Car Keys with Robin Leech and Jay de Marcken – December 15, 2025

He is Robin Leach. He is Jada Markin. This is Car Keys.

Good morning to our audience for Car Keys of this week and Jada Markin and Robin Leach and

We are going to talk about

The motor trends car truck of the year awarded. I am absolutely thrilled to pieces

That motor trend has finally come to its senses and not had to figure out what the biggest most powerful

Pickup truck which or with it had a lot of other things that other these that the this year's pick

Has but it isn't a great huge

Expense item for the American public to consider. I think the Ford Maverick, which is what it picked as the truck of the year

Is a fabulous pickup truck and I've been reading about it for a long time and

Reading the motor trends reasons for it all make more sense than

Many truck vehicle year of the year choices. It's made in many years before this one

The for our listeners who are truck people. They will all know what the more Ford Maverick is about probably

Many of them have the great big Ford 150s Dodge

Rams

Chevrolet Silverado's and GMC's versions of that

All with big pickup beds

Luxury interiors and large price tags the Maverick goes completely

Against that with the price tag but not without some of the features of the big boys and

It is a truck that is gaining visual recognition in our northwest

Corner as I drive around and see more and more Maverick showing up on the road

And I just love every one of them that I see Jay. You have any

Comments before I continue

Sure, I

Think the Maverick is a

Is a is a good product? I think it's a cool truck

It we have to say it came out four years ago. This is a midlife

Psycho refresh and yes, they came up with with a bunch of things that that make it better

Than it was originally but it was already very good when it came out the year it came out

I guess it lost to the Rivian

R1t that was then well that was a truck. Yes

Totally different but they would you know as we know these truck of the year or truck of the or car of the year just compare

vehicles within

the the same category and also the requirement is I believe that the truck has the vehicle has to be if

Not completely new a pretty

revamped version of an existing

Vehicle, okay, and I guess let me go I guess for this Ford has done quite a bit of

Revamping for Ford has done a great job of that, but for our listeners

I want to say that it is a hybrid power crane

Which means it's got both battery and electric and that is I believe the standard way it comes

It also has not grown. I believe in length which is another plus for Ford and this truck

The maverick is small. It's more like those

The height the Hyundai Santa Fe pickup size and maybe to a certain degree the Honda pickup size

But the Toyota

Mid-size pickups and the Ford mid-size and the GM as well as the big ones are considerably larger in

Both weight and price

Again cost

But this is really keeping to its original four-year-old design as far as size goes and I hope it

Sticks to that

A for a the hybrid private

I have recently run into a new a brand-new owner of a Ford maverick and I ran into this woman

In a gas station in our listing area and I asked her

It looked brand-new to me

So I asked her how she liked it and she is absolutely thrilled with it and I said what did you drive before and

She said I traded in a Jeep Wrangler and

Well, you know, she loves the mileage

She's getting between 30 and 40 miles a gallon in the limited time. She's owning it. She's learning about it

She says it's got a pickup bed. It's adequate for any needs that I need it for

It is certainly not probably good for the contractor sector of

Pickup truck owners that need more

Load carrying capacity and room for whatever they put in the back of those pickups

But the maverick does everything probably

95% as well as as it all that's larger brethren and it's a lot less expensive

I

Agree, I think it's a great. I mean, I read diagonally through that article of motor trend

It has a tow in all-wheel drive and I think it

Can be had in front wheel and all-wheel drive I believe but in all-wheel drive the tow package

allows for a

4,000 pound

Towing capacity which is which is good for a smaller vehicle. You have to remember that the maverick is built on the Ford escape

SUV, you know small SUV platform, so it technically is a front-drive

Originally and and front-drive all-wheel drive with like you said a four-cylinder

Hybrid powertrain

Interestingly, they compared the the various capacities to the Toyota Tacoma

Saying that there was more leg room or more head room basically that they did the yeah that that the

Cabin was as comfortable and as large as a Tacoma and so was the bed when in fact a Tacoma is more

Comparable in size to a Ford Ranger, which is a step up in size from that from the from the

Maverick

Yeah, I thought it was great article. It's a great validation of

Ford's

small pickup truck it also sells I think three or four times as well as

And they're Hyundai Santa Fe right which for some reason although it does look very good

You don't see many of oh, yeah, it's a cool spot. Yeah to our listeners

You mentioned something about front-wheel drive. I know didn't the article that the two-wheel drive

Version I believe or maybe it's only in the four-wheel because you say it's front wheel

But it says it lobo's ability to lock its twin clutch rear axle adds to its capability and

And low low ground height doesn't it limits its ground clearance capability

But otherwise it is just a remarkably well engineered vehicle that does yes, it shows me for

Our audience who like pickup trucks that did why get the big one when you can have such and

Are you apparently fun time owning this vehicle and Toyota's coming out with it

I'll have similar sized one because they realize that the Ford has really struck a a

A note with the people with its Maverick

Sales of I guess exceeded a half a million since it came out four years ago

I wasn't aware that the sales were that

Strong but that it that is a pretty good

Run for a limited. I think it's probably the

Manufacturing plan is limited in the capacity to put out more at the moment given what I think is happening to the success of this truck

So let's say if you don't need a gas guzzling

Large version of a pickup truck the Maverick will do an awful lot for

you with fun

economy power and

Basically all-around pickup truck type capabilities without but if you don't want to spend a lot of money on gas

You can also buy a verivian R1 T which is

top gears

Pick up for SUV of the year and and the argument behind

their pick for the

Rivian is that

The quality of the interior has been upped quite a bit apparently

And and Rivian is making

really

In rose

In rose and and in developing their their proprietary software

Which seems to be pretty sophisticated and is getting better by the day for and I know as you noted a AI

Inspired capability for maybe the right free driving and all that is that what that is that what that there's some of it

Is that I I'll be honest I I just glimpse at that article

I'm just happy to see that the Rivian is is you know, it looks the same a lot of these a few

You know these electric car manufacturers like Tesla like Rivian are

Maybe not going to have that same

Obsession but and you should be happy about that of changing the model every four years and making it look totally different

We know that Tesla's gone, you know, we're going on 12 13 years with the model s and I know I'm going on a tangent with this

but

Rivian

Seems to be improving their vehicles year after year

But in a way that's not necessarily visible to the eye

Again the power trains the electric motors have changed quite a bit. I know and

And again software is a big is a big thing for Rivian

Remember I had read elsewhere that

Rivian is going to be supplying their software to companies like Volkswagen. I mean, we're talking major

Manufacturing like yeah, so anyway, hey, I like and it doesn't take anything away from the from the Maverick

Now Maverick is a great little truck

It is and it will stay that way if Ford doesn't make it bigger and that's basically all they have to not do is not

Redesign it adding two inches to the wheel base or two inches to the pickup bed

Keep it as it is and just keep the technology up to date

Keep the power trains low one of the engineers

Cited oh, wouldn't it be nice to have the Ford mustangs turbo for as a power crane option for it

That's not what this truck needs

And you can use for Terminator or whatever they call their high performance. I don't know which engine it was

It's the one thing that the one engineer decided, you know, everybody wants more power in these small

Vehicles the Mazda MX-5 for example get a bigger engine get more

power performance

It's not necessary some of these smaller vehicles

Are more fun to drive as they originally came out

The Mazda RX-7 that I have an 84 had the bigger of two

Rotary engine options. I think for a while before it went extinct

But the Mazda

But

It's now it's an MX-5 it was what was it the original one

Came out with me out of four cylinder engine and it's more fun to drive

It's as fun to drive today as it was when it came out what 15 years ago

No, it's more like 30. You're aging yourself. Okay

Anyways, you have another thing on your list, which is interesting

For maybe those of us who follow the congestion pricing thing

It's it's actually preserving in New York City, which is the first city. I think in the country to

Institute and put congestion pricing

Tariffs I guess you could say into effect and it's as as the headline says in your list

It's increasing foot traffic and helping businesses as opposed to those who opposed it

Simply on the form of that it costs the user the driver more money if you enter the city

It's nine bucks. Yeah, when you go in

nine bucks

yeah

and and I guess so the the the

I read two articles about this one was about the one you did that

We're referring to here. There was also an article with a study

Made by corn done by Cornell about Cornell University about

The effect on the air quality and that air quality air pollution had gone down pretty significantly

Not only in the air in lower Manhattan where the

Pricing is in effect congestion pricing is in effect, which is I think below 60th Street

But throughout the five boroughs and beyond so and you know, I know we you know

The naysayers are going to say well, you know

Who who ordered these studies and you know the city's padding itself on the back?

I do think it is beneficial and and I do believe it is a smart thing and I personally have noticed

less traffic

In downtown Manhattan

And and congested cities around the world have done the same thing, you know

And and it's being it's also being looked at by American cities and people have been watching it

I think that there may be more of that

To try to stem the congestion traffic that exists in in major American cities on a daily basis

Even if it's a small amount

New York's experiment is showing the positivity the positive aspects of it

Despite the objections of people who complain it's costing them more money to come into town

So you're talking about it. You're talking about American cities

I happen to be in Europe right now and have driven in in in two major cities

in Brussels and last week I drove a

bit in in and around Paris and

France and

Just couple observations

even this what they call the periphery that the the the

Loop around the city of Paris

Where people used to drive like like like mad men and women

Is now limited to 50 k's an hour so 30 miles an hour

Radar and speed camera enforced and everybody is just driving at the speed limit

Which is like I said 50 k's 30 miles or 32 miles an hour, whatever that equates to 31 miles an hour

It is kind of relaxing it works you slow down traffic and the traffic flows

There seems to be less accordion effects

Well, you're saying the traffic flow steadier

It does

Flow more steadily and I have noticed that you know it has nothing to do

But I noticed that in and around New York City around Thanksgiving

I'd mentioned that a couple weeks ago or maybe last week that that you know

Because there were out of towners driving through and around the city

Traffic was driving at a slower pace and it it just seemed to be flowing better

So it's amazing how much how a little time you lose by only going

30 miles or 35 miles an hour where you've tried once before to go 50 or 60

In getting to your destination

Simply because as you're noting the traffic doesn't have the accordion effect of racing along at 50 or 60 or sometimes more

And then crumb into a crawl as

Somebody up in the front lines of all the vehicle lines in the in the road

Have brought it to a near halt where you may go along at five or ten miles an hour for

five minutes or so before you can speed back up and

If you did if you were really doing math about it, you'd find you probably didn't actually get to your

appointed destination a whole lot later by being in this new sort of

Speed managed

Alternative driving program that's being instituted around in the cities

One of the things that's interesting. We've been talking on this show for years now about the

Longevity or the survivability of the internal combustion engine ban in Europe was way ahead of the US and

Theoretically trying to eliminate it

Your headline in one of your list says

The Europe gives up on it

2035 internal combustion engine ban hallelujah to that I guess

It's just well I'm going to tell you the reality of the impossibility of their

Improbability of actually being able to succeed at that at that goal. I would say

Yeah, and we kind of knew that the day they they implemented that and and

Well, we had to find the thing of California or some of the other states trying to get rid of

Internal combustion engine sales in but in somewhere in the 2030 era, right?

Um, and yeah, I think they've got back off of that too because it's just not going to be a

Goal that can be reached anywhere any time in the near future as it

You can't be forced to get rid of your internal combustion engine vehicles certainly. Okay, so I I

I I agree and I think that it was an optimistic

Goal and like a lot of goals it was not going to be reached

But I think we have to not give up on the goal just like no I agree giving up on on the average

Gas mileage, you know the corporate gas mileage averages for manufacturers of cars sold here in the US

Which is being relaxed. I think is that it is they a

Is not a good idea relaxing him is one thing

Getting rid of them all together is just another thing relaxing him because those are difficult to meet and become very expensive for

Manufacturers is one thing you don't want those come art, you know

You don't want any legacy car manufacturers to go under they're already have a tough having a hard time fighting

The the the new power problems

So I think in Europe what happened is that you know amongst the 27 countries

part of the EU

Germany was you know

the first to to

Want to put a the kibosh on on on these

3035 deadlines and of course what Germany

Wants being the most powerful, you know economically most powerful country in the EU

You know things went their way

It's interesting to know that you know they also are

You know, I would say in Europe

Pretty much ahead of the game as far as the electric vehicles

But also in looking for alternative fuels, we're looking at synthetic fuels as a possible

Savior for the internal combustion engine and Porsche is very active in working on that and

Actually starting next year

Formula one

You know Grand Prix racing

World championship will be

Fueled by synthetic fuels. So I know the production of synthetic fuels is is is again is is it's very hard to

To scale

So it's just another it's just another avenue. I think also

companies like Volkswagen are looking at

What do they call them?

E-Rex

Extended range electric vehicles, which I guess the Chinese manufacturers are starting

So basically you're looking at adding an alt a generator

To your electric vehicles so that the engine is not necessarily

Part of the power unit. It's just a generator to to general electricity, right?

I think the doubt isn't the scout going to be

Depending out may have that power train

System is part of its optional situation. I I'm not sure but I think that might be the scout way of doing

It to adding a generator

booster for the electric battery

power train

Yeah, and I think it makes a lot of sense and you know, it was kind of you know

There were means a few years ago where you saw generators

Attached to the roof of the roof of Tesla's, you know, you could see pictures with a pretty

Simple generator sitting on the roof of a of a Tesla as a way of charging the vehicle. I mean it's

But the idea makes sense. I mean I I'm kind of

Kind of you've already you've always been advanced in your positivity aspect in this kind of thing

It's not happening that way as fast as you might like it to be it

But the idea of a generator on top of a non

commercialized vehicles

Doesn't do much for the visible design factor

Because you can't really put a generator

Substantially you got to produce substantial electricity and these sloping roofed

So Dan type vehicles for sure. I would I think nobody took that seriously

I think nobody took it seriously. I would agree

We could move on

We have you brought up something about

Stalantis because I didn't realize that they had 14 brands of this trying to survive economically with but

As the article you supplied says most of them are probably being considered for cutting in Europe

European area. I was looking at the list

Jay, you've always said fiat was a key fiat was going to die in our country and guess what?

The fiat what is the smallest fiat in Europe apparently is coming to the US

The I can't even remember the name of it for our listeners this week

But I couldn't believe it when the it's a micro mini and

Fiat apparently is adding it or Stalantis is trying to add it to the US bound

Hold on hold on hold on hold on. I think you know fiat is a

Mainstream manufacturer in Italy the mainstream brand

With in competing in size with I looked at the numbers with their with their

Siblings Pujo and Citroen but and and a head of opal Vauxhall which was surprising

But probably far behind Renault and certainly the Volkswagen group

And also what what happens with these

European what happened historically with these European car manufacturers that like like in in our country, you know

Everybody's strong in their own backyard fiat was number one in in Italy and and and

Renault were strong in in in in France

Opel Opel Vauxhall Vauxhall in in in the UK and Ford of Europe were very strong in in in the UK

But now that this is all one big market

Some brands are emerging and others are are fading very the the brands that

Stalantis is

Thinking or should think about axing are the ones that were actually models that became brands like

DS was a

Model of Citroen's then they turned it into a luxury brand. Well, guess what it's going nowhere

Same thing with a bar at Lancia. Well, that's dying already

So that's that's probably one that is going to go

So but in the states we have the same problems to land to have the same problem

It's killed a few brands and it has done nothing to

Consolidate their their sales. They've kept losing sales

You know, we don't have Chrysler anymore. Do we have Chrysler? It's hard to tell well

We have the cry for Hornet, I believe

That was but it's no longer being imported into the US because of tariffs

It came out what two years ago. I panned it in in this house. I panned it in this show

It's built in Italy. I panned it more for its colors than anything else that I first saw

I have seen a couple of Hornets running around our listed corner and I actually like what it is

It was a fully loaded

version of one of the Jeep

Brands now no longer

Imported and it looked more like a sedan, but it had all the capability off-road and all that

Four-wheel drive all-wheel drive it that kind of thing as the smallest Jeep that is no longer around and I can't so it's so long

So long gone that I can't remember its actual

I think I just think marketing geniuses are just not there all I don't think they're very genius

I gotta say I'm not impressed by the marketers of many of these manufacturers

understanding what exactly the

The future for some of these models that they bring out forth to us

Look at Dodge and Ram. I mean, you know, they are they spun off the the the Dodge trucks

rams and

Ram was a model of the Dodge truck and what what it did. Yes, the Ram brand name is

Is is is alive and well, but the Dodge brand of cars is

it kind of

Gone well it's not gone, but it's it's it's certainly in survival mode as far as I'm concerned

Yeah, what do they have the charger?

and

But in both electric and fossil fuel be over yeah, so my my my point is that you know

Stellantis is looking mostly at European brands setting European brands

I think that they have some cleaning up to do over here, too

But that's just my opinion. I'm not a big fan of the company

I'm not a big fan of the company either

I should not have bought in the Chrysler Dodge Jeep and put their name on them on the dealership

signs

Taking away from the strength of the Jeep name and the Dodge name and the and for a while and a long time ago

The Chrysler name and when the 300s were around and they had and they were you know well thought of by owners

All right enough about bashing Stellantis because I'm not being objective anymore

This top gear came up with

A best

Manufacturer of the year and also a hypercar of the year so hypercars are the you know

The super fast super cars and they compared the 1,000 horsepower

Corvette ZR1 to the new Mustang GTD

Which is like a race car version of the Mustang and

Anyway, they're two extremely stupidly fast cars and they're

The Ford was aimed squarely at the Porsche GT3 RS and it kind of

Does about the same thing and the Corvette is even faster. So two great, you know

really fast super cars from Ford and GM and

And they have they named Cadillac the manufacturer of the year and

Cadillac has come out with some pretty interesting product

I mean, I'm not a huge fan and as a manufacturer. They're also going into Formula one, which is

brave

If anything else a money pick for sure and

We'll see what the outcome is when they start competing in 2026 with that till next week

This is car keys with Robin Leach and

J. DeMarkin car keys with Robin Leach and J. DeMarkin is produced at the facilities of

WHDD 91.9 FM Robin hood radio comm sharing Connecticut

Car Keys with Robin Leech and Jay de Marcken – December 15, 2025

About this episode

Ford Maverick

Ford 150S

Chevrolet Silverados

Rivian R1T

Hyundai Santa Fe

mid-size pickups

Jeep Wrangler

all-wheel drive

Ford Escape

hybrid powertrain

Toyota Tacoma

Ford Ranger

Ford Lobos

Tesla Model S

Rivian

software

Volkswagen I

Ford Mustangs

Mazda Mx5

Mazda Rx7

rotary engine

internal combustion engine

synthetic fuels

Porsche

Formula One

extended range electric vehicles

Stellantis

Fiat

Renault

Opel

Hudson Hornet

Dodge Ram

Chevrolet Corvette

Ford Mustang GTD

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