00:03
This is America on the Road, named Best Radio Show by the International Automotive Media
00:07
Conference, and now in its 33rd year on the air.
00:10
Thanks for being with us as we bring you the latest automotive information from around
00:17
With me is co-host Chris Teague, and Chris, can you believe we're in the middle of November?
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I mean, where did this year go?
00:23
I can't believe it, Jack.
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We got almost an inch of snow last night, so we're going to have a white Thanksgiving.
00:28
It looks like, well, it'll probably melt before then, but yeah.
00:31
Yeah, maybe you'll get some more snow before Thanksgiving.
00:34
Who knows, you know, the way things are going.
00:36
Plenty of car news to talk about this week.
00:38
I'm really curious about your reaction to all this Tesla news.
00:41
Tesla is facing some potentially really rough going here.
00:45
It has introduced an intriguing new wrinkle to deal with that.
00:49
At the same time, some of its key vehicle development executives are exiting the company.
00:54
So there's a lot of drama there coming up.
00:56
We'll talk about that.
00:58
The lengthy government shutdown has had some unexpected effects, and one of them hits
01:03
right at the middle of the car business.
01:05
We'll tell you all about that in a few minutes.
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They're affecting a lot of people, even people who aren't buying new cars.
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We have three very interesting and very important vehicle introductions to tell you about and
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the run up to the Los Angeles Auto Show, which comes at the end of the month.
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We'll talk about that.
01:21
We'll have a new Nissan, a new Kia, and a new Jeep to talk about when we come back.
01:25
So, Christy, have a favorite from among those three?
01:29
Well, Tesla is always fun, but I love talking about new cars.
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So I'm going to stick with that one.
01:34
Yeah, well, there's a lot of new cars to talk about and some cool stuff.
01:37
America on the Road is brought to you by drivingtoday.com,
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emlancy.com, the publisher of my latest book, Only One Thing Stays the Same and Mercury Insurance.
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If you're looking to save some money, you should switch to Mercury for your auto and home insurance.
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Get a quote today at drivingtoday.com slash auto insurance.
02:01
That's drivingtoday.com slash auto hyphen insurance.
02:04
I've said that a million times.
02:05
I almost screwed that up, Chris, but there you go.
02:08
As you long time listen to the show now, Chris lives at one end of the country.
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I live at the other.
02:12
Each week we get together to talk about cars, the car industry, and how you can save some
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What is your test car this week, Chris?
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I spent the week driving the 2026 Ford Explorer ST.
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It's the sporty version.
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I can't wait to tell you all about it.
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And I was the envy of one Chris Teague, I think, in the 2025 Toyota GR Supra 3.0 Premium.
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We have a really cool special guest this week.
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Jonathan, you is the expert on the 2026 Honda Prelude.
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So we'll have that coming up for you.
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So much coming up here on America on the Road.
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We're glad you're with us.
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And we'll be right back with you after this.
02:55
Welcome back to America on the Road with Chris Teague.
02:57
This is Jackie right back with you.
02:59
We're so glad you're with us.
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I'm so glad to talk with Chris.
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We don't get to talk often enough.
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He's taking a new job and man, he's busy, busy, busy, but that's great.
03:08
A lot of news to talk about this week.
03:11
This Tesla news is fascinating to me.
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Tesla is rolling out a new $60 per day rental program in California.
03:19
And it's trying to revive electric vehicle demand.
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Of course, electric vehicle demand as we detailed has gone much slower
03:27
since the federal tax credits have gone away.
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I think they're trying to do what they can to crank up interest in the Model 3 and Model Y.
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You can rent these for $60 a day, which doesn't seem all that cheap to me.
03:40
But I guess I'm an old guy who hasn't rented a car in a while.
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And they're hoping to convert these renters into buyers.
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They give them unlimited mileage, supercharger access, and up to $250 on the rental fee can go
03:55
toward a future purchase.
03:58
What should you take on this, Chris?
04:00
Well, I mean, the pricing isn't all that outrageous for rental cars.
04:03
I mean, you pay about $40 a day for a car that you then have to pay for fuel to fill up later.
04:07
I think Tesla has some risks here, though, right?
04:10
Depending on how many of these vehicles they end up renting out,
04:13
they could end up tanking their used vehicle values if they have a whole slate of these
04:16
coming off of these rentals later on.
04:19
I mean, there's just so many moving parts to this that I just think there are a lot of risks for them involved.
04:23
Yeah, I think this is a bigger story than maybe people are looking at.
04:27
And I don't think the rental thing is necessarily the biggest part of it.
04:30
But I think it's a key indicator here.
04:32
I mean, two of their key executives, Immanuel Lemakia and Sinhat Aswasti,
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have decided to leave the company.
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And these are important guys because Lemakia led the Model Y program,
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which is their best-selling vehicle, I think the best-selling electric vehicle,
04:50
probably of all time, but certainly the best-selling contemporary electric vehicle.
04:55
And Aswasti was developing the Cybertruck and then took over the Model 3.
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So that's that important stuff.
05:02
What this indicates to me, Chris, and I'm curious as to your take on this.
05:07
Tesla seems to be transitioning away from the car business,
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which I think is a really big deal.
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I think they're looking toward AI development.
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They're looking toward robotics, robotaxi and stuff.
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I don't think they necessarily, or Elon Musk's vision going forward,
05:23
is that Tesla Motors be a car company, be a heads-up competitor to the other car companies.
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What should you take on that?
05:30
I agree. I think smart people are looking at this and saying,
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electric vehicles are a very tough market to be in alone.
05:36
And Tesla has all these other resources and the technology available.
05:40
This is something people have been talking about for years.
05:42
It is interesting kind of seeing them taking steps towards moving down that road finally.
05:47
So it'll be interesting to see what 2030 Tesla looks like compared to today, I would say.
05:52
Yeah. I mean, Elon Musk has been prescient before,
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and maybe he's prescient now about what's going on in the marketplace.
05:58
And we might be seeing a shift from this all-electric future that so many people talk about.
06:04
Let's talk about what happened with the government shutdown,
06:07
and certainly it has caused a lot of headaches for a lot of people,
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especially people who are flying, who have been trying to go across the country that way.
06:16
But it has also spurred car rentals.
06:20
I think cancellations of airline reservations,
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cancellations of airline flights have triggered a lot of this.
06:27
A lot of people are renting a car because they literally could not get there from here
06:32
with a plane flight, with the cancellation.
06:35
It's just another example of the trickle-down effect or domino effect of things like a government
06:41
shutdown. 10% cut in flights at 40 major airports has been predicted for this week,
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and it's probably going to linger.
06:51
We're seeing the end of the government shutdown this weekend,
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but at the same time, I think the effects are going to linger,
06:57
and it's just kind of another kick in the pants to the economy and to a lot of things, right?
07:02
Yeah, it's going to take some time for the past, what, 45 days or whatever to kind of
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mellow back out into equilibrium.
07:09
I'd be interested to see the figures around rental cars.
07:11
One-way rental cars, like how many cars were rented because a flight was canceled
07:16
and then got left in another location.
07:18
Like, that sort of stuff is really interesting to me,
07:20
but I flew about a month ago and there weren't any disruptions then,
07:24
but I had colleagues who flew earlier late last week and said that it was just a mess,
07:28
so I can't imagine what it's like now.
07:30
Yeah, and I think sometimes it's a mess,
07:32
and sometimes it isn't even without a government shutdown, right?
07:34
So I kind of wonder, what was the government shutdown,
07:38
and how much did that contribute to all these cancellations,
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and how much did weather and mechanicals and crews not showing up?
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I mean, like you, I travel a lot by airline, and all kinds of stuff happens,
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and sometimes it's really good, and most of the time it's a bit of a challenge, so.
07:58
Well, here's a thing that I think might meet a challenge for Nissan.
08:03
Nissan has been, of course, challenged to move forward here recently.
08:07
It's had some tough times, but I think the 2026 Sentra is probably a big step in the
08:12
right direction. They are putting that out there.
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I've actually driven this vehicle, but I can't tell you how it drove yet,
08:18
or they'll come and do bad things to me.
08:21
I think they'll hit me over the knuckles with a ruler or something like that,
08:24
but I can tell you that I think that this is a real good step in the right direction for them
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in a very important segment, or the compact car segment.
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It has upscale features, it has dual 12.3-inch digital displays,
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and a round-view monitor with moving object detection, which is really, really cool.
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Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are standard, so that's a good thing.
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Should have been standard for a long time, and they have those wonderful zero-gravity
08:53
seats, even in this pretty low-priced car, as they say, about $22,000, $23,000.
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What should you take on the Sentra?
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I'm very happy to see the new Sentra in the format that it is.
09:04
I think it's always been Nissan's value-forward car, and they've really leaned into it with the newer
09:10
models, even the last generation and this generation.
09:12
The styling is great, it looks like it has a lot of great tech inside.
09:15
I love the seats, we've talked about them a bunch of times on the show,
09:18
so it looks like a good all-around car to me.
09:21
Yeah, I think you can get a top-end vehicle for $28,000 or so,
09:24
so just filled with stuff, including the ProPilot assist and all that kind of stuff,
09:29
so pretty cool stuff.
09:32
Let's talk about the Kia Telluride, too.
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That has been a home-run product.
09:36
That really was a landmark product for them, not just the so-so SUV,
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but something that really changed the way people perceived the brand.
09:45
It was a big, big hit.
09:46
Now they've changed the styling somewhat.
09:48
You've seen the new styling, I imagine.
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It's longer, taller, and it has a longer wheelbase,
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which I think is good for interior space and getting in and out of.
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What's your big take on this one?
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They kiss right against the edge of the premium vehicle segment with the Telluride.
10:05
I think they've done a really good job.
10:08
The MSRP, I think, fully loaded.
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You get into it for like $55,000,
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which is more than what it used to be, but it's still pretty reasonable.
10:15
I saw these Camouflage SUVs running around the Kia factory a few weeks ago in Georgia,
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and now seeing it without the Camouflage, it is a remarkable redesign for the car.
10:24
I can't wait to drive it.
10:25
I'm a little iffy on the grille design, but I think it looks great overall.
10:29
Yeah, I'm really eager to talk to the designer of this.
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I'm going to do an interview with him at the Los Angeles Auto Show coming up,
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but I think it's a good-looking vehicle, and so we'll see how that goes.
10:39
There's another important vehicle to talk about too, and it is the 2026 Jeep Compass.
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You would think that Jeep would be a better competitor in that particular segment,
10:49
right, the compact SUV.
10:50
Certainly they have the brand for it, and now they have a new one with some cool stuff,
10:56
including cool colors, including the military-inspired 41 Green,
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which I kind of favor.
11:02
That's kind of cool, I think.
11:04
And what's your take on this?
11:05
I think it's really important for Jeep to do well with this vehicle, isn't it?
11:11
It's kind of an oddball in the segment, right?
11:13
It competes against the RAV4 and the CR-V, and then you have the Compass,
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which is kind of an off-road-type SUV.
11:19
I think a lot of people expected Jeep to discontinue the Compass.
11:22
I think that was one of the risky things that people were thinking about,
11:26
but I'm glad to see it around.
11:27
I actually like the Compass.
11:29
It just depends on where the price lands.
11:30
I think it's going to be the big question here.
11:33
Yeah, and I think value is what they're really oriented about now.
11:36
I think their current management saw the previous management
11:41
as overpricing a lot of Jeeps.
11:43
And I think this is the biggest segment in the country in the United States,
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this compact SUV segment.
11:49
And Jeep has the brand, and we're also seeing a lot of off-roady type compact SUVs.
11:56
So I think this has the potential to do really well,
12:00
whether it does or not is a different story.
12:03
But with an entry-level one at about $32,000,
12:07
again, that's not particularly inexpensive in this class.
12:11
But it is a Jeep, and you can get it in 41 green.
12:16
It's probably more compelling than some of the offerings from Ford and others,
12:19
but it's a different, like I said, it's an oddball.
12:22
Yeah, well, there you go.
12:24
Remind us of the vehicle you'll be testing this week.
12:27
I tested the 2026 Ford Explorer ST.
12:31
I look forward to talking about that.
12:33
And I was at the wheel of the 2025 Toyota GR Supra 3.0 Premium
12:38
with the manual transmission, and we'll talk about that vehicle.
12:42
So stay with us, and we'll be right back right here on America on the Road.
12:50
Welcome back, everybody, to America on the Road
12:52
with Chris T. Jack Neerad with you for Road Test Time.
12:55
And what a varied group of road test vehicles,
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but I think very high-performance road test vehicles we have for you this week.
13:04
You were driving, I think, my favorite version of the Ford Explorer.
13:08
And of course, it's an important vehicle for Ford Motor Company,
13:12
right in one of the biggest segments out there.
13:16
Yeah, this is the 2026 Explorer.
13:18
It's Ford's mid-size SUV.
13:20
I tested the ST version, which is the sportier.
13:23
It's actually the range-topping version in the current lineup.
13:26
But ST and Ford Land means speed and power.
13:30
So this vehicle starts at around $55,000, and mine was around $62,000 after options.
13:36
But if you go lower in the lineup, you can get into the Explorer for under $40,000.
13:40
And you still get quite a few of the desirable features here.
13:43
Jack, when's the last time you drove an Explorer and have you driven the ST recently?
13:49
Fairly recently, I think.
13:51
I've always liked the ST because I like the performance.
13:53
It's kind of a stealthy performance vehicle, but it's really fun to drive.
13:58
And it's kind of surprising how fun it is to drive that three-wheel vehicle.
14:05
It's a little bit of a sleeper because it doesn't look extremely different
14:07
from the more sedate versions of the Explorer.
14:10
But under the hood, you've got a turbocharged 3.0-liter V6 with 400 horsepower and 415 pound
14:17
You get standard all-wheel drive and a 10-speed automatic transmission.
14:21
I didn't measure with a 0 to 60 time in this vehicle, Jack,
14:23
but I would have to imagine the seat of pants feel being a little bit shy of six seconds,
14:28
which is pretty stout for a 3-wheel SUV, as you said.
14:31
It comes with sport-tuned suspension, which is a little bit rough on some of our roads around
14:35
here, especially now that we've had the plows going for a couple of weeks now.
14:40
But the trade-off there is that you get surprisingly agile handling out of this
14:44
three-wheel vehicle.
14:45
Jack, what did you think of the ride quality and maybe the interior sound level of all this,
14:49
you know, while you're going?
14:50
I think they do a good job.
14:52
I mean, I'm not one of those.
14:53
I think you like the engine sounds more than I do, Chris, you know.
14:58
And there's nothing wrong with that.
14:59
I kind of like silent speed.
15:01
And I think that's what I remember about the ST.
15:06
I don't think there's this big burble or anything like that.
15:09
When I was driving the Durango, Dodge Durango, quite a different kind of take than the ST from Ford.
15:17
Yeah, you're right.
15:18
It does fly under the radar.
15:19
There are millions of modifications that people have done to make these things much louder and
15:23
rowdy or sounding, but from the factory, they're pretty tame.
15:27
You also get a rear sway bar, sport tires, and 20-inch wheels.
15:31
I think 21-inch wheels, excuse me, with the package that my vehicle came with.
15:35
Inside, synthetic leather upholstery with Miko suede, which is a synthetic suede inserts.
15:40
Heated and ventilated front seats.
15:42
Jack, the front seats of this vehicle are exceptionally comfortable.
15:46
I think one of the things I love about Ford vehicles is that they nail the American size
15:51
rear end in the front seats of their vehicles.
15:53
And the ergonomics are good, too.
15:54
You get buttons for most of the things here.
15:57
You have buttons for the heated and ventilated seats, although a lot of it is still integrated with
16:01
the Sync 4 infotainment system.
16:04
You also get second row heated seats, and we've talked about this a lot,
16:07
but it comes with captain's chairs, which I really enjoy.
16:10
It allows you to walk between the back seats to get into the cargo area,
16:13
and also gives you some space between kids if you have younger children the second row.
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Technology-wise, you get a 12.3-inch digital gauge cluster, a 13.2-inch touchscreen.
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As I mentioned before, it runs Ford Sync 4 infotainment, which is excellent,
16:28
but there are quite a few physical controls wrapped into the touchscreen now, so
16:32
you have to get used to controlling climate temperature and some other things
16:37
in the touchscreen, which is a little confusing.
16:39
Jack, what do you think about that?
16:40
Well, you should just cover it one more time for the heck of it.
16:43
Well, I think they do a fairly good...
16:46
I think the infotainment system works quite well, and what got my interest, too,
16:51
is this three-row, six-passenger kind of configuration,
16:55
and I wanted to throw in my two cents on that, too, because I always find this kind of amusing
17:01
that you get a three-row vehicle and it has one more seat than a sedan,
17:05
or it has one more seat than a compact SUV.
17:10
In some ways, I like the idea that you can have three in the center row,
17:15
and that makes some sense to me as another seating position, but like you say, it puts somebody,
17:22
you know, elbow to elbow with somebody else sometimes.
17:25
Yeah, I think the Explorer suffers from what a lot of three-row SUVs suffer from,
17:30
which is the third-row is kind of like a vestigial attachment to the vehicle, like it's there,
17:34
it's a selling point, but it's not exactly useful.
17:38
But you do get wireless Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, you get a B&O sound system in this vehicle,
17:43
and mine came with the optional Blue Cruise upgrade, which is a hands-free driving system,
17:47
and it comes with a trial, so you can test it out.
17:50
My vehicle also had a trailer tow package, and Copilot 360 Assist 2.0 is standard,
17:55
so you get blind spot monitoring, Ford Collision Alerts, automatic emergency braking,
18:01
Jack, I think if I were buying this vehicle, I'd probably go for a lower-priced version.
18:05
I think, you know, 60K for anything right now is a little bit steep, but the ST, man,
18:09
it's definitely the most fun to drive.
18:11
It certainly is, and I love that motor, I love what they do with that,
18:15
and I also love the fact that you get this ability to test Blue Cruise.
18:20
You know, I think it's a 90-day trial or something like that, maybe it's even longer,
18:24
and I think once you start trying it, I think that's a good marketing from Ford to put people in
18:29
Blue Cruise and see how well it works, because it really works quite well for the right things,
18:35
and but you can trust it for doing that, and I think a lot of people are going to sign up and
18:41
think, hey, this is something I want.
18:43
More revenue for Ford.
18:45
Yeah, and I think if I remember correctly, I think you can sign up and then sign out and then sign
18:50
up, so if you're taking a long cross-country trip, maybe you can just sign up for a month and
18:54
use it for the month and then say, well, I'm just commuting the rest of the time.
18:57
I don't need that so much.
18:59
And as you say, it actually works, so there you go, it works well.
19:02
Well, I'm going to be talking about the 2025 Toyota GR Supra, which is a really cool sports
19:09
coupe. I love it a lot, and also I warn you, a lot of stuff I'm going to say will sound very
19:15
un-Toyota-like, because this vehicle under the skin is not necessarily a Toyota,
19:21
and I'll tell a funny story.
19:24
I think it's a funny story really quick.
19:25
I was in a parking lot.
19:26
I was actually at the parking lot at the Milwaukee Baseball Stadium in the Dodge
19:32
Durango that I just mentioned a little earlier, and the guy next to me was parked in, had a
19:37
Toyota Supra, and he was kind of lording the fact that he had the Supra and all this stuff,
19:43
and I said, yeah, I really like this, and I like the fact that BMW is so heavily involved in this,
19:50
and he said, oh, this is a Toyota vehicle that has kind of nothing built by Toyota,
19:55
and this and that, and I'm like, well, no, not really. It's built in Graz, Austria,
20:02
and essentially it's a BMW kind of through and through, except for a name plate, and
20:08
well, I'm curious as to your take on that before I go any farther.
20:11
Oh, it's definitely a BMW, the steering wheel, the infotainment screen, the gear shift,
20:15
the sound inside the car, all of its BMW, and that's fine because it exists,
20:21
and that's what I'm happy about. Yeah. Well, I don't think there's anything wrong with a two-seat
20:27
rear-wheel drive sports coupe from BMW. With an available manual transmission.
20:33
Exactly, and available at a Toyota price. It's not necessarily super cheap,
20:39
but it's the same $60,000 as that Ford Explorer ST that you talked about.
20:44
I think this is a very, very cool vehicle overall, and it's just like what it brings to the party.
20:52
Again, this is a good, I think, partnership between BMW. There's Z4 is kind of the
20:58
opposite number of this vehicle. It's the convertible version, I guess you could say,
21:03
but the three-liter inline six, of course, is a BMW engine. Turbocharged produces 382 horsepower,
21:10
368 pound-feet of torque, shooting that power to the rear wheels where it should go.
21:16
Six-speed manual transmission, if you want it, with rev matching that can be turned off,
21:22
if you want to do that, although why you would do that, I'm not quite certain, because I love
21:25
the fact that it'll help you with that. It's a little slower than the automatic, interestingly
21:30
enough. A zero to 60 comes in 4.2 seconds versus 3.9 seconds, but I don't know about you, Chris.
21:36
I really like the involvement of the manual. I just kind of like the overall feel of this thing.
21:41
This is a really fun to drive vehicle. Yeah, I got spoiled by the short throw shifter in my GR
21:46
Corolla. The GR Supra is a little bit longer throw, but man, the engagement that it brings to that car
21:51
is top notch. Right. Suspension is very cool. A multi-link rear suspension. It has McPherson's
22:00
struts up front, but a multi-link rear, again, designed by BMW. Who does better suspensions,
22:08
I think, than BMW? An adaptive variable suspension is standard. It adjusts the damping,
22:13
depending on the condition, so I like that. Nice electric steering rack was recalibrated fairly
22:20
recently. Sport rear differential. It has sport modes. I mean, all around, this is a cool car.
22:29
The inside is very BMW. Leather trims for its seats. It has heating and power adjustments.
22:36
The cabin layout is very reminiscent of BMW, which, again, isn't a bad thing. Not that Toyota does
22:42
a bad interior these days, but I really like the fact that there's a lot of BMW here.
22:47
And then maybe in terms of infotainment system, you could complain a bit about the fact that it
22:55
uses essentially a version of BMW's iDrive versus the Toyota system. We've come to like
23:01
quite a bit, but I don't think it's bad. What should take on infotainment in this vehicle?
23:06
Yeah, I actually like Toyota's new system better, but there's nothing wrong with the
23:09
version of iDrive that they're using in this car. And it works with all the BMW hardware,
23:13
so I guess that's part of the package. Right. The interesting thing is wireless
23:17
Apple CarPlay is standard, but you can't get Android Auto, because BMW doesn't
23:22
feature that. So I guess if you're an Android person, maybe you're out of luck there. But
23:26
it's got a lot of good safety stuff. I think overall, this is just quite a good vehicle at
23:31
around $60,000. I mean, a lot of people will go $60,000 two-seater, but essentially you're getting
23:39
a premium sports coupe for $60,000 or so. I think that's quite a good thing.
23:46
And it legitimately feels quicker than the on-paper horsepower and torque specs let-on,
23:52
so this vehicle is rowdy. I mean, it's far quicker than you would think from 385 horsepower.
23:59
Yeah, which 385 horsepower is, of course, nothing to sneeze at anyway. At least it was in my book,
24:06
back in my day, I guess. Well, when we come back, we will have a great guest. Jonathan,
24:10
you is the product specialist on the 2026 Honda Prelude, product expert on that,
24:17
leader of that program. So stay with us. We'll be talking with him. I had a chance to talk with
24:22
him at the North American Car of the Year testing that we did a couple of weeks ago. So we sat down
24:28
and had a good discussion about what is one of the most exciting vehicles to come to market,
24:32
a blast from the past. So stay with us from that, and we'll be right back right here on America on
24:37
the Road. Hi, I'm Jack Arnie Redd, and I'd like to tell you about my newest crime novel,
24:49
Only One Thing Stays the Same. In a style reminiscent of James M. Kane and Jim Thompson,
24:55
two of my writing idols, the book chronicles of blue collar workers up and down love affairs
25:00
with two modern Southern California women who continue to surprise, shock, and ultimately
25:06
confound him. As the story unfolds, an unemployed aeronautics worker named Bill McCurdy becomes
25:11
disillusioned with his wife and slips into an illicit affair with a teenager from down the street.
25:17
Before long, he begins to think of doing the unthinkable. But despite his desperate attempts
25:21
to make things work, almost nothing goes as planned. His misguided quest for simple love
25:27
doesn't turn out to be simple at all. And before the roller coaster ride stops, he learns quite
25:32
personally and very finely that Only One Thing Stays the Same. Only One Thing Stays the Same
25:39
is available in Kindle e-book and paperback form exclusively at Amazon.com. I'd appreciate it if
25:46
you'd look for it today. Welcome back to America on the Road, Jack and Redd. With you, we're in
25:57
Ann Arbor, Michigan, getting the opportunity to drive a lot of terrific cars and one of my
26:01
favorites today was the Honda Prelude, back after so many years. And Jonathan, you as product
26:08
planner on that vehicle from Honda. Thanks so much for being with us. We appreciate it. No problem.
26:13
Thank you for having me. Quick story. When I started in this business, probably before you were born,
26:19
the project car we had was a Honda Prelude. It was about an 83 or something like that. And, you
26:24
know, we did a little bit to it, you know, maybe altered the suspension a bit. And it was a car
26:29
I drove all the time when I was a sports car graphic magazine. So I have a very soft spot in
26:35
my heart for Honda Prelude number one. But tell us about the new car. Yeah. So for the sixth generation
26:41
Prelude, it's now 25 years removed since the last generation, the last generation with the 2001
26:47
Honda Prelude. This is the modern iteration of the Honda Prelude. The hallmarks of Prelude are
26:52
still there with the sixth generation, even though now it's a hybrid. So innovation technology,
26:57
it being fun to drive and also razor sharp handling, those are the hallmarks of the Honda
27:03
Prelude. So with the sixth generation, not any different. Now we have a hybrid powertrain,
27:08
the award-winning tube motor hyperelectric system. And then also, as you know, the all new Honda S
27:14
Plus shift that debuts on this vehicle, plus the Civic Type R suspension and Rambo brakes as well.
27:20
So innovation technology. Yeah, all the right pieces, all the right pieces. What prompted Honda
27:26
to bring the car back at this time after so many years? So I think it's a combination of the current
27:32
climate in terms of, you know, hybrids. So hybrids are, you see a lot of hybrids in the marketplace,
27:38
and Honda is one of the leading OEMs with Honda, with hybrids. We're selling close to 50% in terms
27:45
of our hybrids. CRV, I'm also the founder for the Honda CRV. So CRV, you know, you get the
27:52
cord hybrid, you have the Civic hybrid, you have a cord Civic, and now Prelude all being in the same
27:57
showroom like it did before in the years past. But they're all hybrid as well. So bringing that back
28:03
with now the hybrid with its 200 horsepower, 232 foot pound of torque, instantaneous torque
28:09
from the hybrid powertrain, make it a very fun experience and putting that into a two-door
28:13
crew. 100%. I mean, one of the things we talk about on the show all the time these days is how
28:19
fun to drive hybrids are and how hybrids really the electric power right at the right time really
28:26
contributes to that fun to drive. Talk about that a little bit. Yeah, so the fun to drive aspect is
28:32
something that it's in any of our Honda hybrids. So Honda CRV, a cord Civic hybrid. So putting
28:37
that into a two-door coupe just made perfect sense, especially with our portfolio going more hybrid
28:43
than ever. So then combining that with Honda S plus shift gives it a very fun engaging experience.
28:48
You wouldn't even know that there's a transmission in there because there isn't because there's a
28:52
direct drive unit. The electric motors drive their wheels directly. But the Honda S plus shift
28:57
makes it feel like it's a close thing to describe it as like a dual clutch transmission because
29:01
you can use the paddle shifters and gear changes. And there's eight simulated gears in the car
29:06
where as regular hybrid operation is used as regenerative braking. But now it has the paddle
29:12
shift. Describe to me in more detail and to our listeners in more detail how the power train
29:18
works because it's different than the typical hybrid system, right? The power train is the same
29:25
as let's say the Civic Hybrid. So it's the same power train, the same horsepower and the torque.
29:31
Operation wise it's still the same as well. It's the S plus shift that gives it that part of the
29:37
drive train. So S plus shift basically creates sound in the cabin to simulate a let's say a
29:46
dual clutch transmission, the engine sound when you gear shift and your blips. So there's engine
29:50
pulsation when there's a gear shift or gear change. So you feel it in the car even though
29:55
there's no transmission in the car. And then there's the downshifts in the noise. So with no
30:00
transmission in the car, is all the drive electric? Yes, primarily it is electric. The
30:07
two liter Atkinson four cylinder engine, all it is is a generator. It generates power for the
30:13
battery. So it keeps the battery charged, which then in turn drives the electric motors that
30:18
drives the wheels. So primarily electric operation in the vehicle. Yeah. Ferdinand Porsche did that
30:24
about 1901. Do you, are you aware of that car? I remember the, that was one of the, 901 SC?
30:30
I think something, well something like that. I mean, I literally mean about 1901 because gear
30:37
changes were a big problem then. Getting the power down was a difficult task. So that was a good
30:44
engineering feat then and maybe just as good now. This is a good looking car with a lot of interior
30:50
space. Tell us about that. Yeah. So when you think of a sports coupe, the appeal, the exterior
30:56
styling is what attracts you first. It has to have an emotional pull. So I think we accomplished that
31:01
with the very low slung roofline, very wide stance, has a fighter like or what do you call it, glider
31:08
like appearance on the vehicle. So I think it's going to be a head turner. And then once you
31:13
already go past the exterior, you go inside the car. It's a very, with the two tone interior,
31:17
it's a very stunning premium interior as well. Yeah. Good looking car with a lot of interior
31:21
space and a lot of cargo space potentially. Six generation prelude, first time introducing a
31:28
lift back. So all the previous generations have been coupes. So the reason why we did that was
31:32
because we wanted this car to be an everyday grand touring coupe, just like the preludes of the
31:37
past. So having a lot of space in the vehicle, lends itself to that. You can drive the car every
31:43
day, go get groceries, go on a long trip. You can fit two to three sets of golf clubs probably in
31:48
the rear. You can put full size luggage as well. So if you want to, I'm from LA, you can go from LA
31:53
to Vegas in that car. And it's a very comfortable drive in the vehicle. So the space just lends
31:59
itself to the versatility of the vehicle as well. Yeah. Yeah. Is it belted in the back for two or
32:05
for three? It's a two plus two. So you can put two small little humans in the back. But primarily,
32:11
I think the customer probably, if they do have anyone in the back, would probably be a child
32:14
seat in the back. Got it. Okay. Or two adults for very short periods of time. Yeah, or that's
32:19
good. We're going to the restaurant, coming back and we'll see you then. What is the most exciting
32:25
part of the vehicle to you? What gets you kind of riled up about? I think it's the combination of
32:31
those, the three main hallmarks of the vehicle. It's the hybrid powertrain, the S plus shift,
32:36
and the Civic Type R suspension geometry, and the Brembo brakes. Hybrid powertrain for the
32:41
instantaneous torque and feel, the fuel efficiency. The car gets 44 miles to the gallon compared to
32:45
Civic Hybrid, 48 miles to the gallon combined. And then you have the Honda S plus shift, giving it
32:51
that, you know, you can switch it on the fly in terms of what you want. So the car has different
32:55
personalities. If you want to be a comfortable Grand Touring car, you can do that. You can have it
32:59
as a fun back road carver. You can do the same thing as well. I should know this, but can you set
33:05
it up so it doesn't shift so you don't get the feeling of a shift? So if you put the vehicle
33:10
into comfort mode, it changes the behavior of the S plus shift system. So when you're an S,
33:17
when you're S plus comfort, you could override it and like gear change as well. But if you just
33:21
leave it alone, automatic operation, it will have a very linear smooth operation in comfort mode.
33:27
So essentially, it would feel like an electric vehicle, right? Yeah, you have all the torque,
33:32
but also feel that smooth linear feeling just like an EV car. Yeah, talk about torque and why
33:37
that's important. I mean, we do talk about it on the show, but I'm not sure people see a horsepower
33:42
figure. They kind of get that, I guess, but I'm sure that they're not up to speed on what torque
33:47
does for them. Why not do that? So I think when you think of torque, the torque is most important
33:52
when you're at a standing still or zero. So the torque is very necessary to propel you from zero.
33:59
So having a lot of torque, and especially in the case here, we have instantaneous torque because
34:03
you have electric motors, makes it feel... They get max torque at zero RPM, right? So yeah,
34:08
so you're getting the maximum torque. So it's going to feel very quick off the line. So very kin to
34:13
like, let's say like EV cars where you have very quick off the line speed.
34:19
How soon is it available now or is it about to be available? What's the availability?
34:23
It'll be available before the end of the year. Okay. Walk me kind of through the product lineup of
34:30
you know, trim level and those kinds of things. Yeah, so the the pillar doesn't have any any
34:36
trims. What it does have is a color roof option with black door side mirror caps. Okay. So that
34:42
color option is only available on the winter frost pearl, which is the white variant you see
34:47
outside. So that is available for that color. But other than that, there is no really...
34:52
On a spec car, huh? It's a I mean, it's a fully loaded vehicle. It's equivalent to or almost
34:58
equivalent to the Civic Hybrid top trim. So it has, let's say, Bose speakers. It's eight speakers
35:03
instead of 12 because it's a coupe. It also has a Keeter front seats. It has Google built-in on a
35:08
nine inch display as you know, full digital TFT, wireless capability, charger, wireless carplay,
35:14
Android Auto, parking sensors, front and rear. So it's a fully loaded car. Yeah. So we want to
35:20
make sure that it has all the amenities out of the creature comforts of the vehicle because it is
35:25
a comfortable vehicle. We also don't want to sacrifice on those features compared to, let's say,
35:33
you know, a pure performance score where you're sacrificing some of the creature comforts. Well,
35:36
as a grand tour, it's got grand in it, right? Yeah. This sounds like a grand amount of equipment.
35:43
Yes. It seems quite appropriate for that. MSRP, has it been priced? It's around $42,000,
35:50
but once we get closer to the on sale, the price of the final price. And the on sale date is...
35:55
We haven't said it yet, but it'll be before the... Before the end of the year. Yeah,
36:00
before the end of 2025. Can you believe we're getting closer? I know. It's really... And when
36:04
you're working on and planning for vehicles, the time just flies by. Yeah. What's it like to come and
36:10
talk about a vehicle that you probably worked on a while ago and like how long ago was it and how
36:15
long and tell me about progressing to the next... I think there's... As a product plan, you never
36:21
stop working on it because you're always working on the next iteration or you're working on like
36:25
just updates on the vehicle in terms of like just market trends and whatnot. I have to say,
36:31
it's one of the most rewarding things to see a product come to life. Yeah. I've had many positions
36:37
in my 15-year career at Honda, advertising where you see a commercial shoot come to life,
36:42
but having a hand in a product where individual spends a lot of time choosing a vehicle,
36:49
it's a very personal decision and seeing people drive it, meaning that they selected a car you
36:54
worked on, is a very rewarding experience. Yeah. And I think you're going to get a lot of that
36:58
rewarding experience. It's interesting to me coming to market now with a two-door vehicle.
37:05
Another quick story, I pulled up and I was picking up my daughter and a friend of hers,
37:10
I think it did after a church group or something like that, and I was in a two-door,
37:15
I can't even remember what vehicle it was, and my daughter got into the passenger side up front.
37:22
The girl, her friend, couldn't figure out how to get into the car. She literally never seen a
37:28
two-door vehicle and didn't realize that you could get in through the front door into the back
37:34
seat. It was kind of really interesting to me, but I think it's kind of cool that in some ways
37:40
you're kind of going against the grain here with this vehicle and coming out with a two-door coupe,
37:46
I think is terrific. So I think you think of traditional two-door coupes. There's plenty
37:50
of coupes in the market that are the traditional type, lack of, let's say, trunk space, not a lot
37:56
of creature comforts, right, the very traditional scent. The Honda Prelude in this iteration
38:01
kind of throws that on its head. So you have a two-door coupe and that's probably where the
38:05
similarities end. You have all the versatility, functionality, the fuel efficiency, but still
38:11
fun to drive. So we think that it's going to be more accessible than ever for a vehicle like this
38:16
and bringing more people and new people as well. Yeah, I absolutely think that's going to happen.
38:22
It's very cool. Glad I got a chance to drive it. Look forward to driving it more.
38:27
I might have asked you this already, but is there a particular feature about it, a particular,
38:33
let's say, an interior feature that you're most proud of? Most proud seats. So those seats are
38:39
bespoke to the vehicle. It's a very stylish design and they're actually asymmetrical in terms of
38:44
bolstering from the driver's side to the passenger's side. So am I. The reason why we did that was
38:50
because we focused on creature comfort, especially for the passenger as well, not just the driver.
38:56
So the passenger doesn't need all that bolstering. So they want to feel comfortable in the vehicle.
39:01
And then we also made some cutouts on the door. So getting in and out is easier. So
39:06
that's why the seats are, to me, are very important because they're comfortable,
39:09
but also supportive on the, especially on the driver's side. And then the passenger side,
39:13
attention was paid to that individual to ensure that they're also having a very comfortable
39:18
experience as well. Yeah, very good. My wife is going to like that. She always complains that the
39:23
front passenger gets the short end of so many things. Yeah, so that's very, very cool. Well,
39:29
Johnson, you, thanks so much for talking with us about the new Honda Prailer 2026. It's coming out
39:34
before the end of the year. Well, thank you very much. I really appreciate it. Thanks.
39:38
And stay with us, everybody. We'll be right back right here on American on the Road.
39:45
Welcome back to American on the Road with co-host Kristy. This is Jack Newred with you.
39:50
It is listener question time. We appreciate your listener questions, your questions and comments.
39:55
Send them along to editor at drivingtoday.com. That's editor at drivingtoday.com. And here's
40:01
a question. This came from Anton in Bend, Oregon. And I think it's a pretty good question. And I'm
40:06
really curious to ask you about it, Chris, because you have an electric vehicle. This
40:11
is what he says. I'm thinking of buying an electric vehicle, but I'm a little concerned.
40:15
What's the real world range of EVs compared to EPA estimates? Are those estimates real,
40:21
or should I expect much less? What's been your experience with that? And does it matter?
40:26
I think it does matter, but not as much as a lot of people probably think it does.
40:30
Yes, the range estimates are just that estimates. They are in an ideal situation in the ideal
40:36
temperature under ideal driving scenarios. This is what you would achieve. We routinely get somewhere
40:42
between 10 to 15% less range than what the EPA says. And that goes down even further in the
40:49
winter. Right now, we run the heated seats, the heat, everything else warming the vehicle up.
40:54
That reduces it further. I would say if you have a home charger and you're just driving for your
40:58
daily commute, these things don't really matter all that much. But if you're taking road trips
41:02
and things, that's when these numbers start to make a little bit more of an impact on your daily drive.
41:07
Yeah, when I was talking to the Polestar people a couple of weeks back during the Polestar 4
41:13
introduction, they emphasized the fact of real world range. That kind of wraps up our show for
41:19
this week. My new crime novel, Only One Thing Stays the Same, is available in both ebook and
41:24
paperback form at Amazon. So look for that. If you like our show, please pass it on. Listen
41:29
on this radio station each week. Let your friends know where you hear America on the road. And
41:33
tell us all about the podcast that we do, Chris. That's right, Jack. A quick Google search for
41:38
the America on the Road podcast will bring us to you on all the major platforms, Apple, Spotify,
41:42
all the rest. Like us, leave us a review, download the show. That way you can take us with you
41:47
wherever you go and helps us out. We really appreciate your help. If you want to pass along
41:51
our show to others, we would really appreciate that. We have YouTube and Rumble channels. Check
41:57
those out and subscribe. Like our content there. We're doing a lot of short videos recently. So
42:03
check those out on our YouTube channel. I think kind of interesting stuff that seems to resonate
42:07
with folks. Our thanks to Mercury Insurance for sponsoring the show and to our Sports
42:11
Byline Network stations for carrying it. Thanks to Chris for co-hosting so wonderfully well.
42:17
And most of all, thanks to you for listening. We know you've got a lot of choices. So the fact
42:20
that you're listening to America on the Road honors us a lot. Thanks so much for doing that.
42:25
And join us again next time for another edition of America on the Road.
42:36
I received a letter from a reader this week and I thought I'd share it with you. Here's what he
42:40
wrote. I just got around to reading Dance in the Dark and wanted to say how much I enjoyed it.
42:45
I'm a compulsive reader and this one was right up my alley. An unlikely hero?
42:50
A lot of twists and turns. Some adult content and humor that rose naturally from the action.
42:56
Keep on writing and I'll keep on reading. Of course that's just the kind of letter
43:00
any author would love to get. I hope that others get the same enjoyment from reading Dance in the
43:05
Dark and my newest crime novel. Only one thing stays the same. Both are available exclusively
43:11
at Amazon.com. That's Dance in the Dark and only one thing stays the same. Both written by me,
43:17
Jack Arnie Redd. Thanks for looking for them today.
