The tread is the part of your tire that touches the road and has grooves to help your car grip the road better. If the tread is worn out, your car can slip, especially on wet or snowy roads.
When a car is so badly damaged that fixing it costs more than the car is worth, it's called 'totaled'. Insurance companies then usually pay you the car's value instead of fixing it.
Insurance rates are how much money you pay to protect your car in case of accidents or damage. These prices can go up or down depending on different things like your driving or the car you have.
Snow mode is a special setting in some cars that helps you drive better on snow by changing how the car's computer and transmission work so the wheels don't slip as much.
A CVT is a kind of car transmission that doesn't have fixed gears like normal cars. Instead, it changes smoothly to help the car go faster or slower without shifting gears.
Traction control helps your car keep its grip on the road when you speed up, especially on slippery roads. It stops the wheels from spinning too much by slowing them down or lowering engine power.
A snow covered road means the road has snow on it, making it slippery and harder to drive on. You need to be very careful when braking or turning so you don't slip.
A snow bank is a big pile of snow on the side of the road. Sometimes drivers might use it to stop if they lose control, but it can be dangerous if you hit it too fast.
A ditch is a small trench or hole next to the road. Sometimes, if you can't stop your car, it's safer to drive slowly into the ditch than to keep sliding on the road.
The Tesla Model Y is a type of electric car that looks like a small SUV. It runs on batteries instead of gas and has lots of smart features to help you drive.
The Bricklin SV-1 is a special and unusual sports car made in Canada a long time ago. It has doors that open upwards like wings, which makes it stand out. People talk about it because it is rare and interesting to car collectors.
The Toyota Corolla is a very popular and dependable small car that many people drive. Some versions let you change gears yourself using a stick, which some drivers like because it feels more fun and gives you more control. They might be talking about a special type of Corolla that has this feature.
The Ford Mustang is a well-known sporty car from America that many people like because it looks cool and can go fast. You can get it with an automatic transmission, which changes gears for you, or a manual one, where you change gears yourself. People often talk about which type is better to drive.
The Mazda MX-5 or Miata is a small, sporty car with two seats that many people enjoy because it's fun to drive. It usually has a stick shift, so the driver changes gears themselves, which some people like a lot. They might be talking about whether it comes with other types of gear changers.
A manual transmission means the driver changes gears themselves using a stick and a pedal. Six speed means there are six different gears to choose from.
The Ford F-150 Lightning is a big truck that runs on electricity instead of gas. It can pull heavy things like trailers and has lots of modern technology. People talk about it because it mixes the power of a truck with clean electric power.
Electric vehicles are cars that run on electricity stored in big batteries instead of gas. They are better for the environment and can save money on fuel.
The Nissan Altima is a medium-sized car that many people use because it is comfortable to drive. It is often compared to other cars like the Hyundai Elantra and Honda Accord. They might be talking about how it works or what makes it different.
The Hyundai Elantra is a small car that many people buy because it has good features and doesn't use much gas. It is often talked about with other cars like the Honda Civic and Nissan Altima. They might be comparing which car is better or cheaper to own.
The Honda Accord is a medium-sized car that many families use because it is dependable and comfortable. It is often compared to other cars like the Hyundai Elantra and Honda Civic because they are all popular choices. They might be talking about how good it is compared to those cars.
The Honda Civic is a small car that many people like because it saves gas and lasts a long time. It is often talked about together with cars like the Hyundai Elantra and Honda Accord because they are all good choices. They might be comparing these cars to see which one is best.
The Chevrolet Suburban is a big SUV that can carry a lot of people and stuff. Families often use it when they need extra space for trips or daily activities.
The Cadillac Escalade is a big, fancy SUV that many people like because it has a lot of space and nice features. It's often used by families or people who want a comfortable ride.
Floorplanning means the car company or bank pays for the cars at the dealer, so the dealer doesn't have to pay for them all at once. The company still owns the cars until someone buys them.
Porsche and and and the bmw both keep making the manuals on really, uh
Requested by the u.s. Market
um, you see more 9 11's here with uh manual transmissions
You see more m sport model bmw's here with manual transmissions than you do in europe
I think in bmw's case. You can't even get the manuals in the in in the m
model line
Well, as you say in europe, but but you say in europe
The manual transmissions are all over the place because when my wife and i were recently in italy
That's exactly what we had as a rental car and it was so fun to drive
And I believe it was a six speed manual. It was a fiat and uh, it was also not only that it was a hybrid
Which surprised me because I didn't know what the hybrids could come in in manual transmissions
and uh, so
europe has
You know, I applaud europe for keeping those vehicles those types of vehicles available for the public
Uh, I presume that they are cheaper than automatic transmissions
But is art aren't sometimes manual transmissions in american cars more expensive now
I I um, I honestly don't know
um
Oftentimes, I think it's like a no-cost uh option
um
So another thing I wanted I read about I thought was interesting. Um, and and where I fully embrace, uh electrification is
Uh electric school buses. There's a school school district here in connect connecticut brandford
um, that had that is starting a
I think the 20 25 27 school buses
Um, that will be fully electric. Yes. And when you think about it, I mean those I I just think that you know school buses
Uh
Postal delivery vehicles
Those are the types of vehicles vehicles that run every day, but run for a limited time
limited miles in an urban area
Limited number of miles. It makes just and it just makes so much sense
You know school buses, you know drive in the morning
Then you put them back at the depot you plug them up
Go back in in the afternoon put them back overnight
You know plug them up again. It makes so much sense. I mean, obviously the logistics of it
the infrastructure is um is is
Is it's a huge uh endeavor. I'm sure yes
Well, it is it is for a number of reasons to uh insert some comments on that first of all
They these vehicles you're talking about are probably ideal for battery assembly situations because they've got the structure underneath the whole enough batteries to
To complete their circuit on a daily basis twice a day in many cases
Maybe with charging in between the morning and afternoon circuits
Um, I've I've been waiting to see some electric
School buses in our broadcast area and I have yet to see one an all-star transportation
Um, uh, I you know, we know that the pickup truck electric future was was uh, maybe okay
Uh for non-commercialized use with occasional filling of the pickup bed with maybe some wood or some lightweight
Things that they had to bring from the store home depot or something because the range didn't change
but then there was a that uh newsworthy item of one of the magazines taking a a
forward lightning pickup putting hitching on a
10 000 pound trailer and going up a hill and saying that at 75 miles they had to find a charging station when the
You know the the rating on the sticker for
Non-commercial use which was not not mentioned is non-commercial use was maybe 240 miles between changes
You know that kind of thing the small vehicles don't do well. What I don't think that's the issue at all
I think it's a big issue. It is not. I mean that's my that's my opinion
That's your opinion. So the listeners can make their choice, but forward stop their electric lightning pickup. So
That may be for another reason
Yeah, I think that's a little uh, short-sighted to be quite honest. Um, uh, especially
um
It may be short-sighted jay, but those who want to get the lighting can go out and get a lightning before it
It disappears from the from the uh
The assembly line. Yes. Well, yeah, it's it's disappeared from the assembly line now. You have to look for
Dealers that have one or two or more on their lot that they're trying to get rid of
All right, and I've said it I can go on we can go back and forth on this a million times
But that's right. I I drive a diesel vehicle that gets 30 miles to the gallon
Which and and 600 miles range if I attach my trailer to it
I will get exactly half of that and that's the exact same situation with with uh electric vehicles. So
Of course range goes down and and and consumption
Goes up when you're towing a vehicle. I just think the market is not ready for electric vehicles. Uh,
Especially in the pickup truck segment segments
Well commercials, I mean
Let's face it a lot of pickup trucks don't drive all that many miles. They could very well be running
so
A little bit like school buses
And back to the school buses by the way, um, there's a company out there called zoom. I was just reading about it
They contract with school districts to provide a
You know all around uh integrated
solutions to
Uh
What electrified moving children? Yeah. Yeah, and it goes it's it's bigger than that
Um, and I don't have much to say about it because it takes a little bit of reading
But yeah part of it is supplying electric vehicles that are made actually as far as I can tell right now by two companies that seem to have
Chinese origins
So, you know board back to Chinese electric vehicles that are going to flood the the north american
market in the decades to come but that's just my personal
Uh, uh vision of that's a good personal opinion. So, um
So so until the electric
Vehicles come back into vogue for people. There are people that are getting them. We've talked often and on
Show after show about how if you don't drive more than uh, what a hundred miles a day or 200 miles a day
You can pretty do well do with electric car without a whole lot of hassle
And and and concern about uh, where you're going to get your electric power to recharge it because it's probably going to be in your
driveway or in your garage or in you know, one of the commercial parking spaces like uh, stop and shop has uh, the the uh
Tesla chargers there
You can have an electric vehicle and and I do not know anything about what did cost to charge an electric vehicle
Which I have been trying to find out but I think the charging rates vary
From location to location when they're not on your on your own in your own driveway
And I do not know how much less expensive it is
Uh, I mean gas fluctuates in price all the time. Whereas maybe electricity doesn't so
The electric vehicle is perfectly acceptable for a certain market of of users
As we have as I have just stated and we have stated in the past
Right Jay
Yes, um
Going going beyond beyond us and our times. What are millenials driving? I thought that was an interesting question
And the most popular cars millenials are driving because that's really
Who are who is going to be buying cars in the next couple decades, right? And as I was going down the list
I was surprised to see
You know Ford and GM pickup trucks
Uh, and then a bunch of cars, but no SUVs
Uh, you know, and you're looking at the list and you have Nissan Altima's
Hyundai Elantra's
Honda Accords Honda Civics
and our brands going to be
Toyota Camry's
So and I was like, huh?
Does that mean that in the next 10 20 years SUVs are just going to disappear and we're going to come back to cars
Or are millenials as they start?
Uh, you doubt it
Well, I doubt it only because of the utility value of of families with kids
I agree and all that that that the sedansis don't not have a capacity situation capable of handling
That for uh travel outside of just general day-to-days use
Yeah, I think you're right. I think once the millenials have two kids, they'll start buying suburban again
Well, they're already buying suburban and and let me tell you these uh, these large the larger versions of the
Escalades the Cadillac Escalades
That are on the road are huge today and and you see a lot of them and you drive into our local ski area J
and you see
GM
products
Ford you know expeditions and that
So yes, they're still buying these but it was interesting whatever
poll you were reading about
The millenials purchasing the cars you listed is interesting, but uh, that's fine for probably
two to three, you know non child
Families and professional people that just need a car to go from a to z, you know a to b every day and back
Yeah, did you I saw locally a week or two ago?
The new Cadillac Escalade IQ. So the electrified version of the Escalade, which is a totally different vehicle than the Escalade
It's a pretty
imposing vehicle
um
And I think it's a great vehicle. It's just
You know, it's just huge
Um, and not very uh energy efficient
Um, even though the range is something like 500 miles or so
It's just not efficient
And not and costly to operate and back to your point of the cost of
Of energy electric energy
I don't know the numbers but but yeah
If the vehicle is not efficient the area has charging ports and and I've been noting on the weekends that they are
Very often there are six of them. I believe they are all in use so though the other day
I was up. I went through the parking lot in the afternoon over this
A weekend before the blizzard hit and noticed that there were only three vehicles charging at the six ports
But I don't know whether they are level. I assume they're level two or better
I I think if you plan on charging your car at a ski resort
You better count on getting there very very literally because back
You're you're lucky to find a parking spot in in the back of the parking lot
Uh after eight o'clock in the morning. So, uh, finding one of those six, uh,
You should not guarantee that you can get catch one of those if you're going to uh in electric car
You're going to go to any ski area
No, you might want to think, uh
Yeah, we're winding up yet. Um
Yeah, you want to wind up with some things
Well, uh, I think we've covered all of our safety tips with the driving
I think you and I are going to go to the new york auto show. Uh, yeah, I'm looking forward to that. Yeah, and I'll be able to see what the
manufacturers are giving
Uh, the auto show to show although I understand that mainly it's dealers that bring their cars dealers from around the area
Usually supply the cars for the auto show. I thought that the manufacturers did
But I was told by one dealership at you know, who did supply vehicles
And I don't remember the make that that was the way they filled the auto show halls
With vehicles not the manufacturers themselves
Although they may have that wouldn't be surprising dealers dealerships have so many cars sitting on the lot that i'm sure it's not
And all those cars are floorplanned anyway, so the manufacturers still own the car so they can just say hey
Bring huge cars
Yeah, um
It'll be interesting on the auto show in a later show when we've been there and
And let the let's just know what is hot on auto show floors these days as opposed to what's on the road
Or in in comparison to what's on the road. Did you go to the auto show last year? I did
Yeah, and uh, there was a there was a bigger electric
There was quite a large electric performance floor on the lower level
and it was uh
You were able to get in line and I did not want to do it and get in with a demo driver
And all manufacturers that had electric cars or many manufacturers all shared that one
Course around the floor on the lower level. Well, we'll talk more about the auto show and and what goes on there in a later show
And until then this is car keys with jay demarkin and robin leach
Car keys with robin leach and jay demarkin is produced at the facilities of w h d d 91.9 f m
robin hood radio dot com sharing connecticut
About this episode
Robin Leach and Jada Markin dive into the challenges of driving during severe winter storms, sharing practical advice on handling snow, ice, and the dangers of pile-ups on highways. They discuss the role of ABS and snow mode in vehicles, emphasizing cautious driving and the importance of proper tires and windshield wipers. The hosts also touch on rising insurance costs linked to accident claims and explore the niche market of kit trucks, highlighting the appeal of simple, customizable vehicles amid increasing automotive complexity.
