Diesels Dying
Sam and Robbie both had the Ford Explorer Tremor this week and Nicole rounded out the Ford fest with the F-350 King Ranch PowerStroke duallie. Diesel cars are fading away in Europe and BMW has launched the next-generation X5 including an all electric iX5. California is bringing back some EV incentives for first-time buyers and the Kia Niro is going hybrid only for 2027. Thieves have been stealing truckloads of batteries from a Tesla factory and Ferrari is bringing back a simulated manual transmission. Sam also has a conversation with Christopher Maiwald, CEO and Founder of charger manufacturer Lectron. Links Diesel’s demise nears as Volkswagen axes diesel Golf after 50 years | Autocar Why Ford’s 3.0L Power Stroke Diesel Died An Ignoble Death – Jalopnik New California Incentive Gives Some First-Time EV Buyers $3,500 Instant Discount – Jalopnik Our Readers Came Up With These Honest… Read More »Diesels Dying
Is Slate Cheap Enough?
This week Nicole shares her adventure of trying to get a test drive in a BMW, and testing the Subaru Crosstrek hybrid and Ford Maverick hybrid. Robbie went on an adventure in the new Subaru Outback and Sam did truck stuff with the Ford Maverick Lobo. In the news, Jeep teased the new Cherokee Trailhawk, a Toyota engineer said he’s like a Rav4 Ute, and we discuss bad old car ads. IIHS crashed old and new Blazers, Polestar pulled out of the US market, Honda is bringing back the Element, our pal Andre tries a restomoded 23-window VW bus and we look at the new Hyundai Elantra. We also spend a lot of time discussing Slate. Links Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk Thrill To Four Dull Commercials For Dazzlingly Boring ’70s And ’80s Cars! – The Autopianngly-boring-70s-and-80s-cars/ Toyota RAV4 ute market would be ‘quite appealing’, says top… Read More »Is Slate Cheap Enough?
No Silverado Hybrids
This week Sam drove the Polestar 4 and Kia Sportage Hybrid. Robbie had the Sportage plug-in hybriid and Nicole had the Chevy Silverado EV Trail Boss. The Porsche Taycan is looking its wagon variants in America and gaining fake shifting. Chevrolet is redesigning the Silverado for 2027 with bigger V8s. Electrify America has opened a new 20 bay charging station in Santa Barbara. The Jeep Recon’s range is even worse than anticipated and the Chevy Bolt has no battery reserve. The Hyundai Ioniq 6 N has beat the Lexus LFA’s Ring time. Carvana is now selling new vehicles and GM’s battery boss isn’t confident in solid state cells. Links Porsche is enhancing the driving experience of all Taycan models Chevrolet Introduces the Next-Generation 2027 Silverado 1500, the Most Powerful and Advanced Silverado Everen/2026/jun/0516-chevrolet-next-generation-2027-silverado.html Electrify America Opens New EV Fast Charging Station in Santa Barbara, California… Read More »No Silverado Hybrids
Live From Nebraska
This week Robbie and Sam are on the road as part of Operation Frodo Electric 2026, transporting rescue dogs from the midwest to the Pacific Northwest in a fleet of EVs and they recorded live from a Kia EV9 somewhere on I-80 in Nebraska. This week Robbie drove the Kia K4 hatchback and Sam had the Honda Prelude. Sam also has a conversation with Nik Miles about Operation Frodo. Nicole interviews IIHS COO Joe Nolan and Mazda safety strategy chief Jennifer Morrison. Wheel Bearings has launched a Patreon. If you like the show and would like to chip in toward the cost of producing and hosting it you can join at https://www.patreon.com/wheelbearingsmedia
How We Cruise
This week Nicole drove the new Subaru Outback Wilderness, Robbie had the Mercedes-Benz EQS 400 SUV and Sam had the Kia EV9. In the news, GM opened a new Pasadena design studio and showed off a couple of GMC Hummer concepts. Waymo is having some challenges with its Robotaxis while Zoox is making improvements. Slate will announce final pricing in a few weeks and Mitsubishi is partnering with Nissan for a new truck for North America. Honda is pausing production of the Ridgeline and Ford is decontenting the Bronco Sport and planning to revive the Escape as an EV. Mercedes could get barred from the US market if a new bill becomes law and Volvo gets approvals to keep selling its vehicles. Nicole went to see a crash test at IIHS. Links GM officially opens new Advanced Design Pasadena Studio, reveals GMC HUMMER X truck… Read More »How We Cruise
Selling to Little Old Ladies
This week Nicole was driving the 2026 Subaru Solterra and Sam had the Kia Sportage plug-in hybrid. In recent days, both AMG and Ferrari have revealed new four-door GT models with over 1,000-hp electric propulsion and the response has been very different between the two. Stellantis had their big investor day last week and announced a bunch of new products and Sam got to try out a couple of European models and see a bunch of secret stuff. Citroen is also bringing back the 2CV. Rich Rebuilds bought an $800 Audi A8 with slight corrosion issue. Watch out for AI images for ride share damage and whatever you do don’t buy a Lordstown Endurance. Links The 777 HP 2027 Ram Rumble Bee is The Most Powerful Muscle Truck Ever! 2027 Mercedes-AMG GT 4-Door Coupe Recreates Signature V8 Thrills-signature-v8-thrills/ AMG Goes Electric with the Mercedes-AMG GT… Read More »Selling to Little Old Ladies
Lots of Honda Hybrids
Nicole is back from Disney World and she caught lots of fish. Robbie got to drive the new Mercedes-Benz S-Class and Sam had the latest Nissan Sentra. Robbie and his wife also got a great deal buying a new Hyundai Ioniq 5 to replace the one that is ending its lease shortly which means he probably won’t be getting the new 2027 VW ID Buzz Tourer. Honda had their annual business briefing where they made a big commitment to hybrids and showed prototypes of the new Accord and RDX. Tesla is testing supercharger waiting lists and Chrysler might be planning a sub-$30k car. Toyota is planning a new factory in Texas and also selling a driver ed special Corolla in Japan with no radio and a manual gearbox. Volvo wants to fill its South Carolina factory and will build cars for whoever needs capacity. BMW… Read More »Lots of Honda Hybrids
Driving Old Cars
Nicole is spending mothers day at Disney World so our friend Stephanie Brinley has stepped in again. Steph drove the Volvo EX30 and Hyundai Tucson PHEV. Robbie drove the oldest car any of us has ever been in (or on) the Benz Patent Motorwagen and Sam had the new Nissan Leaf. Sam and Stephanie both got to visit the Ford EV Development Center in Long Beach, home of the skunk works. VW has launched the ID Era 9X, a very impressive 3-row EREV built only for China. Lexus announced the new TZ 3-row electric crossover. BMW announced pricing and range for the US spec iX3 and the addition of a pre-chamber ignition system for its six-cylinder engines. The Japanese and Chinese are developing a new joint charging connector called ChaoJi. Ford unveiled a new Carhatt edition Super Duty truck and Nicole went to see it… Read More »Driving Old Cars
Powdered Sugar Everywhere
Nicole has returned from the Big Easy after driving the Acura MDX and eating beignets with too much powdered sugar (is there such a thing as too much?). She also drove the Infiniti QX65, Dodge Charger R/T and Kia Sportage. Sam had the Toyota Corolla FX and Robbie rented a Kia Carnival for a mini vacation. Fiat inexplicably raises the price of the 500e by $5,000 while Motor Trend drives a $10,000 Chinese EV that doesn’t suck. The US spec BMW iX3 is projected to get 434 miles on a charge. The New York State Police are using new Mustang GTs to catch speeders. Dreame has created a ridiculous EV with solid rocket boosters. Lynk&Co has shown off a gorgeous electric GT coupe. Tesla is again shipping Chinese built EVs to Canada and Cadillac is building a very limited run of F1 edition CT5-V Blackwings.… Read More »Powdered Sugar Everywhere
Too Many Brands
This week Nicole is off in New Orleans with Acura so our buddy John Voelcker is sitting in. He’s been driving a bunch of stuff including the Ford Maverick hybrid, Porsche Taycan, Cadillac Escalade IQ, Jeep Cherokee and Subaru Trailseeker. Robbie drove the Hyundai Ioniq 5 XRT and Sam had the Lexus GX550 Overtrail. At Milan Design Week, Hyundai unveiled its new Ioniq 3 compact and Kia showed off the Vision Meta Turismo. Hyundai also showed off the new Ioniq V in Beijing. GM has paused development of a next set of electric full-size trucks and Rivian has launched production of the R2. Stellantis now has pet accessories under the Mopaw brand looks likely to focus on just four main brands going forward. Links New Hyundai Ioniq 3 breaks cover with stunning sci-fi looks | Auto Express Stellantis Introduces Mopaw Kia Presents Vision Meta Turismo… Read More »Too Many Brands