Podcast appearances and mentions of simon lai

Toyota won the 24 hour Le Mans race for the first time last weekend. That’s pretty good news. What’s better is they’ve committed to building a road going version of the car that won the race. It’ll be a hypercar capable of beating promised hypercars from Mercedes Benz and Aston Martin. James Lang from Toyota will join us with details.  BMW have launched a raft of new models recently. Lenore Fletcher will be on the phone with news on the new X5, an all new Z4 and a stunning new 8 Series. The Electric Vehicle council released their State of Electric Vehicle Report for Australia. It won’t surprise many of you that Australia is lagging behind the rest of the world. Behyad Jafari, CEO of the EV Council breaks it down for us. Joel Helmes has been driving a four-cylinder version of the Kia Stinger. Is it better then the twin turbo V6, or is there an even better Kia on the market? Simon Lai has had the keys to a funky new SUV - Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross. It kind of looks like him, so we expect he'll want to buy one. We'll find out if that's true. And, we give an in depth look at the supercharged V6 Jaguar F-Pace 35t - just wait till you hear that engine note!

This week on the Behind the Wheel Podcast we find out all about Tesla's now famous tow-test. We get the details too on some spectacular cars going under the hammer at a big classic car auction on in Gosford NSW. Listen in for an update on some all-new models from BMW. Joel Helmes lets us know all about the Haval H2, the Chinese SUV brands small crossover SUV. Simon Lai with a review of the new-generation Toyota Camry Hybrid. While Rachel Franco tells us all about her road trip to Tamworth.

A really big show on the cards this week. We’re headed to China for the Beijing Motor Show. Joel Helmes was the guest of our mates at Haval and he brings news of lots of weird and wonderful cars, and he has a few surprises in store. Simon Lai has been racing around in an often overlooked sports car - the Nissan 370Z, we'll bring you all the details. We've got details on a few new Volkswagen's too, including the all-new and very svelte Arteon. The cheapest ever VW Golf GTi, the Original, and we've discovered a new bench mark in the small car class, the all-new VW Polo - even in base model form it's a cracker. Rachel Franco returns with more madness - she's keen to share stories on cars that have been given a name. For example, she had a Barina with a gender crisis called Barry. You can imagine how this will pan out! Kevin Hepworth, from Kia Australia, joins us with details on a refreshed version of Australia’s best selling people mover, the Carnival. We'll take you for a drive in the very beautiful new BMW 630GT, and have lots of laughs along the way. Join us for another week of Behind the Wheel.

On this week's edition of Behind the Wheel, we’ll give you the best advice available for getting out of a speeding ticket. Well, the absolute best advice is don’t speed, but apparently there are other ways and things you should consider if a fine arrives in the mail. Effie Zahos, from Money Magazine, will join us with the details. There’s an awesome car show in Melbourne next month. It’s Australia’s version of the world famous CEMA Show in LA. It’s called Motor Ex - we’ll get you all the info you need from the guy who is running it. It's shaping up to be utterly epic. Simon Lai is driving the 2018 version of the Subaru Outback. He’ll give us his thoughts on whether the perennial favourite is still a worthy contender . The lovely Rachel Franco is back with some ideas on home-made car accessories We’ll take you for a drive in the all electric and rather delicious BMW i3S. It's a load of fun with some interesting car facts thrown in - so go on, hit play on this week's Behind the Wheel.

It’s Ute o’clock this week on Behind the Wheel. We’ll take you live to the launch of some exciting new variants of the Toyota Hilux. We’ll hear how you can become 007 James Bond...well almost! James Scimshaw from Jaguar will bring us details on Jaguar's new Austrian lair. He also has details on the fastest ever F-Pace - Jaguar have shoehorned a massive V8 under the bonnet of one of the prettiest SUV’s on the market - the Jaguar F-Pace SVR. Lexus have revealed their most luxurious car ever - the all-new Lexus LS. Nick Raman has all the details on what to expect from the flagship saloon. Simon Lai has been driving a car that’s way too big for him - the Nissan Patrol. We’ll find out if he was able to see over the steering wheel. The always effervescent Rachel Franco is back with some insights into Jay Leno - or more specifically, his garage and whether she might ditch Pete in favour of the big chinned comedian. Don't miss a minute of this week's Behind the Wheel.

It’s Commodore o’clock on Behind the Wheel this week! Big thanks to Joel Helmes who admirably filled in for the boys last week. This week, Pete and Chris drill down on what’s good and what’s not in the Holden Commodore. You’ll even get a drive round the block in the AWD V6 version of the Calais. Our mates at Haval have been spending up big. They’ve just opened an enormous new factory, and with electrification on the horizon for the world’s biggest SUV maker, there’s lots to catch up on. Andrew Ellis from Haval joins us with all the details. We also chat to Elisabeth Barry from Finder.com.au. They’ve compiled some fascinating data on the most dangerous things Australian drivers have done behind the wheel, and also the top hotspots for car theft around the country. Tune in to see if you're at risk. Simon Lai has been driving around Sydney like his hair is on fire - in the awesome new Honda Civic Type R. Hopefully we’ll be able to extract him from the driver’s seat for a chat. The always effervescent Rachel Franco is back with tips on how to get free money out of the NSW State Govt. What could be better - we just hope it's legal! Don’t miss a minute of it - it’s a huge edition of Behind the Wheel.

There's a whole lot going on this week on the Behind the Wheel Car Podcast with Joel Helmes filling in for Chris Miller and Peter Hitchener. Joel catches up with the head honcho of Toyota Australia to talk new Corolla, new RAV4 and the return of Supra! Alan Zurvas tells us all about his time in 'Godzilla', the famous Nissan GT-R, while Simon Lai gives us his review of the Renault Megane wagon. Speaking of wagons, Joel also reviews the Skoda Superb, and brings us the lowdown on the recently arrived Volkswagen Arteon. George Harrison, yep the former Beatle, is also along talking Formula One cars and we bring you the worrying results from a couple of driver studies out of the UK regarding kids in cars and disabled parking spots. All that and more on this week's edition of the Behind the Wheel Podcast...

Put your life jackets on - here we go, it another big edition of the Behind the Wheel Podcast. Pete takes you driving in 2018 Lexus RX L 450h. Will he actually get into the very back of the 7 seat SUV? Nick Raman from Lexus joins us to chat about a raft of new models on the way from Lexus - including the first ever Lexus Yacht! Joel has been driving the V6 version of the all-new Camry. We’ll find out if it’s any sportier than the 4-cylinder version. He’s also had a taste of the very stylish new VW Arteon. There’s a bloke called The Brickman. He’s built a full size Toyota Camry from Lego. We’ll chat to him to find out why, and to find out how many Lego blocks he stepped on in the process and whether he’s feet have sustained any injuries. Simon Lai has been driving an important car from Holden - their new mid-size SUV the Equinox. He’ll let us know whether it’s better than the old Captiva it replaces - which shouldn’t be hard? Rach, is back with another cars and clips segment that involves Powderfinger and a VC Commodore, so as usual, it all happening. Join us for another edition of Behind the Wheel!

Make sure you're close to a power socket for this episode of Behind the Wheel. There's a lot of electricity involved, thankfully not as much as mining for BitCoin. Pete will take you driving in 2018 Version of the Toyota Prado. A car that at first may be hard to wrap your head around in a city environment. Pete gives his verdict on if it makes sense. Joel has been at the launch of the all-new Volkswagen Polo. It’s grown considerably and is now the same size as a Golf from 10 years ago. Is the new Polo better than a Mazda2 or Toyota Yaris? Joel Helmes will give us the rub. The Greens this week started a push to have all combustion engine cars removed from sale here in Australia by 2030. Behyad Jafari, CEO of the Electric Vehicle Council calls in with all the reasons he thinks it’s a great idea. Will it result in benefits for us all? Rachel, inspired by a bloke who built a Toyota Camry out of Lego, wants to discuss her love affair with building things out of small plastic bricks - and is Pete into it too? Simon Lai is back from overseas and is keen to talk Malaysian Drivers. How does a considerably larger population deal with congestion? Are they as angry as Aussie drivers? Put your headphones in to block out that annoying co-worker... It's Behind the Wheel time.

Buckle up, the Behind the Wheel Car Podcast is about to hit the road for another week. It has arrived. The first ever fully-imported Holden Commodore. Joel Helmes was at the launch and brings a first drive report. Mark Flintoff from Holden joins us to tell us what Holden expect from the car, how many they think they'll sell and how much it costs. The new Commodore has some heavy lifting to do. A big surprise package in the Behind the Wheel garage this week out of China. The Haval H9. It’s a big seven-seat wagon that has genuine off-road ability. We’ll take you around the block in it (all tarmac roads), and we’ll hear from Tim at Haval with details on pricing and spec. Simon Lai is heading off on an undeserved holiday for weeks on end. So before he goes we going to make him work hard. He’ll compare the seven-seat Nissan X-Trail with the Honda CR-V. Rachel Franco is back and she’s been wasting lots of time on YouTube. She’ll share an awesome story of how cars and music sometime come together on film. Speaking of awesome, there’s an amazing competition being run in Brisbane this weekend. Titled “Build a self driving car in 72 hours” teams from around the globe have entered. We will get the man behind it all on to give us all the juicy details. Here we go again for another epic one, settle in for Behind the Wheel Podcast 488...

A big show on the cards this week. We’ll head back to the busy streets of Japan for a guided tour with Pete. We'll go car shopping in Ginza and take in the delights of Tokyo traffic. There’s a new Mercedes-Benz - the all-new A-Class which is likely to be one of the best sellers for the brand. David McCarthy from Mercedes-Benz calls in with the details. Another brand-new offering, a much bigger Volkswagen Polo is about to land here in Australia. Paul Pottinger from VW has all the Aussie specs that you’ll need to know about. We’re on the road in the latest edition of the BMW X3, while Joel Helmes has been at the launch of the very funky new SUV from Peugeot - the 5008. We'll hear how it drives on Aussie roads. Simon Lai has had his hands on the top of the line Honda Accord V6, we’ll get his thoughts. Rachel Franco is keen to highlight all the times our cars have made us look foolish. Be prepared for a very long segment! All that and heaps more this week on Behind the Wheel.

A pocket rocket with more power than most competitors. So far this year 52% of Ford's total sales in Australia are Ranger utes Their next best selling car is the Ford Mustang Those two cars account for over 63% of all their sales. We've said it often in the last few years but Ford just doesn't sell little cars well. And the Ford Focus is a good little car And the Ford Focus RS is a mind-blowing halo car for the model with a turbo engine, all wheel drive and super sharp handling Alan Zurvas from gaycarboys and Simon Lai from Behind the Wheel and I have each driven this pocket rocket. Alan starts with his reflections. Originally aired on 10 June 2017. For past programs and individual segments visit www.drivenmedia.com.au

Marc “Elvis” Priestley is certainly no stranger to the inner working of a car, in fact, he was one of the top Formula One mechanics for a number of years. Today though he is the host of a new series which premieres tomorrow on Discovery Turbo, Gears, Grease and Glory. In the series “Elvis” travels to South Africa, Mexico, Britain, Sweden, Cuba and Thailand and gets his hands dirty working alongside grassroots experts in some of the most extraordinary and unique amateur motorsports. He creates, builds, and customises vehicles and puts them to the test in local motorsports competitions. Some of the motorsports he gets involved with include car spinning, hopping lowriders, drag racing and long-tail boat racing. Behind the Wheel’s Simon Lai caught up with “Elvis” for a chat…

We’ve had the opportunity to chat with NASCAR legend and host of AmeriCARna on Discovery Turbo, Ray Evernham. The two time Daytona 500 champion is now setting lap records on the television as the host of AmeriCARna, a great show that looks back at some of the most revolutionary moments in automotive culture. Behind the Wheel’s Simon Lai caught up with Ray to talk about the show, the interesting automobiles and people he's encountered and his own love of cars…

We chat to Screen Machines host Robert Moseley. Robert ‘Videobob’ Moseley is renowned for being the man to talk to if you want an as close to original as possible recreation of an iconic vehicle from television and films. Want a KITT from Knight Rider or a Batmobile? Robert Moseley is the man to talk to. In this chat with Behind the Wheel’s Simon Lai, Robert Moseley talks about his background and how he got into creating movie and TV replica cars, how he goes about building them and what we can expect from the upcoming season of Screen Machines. The coming season of Screen Machines premieres Thursday the 4th of February at 8.30pm on Discovery Turbo.

We go on the road again (with all the rough audio quality that entails) to talk to Konami producer Tomm Hulett about his role in recent remakes and revivals of Rocket Knight, Contra, and Silent Hill. Other participants in this triple-segment show include: 1UP's Matt Leone, Konami's Pearl Lu and Simon Lai, and Nich Maragos from Atlus. 573 x 3 = Retronauts!

We go on the road again (with all the rough audio quality that entails) to talk to Konami producer Tomm Hulett about his role in recent remakes and revivals of Rocket Knight, Contra, and Silent Hill. Other participants in this triple-segment show include: 1UP's Matt Leone, Konami's Pearl Lu and Simon Lai, and Nich Maragos from Atlus. 573 x 3 = Retronauts!