Send us your questions for the Mailbag and Spend My Money at: Podcast@Autoblog.com.
"> the Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Associate Editor Byron Hurd. They start by discussing the many cars being continued in 2024 and beyond, including the Chrysler 300C. They also note that the Honda e is toast as well. They discuss the hugs Tesla Autopilot recall and the potential fallout, and ponder the future of Scout Motors. Cadillac previewed its next EV, the Vistiq. Hagerty has released its latest Bull Market List of collector cars. In this weeks reviews, our hosts have been driving the Mazda3 and Lexus TX, and preview the Honda Passport TrailsportSend us your questions for the Mailbag and Spend My Money at: Podcast@Autoblog.com.
"> the Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Associate Editor Byron Hurd. They start by discussing the many cars being continued in 2024 and beyond, including the Chrysler 300C. They also note that the Honda e is toast as well. They discuss the hugs Tesla Autopilot recall and the potential fallout, and ponder the future of Scout Motors. Cadillac previewed its next EV, the Vistiq. Hagerty has released its latest Bull Market List of collector cars. In this weeks reviews, our hosts have been driving the Mazda3 and Lexus TX, and preview the Honda Passport TrailsportSend us your questions for the Mailbag and Spend My Money at: Podcast@Autoblog.com.
">In this episode of the Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Associate Editor Byron Hurd. They start by discussing the many cars being continued in 2024 and beyond, including the Chrysler 300C. They also note that the Honda e is toast as well. They discuss the hugs Tesla Autopilot recall and the potential fallout, and ponder the future of Scout Motors. Cadillac previewed its next EV, the Vistiq. Hagerty has released its latest Bull Market List of collector cars. In this weeks reviews, our hosts have been driving the Mazda3 and Lexus TX, and preview the Honda Passport Trailsport
Send us your questions for the Mailbag and Spend My Money at: Podcast@Autoblog.com.
Transcript[MUSIC PLAYING]
GREG MIGLIORE: Welcome back to the "Autoblog Podcast." I'm Greg Migliore. We've got an awesome show for you this week. We're going to talk about the cars that are set to end production this year there's some interesting ones like the R8, the TT, the Camaro, the Jeep Cherokee, many more. The list goes on.
A lot of times, this list is sort of like a footnote to what is disappearing. This year, it's-- it's a pretty good list. It's almost like an early Hall of Fame ballot for the 2000s.
I digress. We'll talk about the Tesla recall/fallout from that. Autopilot, perhaps, is getting a bit of a reckoning. We'll talk about some Scout Mules as well as just the general Scout EV business, something I think is kind of cool, as well as the Hagerty Bull Market, collector cars that might be a good investment for you in the coming year.
We've been driving the Mazda3 and the Lexus TX. That's the TX, not the Texas, but it's it's a pretty big SUV. Let's put it that way. And then we will preview the Honda Passport TrailSport. That was driven by associate editor Byron Hurd, who I will bring in right now. Welcome aboard.
BYRON HURD: Hey, hey, good to see you.
GREG MIGLIORE: Likewise, likewise. That's a pretty nice day right now. It's rather sunny. I just took the dog for a very brisk walk, and yeah, it's-- it feels like December in Michigan. Let's put it that way. Cold, but bright.
BYRON HURD: Yeah.
GREG MIGLIORE: So all right, let's talk some cars. The list of cars set to die this year is long. Many on here that I think were very significant for their time. We we always update this list.
Usually we do a new one because, you know, once they're out of production, they're out. It's time to do more. With December starting to roll on, we thought it would be a good idea to bring this out and, you know, talk about it.
So one, check out the story. It's on our site. We think you'll find it interesting. Please go to the comments and let us know, hey, what was your favorite car? Which of these do you think might come back?
But I think it's a very intriguing list. I think I've driven just about everything on here. You know, I think the most memorable, we'll start with that, was the 300c, which got the big V8. It was essentially like-- it was like a Scat Pack, almost 300. The 392, I drove that in June.
And then production just ended, I think, yesterday in Brampton, Ontario, and I, you know, kind of did some socials. Was really surprised at the reaction people had as far as just kind of talking about that car and the end of the road for it. I think the 300c should come back in some form. I think it's just, you know, this is the time for it to move on at this phase of its life and then come back as something else.
But lots of good stuff on here. I know you're a Challenger owner. You know, what, on the-- this long list here, kind of stands out to you that you'll perhaps miss the most?
BYRON HURD: I mean, this is going to sound a little strange, but I think the one that both most surprised and kind of, I don't know, upset me, maybe the wrong word, but either way, it's the Jeep Renegade of all things. And I think the reason why it's being discontinued is just because the Fiat 500X is, and so it's just a matter of, well, that line is shutting down, so you know, they're out. And I feel like it'll probably end up getting replaced by something similar at some point, but whether we'll end up getting it here is kind of another question.
And I've always really liked it. I mean, when it first launched, the all wheel drive manual version of the Renegade was a ton of fun to drive. It was like having just a tiny little hot hatch, and you could really hustle that thing around the corners. It didn't feel tall.
And then you could hop into the trail version of it and go out and actually have some fun off roading if that's what you really wanted to do. So like, you know, it was a versatile little car. Honestly, pretty reliable for what they are. I've seen, like, looking back at those, like, as a-- as a potential, like a, well, if I needed a tiny, little, practical hatchback type runaround car like the Matrix again, then something like that's kind of on my radar.
And every once in a while, I'm like, you know what, it's a Fiat. There's got to be something wrong with it. Right? And I go, and I look, and sure enough, most of, you know, the owners are pretty happy with them. The reliability reports are pretty good, so it-- they seem like good little runabouts, and I'm really kind of sad to see it go.
So between that and the Fiat 500X, which is on the chopping block, too, it's kind of a shame because they were two surprisingly interesting little cars that I think a lot of Americans just kind of ignored at face value just because, you know, a Renegade didn't feel like a real Jeep to a lot of people. And sadly, means it kind of escaped consideration in a lot of cases where it probably deserved a little better.
GREG MIGLIORE: That's a deep cut, I'd say, kind of from the back of the deck here. But anytime a Jeep goes away, that's significant. I think Jeep is going to kind of retrench its lineup, too. We're looking at the different hybrids and EVs and plug-in hybrids. They're going to start to, you know, proliferate over the next-- you know, the rest of the decade.
So my guess is something will replace the Renegade. I, like you, liked it. It had its charms. It was a good way to get into the Jeep lineup, which is not a cheap proposition, these days, to do. So--
BYRON HURD: Very true.
GREG MIGLIORE: I was a little surprised that the Escape and the Edge are going to go away to make way for EVs. I kind of wonder if that is one that we may see be adjusted as, you know, the decade rolls on. I know Jim Farley has been very bullish on these, but also, at times, very pessimistic.
Like, he's very much a realist, so I feel like, if there's a nameplate here that perhaps may find its way back, maybe plug-in hybrid or hybrid only, I don't know. I mean, we generally like the Escape. It's a decent, you know, little crossover.
Maxima, no surprise there. We'll lump that in with Charger and Challenger as just, you know, old, large cars that we expect to disappear. The Charger and Challenger are coming back in some form in fairly short order. We don't really know what's going on there.
And a couple of Audis, too, the R8, the TT. I mean, those are iconic as far as I'm concerned, especially since the turn of the century. You talk about cars that really sort of just capture the mood of what an enthusiast, you know, especially, who you know, had some money to spend, was looking for.
These two were really impressive. I remember driving the TT RS on a track. Geez, I can't remember if it was Spain or Portugal. Some of these trips start to blend together in the years past. That was a great drive. I want to say it was Algarve.
But memorable cars that really offered rewarding experiences, so yeah, I mean, I think the trend here is that they're moving away from sedans and even some SUVs. More EVs, but then with that brings question marks. I mean, anything out here that you're-- you think is going to be back for sure beyond the obvious confirmations here?
BYRON HURD: I mean, I still suspect that, you know, we're early days. There's always a rumor that Camaro is going to be turned into something else, but it just feels like one that GM is not ready to let go of yet. And honestly, I think it deserves another shot in one form or another.
It doesn't really matter how it comes back as long as it does because it was so good in the last iteration. And just, you know, it was the pony car we were waiting for, and we finally got it when it was almost too late for it to matter. And I really feel like that's one that hasn't really been done justice yet. So--
GREG MIGLIORE: I agree with you. I think the Camaro will be back. I hope it isn't perhaps as, like, an SUV or even a four door for enthusiast reasons, but also, General Motors has made cars for a very long time. They don't need to put the Camaro name on, like, a crossover or something.
You know, they can make it a coupe, I think, you know, or even a four door. You've got Impala. You've got Caprice, lots of great cars that had four doors. You don't need to slap Camaro on that.
So I would like to see it come back, I think. I think it'd be great as an all EV sporting coupe type thing. That could be really cool.
BYRON HURD: Yeah.
GREG MIGLIORE: All right, so-- and then as a footnote, the Honda E is gone. It never made it here, but that was available in Europe and Japan. Cute car. Small thing.
The Fiat 500E is coming here, ironically enough, and I remember the late Sergio Marchionne used to say things like, don't buy this car. We don't make any money off of it, so don't buy it. Surprised they finally brought it here, and I don't know, I thought Honda was never going to do this. They're just not even that into EVs, to bring this thing over here.
But I don't know. I think there could have been a market for it, maybe in, like, you know, congested urban areas, you know, where the streets are small, and you need to park. Maybe as, like, a city car or, like, a shared car. I don't know. Who knows?
BYRON HURD: But yeah, I mean, it was a cool looking little thing, and it's a shame that we never really got to see it here at all. I mean, I imagine one or two prototypes probably made the rounds here and there, showed up at a couple special features and that kind of thing, but just for us to completely miss on this and have it go away so quickly is a real shame.
GREG MIGLIORE: Right, and I believe you were manning the desk this morning when the Tesla-- the big Tesla news of the day, although there's several Tesla items, but this is, you know, two million unit recall over autopilot. I think, for some people, this is a lot of-- a long time coming. It's a software control thing, and like, literally, I was taking notes on this to try to get my head around different topics for the podcast. And I just wrote down, you think? Like, about time. You know? What's your read on this situation?
BYRON HURD: I mean, yeah, it's-- I'm surprised it took this long. I'm not really surprised by the decision to, first of all, to call for a recall. But on top of that, like, basically, what regulators are saying is the same thing Tesla's been saying. Like, ultimately, it's your car.
GREG MIGLIORE: Yeah.
BYRON HURD: And if you're not paying attention, if you're not using it properly, and you crash it, that's on you. But this is also kind of been that threshold that a lot of us have set for autonomy, where, if an automaker is not willing to take responsibility for the autonomous behavior of their car, then it's obviously not truly an autonomous vehicle. And of course, we've been saying for years now that Tesla's autopilot is not a self-driving system. It's a semi self-driving system.
It has self-driving programming. It does some things by itself, but it cannot just operate the car for you under all circumstances. And this is just basically the federal government's way of saying the same thing. Like, Tesla, you need to tell your people that they need to use it as a tool and not rely on it as a crutch, and unfortunately, though, that doesn't really, you know, click with the messaging that Tesla has for it.
I mean, when you call something autopilot, you know, you set a certain expectation, and a lot of people just take that and run with it. I believe we've had, you know-- [? Grayson ?] was saying that one of his family members was saying, oh, you know, I don't need to get a driver's license because, one day, I'll just get a Tesla. You know, like, who needs a driver's license if I can just buy a car that'll drive for me?
And that's kind of the disconnect, I think, between, like, the general buying public and people like us, who, you know, actually keep up with this kind of stuff. You know, to us, these are, you know, the very bleeding edge of technology that may not even really come to full fruition. I still have my doubts about the consumer adoption of real self-driving tech because, when you get to a certain point, you realize that what you want is a car that's going to do exactly what you would do in any given situation.
You don't actually want a car that does it right. You want it to behave the way you would, and that's-- you know, we see some of that coming through in, like, you know, Tesla pushing out changes that let their cars kind of roll stop signs and do other things that, on paper, are illegal. But because the people who buy these cars want their cars to do it, they're just going to do it. And that is not compatible with this notion of that-- that self-driving technology is here for our safety or here to make sure everybody follows the rules.
It's not. It's here to provide a convenient service for people who can afford it at the expense of everybody else who has to get out of the way, and until that changes, then we're stuck in this rut. And you know, Tesla's at the forefront of it, and they're going to keep getting beat up because they insist on trying to get out ahead of the regulatory framework.
And people are saying, you know, it's the whole move fast and break things notion. That is wonderful when it's academic, but when the thing that's getting broken is, you know, your kid's face, it changes the way you feel about these things. Right? It's no longer an academic exercise. It's, oh, well, we're the things getting broken for the benefit of other people who think that what they're doing is righteous when it really isn't. So it's a mess, you know, but hopefully, this is progress.
GREG MIGLIORE: To your point, this is sort of an academic application, but this isn't code. This isn't like a computer software thing. This is 956 crashes, a two year NHTSA investigation, and you know, the recall covers vehicles going back to 2012.
So I mean, this is real, you know, and I think the way-- the best way to boil it down is, people don't know how to use it properly, and they think it's better than it is. It's either/or or both, frankly, and the updates that NHTSA is going to tell them to make, which NHTSA-- or excuse me, Tesla sort of says, they don't agree with, but they're going to do it, which I think is supremely arrogant to have that notion.
They're going to include updates that increase visual alerts, simplify engagement, and then make it so autosteer and autopilot are suspended under circumstances where it appears like the driver is not, you know, not at all engaged. So I think when you-- the tricky part is you're going to really have to communicate that to the users here who are such true believers. You know, you can't just turn off the car, you know, turn off autopilot, whereas other systems do work that way, you know. But you don't have that expectation.
You could also argue autopilot isn't any better than Super Cruise or BlueCruise or what Mercedes and Audi have, and it's definitely a situation where, you know, my phone could do some amazing things. I don't understand how it does it, and then sometimes, it doesn't work. But I'm not dying from that most of the time. At least, I'm still here to have this podcast.
Like, cars are different. You know what I mean? It affects you and the thing around you, and I-- like, this isn't bashing Tesla. This is just an attitude towards safety that I don't think applies. I feel like you could take that, like, being on the very, like, you know, like, forefront of technology, but when it comes to automotive safety, that's just different.
It's different than phones, than coding, and like, Elon Musk sends people into outer space. So I think he's much more comfortable with risk than most people are, but I mean, this isn't just, like, his risk. It's everybody who buys the car, and everybody who's on the road with them. So that's when you start to look at it as more of a societal challenge.
BYRON HURD: Yeah, well, and especially in a situation like this, where, like, part of what makes people so comfortable with the inherent risk of driving is control. Like, when you feel like, you know, you're-- when you're controlling the car, when you have control over the situation, you can mitigate this kind of inherent risk that exists within the situation. And it's-- it's cope. I mean, we're lying to ourselves, telling ourselves that we always have an answer to anything that comes our way.
But when you can tell yourself that, it's comforting. You know, it's like, that's our little shield. That's our little-- that's our safety blanket. And when there's a car, you know, or a computer, really, that's trying to do it for you, you have that disconnect where it's just like, well, you know, this may not act the way I want it to, so I should shut it off and take control.
And you can do that with most systems-- well, with all systems now, but the idea that we're going to be at a place where you'd never going to need to do it, and Tesla's already kind of, like, taking away control from its drivers in bits and pieces. You know, taking away the turn signal controls, taking away the shifter controls, like all these little things. Like, don't worry, the car will know what it needs to do, and you know, 999,999 times out of a million, that's probably true, but it's that one time that kills you. Right?
So you know, you're taking that risk on yourself when you're driving the car. You're telling yourself I am better than the bad things that might happen to me. I can overcome them, no big deal. People are going to learn more and more that, when the cars don't do what they want the car to do, even if what they want the car to do is wrong, that suddenly, these systems aren't so agreeable and aren't so wonderful.
So it's, again, it's-- it leans into slippery slope there. You know, plenty of things that these machines are doing right, and in fact, I've had arguments with, like, PR people from Ford about, you know, BlueCruise versus autopilot. You can't say that autopilot's better than BlueCruise just because it does more things, or you can't say BlueCruise is better than autopilot because it does the things it does better.
It's a weird mess because expectations and reality are just kind of so far from what anybody can-- like, there's no consensus. Like, it's not that the system is supposed to be perfect. It's not that the system is supposed to be safe. It's that the system is supposed to just work, and everybody's definition of "just work" is different. So what do you even do with that?
GREG MIGLIORE: Yeah. Have you driven autopilot at any point over your career?
BYRON HURD: No, only Super Cruise and BlueCruise.
GREG MIGLIORE: Yeah.
BYRON HURD: And I'm really looking forward to trying the Mercedes, their new system, which you know, unlike Tesla, Mercedes has said, look, if this system screws up we're backing it. We're guaranteeing it. We're the ones saying it's going to work legally, and you know, just in terms of marketing, which, you know, until Tesla does that, I feel like that should be a giant red flag to people.
You know, if Mercedes, who really hasn't been doing this to the degree Tesla has for any appreciable amount of time, is saying, yeah we'll back our system up in the courtroom as much as we will in our advertising, and Tesla won't, I mean, I don't know what else you say to that.
GREG MIGLIORE: Yeah, it's gutsy on Mercedes' part. I-- I've driven autopilot a couple times. Once was on the Pacific Coast Highway in California, and I've driven it. We actually-- Tesla gave us a press car. This was a while ago, back in 2015 or 16, for Tech of the Year, and I think we actually gave it Tech of the Year Award, at least one of the awards.
We may have had, like, a two kind of faceted approach back then, but it was-- I mean, it didn't always work, but it-- you know, when it did, it did somewhat work. So it's not like, totally, hey, we're enthusiasts. We don't want robots to take our cars. That's not it.
I use cruise control, and I've used Super Cruise, and I've used autopilot. Many times, these systems work. It's the approach that I think Tesla is taking here is wrong, quite simply.
So let's do something a little more fun. Let's talk about Scout. This is the off road brand from, like, the 60s and 70s, early 80s, is coming back. Volkswagen is backing it. It's going to be an EV brand. We're talking about an SUV. It's going to debut sometime probably late next year, Q3 at least, and then the truck a few months afterwards. Production isn't until '26. That means nobody's going to drive these things until 2027. So this is a pretty far way out. But I think it's kind of cool. Let's put it that way.
You know, there was an interview in "Automotive News," is the one that kind of made the rounds. And, you know, we picked up on it, and a few others did as well, just talking about where they stand as a company. And I think it's-- one of the things that, in reading this-- that struck me is this isn't going to be like just a Volkswagen sub-brand.
They're really trying to stand this up as an authentic American brand. There's a factory in South Carolina. There's going to be-- there's going to be an R&D center in Novi, Michigan, suburban Detroit, which I just read yesterday or today in "The Detroit News."
These are things that, if you're not really backing this to be sort of like a standalone, authentic brand that has real meaning behind it, you don't do. You just find a platform somewhere in the Volkswagen, you know, family, maybe you get that styling right, you pull off some MEB, I believe is their battery platform, and you call it a day. You know, you make a deal, and that's it. But that's not what they're doing.
And they tapped the head of-- the former head of VW in America and the head of Audi. He's now running this thing, which, when I first heard that, I was like, cool, man, enjoy it.
What is this? Your retirement gig until you get your pension or whatever in a few years. But he's really into it.
And the more I read about it, the more I'm into it because I like off-road vehicles. I like off-road-style vehicles even if I don't get to go off-road as much as I'd like. I think this could be a really good situation for consumers.
And I think this could be pretty cool. Just the news that came out this week, I think is pretty promising. Sort of like a Bollinger that actually happens with money, or a Rivian that's also backed by more money, you know, because Volkswagen has more money than almost anybody, it seems like.
BYRON HURD: Yeah.
GREG MIGLIORE: I'm feeling optimistic, you know? Another EV to face off against the Bronco, Wrangler, R1T, R1S. Sounds good to me.
BYRON HURD: Yeah. And honestly, dude, the idea that this is going to be like it's going to be a Scouts, first and it's going to be an EV, and then whatever it is, its components are second, is really encouraging. And one of the things that we've really yet to see with electric platforms is that, you know, you have a lot more flexibility in design with them than you do with ICE.
And the problem right now is everybody's still stuck against, you know, wind resistance, air resistance, you know, dealing with the coefficient of drag. And that's kind of limiting their ability to design cool EVs because, I mean, you could just make a box so all it has to do is go around town, and, you know, you never go on the highway. Then, you know, you never have to do better than 70 miles an hour. You don't really care about wind. But we don't really have too many EVs like that here in America.
I feel like Scoutss is a good opportunity for Volkswagen to be like, hey, like we know this isn't going to be efficient as-- at least not as efficient as any EV could be. But the design-first attitude that they're taking I think, is really encouraging. It might be the first set of Volkswagens where they've really kind of embraced that.
The ID. Buzz was kind of like their first attempts. It's like, see, we can do retro and vintage and make it cool. But the fact that they've ignored the Beetle and all these kinds of opportunities, they've had to play around with a rear engine setup that EV enables very easily, you know, and just kind of left that out there.
I feel like Scouts is maybe their first real-time to raise the flag and be like, hey, yeah, we can do interesting stuff with this from the ground up. Here it is. So I'm really excited about this one.
GREG MIGLIORE: At first, I thought they might be overstretching themselves a little bit because, again, you mentioned multiple nameplates they could use as like the overall company's electric, you know, sort of flag bearers, but they're not. And I think this is ambitious, but I think it's a good thing, you know? And they have the nameplate, the name for Scouts, which they sort of inherited it when they bought, I think it was Navistar.
It kind of came with the-- you know, with the furniture. Perhaps that was the whole idea in the first place. Who's to say? I don't know.
I mean, Daimler and Mercedes have a pretty big trucking business as well. But you know, if you're not familiar with Scouts, which-- this is a bit of another deep cut. Let's put it that way.
They only made these things for the '60s and '70s. I believe the last one was made in '80 or early '80s. If you're trying to get a visual, we have some sketches up, you know? Check those out.
Also, just a mental image. Think of a '60s, early '70s Bronco. That's kind of what this thing looks like. I think they're going to try to bring back some of that heritage feel, you for these new, new Scouts.
And, yeah, I think that makes sense. You know, I mean, I think it could be a lot of fun to drive. And they're going to have Magna, which builds the G-Class.
So you know, that gives them some engineering and truck-making chops that-- Volkswagen is big as a company as it is. They don't really have it.
So you know, that makes, I think, a world of sense to try not to do this from the ground up. They're taking their time. Yeah, I don't know.
I mean, I think it's-- as I go back and look at the different sort of large off-road truck things from the '60s and '70s, early '80s, a lot of them are going up in value, you know? And things from the '70s, you know, even in the fashion and watch world, they're getting popular again because when we were growing up, the '70s weren't that long ago.
Now, the '70s were a while ago. So a lot of those trends are coming back. And I think Scouts could start to capitalize on some of that, too.
It's yeah-- I mean, it definitely could get that kind of lifestyle vibe that has just enough history to make it real, you know? Whereas Rivian, they don't have a history.
They're just trying to appeal to early adopters, EV people, with the outdoorsy theme. Scouts could bust out the, you know, sepia colored ads and say, no, this is what it was, and this is what it is now. I think that's kind of cool.
BYRON HURD: Yeah, and to your point earlier about them choosing, you know, an American brand and doing an American thing with it, that's always kind of been a problem for Volkswagen. It's like they do really well in America with people who are already Volkswagen fans.
GREG MIGLIORE: Yeah.
BYRON HURD: It seems like every time they tried to cross over, something goes wrong. The real success stories of, you know, like the Type 2 and the Beetle, you know, the old school, the vintage stuff, even the thing to an extent, you know? There are little things like that kind of crossed over into weird mainstream hits for VW here, but they're not very good at actually setting out to do that kind of thing. It always seems to happen by accident.
This time around, it feels very deliberate. And I'm really hoping it works because there have been so many times where Volkswagen has said, yeah, we're coming to America, we're really going to do it this time. And every single time, something goes horribly, horribly wrong.
Dieselgate ruined their plans to hit, you know, a million units a year here by now, really. Like it was around, I think-- it supposed to be 800,000 by 2020 or something like that. That sure did not happen.
GREG MIGLIORE: Yeah.
BYRON HURD: And, of course, they were saying that before 2016 when Dieselgate hit them, blah, blah, blah. So you know, like to see them say, OK, we're going to do this thing, and we're going to do it for real from the ground up, and as American as possible, I'm on board.
You know, put up or shut up. This is a big-- another big move for them. But I really hope it works this time because it's been really frustrating to watch them fail. [LAUGHS]
GREG MIGLIORE: Yeah.
BYRON HURD: It feels mean to say that, but I mean like-- you know, you look at Phaeton, and you look at--
GREG MIGLIORE: Yeah.
BYRON HURD: [SIGHS] I mean, I'm not going to say Routan was a failure because it was just, you know, a badge engineering job. But you know, if that's the most American thing they've ever done besides make the Jetta a little bigger, then I think it says a lot about-- how well they understand the market and how many genuine attempts they've made to break into it.
GREG MIGLIORE: They've been here since 1955, and they still don't really understand the market. I mean, I don't know. That's saying something.
BYRON HURD: Yeah.
GREG MIGLIORE: And just to say, we're not totally dunking on Tesla. I mean, you want to talk about perhaps the most arrogant example of corporate overreach, is Dieselgate. I mean, they cheated and lied. No other way to put it.
And many of the executives were held responsible. There was a big settlement. And frankly, to me, it could have been worse because it wasn't just like-- safety stuff is always probably worse because people can get hurt.
In this, it's certainly, you know, cancer-causing emissions that were understated, but it is less on the front end as far as physical injury. But it was also very blatant. You could argue in some cases that maybe different car companies have thought things were going to work, and then they didn't. And then, hey, maybe the cover-up got them. Volkswagen knew they were cheating.
BYRON HURD: Yeah.
GREG MIGLIORE: No doubt about it.
BYRON HURD: Oh yeah.
GREG MIGLIORE: I digress. I'm reading a book right now called "Sweetwater," and a Scouts is in it. It's one-- it's a novel.
It's by this kind of indie publisher dude. He has a podcast. And I-- that was literally one of the reasons, like Scouts-- it's just a car the main character drives.
I think it's a '73, '74 Scouts 2. So then, when I was trying to plan out the show this week, I was like, there's some Scouts news. Let's talk about it.
BYRON HURD: Yeah.
GREG MIGLIORE: It's a good book, by the way, too, set in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.
BYRON HURD: OK.
GREG MIGLIORE: All right, so let's talk about-- staying with EVs. Let's talk about the new Cadillac EV.
This is called the-- drumroll, please. We have a new name. We have the [INAUDIBLE]. What do you think of that?
BYRON HURD: Uh, I mean, I'm getting a little burned out on all the IQ names. I mean, they're-- I get it. It's a brand they're. Leaning into it.
I mean, it's a three-row Lyriq, basically. It's what we're looking at. It's-- you know?
Like in the Lyriq always had some kind of wagony elements to it. So this is kind of, you know, just stretching it a little bit farther. Honestly, because it's something else that we're going to get to talking about in this, the Lexus TX kind of thing.
And I'm not going to say it's like they look alike, but just kind of the way the TX drags that shape out, the way the Grand Highlander drags out the Highlander shape. This does kind of the same thing for the Lyriq, but I think the Lyriq is a better canvas for it. So I think it looks good. I think it looks decent.
GREG MIGLIORE: Yeah.
BYRON HURD: Honestly, Cadillac-- a lot of Cadillac's designs have grown on me since I first liked the-- even the XT6, which, the first time, you know, it launched right after Lincoln showed everything. And all the Lincolns were gorgeous, art deco, overwrought, over the top, like we're doing this styling.
And then Cadillac comes along with this very understated XT6, and everybody's like, that's it? That's all you can come up with?
GREG MIGLIORE: Yeah. [LAUGHS]
BYRON HURD: But now I look at the XT6, and I'm like, wow, that's actually a really nice, well-proportioned front-wheel drive, three-row SUV. It's a perfectly fine-looking thing. And honestly, I think it's actually aging a little bit better than the Lincoln if I'm being perfectly honest.
GREG MIGLIORE: Yeah.
BYRON HURD: I'm here for this era of Cadillac design. They're doing a pretty good job with understated elegance, and the Lyriq interior is so nice that I have high hopes for all of their EV stuff. You know, I haven't seen the inside of the Cadillac Escalade IQ yet. I don't think anybody has, but I feel like that's going to be a very, very, very nice place to live. So honestly, it costs as much as a house, it might as well be. But it's-- I'm on board. I'm on board with this.
And I think the biggest issue right now, of course, is just getting GM to actually launch some of these things. But you know, whenever it gets here, I think it's going to be impressive.
GREG MIGLIORE: Yeah, I agree with you. And then, just to explain this more for the listeners, check out the story. We had this up last week. This is called the VISTIQ, just because these names start to kind of blur together, if you will. I don't know any other way to put it.
It's VISTIQ, V-I-S-T-I-Q, VISTIQ. I don't know. And it's lost between the Lyriq and then the Escalade IQ. So this is essentially their largest luxury crossover to date, not to be confused with the Optic, which is going to be more of an entry-level vehicle.
So it's-- yeah, I mean, it's getting a little confusing here with some of these names. It reminds me of luxury liners from 100 years ago, the Atlantic or something.
And you know, they're-- I will say this, though. For a long time, we've criticized Cadillac about not going where the market is.
You know, what are you doing with all these sports sedans? Like I like them, you like them, you own one. But it's like most people don't want these things as far as a broad consumer mass market approach enthusiasts do.
How do you sell a car? Is you got to have more crossovers, and electrics are the way to do it. So they're at least going in the direction where I think experts have been saying they should. And this is a damn good-looking crossover, I think. I like the Lyriq too. So yeah.
All right, so let's close out the news section with the Hagerty Bull Market. This is a list of future collectibles in simple terms. They do this every year.
We usually cover it. A lot of stuff Hagerty does, I think, kind of, you know, our listeners and readers find interesting, a lot of different things on here as far as what would be a good value without necessarily breaking the bank. Now that means there's some expensive stuff on here, like there's 1989 Lamborghini Countach.
So yeah, this ain't cheap. Let's put it that way. But it's also like, hey, some of these are reasonable.
You can pay, you know, a reasonable amount of money, not necessarily the cost of your house, and get a good deal. You know, it's like, of course, '60s, you know, Testarossa. You're going to buy, and it's going to be worth even more money.
These are ones that you're going to buy, and they'll probably give you a good, you know, return on your investment. They're good stocks to buy, like mid-cap stocks, I guess, not the most obvious ones, but you know, some cool stuff on here. You know, what stood out to me was the '65 to '70 Impala SS. I think that's a good generation of Chevys.
I mean, I really love the early to mid-60s, like just the iconic ones like '62, '3 '4. But this is a good-looking year for that car. And as the owner of a '73 Chevelle, which came afterward, I like this sort of era, to quote Taylor Swift, of Chevys.
So that stood out to me. There's some good stuff on here, too. What do you like?
BYRON HURD: I'm a little surprised that the 2008 to 2013 BMW M3 made this list.
GREG MIGLIORE: Yeah.
BYRON HURD: And a little extra surprise that Chris Teague pointed out here that the values on those have been inflated for a while because that wasn't the case when I was shopping. I don't know. It's been a while.
I was looking into them for a bit. And I mean, this is the car that a lot of people think the CT4-V Blackwing should have been, a V8 powered, naturally aspirated, compact sport sedan, right? And, of course, it's kind of interesting that people say that now, but BMW did it for one generation and noped out.
So clearly, it was not as successful formula as everybody thinks it might have been. But honestly, for the reasons that everybody cites, I actually was very interested in them for a while, especially right after I drove the Lexus IS F, and I was like, well, if the Lexus is this good. I feel like the V8-powered BMW has got to be even better, right?
And so it's interesting that that one's already up there so far because I think a lot of people kind think of that as the redheaded stepchild of the BMW M3 family, you know, the one that's not powered by an inline-six of some type. It's a little weird, especially by modern standards. But I mean, it's cool that it's on there. I'm glad that people are recognizing them for being special and weird, not just for being, you know, the wrong type of M3. So it's kind of cool to see it make the list.
GREG MIGLIORE: Yeah, I think when I think of cars that are really of our generation, that was a very coveted press car earlier in the era of my career, if you will. That was a fun one, a lot to handle. Let's put it that way.
Prowler finally made it, too. That's wild. You [? have got ?] a CJ8 Scrambler, a Ferrari FF.
That actually-- if you're looking to get into a Ferrari and drive it, we got a deal for you, man. Let me tell you. I vividly remember when that car broke embargo in 2010 or '11. I remember I was working on the web desk at "Autoweek."
And I remember the pictures came over. I don't think I wrote it up. I think I just published it or something from somebody else.
Maybe I wrote it. I don't know. But it was a big pivot for Ferrari at that point, and it kind of previewed where they were going to go.
And I mean, if you're looking to get into a Ferrari, I'm telling you, this is like, I mean, freaking like GM SUVs are six figures. You can get a six-figure, mid-six figures, you know, FF here. So that could be a fun one. That's another one I liked.
So all right. Let's talk about what we've been driving. I've been driving more of these.
You're going to preview the Honda Passport TrailSport. But by the time you're listening to this, the embargo won't be quite out yet. So we'll just talk about this one a little bit. But I think we should start with the Mazda3.
I drove this last week. I really-- I liked it a lot.
It was a very attractive vehicle. Well, that's funny. That's the first line of my notes as I'm pulling them up here, attractive little hot hatch.
You know, white paint, black wheels, well proportioned, Mazda does everything they can to make this kind of sleek, little, fun, fun cars. The price is where I think we had the most cognitive dissonance as a staff. It's over $38,000.
Now, here's some perspective. That's 10 grand less than the average price of a new vehicle. So OK, maybe that's a good deal.
On the other hand, there's a variety of things that you could perhaps get in its place. And you know, we-- I kind of threw this out there to the staff, including things like a Telluride, you know, BMW 2 Series, Acura, Integra, Cadillac CT4, perhaps, an Audi A3.
So the way I kind of kept framing this up mentally is, is this what I would want? I don't think it's necessarily a bad deal. What you're paying for, though, are things that are a little bit less seen. You're paying for the chassis, for the steering, for the idea that a Mazda drives and handles well and has that sporty DNA, which I think is all here.
Arguably, this is one or two of the sportiest Mazdas you could buy, you know, not really including the Miata, but it definitely has that sort of, you know, character. I've driven Mazda3 on tracks. I drove one at Gingerman a while ago. I drove-- that was the manual.
This one, of course, is an automatic. But if you're looking for a fun small car, I mean, this is definitely it. The question is, do you want to pay 38 grand when you can get an Audi or 38 grand when you could get an Integra?
And you know, I mean, this is also a pretty small car. We took a bookshelf back to Target. The bookshelf didn't fit, you know?
When we went and picked up some groceries just because we have this standing grocery pickup order that you could do while you're running errands without thinking, filled up the trunk, the hatch. So these are things that it's like, well, you know, I don't know. I mean, I could get something you know, larger. This is America, right?
If I could get a three-row SUV for about 40 grand, I'm going to do it, you know? I'm saying that's somewhat tongue-in-cheek. But it's not the greatest of values, I guess, in that sense.
You know, this one was pretty loaded, to be fair. It's the premium with all-wheel drive. So this is pretty high up on, you know, the dance card of expensive, you know, Mazda3s. You can certainly get into one cheaper. And there were some pretty nice options, too.
Motor was great, 227 horsepower, 310 pounds-feet of torque. That's the 2.5-litre turbo. Again, all-wheel drive. On the color, it was snowflake white a pearl. Beautiful color.
Very nice interior, too, much different than probably some of the Mazda interiors. That again, from the earlier part of my auto journalism career, you'd get in them, and it's like, oh, these plastics are cheap and, you know, not very good. And, you know, this is a very-- it felt worth the money.
All that being said, I guess that's just a lot of-- there's almost like, I should get on the therapy couch here and talk about it, saying I don't really know how I feel about the price, but I did really enjoy driving it. It can be fun driving a smaller car.
You know, you can get in and out of parking lots. You can, you know, weave in and out of traffic. Just driving a huge battleship of an SUV or a crossover, you don't have those advantages.
With this, it's like, oh, hey, I'm late for kindergarten pickup. I'm going to shoot up the side of the-- you know, the parking lot, roll right up, and then I'm out of there. And I can fit in, you know, the guy in-- the Sequoia behind me is not doing the same thing, you know?
So I liked it. I'm not sure how to think about it, just given all the things you can, you know, get at this price point. And again, it's not that I don't like the car, it's that I'm more, you know, a little torn.
You know, would I tell somebody to go buy this thing? I might say, well, it's a great car, but you have to make your peace with spending this much money on a Mazda. Maybe you're OK with that in which case, go to your Mazda dealer.
BYRON HURD: Well, to me, this number is insane because--
GREG MIGLIORE: [LAUGHS] OK.
BYRON HURD: --in 2008, I bought my Mazdaspeed3 for about $24,000 and change.
GREG MIGLIORE: Yeah.
BYRON HURD: So for 14 grand more, I would get all-wheel drive and a better infotainment system, but less power, a softer suspension, planar seats. I'm just-- in my mind, I'm like I don't see where the money went. But I mean, obviously, it's a very different world now than it was 15 years ago, which is how long ago that was now. That's startling.
GREG MIGLIORE: God, that Speed3 was a great car, wasn't it?
BYRON HURD: I love that thing. I mean, that car was good. And it was good to me. I mean, because I tracked it, autocross it, did road track to, put 60, some odd thousand miles on that car, the most miles I put on any one car I've ever owned.
And then I traded it in on the Mustang. And when I did-- I still kind of regret trading it in. Although I did look it up, and I think it ended up getting shipped off to Eastern Europe somewhere with a blown engine.
So I don't really know what happened after I owned it. But it was very good to me, especially considering how unreliable the reputation was on those, those Mazda, the DISI turbo engines since they were there on that forefront of direct injection back before everybody had really adopted it. But yeah, that was a great car.
And like I said, like one that I do actually-- I don't have too many cars where I go, man, I really wish I'd kept that. But that's definitely one of them.
It would have been a fun thing to work on. And I was-- Jeremy and I, of course, [INAUDIBLE] I like to look at used Mazdas from time to time, and like those and RX-8s and stuff like that. We're always kind of pinging each other with, like, yeah, we're going to do it this time?
The answer is always no because that time in our life is coming, God. And it's like, well, let's leave it in the past. The nostalgia is great. It was a wonderful car, but let's not tempt fate.
But every time the Mazda3 comes through the fleet, I'm like, hmm, do I want to try that out? And just see if I still have the taste for it because I think I might. You never know.
GREG MIGLIORE: I tend to think of the Speed3 because we had a long-termer around the same time we had an Evo, Mitsubishi Evo again back at "Autoweek." And both were cars that were just so rock solid chassis, so sporty, severe to a certain extent. You know, even as a guy in his 20s back then, it was still this is a lot to drive you on your commute.
Yeah, I mean, that was-- the Speed3 is something I do think there's room for Mazda to find a way to bring back, maybe even as an electric, you know? That could work. I don't know.
BYRON HURD: That would be wonderful. Any revival of Mazdaspeed3 would be delightful. It's just-- they're so good at making fun cars when they try, and it's just been so long since they've really tried.
I mean, the Miata is the Miata. It's own thing, and there's no-- I can't knock that thing at all.
It's a wonderful little car. And I'd love to own another one of those, too. But the one I have, I think, is going to have to last me a while.
GREG MIGLIORE: The other thing to go back to the value here, you're talking Civic, Elantra, Prius, Prius Prime, and then [? Pull ?] up. Actually, I was looking at car and driver-comparison here, and they have. There's a gazillion things in and around this price point you could get.
Again, you really got to fall on the I want this Mazda. And if you do, though, again, it feels, you know, it embodies all of the ethos of the Mazda sporting heritage, you know? And I felt that-- I think it's telling that it feels this way in the 3 as well as in the Mazda CX-90, which I drove a few weeks back, in different ways. But it does have that same sort of, you know, pass through that, you know, thread of the DNA.
And not every brand does that. So yeah. I don't know. Speed3, that's-- maybe that's what we should talking about-- talking about more.
I don't know a lot. All right. We'll close out the drive section here with the Lexus TX.
Now, you actually wrote the first look on this thing. And then I just got into one-- this is Wednesday. I got it on Monday.
I've been driving it a little bit. I may decide I want to talk more about this next week on the show. We'll see. But why don't you tee it up?
Just tell everybody what the Lexus TX is. If you're like, god, Lexus has a lot of names and numbers, and I'm confused by-- what is this thing in simple terms?
BYRON HURD: Well, essentially, what this does is it gives Lexus a genuine there-row SUV, that is, well, a crossover SUV. --that is meant for the non-off roading crowd. This is-- full stop. This is just big family vehicle, tons of room.
It is a Toyota Grand Highlander with Lexus draped all over it. So you know, it's supposed to be practical. It's supposed to be roomy and comfortable.
It is not an off-road vehicle by any stretch. And it gives them something a little bit better than the old RXL, the long-wheelbase RX, which was kind of doing a little bit of double duty for them for a while but wasn't really large enough to be a true family car. So now they've got this, the TX.
And yes, you can call it the Texas if you want to. I don't think Lexus is going to get too upset about that. But enjoy it while you can, I guess.
GREG MIGLIORE: It fills a gap for Lexus. I think they kind of needed something like this. I like this better than the Grand Highlander and the Highlander, which I've driven.
And I think this has a little more character. It feels-- it kind of stands out a little bit. I'm driving one.
The color is incognito, which is a fancy way for saying gray. I would almost compare it to that kind of liquid gray that Audis used to have on some of their sporty cars. I think they called it Nardo Gray, which is a bit of marketing speak for colors. It's a very nice vehicle.
I have the 500h F Sport Performance Luxury All-wheel Drive. So what that means essentially is I've got a large three-row hybrid in F Sport trim, looks really good. I will say this F Sport, you know, looks good, I think, on their larger vehicles.
It's a little bit of a cliche to make them kind of dress up with this sporting performance stuff when they don't really have that like, you know, the sedans and the coupes did. But it looks good. People are looking at this thing.
I've had multiple people come up and ask me, what is that thing? You know, because the Lexus badges aren't super prominent. It's comfortable. You know, the powertrain is pretty strong.
You get a ton of torque. I didn't realize just because I was taking off, and I'm like, whoa. It's 409 pounds-feet of torque, and that's 4,600 RPM. So that's a fair amount of torque, not all that high up in the band, 3066 horsepower, and it's-- you're getting all this from a turbocharged inline 4.
It's only 2.4 litres. So you're getting a lot. Lots of good screens in there. The speakers are solid.
These are Mark Levinson's jams. They sound good. Infotainment screen is big. It stands out to me.
I was in an Audi SQ5, I think a couple of weeks ago, and it had a 10.1-screen or somewhere in there. And I was like, god, this looks small. And I don't really like screens in my car.
This one, 14-inch touchscreen. Then, you get a 12-inch multi-information, the screen for the driver, plenty of different modes and things you can do that I haven't even totally played with yet, cameras everywhere, which is good. It just feels like a very-- like Lexus put their backs into this one.
They're like, we're going to make a big vehicle. We're going to make it as good as we can. We're going to throw the kitchen sink at it. And it costs 77 grand.
And honestly, I think that's fair. It's a Lexus. It's three-rows. It's huge.
You know, again we mentioned that Telluride is one of our bogeys for prices. If you want to spend 40, go get that. If you want to spend 40 on a small car, Mazda is there for you, apparently. But if you want to spend 77, which is what these things cost, you know, this is a solid vehicle, I think.
Not only is it good for Lexus customers, I think it's also something that could get some non-Lexus customers into the fold. And the segment is getting more and more competitive. A year or two ago, 77 grand for just some crossover, I'd be like, are you kidding me, that's a lot of money. This should be 60, 65. I don't feel that way anymore.
Inflation, car prices have gone up. And I think everybody's invading this segment. You know, whether you want to get a loaded-up Tahoe or Yukon or you want this thing, it's-- and in some ways, I think this takes the place of the Land Cruiser a little bit, too, like on the Lexus side of things because when the Land Cruiser, the old version went away, they did lose, the company lost a large know SUV.
And this thing fills that premium gap as well now. So did you actually go to Texas to see this, or did you? You went there, OK?
BYRON HURD: Yeah. Yeah, that was that was in Austin back in June. I want to say it was something like that. Yeah.
GREG MIGLIORE: So how do you, I mean-- I guess you haven't driven it yet. But how do you feel about this thing?
Am I overly optimistic? Am I? The other way to look at it is it's expensive, you know, enormous Lexus with too many screens, which is fair.
BYRON HURD: Well, I mean, I had kind of an unfortunate setup there because that event was the same one where they announced the replacement for the GX. And so they had GX everywhere. There were like three GXs set up, you know.
And then they had the off in a little corner, you know? And they're like, oh, yeah, by the way, we have that too. And so we got to spend a little bit of time with it. But it was really not the focus of that event. But getting to crawl around it, I mean, it felt really nice, the back seat.
The third row actually felt really nice. I sat back there, especially to try and get photos of the interior of the cabin and things like that, and got a chance to actually feel that space out. It feels very luxurious, and the connectivity options back there seem good. The new Lexus infotainment is decent.
In fact, my biggest gripes about the infotainment aren't with the functionality. It's with, you know, the ads you get on the screen when you aren't subscribed to the Lexus, whatever their subscription thing is, and stuff like that. But all in all, yeah, it does look like a very good package and one that Lexus has needed for a while. The fact that it took them this long to get a genuine midsize three-row that you can actually put real human beings in the back of-- I mean, it's been a long time coming.
And, I mean, just especially getting to see it right next to the new GX, you know, the jump seat style third row in the GX has always been viewed as an afterthought. And seeing it next to the TX where you actually get a real third row. It's like, oh, yeah, that's the real deal.
So I agree with you. It's an impressive-looking car. And I'm sure that and the Grand Highlander will both do very well.
GREG MIGLIORE: All right, so let's talking about crossovers SUVs. Let's talk about the Honda Passport TrailSport.
BYRON HURD: Yeah.
GREG MIGLIORE: Preview this for me.
BYRON HURD: Yeah, so I mean, the TrailSport isn't new strictly speaking. They introduced a TrailSport on the Passport, a couple, which I want to say was for 2022. And so this package already exists.
There's actually very little. This is still on the same old Passport platform. This is not a even really a mid-cycle refresh or anything like that for Passport. These is just a few small like nip-and-tuck updates here and there.
So the suspension for the TrailSport model is getting an overhaul with this update. So that's new compared to the old. And the car also got a new set of tires. They're general all-terrain tires.
And so the TrailSport models on the updated the [INAUDIBLE] model, singular, of the pilot, which is on the updated global platform for Honda, that one gets a different set of tires. I believe they're Continental all-terrain tires on that one. And Honda says the Generals work better with the chassis from the older trucks. So the Passport sticks with the Generals because it has not been updated to the new platform yet.
So when the Passport finally gets redesigned, that's when we'll probably see it migrate over to the new platform, the same one that the pilot's on. But for now, this is still on the older version of the Honda truck chassis. So it's-- you know, it is what it is.
I can't talk about how it drives quite yet, but just don't expect anything crazy from this. It's a suspension tweak. It's really mostly relegated to the TrailSport model.
There aren't many updates to the standard Passport coming along with this. But of course, we'll detail all of that. The embargo on that lifts on Tuesday, so check out Drive Impressions on Tuesday after 9:00 AM Eastern time.
GREG MIGLIORE: Sounds good. At this point, I think you've probably, you know-- they'll be ready for the next episode of the "Autoblog Podcast." You know, it'll be almost a full week since this one dropped.
So yeah, man. It's Tis the season. Any holiday drink recommendations?
BYRON HURD: So we've actually-- we're going through our stockpile of leftover cider because we were really in a fall mood. It was cider donuts and rum here in the Herd House.
We're kind of looking to transition over. We're starting-- the winter of warmer beer are starting to show up here and there. I'm very much looking forward to getting my hands on some Great Lakes Brewing Christmas Ale here, and I think--
GREG MIGLIORE: It's a good one.
BYRON HURD: In fact, I'm pretty sure they actually launched that right around Thanksgiving. But it's kind of tough to find around here. I mean, despite the fact that we border Ohio, the local rivalry seems to extend to alcohol distribution.
So it can be tricky to find the stores that stock it. But I know they're around here. And they don't do the big launches like they did when I was in Cleveland or even in DC.
We used to get Cleveland Brewing-- all their various breweries would do, you know, little pop-up launches and stuff like that. You just don't see those around here, but I get it.
GREG MIGLIORE: Speaking of neighboring Michigan, I've been drinking a lot of Labatt Blue Light from Ontario.
BYRON HURD: There you go.
GREG MIGLIORE: It's hockey season. The Red Wings are interesting, competitive, feisty. It's been interesting.
So I've been-- you get to that point kind of in winter where it's cold, and I just-- I kind of like a good hockey beer. So no deep-cut recommendation for me this week. But blue skies, blue light, go Red Wings.
So if you enjoy the show, that's five stars on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, wherever you might get your podcasts. Please send us some Spend Your Monies. We'd love to spend your money. It's podcast@autoblog.com.
We will have a bit of an upcoming holiday break in the podcast coming up here towards the end of the month. You know, we will be here next week. And of course, we will be around the first week of January.
So be safe out there. Thanks for hanging out, Byron. We'll see everybody next week.
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In this episode of the Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Senior Editor Jeremy Korzeniewski. They kick the discussion off covering some of the latest news on the Dodge Ramcharger electric truck and the Hurricane inline-six serving as a replacement for the long-running Hemi V8, the final Audi TT, …
In this episode of the Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Senior Editor Jeremy Korzeniewski. It's a packed show this week, with the 2023 Japan Mobility Show dominating the conversation. First, they talk news, beginning with UAW strike updates. From there, it's on to the semi-confirmation that Dodge will …
In this episode of the Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Senior Editor, Green, John Beltz Snyder and Road Test Editor Zac Palmer. They're amped up about the BMW i7 and Maserati MC 20 they've all been driving. They also opine about the BMW M3 CS and 2024 Ford …
In this episode of the Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Senior Editor James Riswick. They begin the episode with the cars they've been driving, including the surprisingly compelling 2024 Buick Envista. They also review the 2024 Mercedes-AMG C 43 and Mercedes-Benz GLS 580. James recounts his experience at …
In this episode of the Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Senior Editor Jeremy Korzeniewski. This week, our hosts discuss driving the Rolls-Royce Spectre and single- and dual-motor versions of the Polestar 2. We talk about the latest news with UAW strike, along with what's going on with Unifor …
In this episode of the Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Senior Editor John Snyder and Road Test Editor Zac Palmer. The team attended the 2023 North American International Auto Show in Detroit this week, and have some thoughts about the reveals. They discuss the 2024 Ford F-150 (including …
In this episode of the Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by News Editor Joel Stocksdale. In the news, there were a lot of recent unveilings, including the Ford Mustang GTD, Pininfarina B95, Lamborghini Lanzador, Acura ZDX and Fisker Alaska. We recap Pebble Beach and the Woodward Dream Cruise. Joel …
In this episode of the Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Yahoo Finance Senior Reporter Pras Subramanian. In this week's news, your hosts talk about the newly revealed Cadillac Escalade IQ electric SUV, Lucid price cuts, Rivian earnings and the future of the Chevy Camaro. They also give their …
In this episode of the Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Road Test Editor Zac Palmer for a jam-packed news discussion that starts with an inside look at last week's Toyota Land Cruiser reveal in Salt Lake City. The two go on to talk about the possibility of a …
In this episode of the Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by News Editor Joel Stocksdale. They kick off the episode talking about car news including the return of two vehicles, the Chevy Bolt electric car and the Toyota Land Cruiser SUV. They also talk about Porsche sticking with …
