This is an All Ears English podcast, episode 2547.
Let's Talk Cars, part one.
Why this builds connection with Americans.
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One of the top ways to connect with americans over the age of 30 is to talk about cars.
It opens up a connection moment about teenage memories, our travel preferences and more.
Listen in to learn how to do it today.
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Hello, Michelle.
How's it going today?
Hey, Lindsay.
I'm good.
How are you?
Good.
Feeling good.
I heard we were talking about cars today.
Is that right? are.
Lindsay, do you know a lot about cars?
Cars?
No.
I don't know anything about cars, Michelle.
I don't know anything.
I don't know anything.
Yeah.
Nope.
Not my thing.
Not my interest, but people, I mean, many people really, really have this love for cars.
They really do.
Yeah.
Yes.
Huge.
So I'm excited.
We're Today is going to be part one, and I'm really looking forward to this.
So we're going to have part one over here.
Part two is actually going to be on our other show, the Business English Podcast.
So go on over there and hit follow so you don't miss that episode.
And then we're going to have part three back on All Ears English.
So guys, get excited.
And this whole series was inspired by a listener question.
So we're going to get back to that in just a second.
But we also wanted to share because we have some Spotify poll results, right, Lindsay?
Yeah, we love this.
Guys, every day we have a poll in Spotify, and sometimes we choose a key poll to go ahead and announce the results, right?
Because we want to learn about you all as a community, the All Ears English audience.
So the question we asked in this poll was which kind of show or movie would you rather watch, right?
And Michelle, what were the results?
Well, also just to give the title of that episode, if you want to listen to it it was How to Connect Over a Twist in a Movie.
Okay, really, really good episode.
Check that one out.
But yeah, okay.
So what kind of show or movie would you rather watch?
The options were a comedy, a thriller, or a rom-com.
And I was surprised by these results.
Yeah, I think it's surprising because I actually thought thriller was kind of a small niche genre.
I just didn't think as many people like thrillers as they do.
So the results were 28% said comedy, 37% said thriller, and only 34% said rom-com.
I figured it would be comedy first.
Same.
I was really surprised.
I did not think thriller would be the winner here.
But I'm definitely comedy.
Which one are you?
I like thrillers.
Oh, my gosh.
I like them all.
Rom-com.
I'm rom-com.
I love the old rom-coms from the 2000s.
I just love them.
I'm such a softie for those.
There's a comfort feeling.
Yeah.
There's a comfort there.
A nostalgia for sure.
Yes.
Exactly.
So guys, that's really fun to get to learn about all of you.
And so today's question starting off this series is coming to us from YouTube.
If you're not over on YouTube, that's another way you can consume this podcast.
Lindsay and I are right now you can actually see us talking about you on YouTube.
So go on over if you're interested in watching us and You can also hit the subscribe button there.
So could you read us the question, Lindsay?
Yeah, this question comes from Uzo Bezor 2500.
And they asked, Hi, your podcast is very good.
I'm learning a lot of expressions from it.
Could you please make podcasts about cars or stuff like that?
Oh, by the way, that reminds me, Michelle, we need to have an episode on and stuff like that.
That expression.
Yes, that'll be another day.
That'll be another day, right?
Absolutely.
Yeah.
So this is a great question.
I mean, what a broad topic to talk about cars, but there's so much there.
We can't do it all in one episode.
Even we could do more than this series, but we're going to give it a start over here.
There's so much to say.
So today for part one, what we're going to do is share how to connect with people over cars.
Yes.
So because this is a huge connection topic.
Um, so again, guys hit follow.
So you don't miss any of the series, um, hit follow here and on business English.
Um and yes, stay tuned for the rest of them, but we're going to go through some questions right now.
And we're going to talk through them that you can ask people to get them to talk about cars or driving.
Yeah.
And and it's interesting to note you can also connect with people over your lack of interest in cars.
Like Just last night, I was in someone's car.
We went for dinner and then we got a ride home from a friend and she has a luxury car.
It's like a BMW or a Mercedes, but it was a hand-me-down from a family member, right?
And she said it was telling us a story about how it's crazy that she sees lots of people like like gesturing to her to talk about her car, like at lights.
She'll stop and like usually it's like uh, middle-aged men that will like roll down the window and try to talk to her like nerdy people and try to talk about her car, like like pointing out aspects of her car, and she'll be like mortified and just try to like face forward.
It was a funny story and we connected over the fact that we don't care about cars or know much about cars.
So that's, that's funny yeah, Yeah.
So, all right, let's let's go through this.
Some things that you can ask.
So the first one is, oh, what kind of car do you have?
Yeah.
So just asking them the type and you know, just be careful not to sound like you're bragging about your car.
Um, fun fact, dan and i actually have the same car, you do.
That's the same color.
Oh my gosh, i've never seen that in a family before.
Interesting, hers it's because he bought his.
So my dad um, we only, when we lived in the city, we only used one car.
I didn't have a car um, and so he um he bought his car and he was.
He got the same car that my dad had and the same color, because he said it was good.
And we liked that color.
It's blue.
And then when we moved to the suburbs, my parents were actually kind enough to gift us their car.
So then we also got another blue one of the same kind.
Funny.
So yeah, it's, it's pretty funny.
I've never seen that.
I've seen that in families that, like you know, like someone's Adult, like sister or brother, with their family and their kids, would have the same car as the other sibling and their family, But I've never seen a husband, a wife, having the same car.
Yeah, that's pretty funny Or you could say what was your first car like now?
I think we do have to like preface this whole series Michelle, and just talk about how big cars are in the US.
I think our listeners know this already.
It's not just the fact that we have so much highway in the US, so many miles of highway, and it's also in our movies, right?
I mean, think about the movie Greece.
And I'm sure we could come up with a huge list of movies that kind of focus on the American obsession with cars.
Oh, my gosh, there's so much here.
So I just want to start that context out right here with cars really matter to people in the US.
It's kind of like a second home for a lot of people, especially if you, if you don't live in the city or if you live in a place like Los Angeles.
I feel like people often will sit in their cars a lot or spend a lot of time in their cars.
It's just a huge deal.
Yeah.
People take pride in their cars.
You know their um, you know.
But some people then don't know anything about cars and it's just a, totally just a vehicle and you're just, you know um.
So so everybody's different, but it definitely in American culture it's a, it's a huge thing, because we just don't have the train infrastructure.
I mean we have Amtrak, but Amtrak not a good, sorry to say, it's just it's.
It's nothing like the european rails or in japan or korea, so the default is just driving places.
Yeah, all right.
Yeah exactly, that's true.
So when you ask someone, what was your first car, like it really touches on this nostalgic aspect right, like it may cause people to tell a story of when they got their first car.
Like When I got my first car, I said oh, I really want a pink or purple car.
And my parents are like, okay, you know, that's not that easy to find.
So, even to this day, my parents, if they see a pink or purple car, they'll send me a picture and say oh, here's your pink or purple car.
The only one I see is like the makeup salespeople.
Yes.
You get the car pig.
Yeah, that's so no, it's true.
My first car was a Volvo 1984 Volvo.
Very old, even when I got it.
And it was but I loved it.
You know, I would take it to the car wash every weekend and I would wax it three times a year and I would take really good care of it, even though it was not in great shape because it was so old.
Right.
Yeah.
Yeah.
We all have you ever named a car.
Oh, yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
My car had names in high school and my friend's cars had names.
We called my friend's car.
It was so funny.
My friend Christina in high school had a really ugly, boxy green van and we would call it the moldy loaf because it looked like a moldy loaf of bread.
Just this summer when I saw her at my mom's funeral, we talked about that.
So that was a connection moment.
We remembered what we called her car in high school and we laughed about it.
That is hilarious.
Yeah.
So again, like, look, I mean that these bring back about real memories.
I mean, totally.
Yeah.
So this is, this is really, really a huge connection topic.
Another question you could just ask someone is just more about driving in general.
Do you like to drive or are you a distance driver?
Now, what does that mean?
I don't know.
I'm not sure if I've ever asked anyone this.
Are you a distance driver?
Like, do you drive long distances?
Or do you have a long commute?
Is that really what we're asking here?
Well, a distance driver, and my understanding of it is like someone who like okay.
So, for example, my parents go from Maryland to Florida every winter.
But my dad is has zero patience for driving long distances.
I mean, my dad can drive like two hours before he stops.
Um, and then some people we know will drive that whole drive.
I mean, what is it?
18 hours?
I don't know.
Like in one go.
Um, and so, so that like, that would be like a distance driver as far as I understand it.
So, Like, are you someone, Lindsay, if you have a long road trip, I mean, you had a huge road trip.
Um, if you had a long way to go, like how, how long can you drive before you're like I need to stay at a hotel?
Really?
I've driven across the country four or five times across the U?
S and we just took a trip to from Denver to Los Angeles.
It was, I guess like eight, I want to say it was like, um, I think 18 hours, maybe not exactly sure.
It took a day and a half.
But I actually enjoy road trips.
We stayed overnight in Utah and New Mexico.
But yeah, I actually enjoy it.
I love being on the road, especially in the American West.
I mean, this is what we built our entire course Connected Communicator based on a road trip, because it's so American.
It's just so nostalgic.
I don't know.
You just, I just love it.
I think it's the cool, it's, I mean, not for every trip I will fly sometimes, but I think it's a unique experience sometimes.
Yeah.
I gotta take a big road trip one day.
You should.
Yeah, for sure.
It'd be fun.
All right.
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Okay, so what else could you ask someone if you just want to get a conversation going about driving, especially in a place that has a lot of driving like the US?
Well, this is a fun one.
Huh.
Have you ever gotten a speeding ticket?
Yeah.
Have you, Michelle?
I've, I got a warning once in high school and then just recently I, did I not tell you this?
I might have heard this before.
I think I did.
I got a ticket for going too slow.
Because I was in the left lane and apparently you're, not supposed to do that in the left lane.
And I was going too slow for that.
And I couldn't believe it.
I was shocked because I thought I was going too fast and I was driving around my daughter to get her to take a nap and I got pulled over and the police officer was like like yeah, talk to me.
Like I had done something really bad.
And he's like, do you know that you were going 10 to 15 miles below the speed limit?
And I was shocked.
I thought, yeah.
And, um, Oh, man.
So that's my new claim to fame.
OK, it was pretty funny.
That's pretty funny.
Have you ever gotten one?
Never.
Shockingly, I don't drive that much now.
I drove a lot in high school, maybe college, but I don't like we share a car between my partner.
I so I don't end up driving that much.
But but I will say that like left lane is very contested.
Right.
So in the West.
Uh, in the E on the Northeast I feel like people drive in the left lane because you have these two lane highways like double lanes.
Um, and they, they'll drive in the left lane, but in the West you're, you shouldn't drive in the left lane.
Or it's just a passing lane, or it's a fast lane.
Do you know what I mean?
Well, yeah, yes, it should be, but that's not what I used it for.
So that's why I got in trouble.
That's funny.
Okay.
Good stuff.
So what else can we ask here?
All right.
We're going to do one more fun question.
So how much is gas in your area?
Because that's a big connection topic, too, because people are always comparing gas prices.
That's a huge conversation topic as well.
Right.
So people might actually be talking about or like if somebody is visiting you.
So sometimes my parents, if they're visiting me, they'll say oh, I saw that gas was So much cheaper.
Oh, yeah.
You know, things like that.
So that is definitely a huge topic is gas prices.
Yes, absolutely.
This is always talked about right now.
It's pretty high in the US and might change, might go up, might go down.
Going to California and you look at the gas prices will blow your mind.
Right.
Yeah.
Compared to the rest of the US, it might be high in New Jersey, New York as well or equally high.
I don't know.
Um, and the other thing that's weird is in certain States, you're not allowed to pump your own gas.
And I always thought that was really weird.
Like in New Jersey, uh, is that New Jersey?
Yes.
So I always thought, when I first, whenever I heard about New Jersey where you can't pump your own gas, I thought it was absolutely ridiculous.
I'm like, yeah, me too.
Yeah.
Okay.
But I cannot tell you what a luxury it is.
I absolutely love that.
Do you, are you expected to tip or these days, how does that work?
Is there tipping going on or what?
No, there's not tipping.
Um, I mean, you just go, I mean, so think about when it's cold outside and you know, it's so nice.
And I have my kids in the car and I just what's funny is my daughter.
One time we went to get uh, we went to get gas and I rolled down the window to tell the guy you know how to fill it up.
And she just yells out the window, fill it up regular, please.
That's so cute.
Oh my God.
Yeah.
Wow.
That's so cute.
Oh, so funny.
Well, this is a really important thing for our listeners to know.
I'm not sure which other States are, you can't pop one more.
It's pretty rare, but yeah.
So you would say like, fill it up.
But I think when I was a kid, I remember that you could have the full service option at many gas stations, but or you could have the self-service option.
But I think the full service, meaning someone would pump it for you.
I think that's gone away in a lot of states.
So most of the time you're just getting out of the car, no matter what the weather is, and pumping your own gas.
Yeah, but it's funny then because you know kids who grow up in new jersey.
They don't know how to pump their own gas, and so i grew up in maryland so i always knew and and it was just so funny for me in the beginning when dating dan, i'd be like wait, you don't know what, like did he like roll into gas stations where it was self-service and start saying to people fill it up regularly?
Yeah no, so it was a funny.
It was a funny uh way to tease him because he didn't know how to do it.
So that's pretty.
Um Yeah, that is definitely a fun topic.
And then, of course, we already touched on this one was do you know a lot about cars?
We already kind of touched about this.
But, Lindsay, I mean, any other ways that you like to connect with people about this?
I mean, you can talk about your first driving test.
So it's a big milestone in the U.S. when you turn 16.
Your sweet 16 birthday, that is when you get your driver's test.
In most states, sometimes certain states are a little different.
Most states, 16 is when you take your driver's test.
And when I was a kid, everyone did it on that day.
They did it on their birthday.
They were ready.
They wanted their license.
But nowadays, things are really changing.
Like I think from what I've heard, Gen Zers don't want to drive.
Like it's not a thing.
So things are changing a lot.
But in our generation, we were all about getting that independence, right?
Yeah.
So you could talk about your driver's tests.
Did you have to parallel park?
That's another thing that will come up a lot, right?
Oh my gosh.
This is just like a never-ending connection topic.
Huge connection topic.
Yeah.
So we could have made this a 10-part series, honestly.
And one day we'll revisit it again and get into all of this.
But yeah, for today, we're giving you a start on some of the basic ones.
So I mean, again, It's not that you need to be a mechanic or a car expert or a car enthusiast.
It's just about these are just day to day topics to connect with pretty much anyone over.
And I would say specifically Americans.
So I don't know how you I mean, this I can't say the same thing necessarily in England or Australia.
I don't really know if they have as much of a car culture.
I don't think so.
So this is kind of unique knowledge to American culture how to connect with an American between the ages of like 30 and you know, and 60 70.
But really good stuff.
So let's do a role play, Michelle, and then we'll jump off the mic.
All right.
OK, so here we are.
We are new friends and I just pulled up to a restaurant to meet you and I saw your.
Oh, and you saw my car.
OK, here we go.
Wow.
Nice wheels.
Love the color.
Oh, thanks.
What kind of car do you have?
I have a Chevy.
Do you know a lot about cars?
I know nothing.
I just care about the color, to be honest.
For my first car, I tried so hard to find a purple one.
That's too funny.
Yeah.
What was your first car like?
It was a station wagon.
It was so old, but I actually have a lot of positive memories of it.
Driving to high school, going out with friends, all that, even speeding tickets.
Oh, boy.
Have you ever gotten a speeding ticket?
Just two, but honestly, I don't drive that much.
Do you like to drive?
Oh, I love driving.
Oh, okay.
I don't love it.
Also, gas is so expensive.
Yeah, how much is gas in your area?
Yeah, this is a very common, very typical conversation.
You might take any one of these threads in a deeper right yep, or you might just keep bouncing around from thread to thread, and that is natural conversation and connection, right there.
So let's just recap real quick uh, what we said.
So michelle, you said i said nice wheels, which is another way of saying nice car, and you said, oh thanks, what kind of car do you have, right?
So now we're talking about each other's cars, right yep?
And you said i have a chevy.
Do you know a lot about cars?
Yeah,
And Chevy, by the way, Chevrolet, we call Chevrolet, Chevy.
I think our listeners probably know that, but just in case.
And then you said you wanted a purple car.
And I said, that's funny.
And he said, yeah, what was your first car like?
And now we're going down memory lane, which is always a good way to connect.
Yes, exactly.
So then you said you have a lot of positive memories of your station wagon, even speeding tickets.
And then you said to me have you ever gotten a speeding ticket?
Have you ever gotten a speeding ticket?
And then you said you've gotten two, but you don't really drive.
And I said, do you like to drive?
And it's nice here how.
What I like about the way we're having this conversation is we're flipping back to each other.
Like we're not, neither one of us is talking too long, right?
The other one's coming back to the other quickly to ask a follow-up question.
That's really good.
That's true.
And then I said, gas is so expensive.
And you said, yes, how much is gas in your area?
And that's another great.
And this could go into a topic on the economy, politics.
I mean, there's so a geopolitics.
There's so much we could do here.
OK, so it does open kind of a gateway to other connections here.
Really good stuff.
Michelle, any final takeaway?
Yeah, this has been a really fun one to talk about all of these topics with each other and share with you guys some ideas.
Guys, listen out because again, next episode will be on over at the Business English podcast.
So definitely hit follow on that so you don't miss it.
And then look out for part three over here coming up after that.
All right.
Can't wait to talk more car talk here.
And there's also a funny show.
There's also a funny radio show called Car Talk, and it's hosted by two Bostonians.
So the cat tack, right?
With the accent.
There's just so much about cars and American culture.
So we've sort of scratched the surface today, Michelle.
Oh, yeah.
I can't wait to get to the other episodes.
All right.
All right.
This was fun, Lindsay.
Thanks for chatting about this with me today.
And everyone, thank you so much for listening.
All right.
Take care.
Bye.
Bye.
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