TMCP #622: Ask Rick — Can American Manufacturing Return for Restoration Parts? Rick’s Take: Bob Lutz Says EVs Will End the Internal Combustion Engine!

Kick off October with a fresh Ask Rick as Rick Schmidt weighs in on the value of car-show trophies, parts sourcing, and where the market’s really headed. Are small-show awards worth chasing—or are they just eating into charity budgets? Rick also unpacks the hot question in restoration parts: will manufacturing return to the U.S., or will Taiwan’s increasingly high-quality tooling keep leading the charge for low-volume classics?

Then it’s “Rick’s Take – Car Deals: The Bob Lutz Edition.” Rick sizes up a supercharged ’99 Viper GTS ACR, a ’09 Solstice GXP, and a ’00 Prowler for long-term ROI in a world edging toward electrification—followed by an “Investment Hedge” round featuring a ’87 Trans Am, ’06 Ford GT, and ’87 Buick GNX. Which has already peaked, and which still has runway? Tune in to hear how Rick reads the market—and which cars he’d flip first.

TMCP #504: Rick Love from Vintage Air; Re-inventing Class Car A/C, Electric Compressor Evaluations, and Killer Hot Rod!

Every spring, when the weather starts to get warm, I like to talk to Rick Love, President of Vintage Air about new cold air products and technical details of the add on systems. Rick is an amazing resource and a leader, not only in air conditioning but in the automotive aftermarket as a whole. At the 2021 SEMA show he was inducted into the SEMA hall of fame for his lifetime of work in the industry!

TMCP #497: Ask Rick – Which Modern EV Company will Stand the Test of Time? Plus, a History of the Batmobile!

Happy Saint Patrick’s Day! With the launch of a new month it’s time to bring Rick Schmidt back on for another session of Ask Rick. As you may have noticed, in the premier marketing event of the year (i.e. the Super Bowl) all of the car companies focused solely on advertising their new electric offerings. Chevy went quite far on their new EV Silverado with some – admittedly – really engaging advertisements (we are suckers for Austin Powers).

As this trend seems inevitable, and with the proliferation of new electric car brands popping up all over, and I wanted to get Rick’s opinion on whether we were about to see a new round of automobile manufacturers join the market as they did when electric cars existed with various companies in the early 20th Century. History does tend to repeat itself, right? Should we make a speculative bet on buying and holding any of these new cars for future collector value?

TMCP #444: Holley MOPARTY 2020 Special #1 – YouTube Sensation Dylan McCool and “Mr Norm” Kraus, The Biggest MOPAR Dealer Ever; Ask Rick – The Return of Events in 2021

Feature Guests from MOPARTY: YouTube Sensation Dylan McCool and the World Famous “Mr. Norm!” This week is the first of several interviews from the first ever Holley “MOPARTY” event held in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Friend of the show (and Holley marketing superstar) Blane Burnett was able to line us up with some great interviews at the event with some famous people. MOPAR lovers young and old will recognize the names of many of our guests. Since SEMA was a no go this year, I was determined to make the Holley MOPARTY a better than fitting replacement to our yearly special segments live from the event.