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Stephanie Brinley

Swap or Charge

Wheel Bearings
Wheel Bearings
Swap or Charge
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Robbie and Nicole are both traveling this week so Stephanie Brinley from S&P Global Mobility and Jeff Gilbert from WWJ radio in Detroit are stepping in with Sam. Stephanie and Jeff both got to drive the new Cadillac Optiq and Escalade IQ and Jeff also moved stuff with the Chevrolet Suburban. Sam drove the Lincoln Nautilus and BMW X5M Competition. In the news we discuss BYD’s 1MW charging announcement and the CATL/NIO battery swapping partnership and which is a better solution. There are reports that Honda may buy hybrid batteries made by Toyota in North Carolina and Jeff moderated a session with the CEO of LG Energy Systems about slowing investments in battery production. We touch a bit on tariffs and discuss GM’s decision to switch from Qualcomm to Nvidia chips for its next generation in-car compute. Check out Express VPN: https://expressvpn.com/WHEELBEARINGS Links BYD 1MW chargingHonda… Read More »Swap or Charge

Buy While You Can

Wheel Bearings
Wheel Bearings
Buy While You Can
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This weekend Nicole is visiting her daughters and Robbie is taking care of a family medical emergency, so Sam is joined by Perry Stern and Stephanie Brinley. Stephanie has been driving a Toyota GR Corolla on winter tires and Perry has the new GMC Terrain. Sam drove a Honda Ridgeline Trailsport to Ohio to visit Honda’s new EV hub. In the news, is there a chance that GM could sell a rebadged version of Hyundai’s Korean Staria minivan? Kia is sending its more affordable EV5 electric crossover to Canada, but has no US plans for it. VW has also cancelled plans to bring the ID7 sedan to America. Polestar has put together winter rally special versions of all three of its current models. In the auctions, someone actually paid over $71,000 for a Honda CR-X. Sam and Steph drove the new Toyota 4Runner, on road… Read More »Buy While You Can

Simulated Engagement

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Wheel Bearings
Simulated Engagement
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Nicole is still riding the rails in Europe so Stephanie Brinley joins Robbie and Sam again. Stephanie has been driving the 2025 Lincoln Aviator and the Toyota Crown Signia. Robbie got to try out the new electric motorcycles from Can Am and Sam got some quality time with the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N. Sam also got to sample the new 2025 Nissan Kicks which is bigger, more powerful and more expensive than the original. Ontario premier Doug Ford has a crazy scheme to build a 34 mile tunnel under Toronto to fix congestion on highway 401 and it probably won’t work. Stellantis has begun the search for a successor to CEO Carlos Tavares while Jeep and VW are planning to add hybrids to their North American lineups. Honda is developing a new hybrid Prelude coupe and there are reports it could be offered with a… Read More »Simulated Engagement

No Fancy Brunch

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Wheel Bearings
No Fancy Brunch
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While Nicole is off enjoying a fancy brunch with friends visiting from out of town, Robbie and Sam are again joined by Stephanie Brinley. Robbie has been driving the Ford Ranger Raptor while Steph spent time with the latest Honda Civic Hybrid and Genesis G70. Sam spent the week with the Kia EV6 GT-Line. In the news, Fiat is now integrating charging cables into the nose of EVs. Chargepoint showed off its solution for handling EVs with CCS or J3400/NACS charging ports, the new Omni Port and Robbie got to try it out. Dodge announced pricing for its e-muscle car, the Charger Daytona and we got to hear what it sounds like. Tesla has dropped the reservation system for the Cybertruck and deliveries are available almost immediately. Volvo has bumped the pricing for the new EX90 and a bunch of features missing at launch. GMC… Read More »No Fancy Brunch

Strategic Crown Vic Reserve

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Wheel Bearings
Strategic Crown Vic Reserve
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This week Robbie and his wife are visiting New York for the holidays and Nicole and her hubbie are hitting the Christmas markets along their European river cruise route. Fortunately, Stephanie Brinley is back to join Sam. Steph has been driving the Nissan Leaf SV+ while Sam spent time in the Chevrolet Colorado Trail Boss and the Kia EV9. Stephanie and Sam both got to drive the new Chevrolet Blazer EV and share their thoughts good and otherwise on the vehicle and the new Carplay-free infotainment system. Cadillac also dropped the first images of its fourth electric SUV, the three-row Vistiq coming as a 2026 model. The Los Angeles County Sherrif’s department was such a fan of the Ford Crown Victoria that when production ended 11 years ago, they ordered a stockpile and they still have hundreds in service. Tesla had a big recall this… Read More »Strategic Crown Vic Reserve

The Most Audacious

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Wheel Bearings
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

It’s Mostly New

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Wheel Bearings
It's Mostly New
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Nicole is travelling again this week so our friend Stephanie Brinley from S&P Global Mobility is filling in. Stephanie has been driving the Lexus LC500 while Robbie had the Lamborghini Urus Performante. Sam meanwhile had to make do with a Corolla, the GR Corolla Morizo edition. Steph and Sam both drove the 2024 Ford Mustang this week which despite marketing claims to being “all-new” is really mostly new, but don’t let that take anything away from the last pony car standing. JD Power revealed the results of its 2023 APEAL Survey and S&P had a survey on what consumers are willing to pay for subscriptions in their vehicles. BMW M’s boss thinks simulated shifting may be the way to go in performance EVs and Tesla says there are talks to license FSD. We also answer listener questions. Links 2024 Ford Mustang EcoBoost first drive 2024… Read More »It’s Mostly New