“Press cars” are vehicles provided to journalists or reviewers by manufacturers for evaluation and media coverage. They’re often loaned for a short period so the media can test the car and publish impressions.
They’re referencing Jeremy Clarkson, a famous TV host who talks about cars. The speaker is joking that they feel like they’ve “made it” like a big-name car reviewer.
The Toyota Land Cruiser is a tough SUV built for rough roads and off-road trips. It’s the kind of car people buy when they want something that can handle a lot and last a long time.
The Lucid Air is an all-electric luxury car. “Touring” is a specific version/trim that’s meant to be a step up in features and typically range and comfort.
The Lexus GX is a more upscale version of the Toyota Land Cruiser. In this discussion, they’re planning to drive it to compare how it feels and whether it’s “better” for their needs.
A “six cylinder” engine has six combustion chambers. The idea is that it usually runs smoothly and can feel easier to drive day to day, which is why they think it improves the GX.
The Ford Edge is a mid-size SUV/crossover for everyday driving. It’s designed to be comfortable and easy to live with. The podcast mentions it because it’s being weighed as a good choice.
A blind spot is a part of the road around your car that you can’t see from the driver’s seat. Cameras and tech can help show you what’s there so you feel safer changing lanes or parking.
The cameras are the little video views around the car that help you park and see what’s near you. In this case, they’re making the driver feel more confident because it’s easier to see around the SUV.
Speed bumps are those raised bumps in the road that force you to slow down. The host is saying this SUV rides over them smoothly and doesn’t feel sloppy or unclear.
Term
vagueness
“Vagueness” here means the car feels unclear—like you can’t tell what’s happening under the wheels. The host says this SUV avoids that and still feels informative but comfortable.
“Feedback” is how much the car tells you through the steering and ride what the road is doing. The host is saying it feels connected to the road, but it still stays comfortable.
The Toyota Sequoia is a big SUV from Toyota that can seat three rows of passengers. The hosts are using it as an example of a Toyota that also has that third-row layout.
The Nissan Armada is a large SUV that can carry people in three rows. The host is basically saying it’s the Nissan version of the same kind of big, third-row SUV idea.
The Prado (and Meru in some places) is a Land Cruiser model sold outside the U.S. It’s meant to be a capable SUV for driving in different conditions. The podcast brings it up because the name changes depending on where it’s sold.
Lexus is Toyota’s luxury car brand. The host is saying that even though the Land Cruiser name changed in the US, you can still buy that kind of SUV through Lexus.
This describes a car with a small 4-cylinder engine plus a turbo, and it also has an electric assist. The electric part helps the car feel quick right away, instead of waiting for the engine to build power. That’s what makes the driving feel smoother and more responsive.
“Drivetrain options” refers to the different ways power is sent from the engine (and/or electric motors) to the wheels. That can include choices like hybrid vs non-hybrid, different transmission setups, and different traction layouts. The host implies that the Defender offers more variety here than the Toyota they’re discussing.
A third row means extra seats in the back for more passengers. Adding it usually takes up space, so it can affect cargo room. The host is saying their specific Defender didn’t have those extra seats.
A sunroof is a panel in the roof that lets in light and sometimes fresh air. It’s a comfort feature people often like. Here, the host mentions it as a positive on the car they had.
Heated seats warm you up while you’re driving, using built-in electric heaters. They’re most helpful in winter. The host is saying their car had this feature.
A heated steering wheel warms the part you hold onto, which is great in cold weather. It’s usually an optional feature rather than standard. The host is pointing out that not having it was noticeable.
The Prado is a Toyota SUV that can handle rough roads, but it’s also meant to be comfortable enough for everyday life. Here, they’re talking about how it’s more usable than a smaller, two-door version because it has more doors.
Driver fatigue is what happens when you feel tired from driving—like your body and attention start to wear out. They’re saying the car made long drives feel easier.
Off-road means driving on rough ground like dirt trails or uneven surfaces. They’re saying the SUV can handle that, but it still works well for everyday city use.
A “sweet spot” is the best match between what you need and what the car is good at. They’re saying most people don’t do extreme off-roading every day, but they want the capability when they need it.
The Land Rover Defender is an off-road SUV that also feels more comfortable inside than some other tough 4x4s. In this conversation, they’re saying it’s a bit better for off-road use and day-to-day comfort.
“Utilitarian” basically means “made for practical use.” In this context, they’re saying one SUV feels more built for function and tough use, while the other feels more comfortable.
“Creature comforts” means the nice, comfortable features that make a car feel pleasant—like comfort inside and convenience stuff. They’re saying the Defender has more of that than the Land Cruiser.
“Dealer experience” is how the dealership treats you as an owner—things like how helpful they are and whether they charge extra for things like a loaner car. They’re saying that can matter as much as the car itself.
The Toyota GR Corolla is a sporty Toyota hatchback made for driving enthusiasts. In this segment it’s mainly used to explain that the host had a not-great experience with Toyota’s dealer service in Seattle.
A “courtesy car” is a loaner vehicle a dealership gives you while your car is in the shop. Here they’re saying some dealers charge for that, which makes the experience worse.
“Death wobble” is when a car starts shaking violently through the steering wheel and front end. It usually happens at certain speeds and is often caused by worn or loose parts in the front suspension or steering.
The Jeep Wrangler is a tough SUV that’s built for rough roads. Here they’re saying it works well for renting because it can handle bumps and potholes better than many other cars, and people know what they’re getting.
“Dings and scratches” are common cosmetic damage types—small dents (“dings”) and surface marks (“scratches”). The hosts are implying that minor cosmetic wear is acceptable for a rental car, especially if the vehicle is otherwise mechanically dependable.
The Ford Bronco is another rugged off-road SUV, similar in spirit to the Jeep Wrangler. It’s designed for going off-road and for that open-air, outdoorsy vibe.
Filson is a brand that makes outdoor clothing and gear. Here, it’s being used as part of a “Filson Bronco” special edition idea—basically a Bronco styled for outdoors people.
Term
chopped look
They mean the Bronco’s roof shape and design make the view out the windows feel more blocked. It’s basically about how the car’s shape changes your sightlines when you’re driving.
Concept
consideration in city traffic
They’re saying that what matters in the city isn’t just off-road ability—it’s how easy the car is to drive day to day. Things like visibility and how it feels in traffic matter a lot.
The Ford F-150 is a large pickup truck. The podcast is talking about what kind of engine it might use and how that could affect performance. It comes up because engine options are a big part of what makes the truck appealing.
Horsepower is a number that roughly tells you how strong an engine is. Higher horsepower usually means more potential acceleration, but it doesn’t tell the whole story by itself.
The Rivian R2 is an all-electric SUV. The hosts are talking about its price and how far it can go on a charge, which is what most people care about with an EV.
For an electric car, “range” is how many miles (or kilometers) you can drive before the battery runs low. It’s the key number people look for when deciding if an EV works for their routine.
The Acura Integra is a small, sporty Honda-family car. Here, the host is saying the version they drove (A-spec) was especially great with the manual transmission and overall driving feel.
Term
clutch and shifter
In a manual car, the clutch is what you press to change gears, and the shifter is the lever you move into each gear. The host is saying this car’s clutch and shifter feel especially smooth and easy to control.
The Honda Prelude is a Honda model that’s trying to bring back the fun, stylish vibe of older Preludes. Here, they’re basically saying it’s enjoyable to drive and looks great, but it’s pricey and not a super-strong power monster.
PDK is a type of automatic transmission used by Porsche that can change gears very fast. The host is saying the Honda Prelude’s driving feel reminded them of that quick-shifting character.
The Alpine A110 is a small, sporty French car that’s famous for being light and fun to drive. They’re comparing the Prelude’s looks to the A110 from several angles.
The Honda CRX is a small, sporty Honda. It’s the kind of car people choose for a fun driving feel rather than lots of space. The podcast mentions it by comparing it to another similar Honda model.
The Honda Del Sol was a Honda from the 1990s/2000s that people associated with a youthful, fun driving experience. They’re saying the Prelude might be aimed at a similar kind of buyer.
The Subaru Trailseeker is an all-electric Subaru meant to feel like a rugged, outdoorsy wagon/crossover. They’re saying it drives really well and has a lot of electric power.
The Subaru Outback is a popular Subaru model people buy for road trips and rougher roads. In this segment, they’re using it as a reference point for what the Trailseeker is trying to feel like.
The Subaru Forester is a common Subaru crossover people choose for everyday comfort and practicality. They’re saying the Trailseeker rides better than the Forester they had available.
A CVT is a type of automatic transmission that changes ratios smoothly instead of using distinct gears. The host is saying that because this is a full EV, you don’t have to deal with a CVT at all.
A squircle steering wheel is a steering wheel that’s not perfectly round—it’s more like a rounded square. The host thinks it looks and feels awkward compared with a normal steering wheel.
The Lexus ES 500 is a Lexus luxury sedan positioned as a full electric alternative in this comparison. The host frames it as a more premium, “Rolls Royce”-like experience and says you can spend extra to get it as a full EV.
The Subaru Crosstrek is a smaller Subaru SUV/crossover. In the conversation, it’s mentioned as another model that tends to be popular with younger buyers.
The Trailseeker is an electric vehicle the hosts talked about at an event. They’re saying it was enjoyable to drive and felt capable off-road or on rougher terrain.
The Subaru Uncharted is an electric vehicle (EV). The podcast mentions it at an event where they had multiple new EVs to drive. It’s brought up because it’s one of Subaru’s newer electric models.
The “Charger” is a Dodge model. They’re comparing how the same kind of steering-wheel/visual design looks on a bigger four-door Charger versus a smaller-looking Subaru.
They’re talking about Stellantis, the big company that owns multiple car brands. The point here is that the host thinks people liked one of its cars (the Pacifica) even if the company gets criticized.
A rental fleet is the set of vehicles a rental company keeps in service, often with standardized trims and older spec choices to control cost. Here, the host uses it to explain why some cars still look “old” while others have been updated with facelifts.
The Jeep Cherokee is a mid-size SUV. The podcast is saying that an older version was liked more than a newer one. That’s why it comes up—people were disappointed with the newer direction.
This means a small 1.4-liter engine with a turbocharger. A turbo can add power, but the host is saying this particular setup didn’t feel impressive to them.
“Under-engined” means the engine doesn’t feel strong enough for the car. The result is usually slower acceleration or the engine working harder than you’d expect.
Mudfest sounds like an event the host went to. They mention it in the same breath as a rally, suggesting it’s where people were talking about cars and driving them.
Stellantis is a big car company. Here, the host is saying they talked with Stellantis representatives who were excited about bringing a car to the rally.
The Chrysler Pacifica is a minivan meant for families. The host is saying it was also part of the rally lineup, but they didn’t personally get to drive it.
EV means electric vehicle. The host is saying electric cars might not behave the same off-road as gas cars, so you can’t assume they’ll be great without seeing it.
The Jeep Grand Cherokee is a popular SUV. The host is talking about its sound system and saying it didn’t live up to what they expected from a premium setup.
The Acura MDX is a luxury SUV that can seat more people, often with three rows. It’s meant to be comfortable for everyday driving and family trips. The podcast mentions it while talking about how it compares to another Acura.
Bang & Olufsen is a well-known premium audio brand. The host is saying that in some cars, the sound controls are complicated and it’s hard to get the audio to sound right.
Term
Bayo sound circle
The “sound circle” is a screen control for adjusting the audio. The host is saying it’s not intuitive, so it’s hard to get the sound exactly how you want it.
“Sharing platforms” means different cars are built using the same basic design underneath. The host is saying that even if the cars share that foundation, the final driving experience can still be very different.
The Honda Civic is a very common compact car. Here it’s mentioned because the host thinks the Acura Integra shares the same underlying platform, which can affect how different the cars feel.
The host means the car’s basic design underneath didn’t live up to expectations. Even if the outside looks different, the core engineering can make the driving experience feel less special.
Front-wheel drive means the front wheels do the work of both steering and pulling the car forward. That affects how the car handles, especially when roads are slippery.
All-wheel drive powers all four wheels, which helps the car grip the road better. That can be especially helpful in snowy or icy conditions.
Place
Long Beach pace car
A pace car is a car used to lead the field at an event, often setting the speed during certain laps. Saying it was the Long Beach pace car means the car was featured for that event.
The Honda Integra is a Honda compact that’s meant to feel more fun to drive than a typical everyday small car. They’re basically saying the Integra is the better pick if you want the more exciting experience.
“Track miles” means the car was driven on a race track. Track driving is tougher on the car, especially the brakes, so they can start squeaking or wearing out faster than normal road driving.
Squeaky brakes usually mean the brake pads and rotors aren’t interacting quietly—often due to pad material, heat, or wear. After track use, brakes can squeak more because they get much hotter than normal driving.
Pike’s Peak is a well-known mountain hill-climb event where cars race up a steep road. They’re saying you should take the car before the event starts because the local cars get used for it.
LIVE
Well, welcome to this week's That Car Show.
We're back with a cruise show.
It was it was good to see you guys with Steve last week.
Before we get started, I thought I'd give you a cultural reference.
I know this week we're not being categorized as a cultural car show,
but I was watching the movie Hook.
Have you guys seen the movie Hook?
So it's been so long.
I saw your note in the prep, like in the show notes.
And I have a guess, but I was so excited when I saw your.
I can believe it.
So Hook was I think it was early 90s
movie with Steven Spielberg and Robin Williams.
And it's the story of what happens after Peter Pan.
So Peter Pan does grow up.
He has a family.
Anyway, halfway through the movie,
he he basically moves to London to an accept an award
with his family and he's got two kids.
And to keep his kids safe at night,
he hands his son a pocket watch.
And I couldn't believe it when I looked at the branding on the pocket watch
because it was a Sheffield.
It was a Sheffield watch.
Get out, get out.
So I wonder if Jay knows this.
We'll have to tell him.
It's never come up as far as I know.
I mean, that's pretty damn cool.
Yeah, because the movie was long enough ago.
Like I watched it.
I mean, I saw it in the theaters not to age myself.
I saw it in the theaters, but at that point, that's not something I was aware of.
But I love looking back on that stuff.
And you're like, OK, again, the threads were there the whole time.
Yep. Crazy.
Watch the film.
No pocket watches are coming back.
I was going to say, I'm like, wait, which brand just did this pocket watch?
It's like a semi-weird deep cut.
And it's like, is it?
Who just did the pocket watch?
It was watch.
It's what?
Yeah, it's what did a collaboration with Audemars P.K.
Yeah. Yeah.
So I'm like, I know it wasn't a neon pocket watch.
Yeah. So anyway, watch the movie or just check out that scene.
It's pretty cool.
And the shout out to Jay and everyone at Sheffield.
That's amazing. Hook had great taste.
Yeah. Well, it was Robin Williams.
Peter Pan had good taste.
If you remember the film, Hook hated clocks.
So he had all the clocks smashed up.
Because the crocodile ate his hand, right?
Or he ate his hand and then he fed him a clock or I can hear him coming.
They turn the crocodile into a clock in the movie.
But anyway, let's talk about cars, shall we?
It's a bit more of a crazy idea.
Objects.
Lindsay, it sounds like you are
overdosing on press cars right now.
I am. Well, I think you put it very aptly last week and said that I'm our very own
Clarkson, which as I told you, that's a comparison I will always gladly accept.
Yes, I found myself with two press cars in hand and a third potential on Friday alone.
And so I just kept hearing you in my head and hearing like Clarkson.
And I was like, if there's ever a metric of you've arrived, you've made it.
This is it when you've got press cars coming out your ears like hallelujah.
So I spent last week and I gave it back on Friday with a 2026 Toyota Land Cruiser
and then swapped that out on Friday for a Lucid Air Touring.
And then just so that I could give everyone my full attention, the car that was also
potentially coming on Friday will be coming next week.
So stay tuned to see what I'm picking up next week.
But in the meantime, I mean, I've just been having the best time.
And Ryan, I think you drove a Land Cruiser.
Have you experienced one yet?
Yeah, I've driven a couple of them.
And I've also driven the Lexus sibling, which is an interesting twist on my list.
Now that I've experienced the Land Cruiser, I'm like, all right,
I want to drive the GX so that I can compare.
I mean, I don't have a bad word to say about the Land Cruiser.
It was a universal favorite with everyone in my house.
We had the chance to get together with family and took them for a drive in it.
So I took three adults and two kids at one point comfortably.
The one that I had didn't have the third seat in it.
But that's obviously an option.
So you can seat up to seven, depending on how you option it.
But yeah, I mean, it was just infinitely usable.
Like it was like every time I got in it and started to drive away.
I'm like, it's just so usable.
And I don't know what you thought, Ryan, like if that was your sort of takeaway.
Well, I liked it a lot more than the new forerunner for the things I do with the car.
Right. Yeah.
And I guess if you're a hardcore off-roader,
yeah, you go and you get that forerunner, trail hunter or whatever it is.
But right. Just all the day.
The Land Cruiser far superior, far superior.
And yeah, wait till you drive the Lexus because that's that's got the six cylinder.
And that really just kind of makes it perfect, right?
I feel like that probably tips it over the edge.
Yeah, I mean, I just like I just kept marveling, too, because it's a tall vehicle.
But that's very similar to my truck.
And so I felt very at home.
I was like, oh, I really do like feel most at home in a taller, you know,
big SUV, something like that.
So I sort of like I felt more comfortable right away, I think, just because I'm used to the truck.
It was incredibly easy to park, which a lot of people might find surprising given
the size, but just like the steering is so precise and especially with all the
cameras and the tech, I felt like I never had a blind spot.
It was complete visibility, complete confidence, super precise steering,
an incredibly comfortable ride for an SUV with big tires on it that's set up to go off road.
One thing my daughter and I kept talking about was how comfortable it was going
over speed bumps like and it was there was no vagueness.
So it really is a testament to the engineering because you felt the speed bump,
but there was no vagueness, but it was 100 percent comfortable.
It was like very elevated feedback because you knew there was constant feedback
from the road, but it never took away from the driving experience.
But I still felt like I was completely
aware of what was going on, but very comfortable.
What are these competing against?
Like, what's your alternatives?
Defender.
Yeah.
Defender, the expedition, I would think, because it's you can get a third row.
Like anything with a third row.
Um, they, I mean, the Sequoia is a different version.
That also comes with a third row, but that's another Toyota product.
I would guess they
not the Nissan Armada, because that's probably more in line with the Sequoia.
Yeah.
But I think like the Telluride.
That's another third row.
But you know what?
Tall.
Well, the new Telluride is a little different.
I spent some time in one.
We can get this later with the Armada driving day.
And I far prefer the Land Cruiser.
Yeah.
And I think I just feel much, much more comfortable off road in that versus.
Yeah.
Versus the Kia.
To me, the leaders in that class are the defender in that, you know, and I don't
care if it's not a real Land Cruiser.
It's just a really great all around car vehicle, I should say.
Well, that was I hadn't realized that they they discontinued the Land Cruiser in
2021 and then obviously it's known as the Land Cruiser Prado outside the US.
And so they brought that here.
You can still get that old one as the Lexus, of course.
Yeah, I think that's why I didn't realize that Toyota had discontinued it.
So that was interesting to learn.
You know, when I had this one, I was doing my research.
But yeah, like you said, Ryan,
you definitely hear the engine because it's a four cylinder turbo hybrid.
You definitely hear the engine working, but it's super responsive.
We never lacked for power.
So I kept thinking like, yeah, you hear it.
So it just depends on what you drive.
You want your driving experience to be.
And the hybrid goes a long way in filling in that gap between, you know,
hitting the accelerator and then feeling the power, right?
It really smooths things out.
It's, you know, I don't know what the price point is exactly on that.
I think it probably comes in a little cheaper than a comparable Defender.
But of course, you get, you know, a wider range of
drive train options in the Defender, right?
Yeah, I think it depends.
The one that I had was priced at 70.
But again, that one didn't have the third row.
Did have a sunroof, which was lovely.
You know, all the creature comforts, it had heated seats, didn't have a heated
steering wheel, but that's not standard.
You know, that's more of a surprise when you do have a car with that.
Right. Right.
I think, and I don't know what color the one was that you drove in.
I had the tan with the white top.
And what was so funny, it's like a, it's like a burnt sand color.
Right. It's not a color I would typically pick to start off.
But it definitely grew on all of us as the week went on.
And like at one point, my daughter and I had gone to a park
and I glanced over and the car was like, you know, a little distance away.
And I went like, wow, it's really good looking.
And so it's very Defender like.
Yeah. And like when you see it, I was like, OK, so when you see it in its
natural environment, like outside, you know, this wasn't like far off the beaten
track, but it looked, it sort of gelled and what was fascinating was how much
attention the car attracted and part of that was the color.
Like we'd be sitting in it a few times.
We sat in it and ate lunch, you know, when we're out and about and people would
be walking by and we'd hear him go, wow, I really like that car.
I really like that color.
Look at this. What is this?
Yeah, back to the FGA cruiser to right with that two tone.
And I think they have a combination that was very similar to that.
That's a car all these years later.
What is it? 25 years or whatever.
Hard to believe things still looks fresh, still looks like a concept car.
Right. My numbers, it probably hasn't been 25 years.
But but I think this will be that car a couple of decades down the row.
I think it's really time.
This is like, well, and it's kind of like if you look at it that way,
like this is the natural progression from the FGA.
It's like the expedition was the natural progression from the Bronco.
Bronco was a two door, five seater SUV.
The FGA is a two door, five seater.
The expedition, they added two doors.
Same thing with the Prado and the Land Cruiser gives you two more doors.
So it's even that much more usable.
But yeah, I mean, it's like and there was no driver fatigue, like a long drives.
And just it was just delightful.
And it's truly capable off road, but you give a very little round town,
which is really kind of the sweet spot for most of us, I think.
So yeah, and they dropped it off.
It was nearly full with gas.
I drove it for the week.
Like I didn't, you know, I'm like, if I need to fill it up, I need to fill it up.
Yeah, I didn't stop my usual, you know,
activities and got to the end of the week and still had a little bit of gas left.
So it's like while you were seeing it drop, it wasn't precipitous.
Like it was very usable.
But yeah, it was definitely tough to hand the keys back to that one.
And I could absolutely have that as a daily.
Yeah, I could absolutely see you in that.
Right.
Yeah, it was funny.
I was like this, it definitely like we all felt very at home in it, which is,
you know, that doesn't always happen.
How do you decide between that and the defender then?
I think you'd have to drive them back to back.
It's just a matter of like the Land Cruiser is more utilitarian.
The defender is going to have more creature comforts.
I think the defender, I felt had a little more capability off-road, right?
Just a little bit more of an envelope, performance envelope.
And I know defenders have come a long way reliability wise, but
I haven't heard anything about a Land Cruiser.
And, you know, from as far as I can tell there, they seem to be bulletproof.
Right, I mean, I think that would be a big part of anybody.
Any equation is reliability.
And they both seem to hold their value quite well.
So I don't know who has the edge there.
Yeah, just the dealer experience come into it at all.
Now, obviously, I had a very shit dealer
experience with the Land Rover down the road in LA, but I also had a pretty poor
experience with Toyota in Seattle when I had my GR Corolla.
That's right, right.
They charge for a, you know, a courtesy car, for example.
So does that come into it at all in terms of, you know, the dealer experience?
Or does that not really even equate?
I, to me, at this point in my life,
that is not going to sway my ultimate decision.
It's definitely something I might think about.
But I think, like, let's say there's a brand that's not known for great dealer
experience, but I love the car and I think it'd be a great fit for my life.
You're cool in holster, shall we?
Yeah.
No, I mean, I think it's kind of like, you know, going in depending on what,
who it is or where you have to go, that you're like, eh, it's not going to be
fantastic, but I love the car and like day to day, it's going to be great.
Yeah, yeah.
You know, Dan, when I think of Land Rover dealer, I still, you know,
envision the Land Rover dealer of the 90s and the early thoughts with the,
you know, I don't know why they got rid of this, but the test track out.
I know, I was just thinking a little bit.
And it's like, come on, that's, that's, I want that back.
That's what I want back.
Anymore, I just, you know, I don't even know.
I mean, are they standalone?
Guys, I drove past a Jaguar dealership the other day.
Talk about Bleak.
Were you in England?
Another time, but they had like two cars.
It was, it was really kind of sad, sad.
We're pulling for you, J-Yaw.
Yeah. So Land Rovers, you know,
got a lot of pressure on them right now.
And I don't know what the dealer experience is, but
collab.
That's right. That's.
Hey, I had a Wrangler for a day last week and
forgotten how much I love that.
Also a car that you don't, Dan.
Yeah. Did you get the death wobble?
No, I tried.
I think they made the best effort to dial that out.
Yeah. But which one did you have?
You know, this was just a base, you know, car, but black on black with a hard top.
I got a lot of looks in this car, though.
You know, again, kind of unexpected.
Don't get a, get neary a look in a GT4, but this thing, you know, guys, girls.
I mean, this is a good looking thing.
I think it was in the triple black, you know, kind of, kind of look.
And it's just, I don't know.
Yeah, it was, it was bigger than I expected a Wrangler.
And of course, this was the four door.
I think they've grown a bit, but, but yeah.
But then again, you know, at the end of the day, what am I buying?
Probably buying that Toyota, hate to say.
So yeah.
Well, you have to consider, you know, you do have a family and like that obviously
plays a huge part in what's going to work day to day.
Yeah.
It's funny, I was doing some research the other week around Turo businesses.
Oh, OK.
And AI and you kind of give AI some questions.
Our research department and the perfect Turo car is a Wrangler.
If you're if you're in a place of like tourism, so Seattle would work.
I guess that would work.
Yeah, we see LA would work.
But the ROI on the Wranglers is up there in terms of great Turo cars.
Makes so much sense.
You know, I think it'd be hard to get into trouble in one, right?
You don't have to worry, you know, they're tough, right?
You have to worry about a wheel.
You don't have to worry about, you know, speed bumps, potholes so much.
I think makes a lot of sense, right?
A few dings and scratches.
I mean, don't really.
That's character harsh.
The right, right?
So yeah, yeah, I'm a fan.
I, you know, you know what you're getting with the Wrangler, right?
Right. You know exactly what you're getting in each
success of, you know, additions a little nicer than the one before it, right?
I think that's a great single car solution for a lot of people, I think.
Yeah, especially because of the sort of modularity,
like the fact that you can take off the roof or the doors or whatever and turn it
into like a beach mobile, but you can go off roading and you can get a manual.
Yeah, I get a manual and you can put everything back on and it's an enclosed car.
Yeah, I liked your rear Wrangler and the time you had it.
Yeah, I loved it.
It was it wasn't a quick car.
I went from quick Audi's to, you know, to that.
And it just it was utilitarian, you know, it it gave experiences that I slept in
that car many times.
Have you had a car you haven't slept in?
Could be that.
Yes, the Rockstar.
I work that one out.
But yeah, I mean, they're just, you know, but it did lead on to the like
now you've got an alternative, which is the Bronco.
Yeah, and I think two weeks ago we talked about the Filson Bronco and Lindsey,
you brought that up and they materialized.
I know. And we were talking about it.
I think at the end of our beginning of last week and they're beautiful.
Like they just look stunning.
I mean, you put it very well.
And it's like, yeah, I think it's a defender contender.
I'm unintended, but I'll take it.
We're a damn oracle around here.
I feel like we're predicting things left and right.
And, you know, I like that very much.
It's a handsome thing for me.
I can't get past sort of the chopped visibility, right?
The chopped look out of a Bronco.
The Wrangler doesn't have that.
The Wrangler is all glass and it's it's really quite, quite nice.
I'm sure you get used to anything.
And I do think the Bronco looks a little cooler, right?
But to me, that's that's a consideration in city traffic.
And so you'd go Jeep over Bronco.
We're defender over Bronco over Filson Bronco.
I think of what he's saying.
Yeah. Yeah.
If I could get a soft top V8 two door defender.
Yeah, that'd be that'd be the one for me.
But alas, we can't.
So I don't know, I'd have to drive the Bronco again.
It's been a while.
So yeah, the Bronco has better road manners, I think, than the Jeep does.
OK, OK.
So that's the that's what you're paying for.
You know, because it's it's taken the best of what the Wrangler was.
And then they brought it out, right?
It's but this new this new Filson edition looks interesting because it's going
to have the the engine from the the Raptor, but reduced.
So it's almost gunning for gunning for the Land Rover.
So yeah, reduced as in like more gentile.
Is that sort of the, you know, I think so.
So less horsepower, like less highly revved, right?
But but you're getting a like a better engine in the two points.
OK, maybe that's the one then.
Maybe that that checks off the most boxes.
Maybe that's your next card, and that's maybe I've been looking at Rivians today.
Well, how about that?
They just dropped the price.
Did you see this? Yeah.
Right now we're talking.
Like, who does that? Who does that?
Yeah.
I can see you and what that's.
Which model are you looking at?
So the they've just released the R2.
Is that one that's mixed up with the numbers?
Why can't they make it very easy?
But but like it's, you know, the premium edition is just under 60 K.
Yeah, you're getting good, good electric coverage.
You're getting, you know, a brand that is focused on outdoor and fun.
And so yeah, I need to test drive one, I think.
What's the range on that?
430, I think.
Oh crap. I mean, that's that's that's fantastic.
And over 60 powered cars.
Yeah, right.
But they do, they will be a cheaper one, the one that's been reduced.
OK, I will have less mileage.
But yeah, anything over 300, though, sign me up.
I mean, that turns out these are the droids we're looking for.
Geez.
Well, I'm sorry.
I watch this.
I don't know what's what what moved me to click on this last night.
But it's the original West World movie from 1973.
And I never saw.
Yes, exactly. So you've seen it, right?
And it's Steve McQueen in it.
Oh, God, we're going to have to ask a research department, aren't we?
Yeah, I thought it was well, well, yeah, I was drinking.
But that's probably what moved me to watch it.
But one of the things I thought was fascinating was, you know, again,
this is 1973, it's older than me, right?
Five minutes into the movie.
So the premise is you can take a vacation to one of these three
worlds, right? One of them is this West World, this Western world.
And basically you can live in this time period.
But I had to laugh because or laugh or cringe or just thought it was interesting
that, you know, they asked the question, well, how do you tell the humans
from the robots, you know, the real from the fake?
And the response was, well, you look at their hands.
They haven't quite figured out the hands yet.
This is 1970.
Just like any other.
Yeah, isn't that wild?
It's anyway, I digress.
You were in the Magnificent Seven, I think with your printer, and they didn't get on.
But oh, OK, all right.
I'm glad it wasn't Steve McQueen because I would have lost at least half
my my car guy card if that had been him and I didn't recognize him.
But yeah, fun, fun watch and yeah, really a prescient, I guess.
So you went on an intensive.
Yeah, I have testing.
Is that right? Yeah, intensive is right.
So they got, I don't know, 2530 of us car journalists here.
Who's I like?
This is Rocky Mountain Automotive Press, which is much like the the was it the
Whopper? What's the Whopper with the PNW?
Yes, Northwest Automotive Press Association.
Yep, this is the RMAP and I've yet to think of a fast food analogy.
But yeah, so they get a big group of us together and then, you know, most of the
manufacturers, the OEMs are there and they bring a bunch of cars.
So I guess they're probably a couple dozen of us, at least that many cars didn't
have time to drive everything.
But basically you take one out and you spend a half an hour, 45 minutes with it
and come back and hop in something else.
And it was fun because McLaren has been there in the past.
McLaren wasn't there this year.
Nothing too exotic.
You know, it's but it's the work of day stuff, right?
It's the people, you know, it's the stuff that that we actually buy.
So Kia, Stalantis, several Jeeps.
There was Honda and Toyota and Lexus and Genesis and all this.
And I, as I mentioned on the last episode with Steve,
I was absolutely blown away by one car and that's the the accurate Integra.
They had an A-spec, which is the the lower horsepower, sort of middle of the road,
200 horsepower, one of the best manual transmissions I've ever driven.
I think it's probably effectively the same transmission that's in the the Type R.
And they do offer, I think it's the Type S and the Acura, which is, I think,
basically the same car as the Civic Type R.
The car was just sublime.
I may buy one. They're that good, $44,000.
I haven't driven a car like that in years.
It's what we, you know, we think of Honda as being but better, right?
They've advanced and just a wonderful, wonderful thing.
Not the quickest thing in the world, the 200 horsepower,
but just the lightest, sweetest, you know, clutch and shifter.
And it's just inherently, you know, good.
That was my favorite, my absolute favorite.
But the other car that really, that people really loved was the new Prelude.
And I think that was probably my number two.
I don't know if either one of you have driven the new Prelude.
It's gotten some grief because it's expensive.
It's not super powerful.
But what a wonderful little thing that is.
Again, about 200 horsepower.
I don't know. It felt like a PDK transmission.
I don't know what the transmission actually is.
And I meant to look that up before we got on.
It looks like an Alpine A110 for many angles, right?
And they're relatively new.
This was in this beautiful blue color, almost a Mexico blue.
You know, for a Porsche world, got all the looks.
People people just spun their heads around to see this thing
because I haven't seen a ton of them on the road.
And especially in this color, it looked really, really good.
I don't know who this car is for necessarily.
It's kind of like who was the like the Honda Del Sol for or the CRX, right?
I mean, it fits in that in that sort of category.
Maybe a young single professional or something who wants something that's fun,
but also practical.
What a delightful thing to drive for me.
The Integra was just that much sweeter with the manual.
But that was the favorite for a lot of people.
I was really impressed with the Subaru, the new Subaru EV
called the Trailseeker.
Yeah, the Trailseeker, the 2026 Subaru Trailseeker.
It's about 380 horsepower, full EV.
It's kind of like if you had an outback that was an EV.
Yeah, the ride was incredible, rode so much better than the either the outback
or the Forester that they had on hand.
And, you know, obviously, you don't have to worry about a CVT transmission.
Ride was great. The size was right.
But the one thing that cursed the damn car and this is something that was in
at least a third of the cars there was the squircle steering wheel.
And I just so you get the squared off circle.
And then the Subaru's the Trailseeker's case, it was this tiny little thing,
almost yolk like and you just felt kind of goofy using it.
But the car was wonderful.
Yeah, it looks homely, whatever.
You know, it's a lot of hard plastics and that kind of thing.
But it was one of the best driving cars of the day.
I was really, really impressed.
And I think that's also around 44000
But you can spend 6000 dollars more, Dan, you can get the Lexus
ES 500, which is a full EV and it's like a Rolls Royce.
It's fantastic.
I wonder if you're the wrong demographic for that Subaru, because,
you know, a lot of the outbacks and the cross tracks traditionally
would like the college cars, right?
The kids, the cars the kids had.
Sure. Maybe they want that sort of steering wheel in their cars.
And it's it's yeah.
Yeah.
They want to feel like they've got a Tesla plaid.
So Ryan, did they have so at Mudfest, we had one of the Trailseeker's
and then we had one of the Uncharted's, which is the other new EV.
Did you guys have one of those?
No, didn't have the Uncharted.
Is that the smaller one?
Yeah, it's slightly smaller.
It's it's more of a it's not a hatchback, but it's kind of like an X6 silhouette.
Like swoop, you know, swooping, sloping roof, not wagon.
Yeah.
Yeah.
It was fantastic.
But I thought I thought the Trailseeker was really fun and capable.
But yeah, the steering wheel.
By the second day, I was used to it.
Yeah, yeah.
And it wasn't the only one.
There were several, but and I think especially when you're going back and
forth, you notice it even more because that's that's you're going from the thing
you know, that's the thing you don't know.
And then back and forth.
Yeah.
And this was all on pavement.
We didn't do any off-roading.
So maybe I have a different opinion if I took this thing off road.
But it's just looked a little out of place.
It looked a little small, like a 7787 eightth scale,
you know, wheel in a bigger car.
Oh, funny.
Doesn't look nearly as silly though as the charger four door that also has
steering wheel like that, but is 200 percent of the the visual weight of the Subaru.
And I just a bunch of the cars had it.
I don't get it somewhere better than others.
But the one in the Subaru just looked like looked funny.
It just didn't look like it fit.
And but I thought the car drove well and rode well.
Yeah, had good power, you know, 380 horsepower.
So, you know, as quick as anything, all the power you'd want.
It was it was really fun driving stuff back to back.
Yeah, poor Stalantis.
Stalantis, if I may, everyone loved the Pacifica.
So. Oh, you guys had a.
Angeles, you did not highway, I guess knows what he's talking about.
And interestingly, this one had been used in the I forget the name of the rally.
So the woman who's the current president of our map, Sarah Lacey, had done.
Is it Trinity?
It's really rally. Yes.
You had the one that she drove.
This was the exact same, same one.
I didn't actually get to drive it because I was trying to drive all the fun stuff.
And then I came back when everyone said, this is great.
It's got like 200 and ninety horsepower.
It drives wonderfully like they would take it over many of the other cars.
I was that was a surprise of the day for sure.
Not the first time we've heard that, though.
Please go to our episode of Angeles, death highway.
That's right.
And it even so it's interesting because it even looks kind of cool now.
Unless you get the base model, like the rental fleet, and that still looks like
the old one, the others have all been facelifted.
But that's so funny, you know, that was universally more loved than the new Cherokee,
which I think most of us were kind of disappointed with.
It's got a one point, four cylinder turbo just didn't do anything for me.
So. Well, and I mean, you make a good point because I think people are predisposed
to like the Cherokee and to have the Pacifica come in and just blow
everybody out of the water and be like, hey, I'm here and I'm fantastic.
Absolutely. Yeah. Yeah.
I think about the same price, too.
I could be wrong.
But yeah, the new Cherokee, it just was under-engined.
It felt heavy.
It just it just wasn't the car for me.
It's probably the right car for a lot of folks.
It's just not the right car for me.
Do you think there are any other surprises?
I think the Trinity rally was happening while I was at Mudfest
because I was talking to the Stellantis guys who were there.
And they were really excited and they they've worked with Sarah over the years.
I think they were excited to have the car on the rally.
Well, Sarah is awesome.
She's great. And apparently the Pacifica was too.
But, you know, you just don't get to drive everything.
And that was something I didn't get to drive.
But so how many cars were there?
A couple dozen, at least.
And, you know, again, it ran the gamut.
Drove the new Kia Telluride, which, again,
I think it's probably a very good car for a lot of people.
It's a very different vehicle from the Cherokee.
And I think a better vehicle, a bigger vehicle.
But yeah, because that can be a seven seater.
Yes. Yes. Yeah.
I think it was massive, pleasant, you know, it just didn't
didn't get me too excited and going.
Yeah, you know, nothing was terrible, right?
That's the thing.
Nothing's terrible anymore.
Some are just really, really good.
And once you drive one of those, it's, you know,
pretty easy to forget the others.
I was impressed because they had their
they had a Telluride at Mudfest and it did fantastic off road.
You know, and you just never know. Interesting.
Because a lot of those, you know, the 90 or 99 percent of them
are going to be used for ferrying children around on city streets.
And so you never know when you're going to take it off road.
I mean, another thing like with the Trailseeker,
it did fantastic off road, which is what you'd expect from Subaru,
but you don't necessarily know how the EV is going to do.
And yeah, that and the Uncharted both did amazingly off road.
In that Telluride was actually pretty great in the twisties.
They took it out on a twisty road with their buddy, Jason Mishnik, who you both know.
You know, we got the tires to make some noise
and the brakes to make some smell.
And it was very predictable.
I mean, it's not a car to ever choose for the twisties,
but it really was it was better than it had any right to be.
You know, you think you drive one wonderful car.
So like with the Integra from Acura, I mean, best car of the day, in my opinion.
But the other car they had there was the Acra 80X,
which is their small crossover SUV.
And I hated it.
CVT transmission. Or it was just a very different vehicle.
And it just it just felt sloppy.
It was everything that the that the Integra wasn't.
It was perfectly fine, but it wasn't, you know,
you know, wasn't all that much better than the Cherokee, right?
And in my eyes, just really disappointed in that.
And the other thing that I was disappointed in is a lot of these cars
had high end audio brand sound systems.
So the Jeep Grand Cherokee, which is an interesting one,
really beautiful interior has a Macintosh stereo.
But unfortunately, it didn't sound like any Macintosh stereo I'd ever I'd ever heard.
This is the new Macintosh. It sounds the same.
That's right. It's the same thing for the the MDX had a
or I'm sorry, the 80X, the Acura had a Bang & Olufsen system
suffered from the same issues that, you know,
Bang & Olufsen systems do in other brands like Genesis, right?
Where instead of simple bass and treble controls,
you've got this Bayo sound circle that you can never get the sound quite right.
Meanwhile, the Integra had a
I'm going to have to check the check the brand again.
It wasn't ADS, but it was another brand and it was exceptional, right?
So same same manufacturer, same same OEM.
And yet, you know, the one car is exceptional.
And the other I would have put way down on my list.
So right. It's interesting, I wonder if it's
something to do with sharing platforms, because I don't know whether
the ADX is shared across the Honda range or obviously the Integra
is is shared with the Civic, isn't it?
Yeah, I'm wondering if the ADX is the same as is the HRV,
the really small Honda crossover, because it didn't.
I think it was betrayed by its underpinnings, honestly.
It just it just was not.
There's the episode title, Betrayed by our underpinnings.
Every day, every day, every day.
You've got to feel story for Acura, haven't you?
Because like, what are they as a car company?
Because they produce two SUVs and then they produce this fantastic,
you know, four door sedan and, you know, they're not really competing
with Lexus, are they? Because no, they've really gone two different directions,
right? And and I would take that that Integra over the Lexus any day.
But it's, you know, for an appliance and electric, you know, just convinced
that Lexus was hard to beat.
But as a one car does it all, you know, engaging car that that Integra
was just fantastic.
I implore everyone listening to go out and drive a new Acura.
And I haven't driven the Type S and that may be even that much better.
But I thought that this this aspect was really the sweet spot.
200 horsepower is not a lot in 2026 0 to 60.
I think in these things like 7.3 seconds at sea level, but it feels faster.
And when you get in a car like that, that, you know, screw the, you know,
the performance numbers, it's just so engaging.
It's just so sweet to drive.
And like I said, on the last show, you forget that they still make cars like this.
It was just exceptionally, exceptionally good.
And I hope they keep making it because it's the best thing I've driven
in a long, long time. So yeah.
So is it a viable replacement for the Polestar?
I don't think so only because it's front wheel drive only.
And yeah, being here in Colorado, all wheel drive is really, really nice.
But guess who's moving to California?
So you can go to your favorite car.
I think it would be the perfect car for someone with a commute, right?
Who still wants to take it up in the canyons.
Again, it's not the fastest thing in the world, but I bet it would keep up
with a lot of a lot more powerful stuff in the canyons
just because the driving dynamics are so exceptional.
Yeah. No, they could.
I had the S for about, I guess, a week.
And did about 600 miles in one.
Really? And it was the official Long Beach pace car.
So. Oh, that's right.
One of the gold ones.
Yeah. But I forgot about that, Dan.
Such an engaging drive.
The you want the Civic for the seats,
but you want the full experience, you want the the Integra.
Yeah. And good cars.
I love that you were just cruising around in the gold one.
That's that's right with the flashing lights.
It's a way cooler when I drove.
Yeah, I mean, we were stuck in traffic a few times.
It was just like, let's put the lights on.
That's right.
All these strobe lights on the roof.
The only thing is it had it only done like over a thousand miles,
but it had done a thousand track miles.
So the brakes were so squeaky.
Oh, yeah, it's like their track breaks, everyone.
They're supposed to sound that way.
Yeah, I was told by Jacob Acura that if I want to take this car for a week,
I should do it before Pike's Peak, because once the hill climb comes to town,
then all the Acura's in the local fleet are given out as courtesy vehicles.
And yeah, I bet those brakes will be squeaking too by the end of that week.
What are you waiting for? Get on in.
Yeah, wonderful car.
When is Pike's Peak?
I don't know exactly, but I did make it up for what they call tire testing day.
Yeah, I was this was great.
I think tire testing, I don't know if I think it's a practice day.
I think it's like, you know, Carburetion Day, right?
It's kind of a term that's, you know, maybe just a term anymore.
But it's a practice day.
It's the first day for these guys to go out and you can practice either
the lower section or the upper section, but not both.
And the reason they do that is then they think people are practicing on both sections.
And we got up.
It was our buddy, Brendan Garst's 40th birthday.
And so I was very honored that he invited me in a handful of other people,
including Jake from Shift, Colorado, and also our buddies, John and Lewis,
Dicey, to get up way too early.
And I, so I got all of 10 minutes of sleep before I had to get up at one
and drive up to Arvada, Colorado to meet Dan.
Is this a shot familiar?
Dan, it sounds like you got two more hours of sleep than when you were with him.
Yeah.
I got two more.
You guys got more, I think.
Yeah, I roll up to Brendan's house and of course it's dark.
I never been on the street.
I knew right away which house was Brendan's because he's got a four car garage
but parked outside where a Hyundai Santa Cruz, that little pickup truck,
his Kia EV9 electric and then his Papaya Orange McLaren.
Those are the cars that are outside because inside he's got some sort of viper,
a DeLorean and then two Urquatros.
It's like just in case you need to go back in time.
I found it.
But we had such a...
It's a bit of a party, isn't it?
I know, well, CPA, you know, so to work the numbers, right?
Yeah.
I just, but we had so much fun.
We drove down, we drove like a bat out of hell down to Colorado Springs,
got on the mountain by 330, met up with the Diestes.
There's a terrible video of me and and Jake from the magazine,
sleeping in the car.
I thought he was going to say State Farm.
Every time he says Jake, I just hear from State Farm in my head.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Apologies to Jake from not State Farm, but.
Yeah, this is Jake from Shift, Colorado.
But we had so much fun in, in, in, I don't know, another motor sports event
that you can get access like that, where we were just up on the mountain.
We're crew, right?
But, you know, we were right there in the middle of it.
That that electric vehicle thing that Ford reskins every year and runs was there.
And it just, it, it, it fires up like a turbine engine and it just, it just goes
puff of smoke and then it's halfway up the mountain.
It was incredible.
And we even had breakfast with a couple of the drivers after it's super casual.
You know, it's, it's, it's, it's a pretty special event, Pikes Peak.
It's, it's, it's, there's really nothing else like it.
And it's, you know, that's on the world class stage like that.
It's, it's a pretty cool experience.
And it was a fun, fun morning, although I was tired for the next three days.
Yeah.
So any sign of Zwart?
I did not see him.
No, he may have been on the lower, the lower half.
We were on the upper half, but.
Well, you saw him on your other adventure, though, didn't you?
Just organically?
Yeah.
I don't know if I talked about that.
We went to Aspen a couple of weeks back, a couple of buddies.
Shout out Eric Boehner and one of his buddies, Eric's got a spider RS.
His buddy was in a supercharged Corvette C8 and we had a lot of fun driving to
Aspen and back, all the wonderful passes, the roads that are in that area.
McClure pass, Independence pass, this kind of thing.
A couple of the highlights were, yes, seeing Jefferswort and what appeared
to be a singer from a distance, and then also being seated across from John
Oates, from Hall and Oates at a steakhouse we went to for dinner.
That's fantastic.
It's like being at a restaurant, but you didn't have to go.
That's right.
We had such a good time.
It's one thing to drive the roads near home, right?
It's another to get out and drive the best roads your state has to offer.
And, you know, fortunately, at least here in Colorado, it takes an overnight trip.
But it was awesome.
Only broke my windshield and, you know, burned through some rubber,
but it was a wonderful time.
And worth it.
Yeah. Nice.
What else?
What else do we get in the news?
What else is on that list?
I'm just trying to, it's got dark and I haven't got the Porsche and Toy Story.
Did you guys see this?
I didn't. Can you fill me in?
So they've done a collaboration to celebrate Toy Story 5.
OK.
And I think the underlying message was just talked about in a minute,
but they've done three limited edition cars that are tributes to characters in Toy Story.
So the one that's probably the most interesting is the Buzz Lightyear.
So they've taken a GT3 RS.
They have basically put a color scheme the same as Buzz's Space Outfit.
Works with Goodyear to get special permission to change the tires to Lightyear.
That's awesome.
But it does make you wonder why.
There's also a Woody edition, which is.
Is there a wood paneling on it? Please tell me.
It's not, no, but it does have like a denim type glaze.
And then when you open it up, it's got like a cow.
What is this, a ham? What's a glaze?
Tell me what the denim glaze is.
It's like a denim color.
It looks like a denim paint job.
And then when you open it up, it's like it's got the cow pattern carpets
and because he wears that as a waistcoat.
Oh, right, right, right. I'll search this out.
You don't have to base the car. It's OK.
But I think the actual underlying thing is something else.
And I think it is that you can expect to see Porsche
doubling down, if not trebling down on Sondervanche.
So Sondervanche is the special wishes department.
I think where commercially Porsche are right now,
I think they need to make more money.
And one of the ways that they make more money is by doing more with that unit.
Right, right.
And the press like a week ago, I think it was Moldova or somewhere in the Eastern
Europeans, it was like a limited edition Sondervanche car.
I think you can expect big Sondervanche stuff at Car Week.
And I'm not talking out of 10, but I think it's going to be,
you know, a way to increase, you know, we talked about it with Ferrari
and then their expertise at, you know, getting the most out of a customer
in one car.
Well, it's a way to highlight, yeah, to showcase the capabilities.
I mean, and they did, if you look back, you know, they did the Sally Carrera
from Cars, I think that was 2022, possibly.
And they ended up auctioning it off for charity.
And I think it went for 3.1 million.
So they did that, you know, and then they've had her at Rensport
and various, you know, events around.
I mean, and that's another way to show off the Sondervanche capabilities.
So yeah, I think you're right, Dan.
It's it's funny, though, because, you know, there was a time we didn't even
know that existed, that program, right, right.
And it really was exclusive, right.
And then it's exclusive.
You didn't know it existed.
I could tell you, but I'm going to have to kill you.
You kind of thought it, right.
Yeah, you know, and now I mean, there's got to there's going to have
to be something even more exclusive now, right, again, right.
It's like, you know, like when the platinum card, right, American Express,
that was a big deal until everyone had one.
And then they went to the black card or whatever, right.
And I feel like they're going to have to go to the Sondervanche or something
because there's going to be a certain element of enthusiasm
who are going to demand more exclusivity.
And so it'll be interesting to see, you know, where that that goes.
And speaking of special wishes, I don't know how you say it in Italian,
but you saw another yet another prediction that we've been making for years
that seems to be coming true.
And that's that Ferrari is teasing finally a manual Ferrari, right.
The 12th Cylindry, right.
And so and I think that's where, you know, the future is going to go
because they can charge whatever they want for that, right.
And maybe that's where Porsche goes.
They start offering manual turbo S's, right, or GT2's or GT3 RS, right.
So it goes beyond the cosmetic and really gets back into the mechanical side of things.
And because what more can you make exclusive?
Where can you apply these special wishes?
But, you know, mechanically, I guess, I guess moving forward.
I think it's people's imaginations as well, right.
And so there are enough people with blank checkbooks that I think there was a
there was a car event like a lift in the Ferrari.
Where was it? It was in Dubai or Saudi Arabia or something.
And they there was a brand new manual Cayenne, I think.
And that was a Sondevanche.
OK, OK. So I think you come with, you know, you come with the ideas
and Porsche have potentially increased their staff
to be able to accommodate those ideas.
Yeah. And and basically because the money talks,
you know, there's more profit to be had.
They are ready and waiting to make your dreams come true.
Yeah. Standing by.
You remember, so, Dan, you're the resident, Brett, was it was it Rolls-Royce or Bentley
who would often refuse the wishes of their of their clients?
So they wouldn't do, for example, a pink, you know, Rolls-Royce.
But one would do it in the other wouldn't. Right.
Yeah, I don't know if Bentley were the easy ones or Rolls-Royce.
But, you know, I think that's all gone now, whatever you want.
If you've got enough money, right, you know, they'll they'll they'll do it.
And I can't imagine what it cost to engineer a one off manual Cayenne.
No, but it's you talk about Bentley and I just give everyone a heads up.
If you haven't seen the latest Chris Harris video,
he takes Bentley out with the CEO of Bentley.
And it's a really interesting video because the guy who's the CEO
I can't remember his name, but he basically worked on the Porsche GT
products all his career, and he was there in the background
and he gets this opportunity to become CEO of Bentley.
And he's going to do some really cool stuff with the brand.
It's Frank Voliser. Is it?
Yeah, I believe.
Or Frank, as Lindsay calls him. Right.
Frankie, my buddy, Frankie.
Yeah, it's a really good video.
Yeah, I'm doing a really good stuff.
Bentley, well, I don't I mean, I know at the last Rensport,
I know Laura had a chance to do a.
It was like a behind the scenes meet and greet with some of the people
from Sondervoch, I think.
And, you know, you talk about like one of the car companies
declining to make someone's dream come true.
And I think what they said was we do have consultants.
And if somebody comes in with a dream that we don't think will sort of
complement, like we don't think it will look the way they expect it to look
once it's in real life, you know, on a real car.
They're like, we do do our best to sort of guide them.
But if somebody's really committed to their vision, we'll make it happen.
Well, so there's like a fashion police.
They're like, we try up to a point and then if you're really, really,
you know, determined to have this specific dream, then we grab your hand
and we go for it.
You know, who won't do that is Corvette.
And I think we mentioned in an earlier show how Corvette should, you know,
start to do some sort of Sondervoch program, right?
Because as the prices of Corvettes, especially, you know, cars like the
06 and the 01 I mean, we're competing in a different,
you know, a different strata, right, of car buyers.
Now, as far as I know, Corvette GM has never done anything like that.
And I think that would be a way where, hell, I mean, who can't, you know,
who can't use a little extra cash, right?
And they're corporate coffers, right?
I mean, if I could go get a Muirblau C8, 06 like now we're talking, right?
That would, you know, that might be enough to draw to draw a Porsche person
over to a Corvette who, you know, otherwise wouldn't be interested.
And so, yeah, I think now with technology and AI and me, that's the that's
the catch already with the AI, you know, these car companies can do this kind of
me, AI and things are saying, yes.
So, you know, I mean, hell, let's let's let's do it.
Let's do it, you know, I want to Volkswagen R, right?
And Brewster Green, you know, how cool would that be?
So you'd be the only guy with one.
Hurted here first.
I think that's a wrap, Roy.
You just get wrapped.
Should we is that a mic drop or?
Yeah.
What have we got coming up?
I mean, Lindsay, if you've got any, you're not going to tease the next car, right?
You're going to wait and just yeah, you got to wait and see.
But I do have something else coming up.
But wait, we heard about car one.
Yeah, right.
We didn't really hear much about the Lucid.
Did you know?
But I mean, I'm still I think it's probably best to wait until my time.
OK, OK.
But there is a third car.
There is a third car.
OK, it's going to be hard to top the Lucid, I imagine.
Right? I know.
Well, and I will say this until we talk about it in depth, I am really enjoying it.
It's the first EV that I've spent, you know, any appreciable amount of time with.
So that's been really interesting.
The learning curve has been less than I anticipated.
And it's made it really interesting going directly from the Land Cruiser to the air.
But, you know, it's it keeps it exciting.
So so, yeah, stay tuned for more in depth discussion
once I'm done with the Lucid and then stay tuned to see what I have after the loose.
Yeah, I can't I can't wait.
I just took delivery or rented a Mazda CX 50 today.
Nice. I'm going to put some miles on it.
The first thing I did when I got home is I cracked the windows and checked
the Amazon for an ozone bomb because someone, I think, had probably
ubered it for a while and it had that that Seinfeld-esque funk.
And so hopefully how nice we're going to spend 2000 miles in this thing.
I want this thing to, you know, to not kill us.
But pretty nice little vehicle.
This is just the base car, the non-turbo four.
I'm almost positive, but a nice, nice, nice package.
I know car and driver awarded it something, at least the turbo version
this year is one of the better cars in the class.
So I'm excited to put some miles on it.
But real quick, in the in the rental car line, because, you know,
we get our best stories from from the car.
Did you know anything fun?
I did ask.
And so that's how I ended up with the Mazda instead of a Chevy Traverse, Dan.
So, yeah, smelly or not, I'd still rather take the Mazda.
But while I was waiting for them to clean the Mazda for me
because it had just been returned and I figured it would be a better option
than the Traverse, a couple came in, dressed in matching pink velour
Las Vegas branded track suits who were.
This sounds amazing already.
I mean, it was an interesting couple and I'll leave it at that.
I don't know if the subscribe to Patreon to hear Ryan's unfiltered.
It was two women.
I'm not sure if the younger woman was a spouse or a daughter,
but they had just, I think, brought this thing back from Las Vegas
and they had chipped the window and they were being very kind of decent
about reporting this thing.
But the outfits, I wanted so badly to take a picture.
But as I was trying to maneuver my camera, a guy walked in the door
and he was obviously from, you know, from a foreign land.
He was, you know, I don't know, Italian or Polish or something.
And he comes in and he said, you know, I'm sorry.
I just I just rented this car.
I took it out 10 minutes ago, but I had paid extra for the navigation.
And I can't figure out how to use it.
This poor sucker had used some sort of third party booking site
to add on navigation.
Do you remember like these to have these?
What were the boxes that?
Yeah, right.
Or you'd throw on the dash and they had like a weighted octopus on the bottom
that was supposed to like keep it in place.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, in the sand in the guy behind the counter said, you know,
sir, we haven't had these standalone GPS units in probably eight or nine years,
right? But apparently booking.com is still charging right out on fee of $25 a day
for navigation. And I can see this guy.
He doesn't want to run data in a foreign country trying to get around Colorado.
Right. And I felt so bad for the guy, you know, he's like, so what you're telling
me is there is no standalone Garmin unit that I can borrow.
I don't know if that's still a thing in Europe or whatever, but it's I
haven't even thought about that in years.
Much less try to try to, you know, order one for my rental car.
So I got real dark.
Literally and figuratively.
Yeah, yeah.
So, yeah, you know, I'm telling you, I think a perfect reality show would just
be like the budget rental counter, right, to watch these people come in.
There was someone else who was jumping through every hoop to use a debit card
versus a credit card to rent a car.
And he just, yeah, you just kind of felt sorry for them.
At some point, it's not worth it.
Just pull out your credit card.
Yeah, well, I guess if you don't have one, but that's a great house for it, right?
That's right.
So any confessions of a of a rental car desk clerk.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, I hear cost code very good for car rental.
I've never tried that.
Where did the cars come from?
There's they still come from Enterprise or yeah, it's unusual.
I've not used it, but apparently you can drive a free.
And if you've got cost code membership, it's it's cheaper.
I've got a membership, but but there's your consumer advice for the week.
Yes, yes.
And Dan, by the way, when I did say, did you have anything fun?
You know, this wasn't the airport in LA, right?
Or moderate during.
Right, right, right.
So Mazda CX 50, it was, but it'll be a good car, I'm sure.
So that's wild.
You can't go wrong with that over Chevrolet Blazer, right?
Absolutely. So your advice is just for the sake of content.
We probably need to be one of us renting
a car once a month and just hang out at the rental counter for a while.
Collect some stories.
I think Lindsey can do 52 weeks of press cars.
I know you're on a roll.
Hey, with any luck, right?
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
It's a worthy goal.
Yes, yes.
This lucid that you have, OK, because this isn't the same one
that Spikes got, obviously, because you have them at the same time.
Concurrently, it's currently is the word magic of podcasting.
We are driving the same car in the same week.
Different ends of the West Coast.
I was going to give you props for getting it first.
But but actually he had a different one.
He had a different one.
Was it a seller?
He's now got the sapphire.
Ah, OK, we don't have a sapphire, do you?
No, I have the air touring.
What did he have?
Did he have the gravity or did he have an air touring?
And then he got the sapphire.
OK, so what we're hearing is the progression is
I will be getting sapphire next. Yes. Yes.
Well, I got all of them. Spikes shadow.
But you know.
And then when I hear you say no, come on.
Yeah, that's right.
That's that's right.
Exactly.
I got to drive.
I got to drive the gravity at Mudfest,
which is their SUV kind of crossover ish silhouette.
And then obviously I'm getting to spend the week
with the air touring, which is their city.
Which is cool. Yeah.
Well, good on us. Good on you.
I mean, right? Life is good.
Yeah, well, I've got a you hole coming up.
We've got.
You know what? It's potato potato, really.
Way to get to that rental counter, Dan.
There we go.
It's a very to say.
Do you have anything fun at the you hole counter?
It's I think apparently you don't even go to the counter.
You have to do it over the phone with a person
and like show them your driver's license.
And it's slightly different from the last time I rented one.
But yeah.
One more you hall thing in the news yesterday,
you was very proud because they just introduced their biggest,
I guess most luxurious model yet.
It's built on a Peter built.
So Peter built is usually a vehicle
that people without a CDL can't drive.
Right. These are these semi trucks.
These over the road trucks.
But they now have one that's built on a Peter built.
I think it's gas powered, not diesel powered,
but is the biggest, heaviest vehicle that you can rent without a CDL.
And the funny part is the cut off for needing a CDL
is 26000 pounds, I believe.
Guess how much this new you hallways.
2559
25999
Dang, just don't put anything in the back.
I can't join it.
Right. Anyway, it's like when you see people look at like the towing
capacity or the load bearing, whatever.
And they're like, so we can go up to that, right?
And yeah. Yeah.
Sure. Yeah.
Well, we wish you all the luck in the world.
Thank you.
I'll be thinking of you in your Lucid and you in a Ford truck.
Tell yourself it's the same difference.
And we're all just out here living the dream.
We're Peter built, if you're lucky.
Yeah, there we go. There we go.
Well, I think we're a show, aren't we?
Yeah, I think so. Thanks. Thanks, guys.
Yeah. Well, thanks so much for joining us this week on that car show.
We really appreciate you all being here
and sharing the show with your enthusiast friends.
Please consider liking, subscribing and leaving a five star rating.
We always appreciate that.
And remember to always be driving and we'll see you here next week.
Thanks. Cheers.
About this episode
The hosts bounce from movie trivia to the real meat: a week of back-to-back press-car testing. They compare the Toyota Land Cruiser against the Lexus GX, then talk three-row comfort, parking visibility, and off-road practicality versus creature comforts. The conversation widens into dealer experience, rental-car logistics, and even Jeep Wrangler “death wobble” checks. Later, they shift to manual-transmission dreams, Porsche Sondervanche exclusivity, and EV impressions—ending with what they’ll be thinking about in their Lucid and Ford truck drives.
Tonight on That Car Show, Lindsey falls hard for a Land Cruiser, Dan falls into yet another U-Haul and Ryan falls in love with an underpowered Acura. Also… beyond Sonderwunsch, the perfect Turo car, and how to make friends and influence people at the car rental counter, Always check the hands, friends, and make sure you rate, review and subscribe. It’s That Car Show.
