WheelHouse

Have you ever wondered why sports cars look best in red?

Have you ever wondered why Ford doesn’t make a competitor to the Chevy Corvette? The Chevy Camaro has always been a strong competitor to the Ford Mustang, but Ford doesn’t have a competitor to the Chevy Corvette, at least not in 2018. James Pumphrey’s son Nolan Sykes explores the histories of the Chevrolet Corvette and the Ford Thunderbird. The Chevrolet Corvette is still around, but Ford’s answer, The Thunderbird?

Pontiac, it's one of America's most legendary automakers. Responsible for the GTO, Fire Bird, Fiero, Solstice, G8 and of course, the Aztek. But they're not around anymore, and that really sucks. So what ever happened to Pontiac? Join Nolan Sykes and find out.

The Cupholder: One of the unsung heroes of automotive design. You probably use you cupholder every day, but where did they come from? Join Nolan Sykes on his quest to chart the history of the humble cupholder.

Speed limits spark debate all over the United States. Do lower speed limits make for safer drivers? Does faster drivers mean more accidents? Or do lower limits save lives? We go back to the first speeding ticket ever written and trace the evolution of speed limits to how they’re instituted today.

Racing stripes are THE quintessential mark for performance. On everything from the Ford GT, to the Ferrari 488 GTO, to your neighbor’s beater, racing stripes mean fast. But who invented them? Was it Carroll Shelby, the man behind such striped cars as the Cobra, GT350 and Daytona Coupe? Or someone else? Join Nolan Sykes as he finds out.

Some countries drive on the right hand side, others drive on the left. But have you ever wondered why? It isn’t arbitrary- there are concrete reasons and a documented history for why we drive the way we do. Join Nolan Sykes as he explores the history and traditions of driving on the left and the right. It turns out, it has very little to do with cars. BONUS FACT: Archaeologists found a Roman quarry in Swindon, England dating back to 100 A.D. Ruts in the road leading away from the quarry were deeper than the ones leading to it, because of the heavier loads in the carts. These deeper ruts were on the left!

The story of the automobile is not one of instant gratification and overnight success, turns out a lot of failure laid the groundwork for the modern automobile. Join Nolan Sykes as he examines the strange machines that predated the car, and why they didn’t work out. From Ferdinand Verbiest’s steam cart, to the totally metal-sounding Puffing Devil of Richard Trevithick. These are the “not-cars” before cars.

How many LS swaps have you seen online? Probably too many to count. It seems like everyone is doing an LS swap on their project car these days. But why is the LS such a popular choice? Join Nolan Sykes as he breaks down why the LS V8 is the top choice for hot-rodders, drifters, and mad scientists all over the world. It’s an inside look at what makes the LS such a good engine, and some of the craziest LS swaps around.

With the new Formula 1 season starting soon, it’s time again to start speculating who the stand out drivers and team will be. Championship predictions will no doubt include the top drivers of last year, but one driver who might be left out of the conversation is former champ Fernando Alonso. But should he? Nolan Sykes thinks otherwise as he reviews Alonso’s career and why he might still be the best on the grid.

Drug smugglers and race car drivers have a lot more in common than you might think. But what happens when smugglers get behind the wheel, and racers start smuggling? Join Nolan Sykes as he explores the connections between crime and the racetrack, and what happened to a few racers who used their ill-gotten gains to get ahead.

Before Henry Ford changed the world with the Model T, he was broke. Unable to get investors for his new Ford Motor Company, Ford turned to the only men who would help: The Dodge Brothers.What happened when titans collided would change Detroit forever.

New or used, it seems like buying a new car gets harder every year. It’s not just you, it really is. Join Nolan Sykes as he explores why cars are so expensive, from features and safety, to fuel efficiency, and most importantly, the slow rise of the American median income.

Many people refer to cars with words like "Beautiful", "Stunning" and "Masterpiece". Descriptors are nice, but can cars themselves be thought of as art? Nolan Sykes explores art movements like expressionism and the Bauhaus to figure it all out.

Cars are safer than ever, with CAD assisted designs leading the way for crash survivability. But it wasn’t always like that. Cars used to be rolling death traps with no regard for safety. Join Nolan Sykes and explore the evolution of auto safety.

Potholes are a scourge on America’s roads. We know how they happen and how to repair them, so why don’t we? Join Nolan Sykes as he explores the economics and politics behind America’s pothole problem.

Buying a new car has become so expensive that more and more people are looking for alternatives: Ride-Sharing, Public Transportation, and even Walking. How will car ownership change in the near-future? Join Nolan as he explores the different ways people are getting around, and the ways cars companies plan to stay in business.

This is the definitive guide on how to buy an R32 Skyline GTR in the US without getting screwed. Nolan Sykes visits Toprank Vehicle Importers and learns how to buy a California-Legal R32, and explains why we had to wait 25 years to get our hands on it.

Saturn was GM’s chance to change the game, but only lasted 20 years. Why did it fail? GM needed small cars in their lineup, but was hesitant to build them under their already existing brands. So they started Saturn, and gave them free reign to design an entirely new car. But somewhere along the way, they failed.

Badge Engineering is when one company makes an agreement with another, and gets to market a car they did not design as their own. Automakers do this all the time for different reasons. Today, we’re going to learn why. Join Nolan as he checks out some of the okay-est and worst “badge jobs” in history, because there aren’t many good ones.

Cop cars are an important symbol of law and authority around the world, especially in the US. But they weren’t always around. So what was the first cop car? And how did the black and white paint job come to be? And how has American society shaped the police cruiser as we know it? Join Nolan as he explores cop cars from the very beginning to today.

Just because a car is brand new doesn’t mean it is safe. Sometimes manufacturers overlook (or ignore) critical safety errors in their designs, and let the final product loose on the public- with disastrous consequences. Here are some of the most dangerous cars ever made, and how they were taken off the road.

Cars are getting more complicated every day, and with that complexity comes more difficulty when it comes to repairs. How much longer will you be able to work on your car? Join Nolan as he explores the history of auto mechanics and DIY car repair.

The Fisker Karma was the darling of the car world, set to take over the world with it’s environment saving tech and ravishing looks. But it wasn’t gonna last. Bankruptcy, mismanagement, and scandal doomed the Karma before it could get off the ground. So what happened? This is the truth about Fisker.

Air Cooled Porsches have exploded in popularity recently, with everyone clamoring to get their hands on one. But why? What makes people go crazy over these old German sports cars. Nolan heads down to Benton Performance in Anaheim, CA to find out.

The stories of the automobile and advertising are forever linked together, neither would have grown in the same way without the other! Join Nolan as he explores the history of automotive advertising and the iconic ads that changed it all.

The idea of the flying car has been around for decades. Nobody likes sitting in traffic, in fact, most of us wish we could fly right over it. Lucky for us, inventors have been working on a solution for years. But will the flying car ever take off? Join Nolan and explore the insane history of flying cars.

Humankind’s search for speed has persisted for centuries. Before there were even racetracks, speed demons were breaking records on public roads in their hand-built machines. Where is the limit? Land-speed racers have been breaking barriers for decades, but how fast will production cars get?

Smog didn’t always exist. At first, no one understood where smog came from. The sudden arrival of harmful pollution caused widespread pandamonium and many to draw their own conclusions about the origins of smog. In this week’s episode of Wheelhouse, Nolan will take you on trip back in time to relive one of the Nation’s biggest solved mysteries about an emerging global epidemic.

Concept cars have been around since the late 1800’s to display the latest innovations in technology and automotive design. Although most concept cars never make it to the road, many concepts have predicted automotive trends decades before becoming commonplace. In this week's episode of Wheelhouse, our host Nolan takes you through the rich history of concept cars and the how the incredible impacts they’ve had on future cars.

Tariffs allow governments to control the amount of goods entering their borders, and in theory help the sales of products made domestically. But do they really help, and are they a good idea? Join Nolan as he explores America’s long history with tariffs, and how they affect the world of cars.

When the The Fast and The Furious came out in 2001, it ignited a revolution in the car scene that is still burning strong. Join Nolan as he explains how the Fast and Furious series went from cult classic to box office record breaking worldwide phenomenon.

Los Angeles was home to one of the world’s best public transit systems, then something happened. Why did their electric streetcar system die? Was it...murdered? Join Nolan as he searches for the truth!

Wouldn’t it be great if you could buy a car online straight from the manufacturer? Well you can’t! Join Nolan as he explains the laws keeping you from doing so, and the lawsuits against companies like Tesla that might change the way we buy cars.

Did you know it’s illegal to pump your own gas in New Jersey? Or that in Pennsylvania you have to light a rocket every mile to clear the road of cattle? There are a lot of weird traffic laws in the U.S. and this week, we’re gonna talk about them. These are the dumbest traffic laws in America.

“Important safety measure”, “Revenue Source”, “Scam” Red light cameras have been called all of these things and more. So the question remains: Do red light cameras actually do anything? Join Nolan as he finds out.

We take our highways for granted, because getting around America was a massive pain before the interstate system was put in place. Join Nolan as he explores the history or roads in America, and how President Eisenhower’s past shaped today’s Interstate system.

In a stunning turns of events, the Ford Motor Company recently announced they will halt production of the Focus, Fiesta, and Fusion. This ends a decades-long streak of being able to buy a Ford sedan. Join Nolan as he explores why this happened, past market trends, and Ford’s future.

Traffic affects all of us at some point when out on the road. It can be frustrating, or downright catastrophic. So how does it work? Join Nolan as he breaks down how traffic jams start, how you can fight them, and why they’ll probably always happen.

We’ve all heard it before: Millennials are killing this, Millennials are killing that, They’re killing everything. But are they killing cars as a whole? Join Nolan as he digs for the truth and answers the question: Are millennials really killing cars?

Toyota recently stopped permitting video game developers from using their cars in games. This is a big mistake. Join Nolan as he explores the history of racing games and how automakers benefit from letting players drive their cars.

Gasoline is the world’s most ubiquitous fuel source. But not long ago, it was a thought of as a useless byproduct and thrown away. So how did gasoline become such a hot commodity? And how long will gas last? Find out this week on WheelHouse.

NASCAR has been around for so long, that it’s hard to remember where it even came from. How did one of America’s biggest motorsports start? Well it turns out, the story is a little more...illegal...than you might think! This is how moonshine created NASCAR!

Communism gripped the USSR from the early 1900s until 1991. The people had to get around somehow, so why not build some cars? Join Nolan as he explores Soviet Russia and the strange cars the communists built.

As cars have gotten safer and more efficient over the years, they’re also gotten a lot quieter. But people still want to hear their cars, so what did automakers do? Well, they started lying to your ears. Join Nolan as he examines fake engine noises and other tricks your car might be pulling on you.

The Ancient Romans established one of the sophisticated civilizations in European History. One of their longest lasting legacies however, was their roads. Join Nolan as he explores how the sprawling Roman empire built it’s roads.

Carlos Ghosn is one of the auto industry’s biggest power players. With experience running Michelin, Nissan, Renault, Avtovaz, and Mitsubishi, he has experience and the success to prove it. So why was he arrested in Japan? Well along with triumph, it seems Carlos Ghosn has a few secrets as well…

As the gap between the real world and virtual reality closes, the possibility of going from couch to cockpit gets more likely. Join Nolan as he explores the history of professional sports, and how success in Sim Racing can mean a spot on a real race team today.

A quarter of the homeless population in Los Angeles lives in a car. Join Nolan as he tries it for himself, and learns a lot about homelessness in the process.

50 EPISODES OF WHEELHOUSE! THANK YOU! Today we’re looking at the cutthroat history of in-car audio. It’s been around longer than you think!