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People With Too Much Money

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People With Too Much Money
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This week Robbie and Sam are joined by Perry Stern. Perry has two cars to compare that are basically the same, the Lamborghini Revuelto and Chevrolet Bolt. Sam had the new Subaru Outback and Robbie drove the Dodge Charger R/T SixPack. Sam and Perry also drove the 2026 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV, mild hybrid and Eclipse Sportback. Kia has dropped price and range details for the EV3, GM cancelled the battery venture with Samsung, and is expanding its charging network with EVGo. Who buys Mansory cars? There’s some new stuff from Acura, Cadillac and McLaren from Monterey car week. Also rich guys spent insane amounts of money at the Monterey auctions. The Ford Fathom is going to longer than we thought and Sam talks with Travis Wattles and Kevin Sittner from Mitsubishi. Links All-new 2027 Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport revealed with head-turning design, rewarding features, and… Read More »People With Too Much Money

Bye-Bye Nicole

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Wheel Bearings
Bye-Bye Nicole
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This week Sam had nothing scheduled so he drove his 1990 Miata around. Robbie joined in a bit late to tell us about the Lucid Gravity and Kia Telluride X-Pro SX Prestige while Nicole shared some thoughts on driving her spouse’s Wrangler PHEV. Jalopnik provided a reader listicle on concepts that didn’t translate well to production. Recurrent provided some data on rising prices of used EVs. Ford invited us out to Michigan Speedway to sample some products from its custom garage and see the new Bronco Desert Rising Edition. Ford also announced a partnership with GenerLink to make connecting an F-150 to the house for power backup easier. Ford is also going to be the first automaker to use Apple Maps in its upcoming Universal Electric Vehicle platform. Stellantis is adopting Mobileye’s REM maps to enhance its ADAS systems and Mobileye CEO Amnon Shashua is… Read More »Bye-Bye Nicole

Diesels Dying

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Diesels Dying
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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

How We Cruise

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How We Cruise
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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

All The Switches

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All The Switches
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After last week’s travel challenges, Robbie and Nicole are back. Nicole has driven the Chevrolet Equinox EV and the Honda Pilot Elite while Sam had the Mazda MX-5 Miata 35th Anniversary Edition. Robbie tells us about the new Mercedes-Benz GLE and GLS and we discuss the company’s new drive by wire system. GM is apparently going to build a new Buick sedan as well as a new Camaro. Nissan has a new electric Juke for the rest of the world and Porsche has a convertible 911 GT3 S/C with a manual transmission. Uber is pouring $10 billion into robotaxis. VW has a revamped with ID3 Neo with all the switches. Doug Field is leaving Ford and that might signal the end of the Model E division as it basically gets rolled back into the main Ford. Ford’s cancelled 3-row electric crossover has been visible on… Read More »All The Switches

Can’t Share Non-Existent Profits

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Can't Share Non-Existent Profits
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Even as a non-fan of minivans, Nicole found some beauty in the latest Toyota Sienna with a hybrid system and all-wheel-drive, plus 18 cup-holders for all her diet Cokes. Sam drove the Volvo XC90 B6 and really enjoyed the new Kia K4 hatchback. The EPA published its latest annual Automotive Trends Report and US automakers still lag far behind the rest of the industry in fuel economy — really far behind! Range Rover is preparing an electric replacement for the Velar and it looks like it will adopt a fastback profile. Toyota teased its new 2027 World Rally Championship machine and it might be a preview of a new Celica. The next Nissan Pathfinder might be two very different vehicles. Stellantis’ huge 2025 losses mean no profit sharing checks this year. Researchers have found new ways to fool automated driving systems. Ford is reportedly developing… Read More »Can’t Share Non-Existent Profits

Finnicky Door Handles

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Finnicky Door Handles
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Robbie, his wife and the dogs are taking a weekend off at a cabin in Sonoma so it’s just Nicole and Sam. After a intro discussion of winter driving, Nicole discusses driving the Hyundai Ioniq 9 in frigid weather while Sam reviews the Mazda CX-70. Hyundai unveiled a camper version of its new electric Staria van in Stuttgart. We have more detail on China’s new rules banning retracting door handles. Autocar got to drive the new Jaguar Type 00 prototype in Northern Sweden. Stellantis is doing a major reset under CEO Antonio Filosa and taking a $26 billion dollar charge including selling it stake in a battery joint venture to LG for just $100. Some cars need to be hatchbacks and Jim Farley teases the upcoming $30,000 electric truck and Ford promises its dealers 5 vehicles under $40K. You might soon be able to use… Read More »Finnicky Door Handles

Ford Hypercar Endurance Racer Gets 5.4-liter V8, Veteran Drivers

A decade ago, Ford entered the World Endurance Championship and returned to the 24 Hours of Le Mans for the first time since the 1980s. At the time they evaluated competing in the top LMP1 prototype class against Audi, Porsche and Toyota, but decided the cost was just too high and opted to build a new GT instead. That car won the GTE class in 2016, but Ford wanted to take another run at overall victory for the first time since 1969. The emergence of the current Le Mans Hypercar rules including the LMDh specification has given them that opportunity. After announcing plans to enter an LMDh machine last year, we are finally getting some details on the car that will compete in 2027.  At the Ford Racing 2026 launch event in Detroit today, the automaker revealed what will power its new Le Mans challenger… Read More »Ford Hypercar Endurance Racer Gets 5.4-liter V8, Veteran Drivers

Ford’s GT500 Successor Arrives As The 2027 Mustang Dark Horse SC

When Ford launched the current S650 generation of the Mustang in 2023, one name was notably absent from all of the discussion – Shelby. Ford has had an on-off relationship with Shelby American ever since the original Mustang debuted more than six decades ago. During the S197 (5th-gen) and S550 (6th-gen) eras, the highest performance factory built Mustangs were the supercharged Shelby GT500s. Today, the highest performance Mustang is the $400,000 GTD that is practically a race car but that’s not really a GT500 substitute. That role is set to be filled this summer by the new Dark Horse SC (as in supercharged).  Starting with the 2024 model year, Dark Horse took the place of Shelby with the standard 500-hp naturally aspirated Mustang Dark Horse effectively taking the place of the former GT350 in the slot above the GT. The Dark Horse R is a… Read More »Ford’s GT500 Successor Arrives As The 2027 Mustang Dark Horse SC

One Trick Pony

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One Trick Pony
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Nicole had a last minute family emergency and couldn’t make it, but Sam drove the Subaru WRX tS and Robbie provides an update on the Verge electric motorcycle he recently rode. In the news the least surprising announcement of the week came from Ram with the return of the TRX plus a diesel version of the heavy duty Power Wagon. Over on the Rich Rebuilds Youtube channel, Sam stumbled across his merger of a Honda Beat and an Arcimoto electric trike. We’ve been talking for a while about what a terrible idea electronic door releases are and now some Rivian owners are coming up with DIY mechanical solutions. Some college students in Japan are transforming a Daihatsu Copen Kei Roadster into a cool mini GR Supra for the Tokyo Auto Salon. We discuss some cool pickup truck bed features and a nearly 20 year old… Read More »One Trick Pony