Skip to content

podcast

Finnicky Door Handles

Wheel Bearings
Wheel Bearings
Finnicky Door Handles
Loading
/

Robbie, his wife and the dogs are taking a weekend off at a cabin in Sonoma so it’s just Nicole and Sam. After a intro discussion of winter driving, Nicole discusses driving the Hyundai Ioniq 9 in frigid weather while Sam reviews the Mazda CX-70. Hyundai unveiled a camper version of its new electric Staria van in Stuttgart. We have more detail on China’s new rules banning retracting door handles. Autocar got to drive the new Jaguar Type 00 prototype in Northern Sweden. Stellantis is doing a major reset under CEO Antonio Filosa and taking a $26 billion dollar charge including selling it stake in a battery joint venture to LG for just $100. Some cars need to be hatchbacks and Jim Farley teases the upcoming $30,000 electric truck and Ford promises its dealers 5 vehicles under $40K. You might soon be able to use… Read More »Finnicky Door Handles

Adios To A Pioneer

Wheel Bearings
Wheel Bearings
Adios To A Pioneer
Loading
/

This week both Sam and Nicole had the 2026 Hyundai Palisade Calligraphy although in different colors. Nicole has had several first drives to report on including the Kia K4 hatchback, refreshed Honda Pilot and Honda Prelude. Congress voted not to kill the mandate for a drunk driving disable system while Tesla has decided to kill the Model S and Model X and Hyundai is ditching the Santa Cruz. Rolls Royce is working on an electric Cullinan and Mercedes-Benz has unveiled a next-generation S-Class. Ineos tweaked the steering on the Grenadier and Genesis has a high-performance off-road concept the X Skorpio. Chery is launching an electric mid-size pickup in China for just $18,300 and Mary Barra isn’t sure why Canada is going to let people buy cheap Chinese EVs. Use of hands-free Super Cruise and BlueCruise is growing and people are willing to pay for it… Read More »Adios To A Pioneer

A Conversation With Zeekr’s Giovanni Lanfranchi

Wheel Bearings
Wheel Bearings
A Conversation With Zeekr's Giovanni Lanfranchi
Loading
/

At CES 2026 Sam and friend of the show John Voelker sat down for a conversation with Giovanni Lanfranchi, CEO of Zeekr Technology Europe to learn more about the Geely Group’s approach to product development. 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 Much For That Old Truck?

Wheel Bearings
Wheel Bearings
How Much For That Old Truck?
Loading
/

Unfortunately, Robbie had a migraine this morning so it’s just Nicole and Sam. Nicole has been driving the latest Toyota Prius with AWD in New Hampshire snow and Sam had the Cadillac Lyriq Signature Sport AWD in Michigan winter weather. Volvo finally dropped all the details on its new EX60 midsize electric crossover including the missing door handles and touchscreen vents. Tesla has moved the safety monitors from some of its “robotaxis” to a following vehicle. Tesla also killed off Autopilot and moved lane centering to its subscription only full self-driving. GM is moving production of the next-gen Buick Envision to Kansas and the current administration in Washington will no longer seek criminal penalties against businesses that remove diesel emissions devices. Chinese automakers now have 1/5 of the Mexican market and may soon do the same to Canada. Subaru is launching a lower priced base… Read More »How Much For That Old Truck?

Chinese EVs North of the Border

Wheel Bearings
Wheel Bearings
Chinese EVs North of the Border
Loading
/

We’re back and this week all voices were recorded all the way through the show. Sorry again about last week. Nicole lucked out and had the Land Rover Defender Octa during some serious New Hampshire winter weather and Sam had a Porsche Macan 4S Electric with winter tires during a Michigan snow storm. Ahead of the Detroit Auto Show this week, Ford previewed the new Mustang Dark Horse SC taking the place of the former Shelby GT500 and the Bronco RTR that’s been breathed on by Vaughn Gittin Jr. Sam spokee with Mustang color and materials manager Sarah Watson and Dark Horse SC chief engineer Arie Groeneveld. Chevrolet dropped some details on the acceleration capabilities of the Corvette ZR1X and it is insanely quick off the line. Honda is ending production of the current Acura RDX while it prepares a new hybrid replacement and it… Read More »Chinese EVs North of the Border

One Trick Pony

Wheel Bearings
Wheel Bearings
One Trick Pony
Loading
/

Nicole had a last minute family emergency and couldn’t make it, but Sam drove the Subaru WRX tS and Robbie provides an update on the Verge electric motorcycle he recently rode. In the news the least surprising announcement of the week came from Ram with the return of the TRX plus a diesel version of the heavy duty Power Wagon. Over on the Rich Rebuilds Youtube channel, Sam stumbled across his merger of a Honda Beat and an Arcimoto electric trike. We’ve been talking for a while about what a terrible idea electronic door releases are and now some Rivian owners are coming up with DIY mechanical solutions. Some college students in Japan are transforming a Daihatsu Copen Kei Roadster into a cool mini GR Supra for the Tokyo Auto Salon. We discuss some cool pickup truck bed features and a nearly 20 year old… Read More »One Trick Pony

Lightning Strikes Out

Wheel Bearings
Wheel Bearings
Lightning Strikes Out
Loading
/

This week we’re joined by special guest Harvey Briggs. Harvey and Sam review the vehicles they drove last week while transporting 20 dogs nearly 2,000 miles as part of Operation Frodo. Nicole had the Ford Maverick Lobo and Robbie rode the Verge TS electric motorcycle. GM has struck a deal with Apple to get the Apple Music app on its vehicle’s infotainment. Ford is scrapping major parts of its EV plans including cancelling the current Lightning and replacing it with a next-generation EREV. For 2026, the frunk is becoming an extra cost option on the Mach-E. Tim Kuniskis has confirmed that Ram’s new midsize pickup will be called Dakota and volume trims will be around $40,000. Some Arizona highways could soon lose their speed limits and more people are recognizing how dumb modern door handles are. Waymo’s robotaxis got frozen when San Francisco had a… Read More »Lightning Strikes Out

Going Autonomous

Wheel Bearings
Wheel Bearings
Going Autonomous
Loading
/

Nicole is finally back and while she was away she drove a Mercedes-Benz E-Class diesel wagon and since she returned she’s been driving the Acura Integra A-Spec. Robbie shares his thoughts on the new Mercedes-Benz CLA hybrid. Sam had the Honda Accord Touring Hybrid and the Land Rover Defender X. In the news, Kia has revealed the redesigned second generation Seltos, and Mazda has revealed some of the tech in the 2026 CX-5. Nissan has decided to partner with Wayve to bring hands-off/eyes-off driving to its future versions of ProPilot while Rivian is doing it all in-house. Meanwhile in Texas, Aurora has joined Kodiak in hauling fracking sand with driverless trucks. Ford’s ADHD approach to electric vehicles brings it to partner with Renault of affordable EVs and splitting up its battery joint-venture with SK On. Subaru brings an affordable price point to its new Uncharted… Read More »Going Autonomous

Banning Subscriptions, Sort Of

Wheel Bearings
Wheel Bearings
Banning Subscriptions, Sort Of
Loading
/

This week Stephanie Brinley is again sitting in for Nicole and she drove the Toyota Corolla Cross Hybrid. Robbie and his wife rented a Chrysler Pacifica and Sam has the Mercedes-AMG G63. In the news, someone has rendered a Dodge Magnum revival based on the new Charge Daytona, and a New York State Senator wants to sort of ban in-vehicle subscriptions, but not really and Stellantis is still annoying customers with in-dash ads. Dealers are at it again with stupid markups on the new Honda Prelude. Jason Torchinsky has thoughts on how much acceleration is enough. Used EVs are selling faster than gas cars. Kia has an off-road concept of the EV5 in China. EuroNCAP is updating its scoring standards for 5 stars including physical buttons. Despite the best efforts of the Trump administration to kill EVs and infrastructure, Georgia is disbursing $24M for EV… Read More »Banning Subscriptions, Sort Of

EV Pulse Reunion

Wheel Bearings
Wheel Bearings
EV Pulse Reunion
Loading
/

This week both Robbie and Nicole are on vacation so Craig Cole is back along with Chad Kirchner. Sam had the Lucid Gravity Grand Touring. Ahead of the LA Auto Show, Lucid also announced the more affordable Touring trim that starts just under $80,000. Jeep has revealed all the details of its first electric off-roader and lets just say we’re not sure who is going to buy it. Hyundai showed the production version of the Ioniq 6 N and the new Crater off-road concept that could challenge the Wrangler and Bronco. We have pricing on the new Honda Prelude and details of the new Porsche Cayenne Electric. Genesis has revealed the GV60 Magma performance EV, the G90 Wingback wagon and Magma GT concept. Bollinger has stopped paying its bills. You can help out the many people that are food insecure this holiday season by donating… Read More »EV Pulse Reunion