Why LA is the Car Capital of the World

Spike's Car Radio

Spike Feresten

Automotive, Leisure

4.3 • 1.3K Ratings

🗓️ 15 April 2026

⏱️ 59 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Spike and Zuckerman sit down with Evan from LA in a Minute to dig into the surprisingly rich automotive history of Los Angeles, from the first gas-powered car tested at 2 a.m. on Broadway in 1897 to how a racing speedway literally built Beverly Hills. Plus, Spike reviews the Aston Martin Vantage S, Evan confesses to rear-ending a nun, and the crew debates why Angelenos can't stop saying "the" before freeway numbers. ______________________________________________ 🫧 Meguiar's - 125 Years of Passion Premium products to clean, restore, and protect your vehicle https://meguiarsdirect.com/collections/new 🛞 Vredestein - Car, SUV, Van, and Light Truck Tires Demand a better tire. Demand Vredestein. https://vredestein.com 🛠️ RaceDeck - Transform Your Garage Get 15% off plus free shipping with code SPIKE356 https://RaceDeck.com 🪙 Acre Gold - Gold Investment Has Never Been Easier Visit https://GetAcreGold.com/SPIKE911 to start building your gold stash! 📻 Listen to DRIVE with Jim Farley Check out the new season of the Ford CEO's car podcast! https://lnk.to/drivewithjimfarleyPS!spikescarradio GRAB SOME SCR MERCH: https://spikescarradio.com GET MORE SCR ON PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/spikescarradio ______________________________________________ Evan Lovett, the creator of 'LA in a Minute,' brings a level of LA history nerd energy that even Spike didn't see coming. They trace the city's car culture all the way back to 1897, when two guys, Erie and Sturgis, built a Karl Benz-inspired four-wheeler in Boyle Heights and snuck it out at 2 a.m. to avoid spooking horses. From there: the Beverly Hills Speedway (yes, that's why Beverly Hills is Beverly Hills), the golden age of LA mass transit that somehow nobody remembers, In-N-Out inventing the two-way speaker box in 1948, and why Angelenos measure every trip in minutes, not miles. Spike also reviews the Aston Martin Vantage S: 670hp, plasma blue, CarPlay Ultra, and apparently better than a Porsche in at least one dimension. Evan delivers a confession about rear-ending a nun while reading a magazine. And the crew gives the Petersen Automotive Museum its flowers, including the vault that holds Magnum P.I.'s Ferrari and an Ayrton Senna F1 car. If you live in LA, drive through LA, or have ever wondered why everyone says "the 405", this one's for you. _____________________________________________ 📧 To advertise with Spike’s Car Radio, contact Neon Tiger Media: contact@neontiger.media 🌐 or visit: https://scrpod.com/sponsor Produced by Skyview Entertainment & Q6 Media https://q6.media ______________________________________________ Timestamps: 00:00 - Introducing Evan from LA in a Minute 01:10 - The first car in LA 07:13 - The secret history of Beverly Hills racing 16:49 - How LA became the world's car capitol 27:04 - LA traffic 28:36 - Bad drivers 36:24 - Aston Martin Vantage S review 44:45 - The secrets of the Petersen Museum 49:17 - Coachella 54:15 - The mess of LA highways Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	All right, welcome to Spike's Car Radio.
0:06.9	It's going to be a fun show.
0:09.0	You know, as you know, Los Angeles is the car capital of America.
0:12.7	And no one knows more about Los Angeles.
0:15.6	No one.
0:15.9	No one.
0:17.0	I thought Zuckerman knew a lot.
0:18.2	But really, Evan Lovett.
0:20.0	Who's Evan Lovett?
0:38.8	Everybody knows who Evan Lovett is here in L.A. and I think in California, he's, uh, loves to talk about the culture of Los Angeles in his segments and show and podcast, L.A. in a minute. And what he's done, that's genius, is he's put it in snackable form. Here he is. Hi it's nice to meet you i'm a fan of yours by the way thank you for having me man your content really
0:44.4	enriches uh the city that i love i think i'm what 22 years ago 23 years ago i'm double you yeah
0:51.7	really what do you mean 44 44y-four. 44 years.
0:55.0	You're an elderly man at this point. I am an elderly statesman. It's not something I would brag about.
1:00.2	Yes. I wanted to have you on to just kind of have a nice loosey-goosey episode where we talk about the history of cars in L.A.
1:09.3	And why don't we start with the first car?
1:12.2	All right.
1:13.1	Tell us what, you know, when you did a video about the first car, is it the first car in
1:16.9	L.A. or is it the very first car?
1:18.4	It can't be the first.
1:18.9	First gasoline powered automobile in Los Angeles.
1:21.7	Erie and Sturgis.
1:23.6	They conceived it in 1895.
	...

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