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Jumping Raptors

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Wheel Bearings
Jumping Raptors
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While Robbie is off doing some late winter snow boarding, Nicole and Sam are holding down the fort. Nicole has been driving Buick’s new entry level model, the Envista and the Hyundai Palisade. Meanwhile Sam had the new Toyota Prius Limited AWD and the very pricey Mercedes-AMG EQE SUV. Nicole gives a preview of the concepts coming up at this year’s Easter Jeep Safari in Moab. We’ve got a first drive review of the blocky new Hyundai Santa Fe with some more rigorous off-roading than the last Hyundai SUV we tried. We also drive the new Ford Ranger and Ranger Raptor. The New York Auto Show is coming up this week and none of us will be there so of course there are some interesting vehicle launches. Nissan has both ends of its product lineup covered with a second-generation Kicks crossover and an all-new Infiniti… Read More »Jumping Raptors

Who Cares About Efficiency?

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Wheel Bearings
Who Cares About Efficiency?
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This week Nicole is driving the Ford Maverick Tremor, Robbie has the Range Rover plug-in hybrid and Sam has new Toyota Tacoma TRD Off-Road. We’ve got lots of news this week. After a decade of work and billions of dollars spent, Apple has apparantely finally abandoned the idea of building a car. Ford took its latest electric Supervan and had Romain Dumas set a new lap record at Mount Panorama. Ford is also hosting a camping party at the Austin Bronco Off-Rodeo for the upcoming total solar eclipse and Ford EV drivers can now Supercharge. Sam went to a secret location to see the production version of Dodge’s new e-Muscle car, the Charger Daytona. Honda has introduced a new plug-in hybrid CR-V with a fuel cell and VW has done some upgrades to the ID4. Fisker warns that they are almost out of money and… Read More »Who Cares About Efficiency?

I Found It A Little Wonkety

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Wheel Bearings
I Found It A Little Wonkety
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This week, Robbie rented a Chrysler Pacifica for a family road trip. Nicole drove the lovely Volvo S60 Recharge plug-in hybrid sedan and Sam had the latest Honda Accord Hybrid. In the news, Honda showed off the Prologue, its first high-volume battery electric vehicle. It’s a midsize crossover built for Honda on the Ultium architecture. At the 7th Rennsport Reunion at Laguna Seca, Porsche unveiled the 911 GT3 R Rennsport, a $1 million track day special. Sam was in Austin for Move America 2023 where he met a company called Carvaloo that claims to be able to detect even minor impacts based on signals from vehicle sensors and then went for some more rides in Cruise robotaxis. Finally, it’s Tacotober. Food insecurity is a major problem in America. Robbie is raising funds for Feeding America and you can help out by donating. If you give… Read More »I Found It A Little Wonkety

Yanking the Steering Wheel

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Wheel Bearings
Yanking the Steering Wheel
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Sam spent the past week testing out the new version of BlueCruise in the 2023 Ford Mustang Mach-E and was pleasantly surprised at the energy efficiency. Nicole had both the Toyota Sequioa TRD Pro and Lincoln Corsair PHEV. Robbie drove the new Chevrolet Colorado and the Lamborghini Huracan Tecnica. Nicole and Sam took a quick trip to Austin to see the unveiling of the 2024 Lexus TX and GX SUVs. After the Lexus show, they went for a ride in a Cruise robotaxi and they have thoughts. Meanwhile in Milan, Volvo unveiled its new inexpensive EV, the EX30. Tesla got another win with GM announcing its switch to the North American Charging standard. On the other hand, Tesla drivers that buy their insurance from the automaker will pay more if they use Autopilot. Links Volvo ex30Crusing in Austin2024 Lexus GX2024 Lexus TXThe death of CCSTesla… Read More »Yanking the Steering Wheel

It’s Ridiculous

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Wheel Bearings
It's Ridiculous
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Nicole is back from the mouse house this week and driving the Mazda CX-50. Robbie had the Kia EV6 GT and Sam had a very different electric vehicle, the equally fast and porky GMC Hummer EV Edition 1. In the news, noted Wall St analyst and Tesla promoter Adam Jonas says the Cybertruck, if and when it ever arrives probably isn’t going to take major market share away from the F-150, Silverado, Sierra and Ram. Meanwhile there is another Tesla Autopilot related death and we remind you that there are NO self-driving cars available for sale from any automaker, so keep your eyes on the road. Elon Musk apparently wants to create a company town in Texas. GM has revealed some details of the sensor suite on its upcoming Ultra Cruise system that will enable hand-off but eyes-on driving on more than 2 million miles… Read More »It’s Ridiculous

Blue Cruise or Blues Clues?

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Wheel Bearings
Blue Cruise or Blues Clues?
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This week Roberto drives the new BMW 760 and Nicole has the Ford F-150 Lightning. Sam was going to talk about the Kia Soul GT-Line but completely spaced so we’ll get to it next week. In the news, Mercedes-Benz talked about their new operating system and announced they will include Luminar lidar on future vehicles from 2025. Christian von Koenigsegg picks the NA Miata, Vinfast cuts prices and promises to start deliveries. GM patents a self-cleaning touchscreen and updates the Cadillac XT4 with the screen from the Lyriq. And we discuss using EVs when there’s no electricity. In the questions we discuss the problem of automakers offering free DC fast charging. Links Christian von Koenigsegg chooses the NA Miata GM Self-cleaning touchscreen Mercedes-Benz OS Reduced Vinfast pricing 2024 Cadillac XT4 refresh EVs when there’s no powerFree EV Charging sucks Wheel Bearings has launched a Patreon.… Read More »Blue Cruise or Blues Clues?

Not Full Self-Driving

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Not Full Self-Driving
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This week, Nicole is still in Europe with her husband so the boys are at it again. Robbie went to Las Vegas to drive the McLaren Artura and Sam also had a vehicle with four wheels and a steering wheel, the Toyota Rav4 Adventure. Sam also got to try out the Tesla Full Self-Driving beta and found it still has a long way to go before you stop holding the wheel and watching the road. Apple appears to delayed its car program again and GM is working with dealers to put 40,000 EV chargers in underserved communities. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety ran tests to see if its crash test facility could handle new heavier EVs and Polestar and Mercedes-Benz are offering power-upgrades for a price. Links McLaren Artura first drive GM Dealer Community Charging Program Apple Car Delayed IIHS tests heavy EVs Polestar… Read More »Not Full Self-Driving

Top Novice

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Wheel Bearings
Top Novice
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Nicole and Sam are back after a week off where everyone was travelling. Robbie is still in Japan so Nicole shares here adventure driving in the Mille Miglia warm-up where she and co-pilot Eilleen Falkenburg-Hull came in second overall in the modern vehicle class and first among novices. Upon returning home, Nicole got to spend quality time with the new Nissan Z. Meanwhile, between trips, Sam got to drive the Volkswagen Jetta GLI Autobahn. Sam and Nicole also share their impressions of the new 2023 Toyota Crown. In the news, BMW announced a $1.7B investment in its Spartanburg SC factory to build EVs, GMC revealed the Sierra Denali EV Edition1 and Ford brought us the refreshed 2023 Escape. Ford and VW are pulling the plug on Argo AI, the company that was developing automated vehicles for them, and Ubers with human drivers will make fewer… Read More »Top Novice

Failure to Charge

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Wheel Bearings
Failure to Charge
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We took a week off to recharge but we’re back with a packed show. Roberto went to Germany to drive the Mercedes-Benz EQXX concept and the production EQB evs. Sam drove the 2023 Nissan Z and the Ford Mach-E GT Performance Edition. Nicole had the Mercedes-AMG GLB. In the news, Chevrolet unveiled its Mach-E/Model Y challenger, the 2024 Blazer EV. Scott Keogh is moving over from running VW of North America to establish Scout as an all-EV SUV and truck brand. Mercedes is prepping to launch the its hands-off/eyes-off Drive Pilot assist system in the US in 2023. Toyota is bringing the new Crown to America. Sam finally encounters a major charging fail with Electrify America and Ford is bringing CATL lithium iron phosphate batteries to the Mach-E and Lightning. Links 2024 Chevrolet Blazer EV Scott Keogh to lead Scout Mercedes-Benz Drive Pilot to America… Read More »Failure to Charge

ToyotaPalooza 2022

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Wheel Bearings
ToyotaPalooza 2022
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In the garage this week, Nicole is back in the Mercedes-Benz GLS450 while Sam has the dual motor, all-wheel-drive version of the VW ID4. Last fall, Robbie was about to review the refreshed 2022 Chevrolet Bolt when he got a call just after receiving it, telling him not to drive it. Since then, GM has replaced batteries in all of the Bolts built to date and they are safe again so Robbie is taking another stab at it. Last week, Toyota held the second annual edition of its all-Toyota-all-Lexus auto show at its North American headquarters in Plano, TX. Nicole and Sam got to check out the new but very familiar looking 2023 Lexus RX, see the Morizo Edition of the GR Corolla and drive the hybrid-only 2023 Sequoia. They also got to see some stuff that they can’t talk about or even acknowledge yet.… Read More »ToyotaPalooza 2022