960: Eagerly Anticipated Models, The Last Sports Car You’ll Ever Buy, Born From Russian Jets

Love the more hate them, everyone has an opinion on cars. But we believe we're all one great car away from being car enthusiast. So we're here to help you find a car you love. And let it take us to everything else in life. I'm Paul. I'm Todd, and this is the everyday driver car to me. Happy Tuesday everybody, welcome back to the podcast. Did you see the logo? Because Paul posted the logo, and it's kind of brilliant.

I don't want it on a shirt. I kind of want it everywhere. I kind of want to actually see that on cars. I can't believe this mashup is being really discussed. But at least the logo has been discovered. Jared is our listener. He sent that to us. He mocked that up very quickly. Really cool. It was way too easy for him to do that. But it was. It even incorporates a little bit of the diamond shape that is Renault because Mitsubishi's in there. But you can see Renault. So I added the words, Mitsondo. I think that'd be kind of funny and interesting. I mean, at the end of Renault, the Mitsott, it's terrible.

What do worse than Stellantis? Can they do worse? No, you're right. When they set the bar, Stellantis set the bar with also with a terrible name. It was at the lowest notch. Exactly. Maybe not one. So yeah. I mean, here's the thing. Do all of these companies need this? I would say out of the ones being discussed, Honda needs at least. And the other companies desperately need Honda. But the interesting thing here is Honda is the only one of the group that really hasn't been into fully these. And the others have leaned into true. True. True.

The whole argument here, if it happens and it's being discussed, it's rolling that way. The whole argument is they're desperately trying to compete with Chinese EVs. So they have to band together. I suppose I like to read a lot of financial analyst news. I know that's a little bit weird, but I do. You know, some investing and I outcome want to know so financial times and some others. And so I see things like, gosh, Honda's in for a surprise. They don't really realize how poor a shape Nissan is in. So when they take

it on dirty diaper under this corner of the rug, all of them, but Honda, I mean, Mitsubishi, that way, Nissan's that way and Renault's that way. I don't I don't understand. Okay, it's going to be very interesting to see if this really is going to be the articles that I've read have alluded to a lot of platform sharing. Yes, a lot of technology sharing, which makes sense. All that business stuff makes all kinds of. Of course it does on paper and makes all the sense of how to compete. This is how to compete in the worldwide market. And it says this newly formed merger, the biggest domestic merger in the history of

Japanese companies, they would still be number three in the global world stage in terms of sales. Okay, so you'd be still pretty big. But what are all the cars going to drive? Like, are we just going to have all new Towson that are all branded Mitsonda Mitsoundo? They're all going to be the same. Like pick a letter that isn't used. The Mitsonda Tows, that's a horrifying thought. But you write me the Honda prologue. That is the GMC.

The platform. And it's selling better than the GMC's. But this is hard to taking someone else's. I mean, obviously it's the question about to take someone else's EV platform. This is them doing it again. This is the problem far beyond

Mitsonda or whatever we're calling it with EV architecture right now is the main issue is they all kind of drive the same. So now we have storied brands with interesting history. Now I know I'm saying exactly now.

So now you take the stories brand with storied history sometimes just legendary cars in their history. And they all just merge into this sameness. That's just sad. I mean, we'll see where it goes, but I'm not I'm not encouraged by this, but I am laughing a lot.

Almost G 22 on Instagram says I can't wait to drive the Mitsonda prologue 3000 GT prelude. Yes, Evo 10 11. We thought that Volvo did long names. Wait from his son to to get here. Merge them all together.

All right, we have got a great topic Tuesday for everyone. It's from Bruce H who asks about keeping a car forever back when we discussed that 375,000 mile to coma. Yeah.

But first, I thought we'd talk a little bit about the cars that we're looking forward to driving in 2025. I thought my list was going to be short. It is not short. Okay, it is long list of this last time. I'm a list guy. You had mentioned that Accure ADX that kind of entry.

I want to drive the prelude kind of interesting. Yep. I went alphabetical order here. Okay, look at you. You know, Aston Martin Vantage. Got to drive the new 25. Yeah, really intrigues me. It's been nicely refined. You like it.

And it got me thinking about also the BMW products, the M5 touring, one drive the wagon and the M2 CS. Sure. Should be interesting. Of course, the C8 Corvette ZR1. That's coming at us. Yeah. 2025 because what because what the Z06 needed was more power and then the ZR1 will soon be replaced by the Zora or Zora will be added and look down on the on the jet power or whatever. That's going to be. Yeah. Those Jato bottles like the Blue Angels use.

Maybe we can install just one of those. There you go. Yeah. Got it. All right. Okay. The C-T5 Blackwing is on my list because we still have some drove and got revised. Yeah. Love it. Yeah. Revised. Of course, the Dodge Charger, both EV and gas versions. They should drop a V8 in that thing. Call it a Hellcat or something like that. And they are so avoiding people keep asking Bob's your uncle. Will the Hellcat engine fit and Dodge keeps not answering the question because the last thing they want is for somebody and people are going to do it in

droves. And of course, whatever YouTube channel does it first, we'll get the most views. Who can buy one of those to rip out all the EV stuff and put in the the

Hemi and say, see, we've done it. We fixed it. It's a cavernous car. You can see the thumbnail in the trunk and one up front. You can see the thumbnail already for

YouTube. Can't you where it shows the Hemi with the hood up in the electric card. It just says, fixed it. You can see us. You see it happening. Everybody will totally. There will be millions of views. Yes, they

will be fine with it. Yep. Moving on to the Honda. Prelude, as you said, that new Civic is really intriguing. The Civic Hybrid as well. Sure.

Really intriguing. The Hyundai Ionic 6N intrigues me a lot because we like the 5N. Yeah, but the Ionic 6 is just looks melted.

It's done with the styling. Well, they were. Anyway, onward. I mean, any new Hyundai N. And then there's this Lexus LBX Marizo RR, which is pretty much the

Lexified G.R. Corolla. I mean, maybe they'll drive exactly like, but I'd like 300 horsepower of a three cylinder with leather.

Sure. Sure. Uh huh. The full glory editions of the MC 20 and Mazradi GT. So the full glory. So those the EV versions, you know, keep going. I'm wondering if those cars will be well suited to those powertrains.

Okay. It's kind of my question. CX 70 Mazda is on the list. We like the 90, that new 690. True.

Yeah. CX 70 is pretty much. I finally saw, saw one the other day. They're good looking. Yeah. Okay, 698. No, what is that?

And then that brings me to the Mercedes MG GT 63 SE Performance PHEV. Good grief. Okay. Yeah. All right.

This starts on the Mercedes USA website starts at $195,900 starts starts. Yeah. Okay. Great.

I'll have to be easy. This has 805 breakhorse power and 1,047 pound feet of torque. That seems like a lot.

It doesn't just see like that. Actually is a lot. I'm just going to go ahead and put it by staking the ground and say that is a lot.

We're looking forward to getting back into McLaren. You've probably seen our price of fun film with the Artura. Yeah.

But we want to move up a notch to the 750 S. That would be really interesting. We're working on ideas for that.

Of course, the 911 GTS and the Carrera T are very intriguing. And then at this point, I can't tell from the news,

whether that 718 boxer and came in EV will be introduced this year or not. Yeah. I mean, it was supposed to be.

And then there's supposedly delays. I really am wondering about that car and what it does as far as market interest.

Because I don't think there is. I mean, it'll be done brilliantly. Yeah.

But I don't think the market interest is there. I'm very curious to see where that comes.

It feels to me like the newest version. When the 718 came out and it had the base four cylinder and no one bought it.

And then they started making other versions and it became the car people actually like fought in line for.

I feel like that's the EV version. They're going to make an EV version.

This Porsche has already said they're going to figure out how to put internal combustion engines into all their lineup.

They should. So this comes out as electric only and probably exists. This is my prediction.

It'll exist for a year electric only. And then it'll be like, surprise. We're putting real other engines in it.

You know, surprise. That was a bad idea. And I think it's going to be like those base 718s.

And based on what Porsche has done so far with EVs, I expect it to be done very well. I just, I don't see the market.

The Boxster EV. With the top down motoring through a canyon, your senses are reawakened because you're not listening to the engine.

You're, you're, you're tights and sounds on the top down and you're smelling the fresh air and all this stuff.

And it sounds lovely on paper. Yeah.

I just don't know if that will be good to drive. I mean, though, you're right. They'll make it good to drive.

But is that limited market? Is that a big market? I don't know.

I feel like they've so established Boxster and Cayman. It's just, you have to build them.

And not building internal combustion engines with those two is a mistake, I think.

Very interesting. What? Maybe they come out with both. And we, you know, they kind of have a market for both.

And then rounding out my list include the Scout Traveler. So the Rivian. Yeah, yeah, pretty much.

The Scout Rivian. I mean, the Rivian Traveler. I mean, wait, no. Both of those are wrong.

And anything from Toyota, I welcome the MR2. I welcome the Celica. I welcome something cool.

The GR4 runner. The GR Corolla with the auto.

I actually want to drive that. I do want to drive that guy.

That will be what the Lexus LBX. Wait, what is it? LBX Marizo RR.

Sure. Uh-huh. For all that. Right. I think that'll be good.

I don't know, man. I just don't know. All right. That's my list. At least for now.

That's good. It's good. But like I said, longer than I thought.

Okay, Chad. Today, you're going to drive the all-electric Toyota Beasy.

But my electric vehicle phobia. I'm not ready, Dr. Ross.

I believe in you. Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh. We're inside it.

Try to take deep breaths, okay?

The ventilated seats. They're touching me.

You can do this, Chad. Drive the car. How do you feel, Chad?

I feel cured. Woohoo! I'm doing it. I'm doing it.

The all-electric Beasy. One drive can change your mind.

Toyota, let's go places.

Bruce H. writes to us a topic Tuesday about keeping a car forever,

because we talked about that 375,000 mile Tacoma that somebody was considering buying.

Yes. It was like, I might, this might be my next vehicle. I don't know.

Not just there is one out there like it might have a new owner.

We have to know. That's what I find amazing. Yeah, onward.

Bruce writes years ago, the car talk guys told a caller it would always be cheaper to keep a well-maintained

old car than to buy a new one. If somebody wanted to do that, they'd recommend buying

something new enough to have the most significant safety improvements to begin with.

Okay. At that time, they considered those improvements to include anti-lock breaks,

airbags, and traction control. But they also said most people wouldn't do that because after a few

years, they'd start focusing on the things they don't like about the car, and they would start

letting little things go like not getting that dent fixed or a poultry wear, and then they'd

start looking at those things as it excuses to justify buying a new car, which is what we do

already. Anyway, we do it. We don't need help. Yeah.

And then he brought up that traveling salesman with the 3 million mile Volvo P-1800.

Was it 3 million? I thought it was just a million.

Either way. It was a lot. Once you're into seven figures, are you kidding me?

Once you're over a million. Come on. It's like McDonald's. Are we still counting?

Yes. It just says, you're doing very well. Yes. Exactly.

The Jim Caprican. No, it's actually Seinfeld.

Was it Seinfeld? Yeah.

So, Bruce asked what we think of this idea. If you purchased a car as a daily with the intention

of keeping it forever, buying something that you liked the looks of was comfortable in and you

enjoyed driving, and then you fixed every little thing as it came up, no matter how small,

could you keep it forever? And would it be less expensive than buying a new car every few years?

Exactly. All those new cars that I named, those are not even a third of the new cars that are

available globally. Sure. And car manufacturers don't want you to keep it forever.

Absolutely. In some case, they ensure that you're nuts.

They're hoping it's something we'll break, so you'll be back.

They'll engineer it in such a way that you'll be back and lose the term, forced obsolescence.

Yeah. It exists.

Bruce says he imagines listeners to the podcast. Might never do that because they enjoy having

a new driving experience. We certainly do. Yes, we do.

But if you hand that car as your daily plus a second fun car that you rotate out every few years,

it seems like it could work.

This is fascinating, Bruce, because this is the dividing line between

need and want. Exactly where we are.

Need, I guess. It's all supposed to be need.

But you are right. The car talk guys are right. I still think this is correct.

Theoretically, you could buy a car right now and it could be the last car you ever buy,

no matter, you could be, I could buy a brand new car. I'll go this way.

My son will be 16 in a year. Theoretically, I could buy a brand new car for him,

expect exactly like we like, and he could drive it for life.

I don't know if he would like that very much. He would not like it.

He'll get a year or so in and be tired of it, but he could drive it for life.

But I'm going to bring it back to this. Tractors.

Tractors like farm farmers with tractors.

They almost always have the old tractor on the property.

It didn't stop working as a tractor. They just got a newer one.

And what happens is, my grandfather was a farmer. I remember seeing this.

What happens is when things get really busy around the farm,

they fire up the old tractor and use it too.

It's not parked in the back field because they'll just fail. It's just they got the newer one.

It's not in the front lawn as decoration. Exactly.

The point I'm making here is, if you go around the world, if you ever notice farming,

the range of age of the equipment is staggering. True.

You see the stuff that looks like a spaceship on wheels as large as a house as a combine

that is satellite control. The guy behind the wheel might be paying attention,

or he might be in the house getting a drink. If there's a guy behind the wheel anymore,

you have those. And you also see the one that you're pretty sure was built at the start of

the combustion engine that is out there still pulling a plow. We don't see it with cars,

but it does exist out there. Old machinery can keep working for hundreds of years.

If you keep making the stuff it needs to keep going, would it be cheaper?

Somebody's going to work the math. I know they are. But I think if you really are keeping it

indefinitely, then the answer is always yes. Because what we're going to end up doing,

any of the collective us, the engine is going to blow on your 250, 300,000 mile whatever that you

have kept as perfect as you can. The engine still failed or the transmission failed or something

that is thousands of dollars to fix right now. And the minute you put that in, you have flipped

the equation because the car hasn't cost you much and you haven't had a car payment and now you

have this multi thousand dollar bill. And what we all do, we all do it. But I put the new transmission

in and then I'm going to sell it because I'm done. The only way to amortize that out is you keep

it another 10 years for that transmission and then you know what, it is cheaper than having bought

the new thing. All of this to say yes, if you bought a brand new car right now and I would say it

just needs ABS, trash control, good working HVAC and Apple CarPlay. That's really all I need to do

technology wise because I really do like Apple CarPlay and that brings it into the modern time

technology wise because you have your smartphone in your pocket. That car theoretically could be the

last one. You could drive it forever. I'd be quite bored. I'd be incredibly bored. And there

would be major things to replace, but you could milk that car forever and keep finding parts

and replacing it. At some point somebody would be 3D printing you something for your car. I do

believe it's possible. It's just quite boring. All right, Bruce, I am thinking about our joke.

Forced obsolescence, you're going to buy a new one. This is going to wear out maybe before

the end of your lease. Yes, possibly. Yes. And as a Volkswagen badge on it, it will. But if I'm

just kidding, it was a toast. Just take it back right now. I don't care what the problem is. Yeah.

Quick, get out. It might crumble underneath you on the freeway. But what if car manufacturers worldwide

went the opposite direction. And every car they build at every price point suddenly were built

forever and sold to all of us. That's the engineering plan. Yeah. This is the last one.

Choose carefully. Yeah. But this is the last one. You need the SUV for the family?

Choose carefully. We can give you one. Tanks ain't got nothing on this car. You know,

you're reminding me of quality. You know, you're reminding me of if you've ever looked,

just pull up photos. I don't care if the era pull up photos of the difference between an American

fighter plane and a Russian fighter plane. And the Russian fighter planes always look a little,

I don't know, they look less elegant. They look a little rougher around the edges.

Yes. Kind of burly. But the reason is most of the places where their landing is like a

field. True. So they're designed to be beat on in a way ever built in a ship.

Seriously. In the way that little spindly little American fighters, they look super cool. But

you better land them on a nice smooth runway. Oh, you'll destroy it. And the Russian fighter plane

looks burly and ugly and has some warts on it. But the landing gear comes down that goes,

I'll just land a field, land in a field for a different. Yes. Don't care. Exactly. This is

what you're talking about. The cars are going to be less pretty, but they're going to last forever.

And snow, ice, we don't care. So if that were the case and you're talking about the sports cars

that we've got. But you're at the end of the road with that at least. I mean, it can never

be sold. Yeah, it feels like a car I have to keep forever. And the truth is, I could. And you

could, but that's the sports car. So as far as the sports car category goes, what do manufacturers

build that is the last sports car you will ever buy in the snores? What do they have to do?

Is it at the price point of a McLaren or Ferrari? Is it down here with what, GRE6?

Just think if the GRE6 had, we made this decision like 20 years ago, like worldwide,

globally, all cars to be built to better than military grade exacting standards survive Russia,

go off we go. Exactly. Jerry Weger kind of tried to do that because he built the vectors.

You remember? Oh, yeah. The aerospace, everything we use. Sure. Aerospace rivets, even though planes

are inherently built very thin and lightweight. So they can fly. Don't apply logic.

Anyway, the cars have to be built to the most amazing standards to do that to last forever.

Well, we can keep them going, but we wouldn't get the new models that I think are still ahead of us.

That are well advancing technology. Yeah, come. Sure. Yeah. We complain about electric power steering,

the dynamics of this. And where's my lightweight manual turbocharged? I need this complaint group.

I have lit the torches for everybody else. Yeah. Where are those cars in the future? I don't think

they're ever going to go away and continual and new desirable models will come out. The super

came out great to drive. My current boxer came in love. Sure. Kamens of all sorts, they're amazing

to drive. But if we had made this decision 20 years ago, we would have it stop. No more cars.

We're building and we'll just keep replacing parts. So car companies just become parts companies

to keep the models that they saw going because we all have them now. Yep. I'm taking it to an

extreme example. But I think there's still going to be innovation and tech that will make future cars

desirable. Plus, what if you're a family and you've got the suburban and then the kids grow up and

move out and we don't need the suburban anymore? Your lease is an exception. The Cayman is up there,

but the lease is such an exception because it still looks beautiful. It does seem timeless,

doesn't it? Yeah. Styling is so part of the equation here, right? You're right. Yeah. And if it

looks beautiful and is timeless and it's still just a beautiful object and great to drive, it's hard

to justify selling it. But if it's not beautiful and it's just trendy, it's of the times. I think

C8 Corvettes are very clearly in this camp. I think they're trendy and very much now. Yeah.

They're starting to kind of need a refresh already. Sure. I agree with that. Yeah. For sure.

But the timeless ones, that's why we look backwards to the 60s, Ferraris and Maserades and

Astins going, oh, beauty on wheels. So if we apply this across the board, that means no more future

cars. Some things are planned obsolescence, but most things are engineered to a price point. Yeah.

True. And companies continue to sell parts and yeah, keep it running and it'll make them like they

used to. But I still think we have a lot of runway ahead of us where new cool sports cars

will continue to appear. And if we apply this thinking, well, I already have my forever car.

I can't allow myself to buy a new one because I signed the agreement 20 years ago or whatever.

That's it. I signed. And the big problem that comes up at some point and obviously would take

this C change you're talking about is if you are trying to keep a car forever over time,

a decade plus out, your ability to get parts gets harder. And one of the reasons that these

old classic cars, look at the classic cars of the 60s and 70s, let's just go E type for a second.

One of the reasons they're worth a lot is because keeping them running takes a lot.

Because there's just not like everybody out there. Oh, yeah, we've got E type stuff in the back.

That's not really that common, okay? Yeah, why not? That's aisle six just all the way down

is all E type stuff. So that's the problem. It's at some point you flip the switch that way. Now,

if you buy something, this is the Beatles success. If you're if you're talking about getting

something that is going to to to last for 50 years and they're going to keep making parts for

50 years, then the numbers are in your favor. If you bought something that made for a year and

they never made it again, it's going to quickly be unaffordable to keep it because nobody's

supporting it anymore. That's the other problem. I mean, that's why I do like Porsche for that reason

because they have more to have that history that along where Sadie says this Chevy is kind of

into it. Many companies I think should do this more. But then I don't know that it it turns them

into classics and then they're still focused on new sales. They're still focused on the new

products and it comes down to being desirable and bringing into tech. And so I think people would

get bored. Yes, there are the forever cars. The Elise is so like I said, in that category, there's

maybe a handful of others. But people get bored. You get bored of your clothing. That's why you drop

it off at Goodwill. You're tired of those shoes. They're not really worn out. This is a cool jack,

but I'm just tired of wearing it. I mean, you and your bags are you still have your bag collection.

But still, you know what I mean, no, you're bringing up an interesting point that I didn't think about

until I was an adult at this age with a son the age I have. My son's 15 and he has exploded in

size in the last two years. He's reaching that place where he may now settle into this is his

shoe size. This is his shirt size. Okay, maybe. But the point I'm making is my wife and I both have

that shirt or pair of pants in the closet that are like 20 years old because I still have the

son. Yeah, because that shirt never wore out and I like it. I don't wear it that much, but I still

haven't. You pull out and you go, yeah, this shirt and then 20 years goes by and you realize

technically you could still wear it. My son has nothing that's more than two years old because it

doesn't fit him anymore. True. You get to a place in life where you're just like, well, it still fits.

I still got it. And you know, maybe I should upgrade or you just keep it because you like it.

This is interesting how that happens. I mean, I tend to like classic things. That's why I like

watches so much because they're a classic timeless pun intended timeless timepiece. Well done. Yes,

okay. There's new watches. I mean, I still think Apple watches are cool, but they're going to end

up in one of your junk drawers in your house. Of course they are. That's the whole point because

the new cool next thing is going to come out and you're going to be like, oh, I totally have to

have it and we all have discretionary income and we're just going to spend the money whether we

should or not. Yeah, for sure. So when it comes to cars, yeah, there's just a handful that still will

do this. And that's why these auction houses are so successful because it comes back to nostalgia.

It comes back to, oh, I used to have one of those. There's a really nice one. I met a point in

life where I can buy that, but for the bread and butter kinds of models all the way up to expensive

SUVs, I suppose they could go to, you know, the delivery drivers, you know, to keep putting miles on

them. But otherwise, people just want to change. I feel like. Yeah, you want to update. You want

the new thing and somebody else, your neighbor got the new thing and that you really want the new thing.

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Andrew G is in Tucson, Arizona, writing about his masochistic maintenance tendencies.

All right, it's because he own numerous volvals and sobs of varying ventages.

Yes, which means he had to do so. Talk about parts not being available.

Yes, talk about being hit misogynistic. Absolutely. That's going to be a long road.

Has he met your brother-in-law?

Well, no. They should meet Daniel. They should meet. Yeah. Daniel has leaned into it even more.

He is slinging hash and selling cars. He is actually sold another base sub nine three.

I think it was a wagon to his brother-in-law or no, sorry, to his brother. Stop.

From another woman he knew, he just got him onto like sobs of the greatest thing ever. Stop.

Okay, sorry, carrying off the word we're on topic Tuesday. Are they having trouble maintaining

those? Are they having any issues getting parts? He found his mechanic and it's running great.

He found some sort of guy that is the old grizzled guy in the corner that loves sobs.

No, it's actually their local mechanic that will work on anything and sobs are no exception.

They bring the sobs to him and they're they bring him their sob story and he finds the parts and

he works on and they run great and yeah, it's a cool car. Apparently they're born from jets moving on.

Yes, I mean, they're not made out of the same thing. If they were born from Russia jets,

they would last forever. I'm just connecting all the pieces. Born from Russian jets.

That's a different kind of jet. Wasn't that lotter? Yeah, essentially. Yeah, you don't put those

look like badly made boxes, but they survived stuff. Well, Andrew.

Andrew is in need of a new to him, daily driver. He could use some help being steered in the right

direction. I like the car puns. He is 29 from Tucson. He drives maybe 7,000 miles a year.

But his car sit when they're not in use. I'm wondering, do you deal with the tire

rot? If your tires are sitting in the heat in Tucson, do you deal with that? Interesting. I see that in

various car listings, you know, the tires like tires of sat so long in the heat. They're

rot it out. Well, he's got a budget of $35,000. He is not married. No kids. And he's sure he can

be convinced to sell some stocks. So if it could go above 35 if you push on him. So what you can do,

Paul, you're welcome to it. I'll try. Okay. It must be an automatic. He said multiple,

multiple surgeries in the past couple of years on his lower mobility extremities. He said it must

be fun or at least something that he'll enjoy being the steward of. Okay. Has to be able to fit a

bicycle even in places. He said constant clutch actuation may be off the table, but chasing sunsets

on his bike, that's not off the table. So the bike has to fit even if you take it apart. It can go

in pieces. Alright, that's good. That's helpful. It has to be somewhat reliable. The newest car he's

ever owned was brand new at the time, a 2013 Volvo S60 great seats, boring driving experience.

Yeah. Okay, fair. Yeah. He'd like something newer than that totally more ideally more inspired.

He says, thanks for the consistency of the content. And you really appreciate it. Glad to have

you with us, man. That's great. Watching since 2012. Amazing. That's that's almost as long as

we've been doing it, but not quite. Yeah. Thank you for being with us. Yeah. That's great. It's

amazing. Yeah. We've got ideas. I'm starting you out with the Hyundai Elantra N. The problem is

it's not a wagon. It's a big car and cars with the DCT. Yeah. So then I I toyed with the G70,

the 2.5. Those are starting I think $49,000 because it's so great to drive. Automatic.

Wonderful. Yeah. But then I did think I ended up at the place for you. Drew, the Mazda 3 Turbo,

because they only come in automatic. And with the hatch, I think your bike will fit.

It depends on the bike. He hasn't been clear about if it's roadbiker or mountain bike. I think

it's roadbike, but which would help some. But interesting. I like that. But roadbikes are super

light. So I think a rack on any of the choices we suggest for you, Andrew, would be just fine. Because

yeah, like I said, they're pretty light. I suppose you can take the front wheel off and get it

in the back, but that's what I thought about that Mazda 3 Turbo. They're just they're right in your

budget. They're lower than your budget. Yeah. I do have to ask that question of you, Andrew. And

that is you live in Tucson. So it's not like terrible weather, capital of the world. It's hot,

but it's not like the the storms coming in. Why not a small toe hitch? Why not a hitch mounted

bike rack? And I'm asking that because they're very, very common here in Park City for mountain bikes

and for roadbikes. So why not a hitch mount? I understand the desire to want to put the bike in the car.

But I'm asking you not, I also understand the desire to not reach up and put it on the roof. I

don't like that myself. I don't want to reach up on the roof. But a hitch net rack is really easy.

Our friend Greg with the M2 competition. He's got a hitch rack. And most sports cars,

unless they have a center exhaust, most sports cars work out for having a hitch rack.

So I want you to consider that at least because it's open up other possibilities. But I did

restrict myself to stuff I thought you could take the bike apart and put in the back which meant

hatches of decent size that I also think would be fun to drive. And I think I almost

sniper shot at this, but I'm going to give you a wild card as well. I think probably the best

possible car for you, Andrew, the Kia Stinger GT. It's good. That is a car that everyone I know that's

driven it has been surprised by how well it drives. It looks like a huge car and it looks like it'll

drive like a big car. And while it isn't a small hatchback, it drives really, really well. Huge,

real powerful engine, big hatch opening, drop the back seats, your bike probably is going to go

in there just on its side with all the pieces on it. Strap it down, please. But there is that. I

think that the Kia Stinger GT would be wonderful. You can get it all-wheel drive or rear-wheel drive,

powerful, modern. And I don't even think you have to spend 35 grand on it because they didn't sell

that well, unfortunately. And now they're all out there used. Kia Stinger, my friends. I think

is the answer. They only came automatic. It is the longer chassis of the G7 to you brought up,

Paul. So that is a great one. And I think you would love that. But then you did say

$35,000 and you could go up if you were convinced to sell stocks. So I have to bring it up because

it is, it's the same concept as the Kia Stinger, but classier, more expensive and more dynamic.

And that is used Porsche Panamera. Now, don't get the $35,000 version because I'm a little worried

about the early ones where they like the early clients. And there were reliability gremlins,

especially in the V8s living in those, okay? You got to get past the first few years. But beyond

that, they're incredible to drive. They have surprising space. So it'll be more dynamic and more

powerful than the Kia Stinger if you spend enough money. I don't know how much you're even willing

to spend. I want you to go test drive one to get a sense of it and decide, is this worth spending

extra on? Because I'm not sure that it is. I think you'd be very happy with the Kia Stinger,

but my alt is definitely used Panamera. Wow, Andrew, you've got some good choices here.

We hope you're hunting goes well. Please write to us every day driverTV at gmail.com,

topic Tuesday's car conclusions. We will soon have another car conclusions episode here.

Yeah, we got a lot of them coming in. We do. And then your car debates too. Andrew, let us know what you get.

This is Jason Momoa. I'll be your finance professor today. Welcome to Banking Smarter 101

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Lots of good questions I'm going to start with. The Bruce B on Instagram says,

is the 996 generation. So that's the late 90s very early 2011. Is that the only way to get a

quote unquote affordable 9.11. Bruce, my half joking answer of the affordable 9.11 is to buy a

Cayman. The more serious the more serious answer here and it's a better car. But anyway the more

serious answer here 996 or early 997s are the only quote unquote cheap 9.11s out there. Everything

else has just hyped its way right out of normal affordability. But I do think that the 9.11

experience you might be chasing you could probably get by buying a Cayman and get a cheaper,

easier to maintain car. Almond tech 89 on Instagram has a design question

when I was talking about door handles and how designers hate door handles because it affects

the clean lines of the door. Yes. But Almond is asking after decades of car design,

aren't there things that we as a human race get used to? And therefore seeing a car without

handles is even more jarring than having them. Also things like wing mirrors to headlights instead

of four like a two top and two bottom. How does this affect a designer's headspace? Designers

initially start that concept with the overall proportions in mind and the package of what the

design brief says. So what is the project we're working on? And that's where the sketches begin.

So packaging engine, transmission, people, all the stuff, whether it's a sports car, whether it's

an MPV, doesn't matter. The proportions are most important first. But you can't go the route of

Jaguar concept where they forgot about all those little things and had the proportion just

okay, a new proportion. That's that's our new design. Oh yeah, we should add a few details

that actually make it legal to drive on the road like headlights and tail lights. Don't get crazy

over there. Designers also lean towards the camera rearview mirrors which has been proposed for

more than 20 years. I mean, when I was in design school, everybody was like, oh in the future we

can have cameras that are rearview mirrors. And from the moment there were cameras people like

we could do. Yeah, exactly. However, designers think proportionally, they think of overall theme,

does it fit with portfolio? Does it actually, is this something that is beautiful, can be sold?

It's going to meet the brief and actually be compelling and interesting. Then it comes down to

what is the technology the car will be using? On one hand, you could just be doing a refresh. So

you've got things to work around. Some parts of the car cannot move. Based the A pillar,

HVAC, that isn't moving. That's the parts that's crashed tested. You cannot change that. So from

that point here, that changes the distance from the steering wheel, from your H point to the front

axle, everything else. All the sheet metal can change around that. But then you're getting into

the height of the hood. You've got a lot of legal ramifications to consider. So when it comes to

tech, is it led? What is the tech driving that? But designers also like to propose in the sketch,

it's going to be some new tech with led here. I don't know. The engineering team is going to figure

that out because it looks cool. And there's a collaboration there. That's where the interesting new

designs, engineering says, well, we can do this. That's not possible. So here's a compromise in between.

So your headlight design is going to have to increase in size. Designers, I think drove the angelize

for the BMW cars that have now become actually really cool looking. That style has been driven

by designers just making a gestural sketch and engineering going, we can do that. We can make that,

you know, the light pipes or the LEDs or whatever those are to make that signature lighting. And I think

it's a collaboration between design and engineering to do so. But they've still got governmental

crash regulations to respect. And so designers are thinking about them, but it's not necessarily an

afterthought after the car is designed. And oh, yeah, we got to open that door. Right. I forgot about

that. The doors need to open weird. Also, sometimes here's the part. Here's the latch system

that needs to be used. It's this big and it's going to create a minimum opening of this on the door.

And for manufacturing purposes, it has to be located here. It could not be at the part line.

It cannot be built up into the pillar. It has to be here because of cost. Okay. I guess we'll

put it there. I'm trying to make the most interesting shape I possibly can. But never mind, you know,

on the testerosa, did it make sense to put exterior door handles? No, it made sense to put it

underneath where the fins, the side streaks started. That was interesting and cool. So, of course,

depends on the design. But most of the time designers are trying to push on that. They just always have

the parts availability, the costs, you know, taking all that into consideration. So, I'd say

designers take that in, you know, they're thinking about that from the very beginning. Because if

they're not, someone will remind them. It's going to change the design. So, they're always

thinking about this thing has to be manufactured. This thing has to, you know, be made for a cost.

And that's that's always in the back of their minds. Dan is asking a mitsonda question. He's

actually saying he feels like this is Honda being told by someone to adopt Nissan, not Nissan

going, don't you like us? Which is a very interesting assessment. I would, I would love, and I also

don't want to know, but I would love to know all of the behind the scenes machinations that's making

this come together. Because I agree with many of you in the comments. Honda feels like the brand

that needs this least. But and also Mitsubishi's been and Renault have been parts of other places.

So, it's a fascinating carving up of things. But he says, I've got a real question. Why do people

not like Nissan vehicles? Why don't they sell? And he's saying, please give an answer better than

their cheap. And I have, I think an answer for you, Dan, and I could be wrong. But this is my

impression in all of the Nissan's we've driven in the last man 15, 20 years. And also keep in mind,

I've had two different Nissan 300ZXs from the 90s when Nissan was killing it. All right. I've had

two of those cars. And they were awesome. But when the 300ZX was being sold, think about the fact

that there was other great stuff than Nissan lineup. The 240 was excellent at the time as was the

Centra. So, Nissan was making multiple interesting cars at the time the 300ZX was out. They killed

it. They came back with a 350, which was a mixed bag. But the big last splash that Nissan had was

2008 with the 2009 model Nissan GTR. That was the last blank check product. And everything else

since then. And think about the technology of the GTR among many, many other things. It had a

dual clutch, right? Yeah. Nissan's entire lineup for 15 plus years. Everything has a CVT.

Everything does. Yeah. I mean, some of the trucks don't. But in general, if you buy a Nissan

product, it has a continuously variable transmission. And while Subaru of all people has made a CVT

that is halfway decent to tolerate, Nissan still makes the worst in the industry. They were the

first to go all CVT. They are still buzzy, strangely programmed, very loud. So the car just doesn't

feel like it's working with you. And I think even if you're not a car person, I think that matters.

I think you get in it and it's buzzy and it responds strangely. And I think you get out and

probably go by something else. I feel like I could be wrong because obviously the GTRs have

thrown out and there are other exceptions with the Z-Car and some other trucks have been okay. But

I think in general, Nissan killed their brand by embracing the CVT. I think they did too. That's

an excellent answer. Over here on Instagram, our friend Jorge M is going to Florence with the

family soon. Is a trip to Maranello worth a day trip to do the tour of the prancing pony stables?

Or do we recommend some other car family activity instead? Our friend Kareem says, yes, it's worth

a stop. They've got a small museum, which is, of course, awesome. And the roads are pretty awesome

as well. Try to rent something Italian. That shouldn't be too hard. But Gerrard Gist Gianni says,

Alpha Museum outside of Milan is better. Haven't you been to one of those? I've been to the Mazza

Rodi Museum. Of course you did. Yes. What was I thinking? It's at Ombre cheese that are Romano and

Regiano cheese factory where they own the grass that feeds the cows that make the cheese and store

it in the barn. That's like the sausages that are made by Volkswagen. It's the same kind of thing.

They got a part number. And then they've got the Mazza Rodi Famous Mazza Rodi Museum right there.

But I will say, Jorge, if you're in the area, take the train north to Bologna. Get in an Uber,

rent a car. Don't care. And make your way to Pagani. That's a different thing. Pagani is jam. I feel

like Ferrari doesn't really care if you're there or not. They're almost kind of bothered that you are.

That's kind of how they are as a brand in general. Pretty much. I just don't really just why are you

here bothering me? It's been 10 years since I've been there. Things I'm sure have changed. I hope

they've changed because there's a great museum with the history and some historic cars. And yeah,

yeah. And then you end up in their hall of F1 where they're pretty much like trying to remind you

like how great are we that no other car company exists on the planet? Like look at us.

Yeah, but you did get beat. Other teams have beaten you. And over at Pagani, they want you to feel

the carbon fiber and the aluminum. And you got to make sure go to the restroom when you're at

Pagani because everybody says this. Don't you want to go see the carbon fiber sinks and faucets?

I mean, the pull handles on the drawers are leather from what I hear. But the cows were happy to donate

their lives for the Pagani bathroom. It's all carbon fiber. I mean, everything designed by

Horatio Pagani himself imagined the attention to detail that the cars have. He's worried about the

public bathrooms. True. At Pagani, true. How worried is he about the cars? But they seem very

excited that you're there. They want to show you everything. I had heard years ago that Ferrari

stopped giving the official tours because people would walk through the factory. And on a shelf,

there's a bolt with the prancing horse and they put it in their pocket because they have something

from Ferrari. You got to hate people. And then they come to the manufacturing like where is my

bolt? I need to put the car together. Yeah. Holy cow. So at Pagani, they want to share the

experience. I was at the old Pagani factory before they built a new one and it was pretty much just

an office building that they converted. Now they've got bigger, better facilities. So I say Pagani

will be the experience. You know, the new utopia has been announced, right? And some people have

driven in that fair a few others have driven. I would love to drive the utopia. I wanted to drive

the wire. I didn't get to drive that either. I'd like to drive any of the Pagani's. The wire I loved

and then the utopia came out in like, how do I describe this? It was like a Caucasian flesh

color. It's like the worst possible off white. And I just kept thinking that cars ugly. And then

recently I saw other photos of it and other colors, including a really nice dark British race

and green. And I just stopped and just looked. It was like, that is spectacular. I cannot wait to see

one of those in the metal in a cool color because I think Pagani may have done the fiber in the fiber.

Yeah, there you go. I like that. That's very good. Here's a question that has come up a few times

and we're going to keep unpacking this in the months to come. But we have big events coming up

this year and just to give you the general highlights, keep this in mind. We have our pilgrimage trip

that we do every year to the ring and spa one day on each. We try to make it as affordable as

possible that it is expensive to go to Europe and rent cars and get on race tracks. That is

happening at the end of April. Registration is going to go live very, very soon. Then the week

after Memorial Day, May 31st and 1st, we are doing the first ever hooked on driving event at circuit

of the Americas in Austin. But we're also doing the 1,000th episode of this podcast right here

on the grounds at circuit of the Americas. We're very, very excited about it. So it is not just

track days. And that's actually where Tom's question comes in. He says, for those who want to come

to the 1,000th show at Coda, will there be things to do that don't involve driving on the track? Yes,

Tom. Coda is just a cool facility in general. So keep that in mind. There will be some kind of cars

and coffee. There will be some kind of vendor row. We're putting these pieces together as we go.

Also the cart track will be open. And then of course, in the evening, Saturday evening, we will do

the podcast. There will be lots of layers. And we think we're still figuring out we think that the

venue for the podcast will have limited seating. So we'll probably charge something to attend the

podcast. Much of this is getting figured out. But I wanted you guys to know about these big events.

And then there will be another Europe trip in July. And probably a bear tooth trip in the fall.

There's a lot going on that we want to see you guys at. So we're very excited.

Thank you for all your questions. We've got a big gear planned as you can tell. And yeah,

that hooked on driving trip just after July 4th will include Zanvort. Yeah, just one tracks and the

ring on the same trip. Zanvort just outside Amsterdam. Yep. And it's going to include our one of our

favorite drives through Germany. Yep. And some time through the Netherlands, it's going to be a

throwdown. I can't believe it. It's going to be really cool. Guys, we're looking forward to 2025.

Send us all your questions. We love hearing from you. And we're looking forward to next time too.

Cheers everyone.

960: Eagerly Anticipated Models, The Last Sports Car You’ll Ever Buy, Born From Russian Jets

Honda Prologue

BMW G22

Honda Prelude

BMW M2

Chevrolet C8

BMW M5

Cadillac CT5

Dodge Charger

Challenger Hellcat

Honda Civic

Hyundai Ionic

Toyota GR Corolla

MC20

Mazda Cx70

AMG Gt63 Se Performance

Mclaren Artura

Porsche 911

Porsche Carrera T

Porsche Boxster

Porsche Cayman

Toyota MR2

Toyota Celica

Toyota Tacoma

Volvo P1800

Lotus Elise

Volvo S60

Hyundai Elantra

Genesis G70

Mazda 3

Kia Stinger

Porsche Panamera

Nissan Not Nissan

Nissan 300Zxs

Nissan Gtr

About this episode

Original notes