Kibbe & Friends Show #350: 2025 Christmas Spectacular with the Griswolds // Car Movie Review: Christmas Vacation – The Gift that Keeps on Giving the Whole Year!

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Welcome to the official Kibbe and Friends Show with myself, Justin “Corndog” Cornette, and Show Producer Bernie McPartland! With this show we’re basically setting up the Boars Nest for the entire automotive media world to swing through for a couple watered down beers, stale popcorn, and fantastic waitresses. You can find every episode here on The MuscleCar Place as well as iTunes, Pandora, iHeart Radio, and Google Play. From time to time we’ll also be posting video clips and full shows to The Kibbe and Friends YouTube channel. If you click the “Download” link at the top of this post you’ll be able to stream it on your phone directly. You can also pull the RSS feed as well.

Have a question for the show? Just hit is up:

Kibbe E-mail: robert@themusclecarplace.com

Thanks!

-Rob Kibbe

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As most of you know, our Patreon audience has the INSIDE access to the KF Show. The year 2025 will be an important one for Patreon specifically and if you’d consider jumping up to the $5 level it would sure help. The $10 level will remain and we now have a brand new $20 level as well! All members who join at that level will receive a sticker swag pack in the mail, you’ll be IMMEDIATELY entered in the monthly prize grab, and you’ll receive a phone call from one (or all) of us to chat up whatever you want for 30 minutes!

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Happy HOLLEY Days!

Phase 3 of Kibbe and Friends is officially here, and Holley is back for more fun, foolishness, and flying orange Chargers! Once again we’re proud to be associated with the historic name that has made cars fast for years and years, and their innovations continue forward (as always)!

Make sure that you visit Holley.com to place your speed parts orders – and THANK THEM for continuing on as the Title Sponsor of the KF Show!

Feature Car Movie Review // Christmas Vacation!

Episode 350 is a Christmas-season victory lap for the K&F crew—Rob, Corndog, and Bernie celebrate the milestone “small block Chevy” episode number, clink moose mugs, and lean into exactly what their audience wants the week before Christmas: Christmas Vacation… with all the extra seasoning that only these three can add.

Before they roll into the re-aired review, they hit a few updates that matter: Holley is officially back for 2026, the Toys for Tots push crushed expectations, and Rob shares a quick recap of taking Dallas to PRI—one day, full send, snowstorm drive home—plus a genuinely cool moment with Clay Millican that turns into “advice of a lifetime” territory.

Then the episode shifts into what makes this one worth your time even if you can quote the movie in your sleep: the guys treat Christmas Vacation like a cultural artifact. They talk about how you can grow up watching it as Rusty… and one day realize you are Clark—same Christmas optimism, same overconfidence, same silent internal meltdown while trying to “make it perfect.” They trade favorite bits and micro-moments that still crack them up every single time—Rob calls out the lights switch moment as peak Clark delusion (“he believes he did it”), the sled run as all-time comedy engineering (including the mysterious “how did they make the sled turn?” question), and the neighbor scenes with Todd & Margo as endlessly rewatchable. It’s less “here’s what happens in the movie” and more “here’s why these scenes still hit”—delivery, timing, and the way the jokes land differently depending on where you’re at in life.

Because it’s K&F, there’s also just enough gearhead candy to make it feel like their lane: the Wagon Queen Family Truckster gets its flowers, but Rob makes a fun case for the Taurus wagon being his personal “Vacation car” imprint, and they nerd out on details like Cousin Eddie’s Condor 2 RV and the legend of multiple RVs used in filming. And if you hang to the end, there’s a great little “button” where Bernie actually calls Rob to close the loop on the scripted ending that never made the final cut—the missing last “hammer” the theater audience was waiting for. That alone is a killer tease if you’ve never heard it.

If you want a Christmas episode that feels like hanging with your buddies in the garage—laughing at the same quotes, noticing the same tiny details, and somehow loving the movie even more after you’ve heard people who get it talk about it—this is the one. Hit play for the banter, the favorite-moment rapid fire, the behind-the-scenes nuggets, and the reminder that Christmas Vacation isn’t just a movie… it’s a yearly reset.

Film facts and credits: National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation

Theatrical release date (U.S.): December 1, 1989
Runtime: 97 minutes
MPAA rating: PG-13
Director: Jeremiah S. Chechik
Writer: John Hughes
Based on: John Hughes’ short story “Christmas ’59” (National Lampoon, Dec. 1980)
Main cast: Chevy Chase (Clark), Beverly D’Angelo (Ellen), Randy Quaid (Cousin Eddie),
Juliette Lewis (Audrey), Johnny Galecki (Rusty), plus a deep bench of scene-stealers
Music: Angelo Badalamenti
Distributor: Warner Bros.
Budget: commonly cited at $25M
Box office: about $73.3M gross (commonly cited)

National Parts Depot Presents: Bernie on the News

The good people at National Parts Depot present the award-winning newsman
Bernie McPartland in his (self-proclaimed) award-winning segment, Bernie on the News.

Ron Francis Wiring: The Celebrity Automotive Birthday

The good people at Ron Francis Wiring present our award-winning game,
Celebrity Automotive Birthday. Call them for advice on your project or race car—they’ll help you with both!

Built to Burn Rubber — Rep the Stunt Life

If you live for burnouts, chasing apexes, airborne moments, and never lifting when the road dares you to send it — this is your uniform. Our Kibbe and Friends Stunt Team Show Apparel isn’t just merch, it’s a badge of honor for the ones who drive harder, push further, and live wide open. Every shirt reps the spirit of the show and the brotherhood of people who believe tires are meant to scream and roads are meant to be conquered.

Support the show, wear the movement, and let the world know you’re part of the crew that doesn’t slow down. Grab your Kibbe and Friends Stunt Team gear now and wear it like you drive — full throttle.

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