Tom Spence and Donny Caccamise began their show at local News Talk 1590 KVTA.
Seven years ago, here in Ventura an automotive talk radio show began its humble rise to the top at the Gold Coast broadcasting studios, home of News Talk 1590 KVTA. In the beginning, Donny Caccamise, Tom Spence, Jim Naylor and Jeff Morgulis set about to create, produce, and market a unique and specific automotive broadcast that reports on trends and news in the automotive industry. Since then, they have become the largest automotive talk radio show in America with an impressive coverage area that also includes 172 countries via the Armed Forces American veterans Radio Network.
This isn’t a show for your average car owner; they’re not trying to replace the now defunct Car Talk. This is a hard-hitting news and editorial program that’s targeted at “car enthusiasts”- from the shade-tree mechanic to the professional technician, racing enthusiasts to the engineer, and everyone in between. Their tagline is, “We Are Your Ultimate Stop in Automotive Radio”
Horsepower for an Hour is a well-produced, professional show that’s now heavily syndicated across 43 states here in the U.S. and is heard on 155 radio stations. The show is also available digitally across several platforms including iPhone and Android App Stores as well as iTunes and Stitcher.
Horsepower for an Hour is a two-hour program that is currently pre-recorded every week at the ATRA (Automatic Transmission Rebuilders Association) network studios, then delivered via Westwood One Satellite Radio to its various affiliate stations across the country. You can visit their website and stream the show at www.HorsepowerOnline.com.
The first hour consists of news, views, and headlines with a quick trip down memory lane, as the cast, including classic car specialist Ken Hale, discuss the “Clash of the Classics” segment. It’s a wildly entertaining classic car battle where two classic models are pitted against one another
The second hour is all about the dedicated “gearhead”, where they talk about hotrods and high performance topics, it’s where listeners can learn about dual-clutch transmissions, torque converters, direct injection, and more.
Donny Caccamise is host and creator of Horsepower for an Hour, he owns an automatic transmission service center here in Ventura DMC Transmissions specializing in automatic transmission and differential systems. He is an automotive technology graduate with over 30 years of experience.
Tom Spence (member of the KVTA morning show) is co-host and leads the automotive “News and Views” segments in both hours. Spence has been in radio since 1979 and is the creative force behind the programming and production.
Jeff Morgulis is General Manager and is solely responsible for the placement of the show around the nation.
Jim Naylor owns the Ventura Raceway, and, when it comes to automotive racing and motorsports, no one is more knowledgeable
Ken Hale is the resident classic car specialist, no one knows more about classic cars than Ken.
Chris Caccamise is editor and videographer and to say he is brilliant is an understatement according to Donny.
“Most guys want to be more knowledgeable about cars” explains Donny. “They don’t necessarily want to be technicians or engine rebuilders, but they do want to know what a MacPherson strut suspension is, and the difference between a dual-clutch transmission and a conventional automatic transmission. Many people want to know more about these things, and we want to provide them with the information that’ll help them be more comfortable talking about their cars”.
