Failing EV Startups, Redesigned Kia Seltos, Chicago Auto Show News

Whether you drive a car, need a car, or just occasionally, bummer ride with friends, you've come to the right place. Join Gelan Tom as they break down everything that's going on in the auto world, new car reviews, shopping tips, driving green, electric cars, classic cars, and plenty of great guests. This is the Consumer Guide Car Stuff Podcast. Alright, this is the Consumer Guide Car Stuff Podcast, I am Tom Appell, thank you for joining us today when you have a chance to

check us out at ConsumerGuide.com, that's ConsumerGuide.com, our all new Brighton Shiny 2026 Best Buies are now listed there at the homepage, they're up, they've been edited.

Did you delete somebody or add somebody in? What do you mean by editing? No, no, no, I published something, and I don't promote it until I read it again a day later. That's my cycle. So now it's readable?

I told you about my very, very nice email from someone at MoPAR, someone at Stellantis, I wrote about the RAM 1500, and with the Hemi again, the Hemi again model, I got a very nice email, it was all very friendly.

Like, oh, by the way, doofus. But I had confused, I think I mentioned this before, I can confuse two models. So anyway, it's good to know people are reading it.

Yeah. That voice is Jill Semenillo, she is contributing the editor here at ConsumerGuide.com, prolific freelancer and North American car are the year juror, juror. When do we find out about the car of the year picks?

January 14th. January 14th. So that's coming up pretty quick. It is. This year wrapped up fast.

Yeah, yeah. And I mean, our actual voting begins, I think in what like next week or the week after. And so everybody is like, I'm driving the Dodge Charger six pack right now, because I haven't had the chance to drive this specific variant.

And so like all of the jurors are trying to cram in the last minute test drives of the finalists.

There are folks out there who find the use of the term six pack, heretical.

Okay. Largely because six pack was six carbs once upon a time. Okay.

It was three sets of two barrels. I think they were webbers, but it was a big deal is a big under hood. You look great. Okay. Yeah.

But now it's six cylinder. Yes. Yeah. And that's the hurricane. And is that they're just doing the one hurricane now, right? It's 550 horsepower. I believe that it's the high output. And the other version doesn't exist at all.

Correct. A lot of things going away. Yeah. Well, you know, yeah, being like trim and slim, you know, trimming up the line up and all that.

We sell fewer cars now, right? We do. It's down from about 18 millions, about 16 million, 16 million is now the new normal. So we need a few fewer vehicles.

Yeah. And I mean, people are holding onto their cars longer. Yes. People are buying used because the price of cars is so expensive. And yeah. So we need fewer cars.

We need a few fewer cars. I have to get some thank yous out here real quick, TJ Campbell. Yes. Without letting me know sent me my own version of the Michelin tire sample.

The thing you were bragging about. The thing that I was bragging about that I have tire samples in my freezer. Did you put them in your freezer? No, but I don't need to because it's so darn cold outside.

Oh, so you're leaving them outside. I could just put it outside at the point. No, no, you've got to leave it someplace cold so that you have the full effect. You pull it out and you've got the floppy and stiff.

So yeah, I'm just saying. Floppy and stiff was a radio team back in the 70s. Okay. Never mind. Yeah.

Tawa, the folks at Tawa sent me my own trophy. I think you were behind that. But so that's very nice. You have your very own trophy to put on your desk.

And speaking of trophies, feed spot has again named us to their top 10 best automotive podcasts. So that's nice. I want to share this link, but they haven't the image that it grabs right now.

It wasn't correct. So I have to wait for them to make it better. Make it better. That's exactly right.

VinFast, do you've heard of VinFast? Kind of. You may not need to hear about them for much longer. I know. Right.

I've been collecting string news about VinFast now for two weeks and we never get around to it. Right. We've been busy.

We have been. We haven't talked about. But VinFast is on its last legs. They sold 1400 cars so far this year, down 40% from the year before.

And there were reports of dealerships websites coming down. Yeah.

They were building a factory. I was going to look up. I forgot where they were going to build a factory. But this isn't going to surprise you.

Construction of the factory has halted. Yeah. Well, they had a dedicated PR person for us. And he was let go.

I think he left. Well, one of the other. He left or got let go. But you know, we have we have somebody who listens to us regularly who sends me messages about VinFast often.

Who has been asking me to get into a test car. And I'm like, I don't think that's going to happen. Like ever. Like I tried. But I just I don't think it's going to.

You know, we marched through weird arrows and time and we've been doing this for six years. And it's weird to think about looking back at earlier episodes today for something.

And we had perhaps we had talked about and reviewed a Wrangler diesel. Yeah, which seems like a hundred years ago. But there were diesels in American consumer products.

But one of the things looking back. We talked about full size trucks and heavy duty trucks have diesels.

They do. But there's no passenger cars in the US that are diesel. No, I feel like that was 2019. Maybe they came out with the diesel. It was pre pandemic.

But our guests who haven't introduced yet is nodding. Yes. So I will take that as validation. Sure. Sure.

But the thing that was looking back on that I thought was so loud was VinFast for for being sort of a Johnny completely company was all about battery leasing.

That's like that is never going to happen in the US. No, well, then they backed off of that. Yeah, why?

For people who don't know there was a period of time when when when people were thinking about EVs and their primary complaint was what if something happens to the battery.

It's going to be like $50,000 to replace just the battery. Yeah, I'm going to have to sell my home to replace the battery and my car.

So some people theorized that if the battery was a separate purchase that was separately, you know, warranty purchase.

Yeah, and if it was under lease, it would be covered too under warrants and they just replace it. And that would be a good idea.

But the prices were absurd. It was it was they were talking about leasing the car for seven or eight or $100.

And at least in the battery for a separate 150 bucks a month. It's like no for something that we don't know.

Not going to happen. No. So anyway, VinFast seems to be on the way out. If you see one, that's great.

There is a VinFast dealer in Lyall. Yeah, there's one around here. So if you want to go look at it, take a picture of it.

I've seen like mall storefronts, but I've never seen a dealership.

Yeah, there is a standalone dealership in the Chicago Land Area. And they have some inventory too. They have a couple of dozen vehicles.

So if you want to VinFast for some reason, if you want to buy an EV from a company that won't be here next year.

Ever the optimist. So my question would be or just picked up a used Fisker. Yeah, it was just say similar to the Fisker ocean.

Like, what is the software support for that like if VinFast leaves? It's probably bad. You know that the Fisker thing is interesting.

It became a community and it's now open source. And there are people working to keep this stuff running. Yeah.

So as absurd as it seems six months ago to buy a Fisker, it's less absurd now. Yeah. And that's kind of cool. Yeah.

I love to see stuff like that. And speaking of companies going belly up, Bollinger through in the towel.

And I don't know if people remember Bollinger, but but a little bit like any else they wanted to do these these original Land Rover Defender tribute looking vehicles.

But they were going to be electric. Yeah. And try as they might they couldn't make the consumer side of that work. So they started to build class three, class four heavy duty stuff. And that didn't work for them either. So they're going now.

They seem like a cool company. The design was really cool. And it's just a shame. Yeah. But that's gone.

I was literally just talking about them the other day and didn't realize that they had thrown in the towel that was talking about them for completely different reason.

You have some news to get to, but I want to talk about something really quick that I thought was interesting. Okay.

So I was in the Jeep Wrangler Sahara. Yes.

Last week. Sahara is a trim level. Mostly it's a nice equipment trim level. It's on an off-roading trim level. But as far as Wranglers go, nice vehicle came to about 60 grand,

which is about where you think that's going to be. And it was, oh, it was juice orange kind of like my gladiator, which was also very, very happy orange color.

So I've had four or two orange vehicles in four weeks. Right. And people love them. Yeah. Also, I picked up Nick, the Giulio at the train station. And I said, I'll be in the orange Jeep.

And you can't miss it. No, that's really can't miss it. But the thing about the Wrangler that's so interesting to me, I have not driven this vehicle in this product before.

Mostly the Wranglers and, and when gladiators are powered by the pet to start 3.6 liter V6, which is a good place for that. Right. Those are good home for this engine.

That has some torque and it's, it's a good size and it feel economy is decent. But they also make available at no cost, a two liter turbo.

And the numbers here are really interesting. So if you go from the six to the turbo, you actually lose 15 horsepower. You go from 285 to 270,

which you pick up 35 pound feet of torque and the engine peaks lower, 3000 RPM instead of 48 RPM. So it is a sportier engine. But it feels great around town.

It makes some noise. It burbles. It's quicker off the line. And I think that this engine would be too crude for a lot of applications, but it's a Wrangler. Right. Right.

Well, did you look up fuel economy and see if there is any fuel economy? There is a small fuel economy. I think it's one combined. Yeah, I forgot to write that down. Great question.

But there is a small fuel economy benefit. So my question is because I haven't done it and if someone wants to text us if they've done it or just get hold of us, how is this engine off road?

Right. Because it might be a little difficult to modulate a small four cylinder that's a little ready at low speed.

Well, I mean, I couldn't say definitively whether or not I've taken enough road, but I probably have. And I would say if you're going to drive something like that off road, you put it in manual mode and control the gear shifts to control that.

After the break, we're going to talk to Jim O'Brill, the director of marketing for the Chicago Auto Show. Remind me that I have a question for Jim about the San Francisco Auto Show.

Okay. Because every year I put together a schedule of auto shows. SF, yeah. SF, not happening. Okay.

So I just don't know. It seems like a big market like they should have an auto show. Okay. All right. I have a real quick question for you. I drove the wagon your S last week. Okay.

And Hydro Blue. Okay. Great looking car. Okay. Um, question is why the hate?

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Um, that is a very good question. So I haven't, I haven't coming again like I think in a couple of weeks.

But the only time I've driven this vehicle is at the launch and when I started posting videos about it, holy sniping.

Yes. Yes. I do. I usually, when I start doing the photography for a review, I usually post some pictures from on Facebook and on X and on, um, on Blue Sky and hate.

Hey, and I'm sort of surprised. It's a very good looking vehicle.

Um, and, and it's a nice size. It is too small for me. And this is interesting.

My single complaint with two complaints. I have a complaint in a half.

Okay. Completing a half.

Okay. It's cramped for me, even though it is externally. It's about the size of a grand Cherokee.

So it feels like it should be roomier. And the other is it rides too firm.

And that's the thing they can dial back on if they choose to. But I was sort of surprised by that. But very sporty.

Did you toggle through any of the drive mode settings to see if I made a difference?

Okay. No. Also, I hate toggling. I hate toggling. I hate drive modes.

Yeah. I want an engineer to tell me how a car should feel.

Okay. But I mean, if you're, you know, for off road or deep snow or something like that,

I appreciate that you get to that software faster. Okay.

But other stuff I just want the color. Yeah, like, I don't know, 15 years ago, a consumer guide.

We got a consumer, uh, we got a Mercedes Benzass class.

And it was a base house class. It was a 420 or 430. I think it was called a 430 at the time.

Okay. But the base V8, no AMG wheels and tires. And it was a surprisingly inexpensive as class.

And it was the finest riding vehicle I'd ever been in. Okay.

Bar none. And I want engineers to do that for me all the time. Okay.

And I don't want to be able to choose something where I muck up what an engineer's vision was.

Got it. There you go. Anyway.

Um, all right. You have news about the Kia Celto's.

Yeah. I just wanted to talk about this a little bit because this is entering a new,

completely new generation for 2027. It has, um, you know, completely new design.

It has some new powertrain options coming. It has some really great technology.

And I, you know, I think it's bigger. You know, I think they've done a really good job of, uh,

speaking of pricing. Okay. The Celto's is going to be more expensive.

I'm just saying this is really dovetails nicely with the conversation we have in earlier.

This is a bigger vehicle. Yeah. And more stuff.

Yeah. And, and I don't know if they've officially announced pricing yet.

They usually do that closer to when the vehicle comes out.

I saw a base price estimate. Okay. Of 27K. I don't, but yeah. But, but that's going to be the estimate.

And usually what, what, when people are estimating what it is,

they look at the current base price and then they add a couple thousand dollars.

Yeah. So, um, but yeah. So I mean, I still under 30,000.

I think that'll be a really good price. But I like all of the tech features that are available

because I think, um, this is going to be appealing to a younger crowd.

You're going to be looking at, um, somebody who wants, you know, the Apple CarPlay,

the blind view monitor that wants a digital key, you know, the ability to use their phone as a key.

And, um, I really appreciate that both Kia and Hyundai have started making these technologies

that were typically on their like top tier calligraphy, you know, X-line trims available.

You know, in bigger vehicles or upper echelon vehicles, bringing it down to more of the base models.

And so, okay, your 27,000 dollar vehicle isn't going to have blind view monitor.

But it will have, you know, wireless Apple CarPlay. It will probably have the dual 12.3 inch screens.

And, you know, so I appreciate the fact that you have all of this, um, capability.

And you can add as much of the technology as you want or don't want.

And I would anticipate, and I can't remember if it actually specifically said it.

But I'm 99.999% certain this will have wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

The interesting thing about it, I think, is that it has been leafed.

As we know, the Nissan leaf recently went through a complete redesign.

I'm giving you a quizzical look. What do you mean leafed?

It now looks like a crossover and now fully looks like an SUV crossover.

Okay. So it doesn't look like the Nissan leaf, but it has gotten the...

Now, the sales always looked a little bit like the crossover.

I think it had a very purposeful sporty look, and it was cool.

And it was very popular. So it was obviously hitting the market. It needed to.

But now it looks kind of bolt upright. It's higher since, you know,

it sits more on the torches. It looks like a kind of tough SUV.

It's going to sell out. That is a great look.

Yeah. I mean, it definitely has more of a...

Oh, completely blanking on the name.

The bigger SUV, not the Palisade.

From Kia?

Yes.

And that's Sportage.

No, bigger.

I'm Telluride. I'm like, it starts with a T.

We miss what is it.

Yeah, but I think it looks a lot more like the Telluride with the upright stance.

I think the lighting signatures are very distinct and pronounced.

And I don't know.

I'm hoping the wheels that they show on this concept are the wheels we get, too,

because those are kind of cool and transformers.

Yeah. And I think we probably will get those.

And I don't know. I'm very curious to see.

They're supposed to be a hybrid powertrain coming.

They haven't given the definitive.

It's coming at this time, but I think it'll be before the end of 2020.

Well, see, this is supposed to be a 2027 model year.

We think so.

There being a little vague about when in 2026 it arrives.

Yeah. And they haven't like looking at the press release.

They haven't specifically said 2027, but I think we can all assume.

So the other thing, too, is I don't think we'll see the hybrid in the first model year.

It'll probably be coming.

I could see it coming out like at the end of 2020.

So here's the interesting thing about this.

I had mentioned weeks ago, months ago.

Years ago.

No, no, no, definitely months.

Well, my daughter and I were looking at cars for her to test drive.

And we're not to drive the Hyundai Kona and there were no Hyundai Kona's.

Right.

So I was looking around just to see what was going on at Hyundai for 2026.

They still have prices.

So they're not in a huge hurry to bring in these lower end vehicles.

So when we talk about the average price of a new car, it's affected by availability.

And if there aren't low price, Hyundai's available.

Well, that's going to drive up costs, too.

Right. I feel like I was listening to could have been the daily shift from auto news

where they were saying there's like three months supply of pickup trucks on the lots

and very big availability.

And those are your most expensive vehicles.

Yeah, here's the thing about that.

I don't know why this always gets lost in the shuffle, especially at Ford.

And especially, especially Chevy, too.

You've got so many trim levels, so many bed lengths, cabs, engines,

that you usually maintain a huge day supply.

And that is a cost burden on a dealer.

But on the other hand, being able to keep a buyer there to buy that car that day is worth it.

Yeah.

Because there's this old, this is old adage, man.

Like one third of people who leave your dealership come back.

If you let them leave, they're going to find a better deal elsewhere.

Or just going to run out of energy.

It happens.

I had when I sold cars, people would end up in a chair in front of me and they were just done.

And I was like, oh, if I get close to the last price they saw, I have a sale.

Right.

Because they're tired of this.

Right.

So you don't let them go.

And if you're not going to let them go, you have to have inventory.

Right.

That's why.

And I don't know if it's still like this.

But Bob Rorman, Honda and Schaumberg.

Bob Rorman.

May he rest in peace.

That guy's got one trillion cars on his lot.

And that's an exact figure.

I think that's the exact figure.

But the interesting thing about Honda is there aren't that many variations of them either.

Honda doesn't do packages.

They don't do options.

So really what you're looking at is trim level of color.

So it's easier for them to inventory.

Right.

So I think Honda dealers have just a little bit easier.

Unless people are looking for really specific stuff.

But so anyway, the corner looks cool.

We don't know much about what it's.

I'm sorry, the cell touch.

Yes.

We don't have no idea what the corner looks like because it's a mystery car.

It is a mystery car.

Oh.

I wish we had test driven that.

Actually, my daughter and I.

Oh, the corner.

Yeah, but we drove the cell toast.

The old cell toast and a very nice car.

So.

New one.

Looks more SUV.

Yeah.

Probably bigger.

Definitely going to have more up level amenities.

Finishing touches.

I mean, it's obviously under $30,000.

So there's going to be some plastic in there.

But I expect it to look really nice.

And to be a very nice driving vehicle for the price point.

Sounds good.

All right.

We're going to take a break.

When we come back, we talk to Jim Mobile, director of marketing for the Chicago Auto Show.

All right.

Stick around.

Questions or comments?

Drop us a line at carstuffatconsumerguide.com.

That's carstuffatconsumerguide.com.

Welcome back to the carstuff podcast.

And we're back.

This is the consumer guide carstuff podcast.

I'm Tom.

She is Jill and it's donut.

I know you got distracted by the donuts.

I did.

Yeah.

It's donut unpackaging.

It's just cute again.

Again.

Okay.

I'm going to get this picture now live on air.

Okay.

Get the picture.

Of you with the donuts.

Are you sure you want the picture of me?

Maybe you want Jim.

We could, but we haven't introduced Jim yet.

Although we did do that last week with Nick DeGilio.

That's actually our official picture of Nick.

All right.

We'll do that.

Okay.

We'll do that.

Speaking of Jim.

In studio with us live, we appreciate the effort.

Jim Mobile, director of marketing for the Chicago Auto Show.

Jim, how are you?

I'm well.

Thanks for having me in studio.

It is December, which is weird.

But it's even weirder that the Chicago Auto Show is like weeks away.

It's scary to think weeks away.

So you guys have probably had your first meeting now.

Drafted a few memos.

We've had a few.

Yeah.

You have a vague idea of how it's coming together.

It's actually 53 days away.

Okay.

We did this thing.

We introduced a new website.

We launched an all new website and we put a countdown on there.

I saw that.

It makes it exciting.

Yeah.

I guess the most important question about the Chicago Auto Show is the fudge back.

You know what?

Not the fudge that the Rivas Fudge that you remember.

Yeah.

Unfortunately, the team from Rivas, when COVID hit, they weren't able to stay in Chicago.

They're based up in Michigan.

Yeah.

So they've not made their way back here since.

So we've got another fudge company that's been there.

Okay.

It's not the same fudge, but there's fudge.

There is fudge.

There is a good fudge.

It is good fudge.

Okay.

I've never felt better about spending too much for something than Rivas Fudge.

Okay.

And then there was a company that did the Pralines too.

That was good stuff.

Are those still there?

You know what?

I don't know if that which one you might be wrapping up with.

That might be a really old memory.

Yeah.

I don't remember the Pralines.

But there's always different cards and vendors at McCormick Place surprises us with.

All right.

I think we may have doled enough from the wrong side of the pool here.

But the Chicago Auto Show is coming.

It's a big deal.

It's February.

I have the date seven through 16 through 16, which includes Valentine's Day again.

Always does.

That's date.

If you're a guy, if you can pull it off, like you'd do the nice dinner first, and like,

let's go check out some cars.

There's a lot of people that come.

We've had our share of proposals on the show floor.

There's been date nights at the Auto Show.

It's a real thing.

Well, don't you have like several like specialty days and nights.

And I remember in the past, you've done like the beer flight night or beer night or beer

tasting or something like that.

And that still happens with Friday night flights on the second Friday of the show.

Yes.

Good date night.

Yes.

Now, you guys haven't done beer flight night, but the flight night.

Okay.

I mean, you get almost last year we had 20 different breweries out there.

You can buy a tasting cup and have it at it.

So let's talk about the Auto Show a little.

Auto Show's changed sort of starting with COVID.

And then sort of wrapped around COVID was sort of a generational change, and people started

buying cars online.

The things sort of changed.

And one of the scariest things that has happened in my opinion is that there are young people

who go to buy cars and this is partially Tesla's fault.

That's completely Tesla's fault.

Let's just blame them.

It is.

People buy cars sight unseen.

They don't understand it.

And it's tragic.

You never do it.

Jill will tell you this.

She'll agree with me on this.

We review cars.

Every car feels very differently.

Now, there aren't a lot of bad cars.

That's the good news.

But the cars are so different and strike people different ways.

Do you owe it to yourself to go to the Chicago Auto Show?

Or if you're not listening to Chicago, whatever Auto Show agrees and sit in six, seven,

eight, nine, ten cars.

Take your time because they're very different animals.

I tell people that all the time when they're shopping and they're asking for recommendations.

I was like, here's three or four, but go sit in them.

You don't just take my opinion because your height, your size, all your personal preferences,

you have to get behind the wheel and Auto Show was such a great place to do it because

they're all there.

Well, and I always bring this story out about this time of year.

I have a friend.

His name is Dan.

Hi, Dan, if you're listening.

And his wife has some mobility issues.

And so he was like, I want to go to the Auto Show.

I want you to come with me.

I want you to point me in the direction of vehicles that we should look at.

And he brought a clipboard with a spreadsheet of like a list of like 20 vehicles.

And I was like, oh, Dan, not 20, let me, let me, let me pair down this list for you immediately.

But he brought his wife because he wanted his wife to see if she could get in to the vehicle.

And he was like, I don't even want to go test drive the vehicle if she can't put her butt in

that seat. And so we probably sat in 10 SUVs and they narrowed it down to like three of them

and ended up buying a Hyundai Tucson based on essentially their initial butt-in-seat at

the Chicago Auto Show.

I don't want to get off topic, but door opening is a big deal and it varies by vehicle.

And you'll find that German luxury vehicles that doors don't open very well.

And that like Japanese front-wheel drive, you know, sedans and crossovers, huge openings.

And access is everything for some people.

And I have a very hard time getting into like a three series, a BMW three series, something like

that. Strangely, the electric vehicles from German companies, very big doors.

I don't know what the deal is.

But, you know, you go to an auto show and you get to see all of those things without

like the hard sell of a dealer like, what can we do to get you in this car today?

And you guys have some metrics like on how long people spend at the show.

Yeah, generally last year people were spending three and a half to four hours at the auto show,

walking around and consuming the entire show. And, you know, that's the average.

Some people spend all day there. And with the introduction of test rides and test drives at

shows, people will wait in line to go for a two or three minute ride in the Jeep track

because they can experience what a Jeep can do on the show floor where you can't do that on

the streets around here. But you can see all the articulation and see the things that a lot of us

don't most 45 degree angle get to do and you can do that in a show.

So, for people who have never been to the auto show before, are there folks on the floor who

can answer questions about the vehicles? And can you get into most of the vehicles?

Yes, generally, yes. There are always a few vehicles that may be locked because they're pre-production,

prototypes or in concept car. And that's just the nature of it may be one of one vehicle.

And we're thankful to have the vehicle there. And yes, it may be locked and that may upset a few

people. But it's because it's a prototype and people abuse cars when they're on the public floor.

But generally, most of the vehicles on the show floor are open and available and all the vehicles,

all the brands have product specialists there to answer questions and educate people about them

on the show floor, on the rings. If they're a new vehicle debut, they're giving you a little bit

more insight on those vehicles as well. You shared with me a misconception before the show.

You and I were talking by email that I guess you guys aren't using the North Hall this year.

Correct. So one of the halls, which is the other side of the big pedestrian walkway,

but the South Hall is big enough to fit like 13 Walmarts.

It's the biggest exhibit hall in North America.

Okay. I thought it was. It actually is. It's 850,000 square feet.

Dang. It's a massive hall. And so this will be our third year that we are

solely in that South Hall. What people don't realize is to open two halls takes twice as much

labor. There's a lot of cost in opening two halls. When the Chicago Auto Show operated in both the

North and South Halls, we did not occupy the full hall on either side. So we were in a portion

of the North Hall and a portion of the South Hall. So there was like an air wall that was up

to the average person you would never know was up. So we used call it 600,000 square feet in the

South Hall. So what we've done is consolidate efforts and move the show to all being in the South

Hall. And we occupy every square foot of that 850,000 square feet. So it is not half the show.

For everyone that says, oh, it's only half it's half the show. It's one side. It's not half the

show. It might be down a little bit in square foot, but it's certainly not half a show. Are you

guys planning to deep freeze or a blizzard this year? Sure hope not. We've managed to avoid them

in the recent years. You had to spend a pretty good. We had a little bit of a snow storm last

year midweek, but nothing too crazy. There was like a solid decade of unbelievably dreadful weather.

And you were just so glad what you got inside. Well, and you know, that's the beauty of the show

in February is that it's always nice inside. Once you get there, you want to break from the

outdoors. If you can get down to McCormick place, whether it's public transportation or you

brave the roads, it's always 72 degrees in sunny and sunny. And then the part of this semi-shelter,

do you take the bridge? So it's not rough. No, it's it's not too bad once you get down there.

Yeah. And this leads me to talk about my favorite thing about the show. And it's Tom's least

favorite thing about the show. Oh, this is about running. There's an indoor race. Like for I'm a runner,

I'm currently training when you're done. Yeah, I'm currently training for a half marathon outside

in the cold. And it sucks. So for anybody who wants to run in the winter and you don't want to

run on a treadmill, this is amazing. So Miles per hour tells about it. Miles per hour is back.

It's the opening Sunday of the show. You're a runner too, right? Yes, I have run. I was enabled

to run last year because I was not feeling well. I just like both of you go ahead. It is, you know,

we introduced it. I think this is our fifth year doing it. I get off because we introduced it

before the pandemic. And then we did 2020. And then I think skip 2021. We skipped the year,

which is in 2019, I think. I think you're right. You're 2020. It was before the pandemic. We miss

21. And then we've been back ever since. Yeah. So it's an hour run called Miles per hour. And it's

basically it's not a race. It's a run. It's how many miles can you run in that hour? And so we've

got about about a two and a half mile course running through the show floor across the bridge

over into the east hall. Great views of the lake and the skyline in the morning. It's such a cool

cool site and a way to experience the auto show. And you can see how many miles you can run in that

hour. Everyone gets a medal at the end. And we announce winners. It's a fun way to get out there.

Burn some exercise before the Super Bowl. Yeah, yeah, yeah, before Super Bowl. I mean, I hate

running, but that's really cool. It is. And you can even come and walk it. You don't have to run.

Well, how about it? Well, that's fine. You can come do that. It's a great idea. Yeah. What day is that?

That is the opening Sunday of the show. So February 8th, I believe is the date. And you just say

that Super Sunday Super Bowl Sunday. Yes. Okay. Yeah. Where the bears should be.

Hopefully, hopefully. Well, you know, and I have to say I have to give a shout out to Dave Sloan,

who is, you know, a former former former president. Yeah, who is sat in that chair, former president

of the C.A.K. Chicago Auto Show. And he like the idea for this race came essentially from him

because he told me once he was like, yeah, you've been taking credit for it. Well, it was me

putting the pieces together because he told me he was like, I run the floor every morning

before the show opens. And I was just like, there's there's an idea there. There could be a race.

If you're running the floor, we could do that. And so I made a connection between Dave Sloan

and the Chicago Area Runners Association and Antics and Seed. And here we are. There you go.

It's a cool thing. So tell us what to look forward to this year. So the show continues to evolve.

We continue to look at new ways to bring people into the show. Last year, we introduced two new

areas on the show floor. We introduced our family zone and we introduced overlanding Chicago,

which both were very well received. Family zone was a great spot for people to come with

their kids. We had our own kids Power Wheels track, which was really fun to see. Kids get to have

that track experience and just watch other kids ride Power Wheels around and what kid doesn't like

to hop in a Power Wheels and ride around. And then we had the overlanding Chicago space, which

brought a little bit of that outdoor adventure into Chicago in the Midwest. There's not a lot of

events like that in our area. So we partnered with Illinois Overlanders. We had a bunch of

exhibitors and vendors to showcase that lifestyle with the rooftop tents and campers. And if you

wanted to learn more about getting involved in that, that was the space to be. That is going to

continue to grow this year. We're expanding that footprint. More manufacturers are getting involved.

Last year Toyota was involved in that this year. It looks like Jeep will be involved. Honda will be

involved. We've got more vendors with the built-out vans and all those kind of fun things to see that

you kind of dream of, especially if you want to be part of that world. And then new this year,

we're kind of spinning off of that. And we're introducing a new space called Shaitown Alley.

Shaitown Alley is going to be everything car culture. So once you buy your new car, what do you do

with it next, especially if you're a car enthusiast? Yeah. Bringing a little bit of SEMA into the show

with that kind of world. We're partnering with several local clubs. We've got a club that will focus

on exotic cars, one that'll focus on the JDM import vehicles, classic muscle car club,

a low rider club. We've got a shop that's going to actually wrap a Nissan skyline on the show floor.

So it's been a real fun to kind of put this together being a car guy myself. We just ran a contest

for consumers to enter to get their own vehicle on the show floor. So we're going to have a Shaitown

Alley showcase. So for the first time ever, consumers could submit photos of their car to get it on

the show floor in this area. So we selected six finalists. And so we'll have six feature vehicles

there. And then consumers can vote on site. And we will have our first Shaitown Alley vehicle

of the year winner announced it. That's really cool. And for people who don't know JDM,

it's a thing right now. Yes. There is on Rand Road very close to the studio is a JDM dealership

that went up. And then you have to I think cars have to be 25 years old. Okay. So say what JDM

stands for Japanese domestic market. Yes. And they are Japanese products that can now be

imported. Yes. They were never available in the US. They tend to be smaller kind of crazy. We

talked about kai cars. There's also a lot of crazy vans. Yeah. But it's a very fun segment of

cars. And if you're starting to see these now, it's kind of hip right now. Yep. And it'd be great

to see those at the show. It's very hip and very trending right now. And so we're we're really

getting into kind of exploring where this could go. So much so that Jen and myself and our chairman

are actually headed to Japan in early January to really engulf ourselves into that culture and learn

we're going to go to the Tokyo auto salon out there and learn a little bit more about that. And

we plan to we have to go. So we have to go. So you have to check out Shaitan Ali this year. And

we plan to really build this up in the future. We're investing in our show. We want to see

we want to take it to the next level. Obviously the new cars are very important in all the brands. But

there's more to the world and to the car world after you purchase your car. Yeah. Well that's

very cool. You'd mention wraps too. Raping's a really big thing. And if you don't know about wraps,

you do because you've seen cyber trucks. Yeah. So any cyber truck that isn't like steel like metal

it has been wrapped. And wrapped is a really weird thing because it's it's an investment but not a

long-term investment. Right. It's like a two-three-year thing. It doesn't cost that much money.

I protect the shell of your vehicle. It does. So good. You can't tell. No. No, I see a lot of them

around here. Cyber trucks specifically. Yeah, absolutely. But one of the first wrapped vehicles

speaking of JDMs was the first Sion XB. People were wrapping those. And there might have been like

the first kind of enthusiast wrapped vehicles I remember. Yeah. All right. What have we missed

about the show? First look for charity. We want to definitely mention our first look for charity

that will be back Friday before the show opens to the public. So tickets are on sale now for that.

We have this will be our 34th year doing it. We've raised over $65 million.

18 local charities benefit. Do I know let's try to get to pick what causes? You can pick the

cause. So if you buy tickets you can choose to have your tickets spread across all 18 charities

or you can choose one or two charities however you want your tickets to allocate. And this year

at first look for charity we are of course you want to do it for the cause but as an extra bonus

we're giving away two vehicles. So you have the chance to win a 2026 Toyota Land Cruiser or a

2026 Chevy Equinox. Oh, both great cars. That is that is like prom for car fans. It is to dress up

in tuxedos and evening gowns. This is the only time a year I can get my husband to to dress up you

know to not wear jeans. And we missed last year for the first time I missed last year for the first

time in like 20 years because I go every year I buy my tickets. And I was sick. I missed the media

days for the auto show last year. I was supposed to give out in a word. I missed that. I was supposed

to do tours. I missed all of it. So I think I made the run and that was it. But yeah so I say if you

like you know getting dressed up and looking at cars this is like the coolest event to go to

in any auto show. I think most auto shows have some kind of a charity preview that's like a black

tie something and I love it. Yeah. Yeah. And you get to see the cars with less crowd. You do.

And good food and good beverage. Great restaurants that participate in that. So it is a fun night.

Yeah. All right, Chicago auto show. I have one more question. Okay. One more question. One more.

Are there going to be puppies? There's always puppies. Yes puppies will be back with Subaru.

Kind of about puppies. It's incredible how much that draws people. I know very important question.

They did. They can never go back on that. I feel like they always have to have the puppies.

No, I feel like Volvo had puppies one year. I know I have a very funny picture of me and a trunk

with like 10 puppies. So what happens like did the puppies get worn out or stolen during the

course of the day? They have different groups of puppies that come in. Yes. So they bring the

different. They have, you know, they have a puppy schedule. They have a puppy schedule. And then

you can be a little puppy cam at some point. Yeah. And definitely need a puppy cam.

But yeah, you can't go wrong. You got cars, puppies, test rides, lots of good things going on

at the start of the show. There's going to be fudge. I like fudge. Yeah. All right, dates and times.

February 7th through the 16th show opens at 10 a.m. every day. Generally closes at nine every night

except to close earlier on Super Bowl Sunday. Sounds good. Jim, you decided to stick around for the

quiz? Absolutely. All right. We're going to take a break and when we come back, quiz time.

Questions or comments? Drop us a line at carstuff at consumerguide.com. That's carstuff at consumerguide.com.

Hi, it's Brendan from Sons of Speed. You've heard me and my colleague Paul on the carstuff podcast

whenever Jill's out of town. But now you can hear us every week on the We Are Motor Driven podcast

along with Jennifer from Auto Exotica and Harvey from Rise and Drives. We talk about everything

from sports cars to trucks to EVs and our favorite speed. So join us each week by searching We Are

Motor Driven wherever you get your favorite podcast. Welcome back to the carstuff podcast.

Stand where back. This is the consumerguide carstuff podcast time time. She is Jill and he's Jill

Jim O'Brill of the Chicago Auto Show and Jim has decided to stick around for the quiz today. Yes.

But first, you have to get through that. My social media stuff. Yeah, that. Yeah. No, I will, I will make

it simple at Jill Seminello, hashtag cardazure on pretty much all the things Tiktok Instagram. All the

things Tiktok Instagram, Threads, Blue Sky, YouTube, LinkedIn, Facebook and I'm really working on

building out my YouTube channel now and I post either a short or a long form video every day.

On YouTube? On YouTube. All right. Yeah. And the donuts are out.

The donuts are out. Uh, German chocolate peppermint, chocolate glazed and blueberry today.

Got some sprinkles. We got some cake donuts and we got something with a whole bunch of knots on it.

And I was running late, so I only had a bottle of Pepsi, not a large Pepsi from Taco Bell.

The large Pepsi from Taco Bell being preferable. I was running early, so I've already eaten my chili.

You weren't here early. All right. It's quiz time. Uh, you've never participated in the

quiz. I have not. This is the first. Wow. This is exciting. We had two guests for quizzes in a row.

Yes. And you got your butt kit. I got my butt very badly kicked. All right. Today's quiz topic is

25 grand. Okay. I'm just going to give you a car and you have to tell me if there is a base model

under 25 grand. That is not going to be good for me, but I imagine it will be very good for Jim.

Okay. All right. So there we go. Jim, there are five questions. Total plus the bonus question,

the bonus question, always related to the topic of the day. The bonus question only counts in

the event of a tie. Got it. All right. It's always fun to listen to. Yes. Okay. All right. Jim,

you go first, the 2026 Hyundai Kona. Yes. Is there a base model under 25k? Yes.

Jill. If it's not under 25, I feel like it's going to be just over 25. I'm going to say no.

Uh, no. Jill, you're on the board. 26950 for the base SE going all the way up to 35750 for the limited.

This is where things are at now. There's a version of the Kona that gets close to 40 grand.

Wow. So are you including destination prices in this? Yeah, always prices in production.

All right. Yep. All right. So, uh, Jill and Jim, I'll just do JC and I know we're going to do.

All right. There we go. Jill, uh, you go first. This question, the Buick and Vista,

Buick's charming little hot selling crossover. Hmm. Is there a car under 25k?

Okay. I'm going to say no. No. There isn't, but it's super close. The base preferred is 25195.

That is something I would have guessed. You both get a point. Yeah. I'm like, I would have thought it

would have been a little bit higher to 30. I thought it would have gone up more simply because there's

that Korea problem. Oh, the Korea problem. Now it's fair. There's now a 15% tariff on those bad boys.

Yeah. So keeping the price low on these things. So they're eating the costs. Interesting. Yes,

they are. All right. This question goes back to Jim. The Nissan Kix. Uh, yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes.

Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yeah. The Kix comes in pretty affordable with destination 23925 for the S.

All we have to, um, oh, it's still pretty cheap. 2872760 for the SR. One of you, you can get

reasonable under 30. Yeah. There is a package that you probably want. If you're, if you're

already committed to the SR. Right. And then add some money to that. And you want all we'll

drive on that now. So you can't get it to 34 with stuff with stuff. What, what is the stuff? Do

you know what the stuff is? Um, the big sunroof. Okay. And then for some reason, you need the big

package to get a heated steering wheel. And I think they get heated seats. That's our requirement

for a lot of people. Yeah. Yeah. I want the heated things around here. Yeah. He did steering wheels

like the single sort of thing I really want. I used the heated steering wheel and the heated seats

all year long, even when it's 100 degrees outside. So I'm just saying. I did this wrong. It's actually

you've gotten it. No. Is it two to two? No. I think I have one more point.

Jill has one more. Oh, so it is three to two. Yeah. All right. You're trying to, you're trying

to build me out of my points, aren't you? I am. All right. Fourth question is goes to you, Jill,

the 2026 Toyota Corolla Cross. Hmm. This is, uh, Toyota's Alabama built small crossover.

Alabama built next to the CX 50 from miles up. I did not know that. Yeah. To an adventure plant.

And for that reason, you can get, uh, soul red, crystal soul red on your Corolla Cross.

On the Corolla Cross? I thought you could only get it on the crown. I've seen it on the crown.

Uh, this is a Toyota Mazda is spray painting their cars of that color so they have it in the paint shop

there. Yeah. Wow. Um, okay. So you're saying Toyota Corolla Cross? Mm-hmm.

Toyota's smallest crossover. Good. I need an answer. And less than 25 is what we're going for. Um,

I'm gonna say no. No. No. 26385 for the L up to 32760 for the XLE.

Not including all-wheel drive. Also, there's a hybrid model available there. Mm-hmm.

So you both get a point there. Wait, so have you got everything right?

Yes. Oh, okay. That just seems to be one likely.

Hashtag love you. The giving you the little hard emoji. Back to Jim. 26, uh, 2026,

Chevrolet Trailblazer. Yes. Trailblazer? Trailblazer. One up from the tracks.

I'm gonna say no. Yes. Oh, five bucks. Wow. 24995 for the LS 31195 for the active.

Okay. All right. The bonus matters. Yeah. Wait, you got that right? No. You got it right.

Also, we're talking. All right. Yeah, interesting thing about the Trailblazer is that you have to go

from the tracks to the Trailblazer if you want all-wheel drive. Yes. And if you also, you want to go all-wheel drive

because you get the slightly bigger engine. Yeah. Without you moving. You're moving from a 1.2-liter

three-cylinder to a 1.3-liter three-cylinder. I thought you were going to see it at 1.23. No.

So from the smallest engine, you can get in the US to the second smallest. Right.

All right. Uh, bonus question goes to you first. Okay. Uh, Wendy's in Japan. Hmm. All right. Do you

want to guess how many Wendy's there are in the whole planet? No. Seven thousand. Okay. In the US?

No idea. Six thousand. Oh, wow. Okay. In Japan? Five. Close. 150. Yeah. Uh, five is so close to 150. All right.

As of this morning, three of the things on this list were available at Wendy's in Japan. Okay.

One of them is fake. Okay. I need you to identify the fake. This is a tie. This is for the game. Okay.

Are you ready? Mm-hmm. The junior cheese bacon egg burger, the mushroom melt burger double,

the crispy salmon dill burger, or the rich, weird word, rich mushroom melt bacon eater.

Um, one of those is fake. I kind of feel like Japan would have a lot of fish. So the salmon thing

they're surrounded by fish. They're surrounded by big water. Dig water? Okay. Okay. You get the reference.

There's, oh, they, so there's a lot of salmon I would think in that area. Maybe. I don't know.

There's a lot of fish. They do a lot of sushi. Um, so what were the other three that are not the

salmon one? The junior cheese bacon egg burger, the mushroom melt burger double, or the rich mushroom

melt bacon eater. I'm going to go with the first bacon one is the fake. The junior cheese bacon egg burger?

No, no, no. That one was real. What was the other bacon? The mushroom. Oh, uh, they're

so not the first one, but the second one. The mushroom melt burger double? Yes. Okay. You're saying

that's fake? Yes. There's good alliteration there. Mushroom melt. Mm-hmm. All right. We've got mushroom

melt burger double. Uh, your picture. Read them one more. Read them the other two after that. Um,

the crispy salmon, crispy salmon, the crispy salmon dill burger, or the rich mushroom

melt bacon eater. I'll go with the last one to be different, because I was thinking.

Yeah. No. Neither one of you guys got it. It's the crispy salmon dill burger. No one is a winner.

No one wins. But the guest gets a half point. There you go, sir. That's for you. All right.

All right. I just think that there should be a salmon burger on something in Japan.

What's weird is that Wendy's Wendy's is actually not alone anymore. They merged with some chain

called first kitchen. Okay. So they're Wendy's first kitchen, but there is a distinct Wendy's menu.

You even know all these. In Japan only. Yeah. Just got it. Yeah. So I guess I'm going to have to

look for these when I'm in Japan. Yeah. Clearly. We expect pictures. Right. We expect pictures.

I have to follow along. It'll definitely be pictures. Yes. So I have two questions for you.

Actually, a question and then a thing we need to talk about. But first, the San Francisco

Auto Show has that gone away? Yeah. They, you know, they did not happen in 2024. Okay. So I don't

think they're happening this year either. No, they blew past the dates they were supposed to have.

Yeah. Because they were put on by the Northern California Auto Dealers Association.

As many auto shows are, they're put on by their local Auto Dealers Association. As we are here in

Chicago, put on by the Chicago Automobile Trade Association. What's been unfortunate is that as auto

manufacturers are evaluating shows, they're getting tight on their budgets and they're spending

and we invite all automakers to be a part of our show. There are several that since the pandemic

have chosen not to put their money into auto shows, despite our efforts. It's not for lack of effort

on our end for anyone listening. When you don't see a brand there, it's not because we haven't

tried to get them there. So do let them know. We always tell people reach out, let them know on

Facebook, send them a message, tell them you want to see them at the Auto Show. It's not because

we're not reaching out or that we don't want them there. We haven't even raised rates for auto

manufacturers to be there. We're doing what we can to get them there. But some of these smaller

shows like San Francisco is not necessarily a smaller city, but in the scheme of auto show world,

the LA Auto Show is much bigger. So when a manufacturer is looking at auto shows, they're looking at

your big three auto shows are LA, Chicago, New York. Everything else from there gets smaller.

Then you've got some subregions and then it gets smaller from there. So when they start

pairing it down, they start to eliminate some of those smaller shows for generally just

budgetary as they're looking at things, which is unfortunate. And when some of these shows,

it's unfortunate when they have to make those decisions, but if they don't have enough

manufacturers committed, there's a point as to the campaign for the space.

Right. It's not cheap to your point, Jill, to put on a show. There's an investment and you

need to have a certain amount of investment from the manufacturers. And then some of the EV

startups too were slow to come to auto shows, right? And like is slate, do you guys have any

involvement with slate? Nothing from slate yet. How about Rivian Tesla and Lucid?

So we had Tesla was at our show last year for the first time. They will be back again this year.

Wonderful. Lucid is looking like they'll be at Chicago again. They've got new products.

They were there last year as well. So right now, not official, but it's seeming like they will be

there and same with Rivian. All three of those brands were at the show last year, including VinFast,

which I heard you talk about earlier. Not sure if they'll make it, but they were at our show last

year. We also had pull star at our show last year. So we are starting to see it's interesting

kind of the tide shift, whereas Tesla used to say no to all auto shows. Now all of a sudden that

they've got a ton of competition, they're coming into shows. So they will be they will be at Chicago

in February. We're seeing some brands start to turn and come back to shows, which is good.

Good to hear about pull star. It's an exciting brand. Yes. And then they just got more exciting.

I just learned something totally off topic. Okay. The Tesla, I'm sorry, the pull star model three.

Okay. Shears its architecture with Volvo products. Okay. The Tesla model four, which I get Monday.

Tesla model. I'm sorry. I'm sorry.

Is actually Chinese. It's actually based on a Zika product.

Oh. So the one with no back window. Yes. Yes. Right. So that's part of the reason I guess it's

kind of a it's more of a Chinese design. So now I'm really excited to drive this thing.

It is it is I think one of the coolest cars I've driven this year. Yeah. I'm looking forward to it.

I'm actually I have that for Christmas. So I'm going to be driving it to Milwaukee. It's got a

little bit less range than the pull star three. So I won't need to charge some place. Right.

So you're going you sir are also the co-host of a podcast. Yeah. Do tell radio show drive Chicago.

That's right. Radio show airs every week on WLS AM 890. We've going on eight and a half years

now. Wow. So alongside Mark B. Lick who I know both of you know well and Ray Ramblin Ray Stevens

has been we've had we've had a few third people. The third person's rotated a little bit but

Ray's been with us for about three years now. But yeah, the show airs every Saturday morning on

WLS at 8 AM on Saturday mornings and then it lives on as a podcast as well. We somewhere to

you guys we talk all things automotive news. Both of you've been guests on our show. We have car

every week. Try to bring in some guests talk about the latest in the industry and all fun things

automotive. So people once you're done listening to our podcast. This room for check out

drive Chicago. Exactly. And and is it on like all of the podcast services or is there someplace

that people should go to find it. You can find it at you can go to the wosam.com to download it

and I believe it's you can download it everywhere else is. And you can stream it in the morning too

if you want to. Yeah. Right there. The app is a easy way to find it. So cool. Jim thank you so

much for joining us today. Thank you for having me. People want to find out more about the Chicago

Auto Show. They should go to you can go to Chicago Auto Show dot com. You can follow us on all

the social channels. We are active and live and posting updates regularly. Well looking forward to

the show. Thank you. I'm looking forward to miles per hour. All right. Big thanks to Jim O'Brill

director of marketing for the Chicago Auto Show. Thank you Jill. Thanks to producer Randy and the

good folks here at Toxon. Let's talk more about cars again. Speak next week.

Remember to check us out at consumerguide.com. The car stuff podcast is produced by J Turn Media.

To advertise on the show please drop us a line at carstuff at consumerguide.com.

Failing EV Startups, Redesigned Kia Seltos, Chicago Auto Show News

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