To All The Cars I've Loved Before: Classic Cars, Car Stories, and More
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Description
Do you remember your first car? That feeling of freedom with the windows down, music up, and friends in the backseat? Every car tells a story—and those automotive stories reveal who we really are.
Welcome to To All The Cars I've Loved Before, the podcast celebrating automotive nostalgia through the lens of everyday people. Unlike industry shows focused on specs and stats, we dive into the personal history behind the metal. From first car stories and forgotten beaters to classic car restoration projects and Jeep Wrangler adventures, we explore the vehicles that shaped our lives.
What You’ll Hear: Join hosts Doug and Christian every #TorqueTuesday for unfiltered conversations with car enthusiasts, father-daughter restoration teams, and lifelong petrolheads. We skip the politics and new car reviews to focus on:
- Classic Car Culture: Tales of vintage dreams and barn find realities.
- Project Cars: The blood, sweat, and gears of the home garage.
- Life on the Road: Road trips, learning to drive a manual, and the cars that got away.
Whether you're a restoration junkie or just miss your old high school ride, this is the place where car culture meets personal history.
🎧 Listen now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or at carsloved.com
🌳 Connect with the community & see behind-the-scenes photos and videos: linktr.ee/carsloved
Every Tuesday is #TorqueTuesday with new videos and episodes.
151 Episodes
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Click here to share your favorite car, car story or any automotive trivia! Is it possible to turn a $3,000 budget into a $60,000 JDM legend without spending a fortune? In this episode, we sit down with Jon Khlok, founder of Kent Island Cars & Coffee, Cult Classic Car Meet, and the JDM & Exotics show to break down his legendary "car trading" journey. The core of the conversation follows Jon's incredible "trade-up" journey, which began with a humble $3,000 Mercedes 420SEL and a "broken"...
Click here to share your favorite car, car story or any automotive trivia! "You make money on the buy." That's the philosophy that took Ivan Katz from a $900 1970 Chevelle Malibu convertible to a 29-car collection — and why he says "eventually, things own you." In this episode, Drivin' Ivan shares how growing up in his grandfather's car radio shop in Alexandria shaped his obsession with cars that handle. Why his first Lancia Zagato ended in the worst car fire the local fire department had eve...
Click here to share your favorite car, car story or any automotive trivia! Ever daily drive a car from 1928? Cash does. And his golden retriever rides in the rumble seat. Doug and Christian sit down with Cash and Chris from McPherson College's automotive restoration program, and what starts as a conversation about classic car education becomes something much deeper. There's a reason Cash bought his 1928 Model A sport coupe right after high school and made it his everyday driver. There's a rea...
Click here to share your favorite car, car story or any automotive trivia! Join hosts Christian and Doug as they welcome automotive television royalty—John Davis, creator, host, and executive producer of MotorWeek, the longest-running automotive magazine show in television history. For 45 years and over 1,900 episodes, John Davis has shaped how generations experience automotive journalism. Discover how a young producer at Wall Street Week with Louis Rukeyser had a vision in 1978 to brin...
Click here to share your favorite car, car story or any automotive trivia! In 1975, before he became MotorWeek's trusted voice for 45 seasons, John Davis had a purchase decision to make: Jensen Interceptor or De Tomaso Pantera? Both were exotic cars with American engines he could actually work on. He chose the Pantera—specifically a two-year-old 1973 L model he found in Norfolk, Virginia. The catch? A family bought it for their son's high school graduation. The son promptly wrecked it. They h...
Click here to share your favorite car, car story or any automotive trivia! Fifteen years ago, Adam Olalde had an audacious pitch: "Can I borrow your Ferrari?" Today, he has built Xtreme Experience, a nationwide supercar empire that has put nearly 500,000 people behind the wheel of the world's most exotic machinery. In this episode, we explore the history and "quirks" of building a business with 70 supercars, 20 mechanics, and a fleet of semi-trucks. We discuss why the C8 Corvette is the car t...
Click here to share your favorite car, car story or any automotive trivia! What is it like to learn how to drive a manual transmission on a 1930 BMW the day before driving it across the podium at Pebble Beach? 🤯🏎️ In this episode, we sit down with Colleen Sheehan, founder of Next Generation Classics and a specialist in Enzo-era Ferraris. Colleen shares her incredible automotive journey, from growing up around her father's car collection to launching her own dealership that specializes in find...
Click here to share your favorite car, car story or any automotive trivia! What happens when a 16-year-old buys a doorless, topless Jeep Wrangler with Bar Mitzvah money, then inherits his dad's Tesla with no way to pay for it? Rei Vardi turned a college student's nightmare into a thriving business. His 1995 Jeep Wrangler—complete with red rims, no airbags, and a top speed of 50 mph—taught him to love driving. But when his father's 2015 Tesla Model S became his problem to solve, Rei discovered...
Click here to share your favorite car, car story or any automotive trivia! Three days before his 16th birthday—days before he could finally get his license—Nigel Tunnacliffe's brother totaled his first car. The Skoda 135 GLi he'd saved $500 to buy. Gone. Most people would give up. Nigel bought a Mark 1 Toyota MR2 and proceeded to blow through FIVE engines. Yes, five. The first one ran out of oil. The engines from Japan had ticking valves. The Suzuki Forsa track car with the Subaru turbo? Ble...
Click here to share your favorite car, car story or any automotive trivia! What happens when a daughter secretly buys her father's 27-year dream car—a 1997 Dodge Viper GTS with 140,000 miles—while he's on an RV trip across the country? Caroline and James from HH Wheels (200+ YouTube videos, 33-car collection) join us for one of the wildest father-daughter automotive stories we've ever recorded. James has wanted a Viper GTS since 1996. Caroline made it happen in 2023—without telling him. Then...
Click here to share your favorite car, car story or any automotive trivia! Want to master the Porsche 911 on the track? Join 25-year Watkins Glen driving instructor Dirk Dekker as he shares HPDE tips and legendary stories from Silverstone. In this episode, we explore the "air-cooled dream" and the transition from being a helicopter pilot to a professional driving instructor at one of America's most iconic road courses. Dirk discusses the reality of meeting F1 icons like Jim Clark, Sir Jackie ...
Click here to share your favorite car, car story or any automotive trivia! At 14 years old, Jeremy and his father tackled a project most mechanics wouldn't touch: a complete 1974 Ford Mustang II rebuild. What started as grease under fingernails and late nights in the garage became an ASE certification, an IT career, and eventually entrepreneurial ventures that would surprise anyone who knew him as "the Mustang kid." Most people remember the Mustang II as Ford's controversial answer to the f...
Click here to share your favorite car, car story or any automotive trivia! Every car enthusiast has THE car. For Curt Bellotti, it was always the DeLorean. But before he could afford his dream, there was a 1984 Chrysler Laser XE Turbo with a digital dashboard straight out of Knight Rider. That car taught Curt something crucial about the relationship between desire, patience, and finally getting what you've always wanted. Fast forward to 2024: Curt finally owns a 1981 DeLorean. But is the re...
Click here to share your favorite car, car story or any automotive trivia! Some car enthusiasts are born. Others need convincing. Dave's father was definitely the latter when it came to VW Beetles. Growing up with a dad who didn't understand the appeal of air-cooled Volkswagens, Dave faced a challenge: how do you make a skeptic fall in love with a car they've written off? The answer involves patience, persistence, and one very specific Beetle that changed everything. This episode explores t...
Click here to share your favorite car, car story or any automotive trivia! Croom's first "car" was a Ford 1000 Tractor. His second was a 1984 Mercedes 240D diesel that he drove into the ground—and kept driving. Most people see a Mercedes diesel from the '80s as just another old car. Croom saw it as a philosophy: build something right once, maintain it properly, and it'll outlast everything around it. That same thinking would eventually guide him from farm life to the cutting edge of healthca...
Click here to share your favorite car, car story or any automotive trivia! What does it take to turn a backyard hobby shop into a premier automotive restoration business during a global pandemic? 🤔🛠️ In this episode, we sit down with Matt Pratt, owner of Top Coat Garage, to discuss his journey from painting mini-bikes as a kid to running a high-end shop that handles everything from fender benders to full widebody conversions on Porsche 911s. Matt breaks down the science of automotive paint, t...
Click here to share your favorite car, car story or any automotive trivia! Most law enforcement officers drive American muscle or practical trucks. Deputy Dave dreams about importing Japan's tiniest, most impractical vehicles: JDM Kei vans. His automotive journey started with an Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme—as American as it gets. But somewhere between patrol duties and car shows, Dave discovered a whole universe of miniature Japanese commercial vehicles that most Americans don't know exist. N...
Click here to share your favorite car, car story or any automotive trivia! Rob's first car was a Mustang. Today, he's the guy photographing the most expensive, rarest, and most modified cars at SEMA. The gap between "kid with a Mustang" and "professional automotive photographer at the world's biggest car show" is wider than most people realize. It's not just about getting a good camera—it's about understanding car culture deeply enough that you know which angle tells the real story. SEMA is...
Click here to share your favorite car, car story or any automotive trivia! Krystal Proffitt's first car was a hand-me-down truck from her dad. It was brown—"Doo-Doo Brown," to be exact—and it advertised his business on the sides. Try being a teenager when your vehicle is literally a mobile advertisement for your father's company. Every time you drive anywhere, you're representing the family business whether you want to or not. Every parking lot becomes a potential networking opportunity. Eve...
Click here to share your favorite car, car story or any automotive trivia! Brian's first car was a 1973 Chevy pickup. Years later, he discovered it had appeared in the John Waters film *Cry Baby*. Most people find out their first car has some quirky history—maybe it belonged to someone interesting, or has high mileage, or survived a minor fender bender. Brian found out his truck was in a cult classic film starring Johnny Depp. That's a different level of automotive backstory. The question b...
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