Annotations will appear as you listen
0:00
43:18
Car
Ford Explorer
Car
Ford Bronco
Car
Lucid Gravity
Car
Toyota Gr86
Car
Subaru BRZ
Car
Hyundai Ioniq
Car
Hyundai Ioniq 9
Car
F-150 Raptor
Car
Bronco Raptor
Car
Audi R8
Car
Hyundai Palisade
Car
Chevrolet Volt
Car
Honda Crv
Car
Toyota RAV4
Car
Mazda Cx50
LIVE
This is America on the Road named best radio show by the International Automotive Media
Conference and now in its 34th year on the air. Thanks for being with us as we bring
you the latest automotive information from around the world. I'm Jack Nehrad with me
is co-host Chris Teigen. Chris, are your kids out of school yet?
They've got one more full week and then one part day or half day and they're out. They
are very excited. I bet they're excited. So many kids are out of school already. My wife
works in a school and I think this is their last week, so that's cool. Plenty happening
in the automotive world this week. Ford has just unveiled a sinister, quote-unquote, addition
of the Explorer SUV. It's also teaming up with legendary outdoor fitter Philson for
a new premium Bronco, so we'll talk about both of those.
Lucid is adding hands-free highway driving, smarter navigation, adaptive headlights and
new charging tools to its gravity SUV, so we'll talk about that. Subaru is going to
have a new 2027 BRZ, at least somewhat revised BRZ, kind of similar to the Toyota GR86 we
talked about last week. We'll talk about that. And here's an interesting one to me, Chris.
Audi has unveiled the 1,000 horsepower Nuvolari, a Formula One-inspired hybrid supercar, 217
miles an hour among other things. Are you surprised that Audi has announced a supercar?
Yeah, especially one that retains some gas power behind it.
Yeah, it just strikes me as strange, but we'll talk about that. American on the Road is brought
to you by drivingtoday.com, emlancy.com, the publisher of my latest book, Only One Thing
Stays the Same and Mercury Insurance. If you're looking to save some money, you should switch
to Mercury for your auto and home insurance. Californians save an average of $670 with
Mercury, so imagine how much you could save. Let's quote today at drivingtoday.com slash auto
insurance. That's drivingtoday.com slash auto hyphen insurance. Chris, what is your test vehicle
for this week? I have the 2026 Hyundai Ioniq 9. Can't wait to tell you all about it.
I have a Hyundai as well, the 2026 Hyundai Tucson XRT all-wheel drive, so we have a gas-powered
Hyundai and an electric Hyundai, so we'll tell you all about that in the road test segment.
Our special guest this week is BJ Burtwell. He is the founder of Electrify Expo, which has now
been morphed into demo days. He's got a lot to talk about, both in what's going on with the
electric vehicle market and how people can try out cars. He's got a lot of events coming up over
the summer that are very, very cool, so stay with us and we'll talk about all that and we'll
talk about our road tests and talk about driving news. We're glad you're with us and stay with us.
We'll be right back right here on America on the Road. Welcome back to America on the Road with
Chris T. Jackie right back with you and we're so glad you're with us. It's news time and a lot of
product news this week. Ford is adding a darker, more aggressive look to its performance SUV lineup,
the introduction of the 2027 Ford Explorer ST Sinister package. Chris, I gotta believe,
this is something that you are dying to get into. You just love these blackout packages.
Talk about that a little bit, what you're taking. Yeah, you know, I like the Ford Explorer ST. I
like the ST brand. Again, this could be an appearance package. It doesn't need to be a standalone
trim. I mean, it may be just a package. I could be wrong about that, but
you know, I wish they could bump the performance up with the appearance. I guess that would be my
only complaint here. Yeah, there's none of that happens. It has a fully blacked out exterior.
People seem to love that. I don't quite get it, but God bless them. It has exclusive amber LED
daytime running lamps, 21 inch gloss black aluminum wheels and black accented ST Sinister badging.
I'm not sure I want to be sinister, but maybe I'm a different type than others out there. How do
you feel about being sinister? Well, I watch a lot of videos on the internet and almost all the
ones I've seen on the Explorer ST have been of black ones. So I think maybe they know they're
customer based. I don't really know if I want to be sinister either. You know, I'm a father now,
so those days are past me. Yeah, yeah, if I ever had them. This does have the ST engine,
the three liter twin turbocharged V six 385 horsepower. I like the Explorer ST. It's certainly
my favorite Explorer model and one of my favorite mid size SUVs. So that's cool. It's interesting
that they have that. Then Ford also has a Philson model of the Bronco. Maybe I'm been living in a
cave. I haven't been aware of the Philson brand. Are you acquainted with that? Not as familiar as
I am with LL bean. That's for sure. Yeah, well, you live near LL bean, I think the Bronco Philson
combines off road capability with some other materials, you know, the outdoor focused utility
features. I think most of these vehicles are outdoor focused, right? It has a three liter eco
boost V six engine that it shares with the Bronco Raptor. So that's pretty cool. It has the sauce
Sasquatch package with 35 inch tires front and rear locking differentials off road shocks,
Fox off road shocks and seven selectable goat mode. So certainly this has the goods. I just
wasn't that aware of Philson for some reason. Yeah, you know, they did the Eddie Bauer Broncos
back in the day. I think that was what the 90s 80s when they did that. So this kind of fits with
their their branding. I'm not a huge fan of these packages either to be honest with you,
but I think you know, at least this one gets some some performance upgrades. It's got the Sasquatch
package. And they've done some unique things with the interior other than just slapping some
some black carbon fiber on it. Yeah, it sounds the interior sounds cool quilted leather interior
woven fabric. So I like that inspired by Philson. Blast not blast brass trim accents,
removable storage bags designed to hold stuff. So I guess that's that's kind of cool. I think
it's not going to be inexpensive. In fact, mid $70,000 is what they're thinking of asking for
this particular Bronco. So you pay your money and you get cool cooler stuff. Yeah, it's not, you
know, the Bronco itself is not that affordable to begin with. I mean, not a knock against Bronco,
but yeah, 70,000 not that surprising for this. Right. Here's news from Lucid Motors, you know,
the maker of the gravity battery electric SUV and some other vehicles. And I think kind of a
lifeline to them. I mean, they have kind of been behind the curve in in terms of hands free driving.
And so they've introduced over the and over the air software update that brings hand free drive
assist to the gravity models that have the dream drive to pro system. Boy, I'm having trouble
pronouncing words today. Maybe because they're hard to pronounce. I think this is important for
Lucid to have this. Don't you think so, Chris? I agree. They're going head to head with Tesla,
they're going head to head with Rivian who has, you know, their own flavor of this.
And the gravity is a road trip machine, right? It's basically a mini or at least it looks like
a minivan. So this is a great thing for them. And, you know, they've got fast charging and
incredible range. So this only adds to that. They don't want to hear you call it a minivan.
However, they would say this is an SUV through and through. It does have mini van like interior
spacing. I have to admit, Chris, it does look kind of like a minivan. That's a hill I'm willing to
die on, Jack. Yeah, exactly. I guess. So this dream drive system has driver monitoring. It does
steering and acceleration and braking. So kind of self driving. Maybe not full self driving,
but it's Tesla full self driving. We have to ask that question too.
Nighttime driving gets an upgrade with adaptive driving beam headlights. So that's something
we both like, right, Chris? Yeah, and I'm surprised and both happy and surprised,
I should say that they're able to do this via software update. Yeah, that's interesting,
isn't it? Yeah. Well, Subaru is out with the revised BRZ for 2027. We could have expected
this talking about the GR86 from Toyota last week. It has more safety technologies. That
seems like the big enhancement, actually, some updated convenience features, but the driving
experience is largely the same. I mean, it has the same four cylinder engine producing 228 horsepower,
a six speed manual transmission is standard. So that's kind of cool. Although I'm not sure how
many people are actually stepping up to that. More eyesight driver assistance stuff, I think,
is the big, big news here. Your thoughts on that? Yeah, I'm glad to see that they've expanded those
features out to the manual transmission model. Subaru and other brands too have been those that
kind of lead the manual versions out of some of those features. So I'm glad that they're putting
it in. Yeah, I think it's been very hard for them to engineer those systems, or if not hard to engineer,
maybe not cost effective to engineer those systems into the manual transmission vehicles.
So I'm glad those are there. I'm wondering what the lifespan of the manual transmission versions
of this are. But I guess I have to say, I'm glad they're out there. And, you know, this is
like the GR86, fun to drive car and not very expensive, just over $36,000 for a base model.
It's kind of cool. Yeah, like I said, about the GR86, I'm happy that a rear wheel drive car with
two doors and an available manual transmission still exists. And the price is not outrageous,
even though they're probably not making a ton of money on each of them.
Yeah. Well, here's a story that frankly struck me dumb, which isn't hard, I guess,
because sometimes I am dumb. But Audi coming out now with another supercar, it seems like they,
we've sung this song before with Audi, and then they go away. And, you know, everybody's sad,
but when they had the various supercars, they haven't sold all that well. This is the new
Velary, of course, named after a famous race driver, a thousand horsepower, a thousand and one
horsepower. And so that's cool. It's a good looking vehicle. It is Formula One inspired.
There's hybrid technology in here. Certainly a thousand horsepower gets anybody's attention.
And then just the driver assistance features are mind blowing. I mean, it's hard to run through all
the list of the things that this four wheel drive system does in terms of reading various inputs,
like, you know, transferring torque, all of that kind. So it's kind of an amazing technical
piece. It looks like it's going to be that, right? Yeah, it is. It's very interesting. I was reading
about it the other day, but, you know, Audi's in Formula One now. So they've got all the
engineering juice behind this car. I'm also very excited to see that they've announced the car and
they're also going to say they're putting into production, even though it's going to be very
limited. Yeah. Four liter twin turbocharged V8 is the power train. And then there are three
electric motors, one front, one rear, and one in the transmission, essentially.
Zero to 60 in 2.6 seconds. And top speed, something like 217 miles per hour. I mean,
those are mind blowing numbers. That's, you know, incredible performance. And yet,
this wears an Audi badge. And I think that might be the thing that, you know, prevents it from
selling as well as maybe some would think. On the other hand, as you say, it's a limited
production vehicle. So maybe they don't care. Yeah. And we haven't heard anything about this yet.
But, you know, when Lamborghini, Audi's sister company announces a really cool,
new, limited car, they're generally sold out before the car is even, you know, shown to people. So
I don't know where this one's going to fall. And I guess it depends on the price. But the
R8 was a popular car. It's still, people still like it. Yeah. Yeah. It was popular. I don't
know how many it sold, but it was popular. Torque factor in carbon fiber construction,
a deployable rear wing. It's got crazy stuff. So very, very cool. And we'll just have to see
how that goes. And when we come back, we'll have a couple of Hyundai road tests. So stay with us
for that. And we'll be right back right here on America On The Road. Welcome back to America On
The Road with Chris Teague. Back with you at his road test time. And we have twin Hyundai's this
time around. Chris, you were driving a all electric from Hyundai. Tell us about that.
Yeah, this is the first time I've seen a Hyundai Ioniq 9 in person. Although while I had it,
I did see two others on the road. So maybe it's one of those law of averages type things. But
this is Hyundai's newest fully electric vehicle. It just came out, I think, late last year.
You can get into this vehicle for around $61,000, just over $61,000 to start.
My calligraphy test trim, which is not the highest trim, but the next highest trim,
was just over $78,000 as tested. So not super affordable for a Hyundai.
Jack, have you driven the Ioniq 9? And what did you think about it?
I have. I have driven the Ioniq 9. And I think it's one electric that is almost a pretty decent
heads up substitute for the internal combustion engine three row vehicle, three row SUV.
I'm curious as to your take on that. I agree. But when you look at the $25,000
price difference between it and the fully loaded Palisade, it becomes a little bit less exciting.
But going back, you can get in. So the rear wheel drive entry level model of this vehicle has 335
miles of range. The mid range trims, they have smaller wheels. You get 320 miles of range.
And then my top trim had the larger wheels and all wheel drive, which pushed it down to 311
miles of range. So still a pretty good amount of range for this vehicle for a three row SUV.
The all wheel drive powertrain has 422 horsepower, 516 pound feet of torque.
You get an 800 volt electrical system with 350 kilowatt fast charging,
and you can tow up to 5,000 pounds. So pretty stout for a three row SUV, mid size SUV.
I will say with 422 horsepower on tap jack, this vehicle feels pretty darn quick,
especially with that much torque. It's quick off the line. It's refined on the highway.
I drove it from my house, which is up in the middle of Maine down to Portland,
which is in southern Maine a couple of times, and had no troubles on the highway. It's very quiet,
very refined, easy to drive. And then around town, it doesn't feel too large. It's got a nice ride
quality. Though you do feel the weight in this vehicle. I've mentioned that a few times with other
EVs over potholes and speed bumps and things. You will kind of notice that over something
like a palisade. Inside you get synthetic leather upholstery. So no real leather in this vehicle,
but the synthetic leather feels nice. Jack, what do you think of Hyundai's cabin ergonomics,
and not only in this vehicle, but just in similar models? I think in this vehicle in particular,
the ergonomics are quite good. It's fairly easy to understand all the stuff that has to do with
electric vehicle operation is pretty easy to understand as well. So it largely functions
like an internal combustion engine vehicle. And I think that's the wise way to go, not make
these things terribly different. Yeah, it does feel a lot like a palisade or a Santa Fe inside.
One thing that's a difference for me, at least with the ergonomics is that this has a gear shift
selector stock mounted to the steering column. And if you're not careful, you'll end up with
some bruises on your right knee. Ask me how I know about that for people who are a little bit
taller. I'm not that tall. But so in any case, you get heated ventilated front seats in the
calligraphy trim, heated ventilated second row seats, and then power folding third row seats.
This vehicle was not included in the recall for the palisade that was a few weeks ago or a few
months ago now, with the danger of the third row folding seats. This vehicle has plenty of space
in the first and second rows, my children and myself, my dog. We had captain's chairs in the
second row. And then my nine year old daughter loves to ride in the third row. So we stuck her
back there. She had plenty of space. The vehicle is easy to climb into and out of. It's not too tall.
You've got a good amount of space width in the front seats. So if you're a little bit wider,
like myself, you can fit in with no problems. And the interesting thing here is once you
reach higher speeds, the seats have a setting where the bolsters automatically tighten. So on
the highway, it was a little surprising the first time I experienced it, but it is kind of cool
when you hit like 80, the seat bolsters tighten on your rib cage and keep you in place in case
you're going to do some spirited driving in your IONIQ 9, which I doubt many people will.
You get a 12.3 inch touchscreen with this vehicle, a 12.3 inch digital gauge cluster.
The calligraphy trim also has a heads up display and a Bose audio system. All those things work
very, very well. Hyundai's infotainment is not the fanciest on the market. It's not very flashy.
It doesn't have a lot of animations and things like that, which makes it easier to use while
you're driving. And you do have some physical controls here for some things. But this vehicle,
unlike a lot of others, does have more virtual on screen controls for things like
the heated and ventilated seats and stuff like that. So that's something to think about.
And then you also get a full suite of safety gear here too. So you get blind spot monitoring with
rear cross traffic alerts for collision warnings and Hyundai's highway driving assistance to system,
which is a hands on system, but it does do lane keeping. And it has some lane change assists
and traffic jam assist. So no fully automated hands off driving here, like you get in a
Cadillac Escalade or something like that, but plenty of tech. And this vehicle also has a
blind spot camera system, which is very helpful on the highway, especially when you're in tight
traffic like in the Boston and New England area where there's a lot of traffic, maybe your area
to Jack where there's traffic all the time. But for me, I think, you know, if I were going for
this vehicle, I would opt for a mid trim. I say this for a lot of vehicles. You get a lot of the
good stuff. You get a sunroof, you can get all wheel drive, you get a higher range with the
smaller wheels for a smaller price tag. I think $78,000 is great for an EV that offers these
things. It's not outrageous for some of the prices we've seen, but I'd opt for a lower price tag.
Yeah. And I think the only major knock I have against it, and it's not only for this vehicle
for the Ioniq 9, but there's a lot of three rows that suffer from the same thing, is when you use
all three rows, there's very little cargo space behind the third row. And thus, if you're going
to use this vehicle for a family vacation, I think you're kind of hard-pressed to do it if you're
planning to use all three rows. And like I say, that isn't unique to the Ioniq 9.
Yeah, I would agree there. You're not going to fit a huge suitcase, a stack of suitcases back
there with six or seven people on board. Yeah. And when you stack it up against the Palisade in
terms of cost effectiveness, well, I think you have to really want to have an EV to have the
Ioniq 9, and some people do. So I agree. Good for them. Well, I was driving
another Hyundai vehicle, a much more mainstream, actually, I was in the Hyundai Tucson, which
typically is their best-selling vehicle, I think. I had it in XRT trim, which is a prime example of
the current soft rotor craze. This is sweeping the nation somehow. I guess there's no reason
that it shouldn't. It delivers the practicality, efficiency, and technology that buyers expect,
so that's good. This is a modern, compact crossover. It's good. It adds a somewhat rugged
appearance package, I say somewhat, maybe giving it a more adventurous personality. I think in
this instance, it's fairly low-key. And I'm not sure whether that's the right take, actually,
whether it should be a more overtly kind of off-road or not. I kind of like it. And especially in
the dark color that I had this vehicle, it's not obtrusive, so that's one of them. Certainly,
the Tucson is one of the brand's biggest success stories. It has good-looking styling, I think.
It's distinctive, spacious interior, good value proposition, and there's a lot of good vehicles,
including the Honda CR-V and, of course, the Toyota RAV4 in this. But what's your take on the
Tucson as it confronts that kind of competition, Chris?
I don't know that it's going to overcome the RAV4 or the CR-V, even though it's a solid SUV. But
as you say, the XRT trim is kind of a soft-roader. People love looking like they can go off-road,
but this vehicle doesn't go so far that it's uncomfortable on the road, which is where it's
going to be used most often. Right. It's major bow to off-roading, I think. Well, two of them.
One is all-wheel drive. I also think you can get it with off-road tires. What was nice about this
is it isn't the super top, top, top of the line. You know, not super expensive. The MSRP of the
test vehicle I had was close to $37,000, including destination charge, $36,815. It had this Rockwood
green and exterior, which I think is pretty good looking. You can check on drivingtoday.com to
see a picture of it soon. And then it has this kind of rugged off-road look to it.
One of the things I particularly appreciated was the fact that this is powered by a naturally
aspirated 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine with an eight-speed automatic transmission
and this all-wheel drive system. I mean, this is very conventional and I applaud that.
How do you feel about that, Chris? Yeah, I agree. And Hyundai's done a great job of avoiding CVTs in
a lot of vehicles, so I'm very happy to see that continue. Yeah, eight-speed automatic transmission.
Not a ton of horsepower, 187 horsepower, 178 pound-feet of torque. So it's not super powerful,
but I think most people buying this type of vehicle will find this just fine. And you don't have the,
you know, potential problems of a small turbocharged engine that is, you know, filling
this segment right now. So many people or so many brands are doing that. And I think acceleration
is just fine for commuting, for highway merging. I had no problem with the acceleration. It's not
as fun to drive as, say, the Mazda CX-50, but okay. It doesn't need to be, does it?
No. And the warranty is far greater than Mazda's. Yeah. Fuel economy, fairly okay. You know, 26
miles per gallon combined. I think a lot of people are kind of surprised by the relative
lowness of fuel economy in these kind of fairly small vehicles. It does have a great interior,
though. A comfort and refinement are what it's all about, both inside and out. And I think they do
a nice job with the interior without, you know, being so in your face that this is an off-roader.
I think it looks kind of cool and it looks pretty upscale. I think they've done a nice
job with that. Your thoughts on that, Chris? I agree. The styling fits very well. Like I said,
it doesn't, it's not so rugged that it looks silly. I mean, the two, I mean, it's always been kind of
an on-road, family-friendly vehicle. So it fits with that. Yeah. Good cargo space. You know,
there's a five-passenger vehicle with a reasonable cargo space behind the rear seat. So I like that.
It's got a lot of, in this trim has a lot of power stuff without going overboard with it.
I just think this is a good overall value. And one of the best, I haven't mentioned the infotainment
system, but it's virtually the same that you talked about with the Ioniq 9. So very, very good.
I think at this price, the Hyundai Tucson and XRT trim is a very good buy. I totally agree.
And when we come back, we will have a terrific guest. His name is BJ Burtwell,
and he is the founder of Electrify Expo, which is now morphed into demo days. So stay with us for
that. And we'll be right back right here on America on the Road with more with BJ Burtwell.
Let's see. You can drive electric cars at demo days. You can drive gas cars at demo days.
Should be a fun thing. So we'll talk with him about that when we come back. Stay with us and
we'll be right back right here on America on the Road.
I received a letter from Reader this week and I thought I'd share it with you. Here's what he wrote.
I just got around to reading Dance in the Dark and wanted to say how much I enjoyed it. I'm a
compulsive reader and this one was right up my alley. An unlikely hero. A lot of twists and turns,
some adult content and humor that rose naturally from the action. Keep on writing and I'll keep
on reading. Of course, that's just the kind of letter any author would love to get. I hope that
others get the same enjoyment from reading Dance in the Dark and my newest crime novel, Only One
Thing Stays the Same. Both are available exclusively at Amazon.com. That's Dance in the Dark and Only
One Thing Stays the Same. Both written by me, Jack R. Neyred. Thanks for looking for them today.
Welcome back to America on the Road Jack Neyred back with you. We have a terrific guest for you.
He's been on the show before under different circumstances. Circumstances seem to change
a lot but B.J. Birtwell is with us. Formerly the Grand Puba of Electrify Expo. Now doing
the thing called Demo Days, I think. Number one, thanks for being with us, B.J. We appreciate it.
Thanks, Jack. Yeah, good to see you again. Looking forward to talking a little bit about
anything with a motor this time. Yeah, I love that. Yeah, Electrify Expo, we have been
producing for the past four and a half years. It's North America's largest EV festival. We've
done 32 of those across the country. 600,000 attendees, about a million demos we've created and
now we've expanded the idea of Electrify Expo into a broader festival called Demo Days.
Very cool. Very cool. Well, you have to pivot, I think. Things have changed a little bit in
terms of electric vehicle demand or maybe electric demand overall. But is that true or not? I mean,
am I coming from the wrong premise there? Well, I think EVs is following the same sort of trajectory
as any new technology. I mean, there's an S-curve for a reason. The S-curve exists because it's
kind of the bell, whether for how things get adopted, how new technology gets adopted. So,
whether we're talking solar, smartphones, there is an S-curve to it.
And I think what the industry has experienced is that when you look at the S-curve, the first wave
of buyers that come into new tech are called early adopters. And early adopters have come
through the purchase funnel for EVs. And then as you move out of early adopters and into the next
phase, which is called early majority, there's a little bit of a lull. There's a little bit of a
kind of getting used to letting this next volume of people, which is much bigger in terms of size
of audience than early adopters. Early majority are kind of waking up to EVs and the practicality
around EVs. So, that's where the industry finds itself. And I think that auto manufacturers and
others are adapting to getting ready for the next wave of buyers for EVs, which is coming.
Well, certainly one of the game-changers was the loss of the $7,500 federal tax credit and
that kind of thing. I think also maybe less obvious to people was the change in fuel economy and
emissions regulations, which were really also driving electrification from the manufacturers.
Are you seeing more or less enthusiasm from manufacturers in terms of promoting electric
vehicles right now? I think what people have less enthusiasm for is politics steering their life.
And I think as you, you know, if you have an industry that is volatile based upon politics,
you know, you're going to have a bumpy run. And that's what has, at least in this country,
that's what's happened with EVs is that, you know, one side really supports it. The other side
may not. And then you have this unfortunate ebb and flow of how the industry is supported. So,
as that EV rebate went away, that absolutely had an impact on people who were lower in the
purchase funnel making a decision on whether or not they want to go electric. So, but you know
what? At the end of the day, like if you think about, by the way, I'm a car guy. I'm not an EV guy.
Exactly. I want to talk about that. And you know, that's what demo days is really all about,
right? I mean, it's not just an electrical plug-in kind of guy.
Well, I haven't been. You know, I, I definitely had misconceptions about EVs
before I had ever driven one. And it wasn't until I actually drove an EV where I had my
lifehold moment, I'm like, Hey, you know, these vehicles are a lot more fun than I expected.
They're a lot more thrilling. They have really cool tech. They're a lot more practical than I
thought. But that would have never crossed my mind unless I got behind the wheel of one, which
was really, you know, the idea starter for Electrify Expo. It's like, Hey, you know,
there's a lot of misconceptions around EVs. Let's put people behind the wheel of it and allow them
to make their own decision on whether or not it's a fit for them. And Electrify Expo became very
popular. So, you know, as we move into the expansion of Electrify Expo, which is demo days,
Electrify Expo is not going anywhere. Electrify Expo is embedded within our footprint at demo
days. So a lot of the electric experiences are branded around the Electrify Expo zone.
But demo days certainly is a much broader festival for anything with a motor. So obviously, there's
a larger total addressable market, both for the types of manufacturers that come in to participate,
but also the types of attendees that would be interested in going to an event like this. And
really, there is a science and a strategy behind why we did what we did. And it's not because
we're walking away from EVs. We're absolutely not. In fact, demo days will help put more people
behind the wheel of an EV than Electrify Expo ever did. And, you know, we can get into the
strategy behind that. But, you know, well, you're going to have crossover from people who are coming
in and their internal combustion engine folks and maybe never consider an EV and might have that
same light bulb moment that you had, right? When they get behind the wheel and they go, Hey,
there's no cost to me to get into this vehicle and try it out. And I think getting behind the
wheel is a great sales tool no matter what you're selling, right? Yeah. I mean, you hit it. That's
bingo. That's bullseye. That's that's spot on around what's going to happen. So those people
that you're talking about, they likely would have never had bought a ticket to come to Electrify
Expo because they're not all in on EVs. So but when you see an event like demo days, it has
all powertrains. It has pavement. It has off-road courses, you know, dirt bikes, power sports,
can't, you know, side by side, everything is there to demo. It's like, okay, now we're appealing in
this event is appealing to everyone. And what's going to happen is people that may have misconceptions
around EVs or may not have been cross shopping EVs are suddenly going to find themselves behind the
wheel of one. And then they're going to have their light bulb moment because a lot of these
misconceptions that people have around EVs start to go away when you get behind the wheel. So I
really expect, interestingly, the first three or four manufacturers to commit auto manufacturers
to commit to coming to demo days for the pure EV makers, they see the same data that we do.
And they have to get butts in seats. They have to have people try their product or they have no
future really, right? They do. So they see the same data that we do and and they know that this
next wave of early majority are very key to driving larger volume sales for them.
So it's, you know, we really feel like we're in a position now to almost be the antipasist to the
traditional auto show. You know, we are an outdoor festival. So, you know, when you come to our event,
it doesn't feel like an auto show. It feels like a festival. And there's something for everyone,
whether it's dirt or or or pavement, whether it's for kids or for adults, whether you're shopping
four wheels, three wheels, two wheels or one, like everything is there for you to try out and rip
around. So it's really going to be a great opportunity for people to, you know, try everything
before they buy it. Well, and give us a nitty gritty about that. I think you're going to do the
inaugural one fairly soon. Tell us about that. We take over a million square feet at the Rose Bowl
in Pasadena, which is an iconic football stadium. And I think a lot of people have probably heard
of the Rose Bowl. Yeah. Well, for those that have not, June 27th to 28th, we will be there and we'll
be taking over that footprint and, you know, producing a very large event. Likely the largest
test drive event in the LA market will happen at demo days there on June 27th to 28th. Yeah.
Very, very cool. And describe the event a little bit so people can get a sense of what they're
going to see when they attend. Yeah. I mean, the best way to describe it, and even if you haven't
been to these types of events before, you've probably heard of them. You know, it's kind of
like combining South by Southwest with CES. You know, it's like there's an outdoor festival
feel, but it has a lot of cool tech. A lot of the world's leading manufacturers are there not
just showing stuff off, but you're actually being able to get behind the wheel of it or get on the
seat of it. And then, you know, there's a lot of new technology. You know, I mean, there's humanoids
and robotics at our event. So you're seeing how these humanoids are interacting with people
and what they can do. You know, we've had flying cars at our events before. So it's really an event
where, you know, whether you're into, you know, cars or trucks off-road or on-road or motorcycles
or side-by-sides or dirt bikes, you know, or skateboards or scooters or e-bikes or these other
categories, like I mentioned, there's something for you to check out and try out. So yeah. And
demo days implies your experience, right? I mean, you don't just look at you're actually doing,
right? That's no fun. Yeah. I mean, you know, like auto shows, there's definitely a fit for auto
shows. What auto shows struggle with is that they become kind of a generational audience. So
if your parents went to auto shows, you'd likely go to auto shows. We don't get a lot of the auto
show crowd, which is fine, although we probably, you know, we'll get some of it now with demo days.
But, you know, I don't like looking at stuff behind a velvet robe. Like, I want to rip it around,
you know? And demo days gives people the opportunity to do that. So we really try to focus on people
who are in, you know, in market to buy something. So, you know, people there are actually shopping
and cross shopping. One of the really cool things that's happening, if you've been following the
auto industry at all, that we don't follow that on this show. Well, I know you do. But there's a,
you know, there's a lot of disruption happening with how cars are sold these days.
And Amazon autos is doing quite a bit of that disruption. You know, they work
hand in hand with dealers. And dealers are supported through Amazon autos. But, you know,
Amazon autos is going to be at our event at the Rose Bowl. And for people that are shopping for
a Hyundai or a Ford or a Kia, let's say they take a test drive at our event and they love it,
they'll literally be able to add our event, go on Amazon autos and transact and have that vehicle
dropship to them. Yeah, that should be fascinating. Are you going to do
an additional events after this event? You know, we're a national show. So maybe people in other
locales would like to attend going forward. We do. We take this tour around the country. We go to
Portland, San Francisco. We head over to Philly, Atlanta. And then we head to Dallas. And then
we finish off our year in San Diego. So we really just have an event every month from here on out
to the end of the year. Very cool. What's the next one after the Rose Bowl? The next one after
the Rose Bowl is we head to the Portland International Raceway, which is a lot of fun because we get
to do demos on the racetrack. Same thing with Atlanta and Texas. We're on the speedways there.
And then following Portland is San Francisco in August, which has been a staple event of ours.
We've been in that market for four years. You know, 30,000 plus people show up to that event.
And it's a great venue because we take over two airstrips on the water there. So it's a really
cool vibe. And we just pump it full of music, great food, great demo experiences. You know,
it's fun for all ages. Yeah, family entertainment. A very nice kind of family entertainment these
days. And I think a lot of people are probably going to fall in love with cars. A lot of kids
are going to fall in love with cars for the first time at something like this, seeing just how
kinetic and fun they are, right? That's the idea. You know, there's been a little lull with car
fanaticism around, you know, young adults. But we are seeing a trend in that coming back right now.
And we see car customization and the automotive aftermarket start to gain some momentum right
now with young adults like it did in the late 90s and early 2000s. So, you know, we really hope to
see that wave continue because, you know, we all want more auto enthusiasts, you know, in the
market talking about, you know, the cars they love to wheel around. Yeah. Well, I think we're
going to see, you know, kind of a revival of non-digital stuff, you know, analog things.
We see record players, right? We see people loving vinyl, that kind of thing. And I think cars with
manual transmissions are going to make a bit of a comeback with a lot of folks. I'd love that. I'd
love to see that. You know, it's weird because, you know, you have on the flip side, you have
brands like Tesla that introduce full self-driving technology. You know, we're at our events where
Tesla is. Every single test drive is full self-driving. Like, they don't even, you know,
they don't even do traditional test drives. Everything drives itself. So, you get in the car
and it drives itself. And then on the other side, you know, now we're talking about manual
transmissions coming back. I'd love to see that. I think I told you that I have an idea for you.
So, you can have this idea for free, BJ. And I will say it in one word. Carchella. Do your event
immediately following what's going on at Carchella and Stagecoach. Do the following weekend.
Maybe you have an event promoter in your future. Well, hopefully maybe in my past.
Like I say, that's a freebie, but I'd love to see you do it. So, remind us quickly of the
upcoming event. Yes, upcoming event, June 27th to 28th at the Rose Bowl. Our show hours are
10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tickets start at 20 bucks plus fees. So, it's, you know, very manageable to get
in. DemoDaysFestival.com. You got it. BJ, thanks so much for being with us. We appreciate it. I wish
you a lot of luck on this new endeavor that incorporates the old endeavor. Very cool. Thank you,
Jack. Good talking to you. And stay with us, everybody. We'll be right back right here on
America on the Road. So, welcome back to America on the Road with Jodo Christie.
And it is listener question time. We love to answer questions for you based on our long experience
in providing car advice to those who need it. Send your questions to editoratdrivingday.com.
That's editoratdrivingday.com. Here's a great question from William in Lincoln, Nebraska.
I'm thinking of getting a new car and I'm wondering about all these new electronic features.
Which driver assistance features are genuinely useful and which are gimmicks? What do you think,
Chris? I think a lot of this is going to come down to personal opinion. You and I agreed on a few
of these in the past. I think they've all shown themselves to be useful in testing or else they
wouldn't be offered or equipped as standard. So, things like automatic emergency braking and
forward collision warnings are becoming standard on more and more vehicles. I think they're even
mandated in vehicles at least in the next couple of years here. I think those are truly useful,
especially even for people who are very attentive. But on a personal level, my favorite features are
blind spot monitoring with rear cross traffic alerts. I think those are extremely helpful in
a bunch of different situations. Parking sensors are very useful, especially if you've got a larger
vehicle in your arsenal. The rear view camera is something that I think we've all been using for
a long time now. And adaptive cruise control is a favorite of mine too, especially for longer
trips, even without hands-free features. It's just extremely useful to be able to monitor and
keep your distance from other vehicles. Things that I don't love, lane keeping assist. I think
once you touch the line on the side of the road, the vehicle starts beeping at you or steers back
automatically. And I don't love reverse automatic braking either. There are just so many things
that trigger the system in so many different vehicles that it doesn't seem to be as refined
as I think they want it to be yet. But I think those are my opinions. And that wraps up our show
for this week. I'd like to mention that my crime novel, only one thing stays the same,
is available in both ebook and paperback form at Amazon. Look for that. If you like our show,
please pass it on. Listen on this radio station each week and let your friends know where you
hear America on the road. We'd love to double our listenership this year and we need your help,
don't we Chris? That's exactly right. And you can do that with a quick Google search for the
America on the Road podcast. That'll bring us to you on all the major platforms, Apple, Spotify,
many others. We also have a YouTube channel, so check that out. Please subscribe. Look for our
America on the Road videos, road tests, and shorts on our YouTube channel. And our thanks to Mercury
Insurance for sponsoring the show and to our sports byline radio network stations for carrying it.
We love being on terrestrial radio. Most of all, thanks to you for listening. We know you have a
lot of choices, so we're honored by the fact you're listening to America on the Road. And please
join us again next time for another edition of America on the Road.
Hi, I'm Jack Arnie Redd, and I'd like to tell you about my newest crime novel,
Only One Thing Stays the Same. In a style reminiscent of James M. Kane and Jim Thompson,
two of my writing idols, the book chronicles of blue collar workers up and down love affairs
with two modern Southern California women who continue to surprise, shock, and ultimately
confound him. As the story unfolds, an unemployed aeronautics worker named Bill McCurdy becomes
disillusioned with his wife and slips into an illicit affair with a teenager from down the street.
Before long, he begins to think of doing the unthinkable. But despite his desperate attempts
to make things work, almost nothing goes as planned. His misguided quest for simple love
doesn't turn out to be simple at all. And before the roller coaster ride stops,
he learns quite personally and very finely that only one thing stays the same.
Only One Thing Stays the Same is available in Kindle e-book and paperback form exclusively at
Amazon.com. I'd appreciate it if you'd look for it today.
Original notes
This week on America on the Road, Jack Nerad and Chris Teague road test and review two very different Hyundais — the futuristic 2026 Ioniq 9 battery-electric three-row SUV and the realistic 2026 Tucson XRT. They also offer details on Ford’s aggressive new Explorer ST Sinister package and premium Bronco Filson edition, Lucid’s major Gravity software update, Subaru’s enhanced 2027 BRZ, and Audi’s stunning 1,001-hp Nuvolari supercar. Our special guest is Demo Days founder BJ Birtwell with news about an exciting series of events that will unfold through the balance of the year.
🚙 Jack Nerad’s Road Test: 2026 Hyundai Tucson XRT AWDJack reviews the 2026 Hyundai Tucson XRT AWD, a mildly rugged-looking compact SUV with an affordable price and approachable personality. Jack and Chris applaud its 187-hp 2.5-liter engine, conventional automatic transmission, standard all-wheel drive, and roomy and upscale interior. With excellent cargo space and a comprehensive safety suite, the $36,815 (as-tested) Tucson variant gets a thumbs-up for its strong value, everyday comfort, and semi-adventurous styling.
🚗 Chris Teague’s Road Test: 2026 Hyundai Ioniq 9 SEL AWDChris tests the 2026 Hyundai Ioniq 9 SEL AWD, a comfortable three-row electric family SUV with a 110.3 kWh battery, dual-motor AWD producing 303 hp, and an EPA-estimated 320-mile range. He highlights its smooth ride, spacious and flexible interior, and fast DC charging (10-80% in ~24 minutes). Sporting advanced tech with a dual 12.3-inch display and a strong safety suite, the Ioniq 9 is worth a long look if you intend to buy a battery-electric SUV, but if you don’t , its starting price of around $67,920 might take the wind out of your sails. Palisade, anyone?
🎙️ Special Guest InterviewBJ Birtwell, founder of Electrify Expo / Demo Days, joins the show to discuss the evolving EV landscape and consumer experiences. The first of his series of Demo Days events will unfold soon at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena. We are unsure if the little old lady will attend.
📰 This Week’s Headlines Audi Unveils 1,001-hp Nuvolari SupercarA hybrid hypercar with F1-inspired tech, limited to 499 units, and blistering performance.
Ford Launches Explorer ST Sinister PackageThe new sub-model sports a blacked-out, aggressive appearance with unique badging and wheels, giving a new edge to the popular performance SUV.
Ford Bronco Filson Special EditionA premium off-road adventure model with Filson-inspired rugged materials, Sasquatch package, and high-end utility features arriving in early 2027.
Lucid Gravity Gets Major Software UpdateHands-free highway driving, smarter navigation, adaptive headlights, and improved charging tools now available via over-the-air update.
Subaru Refreshes 2027 BRZEnhanced EyeSight safety, Brembo brakes on tS model, and other upgrades for the engaging rear-drive sports coupe.
❓ Listener QuestionWilliam from Lincoln, Nebraska asks: “Which driver-assistance features are genuinely useful and which are gimmicks?”
#HyundaiIoniq9 #TucsonXRT #FordBronco #AudiNuvolari #CarReviews #AutoPodcast
📚 Jack Nerad’s New BookJack’s crime novel, Only One Thing Stays the Same, is available now in paperback and eBook on Amazon — currently at a sale price.
🎧 Where to ListenCatch America on the Road on your local Sports Byline Radio Network station each week and subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and more. Follow for new car reviews, guest interviews, auto news, and road tests.
Sponsored by Mercury Insurance and DrivingToday.com
📺 Watch & SubscribeFind America on the Road on YouTube and Rumble. Subscribe for road test videos, shorts, and extended reviews.
📨 Email: [email protected]
Look for Matt DeLorenzo’s Book on AMGLook for guest co-host Matt DeLorenzo’s terrific new book Mercedes-AMG: Race-Bred Performance
Check Out Gary Witzenburg’s New BookPick up a copy of auto journalist Gary Witzenburg’s engaging new book Legends in Motion.
Special Price for Jack’s Newest Crime NovelJack is now offering his newest crime novel, Only One Thing Stays the Same, at a 67%-off price of just $4.99. Click here to buy from Amazon at this special limited-time price.
America on the Road
Jack Nerad - Host
0:00
43:18