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Sam Abuelsamid

The Tardis of EVs

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Wheel Bearings
The Tardis of EVs
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Sam is back from Korea and Japan and has driven the 2024 Chevrolet Trax. Nicole has the Ford Maverick Tremor and spends time riding on a GoCycle e-Bike. Robbie spent the week with the Subaru Crosstrek. In the news, Sam has highlights from the Japan Mobility Show in Tokyo including the Mazda Iconic SP concept, the Infiniti Vision Qe concept which previews a new electric sedan coming for 2026, and the Nissan Hyper Force concept. Honda showed off a new hybrid sports coupe that brings back the Prelude name. Lexus also had some concepts including the LF-ZC sedan (also coming in 2026) and an off-road equipped RZ. Subaru also dropped a coupe concept called Sport Mobility with no details. Finall Sam got to try out a couple of Japanese market Nissans, the Sakura electric Kei car and the series hybrid X-Trail (sold in America as… Read More »The Tardis of EVs

A Very Expensive Bumper

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A Very Expensive Bumper
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This week on the show we’ve been driving a broad selection of stuff even though Robbie had nothing new to report on the Kia Niro EV. Sam had two very quick but very different red cars, the Kia EV6 GT and an all too brief stint with the Maserati MC20. Nicole drove the BMW M2 with a manual gearbox and sampled the new Lexus TX 3-row utility. Our good pals at TFL have a “new” car in their fleet that they regretted buying before they even got off the auction lot, the Kandi K27. Kia unveiled a batch of lower cost EVs in Korea this week that we may or may not see in North America. BMW unveiled the next-generation X2 and Nissan dropped some renders of the 2nd of 3 EV concepts that Sam will see in Tokyo in a couple of weeks. If… Read More »A Very Expensive Bumper

A Long Note

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Wheel Bearings
A Long Note
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This week Robbie gets his hands on the almost base model Lucid Air, the all-wheel drive Pure. Nicole has the new Subaru Crosstrek which is no longer offered in high-visibility orange and Sam drive the Lexus RZ450e with its flimsy charge port door. In the news, Ford is upgrading the climate control on the 2024 F-150 Lightning with heat pumps, and Nissan previews the Hyper Urban concept EV that we’ll see in Tokyo in a couple of weeks. A company that was burning used EV batteries for testing in central Ohio agrees to stop and EV owners in Texas encounter a nasty-gram at the charger – from other EV owners. Volvo announces pricing for the new EX30 and Home Depot is going to phase out gas powered outdoor equipment. Rivians can now be ordered with the Max battery pack for over 400 miles of range.… Read More »A Long Note

I Found It A Little Wonkety

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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

Sharing a Bench With Your Bestie

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Wheel Bearings
Sharing a Bench With Your Bestie
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In the garage, Nicole has the Chevrolet Silverado Z71 Trail Boss which isn’t as expensive as the GMC Sierra she drove last week and also the Polaris Ranger. Robbie has been getting to band gigs quickly in the Cadillac Escalade V. Sam drove mostly on electrons in the new Prius Prime. In the news, Ford has announced a plug-in hybrid version of the new Ranger but it’s not coming to America … yet. The third-generation VW Tiguan is coming next year and VW has announced the end of its diesel engines early in 2024. Vinfast is selling EVs, mostly to itself and the UAW has expanded its strike against GM and Stellantis. Our friends at TFL have tested the towing capability of the new Silverado EV. We wrap up with listener questions and Sam’s conversation with BorgWarner CTO Harry Husted. Links 3rd Gen VW TiguanFord… Read More »Sharing a Bench With Your Bestie

Suitcase Scooter

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Wheel Bearings
Suitcase Scooter
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This week the whole team converged on the Detroit Auto Show but we never managed to get more than two members in the same place at the same time with Robbie mostly focused on the nearby battery show. Sam drove the Toyota Crown Limited while Nicole had the most off-roady of GMC Sierras with the AT4X AEV Edition. Meanwhile Robbie managed to squeeze his lanky body into a tiny Honda Beat and a bonkers Honda CR-V Hybrid racer (aka The Beast). At the show, we got refreshed versions of the Ford F-150, Cadillac CT5 and Jeep Gladiator and a brand new GMC Acadia. During but not at the show, Honda announced the foldable Motocompacto Scooter and Ford had the production edition of the Mustang Mach-E Rally. That Mach-E will be raced in the upcoming Rebelle Rally. We have listener questions and Sam’s conversations with Bosch… Read More »Suitcase Scooter

Made In China

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Made In China
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We’ve got a full team this week as Robbie drove the updated 2024 Polestar 2, Nicole had the Ford F-150 Raptor R and Hyundai Palisade and Sam spent time with the Mazda CX-90 plug-in hybrid. Sam got to spend a few days in Munich this week at the IAA Mobility show which included some ride and drive opportunities in some Chinese built cars. First up was the new Lotus Eletre, a radically different type of vehicle from the brand created by Colin Chapman. Later this week, Lotus also unveiled the new Emeya electric four-door GT in New York. Lotus is now owned by China’s Geely Group which also owns Zeekr, whose first product, the 001 shares a platform with the upcoming Polestar 4 including its Mobileye SuperVision hands free driving assist system. Finally, there was the Xpeng P7, a very impressive electric sedan from this… Read More »Made In China

Extinction Event

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Extinction Event
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We had record early this week because Sam is flying to Germany this weekend, but Robbie is trying out new Bridgestone tires so it’s just Nicole and Sam. Nicole had the fraternal twin of the Toyota Supra, the BMW Z4 while Sam drove the Hyundai Ioniq 6 Limited AWD. Continuing with Hyundai sedans, the Elantra and Sonata get refreshes for 2024 with new looks and assorted other updates. Mercedes-Benz is about to launch the first of its new DC fast charging stations, complete with canopies. Alfa Romeo is marking the end of internal combustion vehicles with a limited run of the 33 Stradale (sorry, they’re already sold out). Also about to be extinct is the manual gearbox in the VW Golf R and GTI and the Ram TRX also ends production at the end of 2023. Sam has a chat with Ford’s director of icon… Read More »Extinction Event

Send Them To School

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Send Them To School
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Tanya Gazdik is back this week subbing for Nicole and she has been driving the Mercedes-Benz EQB and having a bad charging experience in Detroit. Tanya also spent time in the latest Range Rover LWB. Robbie tells us about driving the new BMW X5M Competition to Monterey car week and renting a Tesla Model 3 from Hertz. Meanwhile Sam got to do some shifting in the Toyota GR Supra with a manual gearbox. In the news, Ford offers a factory matte black wrap for the Lightning and launches a cool looking Transit Custom-based camper in Europe called the Nugget. NHTSA has given clearance for automakers to comply with the lates Massachusetts right to repair law and Chevrolet has launched the first EV with a full police pursuit package. In China, Kia has unveiled a compact electric crossover that will hopefully be offered in North America… Read More »Send Them To School

The Most Audacious

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The Most Audacious
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This week Robbie hanging out among the fancy people covering Monterey Car Week so Stephanie Brinley is back with Nicole and Sam. Sam took a road trip in the Honda Pilot Trailsport. Stephanie had the Mercedes-AMG EQE SUV and Mazda CX-90 plug-in hybrid. Nicole drove the Mazda CX-30 turbo. In the news, we’ve got several of the vehicles unveiled in Monterey including the new Acura ZDX, Lamborghini Lanzador and Mustang GTD. Ford CEO Jim Farley took a cross country road trip in an F-150 Lightning and came away with the same conclusion as other non-Tesla EV drivers, the charging experience sucks. Ford continues to keep its transaction prices up by culling base models. It turns out people really did want a Supra with a manual gearbox and we answer a bunch of listener questions. Links Acura ZDXCharging satisfaction continues to declineNearly 50% of Supras are… Read More »The Most Audacious