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Appropriately Named

Wheel Bearings
Wheel Bearings
Appropriately Named
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This week it’s just Nicole and Sam. Since she last joined us, Nicole has been driving a fabulous wagon, the Volvo V60 Cross-Country and the Mercedes-AMG GLS 63 high-performance SUV. Sam has had the Chevrolet Tahoe RST with a big, classic American V8. Sam got to drive a bunch of newer models from the BMW group including the i5 eDrive40, i5 M60, 530i, XM and the fabulous and quiet Rolls-Royce Spectre. Nicole ran the Mille Miglia Warmup again, scoring better than last year, but unfortunately falling one slot in the standings. At Polestar Day, Sam saw all the new stuff coming from the Volvo spin-off brand including getting rides in the P3 and P4. Nicole got to try out the new Volvo EX30 in Spain and NHTSA warns drivers not to bedazzle their air-bag equipped steering wheels. We also answer a listener question about liability… Read More »Appropriately Named

Don’t Call It A Hybrid

Wheel Bearings
Wheel Bearings
Don't Call It A Hybrid
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Nicole is on the road this week so it’s just Sam and Robbie. But Robbie was flying back and forth to Singapore so he didn’t drive anything. Sam had the new Subaru Impreza and a short stint with the Kia EV9. In the news, details of the Stellantis tentative agreement with the UAW are out and confirm plans for a new midsize pickup as well as several EVs and where they will be built. Ram is refreshing the 1500 pickup with new engines and grilles and adding the “range extended paradigm changer” aka the Ramcharger. Just don’t call it a hybrid. Hyundai has cut prices on the Ioniq 6 sedan for 2024 and Porsche is adopting Android Automotive for its infotainment from 2025. Or friends at TFL check out the Nissan Safari Z concept at SEMA and Sam saw the original in Japan. We finish… Read More »Don’t Call It A Hybrid

The Tardis of EVs

Wheel Bearings
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

Extinction Event

Wheel Bearings
Wheel Bearings
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

Wheel Bearings
Wheel Bearings
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 Detritus of Daily Life

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Wheel Bearings
The Detritus of Daily Life
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In the garage this week we have two similarly sized electric crossovers that are very different. Sam drove the Toyota bZ4X Limited AWD while Nicole had the Mercedes-Benz EQE SUV. Robbie wraps up his time with the Mazda Miata. In the news, Cadillac took the wraps off its oversized, overweight Escalade IQ and GM promised to have bidirectional vehicle to home charging on all of its EVs by 2026.Chargepoint says it will invest millions of dollars to try to get its chargers to 110% reliability. BMW is developing a 790hp PHEV BMW M5 wagon that Americans won’t be able to get. We consider a radically redesigned 2024 Hyundai Santa Fe. A Tesla driver was alerted to put his hands on the steering wheel 150 times before his Model X crashed into a police car and injured 5 officers. The average transaction prices of EVs are… Read More »The Detritus of Daily Life

Just A Boondogle

Wheel Bearings
Wheel Bearings
Just A Boondogle
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This week Nicole is having a seriously fun time with the 2023 Honda Civic Type-Rrrrr! Robbie is also having fun with a car that surprisingly fits both him and his bass guitar, the Mazda Miata Club. Sam actually had a great Electrify America charging experience with the Genesis GV70 Electrified. In the news, it appears that VW may be getting ready to launch an electric GTI. Toyota revealed the all-new Land Cruiser which is basically a more affordable and arguably better looking version of the Lexus GX and is finally bringing the plug-in hybrid Lexus RX450h+ to America. Speaking of America, we’ve poisoned Britain with our preference for SUVs over cars so Volvo is going to stop selling cars in the UK. Mazda couldn’t find enough American buyers for the MX-30 so it’s discontinuing it here. Henrik Fisker should off a bunch of upcoming products… Read More »Just A Boondogle

Bad Lessons

Wheel Bearings
Wheel Bearings
Bad Lessons
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This week in the Wheel Bearings garage, Robbie is driving the latest BMW M2, complete with what may be one of the last manual transmissions in a BMW. Nicole has the non-Max version of the new Lexus RX hybrid, the RX350h and Sam is driving the Honda CR-V hybrid. In the news, seven (really six, but who’s counting) are teaming up for a joint-venture to build 30,000 DC fast chargers with cool accessories like restrooms, food and canopies! Ford launches the Mustang Challenge race series featuring a new factory-built racer, the Mustang Dark Horse R. VW invests to buy 5% of Xpeng, Robbie swaps EV battery modules with Ample and Honda is killing the E because of SUVs. Volvo clearly wasn’t listening to the howls of pain from VW ID owners when it designed the EX30. Vinfast broke ground on a new factory in North… Read More »Bad Lessons

No More Grey

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Wheel Bearings
No More Grey
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This week Robbie came to the realization that the Jeep Grand Cherokee L is a great vehicle for anyone with a Daft Punk cover band. Nicole drove a pair of Nissan Zs back to back with automatic and manual transmissions and Sam spent the week with the highest end Volkswagen Taos. In the news, Nicole got to sample Buick’s new entry level model, the Envista and wonders what all the hubub is about with the engine. Fiat is doing what all automakers are doing and will no longer produce grey cars, opting for color instead. The VW ID Buzz debuted in Austin in automated driving form. The Ford Maverick is no longer our cheap vehicle of choice, because Ford has chosen to absorb the markups that dealers have been charging. Mercedes-Benz is going with NACS and Sam defends automakers that are going with the Tesla… Read More »No More Grey

Lou Rhodes, president of Chrylser's ENVI division in March 2009 with the Dodge Circuit prototype

Throwback: The Last Time Dodge Almost Went For Electric Performance

We’re coming up on a year since Dodge unveiled the Charger Daytona SRT electric muscle car concept and the Hornet plug-in hybrid crossover. In the coming years, the company now known as Stellantis will be introducing a whole range of battery electric vehicle across all of its brands including Dodge. But the electric transition almost happened more than a decade ago. In the late 2000s, Chrysler showed off a variety of plug-in concepts for Dodge, Jeep, and Chrysler following its divorce from Daimler. The automaker even established a new division called ENVI to develop these into production. But then the financial melt-down happened in late 2008 and by spring 2009, Chrysler was going through an expedited chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization and emerged under the new ownership of Fiat as Fiat Chrysler Automobiles. FCA’s CEO, the late Sergio Marchionne was not a fan of costly EVs… Read More »Throwback: The Last Time Dodge Almost Went For Electric Performance