Podholic: Brilliantly British.
/Fancy a podcast with a UK-centric take on the world of modern motoring? Try Autocar: My Week in Cars.
MY Week in Cars is presented weekly by Steve Cropley and Matt Prior; their day jobs are at Autocar, the world’s oldest and biggest weekly car mag. This, then, is the publication’s podcast, presented by two core staff members.
Keen enthusiasts with a pulse on the British auto industry will know Steve as one of the old guards in automotive media, starting with Autocar Magazine when Dire Straits were belting out Sultans of Swing, and the Ford Cortina dominated the UK sales charts.
Steve is an expatriate Australian with Bathurst and the Australian Super Cars championship dear to his heart. Matt is a passionate car fanatic with skin in the game since the late 1990s’.
They both work brilliantly together. Unlike other presenters who let ego dominate a great discussion, there is an excellent sense of courtesy and consideration within the show’s dialogue. Sure, some may find the tone subdued and the content a little tedious, but that’s all part of the hook.
After all, Cropley and Prior are stalwarts of auto journalism. For that reason alone, one could listen to them for hours as they descend into an avalanche of intriguing discussion.
Most episodes skew towards industry news and the nuances of modern motoring. So, picking a favourite upload ultimately depends on how fresh you want the content or what interests you. In saying that, and despite this now being mid-2023, I recommend Autocar’s Christmas Special with ex-Top Gear host James May.
It’s a fantastic interview, with James being James May at his best. Perhaps his most hilarious undoing was when working for Autocar. He conspired a hidden message within the roadtest yearbook. Readers picked up on the ruse and thought they had won a prize. Management was displeased. He was fired. Who knew the Grand Tour co-host had been fired from many media outlets? Brilliant!
Chris Harris (above), latterly of Top Gear, also makes a guest appearance, offering fascinating insights into the world of writing, his early years at Autocar, and everything behind the scenes at BBC hit series Top Gear.
The production quality is outstanding, with only one advert interrupting an otherwise flawless podcast. Is it worth the subscription? Absolutely!
Autocar: My Week In Cars can be found on all good platforms, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Acast.
The Autocar: My Week in Cars Podcast Homepage: https://shows.acast.com/my-week-in-car/episodes