The Lexus GX is a fancy SUV that can handle rough terrain while also being comfortable for everyday use. It's built to be tough and is often compared to the Toyota Land Cruiser.
The Toyota Prado is a midsize SUV that can handle rough roads and is comfortable to drive. People like it because it's reliable and can be used for both city driving and adventures.
The Volkswagen GTI is a sporty hatchback that is fun to drive and practical for everyday use. It's a popular choice for those who want a mix of performance and utility.
The Toyota Corolla is a small car that is very reliable and good on gas. It's a popular choice for families because it has enough room and is safe to drive.
The Subaru WRX is a sporty car that is great for driving fast and handling well in different weather conditions, thanks to its special all-wheel drive system.
OCD is a condition where someone feels the need to do things in a certain way or be very careful about details, like how car parts are added.
Car
Toyota GX
The Toyota GX is a big SUV that can carry a lot of people and is good for off-roading. It's known for being tough and reliable, making it a popular choice for families.
The FJ Cruiser is a tough SUV that looks a bit like older Toyota models. It has special doors that open differently, which can make it hard to get in and out of the back seats.
The Mazda RX-8 is a sporty car that has a special kind of engine that makes it different from most cars. It's fun to drive, but some people find it tricky to take care of.
The Fiat 500 Abarth is a small, sporty car that is faster and more fun to drive than the regular Fiat 500. It's great for city driving and has a cool design.
Exhaust noise is the sound that comes from the back of a car when it runs. Some cars have a nice sound that people enjoy, while others might sound loud or rough.
Suspension is the part of a car that helps keep it smooth and stable while driving. It connects the car to its wheels and helps absorb bumps in the road.
BFG KO2s are a type of tire made by BFGoodrich. They are designed for off-road driving and provide good grip on different surfaces, making them popular among truck and SUV owners.
The Tacoma is a small truck made by Toyota. It's known for being tough and good for off-road driving, making it a favorite for people who like outdoor adventures.
The Ford Falcon is an older car that many people liked because it was affordable and practical. It's often talked about by car enthusiasts who appreciate classic vehicles.
KO3s are a type of tire made by BFGoodrich that is good for driving on different terrains, like off-road and on highways. They are known for being tough and providing good grip.
The Toyota Land Cruiser is a big, tough vehicle that can handle rough roads and tough conditions. People like it because it's reliable and can last a long time, making it a popular choice for families and outdoor enthusiasts.
The Toyota Camry is a popular car that many people use for daily driving. It's known for being comfortable and getting good gas mileage, which makes it a great choice for families.
The Chevrolet Suburban is a really big SUV that can fit a lot of people and stuff inside. It's great for families or anyone who needs to carry a lot of gear, like for road trips.
The Ferrari FF is a fancy sports car that can go really fast and has a unique design. It's known for being powerful and luxurious, making it a dream car for many people.
The Porsche 911 is a fancy sports car that many people admire for its speed and style. It's known for being really fun to drive and has a unique look that sets it apart from other cars.
The Porsche 959 is a rare and powerful sports car that was made in the 1980s. It's known for being very advanced for its time and is now a collector's item because not many were made.
The BMW X2 is a smaller luxury SUV that looks sporty and is fun to drive. It's a good option for people who want a stylish car that still has some space inside.
The Subaru Ascent is a family-friendly SUV that can fit a lot of people and has all-wheel drive for better handling in different weather. It's a good choice for families who need space and safety.
The Land Rover Range Rover is a luxury SUV that looks really nice and can go off-road. People talk about it because it's stylish and can handle rough terrain while still being comfortable inside.
The Toyota Tundra is a big truck that can carry heavy loads and is good for tough jobs. It's popular with people who need a strong vehicle for work or outdoor activities.
LIVE
Hello, welcome to the universe podcast. Late last year, Dan Roth and I picked up the reins
of the show from Jeff Glocker. And we put together what we thought were a pretty great
series of shows with new format. And believe it or not, now we're about to shake things
up again. My name is Ross Ballett. And I'll be sticking around host podcast. Dan actually
landed a day job with a certain electric vehicle startup. And this position prevents him from
being in front of the mic or the camera. But he is staying on as our executive producer
and spirit animal. And even though you won't see or actually hear him, his influence will
still definitely be here. I won't be alone. We're going to have a rotating gambit of co-hosts
who are going to join with unique perspectives and experiences. And the two of them who are
going to be the most frequent with me are actually here on this first episode of our
new format. So the first of them is Chris Tracy. And he was and is what I call my brother
in arms for the just over 200 episodes that we did of the off the road again podcast.
He is a great guy knows a ton about running a show lives in Kansas City. And he's an
overland guy. So hope everybody welcomes Chris with open arms. And the other is Camille
Kaluzzi. He is actually new to podcast hosting. He has been around for universe longer than
I've known about the site. And he's a car guy through and through. He's done 24 hours
of lemons and he's involved in all sorts of things, including driving press cars. And
he's got his own YouTube channel. He's trying to get off the ground. So welcome him as well,
please. We will have guests. Chris and I had an enormous amount of amazing guests on off
the road again. And I am shooting to bring them and some of their friends in. So we want
you to tell us to if there's you know, anybody you want to hear from within the auto industry
or the automotive media, let us know. We're happy to reach out. And I mean, between us
and Glocker and everybody in our little circle, we probably can pull some strings or hopefully
can pull some strings as I get ahead of myself before anything actually happens. And you
know, speaking of Glocker, hopefully he'll stop by sometime to talk with us. So as for
what the show will be, we're going to try some new things. You know, Dan and I had a
new format that that kind of had a storyline like a through line through each show. We
may throw that into the mix here as well. And you know, there'll be the regular rotation
of stuff that you've come to expect on the universe podcast, you know, automotive news,
car reviews, product reviews, stories, industry shenanigans, all the BS that comes with this
profession that some of us have and for others like myself hobby. So that's it. Again, thank
you for listening. And let's roll. Just because we have done this does not mean we are
professionals. Welcome to the newest iteration of the universe podcast. My name is Ross
Ballet, and I am joined by Chris Tracy and Camille Kalewski. And this is basically what
the new show is going to be. It's going to be a version of one of us, two of us are all
three of us as we have tonight. And we're going to talk about all things cars, trucks,
off road, on road engines, trips, shenanigans, car reviews, all that stuff that you've come
to know and love or hopefully love with the universe podcast. So thank you for listening
and now the guys are going to introduce themselves quickly.
I'm Chris Tracy. I have been a writer on the universe for a very long time and co host
slash produced off the road again podcast with Ross for going on four years and 200 plus
episodes 200 plus episodes. And this is a re entry into the space for me. But at the same
time, I'm not doing anything. So it's great. And it's overdue for you to be back here.
It is. It is. And we I've been writing for universal 2016. And Chris, I think you were
probably around the same time maybe a little after and Camille's got us both beat.
Yeah, I think I used to go on the website since I think 2009. And even though you guys
had a podcast and you had 200 wonderful episodes, you've only had me as a guest once.
Um, did we really? Yes, only once. But I'll give you credit that that's one more time than
Jeff ever did. Okay. So it wasn't twice. I'm willing to bet it was at least twice. Maybe
maybe I have CRS. I don't know. It's that bad an experience drops in the bucket. I'm so happy
we made a lasting impression. So okay, my Google search now. Yeah, check the records.
Let's do some live fact checking. So anyways, in in our normal shows, going forward, we'll
probably have some kind of topic or theme or trajectory that follows us through the show
after some kind of intro and story to start tonight. Since we're doing this kind of up
against the clock, and it is, it's jump into the deep end, we're going to skip that. And we're
going to talk about a topic about where you draw the line in modifying your vehicle. And this
topic came up because somehow Chris Camille and I all own Lexus GX's of various states of life
currently, even though we've all owned the same vehicles and other capacities at other times,
we all concurrently own Lexus GX. And, and Chris is thinking about changing up the back door,
because you can bolt on a Toyota Prado 150 barn door from overseas for, for what the price of
a used Miata used to be. So where do you guys draw the line? I mean, I have no, no style. My line
is you can't drive it and be comfortable. But my line right now, because I have two very small
children, is it has to still carry them safely? Yeah, yeah, that the GX's are known to be small
and uncomfortable vehicles for families. Which is yes. You know, it's, it's not as good of a family
vehicle as people would think just by passing it on the street. That's because you ruined it.
Well, no, I'm talking about in terms of second row passenger leg room between, you know, where
toddlers feet kick up and the seat back. So what you need to do is you need to go to Europe and
see what kind of family vehicles they have over there. Yes, everything is relative. Apparently
a Toyota Corolla wagon should suffice for you. I mean, a GTI will get it done anywhere in the world.
There you go. So to answer your question, you are the kind of modifying person where you will
throw everything in a kitchen sink at a car, then declare that you're bored with it, that doesn't
fit you and move on to something else. And I noticed because I've seen you do that with a WRX,
with a Challenger, with... I didn't modify those. I didn't really modify. I did exhausts on both of
those cars and wheels and tires, and that was it. Yes, then you found something to complain about,
like seats not being good for your back or... This is true. And then you don't.
Man, versus first show and I'm getting wrecked over the calls, this is...
Yes, why not? Why not? I'm just throwing you right under the bus.
This is hosting, isn't it? I'm a bit different. The Lexus for me is different because it's the
first vehicle that I bought modified, which was a huge mistake because I'm very OCD and not only
care about what I put on, but also how it's put on because you can have a good modification
or a good part and you can have somebody completely eff it up.
Didn't you also buy sight unseen? Yes, that's another problem, but that would require a separate show.
But we don't talk about that. No, let's not get stupid. No. So my excuse for most of my issues with
my GX are because of stupid previous owners, lack of proper inspection,
and or it just being old because it's got 200 something thousand miles on it,
which is probably a lot more than either of yours or your both of yours combined.
Camille, yours is a 470. What year is it? O3. It's the first year.
It's an O3. Okay. So and incidentally, at one point, you and I had the same wheels and tires.
They were both black. They had both an Ironman or Aussie style front bumpers and suspension.
And Ironman suspension. Yeah. Park next to each other.
But you had to sell your wheels. I did. I did. And I don't regret that. But yeah,
so yours is an O3 and Chris has a 2017 that is just starting down the slippery slope.
So for me, like you were right before when you were talking about like,
so like I have four kids, the GX is not great for having all four kids in it unless we're going
to dinner or say we're running downtown and I don't want to take the Sequoia with everybody in it.
I can get every all six people in it. The biggest two kids sitting in the captains,
the smaller two kids that know what we call the way way back, even though it's only the way back,
but whatever the third row in the GX is down. Yeah, it is. But if those two kids are short enough
and see, I'm fortunate that I don't have to have the toddler seats that you're dealing with constantly
in the back row, like it's true today. Those seats went away. It's the best fucking day ever.
Is it really? Oh my God. Are you kidding me? Like throwing them away feels fantastic.
So I will say, you know, when my first daughter was born and I had press cars,
putting the car seat base, we have this doona thing, which is like the stroller that collapses into
the into itself and then just goes into the base. Like moving that, you just clip it into the latch
system, five minute process at most moving it from car to car with a mirror. It's five minutes
to be screwed up. Now with the forward facing seat that you got to like run over the headrest and
connect to the back and in a pickup truck, it's got to go through the headrest and over the center
one, you know, and in some cars, you got to fold the seat and connect. It is moving car seats is
pain in the ass. And this is like champagne problems of champagne problems, you know.
When I first started doing car reviews, that was my thing. It was like, how easy is it to put car
seats into? Yes. Like I did that every video. 100%. Yep. Torchinski friggin killed it with Willa Baby.
Like he should have seen me trying to put, you know, this 360 degree rotating car seat in a,
like a Ram 2500. It's like, I'm not tall. This isn't meant for me. You know, what was the one of
the most difficult cars for me to put in the cars, one of the cars that I remember cursing
was the FJ Cruiser with the stupid little. Yeah, the suicide doors, but the suicide doors on the
half doors on those don't open. They don't give you enough gap to get to the seat the way they do
on like an extended gap pickup. Yeah, no. It's worse than an RX8. I did two front facing car
seats into the backseat of a Fiat 500 Abarth. And it was the best because I just took, at the time
we only had the two boys, so it made sense. But like, I think it was like a snowy morning too.
And I was dropping them off at daycare and we were in Ampli parking lot. I did handbrake
turns all the way through that. You didn't need a GX for that. You hear that, Ross?
That was also, I thought the car was broken, but it's literally because I think my second
kid at the time was nine months old and he was in the back mimicking the sound of the exhaust.
And I was like, all right, so this kid might be all right. But I thought the car was broken because
there was this weird extra noise. No, it was him in the back growling at it. Amazing. The car makes
a good noise all of a sudden. Yeah. The bar makes a good noise. It seems a lot. It's awful.
It's like a Chihuahua. It's all bark and no light. Yep. I think I drove one of those.
It's got to be at least 10 years ago. But oh, yeah, those things were silly. Those can be picked
up cheap used. Five grand. Good they are. Not good. But like good reliability, not good.
Oh, yeah. I think they have like basic issues to expect. You know, they're not crazy
problematic, but it's the kind of thing where you know you'll be spending money.
Yeah, but like, so is a mini Cooper. Absolutely. So is every Audi and a whole bunch of other cars.
Absolutely. Yep. And that's that's why people buy Miata's, you know, like
that's just simple and it works. But we don't need to talk about that in our first episode.
Do you guys have any other thoughts on what the the end goal for modifying is on GX is?
Yeah, I do. So I can't talk about my GX because I bought it like this. But for me,
for every car I owned, I would only do the things that I felt like I needed to improve on.
Yeah. So with that's the best way I grew. And I did the suspension. My Prado is a good example
of that. It turned into a whole big project, but none of the things that I did were needed. I got
a nice stereo because I had a JDM radio that wouldn't pick up American stations. And I wanted
Apple CarPlay. The roof and a hood were faded from the sun. So I wrapped it. The wheels were
pitted. So I replaced the wheels. I needed new tires. The shocks were gone. So I just, you know,
put a light lift kit on it. And that was a real Prado to clarify that I was listening. It wasn't
it wasn't a GX. That was a really cool project. But you know, what people miss often, which this
kind of it was more than I expected on the Prado was making it solid as in needed some
maintenance. Like I didn't expect to replace the alternator. I didn't expect to rebuild the
the steering rack. In those engines, the hell is it called? The knock sensors are mounted inside
the V. There's two of them. So you get a pull of the intake manifold. That's not that was another
issue. But it was a fantastic project to work on. But again, in terms of my modifications,
I don't tend to do anything that I don't need to do. Right. Yeah, that's the way to approach it.
Kind of like an OEM plus shit, you know, or we're not supposed to curse. Yep. I already did. So
I roughed and tell me I couldn't. So we were I don't remember Jeff stopping. So
yeah, but for instance, I have a Bronco too. And the only thing I did on it was change the tires
because I doesn't need anything else from me. How has your Bronco been? It's got 36,000 miles on it.
And it's been shockingly good. There's no issues with it. Wow. I just I like she is having an oil
change. Nice to change the brakes. And you know, I live in a city, a lot of city driving, the brakes
are 90 and 50% worn. Really? That's pretty good. Yeah. That said, I don't trust it as far as I
can throw it. And when my warranty was about to expire, I did I did get an extended warranty from
Ford. That's really not a bad idea. Yeah. But I gotta do brakes on my GX. We know Dan would approve
of making sure you get the extended warranty. Yeah, slightly biased. Dan loves Ford. What are
Dan's middle name is actually Ford? Ford Rock. He's gonna love listening to this, editing this.
I mean, he has the power. He has the power. Oh, we lost Camille. Dan just drove over. Oh,
he's there. Dan drove from the other side of Boston and just killed Camille on the spot. Oh, yeah.
He's gonna take he's gonna send a drone my way. That's a little bit of a drive. Hit me first.
But yeah, no, I tend to take the same approach. It's like
upgrade the things that you know will need to be upgraded and, you know, some creative liberties
along the way. But if it will improve the reason and the use case behind the vehicle, awesome.
So let me ask you this question. Yeah, what are the modifications you've made that you've regretted?
And I can win one really easily on the vehicle you currently own or that you, for instance,
or whatever an example in the past. I give you a Prado example. I chose slightly bigger tires,
because obviously, but the tires in that size, which was 265.
Are they 16? No, there were 17. Whatever the size, it was a little bit small, whatever,
whatever the size was, the BFG KO2s were only available in load E. Had I gone slightly smaller
in size or slightly bigger, they'll be available in load C. And the load E, the heavier, thicker
tire completely killed my ride. That was my regret. That is how a lot of people with Tacomas
and forerunners end up hating their vehicles, because they go up to like a 285, 70, 17, and that,
you know, it goes from a 45-pound tire to a 65-pound tire. It kills the ride, kills the
acceleration, it kills the gas mileage, it kills the cornering, and people are like,
well, my truck drives like shit now. And so funny thing, I have the the Falcon
84s, the wild peace. And load E and load C were about the same weight,
in 285, 75, 17. Yeah, there's a few tires. And they were the same weight as 285, 70,
which is a 33-inch tire, which is the weirdest thing ever. I would have wondered about like the
ply and the carcass they're using, but I think they put it. So here's my theory on these tires,
and I'm going to let you go on because I feel like I'm hijacking you. I think, and I think BFG
did it with KO3s as well. In order to get a longer warranty, they just slapped additional
rubber, not necessarily more, more belts, but additional rubber on the outside that give them
thicker, basically more wear item, but also thicker depth, thicker depth.
Like the actual log depth, the tread depth itself is thicker. I mean, we can, we can figure that out.
Exactly. We can cross reference, you know, size versus size and weight versus weight
for the generation. KO3s the same size, like KO3s got heavier. Yeah, they got heavier.
That's why, but they also put a longer warranty on them.
That's interesting. That is a good theory. I mean, I love focusing on, like,
I'm obsessed with tires, and I think everybody knows that. I'll look into that. I have some
people I can ask that question to specifically. Go ahead and do that. I'll try to report back.
Camille, you have, what do you have on the GX right now?
The 34-inch, 285, 75, 17s wild peaks. Which are wild peaks, okay.
And rough with change of tires. I have the 34 by 10.5 KO2s on the Lexus right now,
and I have a set of 255, 80, 17, Toyo, RT trails that are ready to go on the truck
one side. We were going to come, we were going to switch this. We were literally going to switch
them. Yeah, we just don't have the time. I know. Maybe sometime in July, I can hike up there.
Speaking of, we might be doing a trip, not really up your way, but equidistant from where you and I
are north to go off road. And so I'll let you know. Okay. Inside baseball side,
all over the place on this one, man, we really kicked this thing off by just giving everybody
a lot of different things. So yeah, we're going to take about, I think, five or 10 more minutes,
and we'll call it wraps. Let's quickly just touch on a car review or two. I have a couple
good ones that I could talk about. Camille, I don't know if you have anything that you've driven,
Chris, anything that you've had access to. Chris is in Kansas City for the listeners, so
the press fleet in Kansas City kind of is. I do, and I think we have a lot of overlaps.
I live between two. I'm actually in the four on there right now.
Mmm. The new one? And you told us you like it more than its siblings. Yes.
So it's not the non-hybrid version. Okay. So it's not super heavy. And it's not slow.
And it's just fine. It actually pulls quite well on the highway. What is it? Constantly.
It's a turbo. What is it? It's a turbo for, without the hybrid. Without the hybrid, it makes like,
I don't know, it's like 278. 278. Yep. I think so. And it's got, it actually has a gearbox that was
developed in, well, let's think. The president, when it was developed, wasn't George Bush. So
it's a pre-bush. Oh, fuck. This one is modern. It's got a new gearbox, is what I'm trying to say.
Because the five-speed that was in the last ones was probably developed in like, actually,
no, that was developed in the 90s. That might have been developed when the first bush was in there.
Yes. In 2000. Yes. That powertrain is gone. Yeah. This one's completely different. And basically,
I like it better than a Land Cruiser one. Okay. Okay. Another issue is that it still has a small
fuel tank. But what's nice, and it's nicer than the Lexus, is the goddamn interior. Now, this is
a limited model. Limited forerunner has a nicer interior than the GX550. Honestly, yes. Okay.
The GX interior to me was a disappointment. I haven't actually been in a new GX or a new forerunner.
I'm surprised to hear that, but I don't doubt that there could be inconsistencies in things.
I've gone to dinner in a GX, like, downtown, like we went with friends and I rode with her
brand new one downtown. And yeah, I can absolutely see that coming. Like, it was nothing. The GX
felt like a Camry. This one is like, the GX had like a big piece of plastic for the whole dash
including the screen. Here, it's more modular. The screen is out a little bit separately. And
it just seems like the finish is nicer. Interesting. That's interesting. Yeah, I'll have to
ping me. But I can talk about the GX to an extent because I found a lot of things I didn't like
with it. And I'm very disappointed with it. It's surprising. I remember the text ramp. Yes.
We should just publish those. Nope. Those are not publishable.
Okay, give us your spark notes. What didn't you like about the GX?
So no more air suspension. Now, most people don't like air suspension,
but it's actually quick. Air suspension is genius.
AFC. Yes. As long as you don't end up modifying it, it works great because it's comfortable. It
increases your towing capacity, your payload capacity. You don't squat, don't do anything. So
that's gone. In place of it are just typical iron springs. And they just have variable shocks
with variable geometry, sort of like you would have old school tokykos with a little knob on it
or the BMW. And so I had it on the Merritt Parkway driving to New York.
And you drove past my house and didn't say hi. I said hi. You just didn't hear me.
I can see the Merritt. Anyways, it just felt like the suspension was fighting the physics of the car
as opposed to just going with it, you know? I mean, a stock GX is usually like that in every generation.
What I'm saying is I didn't like it. That's fair.
And I mean, I've driven the old GXs, like yours, the Ford, what I have, 60. And I didn't get that sense.
And the Land Cruisers and the GXs that had the air suspensions were just great.
Okay. Don't forget, this is the first time
when Lexus is building a new GX that they have an actual 3-row crossover available.
You know, there's the TX. And I mean, there was that like RX with a tiny little third row briefly.
But I think they're really trying to push the GX more towards this is truck, this drive like truck,
you know? So I wonder. You did a good job of that. Yeah. I wonder if that has something to do with
why you didn't like how it, you know, how it felt because I didn't expect sports car handling. I just
expect it. Yeah. I'm not verbalizing myself well. I'm just, I was not happy with this suspension.
Camille, mine, I mean, it's a 17 as KDSS, but it doesn't have the air suspension,
even though I have the luxury trim, which I've never understood how that.
You could be coupled luxury and I don't know. I literally have a truck that doesn't have AAC
and every time I put in the van, it's like, no, if you're a luxury, I'm like, no, I don't think so.
I got poor people buttons. How could it be luxury? Oh, that might have been a year that
they called the base one luxury. Yeah. 17. You know something that I believe
around that year, they had a problem with FJ Cruiser too. And it was trick, it trickled down
to that. What the hell was it? Well, there was a tsunami in Japan.
And the Fukushima. Yes. Wasn't around that time. 2017. I don't know. There was no FJ.
I thought it was 2017.
Am I getting my, I think that 2017 was the first year of the FJ. I may be getting confused,
but there was a year or so or even two where Toyota couldn't produce some models that didn't fit the
trim because they had problem sourcing the parts. That makes sense to me. That math checks out. But
what I was going to say is when I am fully loaded with my giant 17 year old who weighs 240 pounds,
plus myself, plus my wife and the rest of the kids, the truck, what you're describing with the GX550,
I feel like the truck does that sometimes. Like it feels like it almost wallows. Body and suspension
aren't necessarily doing two in the same. Yeah. And again, I'm keeping the expectations for what
it is. A body on frame, heavy, big, 100%. But in my mind, because I used to be in suburban land all
the time, I would never get that body roll because it was so much wider, so much longer. And that,
I did have air ride in the back of the suburban. One more thing about the current forerunner,
you still sit in it like you would sit in the Cadence sports car with your legs. Oh, really?
Man, I feel never really good at that. The fifth gen didn't have that, but the colma did,
and the third gen colma did, and the fourth gen forerunner had it with your legs on the way out.
Yeah, the fifth gen forerunner didn't, though. One advantage that a Land Cruiser has,
is that the forerunner has very short windows. Like the belt line is high, so the windshield is
kind of shorter. Yeah. Or the dash is higher, so the visibility isn't as nice as the forerunner.
Interesting. Interesting. The ideal combination for me would be the Land Cruiser without the hybrid
with a bigger trunk where the battery is, and maybe a bigger fuel tank.
That would be pretty great. Is it possible to get it without the hybrid? No, not here.
With the forerunner interior. Yeah, not here, no. But that's how they saw,
you know, eight different vehicles across the same little segment.
But they have three vehicles here, and I'm not like fully in love with either of them having owned.
I mean, you've literally owned all of them before. Yeah, that's true.
Actually, I have two now. I had a V8 forerunner, a Land Cruiser.
I'll just say this. I'll say this as we close out. These are all new Toyota and Lexus SUVs.
None of them are well-liked or well-received at the get-go. It takes
into what would basically be the model's mid-cycle refresh for everybody to really go,
okay, this is what we know and love. Maybe it's a teething thing, and they've just got to work
some stuff out, but I don't know. They're throwing fucking, you know.
I got another one about the forerunner. Not as a wall over the place.
You know the window with the switch for the rear window? Yeah.
It used to be like a big switch in the middle of the center console.
To open and close the sliding of the window.
Now it's a tiny switch on the roof next to the dome light.
Next to the sunroof switch? Nobody's gonna push the wrong one there.
It was more of the dome light, but yeah, it's in that vicinity. I found that annoying.
And it's a power hatch, but the power hatch is disabled if the window isn't fully closed.
So it doesn't explode when you slam? No, but then it should over in itself.
It should only be powered when the hatch, when the window is partially open.
Yeah. No, no, it's got to be fully closed, and then when you try to open it, you have to
fight the power mechanism because it puts so much resistance.
Man, you remember on the 4th gen forerunners where it had that,
it wasn't a power liftgate, but it would, like, you'd close it to 99.9%,
and then the little motor would go near and pull it closed? God, that was so stupid.
I mean, the 2008 Sequoia that we still own and does that.
That does it too? Oh man, what a waste of a future.
Because I'm the size that I am, being a 6 foot 4 and my wife being 5 foot 3,
when the car is in her seating position and I just, like, wouldn't need to move it real fast,
my knee, absolutely, the window, the rear window switch on that thing is right there by the driver's
right knee, and I always hit it and lower it. Why is it so loud in here? Because the window's open
and I can hear the car, like. Oh, Jesus. I did tell you the story about that one, though, right?
Oh, I don't know. Well, her driver's side view mirror was like the,
whatever, auto dim was delaminating, which making the mirrors completely useless,
like you couldn't see anything. So I just bought some Amazon mirrors, put them on there,
but you got to take the door trim off, or the door panel off, to then get to all the bolts for
the mirrors. Well, as I'm doing that, I was like, hey, there's another connector back here.
And what, does that connector go to the memory buttons? Oh, it does. Oh, cool.
So the memory button switches that I have been waiting for years to finally get to work,
now work. Nice. Yeah, there's an unconnected. Connected? Yeah, I just plugged it in and I was
like, oh, amazing. Magic. Wow. That's really funny. Yeah. You killed two brothers with one stone.
Dude, it is a life changing thing to just be able to hit the button on that thing. So.
Yeah. So, okay. Well, I think we are at time and I'll save BMW M8 versus Blackwing for another
show. We're going to hear about that. Remember when you were into sports cars?
Did we change or did the whole industry change? Or what the hell happened? I know why I'm driving
cars that are more off-roading. It's because the roads where I live are so, so bad. Well,
yeah. I'm tired of getting flat tires or bending wheels. And I also street park.
But it's the people who don't really care about sports cars anymore. That could be a whole
separate conversation. No, I mean. V6 Dodge Chargers, I feel like are what I see with exhaust
added to them all the time. Seriously? Like, I mean, it's few and far between for sports cars here,
but I mean, I think the summary, the one vehicular summary for the last like 10 years in
cars is like Subaru Wilderness. That's it. Just take something that's not really all that off-roading,
put some plastic and some, you know, colors on it and all a totally new model that gives this
something to older things. Yeah, I will say it is season of the Mustang out here right now.
Like every, every five seconds I hear a loud engine, I turn around, it's a Mustang going a
different way. Like season of the Mustang. Season of the Mustang. That sounds like a movie you would
see on like, I don't know, like an AMC at 4 AM. It's on Paramount produced by Taylor Sheridan.
I don't know what happens. There are plenty of sports cars in the Boston area and Boston itself,
but most people just don't drive them every day to hit other cars. Yeah. Yeah. I don't know. There's
this dude that drives from a couple towns north of here, I think down to like downtown Stamford
in a Ferrari FF. And I see him cruising past every couple days. Yeah. Daily's it year round?
Year round. But good for him. Good for a real drive. Yep. Yep. Yep. So anyway, hold on,
doesn't the front wheels only work to like third gear though? And then we learn that on top gear?
But if you're going more than dude, we're talking about an hour, you don't really need them.
Stop and go traffic here. Exactly. So traffic is so bad here now. So he's not going to test.
The thing that people don't know about the Porsche 911 old drive system is that it's 90%
we will drive. You only get front power. It's like a Haldeck system. When your rear tires start
to spin. It's slipping, right? And if you're in a 911 and your rear tires are spinning, you have
a whole bunch of problems as it is. You yourself are also spinning. That 10% is not going to help.
Right. I was shocked and blown away when I found that out. It'll help you arrive at the scene of
the accident. Yes. So I concluded that when and if I ever buy a Porsche, I don't need the old
drive because it's... It'll just help you crash faster. Maybe it was needed on like a 959,
but now between stability control systems, ABS and all this other stuff. You know,
it's a lot easier not to have that problem and just not have the money for a Porsche.
There you go. I'm already ahead of the game on that one, you know? Same. Same thing.
Curve, I should say. And that's spinning in the curve. Oh, man. I've emailed the Porsche press
for you a couple of times and just nothing. We're radio silence. They're selling every car they can
sell. They don't need me. Did you ever like talk to someone who bought a Porsche? You can't.
Basically end up getting what they have. Camille, we can tease this for another episode because I
know you texted us. You had a buddy that like texted you and was like, Hey, what do you think of this
car? And you were like, Don't do it. It's a bad cycle. It's terrible. Don't do it. And he was there
and he was like, Hey, they're putting a new battery in it already. Should they be doing that? Do you
remember that? Do you remember that? I just had another friend ask me, Hey, what should I look at?
Gave him a full list. That vehicle was not on the list. Guess what he bought?
The exact same thing. I'm going to need a drink when we're going to talk about that. Okay.
It's the, it's the car guy curse that all I want you to validate them. We're going to, we're going
to do a topic for the show on that because that is a whole, that's the can of worms of,
you know, can of worms for us as, as resident car people in our, our respective families and,
you know, should I buy this? No, I bought it anyway. My mom did it to me. She was like,
build me a spreadsheet. I did. And she literally went and bought first model year of a brand new car,
not on the list. Oh, wow. The same thing with the, with the BMW X2. And then she said,
it was a great deal. A week goes by and they called me, why is that engine making a weird
noise? And if you know those, those engines, unless you're super religious about oil changes,
they all develop knocks and they're basically just become whatever she saw. I sold the car for her.
That's, dude, my mom's still driving hers. She got, she was a Subaru ascent. She's still
driving. Okay. Well, that's rather has an ascent. It's actually working out really well for me.
Yeah. But she got the very first model year of it. It's like old refreshes.
We could also get into like cars. You know, you shouldn't have bought and bought anyway.
I haven't bought a Range Rover yet and I'm dying. So who was somebody who just wrote a story?
Yes. Yes. Yes. And I was looking at it and I was jealous.
Why don't we all look at the same cars? Because I was just looking at Facebook
listing for Range Rover. Because we're equally stupid. Because Toyota, because Toyota ownership
is too easy. Yeah. Yeah. That being said, I've got like five grain worth of work I gotta get
done on one of them. Oh my God. What? Yeah. It's two different things that are, I want to hear.
Think of a five grain. Power steering rack and then an alternator.
Okay. Power steering rack. I can help you. For 600 bucks, you can get it rebuilt.
Okay. Where? The labor, the labor is the steering rack killer.
Not really. It's turned five in Michigan and they did a great job on my Prada because
when the steering rack went out on my Prada, I was hosed because it's right in drive.
But they used a four on a rebuild kit and they did a great job on it and it was 500 bucks.
Yes. You have to ship them your rack. But you have choices. There's another company that just
does steering racks after market. She beats me. We'll take it in the texting.
Because I had to do control arms on mine. No, I did. I did the steering rack on my car.
I did the steering rack on my GX. I think you did. I think that was part of that cascade of
problems you had with it. I did and I'll give you their name because they
sent a refurbished one that was stronger. But yours is already stronger because a lot of people
put the 460 rack on the 470 and there's slight difference. Well, this is the life Sequoia.
Oh, tundra rack. Do a tundra rack. I don't know about those. That's another thing that
cannot get right. I mean, they fail only after 200,000 miles. What a piece of crap.
Dude, guess how we figured it out? I couldn't get it aligned.
Yeah, mine was leaking. My problem was, and I know I really have to go.
I probably, I need to change axles every year now because of the way it's lifted and the biggest
tires that I have, the angles at which the axle. I think something else is happening there because
I know a lot of people who run bigger tires and more left. Yeah, we'll talk about that too offline,
but I actually don't want to talk about offline. There's a million things that I'd rather talk about.
Leave me alone. Okay. Well, on that note, it is time to wrap here. So
good night. Camille, Chris, thank you listeners. Thank you,
universe podcast on the places where you find podcasts and follow my god, the music channel.
The real Camille, right? I have I have 180 subs. How good in 95? I'm going to do the fake Camille
and parody yours. Hey, if you want to go back and look at 200 plus episodes of off-road content.
Yes, off-road again, podcast. Yeah, I'll do that right now. Okay. All right, guys,
I will cease recording and hopefully this doesn't turn into a pumpkin. Goodbye.
About this episode
A fresh start for the Hooniverse podcast brings new hosts Ross Ballett, Chris Tracy, and Camille Kalewski together to discuss their automotive experiences and insights. With Dan Roth stepping back but remaining as executive producer, the trio dives into topics like vehicle modifications, family-friendly cars, and the quirks of owning Lexus GXs. They share personal stories about car ownership, the challenges of modifying vehicles, and the evolving landscape of automotive preferences, all while inviting listener feedback for future guests and topics.
