Infiniti QX review and questions from our listener family
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Company
First Brand
First Brand is a company that makes car parts that people can buy to replace or upgrade their vehicles. They recently announced they are going out of business, which might affect the parts available for some cars.
Company
Michelin
Michelin is a well-known company that makes tires for cars and other vehicles. They are famous for their quality and have been around for a long time.
Term
wiper blades
Wiper blades are the rubber parts on your car that wipe the windshield to keep it clear when it rains or snows. They help you see better while driving.
Company
Trico
Trico is a company that makes wiper blades for cars. They are known for making good quality wipers that help keep your windshield clear.
Company
Rebestos
Rebestos is a company that makes parts for car brakes. These parts are important for helping cars stop safely.
Term
brake parts
Brake parts are the pieces in a car that help it stop when you press the brake pedal. They are very important for safety while driving.
Term
oil filters
Oil filters are parts in a car that clean the oil that keeps the engine running smoothly. They help prevent dirt and debris from damaging the engine.
Company
Fram
Fram is a company that makes oil filters for cars. These filters help keep the engine clean and running smoothly.
Car
Ford F150
The Ford F-150 is a popular pickup truck that many people use for work and everyday driving. It's known for being tough and reliable.
Part
rear axle hubs
Rear axle hubs are parts of a car that help the wheels turn. If they are faulty, it can cause problems with how the car drives.
Term
recall
A recall is when a car company asks owners to bring their cars back to fix a problem that could be dangerous. This is done to keep everyone safe.
Car
Ford Expedition
The Ford Expedition is a large SUV that can fit a lot of people and stuff, making it great for families. It's strong and can pull heavy things, which is useful for trips. Sometimes, people talk about it because there have been safety recalls that owners should know about.
Term
steering column
The steering column is the part that connects the steering wheel to the car's steering system. It helps you turn the car in the direction you want to go.
Car
Ford F-Series
The Ford F-Series is a group of pickup trucks that are very popular in America. They are known for being strong and reliable, making them great for work or everyday use.
Car
Kia Sportage
The Kia Sportage is a small SUV that many people like because it has a lot of space inside and comes with modern technology. It's a good option for families or anyone needing extra room.
Term
hybrid
A hybrid car has two types of engines: one that runs on gasoline and another that runs on electricity. This helps the car use less gas and be better for the environment.
Car
Infiniti QX80
The Infiniti QX80 is a large luxury SUV that offers lots of space and comfort. It's designed for families or anyone who needs a big vehicle with premium features.
Car
Infiniti Autograph Edition
The Autograph Edition is a special version of an Infiniti vehicle that has the best features and luxury options. It's designed to provide a very comfortable and high-quality experience for the driver and passengers.
Car
Cadillac Escalade
The Cadillac Escalade is a big, fancy SUV that has a lot of space and luxury features. It's popular among people who want a comfortable ride with lots of technology.
Car
Lincoln Navigator
The Lincoln Navigator is a large, luxurious SUV that provides a lot of comfort and space. It's known for its stylish design and high-tech features, similar to the Cadillac Escalade.
Term
Japanese ash
Japanese ash is a kind of wood that looks nice and is strong. It's used in fancy car interiors to make them look and feel more expensive.
Term
quilted seats
Quilted seats are seats that have a special stitched pattern that makes them look fancy and feel more comfortable. They are often used in luxury cars to make the inside look nicer.
Term
5.6 liter V8 engine
A 5.6 liter V8 engine is a type of engine that has eight cylinders and a total volume of 5.6 liters. It's often found in big cars and trucks because it provides a lot of power.
Term
3.5 liter twin turbo V6
A 3.5 liter twin turbo V6 is a type of car engine that has six cylinders shaped like a V. It uses two turbochargers to make more power, which helps it perform better while using less fuel than bigger engines.
Term
horsepower
Horsepower is a way to measure how powerful an engine is. The more horsepower an engine has, the faster and stronger it can make a car go.
Term
torque
Torque is a measure of how much twisting force an engine can produce. It's important for how quickly a car can speed up, especially when starting from a stop or carrying heavy loads.
Term
turbocharged
Turbocharged means that an engine has a special device called a turbocharger that helps it make more power. It does this by pushing extra air into the engine, allowing it to burn more fuel and go faster without being bigger.
Term
electronic hydraulic suspension
Electronic hydraulic suspension is a system that helps make the ride smoother by adjusting how the car's suspension works based on the road. It uses fluid and electronics to do this automatically.
Company
Stellantis
Stellantis is a big car company that makes many different brands of cars, like Jeep and Dodge. They were created when two companies combined into one.
Company
Anco
Anco also makes wiper blades that help you see clearly in bad weather, similar to Trico. Many people choose between these two brands.
Car
Chevrolet Camaro
The Chevrolet Camaro is a sporty car that many people love for its speed and cool design. It's been around for a long time and is often compared to other fast cars like the Ford Mustang. People talk about it because you can make it look and drive even better with things like spoilers.
Car
Nissan Armada
The Nissan Armada is a big SUV that can carry a lot of people and things, making it great for families. It's tough and can go off-road, which is fun for adventures. People talk about it because it has plenty of space and is good for trips.
Car
Jeep Wagoneer
The Jeep Wagoneer is a big SUV that can fit a lot of people and is good for driving on rough roads.
Car
Honda Prologue
The Honda Prologue is a new electric SUV that Honda is planning to release. It's designed to be practical and has modern technology, which is great for people who want to drive an eco-friendly car. People are excited to talk about it because it's part of the shift towards electric vehicles.
Car
Ford F350
The Ford F-350 is a big truck that's really strong and can carry heavy loads, which is great for work or towing trailers. It's built to handle tough jobs and is popular among people who need a reliable vehicle. People talk about it because it can do a lot of heavy lifting.
Car
Chevrolet Volt
The Chevrolet Volt is a special car that can run on electricity and gas, which helps save fuel and reduce pollution. You can charge it at home and drive it like an electric car for short trips. People talk about it because it's a smart choice for the environment.
Car
Porsche 959
The Porsche 959 is a famous sports car from the 1980s that was really advanced for its time. It could go super fast and had special features like all-wheel drive, which helps with control. People talk about it because it's considered one of the best cars ever made.
Car
Chevrolet Corvette
The Chevrolet Corvette is a really fast and stylish sports car that a lot of people admire. The latest version, called the C8, has a special engine placement that makes it handle better on the road. People often talk about it because it's exciting to drive and looks amazing.
Car
Hyundai Kona
The Hyundai Kona is a small SUV that's popular because it's affordable and looks nice. It has a lot of modern features and is good for everyday driving. People like to talk about it because it offers a lot of value for the price.
Car
Jeep Grand
The Jeep Grand Cherokee is a big SUV that can handle rough roads and also be comfortable for everyday use. It's popular because it has a lot of space inside and comes with nice features. People talk about it because it's good for adventures and family trips.
LIVE
WATD presents John Paul, The Car Doctor, All Things Automotive.
Have questions?
Call or text 781-837-4900.
Now, here's John Paul, The Car Doctor.
And good Sunday morning everyone and welcome to another edition of the Car Doctor program on 959WATD,
where we're supposed to be talking to Wes Boling from Nokia and Tires today.
But he hasn't called in yet, so I don't know where he is.
But anyway, we'll just kind of get on with the program without it.
You know, there's been a fair amount of interesting things in the news lately,
including there is a big aftermarket parts company called First Brand.
And they make all kinds of parts and they recently filed for bankruptcy.
And I don't really know what this means other than most of the headlines say things like,
it's worse than you know.
And this comes from Carbuzz.
And it says the First Brand bankruptcy announcement surprised pretty much everyone,
not directly in the loop about the conglomerate's financial standing.
Most people didn't even know First Brand existed until the news came out.
And this came out, I think I read it last Saturday or Sunday.
But they're a big aftermarket company.
They apparently owe billions of dollars, which is never a good thing.
And the situation really wasn't known until I guess this sometime in September
when they kind of stopped paying their bills.
And that can be kind of an issue.
So, you know, it is one of those things that they own, they own a lot of stuff.
They, which is going to make, I guess one of the stories here is they owe $10 billion.
And they're trying to do bankruptcy protection restructuring and all of that sort of thing.
But they own, and co-wiper blades, auto light, what else do we call it?
Cardone, which makes all kinds of products, Fram, Michelin.
I don't know, I don't think they own Michelin tires.
I think they own Michelin, like, wiper blades and stuff.
So, Reese Trailer hitches, Trico, which is another wiper blade manufacturer.
Rebestos, brake part manufacturer.
Carlson, so basically what they own is a bunch of wiper blade companies
and brake manufacturers, as well as Fram oil filters.
So, if, you know, what does that mean?
Well, they also own Phillips Light.
So, pretty much if you walk through an auto zone store or something like that,
their parts are all over the place.
And if for some reason they don't get bought up or that something happens,
the aftermarket is going to be a tough place to buy parts.
And the idea that I'm not sure if they're just distributors of these parts.
You know, again, I can't imagine that Michelin has gone bankrupt, because I can't imagine.
But, you know, it's certainly one of those things that could happen.
So, that's been one of the odd things in the news today
and something to kind of think about.
And then, of course, recalls are always popular in the news.
I think Ford just, again, recalled the Ford F-150.
And that has caused, I think, 150,000 of them or something like that.
But, let's see, 103,000 F-150s for faulty rear axle hubs.
That was one of the recalls.
Some expedition navigators were recalled.
So, another 115,000 for some steering column issues.
So, if you own an F-Series truck, it sounds like either the rear wheels are going to fall off
or the front end is going to fall off.
Is it still a good truck yet? It's still a good truck, absolutely.
And recalls happen.
And recalls happen a lot over, it can be just one minor thing
that can cause the recall to happen because they're like,
well, this one issue that happened is pretty serious.
So, we better recall 100,000 of these vehicles that can be all part of it.
So, it really makes sense if you haven't done it,
go to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
I think they're still open.
And download their app.
And you can put in your specific vehicle into the app.
So, if your vehicle has an open recall or not.
So, it actually goes by a vehicle identification number
and you end up knowing exactly what's going on
so you can get your car fixed properly.
And remember, recalls are always free.
So, when you go get a recall, they are going to be fixed for free.
So, certainly something to think about when it comes to recalls.
This was an interesting week because
on Thursday the New England Motor Press got together
and we don't get together as a group as often as we used to.
When I first joined the New England Motor Press,
it wasn't 40 years ago when it started,
but it was in the late to high 30s.
We are very first meeting
and if you've been around forever and ever and ever,
John White from the Boston Globe
and John Lawler who was doing some work
for Car Talk at the time but also owns a company
that distributes press cars,
decided on a ride home from somewhere
that we should have a local press association
similar to what New York does with the International Motor Press.
So, the New England Motor Press was started.
I went to the very first meeting
at the Museum of Transportation Brookline.
We decided that was going to be our home.
That didn't work out that well
because it just didn't work out that well.
Not for any real reason but it had to be catered.
If we had meetings, I mean it was a great place to have a meeting
and certainly if you've been to the large industry and auto museum,
there's always a rotating display of cars
but it's a fantastic looking building
that all it did was house horses at one point in this life
and the mansion was up on the hill that burnt down.
But the carriage house remained
and it's a beautiful space
and the town of Brookline maintains the property, I think.
But that's where we were going to meet
and then it didn't work out.
So, we ended up meeting at the Boston Globe
when the Boston Globe was on Morrissey Boulevard
and we met there for years and years and years
and John White was the president for a few years
and over time different people were president.
I think I was president off and on four times,
vice president a couple of times,
treasurer at least once.
So, I've been involved with this group
but when COVID happened and car companies stopped coming places,
the idea of having a monthly meeting
just sort of went away
and we didn't meet the same way.
But we still meet periodically
together for things like the awards lunch
and dinner that we have
and the rag top ramble
and at the holiday time
we have a big Christmas party, holiday party
where a lot of the car company executives show up
but now we're doing it in Middleborough
at the headquarters of Auto Motion,
the delivery company
because it's a cheaper and it's easier to deal with.
The issue with the Boston Globe before they moved was
and it was a good issue
we used a caterer that ran the cafeteria at the Globe
so we'd say oh we got 40 people coming to dinner
they'd whip up something
and we'd be able to eat
and it was pretty inexpensive at the time
the cost of coming to a meeting was maybe 20 or 25 dollars
and that covered the cost of the meal
and we had a little bit of money left to put back into
the Daniel Motor Press budget to pay for other stuff
so it actually worked out
then we moved to Auto Motion in Middleborough
and typically we get the meals catered by Dave Steiner
right down the street, nice place
and that's where the meetings happen
but they only happen a few times a year now
this week we got together with the folks from Kia
and talked about the new Kia Sportage
and the Kia representative
is now George Kennedy
who's been on this program before
George Kennedy was a freelance auto writer
who decided he needed to get a job
where I guess he got a paycheck every week
or every two weeks or however he gets paid
but now he's the rep for Kia
and he handles a variety of things
kind of up and down the
I don't even want to say up and down the east coast
I think he's probably the guy who handles
a lot of the Kia Public Relations events
things like that
so the new Kia Sportage
they've changed it a little bit
it's still basically the same size
although it looks slightly bigger
but I think that might just be design
but now it's equipped as a gasoline car
a hybrid or a plug-in hybrid
and every model except the base model
comes in all-wheel drive
and there's not a lot of difference in cost
between say the hybrid and the gasoline model
so Craig Fitzgerald asked a question
with only a couple thousand difference in cost
between the hybrid and the gas model
is there any consideration of just making everything
hybrids or plug-in hybrids
and right now the answer is no
because everybody they want to appeal to everybody
I asked a very similar question
there's only about $1,800 difference between
all-wheel drive and the front-wheel drive base model
so why not make them all all-wheel drive
and the difference between the base model
and the next model up
it comes with some other features that are not there
so probably the true cost of adding all-wheel drive
to the car is probably not much
so why not make them all all-wheel drive
and again the same answer was
we want to try to appeal to everybody
the all-wheel drive version
it starts at like $32
the front-wheel drive base model
and they hate it when you use that term
starts at like $29,500
or just about $30,000 I guess
so you know there are people that go
you know I'm only prepared to spend $30,000
that's all I'm going to spend
versus somebody who says
you know for a couple thousand dollars more
I'd rather have all-wheel drive
I like the vehicle a lot
I went for a ride in it
it may be my next vehicle
the Kia Sportager
or maybe the Hyundai Stable Mate of the vehicle
and the difference between the two
are pretty close
the Hyundai Tucson to me seems a little bit more
sophisticated inside maybe
where the Kia looks like it's trying to be
a little bit more of a
I don't know a little bit
a little bit more rugged I guess
whether it really is or not
I don't think so
although they consider themselves absolutely competitors
they also share the same engine
transmissions
suspension pieces
it's the interior stuff that's a little bit different
some of the technology is different
I remember years back
Kia was going to go with everything
sort of cell phone based
where Hyundai was going to go more
with embedded technology
using like a Wi-Fi signal
so there was a little bit of difference there
I'm not sure that's even there
so but it was good to have
group come out
it was good to see some folks
I hadn't seen for a while
so it looks like a good vehicle
and I think they're orderable now
if they're not already at dealerships
so if you're looking for a compact SUV
go take a look at the Sportage
I think you'll be pretty impressed with the 2026 model
which is not the car that drove me back
from the New England motor press meeting
and that was the Infiniti QX80
and that's always been the brand's flagship big vehicle
in fact it's a massive vehicle
I live on a very small road
with two small driveways
and this thing's on the front yard
because it's too hard to get into
either driveway easily
so it's a big vehicle
and this was the Autograph Edition
which is really the top of the line one
I mean Infiniti's taken this formula
really kind of turned it up a notch
it created an interior that's very luxurious
you kind of forget you're behind the wheel
of a kind of body on frame SUV
and it's not just the trim level
I think they're really trying to compete with Lexus
and even more so a Cadillac Escalade
if you look at this you would probably
look at an Escalade
you might look at a Lincoln Navigator
I met some friends for dinner last night
and they're like
what are you driving I showed them
and I told them it was ridiculously expensive too
and he goes I came out and looked at it
and he goes look at the interior
look at the wood which is real wood
we'll get to that
in fact it's Japanese ash
which I wouldn't know
but it is
you open the door and it immediately impresses
you can see how Infiniti's gone
all in with this
the leather feels premium
it's got this kind of woven pattern
just makes it look really nice
and it's two tone leather interior
which kind of again adds to that kind of
luxurious look and feel
I guess the proper term would be quilted seats
and the detailed stitching
and piping and French seams
and all that sort of stuff
again genuine Japanese ash
interior is just
it's like a
private jet inside
it's really nice
what Infiniti did with this model though
is they did away with the 5.6 liter V8 engine
and it's been replaced by a
3.5 liter twin turbo V6
the old engine
the V8 engine made 400 horsepower
and 313 foot-pounds of torque
the V6 actually makes 450 horsepower
so it's a smaller engine
it's lighter
but because it's turbocharged it makes
50 more horsepower than the old one
the ride quality is good
it has electronic hydraulic suspension
that smooths out the bumps pretty well
the cabin is extremely quiet
which is nice
the driving experience
is
pretty relaxed feeling
I was on some kind of twisty roads
and
it felt
twisty I guess
so I think Infiniti really decided
to
prioritize
comfort over kind of engagement
of the vehicle
dual screen infotainment system
it's as wide as the dash
but it is in two screens not one
I don't know why
but it's very impressive looking
the graphics and interface
maybe aren't quite as intuitive
as you hope but overall pretty good
it's priced this one
because of the autograph edition and all of that
it's priced over
six figures so it's pretty
expensive vehicle
and
luxurious
plenty of
power
it's a five star retreat on wheels
if you're looking for
good value
well
is there good value in over $100,000
I guess there is
but if you're looking for comfort
and an opulent cabin
this is it
like I've said before with Nissan Infiniti
I worry more about the company
than the vehicles
but they claim they're going to
be putting a lot of money into
you know getting everything back
on track the way it should be
so I thought they would be
have merged with the new company by now
so you never know and I also just read
Stellantis
realizes they have some problems
they're going to invest $10 billion
to try to fix their problems so
car companies that don't seem to be
doing as good as they should
seem to have a lot of money to fix it
our phone number if you would like to join us
and I don't know what happened to
Wes Bowling but
if you would like to join us the phone number is
781-837-4900
like Tom and Pembroke is doing
Tom good morning
hey John how are you?
good how are you?
been a little while but you were talking about
wiper blades earlier
I just have a question if you go to
like ocean state they're $6
they go to whatever
O'Reilly they're $20 each
is there a difference?
well I go in between
I go to Walmart where they're like
$12
there is I mean
there can be
I
always have been a fan of
Trico wiper blades
I always thought they were good they did their job
and Trico and Anco were similar
they and they made
I
think they made Michelin wiper blades
I've tried them I thought they were
okay
I
really like Bosch wiper blades but
it physically hurts me to
spend $30 a blade
so
and I
usually change my wiper blades
it depends on the car
the car that I
have driven back and forth to Florida
usually
before the trip in either direction
I put a new set of wiper blades
on and sitting
and if you came to my house right now
sitting on a little end table
area is a set of Radex
wiper blades and they were
like $13 a piece
we when I went up to the
New England motor press meeting
I stopped to get two things
wiper blades at Walmart and
windshield washer fluid
and
the $12
Radex blades seem to
be okay and seem to do the job
I stay away from
I stay away from
some of the
the beam style blades
which work pretty good when they're smaller
but I tried
those on one of my cars
and
my wiper blades are weird there's the
wiper side is like 24 inches
and the pasture side is like 14
and the 14 inch
beam style blade worked okay
the long blade
flopped around too much
I didn't like the way it worked
for the winter time I do like the hybrid blades
so it looks like a regular wiper blade
with just a little plastic cover over it
that kind of hides the fingers
of the blade so they don't ice up
I hate the big rubber ones even though they work okay
they just look so ugly
I don't want to use them
but I kind of go with conventional
not super
expensive again the Bosch blades
they're good
they do a good job
but they are expensive
and I think even Radex and a couple of the other ones
have
they call them silicone blades
if you look at them you're like
I don't want this blade with this yellow covering over it
it's just a cover that covers the blade
while they're being shipped I guess
they don't look better I don't know if they really are
but I
I don't think
if you can find the right size blades
that are a brand name
at Jawblot
buy them
they have Michelin
and Bosch
I just didn't know if there were a different model
they probably
Jawblot bought out an auto parts store
somewhere and all of a sudden
they ended up with a bunch of wiper blades
what ever happened to the spoiler
they used to put on the wiper arm
I don't know if you remember
I do
it looked like
it looked like a cute idea
and even back
when all the wiper blades
were made out of metal and there was a couple of cars that had them
I don't know how good that
really worked
did it really
cause that
downward pressure
you know
maybe at 60 miles an hour
or a crosswind
maybe it did help hold the wiper arm down
but I don't think so
I think it was more somebody said
oh that's a really good idea
we're putting a spoiler
on the back of the Camaro
let's put a spoiler on the wiper blades
put a lot of strain on the wiper motor though
and that's what
it wasn't that many years ago
that some of the wiper company
came out with like dual blades
they followed like the
razor commercials
instead of one blade
let's put three in, let's put five in
and that's just too much weight
it's a dumb idea
get a
decent quality blade
and replace it once or twice a year
yeah that's true
alright
so you like the infinity
it's a beautiful vehicle
it's way too big for anything
I'd want to own
I mean you put down both
it's a third row seat that adults can sit in
it's
super luxurious
it has some like crazy
high end stereo
system in it and I'm tone deaf
doesn't really make that much difference to me
but it does sound really nice
this one's got a bunch of miles on it
it's still real solid
considering it's been driven by
300 people probably
it feels real good
it feels real solid going down the road
it's just way
way more vehicle than I'd ever want
on a daily basis
it's hard to park
in a tight parking lot
because it's big
even though I'm a big person
I'm not a big car person
I like my cars
sort of mid-size
I just find them more maneuverable
for me to get around
I will say
the vehicle I drove a couple weeks ago
that Ford F-150 Tremor
I drove that from here to Foxwoods for work
Foxwoods to Lincoln Road Island
back to Foxwoods then back to here
and being in a big vehicle
with big comfy seats was kind of nice
until I had to go
park it someplace
so I'm more
a mid-size car guy
is it basically the Nissan Armada?
it is
it's just got so much
more
luxury inside of it
with the
quilted leather interior
and the real wood stuff
I think they must have put
5,000 pounds in
I'm exaggerating obviously
but sound-deadening material into it
it's super quiet
they did a real nice job
and you can't
if you're somebody
and I just answered a question for somebody
who has a Honda Pilot
that's their third Honda Pilot
but they're looking for a vehicle
that has three rows of seats
and can carry adults
and they looked at the Jeep Wagoneer
and they said what else is out there
and I said really in full-size SUVs
Suburban, Escalade
Expedition, Navigator
QX80
or the Wagoneer
you know that's
there isn't a lot
once you get over a normal
3-row like a Honda Pilot
and then I said something that's kind of in between
the Toyota Grand Highlander
is they stretch that out
and all the room is for the third row
but third rows
are great except you still got to crawl back there
you still got to go over the second row
to get to the third row
but once you're back there they're reasonably comfortable now
but
QX80, beautiful car
just not anything I would want to own
and probably cost more
than the house I'm sitting in right now
when I first bought this
Have you driven the Honda Prologue?
No I haven't
I haven't
I've talked to
It's actually a Chevy Blazer
the car itself
That was a turn off there
I don't know why they got in bed with them
Well
if
the way I
understand it is
Honda
is not
when you look at the
cars like Honda
they haven't really jumped into the whole
electric car thing
so I think they've partnered with
GM in this to try to say
hey look
we need to have an electric car
we can partner with you
we can make ours
they probably said we can make ours better than yours
and
off it goes
Yeah
Honda's still
Honda's got some tricks up their sleeve
but they're not fully
sold on all electric yet
Yeah neither is Toyota
Exactly
and the
all electric people will tell you that's stupid
why are you going to have a complicated gasoline engine
in a car with a complicated
electric motor just have
one and that sort of makes sense
but you know still
just recently
down the street from me here
they put in an electric charging station
with I think it can maybe accommodate
four cars but up until
then I had to drive
25 miles to get fast
electric charging so I drive 25 miles
plug
in and charge for half an hour to get
about 90% full
on an electric car then drive 25 miles
to come back home so even if
I charge it up to 200 miles
I was still coming back with 150
you know because
I use it up I use part of it up to get there
you know so
so until we start to see more electric
vehicle charging and batteries
get I mean I've gotten so much better
but still to get even better still
and to bring the cost down
I mean none of these electric cars
I don't think
have been profitable although
it's kind of interesting I just read a story this morning
from John Gorham
who writes for
torque news
that deal with the rebates
that have gone away the federal rebates that have gone away
the car companies have adjusted their prices
so it looks like
there was some profit being made
in spite of the
$7,500 rebate now they've taken
the rebate away or the tax
incentive away and
they've adjusted the price so they look close
to what they were after the tax incentive
which either makes you believe they're losing
money on every one and they're sitting
on the lots and they got to get rid of them
or
they were making more money than they admitted so
you know and well whatever
happened I remember you mentioned in AAA
was going to have like a portable charging
truck or something well
we bought we bought six generators
that went in the back
F350 like
mechanics body style trucks
and
they could
they were big generators
and they could provide a charge but now what
we're doing we have now
40
Ford lightning pickup trucks
so they're all electric pickup trucks
and they do mostly battery and light service
so you know if you need a battery
if your car it's possible
an electric pickup is going to come out
and but if you need
if you have an electric car that's out of
electricity
we can plug into the back of
the electric pickup truck
plug a cable into the
240 volt outlet then plug it
into your electric car and charge it up
off the batteries in the pickup truck
they haven't been able to figure out
Ford hasn't been able to figure out high
speed charging from one big battery to
another but we can get
we can get 10 or 15 miles
20 minutes off the pickup
trucks which is about
what we did off the generators so the generators
are still around
the generator style trucks are still around
but now we're using the electric pickup
as a way to charge and honestly
we don't we've done very
few vehicles that are run out
of electricity most people
that have electric cars are pretty good at it because
they charge them up at night
at home so they're starting the day with
kind of a full charge so there hasn't
been that much problem and the other thing is
if we're
if you were say
you know out on the mass pike
driving out to I don't know
Tanglewood and you ran out
of electricity we're
actually going to tow you off the mass pike
because
we don't want to have one of our
trucks in you
sitting by the side of the road
for 20 minutes or half an
hour we want to get you
we want to get our people and you
off the road before you get
run into
that's true and I know the mass pike
also has their own
right yeah that was the mass pike
probably wasn't the best example because they would send
out somebody but in a lot of cases the mass pike
towers also
take triple A because of triple A
too but yeah but what they do is they do a
short just to get you off the pike to get
stuff moving because the pike is the pike
but
yeah we don't want to we don't want to take a chance
and have people not be in an unsafe
situation so
I think the biggest game changer would be
like low voltage charging like
1.10 normal
yeah I mean
that would be but it's just not quite
there yet
there was a company called spark charge
out of summerville that had this
massive battery that could be plugged in
to 110 volts and get
recharged and then what you would do
is you'd plug your electric car into it
and it could charge up your electric car in
like 30 minutes and then
what it sucked out of the big battery
that you would store at your house
or someplace you would
recharge that battery with 110 volts
so it kind of
it kind of started the same way and I think
and I thought
they were going to get the
they were going to get the contract
to set up all their systems at rest areas
in Massachusetts but looks like that kind of
thing so
okay Tom
alright thanks a lot
alright thanks Tom take care
our phone number again
7818374900
let's talk to another Tom
from Weymouth
Tom
good morning John
John you talk about wipers
I've driven about a thousand miles this year
and I'm on my third pair
I just can't find when that works right
I think maybe somebody stuck it back
in the box
so then I get another pair
and I buy them at Walmart
I'm trying different ones
and now this thing kind of snaps
words mount
flop and I'm like oh jeez
and I get rid of that
I'm buying the best one we have
not the most expensive but
is it a rain next one that's like impregnated
with something to coat the window
and then the rain next
yeah
in theory that's what they say
you know it's like
two different glass cleaners
I have say it's clean
and repel does it really
repel I guess a little bit
what I found though is
just use a rain axe on a windshield
sometimes if you put a little too much on it
makes the wipers chatter
so
I like to start
with a perfectly clean window
and I'll even use something like
um
glass stovetop cleaner
or
bony amy powder
to try to get the window as clean as you can
right and then
once you get it clean then you get a good start
but you know and the other thing is
sometimes the wiper arms aren't
perfectly perpendicular
to the windshield
so kind of twisting them a little bit
and you know getting them to work
you know so they're on a 90 degree angle
um
but yeah you want the blades to attach
with a good snap
to the wiper arms
kind of did but the plastic
they kind of snapped so I don't know that one
but this one here now so I tried that
one you mentioned the big curve on it
there's a lot of pressure on that
and they flap and they just
not cleaning this one in the sun
it's smearing the
cleaner and it's worse
I had to go and wipe it by hand
and I cleaned my windshield
you know start with
start with a real clean windshield
and then kind of go from there
yeah but they're not even getting that
I mean I know
they're all different problem on every one of them
but anyways
Honda
now I'm disappointed
in a lot of things than Honda but
all you can get is a black interior
I can't believe it
yes I went there
a few years ago I was thinking again
and they said only black
and when you go on their site and you look at the car
they only see only black interior
what's going on so I didn't buy one
I just stick on my old car
we need to take a break
we're running behind so
always good to hear from you Tom
yeah you too John thank you
John from Marshfield stay right there
we'll get with you in just a minute
here's my name is John Paul
this is a car doctor program
you're listening on 95 9 WATD
we'll be right back
my boyfriend is so romantic
he brought me to hull gut
at twilight
to watch the jets come in right
over his pickup
all the lights
the roar of the engines
I just swooned
a fire
a fire
a fire
a fire
a fire
a gloom
a fisherman landed a stripe bass
snapped back the rod
the lure and the bass
slapped up against the windshield
he was so
apologetic
he gave us the fish
I'm Peter from Tiny and Son's glass
striped bass broke your windshield
1-888-64
and here's a little tip
sprinkle a little maple syrup on top of the stripe bass
See how it tastes.
Oh no, someone ran a shopping cart into my car
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Hey there folks, it's Quinn Kelly
reminding you to tune in Sunday night at five
for the South Shore's first voice in sports talk radio,
the Sports Exchange.
Unmatched coverage of local high school action
as well as a relatable voice
on all things Boston Pro Sports,
we've got you covered live at five every Sunday night.
Have a question for our host, Miss Last Week Show,
or just want to share a great sports story
you can find us on Twitter, at SE, on WATD.
But remember, mark your calendar folks
and we'll see you Sunday night at five
for the Sports Exchange on 959 WATD.
Honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award
from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
He's John Paul, the car doctor on 959 WATD.
And welcome back to the car doctor program
on award-winning 959 WATD.
Glad to be here.
And let's talk to John and Marshfield.
John, good morning.
Good morning John.
I have a question about the Corvette C8.
Specifically, first of all, I love the car, it's fantastic.
And what's interesting is if I drive it
for three weeks in good weather
and I go into any other car,
it seems like a very detached experience.
I mean, it's very hard to describe it.
When you have an engine like a few inches behind you
and you have an axle two and a half feet
in front of your steering wheel
and you're that low.
I mean, it is an experience
unlike anything I've ever experienced
certainly with any other passenger car.
So that's the good thing.
The question I have is about
the dual-clutch transmission filter.
Is there an alternative reasonably possible
to getting a dealer done this?
I know it's a lot of work to get to it
but is there an alternative to going to a dealer?
Um, probably, I mean, it's...
You know, can you go somewhere
and change and have the fluid change?
I don't know that it's that complicated to do it.
It's...
It's an expensive job.
It's expensive?
The...
$200.
Yeah.
And because there's a bunch of fluid
but there's an internal and external filter
so that's about $500 combined.
It's about four or five-ish hours of labor.
So, you know, I think...
I think...
The internal filter, by the way, is like apparently forever
but the issue I have and I wanted to ask you about this too
in terms of the frequency of replacing it
the issue is the external filter.
You know, I had it replaced at 7,000.
Right.
And here's where it gets questionable.
They're like, you need to then replace it again
every three years or 45,000 miles.
And like in my case, I use the thing
4500 miles a year.
Is that a performance issue or is that...
If I wait 20,000 miles and four and a half years,
the thing's not gonna fall apart on me.
Is that gonna affect performance?
You know, I...
I think...
And this is just my guess.
And I remember being at the GM
drivetrain factory a few years ago
when they were actually developing
the engine and transmission for this.
And they had this transmission sitting on a fixture
that was, it looked like a ride from a carnival.
It was spinning upside down in sideways.
And I said, you know, how long,
what's the equivalent test time of this?
And they said, well, we wanna make sure
that the transmission is gonna go 175,000 miles.
And I asked them whether they serviced it
in between this test sequence.
And they said, no.
Which I thought was sort of odd.
And I'm like, well, I would think...
And the answer was, well, we think it'll last longer
if actually people take care of it.
But I think the thought behind it is
that people may drive this kind of hard.
And so even though you may only...
Yeah, right.
So even though you may only drive...
Exactly the point, John, I was going to ask you about
is my wife and I, we don't drive this hard.
I mean, once every four months, I'll launch it.
And that's it.
And that's like once in the summertime.
Other than that, it's like a cruiser for us
that we take down 139 and 3A.
So if we don't drive it hard, I just don't...
Do you see the need to replace that filter
every three years, 13,000 miles?
I would...
Other than they tell you you should,
to me it almost doesn't make sense.
It's one of those things.
It's like, why do you need to do it that often?
Just for that reason.
And you got me curious now.
So I'm looking to see what GM says about normal...
They don't really differentiate in how you drive.
The basic boilerplate from GM is,
they said replace it within the first 7,000,
which I did, right?
Right, right.
And then they're saying, okay, and after that,
the external filter needs to be replaced
every after three years or 45,000 miles,
whichever comes first.
And my theory is if I'm not driving it hard,
I'm gonna kind of lean more towards that 45,000 part
than the three years, right?
Would you agree with that?
Well, I'm looking at the maintenance table,
normal service maintenance table,
and they actually, in this table,
they just go strictly by mileage.
Right, right.
So they're not saying, they're just,
they're not using time.
Now, I wanna try to look at,
no, they don't even,
they don't even show it as,
let's see.
I would say this.
Let me bite my tongue here.
Let's see what it says.
Change of transmission fluid every 22.5
or when change of transmission fluid,
soon message displays.
Change of fluid and external canister filter
within a thousand miles.
Failure to change the fluid at required intervals
can lead to reduced transmission performance.
Transmission fluid must be changed
at least every three years.
And the fluid life must be reset.
If the system has ever reset accidentally,
the fluid must be changed at 72,000
or 45,000 miles since the last change.
And then it also says,
change the transmission external canister filter.
And this is at,
they're kind of considering this different
than what it says in a normal maintenance table.
So this is, yeah, so, yeah.
Yeah, I-
John, as you know with the Corvette owners,
I'm not like a typical Corvette owner like they are.
This is like a religion to them.
And if you don't follow the book
and do it like twice as well,
you're like not a good owner.
And like, I'm just not in that camp.
And so like I'm talking to people in communities
who are just like, almost religious about this.
And I just, you know what I'm talking about?
Yeah, yeah.
No, and I will say sometimes,
and this is where it gets a little bit goofy,
it's sort of like some of these people have spent,
you know, $1,200 to change the transmission fluid.
They're proud of the fact they spent $1,200.
I know.
Yeah.
Exactly.
Like I said, when you're talking to these people
for advice, they make you sound like you're an abuser
if you exceed the strict guidelines by 500 miles.
But that's what I want to talk to you is like,
I know you're very objective about these things is,
number one, I want to find out, is it possible?
And the other thing that they're really strict about,
in fact, one very reputable guy
who does a lot of work in our cars,
and he said, look, I would not do
the DCT filter thing myself.
You really should go to a dealer.
And that's why I wanted to run this by you and say,
what do you think?
Because it's like 700 bucks of labor.
Yeah.
It's like $500 part and like 700,
which I think is kind of high.
Yeah, I mean, it's,
yeah, I mean, I've never done one,
so I have no idea.
But to me, it doesn't look that complicated,
but maybe it is.
But then again, every time I think it doesn't look complicated,
I see a C8 that fell off a lift.
You know, so.
Right, I think that you don't want to do that, yeah.
Yeah, so, you know, it has a pan,
it has a pan and a fill plug.
I don't know, but it doesn't seem that complicated.
Again, I've never.
But I told you I have to dismantle a whole lot of stuff
that gets hard.
There's a lot of stuff underneath it,
and once you get the pan off,
there's another plate that's gonna come off,
and so, but I don't see it.
I mean, you know, fluid doesn't,
this style of transmission,
whether it's in a Corvette,
any of the dual clutch transmission,
you know, they work a little bit harder, obviously.
And I don't know, is part of this because they want to say,
they want to show reliability is being really good.
They want to be like, hey, you're lucky,
you don't have to do it as often as the Ferrari guys do.
You know, the other thing is,
tell me if this is being cynical,
but the one issue that has been occasional,
but very damaging is they have had issues
with these transmissions blowing up.
And they're very specific saying,
if you don't follow this plan,
we can void your warranty.
Could it be that General Motors is trying to say,
hey, we have a way of getting away
with it replacing a $20,000 transmission
by using a loophole,
which is that you did not follow the required maintenance.
Could that be a cynical, is that too cynical?
No, not at all.
Yeah, no, no, I don't think so.
You know, I-
General Motors might have come up with that.
Yeah, yeah, I mean, they have more lawyers than engineers.
Because like my wife has a dual-clutch transmission,
Hyundai Kona, and like this isn't an issue,
like we don't even talk about it.
I think it's also performance.
So what you're saying is if you let it ride
a little bit more, it's not gonna ride like a Kona,
but it's not gonna ride maybe optimally?
No, I don't, you know, I don't-
I don't see it.
Yeah, I mean, you know, I guess, you know,
if, what year is yours?
Mine's a 21.
Yeah, I mean, I guess, you know,
it's pretty much fully out of warranty now, right?
Well, here's the other thing.
Why I'm really kind of rolled the dice a little bit,
it'll be out of warranty in terms of the power train
next July.
Yeah.
So the bumper to bumper were passed,
but you know, the thing you worry about
is the power train in this case.
You know-
I fear.
Would it make sense just before it goes out of warranty
to service it?
Probably.
Okay.
Okay.
Probably, you know, that way if-
Yeah, that's true.
Three years from now, something bad happens,
and they go, well, you never came in,
you never had a service, and you go,
well, I had a service just before the warranty expired.
Yeah, but either way, it won't be under warranty.
Yeah, yeah, well, you know,
but you might be able to get,
say something bad really happened.
You might be able to get some goodwill assistance,
and say, hey, look, you know, something bad happened.
I tried to follow the maintenance the best I could.
It's a CA, and I live in New England,
I don't drive it every day, obviously.
You know, and maybe it does make sense to do it
just before the warranty runs up.
Good advice.
I never thought about that, that makes a lot of sense.
I just thought once the warranty deal ends,
you're like on your own completely,
but your point is, there could be a little bit
of a goodwill thing if I follow the rules,
and say, hey, it's two years later,
but you know, this thing blew up.
Yeah, if they don't have goodwill for a Corvette,
what are they gonna have goodwill for?
At good point.
Yeah, that's their showcase vehicle.
Yeah, absolutely.
No doubt.
But by the way, it's a great car.
I mean, it's...
No, I've driven a few of them, they're fantastic.
It took me a little while,
because I'm old, it took me a little while
to warm up to a mid-engine Corvette,
but once I drove it, I'm like,
this thing's fantastic.
I mean, it's just unbelievable.
I mean, the feeling you get with the engine
right behind you and the axle literally
in front of you and down low,
you just feel like you're one with the car in the road.
It's an unbelievable experience.
There you go.
All right.
I take you just sold three of them.
Hey, and thank you very much for your advice.
All right, take care, John.
All right, bye-bye.
We need to take another break.
We'll be right back.
My name's John Paul.
This is a car doctor program.
You'll listen to 959WATD.
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Hi there.
It's Paul Kabilian from Kabilian's Car Care
at 104 Maddox Kesa Street in Pembroke.
Vacation season is here,
and the time to take care of your car is now
before those road trips.
Kabilian's is always here to make sure you're road ready
to schedule an appointment.
Call 781-834-6558.
Find us at 104 Maddox Kesa Street in Pembroke.
Or find us online at kabilianscarcare.com.
Thanks a million, Mr. Kabilian.
Did I thought that I could control
This is Dan Cludier.
And this is Kim Jenney.
We're from Birch Fair Records.
Tune in to Twilight Showcase Radio.
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Make an appointment Sunday morning at 11
for John Paul, the car doctor.
On 959WATD.
Now, back to the car doctor.
And welcome back to the car doctor program.
We have about five minutes left.
Maybe we can get a quick call in if you want to call in.
It's 781-837-4900.
Somebody wrote in and said,
My gray 2023 Jeep Grand Cherokee
has several stubborn bird droppings
that define my numerous efforts to remove them.
Is there a product out there you can recommend
to remove the cement like poo from the car?
The droppings are on the side.
Yeah, good luck.
On the side of the vehicle makes a little bit harder.
Normally what I would say is
get a microfiber cloth, soak it in warm, soapy water
and let it sit and soften up the bird poop.
Where it's on the side,
you're gonna have to kind of,
maybe a couple little buckets of warm water and soap
and swap over, put one microfiber cloth,
hold it on the side of the car
until it kind of dries out.
Another one, try that.
Bacon soda and water work pretty good too.
You could try that.
Vinegar and water I've heard.
Never tried that, that works good.
I remember talking to Barry McGuire from McGuire's Wax
years ago and he said mayonnaise.
I don't know why but he said get out there with mayonnaise.
Never tried that.
What I have tried, works products
that people make the weed whackers
and all that sort of stuff.
They make a handheld steamer that runs on a battery.
So you put a couple ounces of water in it
and hot steamy water comes out.
I've been able to clean some stuff off with that.
Different, whether it's mold or mildew,
hot steamy water can make some real difference.
If you have one of those steam genie things
or maybe even a floor steamer,
maybe you can hold it up against it
and see if it's the hot steamy water softens it.
Might work.
When all else fails, go to a cardio detail
or see what they have.
Some of them will use steamers as well
to clean gooey stains off of interior dashes,
stuff like that.
So maybe give that a try.
The other question that came in,
well, we were on the air actually.
I had my car parked for two weeks while I was on vacation
when I came back and drove it for the first time.
I'm hearing a thudding sound coming from the rear
when I applied the brakes.
I've not had the rear brakes replaced yet.
The front brakes were replaced at 90,000 miles.
What's your opinion of what is needed
and if the brakes need replacement?
What do I ask my mechanic?
Is it safe to drive short distances?
It's probably just accumulated rust.
Over the past two weeks,
we did have a couple of rainy days.
So maybe the brake rotors got enough rust on them
that they're making a little bit of noise.
You'd had the front brakes replaced at 90,000,
so you're a pretty easy breaker.
But chances are at 100,000 maybe
or whatever, how many miles are on this car.
Probably needs rear brakes anyway.
Here's what I'd want to do.
I'd want to drive it a short distance to your local garage.
See if you can take somebody for a ride
so they hear the same noise you hear
just to make sure that it really is brakes.
Then bring it in, remove the wheels, check the brakes,
see what things look like.
Chances are it's gonna need new brake pads
and new brake rotors.
Good idea to replace them together.
Brake rotors have gotten cheaper over time.
So go ahead and replace them and get it done
and get it taken care of.
So probably the best thing to do at this point.
So I don't know what happened with our guests
that we were supposed to have today.
I'm sure we'll hear from him soon.
He's a good guy and he usually never misses
any of these things, so I'm a little surprised at that.
So who knows.
Next, we actually have guests scheduled
for the next few weeks, so hopefully they're all
showing up when they're supposed to.
So we'll hope for that.
Well, that music means that it's time for Jesse
to take a break and it's also time for me
to call it the end of the day here.
So until next week, make sure you wear your seatbelt,
drive safely, be good to your car.
And if you do see an emergency vehicle
by the side of the road, slow down or move over.
It saves lives.
Talk to y'all next week.
Bye-bye.
About this episode
A deep dive into the Infiniti QX80, highlighting its luxurious features and new twin-turbo V6 engine. The episode also discusses the recent bankruptcy of aftermarket parts giant First Brand and its implications for the industry. Listeners are encouraged to check for recalls on their vehicles, with updates on Ford's recent F-150 recalls. The host shares insights from a New England Motor Press meeting, including a discussion on the new Kia Sportage and its competitive positioning against other SUVs. Engaging listener questions about various automotive topics add to the lively conversation.
Original notes
In this episode we talked about the First Brands bankruptcy, reviewed the ultra luxury Infiniti QX80 and told a story or two.
The Car Doctor Podcast
John Paul
0:00
58:09