Cars Episode 1

[Patricia]

Americas funniest auto mechanics take calls from weary car owners all over the country, and crack wise while they diagnose Dodges and dismiss Diahatsus. You don't have to know anything about cars to love this one hour weekly laugh fest.

This episode is sponsored by Greenlight. Start saving for your first car with up to 5% on savings. Get one month free and an extra $10 when you sign up for Greenlight Infinity at greenlight.com/million.

FOREPERSON: Right, right. I was going to say, and the important thing is every car hood for this particular car model is cut out in exactly the same shape as the next. It makes it faster to put together cars at the end, but we have to be really good at making the exact same thing over and over again.

FOREPERSON: So like I said, this is the welding department. This is where a car is going to get its roof and doors. They use a lot of robots here, either doing the actual welding or the robots are helping the humans.

FOREPERSON: Well spotted, Ryan! THIS is the innovation from Henry Ford I was telling you about! The whole assembly line is one moving platform- think like the kind you ride at the airport or your groceries go down at the checkout line.

FOREPERSON: The car also gets its suspension system here, that helps absorb some of the bumps on a not so smooth road. See how quickly the workers move? They have so much practice doing their one specific job, they get really good at it. The last thing we add is the tires!

GIANCARLO: The wood for the dashboards? Carved by hand. The leather headrests, stitched by hand. The cushion of the seats, tested by hand- and also by butt. A real butt sat in each seat to make sure it was comfortable. That is the Ciccone Promise of Luxury, everything made by hand or butt.

BRIDGET: Jasmine Romero is our editor. Courtney Bergsieker is our producer. Marissa Cabrera is our senior producer. Thalia Menchaca is our intern. Our sound designer is Chris Julin. Bekah Wineman mixed this episode.

RYAN: Our theme music was created by Wonderly. Bridget Bodnar is the Director of Podcasts at Marketplace. Francesca Levy is the Executive Director of Digital. Neal Scarbrough is the VP and General Manager.

BRIDGET: Million Bazillion is funded in part by the Sy Syms Foundation, partnering with organizations and people working for a better and more just future since 1985. And special thanks to The Ranzetta Family Charitable Fund and Next Gen Personal Finance for providing the start-up funding for this podcast, and continuing to support Marketplace in our work to make younger audiences smarter about the economy.

In the episode, Phil wants to buy a new car and despite knowing Claire would not be happy with it, he gets a two-seat convertible. Surprisingly, Claire does not react to this only because she hopes Phil will realize his mistake on his own. On a ride with Lily on the subway, Cameron and Mitchell lose her favorite stuffed rabbit. They try to convince her to choose another toy to be her favorite but she refuses, forcing them to go back to the subway and find it. Jay has to attend a college reunion and wants Gloria and Manny to go with him so he can show off his new wife to his friends, something that Gloria has no idea about. Gloria though, is afraid to travel on a small private plane and Jay is forced to drive them to the reunion.

Phil (Ty Burrell) wants to buy a new car and he takes his friend Andre (Kevin Hart) with him who convinces him to buy a two-seat convertible instead of his regular Cadillac. Despite his fear of Claire's (Julie Bowen) reaction, he decides to do it anyway. Phil gets back home in his new car. Luke (Nolan Gould) is excited seeing it but he asks if mom would be OK with it, so does Alex (Ariel Winter). Haley (Sarah Hyland) is also excited seeing the car because she believes her dad bought it for her since he is too old for that car. Surprisingly Claire does not criticize Phil's decision and hopes he will realize buying the convertible was a mistake on his own.

Due to the convertible only being a two-seater, Phil is forced to switch cars with Claire for work. Phil has to also drive/pick up the kids from school because he has the big car. Phil is mad at the fact he had to switch cars with Claire but he soon realizes that driving the kids to school and picking them up, leads to learning things about them.

Claire decides to ditch her chores and to take the convertible to the coast for some time to herself to calm down. She soon loses the keys on the beach and Phil later arrives with a spare. The two spend time together and agree to make time for one another from now on.

Cameron (Eric Stonestreet) and Mitchell (Jesse Tyler Ferguson) decide to take Lily (Aubrey Anderson-Emmons) on a ride on the subway to Chinatown but they lose her favorite stuffed rabbit. They try to get Lily to choose a new favorite out of her other toys, but she refuses. Cameron and Mitchell are therefore forced to go to desperate lengths to get the stuffed rabbit back, including putting up flyers in the subway and offering a reward for its safe return. They soon decide that Lily will have to deal with her loss when they discover the stuffed animal has been in the care of a homeless man.

Meanwhile, Jay (Ed O'Neill) is ecstatic to take Gloria (Sofa Vergara) and Manny (Rico Rodriguez) on a trip to his college reunion as he claims he was considered somewhat of a legend by his fellow students. Jay is irritated when he is forced to drive them there due to Gloria's refusal to ride in a small airplane. On their way there, one of the tires punctures and they are once again forced to find an alternative way to travel to the reunion. Gloria is hesitant to go and wants to return home until she realizes Jay is so excited to go because he wants to show his new family off to his old friends, who all used to think that Jay would not amount to much. Gloria agrees to go with him, happy to play the trophy wife role.

Donna Bowman of The A.V. Club gave the episode a C rate, bemoaning the lack of a unifying theme between the three stories, and called the Mitchell and Cameron storyline "horrifyingly realistic".[3]

Leigh Raines of TV Fanatic rated the episode with 4.5/5, summing up the overall episode by saying "coming off of an episode that I personally was not a fan of, I can honestly say that, while not sidesplittingly hilarious, this outing did leave me with a smile".[4]

Michael Adams of 411mania gave the episode 7/10. "I liked Mitchell this week. [...] The Cam/Mitchell story was minimal, however, it was very funny and touching and Mitch had a lot of great lines. [...] I also loved Mitchell's response when he thought Cam was yelling at him for calling the guy homeless. Good stuff. I think Jesse Tyler Ferguson will get an Emmy nomination this year, however, I don't think they've given him enough good material for the win. Shame."[6]

Across America, under layers of dust, mold and mud there are forgotten cars waiting years for someone to revisit their history and give them the one thing they need to get back on the road: a good bath.

I see mobility like a Swiss Army knife. Like every now and then you're going to need the big knife, the big blade to whittle a stick or do something like that. That's the car. The car is the big knife, right? But every now and then you need the pair of tweezers or the corkscrew or the smaller blade. And that is a bike. That is a bus. That is walking. And you need to use the right tool for the job.

We recognize that not everyone is able to listen to our podcast, which is why the show is also available in text. If you would prefer to read what happened in the show instead of listening, please click the link below for the episode transcript.

Welcome to Better Cities by Design, a podcast brought to you by Arcadis where we talk to changemakers who are working to make our cities better places for people to live, work and play. I'm your host, Davion Ford. This week we're going to New York City for a conversation with Doug Gordon co-host of The War On Cars Podcast about the tension between the automobile and people. We're going to explore Doug's strong views on the topic of urban transportation and hear his perspective on the role of cars and cities to understand why he's declared a war on cars.

Cars have revolutionized society and we've grown to love our cars. We love the freedom, the speed, the road trips, and their personalities, and some are great at some things, and terrible at others, much like people. In fact, we love them so much that in some countries, there are almost as many cars as people. Cars are pretty much a way of life. But I believe it's become an abusive relationship. Our cities are clogged with them, contributing to poor air quality and subsequent health issues. And car accidents are one of the leading causes of death in many countries around the world. Race cars also occupy a huge amount of space in cities; space that can be used for other things, by more homes, parks and playgrounds, and safe active travel, like walking, cycling, and rolling.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the CDC, estimates that globally car crash injuries are the eighth leading cause of death for all age groups, and the leading cause of death for people between the ages of five and 29. This grim reality of mankind's love affair with the automobile is part of what motivated our guest, Doug Gordon, to become a safe streets advocate. Because of the efforts of people like Doug, his home New York City is in the midst of a transformation. With a population of over 8.8 million residents, New York is the most populous city in the United States and a melting pot of cultures from around the globe. Unlike many cities in the US, though, most New Yorkers do not own a car. Across the five boroughs, 55% of households do not own a car and a mere 22% of people commute to work in a car. Still, it's estimated that there are around 620 car accidents in the city every day, and a 2021 Harvard and University of North Carolina study found that around 1400 New York residents die prematurely each year from pollution caused by trucks, cars and buses. But the COVID 19 pandemic which ravaged the city opened many New Yorkers eyes to what life could be like with fewer cars. The pandemic lockdowns cleared out the streets and New Yorkers started to get a taste for life without cars all over the place. And many of them liked it, and this has led to calls for a massive reduction in the number of cars in the city, an effort to claim streets and sidewalks for people, not cars. Our guest today, is a man whose life's work is all about pushing back against the prevalence of cars in New York, and cities in general. Doug Gordon is the co-host of The War on Cars Podcast, and as I mentioned, a safe streets advocate.

3a8082e126