If you'd like a version of this podcast in MP3 form, just search for the same date with the "MP3" tag in the title.

Direct download: HWGH101715.m4a
Category:gearhead personality -- posted at: 3:13am EDT

12.17.11 (MP3): GH VS PBID! Small Business VS La Mesa Mayor, Old Trucks, Military History, Sean Connery, Skateboard Sawing, Jaegermeister VS Beer VS Dirndls, Crimey Businesses, Warm Beer & British Teeth,  Plus Tales of DUIs & Mayors

The Garage Hour goons dig into some neighborhood charm and explore a local manifestation of Big Government in Chicago By The Sea, otherwise known as the Jewel in the Hills, La Mesa, CA.

Joined by La Mesa businessfolk Craig "Elect My Muscles" Maxwell, Bill "British Make Things Too" Jaynes and Deena "I'm Here to Make These Guys Look Good" While, Hostus Maximus Justin Fort talks through the "no" side of the city's attempted business-improvement district (PBID), otherwise as the El Cajonification of La Mesa.  Needless to say, the locals ain't big fans, y'know, because they like to do things like earn a living and afford their rent.  There's also an exploration of how "improved" business districts attract crime but not income.

Promise: we've got the usual Garage Hour charm in this one.  There's British jokes, British cars, British - heh, Scottish - actors, drinking jokes (La Mesa's mayor tends to invite them), DUI seriousness (don't), tinpot dictators marked for death, tinpot mouthpieces marked for a role in the Kardashian White House, the unmanned US-Mexico border, and how many old trucks we can cram into one conversation.

If you'd prefer an M4A version of this episode, look for the same date without the "MP3" tag in the title.

Direct download: HWGH121711mp3.mp3
Category:gearhead personality -- posted at: 10:20pm EDT

12.17.11: GH VS PBID! Small Business VS La Mesa Mayor, Old Trucks, Military History, Sean Connery, Skateboard Sawing, Jaegermeister VS Beer VS Dirndls, Crimey Businesses, Warm Beer & British Teeth,  Plus Tales of DUIs & Mayors

The Garage Hour goons dig into some neighborhood charm and explore a local manifestation of Big Government in Chicago By The Sea, otherwise known as the Jewel in the Hills, La Mesa, CA.

Joined by La Mesa businessfolk Craig "Elect My Muscles" Maxwell, Bill "British Make Things Too" Jaynes and Deena "I'm Here to Make These Guys Look Good" While, Hostus Maximus Justin Fort talks through the "no" side of the city's attempted business-improvement district (PBID), otherwise as the El Cajonification of La Mesa.  Needless to say, the locals ain't big fans, y'know, because they like to do things like earn a living and afford their rent.  There's also an exploration of how "improved" business districts attract crime but not income.

Promise: we've got the usual Garage Hour charm in this one.  There's British jokes, British cars, British - heh, Scottish - actors, drinking jokes (La Mesa's mayor tends to invite them), DUI seriousness (don't), tinpot dictators marked for death, tinpot mouthpieces marked for a role in the Kardashian White House, the unmanned US-Mexico border, and how many old trucks we can cram into one conversation.

If you'd prefer an MP3 version of this episode, look for the same date with an "MP3" tag in the title.

Direct download: HWGH121711.m4a
Category:gearhead personality -- posted at: 9:53pm EDT

09.30.15: Back At It-->GH @ Helix for Beers, Powdercoating, a Realist's Take on the VW Diesel Mess (and Why It's Big Gov's Fault), Pretty Girlfriends & Mr. Burns's Mom, Hank Watson's Origin Story, Plus a Beer Named AR-15

From La Mesa's burgeoning brewing district, the Garage Hour goons are back for another run at the super sips from Helix Brewing (drinkhelix.com!) and a rowdy rendition of Hank Watson's Garage Hour.  Yes, have some.

Start with the goodies - a running discussion about the magical off-roading coating called powdercoating with newb cohost Troy from Powder 1 in El Cajon (don't install a roll bar without 'em - powder1.com), the VW diesel error that was trusting the US government to ignore fossil fuel's mighty potential, and fine ales present and future from Helix Brewery's very own Cam Ball.  Speaking of, Twisted Manzanita's got their Witch's Hair Pumpkin Ale on nitro in the tasting room - it's a must-have.

Take another step and we're all about the other - the new Tesla wagon, Slash's Snake Pit, a beer we're developing with Helix called AR-15, and where the Garage Hour's cohorts would be without their marvelous girlfriends.  There's also flak towers, Jewish jokes (hey, we're at least 1/2 Jewish), how to pick up chicks with Dr. Who, Hum's "Stars", and soot.

Yeah, we're awesomesauce, and we're not even trying.  Tell your friends.

For the MP3 version of this episode, download the podcast of the same date with "MP3" in the title.

Direct download: HWGH093015Helix.m4a
Category:gearhead personality -- posted at: 4:02am EDT

09.30.15 (MP3): Back At It-->GH @ Helix for Beers, Powdercoating, a Realist's Take on the VW Diesel Mess (and Why It's Big Gov's Fault), Pretty Girlfriends & Mr. Burns's Mom, Hank Watson's Origin Story, Plus a Beer Named AR-15

From La Mesa's burgeoning brewing district, the Garage Hour goons are back for another run at the super sips from Helix Brewing (drinkhelix.com!) and a rowdy rendition of Hank Watson's Garage Hour.  Yes, have some.

Start with the goodies - a running discussion about the magical off-roading coating called powdercoating with newb cohost Troy from Powder 1 in El Cajon (don't install a roll bar without 'em - powder1.com), the VW diesel error that was trusting the US government to ignore fossil fuel's mighty potential, and fine ales present and future from Helix Brewery's very own Cam Ball.  Speaking of, Twisted Manzanita's got their Witch's Hair Pumpkin Ale on nitro in the tasting room - it's a must-have.

Take another step and we're all about the other - the new Tesla wagon, Slash's Snake Pit, a beer we're developing with Helix called AR-15, and where the Garage Hour's cohorts would be without their marvelous girlfriends.  There's also flak towers, Jewish jokes (hey, we're at least 1/2 Jewish), how to pick up chicks with Dr. Who, Hum's "Stars", and soot.

Yeah, we're awesome sauce, and we're not even trying.  Tell your friends.

For the M4A version of this episode, download the podcast of the same date without "MP3" in the title.

Direct download: HWGH093015HelixMP3.mp3
Category:gearhead personality -- posted at: 3:32am EDT

08.27.11 (MP3): Low-Fi German-Infested Twilight VS Apocalypse Bear Attack Awesomeness, Plus Bender's Musings (Must Kill All Humans), Toyota Recalls, Boba Choking, Jap Tsunami Cars, Abercrombie Zombies, Manz Kegging, SD Beer Week & Ford FE Blocks

Ahhh, yes, a show to end all shows (or just this one).  With almost no tracking of topics and the digression tsunami the Garage Hour goons are famous for, this episode doesn't want for good stuff: from 5.0 blocks to pig hunting in Campo, plus Top Gear's Tesla train wreck, 911 calls for Sasquatch, Targa Trophy reports from Mr. Dustin, to kegging stories from Jeff at Manzanita Brewing, we've got it all.  Sorry.

There's more to it than just those goodies: bear attacks, Nick Cage VS cohost Grizzly Chris (and the sad tale of Nick Cage's son, Foolistophecles), bullet 'Birds, skirts VS cranks, exploding cargo, Russians (and FPS Russia), sex in space, and a big about rusty cars, Toyota warranty fails, and tsunami cars from post-Tohoku Japan.

Hostus Maximus Justin Fort is joined on-air by friend-of-show Matt Walsh (of Matt Walsh Wood Floors), plus Black Ryan, Barrister "Daniel" Hilton, with call-ins from Mr. Dustin and Jeff Trevaskis of Manzanita Brewing.

If you'd like the M4A version of this show, grab the podcast with a matching date and no "MP3" in the title.

Direct download: HWGH082711.mp3
Category:gearhead personality -- posted at: 8:32pm EDT

08.27.11: Low-Fi German-Infested Twilight VS Apocalypse Bear Attack Awesomeness, Plus Bender's Musings (Must Kill All Humans), Toyota Recalls, Boba Choking, Jap Tsunami Cars, Abercrombie Zombies, Manz Kegging, SD Beer Week & Ford FE Blocks

Ahhh, yes, a show to end all shows (or just this one).  With almost no tracking of topics and the digression tsunami the Garage Hour goons are famous for, this episode doesn't want for good stuff: from 5.0 blocks to pig hunting in Campo, plus Top Gear's Tesla train wreck, 911 calls for Sasquatch, Targa Trophy reports from Mr. Dustin, to kegging stories from Jeff at Manzanita Brewing, we've got it all.  Sorry.

There's more to it than just those goodies: bear attacks, Nick Cage VS cohost Grizzly Chris (and the sad tale of Nick Cage's son, Foolistophecles), bullet 'Birds, skirts VS cranks, exploding cargo, Russians (and FPS Russia), sex in space, and a big about rusty cars, Toyota warranty fails, and tsunami cars from post-Tohoku Japan.

Hostus Maximus Justin Fort is joined on-air by friend-of-show Matt Walsh (of Matt Walsh Wood Floors), plus Black Ryan, Barrister "Daniel" Hilton, with call-ins from Mr. Dustin and Jeff Trevaskis of Manzanita Brewing.

If you'd like an MP3 version of this show, grab the podcast with a matching date and the "MP3" in the title.

Direct download: HWGH082711.m4a
Category:gearhead personality -- posted at: 6:58pm EDT

09.09.15 (MP3): Garage Hour Visits Helix Brewing (Made in the USA), Turning Homebrew Into a Business (Nano VS Micro), Building a Brewery, Ingredient Percentages, Plus What Uber's Up To, Old Laptops, Pork Chop Cruise Missiles, AR-15s + Kelly's Heroes

The Garage Hour goons managed to check off one of the to-dos on their list with a broadcast from the brewhouse at Helix Brewing, a charming new brewery that just opened for business in La Mesa, CA, just down the street from the Garage Hour compound in Fletcher Hills.  This is the definition of craft brewer - making fun, tasty beers that you can enjoy in a small, cloistered setting.

While chatting with owner/operator/engineer/bottle washer Cameron Ball, Hostus Maximus Justin Fort and cohosts .45 Phil and Chef Jeff really dug into the new ales offered by Cameron and company, as well as little bit of the thinking behind starting and running a new brewery in the Bureaucratic State of Kalifornistan.

It's the Garage Hour, though, so don't worry: this episode also has AR-15s (and Cameron's plans to brew a beer inspired by the AR), tow trucks and towed 5.0s, off-roading, running trails versus running trails, good soundtracks and bad movies, .45 Phil's VW bus, and why Uber is up to something.

There's an M4A version of this podcast available on this micropage - just check the sound file for the same show with no "MP3" label.

Direct download: HWGH090915Helixmp3.mp3
Category:gearhead personality -- posted at: 10:23pm EDT

09.09.15: Garage Hour Visits Helix Brewing (Made in the USA), Turning Homebrew Into a Business (Nano VS Micro), Building a Brewery, Ingredient Percentages, Plus What Uber's Up To, Old Laptops, Pork Chop Cruise Missiles, AR-15s + Kelly's Heroes

The Garage Hour goons managed to check off one of the to-dos on their list with a broadcast from the brewhouse at Helix Brewing, a charming new brewery that just opened for business in La Mesa, CA, just down the street from the Garage Hour compound in Fletcher Hills.  This is the definition of craft brewer - making fun, tasty beers that you can enjoy in a small, cloistered setting.

While chatting with owner/operator/engineer/bottle washer Cameron Ball, Hostus Maximus Justin Fort and cohosts .45 Phil and Chef Jeff really dug into the new ales offered by Cameron and company, as well as little bit of the thinking behind starting and running a new brewery in the Bureaucratic State of Kalifornistan.

It's the Garage Hour, though, so don't worry: this episode also has AR-15s (and Cameron's plans to brew a beer inspired by the AR), tow trucks and towed 5.0s, off-roading, running trails versus running trails, good soundtracks and bad movies, .45 Phil's VW bus, and why Uber is up to something.

There's an MP3 version of this podcast available on this micropage - just check the sound file for the same show with an "MP3" label.

Direct download: HWGH090915Helix.m4a
Category:gearhead personality -- posted at: 8:19pm EDT

02.04.12 (MP3): Tech Zep Junkyard Gearhead Fanmail Star Wars Off-Road Talk Radio! HOB LA, Miata Parts, Superbowl + Star Wars Fails, SERE Training, Dust & Rent, Counting Daves, Lozeau Harleys, Plus Domino's Pizza ala Superfan Tristain

Hank Watson's Garage Hour: the creek for which you forgot your paddle. One of those excellent 100%-everything shows, with tons of great things that gearheads dig...  off-roading, Army goading, Cutlass smoting, nerd versus geeking, fanmail reading, pizza eating, Patriot fleeting, Jar Jar beating, tech meeting, geek freaking, John Paul Jones meeting and junkyard tweeting.  Without the tweeting.  Oh, and Led Zeppelin.

Beyond the usual awesomesauce, there's David Lozeau's latest Harley-Davidson creation, Dirty Dave's off-roading psuedo-experience, the overall number of "D"s and "Dave"s in the Garage Hour studio, the geek-nerd Venn diagram, Smog Mike's super-shooting son, lots of great email comments from our listeners, and that dumb Audi vampire ad during last year's superbowl.  It's all followed by some serious Star Wars trashing, a neat new USB outlet from Newer Tech (we'll install and report), some looks at House of Blues Los Angeles shows, and Lozeau's Hard Rock art show (complete with $20 drinks - screw that noise).  It all ends at the junkyard.  Of course.

There's an M4A version of this podcast available online alongside this MP3 - just click to the same date without the "MP3" notation.

Direct download: HWGH020412.mp3
Category:gearhead personality -- posted at: 7:54pm EDT

02.04.12: Tech Zep Junkyard Gearhead Fanmail Star Wars Off-Road Talk Radio! HOB LA, Miata Parts, Superbowl + Star Wars Fails, SERE Training, Dust & Rent, Counting Daves, Lozeau Harleys, Plus Domino's Pizza ala Superfan Tristain

Hank Watson's Garage Hour: the creek for which you forgot your paddle. One of those excellent 100%-everything shows, with tons of great things that gearheads dig...  off-roading, Army goading, Cutlass smoting, nerd versus geeking, fanmail reading, pizza eating, Patriot fleeting, Jar Jar beating, tech meeting, geek freaking, John Paul Jones meeting and junkyard tweeting.  Without the tweeting.  Oh, and Led Zeppelin.

Beyond the usual awesomesauce, there's David Lozeau's latest Harley-Davidson creation, Dirty Dave's off-roading psuedo-experience, the overall number of "D"s and "Dave"s in the Garage Hour studio, the geek-nerd Venn diagram, Smog Mike's super-shooting son, lots of great email comments from our listeners, and that dumb Audi vampire ad during last year's superbowl.  It's all followed by some serious Star Wars trashing, a neat new USB outlet from Newer Tech (we'll install and report), some looks at House of Blues Los Angeles shows, and Lozeau's Hard Rock art show (complete with $20 drinks - screw that noise).  It all ends at the junkyard.  Of course.

There's an MP3 version of this podcast available online alongside this M4A - just click to the same date with the "MP3" notation.

Direct download: HWGH020412.m4a
Category:gearhead personality -- posted at: 7:20pm EDT

06.29.09: Classic! 4th-Ever Show, w/ Formula 1 Rich Guy Fights, Building Toyota Trucks, Venture Bros., Tow Straps, Backwoods Rescues, Slow Rangers, Stupid Subie Moments, Plus NASCAR Road Racing & San Diego Rallycross

Old Garage Hours sound so different from the new ones - more car and truck (which is good), less guns and beer (which is not good).  Oh, and you can tell we don't have the rhythm yet.  That's okay - we were almost as good at making it up back then as we are now.

This one starts with pointing out that the last thing awesome about NASCAR is the road-course races, and proceeds to the anti-NASCAR, local SCCA-sanctioned rallycross.  Other horsepowery goodness includes the classic "Nissan Partrol" [sic] hillclimb video, the SoCal Euro show we missed, junkyards and Formula 1 owners (bickering like a clutch of old hens).  Then, once all the horsepower is gone, weh chat about modding Toyota trucks and 4Runners for off-road adventure (see? they have no power) and play with lift recipies and tales of rescuing idiots from themselves.  Friends of the show innclude Bilstein, Downey, Rubicon, SCCA, ARB, TRD and the junkyard.

Beer Mike joins host Justin Fort for this episode, so, of course, there's beer and cartoons, plus a prank call from cohost Grizzly Chris.

An MP3 version of this podcast file is also available - just click to the same date, with the "MP3" marking.

Direct download: HWGH062709.m4a
Category:gearhead personality -- posted at: 12:07pm EDT

06.29.09 (MP3): Classic! 4th-Ever Show, w/ Formula 1 Rich Guy Fights, Building Toyota Trucks, Venture Bros., Tow Straps, Backwoods Rescues, Slow Rangers, Stupid Subie Moments, Plus NASCAR Road Racing & San Diego Rallycross

Old Garage Hours sound so different from the new ones - more car and truck (which is good), less guns and beer (which is not good).  Oh, and you can tell we don't have the rhythm yet.  That's okay - we were almost as good at making it up back then as we are now.

This one starts with pointing out that the last thing awesome about NASCAR is the road-course races, and proceeds to the anti-NASCAR, local SCCA-sanctioned rallycross.  Other horsepowery goodness includes the classic "Nissan Partrol" [sic] hillclimb video, the SoCal Euro show we missed, junkyards and Formula 1 owners (bickering like a clutch of old hens).  Then, once all the horsepower is gone, weh chat about modding Toyota trucks and 4Runners for off-road adventure (see? they have no power) and play with lift recipies and tales of rescuing idiots from themselves.  Friends of the show innclude Bilstein, Downey, Rubicon, SCCA, ARB, TRD and the junkyard.

Beer Mike joins host Justin Fort for this episode, so, of course, there's beer and cartoons, plus a prank call from cohost Grizzly Chris.

An M4A version of this podcast file is also available - just click to the same date, without the "MP3" marking.

Direct download: HWGH062709.mp3
Category:gearhead personality -- posted at: 7:00pm EDT

06.02.12 (MP3): NYC Traffic Attack VS Voter Guidance, Mach 1 Theft Dump VS SD Mayoral Madness, Wrenching Zen VS Union Agony, + Five Horse Johnson, Contagion, Die Krupps, Deftones & Dead Kennedys VS Dead Milkmen

Killer episode right here...  One of those have-cohost, will-prognosticate.  Any topic in a storm.  This one's a twofer: traffic and speed parts (gearhead!) and a collection of voter guidance for upcoming local San Diego elections (politics!).

Dirty Dave and Crag Maxwell assist Hostus Maximus Justin Fort in picking through a pile of bad ideas and broken bits, while he keeps trying to detour them to tales of MST3K, estate sales, really good darkwave and industrial music, and why anyone with "Coexist" sticker is a raving fool.

In addition to all that shrapnel, there's the definition of a technical conservative, license plate funds versus stimulus funds, broken sway bars, beer and bites at Manzanita Brewing and Eastbound Bar & Grill, feral drivers, jumping Geos, and why you should never, ever buy a rental car.

PS> This is the MP3 version of the 06.02.12 podcast.  Check the podcast page for the M4A version, which was posted a few minutes earlier.

Direct download: HWGH060212.mp3
Category:gearhead personality -- posted at: 6:36pm EDT

06.02.12: NYC Traffic Attack VS Voter Guidance, Mach 1 Theft Dump VS SD Mayoral Madness, Wrenching Zen VS Union Agony, + Five Horse Johnson, Contagion, Die Krupps, Deftones & Dead Kennedys VS Dead Milkmen

Killer episode right here...  One of those have-cohost, will-prognosticate.  Any topic in a storm.  This one's a twofer: traffic and speed parts (gearhead!) and a collection of voter guidance for upcoming local San Diego elections (politics!).

Dirty Dave and Crag Maxwell assist Hostus Maximus Justin Fort in picking through a pile of bad ideas and broken bits, while he keeps trying to detour them to tales of MST3K, estate sales, really good darkwave and industrial music, and why anyone with "Coexist" sticker is a raving fool.

In addition to all that shrapnel, there's the definition of a technical conservative, license plate funds versus stimulus funds, broken sway bars, beer and bites at Manzanita Brewing and Eastbound Bar & Grill, feral drivers, jumping Geos, and why you should never, ever buy a rental car.

Direct download: HWGH060212.m4a
Category:gearhead personality -- posted at: 6:00pm EDT

11.14.09 (MP3): Classic! Gearhead Myths? Unintended Acceleration VS Fat Feet, Vega Decapitation VS Showroom Rust, Exploding Pintos & Pickups, Water & Mothballs In the Tank, Hoffa Hubcaps, Why It's Usually the Media's Fault, + Miata VS Miata & Tricky Dick

The explosion experts at Hank Watson's Garage Hour would like to invite you grab this Garage Hour reload from way back in our first year.  Dirty Dave, El Jaime and Hostus Maximus Justin Fort took a walk down Mythbuster Lane and chatted through a few of the best automotive myths, weird automotive facts and strange stories that wind up being someone's fault, whether or not they're held responsible.

So, were fat American feet responsible for the "unintended acceleration" freakout that ruined Audi in the US for 10 years?  Did General Motors really burn the last of the six Grand Sport Corvettes?  Did Pintos explode because they wanted to, or because they had too?  Did saddle-tank Chevys explode because they had to, or because the media rigged them with blasting caps?  Did Vegas decapitate people before or after rusting on the showroom floor?  Is Jimmy Hoffa in the Meadowlands or a Lincoln hubcap?

On top of that smoking pile of wreckage, we've got Miata versus Miata (and Miata versus bulldozer), Tricky Dick on Futurama, Ministry, Testament, boobs, tire pressure and something about mothballs being good for octane. Be sure to click on the M4A version of this podcast for that style of file.

Direct download: HWGH111409mp3.mp3
Category:gearhead personality -- posted at: 8:21pm EDT

11.14.09: Classic! Gearhead Myths? Unintended Acceleration VS Fat Feet, Vega Decapitation VS Showroom Rust, Exploding Pintos & Pickups, Water & Mothballs In the Tank, Hoffa Hubcaps, Why It's Usually the Media's Fault, Plus Miata VS Miata & Tricky Dick

The explosion experts at Hank Watson's Garage Hour would like to invite you grab this Garage Hour reload from way back in our first year.  Dirty Dave, El Jaime and Hostus Maximus Justin Fort took a walk down Mythbuster Lane and chatted through a few of the best automotive myths, weird automotive facts and strange stories that wind up being someone's fault, whether or not they're held responsible.

So, were fat American feet responsible for the "unintended acceleration" freakout that ruined Audi in the US for 10 years?  Did General Motors really burn the last of the six Grand Sport Corvettes?  Did Pintos explode because they wanted to, or because they had too?  Did saddle-tank Chevys explode because they had to, or because the media rigged them with blasting caps?  Did Vegas decapitate people before or after rusting on the showroom floor?  Is Jimmy Hoffa in the Meadowlands or a Lincoln hubcap?

On top of that smoking pile of wreckage, we've got Miata versus Miata (and Miata versus bulldozer), Tricky Dick on Futurama, Ministry, Testament, boobs, tire pressure and something about mothballs being good for octane. Be sure to click on the MP3 version of this podcast for that style of file.

Direct download: HWGH111409.m4a
Category:gearhead personality -- posted at: 7:51pm EDT

12.05.09 (MP3): Classic! Rock & Roll VS Drunk Drivers? Rev. Heat VS Liberace, Rollins VS Fans, Deadbolt VS CO, Velvet Acid Christ VS Hunter S., Hemmingway & Hendrix & Staley & Snoop, Plus Sopwith Camels & Chasing Drunk Drivers to Their Garage

From Horton Heat to DUI attorneys, and ether martinis to dogfighting, from Admiral Ackbar to Hillary Clinton, and Hunter S. Thompson to Gonzo host Justin Fort, this Garage Hour will not disappoint.  This is a great old Garage Hour reload - all of the excellent topics, all of the digression, and you can really feel the on-air talent figuring out if they've got any.

Dip into this one for something special - a truly schitzo journel with rock and rollers, getting lost in the woods with cohost Grizzly Chris, "Fun with Drugs" (it's a song - no hateful emails, please), cylinder control in the Sopwith Camel, Michael Medved versus Charlie, My Other Brain (and sometime cohost), and the all-loving topic of [not] chasing drunk drivers on the 5 south right into their garages.  Seriously, the rich fool parked her 'Benz at 30mph and then wanted it to be OUR fault.  Screw you, lady.

We're going to try something new with this episode - you can grab the iTunes-friendly M4A from the same date as this MP3, but it's not marked "MP3".  The exact protocol for the go-here/go-there links isn't figured out yet, though, so bear with us.  The Garage Hour will make it work, and if we need to force it (or use the force), well, we're the guys to do it.

Direct download: HWGH120509.mp3
Category:gearhead personality -- posted at: 4:08pm EDT

12.05.09: Classic! Rock & Roll VS Drunk Drivers? Rev. Heat VS Liberace, Rollins VS Fans, Deadbolt VS CO, Velvet Acid Christ VS Hunter S., Hemmingway & Hendrix & Staley & Snoop, Plus Sopwith Camels & Chasing Drunk Drivers To Their Garage

From Horton Heat to DUI attorneys, and ether martinis to dogfighting, from Admiral Ackbar to Hillary Clinton, and Hunter S. Thompson to Gonzo host Justin Fort, this Garage Hour will not disappoint.  This is a great old Garage Hour reload - all of the excellent topics, all of the digression, and you can really feel the on-air talent figuring out if they've got any.

Dip into this one for something special - a truly schitzo journel with rock and rollers, getting lost in the woods with cohost Grizzly Chris, "Fun with Drugs" (it's a song - no hateful emails, please), cylinder control in the Sopwith Camel, Michael Medved versus Charlie, My Other Brain (and sometime cohost), and the all-loving topic of [not] chasing drunk drivers on the 5 south right into their garages.  Seriously, the rich fool parked her 'Benz at 30mph and then wanted it to be OUR fault.  Screw you, lady.

We're going to try something new with this episode - you can grab the iTunes-friendly version here, or the MP3 at the matching upload of the same date.  The exact protocol for the go-here/go-there links isn't figured out yet, though, so bear with us.  The Garage Hour will make it work, and if we need to force it (or use the force), well, we're the guys to do it.

Direct download: HWGH120509.m4a
Category:gearhead personality -- posted at: 3:26pm EDT

11.28.09: Classic! Thanksgiving Shoots, Off-Road Cube, Tundra Recall, GM's SAAB Fail, Edward R. Murrow, Glamis Drags & "Nobody Cares Until LifeFlight Shows Up", Old Guns, Sherlock Holmes VS Air America, + Tiger "I LIke Hookers" Woods VS The Nine Iron

Killer throwback shows! This post-Thanksgiving episode has the Dukes of Hazzard, desert shooting (a family that shoots together survives the zombie apocalypse together), all-terrain tires, gun and target fun in the rocky Socal desert, why LifeFlight is a sign that you're a bad parent, plus GM's inability to sell SAAB to rich guys in Sweden (Koenigsegg) and Saturn to rich guys in America (Penske), and why Sherlock Holmes is cooler when Watson breaks things and shoots stuff.  Then it's all about the A-Team and Clash of the Titans remakes, commuter trucks versus actual "pro" trucks in the desert, the wisdom of Edward R. Murrow, the lack thereof of Tiger "She Won't Mind" Woods and hand-thrown clay targets, and the multidimensional awesomeness that is the Large Hadron Collider and the magical disappearing truon.

Hostus Maximus Justin Fort and lowbrow/skully artist David Lozeau demonstrate the Garage Hour form that got the show on the airwaves: wit, intelligence, ricochet topic acquisition, breadth of topic knowledge (and the ability to admit when they don't know), and a willingness to shoot holes in things, just because.

A late-show call-in from superfan Jesse "Tile Guy" also segues the Garage Hour goons into how to make Jesse's newest toy - a Nissan "I'm a dad now" Cube - capable of getting around off-road and in the sand at Glamis, and inspires the debate of whether drilling holes in a perfectly good roof is a good idea.

Direct download: HWGH112809.m4a
Category:gearhead personality -- posted at: 3:06pm EDT

07.11.09: Classic! Distracted Driving Fails, Gov't Motors & Chrysler Jokes, GM Lawsuit & Red Bull VS F1 Predictions, Buffalo VS Humvee, Honda VS Porsche, Shelby VS Saleen Bankruptcy Battle, Texting VS Drunk Driving, Goatsnake & the Rolling Bomb

Maxi-early Garage Hour right here: Dirty Dave and Hostus Maximus Justin Fort continue their adventures in big AM talk with their sixth-ever show. It's also one of the early seguefests, with repeated attempts to dig into the device-addled shame that is distracted driving thwarted by IEDs andTV versus AM and the unending debate that is double-A batteries versus 5.56.

With visits to Carroll Shelby and Steve Saleen's... bankruptcies... (who's more broke?), Lutz versus Leno, Max "I Love Hitler" Mosley versus Ari Vattanen and Jean Todt, Ralph Nader and Vince Neil, the birth of the Garage Hour's broadcast superiority is under way.  It's all optimism, though, as the Garage Hour goons make their level best effort to find the sunny side of things, even if that thing is our prescienct visions for Red China's disturbing expansionism in the Pacific.

It's not just that good stuff, though - we've got 4Runner brake swaps, Tundra parts for small Toyotas, the F-22, Miata spring & swap swaps, ugly rockers, Goatsnake awesomeness ("Burial at Sea", anyone?), Texas's solution to its idiots, Darmwin's love for the same, and Honda's battle with Brawn F1 and Porsche.

Remember, just because you don't advocate violence doesn't mean you can't enjoy it.

Direct download: HWGH071109.m4a
Category:gearhead personality -- posted at: 5:22pm EDT

12.14.13: Gearheadulation! Bullet Points Join Garage Hour for Gearhead Gifting, Thanksgiving VS Xmas, Justin VS REI, FDE VS OD, AR-AK VS Red Ryder, Lando VS Han Solo, Pickups VS Pterodactyls, Plus Zep, Vultures, & the Intergalactic Smiley Face

Epic Garage Hour: gearhead gifting, speed parts, guns, pterodactyls, political soothsaying, Arnold's 9mm pizza and Italian versus Russian jokes (In ReSoviet Russia, president assasinates you!); just a taste.

Tyler and Peter from The Bullet Points join Hostus Maximus Justin Fort and Agent Aya for one of the most thorough, most complete Garage Hours ever put to podcast, and they talk through a host of the fantastic tomfoolery you care about.  Black Friday versus your new Tazer?  Microdots versus a vacuum?  John Paul Jones versus awesomeness?  Obamacare versus a kick in the nuts?  What about REI and Sierra Nevada versus your trail access rights?  Vinyl?  Cassettes?  White versus dark meat?  Ant that's before the Bloody Marys have a chance to kick in.

There's also the cornucopia of excellent that would be the Garage Hour's unintended topics: blown MTRs, flimsy atomic super golf carts, wrecked Dregs-class Rangers, Chuck Norris, Jesse "The Body" Ventura, ammo gifting, the UTS-15 failmachine, Tesla versus Edison, modular Mustang parts (P and PE heads, anyone?), the GT-40 at LeMans, one versus two-way slings, and how Metallica helped win the Battle of Athens.

So much awesome.  Have some.

Direct download: HWGH121413.m4a
Category:gearhead personality -- posted at: 9:35pm EDT

11.26.11: Superstition Run @ El Centro (w/ SD 4Wheelers), Ferd FTeenthousand VS X-90 Trucklet, Klingon Fiveheads, Hoosier Eric's Brat 2.2 EJ Swap, Black Ryan's Copper Wire & Bargaining Humor, Mr. Dustin's XJ, N. County VS E. County, w/ Eggnog!

From beard wookies to Star Trek tricycles, it's the Garage Hour - so much good stuff.  Want to EJ your Subaru Brat?  Need to do donuts in the desert?  Like watching the repo man try to haul away a forty foor toy hauler in deep sand?  How about Barrett-Jackson?  The true definition of "SWAG"?

The crux of this episode - which the Garage Hour goons rapidly chuck out the window - was promoting San Diego Four-Wheelers' annual Superstition Run, held in the Chocolate Mountains west of El Centro. Black Ryan, Barrister Hilton and Dirty Dave helped Hostus Maximus Justin Fort and ultracohost Rod Gilmore from SD4Wheelers, with call-ins from Mr. Dustin (Top Earner) and Hoosier Eric.

Remember, if you're still listening, you're as bad as we are.

Direct download: HWGH112611.m4a
Category:gearhead personality -- posted at: 1:53am EDT

05.28.15: An Hour @ Helm's Brewing: San Diego Beer VS the World, the Booming Beer Biz, Gov't Tracking of Your Mileage, bin Laden's Reading List, Shopping .22 Rifles, Plus Ministry, STP, Primus  & Mars Volta

Cars, trucks, beers, guns!  It's the Garage Hour - go figure.  This week, we pried ourselves out of the garage to put together another one of our adventure episodes, sitting down for an hour of sipping and salacious talk with the folks from Helm's Brewing, most notably GM Matt Johnson.  There's a good chat about the business of craft/micro/up-and-coming brewing, and where San Diego's excellent beer scene stands in relation to the rest of the world's beer (definitely not on the bottom rung).

We've also got a discussion of pros and cons to consider when picking up a .22-cal rifle for plinking duty, a visit with Osama bin Laden's reading list (lots of porn to go with his leftist and terrorist topics), and we briefly (far too briefly) visit with the pending epic fail that is state-mandated mileage taxes and what you can do to stop it (or how low-information fools let it happen).  Along with those goodies are rock/roll in the form of big-time weirdness from Mars Volta, stuff we're missing (Pixies annd The Smiths), and plane-Jane goodness like Primus, Ministry and the Stone Temple Pilot's kickoff, Core.  

On-air for this one with Hostus Maximus Justin Fort and Matt from Helm's were .45 Phil, Chef Jeff, Rick McElroy, Kurtis from JBA Speed Shop and Majid from GSR. Download us immediately.

Direct download: HWGH052515.m4a
Category:gearhead personality -- posted at: 5:39pm EDT

12.04.10: Classic! Christmas Holiday Traffic Rage & Lane-Change Logic, Don't Feed the Hippies, Rating Idiot VS Stupid, Bob Hansen & Quadalcanal, Cat VS Gator, Plus the Happy Patrol & Animal House's Eat Me Special (a.k.a. the Deathmobile)

When you're this good, who needs a plan? From the scattered intro to the return of Grizzly Chris, this one's pure Garage Hour.  There's Grizzlies Gone Wild, Mr. Dustin's (Top Earner) report from Irwindale Speedway, Dirty Dave and Black Ryan, plus big new truck bumpers and where we're going to put them (in a Prius), plus the Happy Patrol, how to rate an idiot's stupidity, Juan Williams versus Howard Dean (we all lose), fraternity chef and Guadalcanal first-wave Bob Hansen, and that's just to get things rolling.

Once the Garage Hour's crack team of gearhead consultants get started on the retrograde traffic of the silly season, it's all ball bearings - Miata rage, bumper rage, lane-change rage, Ryan rage, grizzly rage, and then it's conserving ammunition, shotguns, the Deathmobile, Wikileaks, and the government taking over the web (we warned you - didn't we warn you?).

Direct download: HWGH120410.m4a
Category:gearhead personality -- posted at: 2:41am EDT

11.05.11: Flux Capacitor Day! Also Guy Fawkes Day (For Real?) & 100%-Everything Attack on Occupy Idiots (Occupuke? Occupoop? Yummy Occupie?), w/ Occupy VS Cops, VS Volcanos & VS Themselves, +Jon Lovitz & Ship High In Transit

So much good stuff! The Garage Hour goons go after the usual fools in the Occupy idiots (remember all that astroturf?) with unusual relish in this episode of the show.  There's some honest-to-goodness background on the hypocricy that is a 1%er whining about her iPad being stolen at an Occupy encampment, plus a short list of the biggest FAILS to populate the Occufoo movement.  They put a lid on all that with some love (and a spirited defense) for Herman Cain, the most interesting presidential candidate who didn't get a date.

Have no fear, it's all gearhead, even when your favorite gearheads have their boots on the necks of the Occupee weirdos...  This episode's also got Dr. Emmett Brown's flux capacitor, beadlocks, Rhino Linings, SEMA, Donald Trump, off-road trucks, chrome auto paint, McRibs and Soviet and Nazi war leftovers.

Alongside that, the men with faces for radio discuss Dirty Dave's hatred of Rick Perry, Grizzly Chris's disdain for Jesse Jackson, Mr. Dustin's careless treatment of Slimer's paint, Barrister Hilton's interest in Michael Richards' dirty words (ala Jon Lovitz) and Hostus Maximus Justin Fort's inability to get the Brown Note generator down to the Occupiers (of Decency) in time for a mass movement they're never forget.

Direct download: HWGH110511.m4a
Category:gearhead personality -- posted at: 2:31pm EDT

11.12.11: Rainy Traffic Crap Salad! Wet Weather Fails VS San Diego Fires, Tires/Wipers/Headlights (Oh My), Junkyard Adventures, Hybrids @ 88mph, Slow-Exploding Volts, Cartel Truck Tanks, + Deadbolt, Fatso Jetson & Secret Samurai

In this episode, the gearhead goons go after the liquid lobotomy that is SoCal traffic during the rain - any rain.  When did you last check your tires?  Your wipers?  Your headlights?  Don't let Mr. Murphy make an example of you...  We also cruise local junkyards for seatbelts and discuss the merits of cordless Sawzalls (sorry, "reciprocating saws"), chat up David Lozeau's Christmas party, discuss how to have fun driving in the rain, and them slide off to our impending "Gearhead Movie Night" and the latest horror to spring up from south of the border, which would be the cartels building tanks out of dump trucks.  Seriously.

After our standard searing kickoff, it's stolen Viper parts (yup, Hennessey again - go figure), hybrids and their inability to not suck on the freeway, and electric car batteries and their ability to explode a month after a fender-bender.  Of course, it's the Garage Hour, so there's also rock and roll (including our recent visit to a Fatso Jetson/Secret Samurai show) and, just because, Beavis & Butthead.

There's also an over-the-shoulder look at Veterans' Day (despite both the show's vets being down and out).  Hank Watson's Garage Hour - we promise we're not part of the problem, though we may have caused it.

Direct download: HWGH111211.m4a
Category:gearhead personality -- posted at: 4:44pm EDT

04.28.15: In-Garage Hour! Live @ Yawsport w/ Track & Street Car Tuning & Setup, Plus Massive Suspension Knowledge, Bilstein's PSS-9, Corner Weighting, Techniques for Balance, Hillclimbing & High-Speed Solo 2-Style Competition @ The Lone Pine Trials

So much tech!  This live in-garage episode of the Garage Hour is dense with answers to your suspension-setup questions, including coilvers versus struts versus shocks, springs and perches, adjustable valve and suspension tuning, compression versus rebound, vehicle setup, diagonal weighting, the state of the high-performance shock business, weight jacking and weight relocation, plus the investment of time and energy necessary to be a professional gearhead in regulation-heavy Kalifornistan.

Hostus Maximus Justin Fort and his canyon-carving Subaru STi join road and race suspension tuner (and driver of note) Bret Norgarrd (or is it Bert Nogood?  Terb Draagron?) at his San Diego/Ramona-based Yawsport Tuning shop for some corner weighting and a Garage Hour-style chat about what it takes to make a good suspension better, in this case the new Bilstein PSS-9 boingers on the in-house STi.

Justin and Bret also chat about Bret's upcoming races (including the big Lone Pine Time Trials) and his campaign plans for the large-by-wide Yawsport SMF Acura TL.

Direct download: HWGH042815_050315.m4a
Category:gearhead personality -- posted at: 2:04am EDT

09.17.11: Truck Parts, Reno Air Race Crash, Death By Gingivitis, Dodge Trucks & Vipers, Alan Specter IS Adm. Ackbar, Hoffa Humor (Shot/Day), Damon VS Seagal, Infantry VS Finance Rangers, Medals of Honor (& Myers VS Giunta), Plus the Bear Zombie Apocalypse

Don't be mad - we warned you: sometimes the Garage Hour goons stay on-topic, and other times it's a 100% mashup trainwreck like this.  Fortunately, we do great trainwrecks.

This episode's got everything from listener mail and perfect barbecue weather to the Champions of Justin and socialist muppet Bernie Sanders, plus the Reverend Horton Heat in San Diego, Led Zeppelin everywhere, the Jaegermeister face, how to improve traffic conditions with a little plague, the Lethal Weapon nailgun scene, bad neighborhoods to fall down and saw off your arm in, cash payments in Iraq and truck bumpers for 4Runners.

It's the Garage Hour.  Who are you to resist?

Direct download: HWGH091711.m4a
Category:gearhead personality -- posted at: 5:43pm EDT

02.09.13: GH's 5 Rules for Traffic, LS1s for Ultimas, Ted Nugent VS Nancy Pelosi, Cabela's VS REI, Obama's Sally Jewell VS the Outdoor Industry, Useless Eggheads VS Convicts, Plus Invading Russia & .45 Phil's Tank of the Week

So much yum! This gearhead romp into the geekiverse is another great Garage Hour goonfest.  Do you like the Nuge?  Cabelas?  Off-roading?  High-powered component (kit) cars or new places to stuff an LS motor?  How about the idea of arming all liquor store owners?  Caddyshack?  AR-based rifles?  Monster trucks?  Swap meets?  Tanks?  What about caffeine or Israel?  Have we got an episode for you.

From .45 Phil's Tank of the Week (the Israeli M-51 Super Sherman) and some basic rules to live by when coping with the sheeple in traffic to Hostus Maximus Justin Fort's ongoing battle with REI's "no throttle" policy, it's in there.

Like we always tell you, there's two sides (at least) to every conversation: do you dislike Piers (Peers? Peirs?) Morgan?  Sally Jewell from the Interior department?  REI?  Invading Russia in the winter?  Flash mobs?  Pointless bureaucrats?  We'll help you feel good about it, because we can't stand 'em either.

Direct download: HWGH020913.m4a
Category:gearhead personality -- posted at: 6:02pm EDT

10.06.12: Oktoberfest & the 'Squatch Run, Economy of Sports Cars VS Hybrid Propagandization, Bathurst Road-Race Awesomeness VS F1 Lament, Villains Cage Match (Khan VS Lord Humongous), Pet Shop Boys & Korn & King's X

From gun lubrication to Isuzus needing lubricating, and from Auntie Entity to Dilbert, it's GOT to be the Garage Hour.  We know gearhead, and we are geeksauce.

This might be one of our best episodes ever, with beer, the Garage Hour goons' advice column, Mitt "Chainsaw" Romney, freefall Red Bull daredevils, lots of good rock and roll, promotions of the upcoming Sasquatch Run and our Oktoberfest drinking session at Maxwell's House of Books.  From there, it's economical cars and foreign cars and performance cars hybrid cars, upon which we heap mountains of disdain and encouragement and some bad FIAT jokes and even worse Russian accents.  It all ends with great discussions of racing at Bathurst in Australia (Supercar = awesomesauce) and some pity for the wreckage of Michael Schumacher's F1 career.

There's also a massive Villains' Cage Match discussion, with Lord Humongous of Road Warrior fame versus Khan Noonien Singh from Star Trek's "Wrath of Khan", plus a revisitation of previous battles and some unfinished villain business.

Direct download: HWGH100612.m4a
Category:gearhead personality -- posted at: 9:23pm EDT

07.04.09: Classic! July 4 Dude Food Excellence, Trail-Access & Off-Road Advocacy (& What You Can Do), Broken CA, Hummers & Vintage Desert Racing, Conservative Conservationism, Plus Testament, Ministry, Lemmy & Ugly Rockers #1

This early Garage Hour is a fine example of the banter-beating delivery that hallmarks the show's festival-of-digression style - from off-road and trail-access issues that affect everyone with knobby tires to burger recipies and how to make the 72lb pack of frozen sausages from Costco work for you, it's in there.

There's also a healthy dose of prognostication from the Garage Hour goons, as they forsee a bunch of the bad stuff coming down the pike from both federal and CA state bureaucracies as it relates to your ability to drive on trails and enjoy your backwoods self without restriction.  The hosts with the most speeding tickets also dig into SpecWar, machine guns, the H1 and H2 guys, why rock & rollers are usually ugly, infighting in Formula 1, all of it kicked off balance by a call-in from Dave Stall.

This episode was the Garage Hour's One-Month Anniversary, so join the cohosts in their universal state of stunned that it lasted this long.  On-air with Hostus Newguystus Justin Fort is none other than Dirty Dave.

Direct download: HWGH070409.m4a
Category:gearhead personality -- posted at: 2:28pm EDT

04.06.15: 'Hour @ the Still! Robot Cars, Truck Parts, Dude Food, Turbines & Beerguns, Litter Rage VS Hipster Thrashing (w/ Betting), Beer Tourists & Junkyards, Plus Fine Sips & Distilling Tech w/ Twisted Manzanita Spirits

From ratty Tacos to good food, this Garage Hour runs the gamut, with fine liquor tasting and aging techniques at Twisted Manzanita Distillery, commie capitalism, our collective disdain for littering, and we run over some hipsters on the way.  Then it's all about beer-delivery drones and Twisted Manzanita's beer turbine, with a big segue into Pacific Beach dining, AR rifles for ladies, ball versus IMR powder and the M-14 versus the M-16 in Somalia, why the pickleback is an insult to every stage of the brewing and distilling industry, computer-controlled cars, junkyard Toyota parts, and what kind of vehicles are driven by the hosts and cohosts of the Garage Hour.  That's just the beginning - tune in if you want to hear about hipster betting (it's like betting on horses, without the respect), drink recipies, Skynyrds Innyrds, National Ammo Week and Stare at a Hybrid Owner Like Something Is Wrong With Them Month.

This is the second of two broadcasts from the back room at Twisted Manzanita Brewing & Distillery.  The Garage Hour goons are surrounded by fine folks and Manz fans, including Jake Pitman (Head Distiller), Nina from the marketing department, and Ashleigh (Ashley? - Wearer of Many Hats) from the distillery.  .45 Phil and Chef Jeff join in for the ride, along with whomver else was brave enough to approach the mic.

Direct download: HWGH040615_2.m4a
Category:gearhead personality -- posted at: 5:43pm EDT

10.01.11: Animals Attack the Garage Hour (Again)... Bears VS 'Jersey, Bear Tax VS Bear Patrol, Piranhas VS Tourists, Crocs VS Locals (Pet It With a Buick!), Plus Hydraulics VS Chinooks, Bender & the Beatles, & Hellfire VS al Awlaki (Take That!)

It's on those days when we're just gearheaded out that the Garage Hour goons take a stroll down Digression Lane.  This episode's chock full of those crazy stories you read about of bears beating up hikers, Iran beating up hikers, piranhas eating up tourists and crocodiles eating up the natives.  Then it's Hellfire-missiles for San Diego's favorite terrorist, Ospreys falling out of the sky (the plane, not the bird, though we suppose the birds do too), and how you can tell when a Chinook is out of hydraulic fluid - it stops leaking.

After that, there's more bears (always with the bears), plus Bender, the "Impson" family, the Beatles versus Eric Crapton (sorry, Clapton), a schtick about celebrities being eaten by bears, and a farewell to the kitchen-pooping celebrity bear of Tahoe, Bubba.  The bear dogs finally got him.

Cohosts Dirty Dave, Mr. Dustin (Top Earner) and Matt Walsh, of Matt Walsh Wood Floors, join Hostus Maximus Justin Fort to make this Garage Hour good.

Direct download: HWGH100111.m4a
Category:gearhead personality -- posted at: 3:37pm EDT

10.23.10: Hour at the 'Port Classic! Hoptoberfest Live, Beer Reviews of Port Truck Stout & Fresh-Hopped IPAs, SoCal Traffic, Trying On Guns @ Fine Firearms, Hieroglyphed Mausers, Chupacabras, Heckling Hecklers, Plus Junior Seau & Chargers VS Raiders

A Garage Hour Reload worth loading: Garage hour unhinged!  Live from Hoptoberfest, the Garage Hour goons enjoy beer and pizza tasting at the Pizza Port's annual celebration, and roll around in a debate over Junior Seau's troubles and some prognostications regarding the Chargers' and Raiders' futures.  Then, it's all about beer and guns and BMW owners who can't park, as well as the need to try a handgun on before purchase, plus pork, scary things roaming around at the Texas/Mexico border, chimps attacking the police, the upcoming Strong Ale Festival, why rainy weather makes San Diegans something something, and why the public can be a dick.

At one point, the 'Port's full-time brewing sublord and sometime cohost Boston Rich goes after background hecklers (hey, we don't like skaters either), while additional cohosts David Lozeau and Alex Hunt help Hostus Maximus Justin Fort debate the flaws in every skater's childhood.  Good times.

Direct download: HWGH102310.m4a
Category:gearhead personality -- posted at: 5:57pm EDT

05.28.11: A Little Levity On Memorial Day, XJs and WRXs, Venture Bros. & Metalocalypse, F1 Quals & NASCAR Goons, Salt Crocs & Huge Catfish, Home-Invasion Sasquatch & Neighborhood Sharks, Plus A Few of the Garage Hour's Scary Fans

"From awesome to suck in three seconds!" If you're ready for one of the edgey early Garage Hours, this is it.  Want to know where the Sasquatch Runs were born?  Want to hear one of our earliest Dude Food segments?  Need to know the best way to mispronounce "Jamacha"?  Keep finding yourself choosing between jerks and assholes in NASCAR?  Think some F1 drivers' heads are strangely huge?  Sick and tired of the fallacy of "unintended" acceleration?  Us too.

With special guest cohost Meatwad (from Aqua Teen Hunger Force), Hostus Maximus Justin Fort and cohosts Dirty Dave and Black Ryan embark on a superb sample of the best sort of train-of-thought talk radio.  Remember, Hank Watson's Garage Hour - we digress.  Man-eating catfish, armored sturgeon, Cherokees and Wagoneers, cartoons for grownups, Prowlers and Howlers, and Dirty Dave creates a new slogan for his hometown: "Solana Beach - Our Sharks Eat People".

Because we're awesome.

Direct download: HWGH052811.m4a
Category:gearhead personality -- posted at: 6:37pm EDT

12.29.12: F-150 & Junkyards Stories, A-10s VS Tanks, NY's Mama Bloomberg, Beer & Dirt Season, Porter VS Stout, Deep Purple & Deadbolt, BLEEP Fails On-Air & A Serious Chat About Movies' & Video Games' Part in People Behaving Badly

With a reassuring intro from the most dangerous show in the world, Hank Watson's Garage Hour gets right down to gearhead, with Fords, junkyards (like A&B and 67 Truck in San Diego), tales of fine salvage, and the DUIs that get some of those vehicles there.  The plan falls apart after that, with a Crag-infested BLEEPing roll-in that Mayor Bloomberg would like to ban, followed by hobbits.  Yeah.  .45 Phil likes hobbits.

There's also a bit of seriousness in this episode, as Hostus Maximus Justin Fort and cohosts Crag Maxwell and .45 Phil speak up about some of the unspoken truths of the Sandy Hook shooting, including the need for the media and video game makers to admit that they're popularizing violence, and parents' need to assert their role as parent and not their kids' best friends.

Not to keep it too dark, the Garage Hour goons rocket back to the Gearhead Planet with not so smart meters, Phil's Tank of the Week (the nasty Soviet Tunguska), and America's solution to Ruskie tanks, the A-10.  Then it's all dogfights and Spads and beer and Bilsteins.

Damn right you want it.

Direct download: HWGH122912.m4a
Category:gearhead personality -- posted at: 6:06pm EDT

04.14.12: Bad Driving Special! Cops In-Studio, What's Legal in Traffic, Hybrid Owner Fails, DUI Checkpoint Tales, Kids Who Crash & Parents Who Should Know Better, Plus #1 Lane Anger & What You Can Do About It

Garage Hour = gearhead hilarity.  In one of our funniest (and best armed) episodes ever, we go toe-to-to with the Johnnies about all of the questions you've always wanted to ask the fuzz, and they answer.

Sooooo, do you want to know if high-beaming the slowpoke in the #1 lane is legal?  We did.  How about cat-calling folks with your PA?  Is "Keep Right Except to Pass" enforceable?  Do people care that there's laws against texting and driving?  Do the police really mess with victims motorists when they're pulled over?  We ask it all of our buddy Mark McCullough from the San Diego Police, and he tells us everything - he's the information officer, after all, so he'd better have some.

On top of that supercake, we pour on the usual Garagesauce: tax-day wallet pain, hybrid owners' moral narcissm, when it's legal to eat roadkill (and if you need tags to take that deer), deer hunting from your driveway, and that guy with the burgundy 'Vette in Lakeside who cohost Black Ryan is planning to T-bar.  Additional cohost Mr. Dustin (Mr. 1%) and several secret couch-dwellers join Hostus Maximus Justin Fort for this episode as well.

Direct download: HWGH041412.m4a
Category:gearhead personality -- posted at: 1:15pm EDT

04.13.13: Drag Racing, F1 & NASCAR, Raptor Fails, Steekers!, Commie BS (& Red Bob Failner), Helmet & Blue Oyster Cult, Blues Brothers, Tanks, Eugene Sledge, Bears & Snakes & Bees (Oh My), & Goodbye to the Iron Lady

From the most dangerous studio in the world, another wicked-dense 100%-everything Garage Hour for you.

From the Russian-rich intro, with local commie sycophants and hidden leftists (we list a few - are they near you?), the Garage Hour goons run straight to gearheadopia with jumping Raptors (you have no one to blame but yourself), trucks, tanks and racing, and veer straight into the need for fear-based leadership (especially when managing a Radio Shack in Yuma).

Don't worry - as usual (suspects), there's so much more.  We've got the Marines in WW2 Pacific (and Eugene Sledge, author of "With the Old Breed"), Blue Oyster Cult, Helmet and the Blues Brothers, as well as bears in San Diego, pigs that need hunting, and snake loads for your revolver.  Then it's all Venture Bros. this and Archer that, plus the Guild of Calamitous Intent and a heartfelt goodbye to one of the great archetypes of Cold War strength, Margaret "Iron Lady" Thatcher.

Direct download: HWGH041313.m4a
Category:gearhead personality -- posted at: 1:30pm EDT

01.19.13: Junkyard Parts, Bilstein & the Nurburgring, Trap League @ P2K, GH Show & Tell, Beers & Birthdays, Gen. McChrystal Conspiracies, Ted Nugent VS Piers Morgan (Plus Jesse Ventura), Gun Appreciation Day, Merkava 4 @ Tank of the Week, & 1911s

Sometimes your inner gearhead screams for tires and wrenches and pistons, and other times it wants to geek out elsewhere - guns, beers, politics, military junk, rock and/or roll, and/or other good stuff.  This episode of the Garage Hour has both.

Start with some real firearm appreciation (the NRA, fighting gun ignorance, guns in Jacumba and 1911s from the Philippines), and add a few rifle tips and tricks to the pile of goodness that is .45 Phil's Tank of the Week - the Israeli Merkava 4.  Alongside that is a call to the Nuge to take apart CNN Failmaster Piers Morgan (or Jesse Ventura, if you just want to scare Morgan white). After that, it's back to the well - gearheads at the junkyard, gearheads and Miatas, gearheads and beer, gearheads off-roading, gearheads and Bilsteins, gearheads on the McChrystal conspiracies, plus gearheads talking historic birthdays (Robert E. Lee, Ben Franklin or Martin Luther King Jr., anyone?).  Oh, and titanium.

With cohosts .45 Phil and Crag Maxwell on-air and support from superfans like Battleship Dan and Sheri from Diehardland, it's just a lot of good stuff.  Have some.

Direct download: HWGH011913.m4a
Category:gearhead personality -- posted at: 3:38am EDT

11.06.10: Classic! Rednecks & Machine Guns, F4 Flyby (You're All Gonna Die), Happy Birthday @ Marines, Electronica, Old Rock & Die Krupps, Mr. Dustin's SEMA Report, Wreckage in Pro 5.0, & the GH's Official CA Voter WTF?

One of the most requested, replayed and reccoculous Garage Hours ever: our post-election freakout and firepower binge following the bipolar electoral results in 2010, where just about every state in the union went red but California... where we're based.  F!

With everything from President Pickle's transplant speech to the Marines' birthday (hooah!), from Colorado Garage Hour fans to the electoral wasteland headed by Jerry "Moonbeam" Brown and Gavin Newsbag, ultraphone cohost Nacho from the frozen wastes of Wisco and Mr. Dustin in the wilds of Nevada, plus drag racing Volvos, crashes in Pro 5.0, the tale of a hapless biker-killin' progressive politician named Fred "Clarkey" Clarke, and a lesson on shooting an M1919 from the hip, redneck-style.

Don't hate us because we're pretty.  Because we're not.  This is the Garage Hour - faces made for radio.  

 

Direct download: HWGH110610.m4a
Category:gearhead personality -- posted at: 11:16pm EDT

08.14.10: Classic! Pranks for Gearheads, Off-Roady FJs, Drifting HMMTs & Work Vans, Progressive Politicians Running Over Bikers, Engine Swaps, Miatas @ Midwest, In-Flight Freakouts, Snatch VS Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels, & A Warning About Your Belt

A big pile of Garage Hour jackassery right here: off-roading, our friends at Off-Road.com and FJs for fun and breakage, messing with cars to make a point without damaging them, folks freaking out mid-flight and what you should do about it, how not to nut yourself with your own belt, a sorry progressive politician in Wisconsin named Fred Clarke and why he ran over a bicyclist, plus Miatas, drifiting military equipment and work vans, soccer players, Garage Hour letters, tracks and videos for gearheads, and hanging out with the ricers.

It's gearhead.

Direct download: HWGH081410.m4a
Category:gearhead personality -- posted at: 4:57pm EDT

02.23.13: AR-15 & Swap Meet Awesomeness (w/ AR Function & Esthetics, Plus Swap Tools & Junk), w/ Biden Duncery, Hippie Hypocrisy, White House Kleptocracy, Eugene Stoner History, Amon Tobin Sophistry, & RINOs VS Conservatives

Ahhhh, the AR-15 - like the Second Amendment, a touchstone of so many of the what's-wrongs infesting the current inhabitants of the White House.  The Garage Hour and its intrepid cohosts spend a good hunk of this episode gearheading it up about a few of the two-faced, fictionalized or just plain fabricated feelings forced on free Americans by the festering fraud now festooning the funked up face of our fantastic nation.  How?  We introduce you to some Armalite Rifle history, its designer (Eugene Stoner), its variations (and what it's a variation of), its features and its awesomeness, mainly because it's a damn fine rifle which everyone should own.  Two.

In honor of San Diego's Big Three Swaps (which we just missed, dammit...), this Garage Hour also dips into the gearhead Candyland that is a swap meet, with every bit and piece and thing you did and did not know you needed, all available in slightly suspiciously good condition...  We've been there, and we'll remind you why you should be too.

With eveything from Garage Hour birthdays, hobos versus hippies, traffic thank yous, Amon Tobin VS Cujo and crap German accents, this is the blue-collar talk radio you want - have some.

Direct download: HWGH022313.m4a
Category:gearhead personality -- posted at: 12:19am EDT

04.06.13: So Much Mustang - SN-95 VS Fox, 5.0 VS 301, Boss VS Mach, & Drinking WITH Your Cars, Plus Venture Bros., Nick Cage VS Grizzly Chris, Prius Owners VS Reality, & Overweight Target Shoppers VS "Manatee Grey"

Hilarious Garage Hour - electronified, computerated, dense with laughs and gearhead insight, chock-full of geek power...  From Fox-Bodies and DEW-platform cars and why all SN-95s need a 5.0, to host Justin Fort's little brother (who's on his 10th Mustang) and his collection of Poweredyne blowers; this is the Garage Hour you were looking for.

This episode's so good, at one point the hosts forget which planet they're on.  Adding to the usual car/truck/beer/gun cannon fodder, the Garage Hour goons (including Agent Aya, SuperMeg and Wes Luthor) dip into everything else you care about - Chuck Norris, bad aim at good ranges, Porsche's new 928 Fatbuttamera, pink Ferraris, man cards, bad Russian accents, John Candy and Peter Steele (from Type "O" Negative) and an accounting of exactly what your car says about you (plus a slew of things you'll need to listen to and enjoy).

Direct download: HWGH040613.m4a
Category:gearhead personality -- posted at: 11:44pm EDT

08.20.11: Brawlin' w/ Boris Said, Drinkin' w/ Chrysler Employees, Bangin' w/ Dave Mustaine, Cruise Missilin' w/ the Air Force, Bein' an Idiot w/ Decaprio/Penn/Damon, Trappin' w/ Admiral Akbar, Failin' w/ Big Mac Fans, Plus Conspirin' w/ Fishermen

This Garage Hour is one of the classic free-fire episodes, kicked off right with tales of Boris Said and his plans to beat Greg Biffle's ass, and that sets the tone for the whole rest of the thing.  Hostus Maximus Justin Fort goes after everyone, from people on Rascals to the lunchtime drunks and stoners at Chrysler who were fired for getting...  wait for it... drunk and stoned at lunch.  Of course, the UAW got them their jobs back, so those drunks and stoners are presumably still building Dodges. Dirty Dave takes the time to go after Rick Perry, and then board-opp Barrister Hilton goes after Dirty Dave.

It's not 100% grim, though - there's shouts out to Toyota for their stay-at-home doggedness following the arsing Japan got at the hands of the Fukishima tsunami, the Garage Hour goons applaud the Air Force for parking a cruise missile up China's nose during the Serbian affair, and there's a bunch of good tracks backing this show.

So many targets, so few triggers...  It's the Garage Hour, alright, the rootinest, tootinest, highfalutinest piece of gearhead on air since Top Gear full of beer.

Direct download: HWGH082011.m4a
Category:gearhead personality -- posted at: 1:42pm EDT

02.06.15: Garage Hour Lite: Ales & Spirits, Making & Partaking in Fine Adult Beverages, Oaked Rye for Fun & Pleasure, Brewery Machinery Guide, Plus NJ, PA, Carolina Drinking Shouts Out & Tasty Sips @ Twisted Manzanita

From the hardware in the brewhouse to soft liquor made for the ladies, this abbreviated Garage Hour is heavy on sipping power.  Whether you're a Manz fan, you just like the craft ale and booze scene, or you're from New Jersey, Pennsylvania or either of the Carolinas (Brew Thru!), this is a killer episode to dip your toes in the burgeoning East County brewing biz.

Like so may Garage Hours, the show runs afoul of the script quickly, but how far can you run when you're broadcasting from a fully loaded still?  Enjoy the introduction of a new show intro too - we're still experimenting, so hold your fire until we choose a new one fer shur.

Chatting up the supersauce from Twisted Manzanita are Jake the Head Distiller, Dan the Head Brewer and Nina (Major Marketing Minion), who join Hostus Maximus Justin Fort and cohosts .45 Phil and Chef Jeff on-air.  Be sure to grab the bomber version of this night's brewcast when you're through this 12oz version, which includes surprise cohosts and more of the usual cars/trucks/beers/guns Garage Houring.  Cheers!

Direct download: HankWatsonGarageHourManz1_2hr020615.m4a
Category:gearhead personality -- posted at: 3:15pm EDT

12.15.12: Gearheads VS Christmas Traffic, Off-Road Damage & Mods & Trails, Return of Convertibles, Military/Battleship/Tank Shout-Outs, Holed Race Tires, Charlie Brown Christmas, Salt Flats VS DTM, Sauce VS Marinade, Plus Real VS Fake Christmas Trees

So much sauce, so little time. The Garage Hour goons take a flying leap at getting traffucked in the stupid soup that is Christmas and holiday driving in rainy San Diego and Southern California; from an assault on skinny jeans to worshipping Lee Iacocca, we've got your gearhead right here.

Because it's awesomesauce, cohosts Dirty Dave and .45 Phil also helo Hostus Maximus Justin Fort slice and dice on beers, skully artist David Lozeau's Christmas show, blown motors, flattening BFG KDs, DUI season, trail mods for Dirty Dave Super Trooper and .45 Phil's F-150, a blown Bilstein for Justin's dirtastic 4Runner (there's your explosion), trail updates for Tierra Del Sol, the annual Superstition Run, Ocotillo Wells and Corral Canyon, and a chat about the need to ensure estate planning for your firearms.

Oh yeah, there are also railguns and battleships, because Garage Hour.

Direct download: HWGH121512.m4a
Category:gearhead personality -- posted at: 3:28pm EDT

09.25.10: Classic! Off-Road & Trail Chicanery @ Holy Jim & Corral Canyon, Toyota VS Jeep, Barfing Cohosts, Barfy Union Vote Rigging, Representative VS Politician, Punishing Rifles, Plus Coronado SpeedFest Promo

So much sturm und drang, so little lead...  The Garage Hour goons - including Hostus Maximus Justin Fort, Charlie (My Other Brain) and Patrick from Fine Firearms La Mesa - set off on one of those episodes that came to define the Garage Hour:  tons of fun topics, somewhat arranged, intriguing, offensive, and never boring.

This one's got gearhead: Jeeps and Toyotas and Hummers and Nissans, off-roading at two choice SoCal pieces of dirt (Holy Jim and Corral Canyon), road racing at the Coronado Speed Festival, Hell's Angels (ball-peen, anyone?), drifers, hovercraft, and it's got lots of other good stuff: lumpia, rifles and tigers and bears, snowboarders, funemployment, union thuggery and vote rigging, Prodigy, common sense versus intelligence, bad politicians versus good representatives, and cohost Black Ryan versus cohost Creature.

Stop pretending you've got awesomesauce - it's right here.  Have some.

Direct download: HWGH092510.m4a
Category:gearhead personality -- posted at: 5:42pm EDT

08.08.09: Classic! GH's Cash for Clunkers Exposé (Bad Gov, Bad Biz & Bad Math), Lambo Crashing, NASCAR @ Watkins Glen, NHRA @ Barona, Saleen VS Saleen, Porsche VS Volkswagen, Plus Innertubepalooza & Dr. Craw

Untested host Justin Fort tried one of his rare solo appearances for this Garage Hour, completing an hourlong rant aimed at one of Barry O's first failures, the Cash for Clunkers program (which succeeded in very little beyond taking away good used cars from people who needed them).

Between heady tirades about bad government, bad unions, bad deals for taxpayers and bad Clunkers math, this early Garage Hour also contains early Boris Said and road-racer worship, early emasculation of bankrupting fool Steve Saleen, early promos for Barona dragstrip, and early on-air fail and car crash humor for the Lambo flag in your life.

Try one on - Garage Hours don't get much earlier than this.

Direct download: HWGH080809.m4a
Category:gearhead personality -- posted at: 3:15am EDT

03.16.13: Roadside Finds & Other Gearhead Treasure (Incl. Iraq & Desert Storm), AR Assembly & Ammo Day, Global Threats in the Pacific Theater, Mexican Trucks & US Junkyards, Plus DUIs on St. Patty's

It's one of the great gearhead mysteries: when you see something interesting on the side of the road, do you stop and grab it?

We've all asked ourselves the same question, because we've all seen the awesome things from garages and truck beds that litter the side of the road, be they tools, surfboards, buckets, coolers, truck chains, hubcaps, pineapples or a nice M1 Garand...  On this episode of the Garage Hour, the gearhead goons chat about all of the great things that they've scored on the side of the road, and a bunch more of the things they couldn't grab because they were a Soviet tank that had been holed by a recoilless rifle.

It's a Garage Hour, so have no fear - there's also plenty of digression to keep things spicy: Bathist dead-enders, Twisted Manzanita beers, Soviet bitch tanks (.45 Phil assured us that's a thing), Crazy Nick the Board Opp, reverse voyeurism, Jim Jones and Andrew "Old Hickory" Jackson's birthday.

Direct download: HWGH031613.m4a
Category:gearhead personality -- posted at: 6:53pm EDT

10.16.10: Classic! Bullitt's Charger VS George Washington's Challenger, 100MPG VS Plymouth Superbirds, Miatas, AWJunkies, Propane & Propane Accessories, Ken Block, BMWs, Plus Hikers in Iran & Hanoi Jane

Got to love the oldies!  Dirty Dave, Mr. Dustin (Top Earner) and Black Ryan back up Hostus Maximus Justin Fort for this epic piece of ricocheting gearhead entertainment.

With everything from Frank Bullitt's Dodge Charger and George Washinton's Dodge Challenger, propane and propane accessories (got to explode something), hicks (just type "redneck" and any other word into YouTube for hours of viewing excitement), San Diego's All-Wheel Junkies (Subie, Evo and AWD guys unite!), Miatas, Superbirds, BMWs and 100mpg cars, to Ken Block's car-control ads, SoCal's crap roadways, La Mesa's sad comedy that is Mayor Art Madrid, anyone dumb enough to go hiking in Iran, and the great fail that is Hanoi Jane, THIS is geargead radio.  Get some.

Direct download: HWGH101610.m4a
Category:gearhead personality -- posted at: 2:44pm EDT

07.23.11: In-Shop Live @ Reese Tuning w/ D1 Drifter Andrew Redward, Plus Dyno Pulls, LS Motors, Evo & 'Vette Guys, Preppie Beer Snobs, Range Time, Fatso Jetson & Black Ryan VS Black James

Killer live Garage Hour from San Diego tuner shop Reese Tuning...  Included in this episode is a sporty chat with New Zealand-based D1 drifter Andrew Redward about good places to put an LS6 (like in his FC RX-7), diesel motors and where to put them (in a 4Runner!), fast cars on dynos, racers that are not on the street (ahem!), indominable force versus immovable objects (freight trains versus 20ft snow drifts), Skynyrd's Innyrds frontman Duncan Lancaster, yummy beers at Manzanita Brewing, and handguns versus rifles for fun and pleasure.

On-air with Hostus Maximus Justin Fort are Dirty Dave, Black Ryan, Even Blacker James and Mr. Dustin (Top Earner).

Direct download: HWGH072311.m4a
Category:gearhead personality -- posted at: 8:10pm EDT

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