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Welcome Jill Of Many Places

Wheel Bearings
Wheel Bearings
Welcome Jill Of Many Places
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This week our new co-host Jill Ciminillo joins the show and she’s been driving the Ford Ranger. Sam had the new 2026 Mazda CX-5. Our whole team converged on New York for the debut of the new Hyundai Tucson and Sam had a conversation with Eric Wood, head of product experience about the new Pleos Connect infotainment system and Gleo AI voice assistant. Links EVgo Announces Next-Generation Charging System Capable of 750kW LEXUS FULL-LINE PRICING Lexus TZ Sharply Undercuts Luxury Rivals With a $65K Starting Price – Autoblog 2027 Hyundai Tucson First Look: What Changes for Hyundai’s Best-Selling SUV? | GreenCars GM Really Isn’t Going To Build That Many Chevy Bolts: Report How the EV Business Case Shifted Away From the Chevy Bolt Ultium Cells to bring LMR prismatic battery cell production to Tennessee for future GM EVs Final Technical Support Document | NHTSA Jeep… Read More »Welcome Jill Of Many Places

Drop The Battery

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Wheel Bearings
Drop The Battery
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This week Robbie is driving the BMW M3 Competition and Sam has the Toyota bZ XLE Plus Links The Board of Volvo Cars appoints Klaus Zellmer as President and CEO VEHICLE CARGO SPACE ACCESS PROVIDING METHOD Ford Patents reveal new clues for Fathom! Can the 2026 Toyota RAV4 PHEV Keep Up With a V8 Jeep Wrangler 392 in a Drag Race? Electric future, established name: The new ID. Tiguan premieres in October | Releases 2027 Chevy Silverado 1500 Full Pricing Uncovered How recycled minerals from GM EV batteries are helping power new ones GM raises the bar for Heavy-Duty power, capability and control headlined by all-new Duramax 8.3L Turbo-Diesel V8 engine– Ford Mustang manual may outlive the V8 BYD’s $10,000 EV Is Getting A Huge Upgrade, With 5-Minute Charging Dodge’s Fire-Preventing Ejecting Battery Patent Is American Individualism At Its Finest – Jalopnik Everybody Hates China’s… Read More »Drop The Battery

Reading Comprehension

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Wheel Bearings
Reading Comprehension
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This week Robbie has been driving the Kia Telluride hybrid and the GMC Sierra EV while Sam had the very impression new Kia Seltos. In the news, VW showed a new EV concept and a lot of people misread the press release. Ford is again refreshing the F-150 and adding hands-free towing capability to BlueCruise. Volvo has upgraded the XC90 and XC60 PHEVs with double the electric range. GM dropped details on the new V8s in the 2027 trucks and the updated user interface. Robotaxis without controls make problems for first responders and Sam and Robbie visit a magnet factory. Links Mission Efficiency – Volkswagen presents the world’s most efficient near-production electric car How Did Everyone Get This Wrong? VW’s New ‘Mission Efficiency’ Doesn’t Get 900 Miles Of Range Out Of A Small Battery – The Autopian TTD September 15, 2026 – Ford Adds Hands-Free… Read More »Reading Comprehension

The Outbackier Subaru

Wheel Bearings
Wheel Bearings
The Outbackier Subaru
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This week Robbie and Sam are joined by Craig Cole who has his own thoughts on the 2026 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV. Robbie tells us about hauling band gear in the new Subaru Outback and Sam pontificates on the BMW XM. In the news, why are some automakers using NACS only for DC charging with a J1772 port of AC? Chinese regulators are forcing a recall of millions of cars with manual door latch backups that are too hard to find. Cadillac’s midsize crossover finally gets a PHEV, but only in China for now. A recent rash of thefts from cars has Sam thinking about Faraday bags for key fobs. The next Mini cooper might ditch front wheel drive for the first time ever. Genesis launches a new 3-row electric SUV, the GV90 and puts a hybrid into the GV80 while Hyundai shows a new Tucson.… Read More »The Outbackier Subaru

People With Too Much Money

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Wheel Bearings
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

Diesels Dying

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Wheel Bearings
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

Is Slate Cheap Enough?

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Wheel Bearings
Is Slate Cheap Enough?
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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?

Live From Nebraska

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Wheel Bearings
Live From Nebraska
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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

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Wheel Bearings
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

Selling to Little Old Ladies

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Wheel Bearings
Selling to Little Old Ladies
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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