Cars and Driving
86 episodes
#5998: America's Deadliest Rental Cars by the Numbers
The Kia Rio tops federal fatality tables at 170 driver deaths per million. Here's what the data says about the cars waiting in the rental lot.
#5730: What 4 Gs Actually Does to a Body at 17,000 Feet
A cockpit door left open, a passenger who knew one thing, and two off-duty pilots in row 30. What the physics of that descent really felt like.
#5679: Glue, Don't Bolt: Anchoring Road Studs and Soil Anchors
Road studs get glued, not bolted — and plows eat anything proud of the pavement. Soil anchors are a different physics problem entirely.
#5572: Renting Out Your Spare Room, Car, and Boat
Airbnb, Turo, and the platforms turning idle private assets into income — and the regulatory reckoning catching up with them.
#5519: Mobile Warehouse: Racking That Travels With the Tech
What happens when your inventory tier gets wheels — and how Milwaukee and Bott keep drawers shut at 50 km/h.
#5513: Why Phone Mounts Fail (And What Doesn't)
Suction cups, vent clips, and magnets all fail at the same point. Here's what heavy-duty mounting actually looks like.
#5512: The Passenger Seat Never Got an Instrument Panel
Dedicated front-passenger screens exist across luxury cars — but they're built for TikTok, not for the co-pilot job. Here's why.
#5472: Can Anyone Scan a QR Code From a Landing Plane?
A New York printing startup wants to tow a QR code behind a plane on the airport approach path. We rate the idea.
#5367: Circling the ER: Driving When You Can't Stop
What do you do when the destination has no parking and a sick passenger in the seat? A holding pattern for city streets.
#5299: Why Bright Lights Make Fog Worse
More light isn't safer light. Why fog, glare, and the moth effect turn your emergency flares against you.
#5291: The 100-Hour Bus to Lima
From a $225 Rio-to-Lima marathon to a $24,000 guided expedition, the world's longest bus rides are a study in slow-travel misery.
#5217: Inside the Hidden Fleet of Medical Couriers and Police Escorts
A hidden network moves organs, blood, and critical patients through cities at speeds the roads weren't built for.
#5138: Who Are Taxi Drivers Really Talking To?
The earpiece isn't a fake call or a coordination tool. It's a lifeline against the profound isolation of the job.
#5070: HUD vs. Portable Screens: Solving Car Nav in the Heat
Daniel's tablet melts in the Israeli sun. True HUDs can't show maps, but portable CarPlay screens might be the real answer.
#5022: Choosing a Real Industrial Vacuum for Your Home
How to verify true commercial grade, pick the right size, and avoid the wet-dry trap when buying a vacuum for your house.
#4914: Why Aviation's Fatigue Rules Work
How aviation built a system that treats exhaustion as a design problem — and what other industries can learn from it.
#4897: Traveling with a Toddler: The Bag Weight Problem
Daniel's broken luggage scale, the physics of airport fatigue, and how to stop fighting your own luggage.
#4889: Airport Taxi Scams: Why Official Ranks Are the Trap
Why the official taxi rank with attendants is actually the most dangerous place to get a cab.
#4806: The Vest That Saves Road Workers
How a fluorescent vest and thirty years of standards cut highway worker deaths — and why smartphones are reversing the gains.
#4803: How Digital Road Signs Talk to Cars
How roadside radios broadcast stop signs and traffic data directly to vehicles over 5.9 GHz.
#4801: Who Decides What a Stop Sign Looks Like?
The surprising economics and design process behind the 20 million traffic signs on U.S. roads.
#4719: When the Car Rewired Rural America
How the automobile replaced a dense patchwork of towns with a landscape built entirely around driving.
#4637: Boeing vs Airbus: What Pilots Really Think
Type ratings, envelope protection, and the love-hate relationship pilots have with the 737 and A320.
#4629: Who Controls the Airport Ramp? Inside the Ground Choreography
How ramp controllers, ground handlers, and SIDA badges keep the tarmac ballet from becoming chaos — plus, who writes speeding tickets on the apron.