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Cadillac Sings a New Tune

Wheel Bearings
Cadillac Sings a New Tune
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This week in the garage, Sam drives the Cadillac CT4-V Blackwing (unfortunately with an automatic transmission) and Nicole gets the new Acura Integra (spoiler, Mr Nicole who owned an original Integra back in the day approves). Unfortunately, a flight cancellation means Nicole didn’t make it to Utah to drive the new Cadillac Lyriq, Sam and Robbie did get to try it out. Nicole did however, get to drive the second-generation Honda HR-V. At Goodwood, Polestar demoed the prototype of the 5, their new 884-hp GT sedan and Sam went for a spin in Ford’s new simulator. Links Polestar 5 prototype Ford dynamic driving lab Sam’s take on the Cadillac Lyriq 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

Talking About Pie

Wheel Bearings
Talking About Pie
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In this week’s garage, Robbie reveals that he is the last journo to drive the Kia Stinger, Nicole spends time with the Ford Bronco 2-door and Sam has the refreshed edition of the Lincoln Navigator. Polestar has revealed the first photo of the 3 electric crossover with the full unveiling coming in October. Renders of the new Ford Ranger-based Volkswagen Amarok are out but the truck isn’t coming to North America. Honda has a larger Civic-based HR-V coming to the US market. Lightning owners get an adapter to let their trucks charge stranded Teslas. The Biden administration has rules for EV charging companies that want federal dollars. Nicole has driven the Cadillac Escalade-V and Sam talks with Toyota product planning VP Cooper Ericksen. Links Polestar 3 VW Amarok 2023 Ford Ranger 2023 Honda HR-V Lightnings with Tesla adapters EV charging rules Warda Patisserie Wheel Bearings… Read More »Talking About Pie

ToyotaPalooza 2022

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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

Lightning Strikes

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Lightning Strikes
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This week in the garage, Roberto and Sam have been evaluating electric driving range. Robbie has been pushing the BMW iX to its limits while Sam has been driving the Hyundai Tucson plug-in hybrid. Meanwhile Nicole has been on the road and in the desert with the 2022 GMC Sierra in Denali Ultimate and AT4X forms. Nicole and Sam have finally gotten behind the wheel of the Ford F-150 Lightning and they share their impressions and answer a bunch of questions. Sam also sat down with Darren Palmer, VP of electric vehicle programs at Ford to talk about charging, range estimation and how the Lightning came to be. We also discuss Robbie’s recent article on whether it’s better to keep driving an old beater or buy a new EV. Tesla doesn’t support Apple CarPlay or Android Auto, but one creative person got it sort of… Read More »Lightning Strikes

Coexisting Assistants

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Coexisting Assistants
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Nicole is off again this week caring for her mom, but the boys are carrying on. Roberto has been putting more miles on the BMW i4 and found it to be surprisingly efficient. Meanwhile Sam also got very good fuel efficiency while driving the Honda Civic Si which retains a rapidly nearing extinction manual gearbox. In the news, the New York Auto Show was this week where Genesis showed off a new electric luxury coupe concept, Ford expanded its relationship with Amazon Alexa and some cool Radwood cars appeared on the show floor. BMW also announced a mid-cycle refresh of the X7 and Sam again spoke with Alfa Romeo NA boss Larry Dominque. Links Ford and Alexa BMW X7 refresh Genesis X Spedium concept Radwood at NYAS Wheel Bearings has launched a Patreon. If you like the show and would like to chip in toward… Read More »Coexisting Assistants

Electric Volvos and More

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Electric Volvos and More
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This week our usual recording time coincided with both Roberto and Nicole being in transit somewhere while Sam is hitting the road again in a couple of days. But rather than let you down, we do have some fresh content for you. First off, both Nicole and Sam drove the new Volvo C40 Recharge and sat down in a garden afterward to discuss their impressions. While at the Volvo event, Sam also chatted with Volvo Cars NA chief Anders Gustafsson and Senior product manager Christina Vasandani. We also have the rest of the interviews Sam recorded at the Chicago Auto Show including Steve Gehring, safety regulation and policy executive director at Hyundai, Jasen Turnbull, marketing manager for the the Ford F-150 Lightning and Arie Groenveld, Ford Bronco Raptor chief engineer Wheel Bearings has launched a Patreon. If you like the show and would like to… Read More »Electric Volvos and More

Gliding Actively Sometimes

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Gliding Actively Sometimes
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Unfortunately, Roberto woke up today with a massive migraine so it’s just Nicole and Sam this week. Nicole has been driving the refreshed 2022 Acura RDX A-Spec, while Sam has been shuttling around in the 2022 Infiniti QX60 Autograph. The embargo has lifted on drive impressions of the updated 2022 Lincoln Navigator, the first model in the lineup with hands-free driving assist and we have some thoughts. Sam also had a conversation with Mike Sprague, North America director for Lincoln about the brand and where it goes in the future. Mike’s boss, Jim Farley, made a big announcement about reorganizing Ford and we talk about how that might affect dealers and customers. Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares laid out a vision for the company through 2030 and showed off first renders of the upcoming 2023 Jeep EV and 2024 Ram 1500 EV. Polestar revealed a stunning… Read More »Gliding Actively Sometimes

They’ve Seen Cars With 4 Wheels

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They've Seen Cars With 4 Wheels
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Nicole is back doing the Disney thing with her family this week so it’s just the boys. Roberto spent time with the new Subaru WRX and the eighth generation VW GTI (sadly with an automatic). Sam has been driving the 2022 GMC Sierra Limited AT4 with the lovely 3.0-liter inline-six diesel engine. In the news, Virgin Hyperloop has given up on carrying passengers while Morgan is back with an all-new 3-wheeler. Polestar is shifting from using Volvo shared platforms to purpose built aluminum architectures with help from Lotus veterans. NHTSA is finally about to update headlight rules to allow adaptive lamps and it is possible to go topless in winter weather. We also have an interview with Steve Kosowski, manager of long range strategy and planning at Kia America. Links Virgin Hyperloop pivots to cargo Top Down in Boston Top Down in Detroit New Morgan… Read More »They’ve Seen Cars With 4 Wheels

They Can’t Be Hard When It’s Cold

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They Can't Be Hard When It's Cold
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This week in the garage, Roberto enjoyed some top down time with the Jaguar F-Type Roadster, Nicole finished her time with the Nissan Sentra and Sam drove the Mitsubishi Eclipese (not a real Eclipse) Cross. Robbie shares his impressions of ice driving in Colorado with Bridgestone. Nissan is going to build two new electric sedans in Mississippi and probably kill off the Titan to do it. Toyota has pattened a simulated manual shift complete with a clutch for EVs. Sam talks with Chevrolet Silverado chief engineer Nichole Kraatz (patrons already got this last week). Most car buyers are payng over sticker and seeing bouncing Impalas caused a search spike. Links 80% of car buyers paid over sticker in January Nissan to build 2 new EVs in Mississippi Toyota’s psuedo manual patent GMC Hummer Battery weighs almost 3,000 pounds. Manual transmission electric Saturn Wheel Bearings has… Read More »They Can’t Be Hard When It’s Cold

A Saucy Badger

Wheel Bearings
A Saucy Badger
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This week we have a pair of SUVs that can go off-road almost anywhere with the Ford Bronco Wildtrack Sasquatch and the Land Rover Defender 110 SE. We also have a pair of decidedly on-road machines in the Hyundai Tucson and Nissan Sentra. Nicole and Sam went to the Chicago Auto Show this week and didn’t see any new completely new models, just some stuff that’s already been shown like the Bronco Raptor, Chevrolet Silverado EV and Toyota Sequoia along with new trim variants like the Ram 1500 Firefighter edition. Before the show, Alfa Romeo revealed the new Tonale and its accompanying NFT but didn’t bring it to Chicago. Sam did speak with Alfa North America boss Larry Dominique. The biggest but least surprising news was the new Camp Jeep climbing hill and Nissan brought a trio of Frontier concepts including two decided retro variants.… Read More »A Saucy Badger