Interior Hits & Misses, High-Speed Autobahn Commute, In The Name Of Research | Episode 1,031

Hello again everybody. Happy Tuesday.

Happy podcast day and uh and settle in

because we were just talking about the

fact that this is going to be long and

varied. We're very excited. A ton of

stuff is going on. Lots of news, car

debates, topic Tuesdays, conclusions.

You guys bombarded us with questions.

And I'm just going to

>> I'm just going to take a deep breath and

calm all of us down.

>> There's been a lot of Prelude videos.

There's been a lot of Prelude

discussion. Okay. Yes, we have a Prelude

comparison coming. We're very excited

about it. but we feel like it's the

right comparison. It's the Prelude

versus the Prius versus the 86. It's

coming Thursday. So, this week on this

channel, this is coming. We're really

excited about this piece. We will not be

taking your what do you think of the

Prelude questions because the video is

coming.

>> That's right.

>> So, that will happen. But, thank you

guys for being excited about talking

about it. Even though I also feel like

this is one of those politics

discussions you have decided, people

have decided how they feel. And now that

that US journalists and here's the crazy

thing. UK journalists, Japan journalists

drove it months ago.

>> Oh yeah.

>> There's all kinds of driving

impressions.

>> It's been on sale in Japan for three or

four months.

>> It's crazy. So this one is has been

poorly scheduled. Let's put it that way.

So you you watching or listening, you

have decided on the Prelude.

>> The internet has already decided,

>> but but we were actually genuinely

excited to put it backto back. We think

there's nothing like backto-back seat

time. So back toback seat time

comparisons coming later this week. So

there will be no commentary on how it

drives. Not for embargo just because we

don't want to scoop ourselves.

>> That's right. We've got our own embargo.

We really hope you watch and enjoy and

share the video because in our minds it

needed to be benchmarked and compared to

something. It's sort of defying

comparison. Where does it go? Where does

Honda think it goes? Where do we think

it goes?

>> Every here's the thing. Every journalist

has had the same question and that is

who is this for? So we brought cars we

understand in attempt to answer that

question. That's where we're going. It's

going to be exciting.

>> Moving on to news from Genesis, who has

revealed their off-road X Scorpio

concept shown here in the desert in the

UAE alongside a few others, which I'll

show you. Uh, so this was inspired

apparently by a black Scorpion built to

overcome all potential obstacles in its

path. Okay, so Genesis built has built a

luxury

>> extreme off-roader with a V8 engine

making, 1100 horsepower, 850 lb feet of

torque, 40in tires on 18-in beadlocks,

Brembo motorsport brakes, tubular frame,

roll cage, and four-point harness. So,

here it is in carbon fiber look only.

And you know what? I'm intrigued by what

Genesis is doing because from the Magma

concept to everything they revealed at

the Paul Ricard circuit last year.

>> Yeah. very including the the wing back

which I wing back concept. I'm all about

that. Yes.

>> But notice that everything that Genesis

is currently revealing is not in the

North American market or the Americas at

all. It is the Middle East. It is Europe

and they want to build the Genesis brand

and presence there because of the luxury

brand. So check this out. I mean what a

cool concept.

>> Didn't we see something like this at the

LA Auto Show? Static.

>> Not a big off-roader there. But this is

this is it for the big throw down

reveal. Yeah.

>> But a luxury

extreme off-roer with,00 horsepower. And

what I'm most intrigued about is the use

of materials combined with an off-roader

tubular frame. So it's an extreme

purpose-built almost like a trophy truck

or trophy car now with a luxury

interior. Get this with a screen that

slides along the instrument panel from

one side to the other. So if you have a

passenger doing navigation with you, you

can slide it over to the passenger side

and then slide it back if it's just you

solo.

>> This dune or that one? Which way am I

going? Yeah,

>> exactly. Now you can slide it over to

the passenger side. And there's there's

netting, but there's luxury materials.

There's carbon fiber. There's padded

roll cage, padded tube frame. You don't

want to cruise around in this thing. you

want to go a dune, which is what Genesis

is intending you to do, along with the

GV60 and GV70 outdoors concept and the

GV80 desert editions. And the GV60 is on

tracks.

>> UAE is the perfect place to play with

this. Totally.

>> This is where to do this reveal for

sure.

>> I am blown away by their concepts. They

are

>> kind of letting it all hang out. They're

>> they are party. They are. Yes, you're

right. Well, here's the thing. They they

are I wonder about this. They're a young

enough company that they're doing that

thing that I feel like so many other

companies have decided they've outgrown

>> childish behavior in the sand dunes.

>> They're they're having the wouldn't it

be cool if moment and the rest of

manufacturers are going yes but no one

will buy that. And they are still for

like lack way to put it. They're in

their teenage years as a company and

going I don't care. It would just be

cool.

>> And we as overgrown teenagers who like

cars are like yes please. I hope they

make some of these even though I'm not

sure who these are really for except for

a few people in the UAE but

>> a lot exactly but I like that they're at

least thinking this way because most

manufacturers are for lack of a better

way to put it over it.

>> That's a great point.

>> They've been around they're too

established just you know this is why a

company like GM with all the GM history

goes we're going to do all EVs now

because the only thinking it's tunnel

vision on where do we think the future's

going to be and how do we sell the most

cars? Well, we think it's going to be

EV. This is 10 years ago. we think it's

going to be EV. We'll put all our eggs

in that that basket. And then the market

shifts and they go, uh,

>> oh, there's very few people going, you

know what would be cool?

>> I can't tell if Mercedes is doing that

very same thing or not with the new

S-Class because the new 2027 S-Class has

been introduced with a larger grill and

a new V8 engine

>> that has a flat plane crank specifically

for emissions purposes, but it makes a

whole lot more power in the S580. 533

horsepower. 530 horsepower. 553 pound-

feet of torque and zoom call

availability. The hood ornament now

lights up. I mean, not a lot of change

to the sheet metal. A few uh nips and

tucks here and there, but the biggest

thing is about the interior and the fact

that it is offered with heated seat

belts. It's one of those things like

what isn't heated or cooled yet? Well,

you know, here's the thing. This is

getting a lot of discussion, but a

couple things I want to say here. This

is technically discussed as a refresh.

50% of the car has been touched. At that

point, it feels like a new model. I do

feel like the refining of the exterior

styling is really, really good here. The

heated seat belts is getting pressed.

But I have to say this though,

>> if you've ever been in a car using

heated seats, it feels great, but you

realize that like the part in front of

your heart is not getting warmed. And

that is a big deal to the way you get

warm in a car. This makes all the sense

in the world to me because the seat belt

goes right across where your heart is.

made of debt cord.

>> I don't know what it's made of.

>> Go ahead and strap yourself in and it it

gets warm.

>> Let's be honest. The other part of it is

most EVs have got killer heated seats

because it makes a lot more sense to

heat the occupant than it does to heat

the cabin.

>> Fair. Yes.

>> As ridiculous as it sounds to heat a

seat belt cuz how puffy and weird is

that seat belt and how easily is that

going to break and is it still going to

hold you in the car? These are the

actual other questions. But I see the

logic

>> pulling wires across your body. I do see

the logic because you're going to be

able to warm the front half of the body

with the back half of the body and I bet

you it's going to feel kind of awesome.

It sounds extravagant, but when you

think about

>> because it is.

>> It is. It is. But when you think about

actually trying to keep the occupants

warmer, it does makes lots of sense. I

see it.

>> Mercedes lamb's wool something.

>> I'll I'll tell you what.

>> Blanket over the passenger blanket.

>> Totally. Yes. I'll tell you what

actually bothers me here or bothers me

in like is the other stuff on the press

release where I'm like what are we

talking about the 0 to 60 in under 4

seconds. This doesn't need to do that.

It doesn't. It doesn't.

>> But it sells cars.

>> Exactly. But the car tox communication

this is now going to start listen think

about this. This is going to according

to their press release start taking road

information from other Mercedes on the

road around them. We've been talking

about connected cars forever. Yeah, this

is going to be, for lack of a better way

to put it, pinging and trolling other

MercedesBenz to try to get local road

info,

>> which is what I thought Tesla should

have always been doing since they came

out like for potholes. And that

information is fed directly to the

Department of Transportation. So every

time a car in that area goes bam, it's

sent that's where the pothole is,

everyone knows.

>> But it hasn't gone to Department of

Transportation. It's gone to Tesla. And

so the other Teslas know, but everybody

else doesn't know. Exact. Of course they

will. But the other Mercedes are going

to talk to Mercedes around them. That's

interesting. And then of course it has

an AI assistant.

>> Of course it does.

>> That is using a combination of all of

the players, Microsoft, Google, and

ChatGpt. And what I saw listed is

quote unquote Little Benz. I hope that's

not right. I hope that's not right. What

I saw in the article I read was it's

called quote unquote little bins.

Capital L, capital B, and it is your AI

assistant combining all the AIS. And I

also read,

>> oh jeez,

>> cuz we've seen a lot of this. We were

actually just in Los Angeles for the

Prelude shoot, and we were driving

around at night, and it was amazing how

many high-end luxury cars now are

lighting their grills.

>> Yes.

>> This is a new grill where all the cross

beams have the Mercedes Star over and

over and over and over and over

>> for an upcharge.

>> No, I thought it was the the difference

was it was coming, but in order to get

it not lighted, you had to get the

Nightshade edition. That's what I read

in here is that you had to get

>> Oh, well I mean all the other grills

being lit up, you got to pay extra for

that,

>> of course. But you can pick the

non-lighted night package. Sorry, not

night shade, night package to not have a

lighted grill, which suggests that the

S-Class just comes with a big old

lighted grill now.

>> Can't you just turn it off? It should be

switch in the dash on this giant screen.

>> I bet if it exists, it just turns on

when the lights are on. I doubt it's a

separate thing.

>> Got to show off at night. And you can

even do a a lighted emblem.

>> Yeah, I love the lighted emblem. For the

first time, the actual ornament itself

can light up, which

>> I don't know why humans needed that,

>> but it was key. It was key,

>> but we're doing it now.

>> We're doing it now. Yep.

>> This ties back actually to the interior

discussion that we're going to have

today for topic Tuesday. But I'm

intrigued by

>> the giant screen that you will recognize

from the Mercedes EQS that everybody

resoundingly hated. and also the fact

that Mercedes themselves have admitted

screens do not equal luxury. And yet

here it is in the 2027. It's a direct

resemblance.

>> Yeah, you're right.

>> Pulling from that EQS shaped slightly

different, but the two screens,

something in front of the passenger, so

everybody must be entertained at all

times. And it's very screenheavy. The

interior, the materials are beautiful.

The design is very interesting. But this

has now graduated from that single large

center screen to this entire glass

instrument panel, which I know we're

going to see more of. But it doesn't all

need to be screens in my opinion. It can

be

>> something else.

>> It's one big glass panel. It's got a

screen in front of the driver and then

the whole rest of the entire front of

the dashboard is a glass panel. Yeah.

>> With multiple screens underneath it. And

I don't think anyone has liked this on

any car that's tried it. And yet here it

is again on the S-Class.

>> On that EQS, all we were doing is

>> staring at the screen.

>> Mhm.

>> I can't remember which one of us

driving, but whoever was driving was not

driving.

>> It was very distracting. It's amazing

how much screen real estate is now in

these cars to the point that they're

starting to sell screen real estate in

cars like they used to for televisions.

Like this is a 55 in. I'm so tired of

reading press materials that describe

the amount of screen real estate that

sounds like a home television. That's

not a thing. It shouldn't be. Ads can

scroll across a screen as you're driving

by it. Ads will hit your car.

>> Of course they will. You'll have to pay

extra to get rid of ads.

>> Oh, I have to pay extra to shut the

light off. Get rid of ads.

>> Mhm. We have one last bit of news and

that is Honda is dealing with a class

action lawsuit now which is crazy. They

their three uh pardon me, their 3.5 L V6

engines have had a couple of recalls

since 2023

and now they have been filed a class

action lawsuit because the claimants and

with which is backed by a ton of

signatures are saying that the recalls

did not solve the problem. There is a

fundamental problem with this engine and

there could be sudden failure due to

flawed design at any time. The recall

covered a quarter of a million cars. The

class action suit covers almost a

million and a half cars. It's a lot.

This is the Odyssey, the Pilot, the TLX.

Anything with that 3.5 L V6 from Honda

is potentially involved in this lawsuit.

It's just been filed this week. We don't

know where it goes, but a lot of angry

owners and a lot of concern that these

3.5 L V6s are prone to failure. I'm

fascinated to see where this goes, but

that is definitely not good news. And

this is from a company that everybody

thinks they're just bulletproof and

reliable. And every car company can have

problems. Don't care who you are.

>> Absolutely. Every company ends up having

their avoid that product. And this one

starts to seem like it. And it is too

bad.

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All right, so for a topic Tuesday,

speaking of interiors, Jeremy's written

in and just said he's thinking about

interiors, specifically dashboards.

They're important to him. His favorite,

I'm gonna pull it up. His favorite is

the early 2000s Ford GT interior, which

I have to say is quite iconic. They just

redid the race car. If you can't see

this image, it's essentially the the

early Ford GT, the early 2004 GT is just

a bunch of gauges across the in front of

the driver in one line. And the speedo

is between driver and passenger, but

angled toward the driver. It's way to

the right. Mhm.

>> What matters in front of you is the tack

and other things. And then the switches

are those cool Apollo astronaut space

switches. Okay. They're the really cool

toggle switches.

>> Yeah, they're awesome.

>> It's a very basic interior. He said it's

his favorite interior ever. What are our

opinion on interior? Who's doing it?

Who's doing it well? Who's doing it

badly? What trends do we want to see

stop? What would we like to see happen

going forward? Because he holds this up

as best done right. Interiors matter.

>> Mhm. And Mercedes is doing an incredible

new interior in their new S-Class. But

interiors matter because I've got a

bunch of photos to give examples about

cars that you instantly became

disappointed in because of the interior.

The interior didn't match. Okay.

>> What you think the car is, the place,

the the positioning in the market, I'll

say, but the car needs a better

interior. There's so many on the market

where a car needed better interiors,

ergonomics. You know, Jeremy, I've been

thinking about manual transmissions.

Those are standardized. The manual

transmission, the way it works, and the

location of the lever

>> nowadays,

>> three on the tree, notwithstanding back

in the old days. But

>> that is a standard thing whether you're

right-hand drive, whether you're

left-hand drive. I don't want to see

interiors become commoditized to the

point where all of those kinds of

switches are in the same place.

>> Interesting.

>> Because that creates new opportunities

for designers to create new interesting

things. But human factors and ergonomics

must always be applied always to

interiors. And sometimes we we see you

just wanted to use a big screen. And I

think that's the screen era. I don't

know when it's going to stop, but the

screen era that we're in has missed the

mark completely for human factors, for

reach distance, for eye travel time,

they've just buried it all in screens.

The way humans operate and need to

operate a car at speed, that has never

changed. And now distracting you with

screens, I think that's the wrong way to

go. And I think the next era of cars,

screens will shrink. they will be

integrated or they'll disappear or

they'll fold away

>> completely.

I have many thoughts here.

>> I'm not saying put navigation on the

projected on the underside of your

windshield because I don't think your

depth of field human's depth of field is

able to differentiate quickly enough

what's on the screen nav and that's

moving here and looking through the

windshield at the potential accident

that's coming at you. I think this needs

to remain clear and not because you

think, okay, what's other than screens,

what's next? Well, we'll project nav.

>> The head-up display does currently, but

they're pretty,

>> but it's it's very small down here and

it's just a quick eye flick, and you're

not studying it like you do a screen

over here.

>> Sure. Sure. Well, actually, right before

you go any further, I have you made me

think of one thing here. I have a couple

of photos that relate to this. You said

you don't want all car uh interiors to

look the same, but I'm afraid we might

be there already. One is the current BMW

M2

>> and the other is the current Mustang

Darkhorse.

>> These are sports cars.

>> It's exactly the same idea.

>> It is one large letter box screen that

covers the instrument cluster in front

of the driver and the center screen in

one large wide screen in these two cars.

And I'm showing it in these two because

they're sports cars. But keep in mind,

pick your luxury car, your SUV, your

whatever. This is becoming standard.

That's true.

>> The Kia Telluride updated to this.

>> Yeah, it did.

>> Most SUVs we can think of from Kia,

Genesis,

>> Mercedes, Mercedes,

>> so many manufacturers, this has become

the standard. The only other standard is

what I would describe as the GR Corolla

standard. And that is small screen gauge

cluster and stuck on screen sticking up

like an iPad. You pound it into the dash

in the center. This is what gets it

wrong. I have the Corolla, I have the

Mustang, and I have the the BMW M2. And

I'm pointing these out because these are

intended to be enthusiast driver focused

cars and they've fallen plague. Let

alone to the fact that every minivan,

SUV, whatever. This feels like the

standard more than anything else. Long

wide letter box screen steering wheel on

the left side and two vents on the right

side underneath it. The the similarity

between the BMW M2 and the Mustang is

glaring.

>> Yeah. Yeah, that's a great point. So I

feel like we are at a place where this

is the standard and I can't help us to

get away from it fast enough. I don't

know how we do it

>> past this.

>> And the only other standard is what I

would describe as the economy car

version which I have here with the

Corolla which is small screen in front

of the driver and iPad speared into the

dash. Now thank god it's got a they've

learned all manufacturers have learned

let's put a volume knob on the corner of

the screen which the GR Corolla has. But

these are the standard ones that I feel

like cover up the badge. You don't know

what car you're in anymore. This GR

Corolla could be a Honda interior. The

Mustang and the BMW could be either one.

>> That's true.

>> That's terrifying. I mean, we used to

have things that looked unique. And I'm

going to show you real quick and then I

want you to take it back for a while

because I'm sure you have much more

photos than I do. I'm going to show you

one of my all-time favorite interiors.

Mine is the NSX. Original NSX.

>> No kidding. That is one of my all-time

favorite interiors. And it's similar to

what the 300ZX is that I had. But you

sit in the original NSX. You have

buttons and switches sweeping up your

left side in the door. This fantastic

hood with very clear clock gauges in

front of you. And then it waterfalls

down the right side. You could even

imagine taking this interior and putting

a flush screen down the waterf fall

right side if you needed it to. But this

is everything you need, nothing you

don't. But it's also done well. It's not

it's not sparse. Where did this go? The

cluster that has everything built into

your fingertips right there at the

wheel. Why did this get considered to be

a bad idea?

>> Well, and they've now put it all on

either the screen or the steering wheel.

But this is one of my all-time

favorites. This first genx,

this is the pinnacle for me.

>> It's really good.

>> And this is how far we've gone away.

>> Now, Jeremy has also brought up

windshields and glass.

>> Mhm. And some of the most egregious

examples that I can think of are Lucids

and Teslas. So, I'm showing here the

Lucid Air. And when we drove it,

>> it was very different because it gives

you that open air feeling, which gives

me sunburn.

>> For anybody with hair, it's fine.

>> You have a real problem with any any

piece of glass above your head that

cannot be covered. And I can't blame

you. I get it.

>> I don't like it. And here the sun visors

are tacked on, but it's one giant piece

of glass. Now, there's again some people

that really like it because open air

feeling. It opens up the cabin. It's

like architects. I want to knock out

that wall and open up the living room

and open up the kitchen. And that's kind

of what it's doing here. And it does

make it feel more spacious and not so

claustrophobic. I I do understand that.

>> But it also makes for a very large, very

expensive piece of glass. So, when it

breaks, and it does break, the Lucid we

had it did break.

>> It did have a crack in it. Yes. a giant

one

>> that kept spreading because there was a

lot of gr glass to cover. Very expensive

to replace.

>> Yes.

>> We need to get away from screens.

>> And this is a personal preference.

>> Sure. But but you are

>> shouldn't become standard.

>> But you are making a good point because

we've seen an amazing number of

vehicles. This is the thing that shocks

me. The Lucid's an example. The Rivian's

an example. Some of the Teslas are

examples. Here's the Model X. when they

when they when they put these huge

pieces of glass up, the first people to

solve too much glass, I need a cover

ends up being the aftermarket and the

manufacturer follows.

>> Manufacturer goes, "Oh, is that too much

glass?" I have no actually have no

problem with it existing. Like we have a

big panoramic sunroof on my wife's

Cayenne. We all love it.

>> But we can also cover it, right?

>> It has just the little perforated uh

piece of of material that that folds

over it. Just create covers. They should

all come from the factory with covers.

That's the thing I don't understand. We

made you a glass bubble you cannot ever

close.

>> I mean, you're making the car's HVAC

system work harder because now it's a

giant magnifying glass to heat and cool

the interior.

>> On the right day, it's great, but on the

wrong day it's like, where is my cover?

>> Exactly. Right. So, I feel like the

Model X kind of started things off with

that giant screen. And at first, it's

cool, but again, personal preference.

>> They're not going to make the Model X

anymore. They're going to make robots.

>> They are just going to make robots.

>> I just thought you should know. Yeah.

So, I want to take us all the way back

to starting out with a 1975 Mercedes

600. Okay,

>> so shown here and that interior. There's

a lot of eye candy and there's a lot of

>> beautiful things for your eye to look

at, but also to interact with.

>> This kind of interior we're never going

back to, right? It seems still luxurious

and handbuilt and very interesting to

use and interact with. this kind of

interior. Look, no screen, and it's

still kind of interesting and fun to to

sit here and kind of motor along.

>> I'm fascinated with this interior. I

mean, this stereo bubble here is clearly

just an add-on, but you know what? This

is what I'm thinking, like, you know,

the high-end, the pinnacle, the luxury

sedan kind of thing.

>> And I'm going to move us on to another

Mercedes here,

>> the CLK GTR from 1999.

what became the Lama car. So

>> car Yeah.

>> Super car. Aspirational.

>> Yeah. Sure.

>> This was auctioned by RM Sabes between

uh I think it didn't sell between8 and

$9 million.

>> Sure.

>> Okay.

>> Look at the interior. That's an economy

car interior.

>> True.

>> On an 8 or$9 million car. Now, it wasn't

that new, but still it was a an exotic

hypercar from Mercedes. And I couldn't

be less interested in that interior. M

>> it looks frankly terrible.

>> It's a street It's a street worthy race

car is what they've done. So it's it's

just how do we clean it up? Yeah.

>> A little bit. The Maserati MC12.

>> Mhm.

>> It's an Ferrari Enzo with Maserati

badging with Totally. Yeah.

>> What a boring interior. What an awful

place to be. I don't really want to I

mean I want to drive it, but

>> that is uninteresting to drive. Now I

know race cars are very more purposeful.

>> Of course. Yes. And this is what that

reflects. But the price and it's kind of

aimed at the more luxury buyer here.

It's very spartan. It's not interesting

at all.

>> Well, the new what is it? The the

Valkyrie, the new Aston Martin where

you've got to wear headsets and you know

it's it's yeah little screen. So it's

it's a race car and here is that Enzo

which same chassis, same tub, but I feel

like the interior is at least a little

bit more.

>> It is better. I agree with that. Yeah,

that's true.

>> Moving on to this thing. This is a

luxury sports tourer. Mhm.

>> The 2009

McLaren Mercedes 722S Roadster.

This interior again could be in an

economy car.

>> Okay.

>> What a boring interior.

>> I mean, it was of its time period, but I

see. Yeah,

>> agreed. But

>> manufacturers need to ramp up their

interiors, especially for these very

high-end expensive cars.

>> The Corvette, the wall in the Corvette

got absolutely eviscerated. the wall

between passenger and driver. I thought

it was actually kind of unique and

interesting because what this is

starting to do is direct what I think

car manufacturers need to start focusing

on. Here is the update for the 2026

Corvette. The wall has disappeared. It's

a little bit nicer. It's more of a grab

handle now.

>> Screens are still there, but it's very

driver focused.

>> Screen's a little bit bigger. Yeah. And

uh it's not quite as severe. There's

actually an an air gap so it feels like

you're, you know, a little bit more

interacting with your passenger.

>> I have to say, I know it's it's a not a

general thought, but I just I liked the

buttons down the wall. It made a lot of

sense.

>> Agree.

>> I thought it was really really well

done. This does open up the cabin to

have this refinement. I get it. Of

course, it's actually added more

screens. Those are the screens. They

look just like the screens from the

Escalade.

>> I bet you it's that same part

>> that they've done from the Escalade.

Maybe even the the the new Caddy uh CTS

ones. We got the side screen now. So,

they've moved stuff around. It does seem

a little bit more passenger inviting,

but I have to be honest, the one with

the buttons worked and whenever you

drove it, you were like, "Oh, this makes

all the sense in the world."

>> Agreed.

>> But, okay. Totally different design. And

there were ergonomics I felt like

involved with reach, distance, and reach

and memorization. It's muscle memory to

where's the fan switch, where's the

heater, where's my heated seats, and

leaving your eyes on the road as much as

possible. That's the idea. With screens,

I've just gotten the idea. manufacturers

have forgotten that you got to drive the

car first unless it's being driven by an

Optimus robot.

>> We've joked forever though that it feels

like so many of these UI things, these

user interfaces on the screen were shown

and approved in a PowerPoint in a

meeting around a conference table and

when you're staring at a screen, they

worked wonderfully well. Oh, it's so

intuitive. Oh, I get this. This makes

all the sense in the world because

you're currently sitting in a conference

room, not driving a car. I feel like

every one of these signoff meetings with

the board should be done on the

autobond.

>> Yes.

>> Put put yourself in the driver's seat.

Get going over 100 miles an hour. Now,

you know what? Change fan speed. It's

muscle memory. And that's why everybody

has eviscerated car manufacturers for

not making buttons. And they're slowly

starting to creep in into the marketing

to the point where it's got a button to

change controls. Now, that's not new.

That's not news. That isn't new. when we

innovated something. You're just going

back to what actually worked.

>> That's a great point. That's a very good

point.

>> What I'm showing now on screen is an

late50s

Citron DS interior. And this was prior

to seat belts. So, Citron's thinking was

that the steering wheel would kind of

take the brunt of your body in the front

end collision and collapse the steering

wheel. So, they wanted minimalism in the

steering wheel, which actually, you know

what? What a light, airy feeling. It's a

single spoke. For those you can't see

it, it's a single spoke steering wheel

with what looks like a hula hoop

attached to the end. And there's nothing

but space between you and the dashboard.

Yes. And you're right that that hoop to

some degree would take the force of your

body, but there's there's nothing to

obstruct your view.

>> But yes, this kind of thinking, it's a

very clean, simple surfaces with a few

switches here and there. I like that.

And then here was a small photo but

manifested itself in uh I think it was

the 80s in another uh Citron uh as well.

And moving on to the Aston Martin

Laganda. So the the single center spoke

idea has been done so many times.

>> There's a lot of problems with the Aston

interior, but I like what it's done to

open up the cabin.

>> Sure. Now, going from the Aston and the

Citroen to the new Bugatti Turbion, have

you noticed that interior, the gauge

cluster is on the steering column and

the steering wheel rotates around it, so

you're looking straight down the barrel.

>> Y

>> and this is brilliant.

>> It is very good.

>> This is where your eyes need to be.

>> I've I've got this one in my photos to

talk about for other reasons. I totally

agree with you. It has a hidden screen.

It folds out. That's one of the key

things I want to bring up.

>> Oh, yeah. The the screen here is hidden.

is a screen, a small screen, a little

bit bigger than a phone, a little

smaller than a small iPad that actually

folds out and you can do stuff and then

you can fold it away. I'll just while

you're here, I'm going to stop here.

This is amazing because this is what I

find fascinating about this is not only

is this something you and I both

gravitated toward, but this also shows

you, we talked about it before on this

podcast,

>> that now that everything's got screens,

the way to make your car stand out or be

luxurious is take screens away. Mhm.

>> If the GR Corolla

>> that I was talking about, if that shows

what economy cars do, then now it's not

cool to have a screen anymore. If I have

all the money in the world, then I want

no screens. But this, because we are so

screenbased, this Torbjon still has a

screen that you use when you need to.

And let's be honest, so many of these

cars actually you set up everything on

the screen and then like 90% of that

stuff you're never going to set up

again. You set it up once for you as a

driver, you never need it again. So that

screen hangs out there for the entire

life of the car while you don't use 90%

of the UI. Well, Bugatti has said our

customers money is no object. We need to

give them something unique.

>> It's a fold out screen that you get rid

of it after you set those features,

which is fantastic. This is buttons,

gauges, dials, and the fact that

everybody that has a car like this, and

I am not this guy. I don't have this

money, but let's be honest, everybody

that has a car like this has an

expensive watch collection.

>> Oh, yes. Every one of them could tell

you what time it is off of a myriad of

digital devices that are probably in

their pocket, but they have a really

nice watch that costs what my house cost

on their wrist. So, this is the

thinking. We like looking at a clock,

>> an actual mechanical clock. And I know

this sounds weird, but there is

something genuinely pleasing as humans

to look at that face with depth. Our

faces have depth. A clock has a face

with depth.

>> Yes.

>> Seeing you remember

>> that's a great point. I am dating

myself, but you remember the skeleton

watches that Swatch made?

>> Oh, yeah.

>> I knew so many people had they weren't

expensive.

>> They're skeleton watches are a big deal.

I mean, in the high-end

>> like like when when the everyman had

them in the watch world.

>> The point I'm making here is it was just

cool to be able to look in and see gears

moving.

>> Mhm.

>> That was 40 years ago. Okay, we're back

to that. This is these are the watches

that people want and those those clock

faces are intriguing. Imagine if Big Ben

went digital, the outcry. Not only

because not here's not here's the thing.

Not only because it's historic, but

because it would ruin it. You like

seeing all the the big arms and the

stuff moving. There's something pleasing

about that interaction. And we are

headed back there. The Tour Beyond is

the torchbearer for this because this is

I mean most of us will never even see

this car. No. But I love that they do

have a screen, but only when you need it

and all the stuff you want to look at is

going to be pleasing to look at because

this is designed for high speed. It's

not

>> probably going to be ever driven at very

high speeds by the owners, but still

it's designed for high speed. So what is

the thinking here? It's designed for

muscle memory.

>> Yeah.

>> And your eyes go one place. So you you

need information, you get the

information from one place. You're not

swiping and scrolling and we'll know

that's in a submen and suddenly the

safety systems have to kick in and maybe

they don't save you.

>> You're also not talking to the car and

saying, "Hi, Turbion. Show me whatever."

It's it's

>> it's just interaction and I do think

it's fascinating that high-end stuff is

swinging back this way.

>> I've got another photo of the Ferrari

F80. Very driver ccentric. And I'm going

somewhere with this.

>> Okay.

>> Very driver focused. Now, this is

obviously a luxury car, but it's a very

high-end sports car, but it's also

almost a race car, too.

>> True. Yeah.

>> So, you you understand that with that

kind of purposeful thinking, that makes

the interior that focuses the design on

what the purpose of the car is, again,

with the McLaren W1 coming out very

driver focused. It's

>> the interior reflects what the car is

supposed to do.

>> Sure. It's not

>> democratizing the interior digital gauge

cluster for everybody in the cabin

because

>> only the driver needs that.

>> Sure. Yeah.

>> Same thing with the NIU

analog. The NIU 27 concept from 2024.

Sasha Siponov his design was brilliant

and and it has all those things that

attract

>> enthusiasts of tactility. We want to

touch and interact with things and feel

it do something because when you're

looking up and you feel a detent or you

you make an action and it's positive,

>> you know that it works and you don't

have to look down.

>> True. True.

>> Haptics don't give that to you.

>> Yeah, we true.

>> Screens don't do that. So, here's a few

more photos of the Neu. a lot of just

interesting visual information to look

at, but also very you can still extract

a lot of info out of it.

>> What I also think is interesting about

this interior, if you told me, you've

got a close-up of the gauge cluster

right now. If you told me that was a

gauge cluster from the 1960s, I'd

believe you. It almost looks like what

they thought the future looked like in

1960.

>> Mhm.

>> You know, and I mean that as a

compliment. This is very straightforward

gauges. This is very much in the style

of that Ford GT. That's kind of crazy.

Few more photos moving toward I think

who is the the king of interior design

because if we're going to make a

purposeful car and really only you the

driver need to operate it why not put

the driver's seat in the center of the

car.

>> Here's the McLaren F1

>> from 2003. It's very purposeful.

>> Sure. Sure.

>> And Gordon Murray kept it going with the

T50 interior.

>> Mhm.

>> Purposeful switches, tactility. You know

what they do? Muscle memory.

>> Yeah. Good.

>> Shifters are muscle memory. Nobody

Nobody looks down and looks at the top

of the shift knob to understand what the

shift pattern is.

>> Nobody does that.

>> After you've driven the car once, you

will never do that again. Yeah.

>> I'm not looking. Yeah. Where's second

gear?

>> You get in and you look at it once to

go, that's the pattern. And you move on.

>> No.

>> Contrasted with the latest and final

iteration of the Tesla Model S.

>> Okay. It's now full self-driving or

claimed to be

>> on the photo. It is. Yes.

>> With the yoke in the photo here and also

the center screen.

>> But the experience for everybody else,

not interesting. But I want to contrast

that with

>> the driver just needs all the

information. So I want to see screens

gravitate towards the instrument cluster

only. Nobody else in the cabin needs to

really operate all this stuff. I mean,

>> sure. Interesting. Maybe your passenger,

but the passenger doesn't need screens.

They don't need to look over and look at

the nav. Only the driver needs to see

the nav. Why do the passengers need to

see where you're going? You know where

you're going. We've already decided. We

don't all need to have a vote and see

the screen and all we all at the same

time the house. That's funny. I like it.

>> My contention is that for good interior

design in the future, human factors in

ergonomics, but also make each position

in the drive in the car, the interior

suits that that position. So, if I'm in

the back seat, we don't need to share

all the information that the driver has.

The passenger doesn't need to see

everything the driver's doing. The

driver doesn't need to be distracted

with the screen. I there there will

never ever be a study to prove what I'm

about to say, but I bet you that the

passenger screen on a performance car

has only ever caused fights because the

passenger screen on a performance car

invariably shows speed.

>> Yes.

>> And I guarantee you that your passenger

is going, "Would you please slow down?"

because you can look over kind of and

see what the driver is doing. But if

it's right in front of your face in a

performance car, you probably have a

nervous passenger anyway. And now they

can see just how fast you're going and

how much you're accelerating. And that

probably is not news they needed.

There's no muscle memory going on here.

You're just digging for info and you're

reading things. And that new icon

updated and well, they Tesla changed it

overnight, so that icon's up there now.

So we're relearning constantly. It

doesn't help you drive a car.

>> In fact, it might be the opposite. I

have a couple other thoughts here. This

is really, really good stuff. I like it.

I'm going to show you who I think does

it well, but I'm going to caveat doing

it well. First off, I'm bringing up the

Ram 1500 interior,

>> the big RAM.

>> There's a lot going on there, isn't

there?

>> But the point I'm making here is if and

for those you can't see the photo, there

is an actual screen that is gauge

cluster shaped in front of the driver

who then has a steering wheel with

actual buttons. And there are buttons

around the driver. Be they windows, be

they drive modes, there's buttons around

the driver for driver stuff. This is a

truck. It has huge amount of interior

real estate available. Then you have

vents and in between the vents is a full

size iPad vertical screen that is

monstrous. But you know what? The actual

center console is still wider than the

screen is. You have the real estate in

this car to get away with it. And then

the passenger has their own small screen

to do entertainment and HVAC and that

kind of stuff. The point I'm making here

is this is a success because it uses the

space available.

>> True.

>> It doesn't try to do one big screen

across.

>> Mhm.

>> And it doesn't try to be this interior

and everything. I don't have a picture

for it, but the the contrast is Subaru

once they do a monster screen, put that

monster screen and everything.

>> But what if it's a small car? Now it's

just like, why do I have a screen

yelling at me? you get in a truck this

big, the screen is huge, but again, it's

narrower than the center console.

This is screens to match real estate,

which is why I'm saying this is done

well. There's plenty of buttons and

switches and plugs and and trucks are so

versatile now anyway that I actually

think even though there's a ton of stuff

going on and there are actually three

screens in this photo, I'm I'm actually

okay with it because there's real estate

not dedicated to screens. There's

buttons, there's switches, and there's

so much space that we can get away with

it. Plus, it is a utility vehicle. Okay,

stop giving me screens in my performance

car. Let's let's match interiors to

purpose. But what also happened is

>> exactly

>> all these manufacturers, you talked

about the S-Class earlier, all these

manufacturers went out and got

partnerships with screen makers or UI

makers. And so now they had to put it in

all of their cars. And that doesn't

work. It doesn't work in every car, the

same screens. Another one that I think

does it well on the other end of the

spectrum still has screens, the Alpine A

110. I'm showing that this has a

traditional gauge cluster shape in front

of the steering wheel,

>> but it's a digital screen, but it has

the binnacle and the hood that looks

like the actual interior of a classic

car. The steering wheel has buttons. It

has paddles. It has stalks, things you

can interact with and never think twice.

We live in a modern world with screens.

I get it. There is a screen on the dash,

but this I I'm splitting hairs here, but

this is a smallalish screen, and it is

caned at an angle that makes it not look

like it was just stuck into the dash

with force.

>> Mhm.

>> There's switches and buttons around it,

>> but the screen's kind of small

>> feels like the right size for the car.

>> Agreed.

>> Which is really very interesting. And

below that is all the HVAC buttons, the

actual buttons for the transmission. And

then below the transmission line is an

actual pocket area for stuff. This is a

very simple interior, but this is

clearly an interior from the 2010s and

above because of the use of screens, but

I think this does it very well in

contrast to the Corolla that I felt like

will just print and repeat. And if if I

I'll go back. The Corolla looks similar

to the Alpine.

>> There's some similar. Yeah, for sure.

The basic concepts are similar

information, but the Corolla feels like

we could put this in 10 cars. And the

Alpine feels like this was made for this

car. That's subtle, but it's there.

>> And I'm going to land, and you've

already been here a little bit on the

Turbon again. I've got a straight center

shot here. This is gorgeous.

>> I think it's Here's the thing.

>> It should be. It's quite expensive. This

is all the money.

>> But compared to all the other supercars

that I was showing from the the 2000s,

the

>> we've gone through a bad place and we've

wound up here. I don't have a picture of

it, but the new Pagani Utopia is this

thinking. It's gone super super subtle

and everything is very high-end,

watchlike, and they cleaned up the

interior. Interiors got way too busy.

This again could be a car design from

the 60s.

>> Yeah.

>> And I am fascinated that this is what

we're leaning our way back to is let's

get away from the screens. But I like

the idea very much of hiding the screen

away for when you need it and otherwise

it's gone. And this is now we're back to

timeless interiors. The Ford GT, the 300

ZX, the NSX, the cars from the '60s,

Eypes, and that kind of stuff with

switch gear. This feels related to this

Turbion. And I think we're going to

circle back toward this. And then this

idea is going to circle its way back.

And you're going to have, this is crazy,

economy cars, screens, and the higher up

the food chain you get, the more it

looks like watchmaking. All the way to

here at the Turbine.

>> I'm imagining an EV with no screen.

Imagine an EV and operating with all

switches.

>> That would be weird. I I'm sure with

Well, here's the thing. With a screen

that you fold away until you need it. Of

course.

>> Well, I'm saying no screen at all.

>> Okay.

>> From heating to switches for the seats.

>> There's a SEMA build. You just put it in

gear. There's no lever. There's just It

just needs one switch and you're off.

>> Well, you know, I actually think

>> maybe one for the instrument panel for

>> I guess charging capability and readout

for

>> for various, you know, the electronics

aspects of the car. But what if all the

functions of the car are actually

switches?

>> That seems like that'd be fascinating.

Somebody's SEMA build somebody's SEMA

build is going to be the electric car

that's all switches and knobs, which

would be very funny. Like a steampunk EV

pretty funny.

>> We couldn't go the other way. like a gas

car with a screen only like a Tesla

Model S. Couldn't do that.

>> Don't do that.

>> But I I think less screens, screen real

estate, screens need to get smaller,

disappear, fold away. Less emphasis on

screens. I love it. More emphasis on

interior quality and just being here in

the car. I have one correlation to

another place in life that I thought of.

Think about the difference between if

you right now walk into a McDonald's or

you walk into a high-end steakhouse. I'm

not making a comment on food. I'm

talking about presentation.

>> Okay?

>> The average McDonald's you walk into

right now, you are greeted with a

sideways TVsized screen

>> and you can order whatever you want. You

can get as detailed and crazy as you

want off their menu and you're ordering

it yourself. And the people there are

just there to provide the food after

your order is finished. You do it all

yourself on a screen. You go into a nice

high-end steakhouse and you sit down and

a waiter hands you a thick leather book.

They're not handing you iPads. Generally

speaking,

>> you open a thick leather book, it feels

like it has patina and history,

>> you get a really nice steakhouse. It's

like, how long has this book existed? It

it has that kind of feel. You know what

I mean? And the paper has texture.

>> That's great.

>> And the printing is like, just spend

some time reading this and we'll come

back. Okay. This is what we're talking

about. Can you imagine being in the nice

steakhouse and they hand you an iPad?

You'd be like, what are you talking

about?

>> Yeah. Can you imagine being in the

McDonald's and it's like walk over to

the book and order? What are we doing?

We need to make interiors that match

what we're the experience we're going

for. Not universal, just uni interior in

uni car.

>> Remember our discussions about the car.

The car has the uni interior.

>> Car is coming back.

>> Just match it to what to the experience

we're going for like a McDonald's versus

a steakhouse

>> cuz you see the Optimus robots making

your Big Mac in the back of the

McDonald's. It's not people anymore.

It's the Optimus robot.

>> It should be. But the steakhouse, I

forget where I was.

>> I was handed a menu at some high-end

steakhouse and a small flashlight.

>> Yes.

>> Because the the ambiance, it was so dark

and it was just this moody, dark, clubby

thing. And it was a flashlight to read

the paper menu. And you're right, you

feel

>> And it was And here's the thing. The

reason they started doing that, I

remember this at steakhouse actually.

The reason they started doing that is

because people were using the lights on

the back of their phone, but that was

too much light, right?

>> So it was ruining the ambiance. So, they

would hand you this really nice, subtle

pen light, but it was just enough light

to overcome I can't see this menu well

enough.

>> To order the wedge.

>> Yes,

I'll start with the wedge.

>> We'll have mashed potatoes for the

table.

>> Oh, crazy. Anyway, that's what I'm

saying.

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All righty. Still lots to do, lots to

cover. We That was just the news and the

topic Tuesday. We're an hour in. I love

it. It's great. Barely started.

>> Let's talk about real quick. We're going

to run through events coming up for

Hooked on Driving and Everyday Driver.

reminder that February 21st and 22nd,

the season kicks off in the Mid-Atlantic

region at the uh Atlanta Motorsports

Park. It's going to be a really, really

cool event out there for the

Mid-Atlantic. The California region

kicks off February 28th, March 1st.

That's Hooked on Driving's California,

first event of the year at Laguna

Secika. That's a 92dB event, but we're

very excited to be back at Laguna Secika

and kick off our year there.

>> Circuit of the Americas.

>> You want to come, you want to come.

There is there is discussion about how

it's going to be membersonly track next

year. We don't know the repercussions of

that, but we are having an amazing

two-day event there. May 30th and 31st,

obviously, Austin, Texas, Circuit of the

Americas. Bring your own car, put it on

this F1 track. If you've never tracked

before, we have great instructors. Space

still available, but it is going quick.

We're also going to do a podcast while

we're there. There's going to be a

hospitality suite where you can hang out

in the air conditioning. Most HPDEs

don't bother to do that. We're doing it.

It's a nice place to hang out. Gives you

a podcast. Also, if you've never been in

the Tower at Kota, do that during our

event. We're going to have the tower

open for you to be able to go up into

the tower while the track day is going

and look down on the track. That's a

very unique experience. It's going to be

possible during our day. Again, that's

hooked ondriving.com. You can find that.

And also, talk about going fast. Our

pilgrimage trip, our European trip

happens every year. This year, it's two

days on Spa, one day on the ring.

There's tourist days on either side.

It's very spouse friendly friendly this

year. It's gonna be really cool. I'm

very excited. My wife is coming. She

looked at the itinerary and went, "That

actually looks really cool." And she's

always been like, "You go do your track

day thing." You go off to your

>> This year, she's like, "Well, that

actually looks really nice." That should

tell you something. August 2nd through

the 9th coming up soon. That trip is

filling quickly. It's more than half

full already.

And the spaces are ticking away. So, if

you've thought about it, it is worth it.

I hope you'll come with us. It's going

to be, I think, potentially our coolest

year ever. I think you're right. We also

do adventures. So, if you go to

everydaydriver.com/adventures,

you will see our Monterey adventure in

May 2026, that is now sold out,

unfortunately. So, thank you to

everybody who's coming. Thank you for

your interest in that. Great.

>> But we still have one more to look

forward to in September 2026. That will

be the 20th through the 23rd, and

that'll be our Utah adventure. So, you

can look at all the details there. And

we're looking forward to having you if

you've missed Monterey or you want to

come on both. But, we love these US

adventures that we do, too. They're just

so relaxing. There's there's no uh

preconceived anything. You don't have to

drive fast. You don't have to drive

slow. You can just kind of be and and

just relax. And those are also very

friendly for uh for spouses, for

partners. Come on those. So,

everydaydriver.com for adventures for

those. And then for a track day near

you, hooked.com and we'll look forward

to seeing you there.

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cars one search

we got an email from Joshua who is in

Germany love it he's writing to us about

having back pain on the autobon his

longing for the Swiss Alps and he's

still undecided on getting a new car

after 4 months well he has a car he

currently drives in the autobon and it

feels like his situation has changed a

little bit because he has a never-ending

car debate but he ultimately drives a

lot of miles 25,000 a year. 80 to 85% of

it is on the autobond cruising at above

110 mph because the autobond allows

that. Here's where his problem begins.

Joshua's car for this right now is a

Fiat 500. It's an It's an Abart 595

Turismo. Look, I I like this car a lot.

I like the Fiat 500 a BART a lot. It's a

very cool car, but you're driving 25,000

m a year at over 110 mph in a 500 a BART

and you're saying my back hurts and this

isn't the right car for this. And my

thought for you is you're absolutely

right. It's not the right car. That's

the beginning of the problem. We have to

solve that. I think your back hurts

because of the stress of driving such a

small car at 112 mph on the autobond. He

said, "Look, Alpine Passes in

Switzerland and Austria and Italy. It's

amazing." Of course it is. He bought it

a year ago. It's been great for road

trips. He loves it, but it is not right

for Autobon. So, we have to solve this

problem.

>> Joshua is 6'1. He does the 5 to 6 hours

per drive, two times a week.

>> And again, mostly on the Autobon. He did

even did the rear seat delete. So, it's

more of a purist driver focused setup.

>> Yeah.

>> Which makes autobon stints less

comfortable.

>> Of course it does because now it's a

rattle trap. It's just loud in there. I

can't Ouch. Look. And I'm the guy that

has driven thousands of miles in a Lotus

Elise. I feel your pain, Joshua, but

this is not an autobon car.

>> Germany, four seasons, year round

driving. His commute runs between near

Cologne and near Munich, where heavy

snow in the winter is common. And again,

he's driving about 370 mi two times per

week and moving to a bi-weekly rhythm

soon. He's 28 years old, a wife, he's

married, no kids, he's never needed more

than two seats, but he does want some

luggage space for road trips and driving

holidays. He also says a car where roof

racks are available to carry his

mountain bike would be a plus.

>> Okay.

>> He has owned several A3 Audi's, a red

Audi TT Competition, which he absolutely

loved. But he started down this road

determined to find a onecar solution

that could do everything reasonably

well. Comfortable, economical, stable at

high speeds, good in corners, and makes

him excited. Excited about driving. But

after debating this since October 2025,

he's le leaning now towards a twocar

garage instead of forcing compromises.

>> So he wants our input before he fully

commits to either solution, either one

car or two cars. His former one car

contenders are BMW 340i, Audi S4. I like

that you've got the Volvo V60 T8 on

here.

>> Yes. For for a be on the Autobon.

Absolutely. Yes. He's interested in Golf

GTI, Mark 7 or Mark 8, Volkswagen Golf,

Audi S1 or S3, so smaller car. Same with

the M135i,

F20, and the Hyundai i30N. All those are

hatchish, a little bit smaller.

>> If he's doing the two car, that's his

daily commuter list.

>> For for two cars, yes. And then for a

fun weekend car, things like Miata, J86

or GT86, Supra S2000, all the usual

suspects. 370Z coupe, a Cayman 987

generation Cayman and an M2. But he's

asking us, do we think there's just a

onecar solution? And if not, what twocar

solutions would we propose? Either

alongside his ideas or just something

completely different. He's genuinely

open into being talked back into one car

only. But I kind of get the idea. He's

committed to uh or wants to commit to a

two-car solution.

>> He's thinking that twocar is the only

way to solve this. But I actually think

that the one car solution is possible

here. And I think Joshua's walked right

by it. He's walked by his solution. and

I want to start there and then I'm going

to unpack from there. But I think the

problem begins with the fact that you

bought the fun car for the fun roads and

then started commuting and now you're

commuting in it going well this is

terrible. I need two different cars and

maybe maybe you do but I'm going to say

that you walked right by the perfect

answer because I'm thinking autobon

BMW M2 because when I think autobon look

you're in the car 5 to six hours for the

day. So instantly my thoughts are great

seats. You need great seats. Well,

that's now Volvo or BMW are the winners.

>> Yep.

>> But if you get yourself an M2 and I have

this is actually showing the prior

generation, which is one of my I like it

much much more than the current one.

Even though the current one I know is

growing on most of us and you can find

them, okay, but for your budget, the

prior gen M2

>> is a onecar king. Okay, great seats,

good power. This car was designed and

developed to be able to be good at the

autobon, but it's also a track car. It's

also a back road car. This has a decent

sized trunk, a usable back seat. It goes

on and on and on and on. You could buy

you you listed this as one of your

considerations for your fun only car and

I say, "No, no, no, no. This is the king

right here. This is the answer because

you get BMW seats, which means autobon

comfort."

>> Yes.

>> Going all day on the autobon, this car

will laugh at that. BMWs and Audi's are

the ones doing it best. You've had

plenty of Audi's. Let's move on. Okay,

>> agreed.

>> Rearwheel drive.

>> Yep. when you have a back road fun trip

to take through Austria and Italy and E.

Yes, please. In the M2, you also got

close on another one and that is the I'm

going to not say 987. I'm going to say

the current 718 Cayman. Okay.

>> Which I actually think is better for

commute purposes. The 987 is wonderful

and more raw, but I'm thinking one car.

>> Okay.

>> So, the 718, the current turbo-based

models of the 718, you could get them

for your budget. This has a front, a

frunk and a trunk and good seats. I

would argue the M2 is the better

commuter.

>> I think the M2 is the better commuter,

>> but this would be better on the fun

roads, but this is still better at both

than your Fiat 500.

>> Okay. Yes.

>> So, I'm going to stay there for the two

for the my two ideas for single car and

then I'm going to quickly talk about the

twocar solution and then I want to hand

to you. But you had good cars listed for

your two different car garages. Okay.

Instead of the ND, what about the NC?

The third gen Miata with the power

retractable hardtop. This is the largest

Miata. This gives you the most space

when you want to take a holiday. You

could. Now, people have done it in the

fourth gen. I know they have, but this

gives you more space. Power retractable

hardtop. My only real problem with the

ND, besides the fact that it's a little

too small for me, is that with the

target panel of the ND, there's just a

lot of buffeting with the top down. the

the NC folds the entire top away

>> and it's a little bit bigger car and you

could have one of these for a song. So,

that's one of my ideas.

>> The other is the GR86 for a fun car that

you could actually do like mountain

roads with.

>> This is going to shock you with how much

usable space it's got.

>> But I think the answer might be Miata

and a car we don't get here, but we've

taken on the Autobon. The Mercedes CLA

wagon. Dang, that's so cool.

>> The 250 wagon. You could find one of

these now well within your budget with

plenty of money left over. We actually

commuted most of the way to the ring at

a a solid 125 mph with gear in the back

coming back from one of our trips.

>> Absolutely. I think it was a little

faster than that.

>> We did a distance like 10 minutes has

gone by. I'm still doing this speed. It

is great for the autobond. It has a full

hatchback space for you to use for bikes

and whatever your life is. And it's

decent to drive. I'm talking about the

250, the base little engine. It's

perfectly fine on the Autobond. You'd

love this as a commute car. Then you get

your little Miata or your 86 as your I

want fun travel only. That's my two car.

But I'm going to go right back before I

close it. I think the answer is prior

gen M2. And I'm out. Really good.

Joshua's budget is about 54 to 65,000

somewhere in there, but I am here to

spend your money.

>> Of course you are. Good job.

>> And you brought up the M2, so I'm going

to bring up the M2 as well, but I'm

bringing up the the latest generation. I

like the purple color and I love the

gold wheels on this and I do like the

ducttail spoiler. And I'm showing the CS

here. And you don't have to go get the

CS. You don't have to, even though I

want you to, but what I'm want want you

to focus on are the seats. All I'm

reading is you've got back pain and all

I'm thinking about is Volvo or BMW for

the best seats and this is a very

expensive option to get these seats.

>> Like $15,000 for seats, but I don't care

because I want you to have good seats.

You spend so much time in this car.

>> I can't decide if this is a one car or a

twocar. Starting with the newer BMW M2,

it's definitely a onecar solution, but

I'm still thinking about later on when

you're saving your money and you want to

eventually add a car, you could still

get two, something much cheaper.

>> Yes, I understand.

>> But also, I think you could consider a

GR Super because it's also a BMW.

>> You're right. With good seats,

>> right?

>> Yes, that's that's a great choice.

>> Technically built Well, it's built in

Austria, but still it's still has that

German feel and the seats are second

best. They're still really quite good,

but they are definitely not those

>> carbonbacked buckets that the BMW

offers. And I just think if you had

those seats, you just your back would

look forward to that.

>> You look forward to driving.

>> I didn't sleep well last night, but I

get to get in my car.

>> I get to relax for 6 hours. So, those

two cars, keeping your budget slimmer,

you could go GR Supra and this new fun

car that I'm going to introduce. Or you

could just go M2, the new one. Go all

the way. I think you'd love it. So much

power, so much fun. Yes, they're

heavier, but again, it's BMW. It's got

very precise handling. You're going to

love it on the twisties. And BMW knows

knows how to build an M car. I mean,

they they know how to build an

incredible sports car. So, the M2, I'm

pick a generation, go get yourself an

M2, and then add some sort of fun car,

right? That is the recipe.

>> Possibly. Yeah.

>> I love that you suggested a Porsche

Cayman because I'm going to suggest a

Lotus Elise. Actually, not really. It's

the Opal Speedster.

>> Yes. Something cheap, lightweight. Check

out these seats. I think they're Are

they a little bit more padding than your

Lotus?

>> Minimally, they're very similar to the

ones in the Lotus.

>> I'm trying to get to just a slight bit

more padding in the Opal Speedster.

>> The thing is the seats in my Lotus, this

is the I have the the the Proax ones

from ' 06. They're tubing with

>> No. Yes. They're medical tape. It's

ridiculous how simple they are, but

somehow I've been in those seats all

day. Somehow the seat is never the

problem. Those seats are surprisingly

comfortable and they have almost no

structure. They are a total victory in

seat comfort

>> for a minimalist seat. It's shocking

that that's the case. And I I'm

continually astonished anytime I spend

hours in that car. But yes, the Opal

Speeder you can get for a song because

it has a slightly less uh less engine,

but the handling is great. It's not the

Elise, so I don't think it carries the

same price tag. And this is the add-on a

little bit later. Lightweight when

you're just feeling like I just need

something raw. You stretched out your

back, you're doing okay, and you just

jump in and you want to go for the

twisties and just lightweight, pure

driving experience. because any of these

other cars are definitely bigger and

heavier and they're designed for

high-speed autobon comfort and you know

they're they're heavier sports cars even

though in today's world they're

lightweight sports cars but not this.

>> I mean it's just something totally

different. It's something that you get

in Germany and I just think

>> Opel Speedster as the the second the

add-on car. Get the M2 first either M2

and then add this on a little bit later

and then it's a good choice. It's a good

European choice. I like it.

>> So, you recommended a Cayman. I

recommended a lease. Kind of.

>> We're trying to balance the world here.

I get it. That's good.

>> Lightweight. I I don't know how

expensive these are in German.

>> Remember when Owen came and joined us

from Switzerland? He actually came up

from Geneva and actually joined us on

our pilgrimage trip one year and he

drove up in his Opal Speedster. Had an

amazing day on the ring. Now, look, this

is not a good you and your wife take a

road trip unless you pack really light,

but it would be total automotive sorbet.

It would just completely cleanse

whatever experience you've had on a good

mountain road. I love it.

>> So, there you go, Joshua. Thank you for

writing. Really appreciate it. Uh yeah,

hopefully your commute uh gets fun

again.

>> Yes.

>> Write to us [email protected].

>> Brandon is writing in. He's a medical

doctor writing in from Tennessee. And

he's saying, "Should he stay or move

on?" This is always the question once

you start thinking about, should I get

rid of this car? We've joked before that

kind of means you've already sold it.

But let's dig in here a little bit. He

said he's early midcareer. He's he's

married with two little girls, five and

nine, and he's just trying to figure out

should he keep the car that he bought at

his daily and now has kind of become the

middle car

>> because his wife has a Suburban. That's

their big road trip car. She loves it.

They're super happy. He had a 2020 Kia

Stinger GT2 as his daily. Loves it. It

hasn't gone away. It's just that he

started shopping around for a dedicated

fun car. So, we've got the big family

hauler and the Stinger. And he wound up

in an ND1 Miata Club. He drove

everything we've always talked about,

the 996 and 997 911s, the various

generations of the 86. Nothing spoke to

him like this fourth gen Miata, a club

with the BBS and Brimos, the soft top.

He said this is the most fun he's ever

had driving. He has now liked it so much

it's pretty much become his daily. So,

now we have the Suburban for the

hauling. We have the Miata for the

dedicated fun and the Kia is whoever

would like to take the funish do it all

today. It's the middle car that's both

theirs. It's he and his wife for

>> Yep.

>> everything else. So Brandon has rough

days at work sometimes and wants to have

something to always look forward to

driving home.

>> They also live on a mountain road 25 to

30 minutes from the hospital. So his

commute is 10 minutes on curvy roads, 10

minutes on the highway, and 10 minutes

in downtown traffic. Okay, that's

actually pretty great.

>> It's kind of a nice mix. He doesn't

track his cars, but if the road is

empty, the mountain road section is an

absolute blast. So, he wants something

that's fun on the curves.

>> Obviously, the Miata is fun there. The

Stinger is fun, too. But he also takes

gear with him, outdoor gear to him to

work with him, not infrequently. And the

Stinger has a large cargo area when you

fold the seats down and that hatch,

which means he can fit his road bike in

with the front tire on or his mountain

bike with the front tire off. That's

impressive.

>> He fits his inflatable race paddle

board.

>> I have an inflatable paddle board, but I

apparently have shopped badly. There's a

race paddle board. I probably would just

fall over off of that one. I probably

couldn't even make it work. Anyway,

moving on.

>> Or an inflatable wing foil.

>> All right, good for you.

>> So, he takes gear with him and the

Stinger makes it nice cuz Yeah, it's

like a pickup truck back there. It also

has a currently ideal balance of tech

and features for daily use for he and

his wife. So things like Android Auto,

he heated and cooled seats, wireless

phone charging, the phone heater, 360

camera, all the safety tech, you know,

all that stuff. And for his size, for

the family, it's it seems to be right.

And again, as you said, as soon as I

read all this stuff, you're not wanting

to let the car go because it fits your

lifestyle. But the fact that you've

written to us means you're already

thinking about what's next cuz he likes

it. The rest of his email goes into how

much he likes the Stinger and how much

it fits his life. It's almost like the

Stinger is the model for what we're

shopping for for the next car.

>> The next car needs to do everything the

Stinger does. And I love the Stinger, so

should he keep it

>> or should he use that as the

>> every other car I shop has to have

Stinger capabilities

and that's the only way I'll accept the

new car.

>> Well, and the other part of it is that

the budget here is 50 to 60K and he's

driven all kinds of stuff on either side

of that into the budget. But the other

thing is he also doesn't want to get

into something that ends up less fun or

with less features than the Stinger

currently offers, which makes this hard.

He drove the INX 5N, which he thought

was great, but a little bit above his

budget, and he's not sure he wants to go

electric. He drove the used TYON Cross

Turismo, which he thought would be

perfect. Again, electric considerations,

but he's like, "It's a wagon." And then

he realized it's got less room than the

Stinger. By the way, the TYON is not a

big car. It It represents as a wagon. It

is not a big car. He also thought the

Integra Type S would be perfect, but he

realized that the Stinger does

everything it does, and he feels like it

wasn't that much more fun than the

Stinger. So, that doesn't work. He drove

the recent current G87 M2, and he says

the looks are growing on him, but he's

not sure that's the answer cuz obviously

the right way to spec it is with the

seats, which now gets us above the price

point. So, he's considered at all. RS5s,

S7s, maybe go back to a a Volkswagen,

get a Golf R.

He eases his way into a Macan. He just

says they're everywhere, but he probably

should drive it because he knows it

would work. But he keeps coming back to

is any of these or any of these better

than the Stinger worth getting rid of

the Stinger 4? Because this is the rare

moment when somebody has said, I'm

considering getting rid of this car, but

I almost feel like you're getting rid of

it because you know it's a 2020 and

that's been five plus years. I don't get

the sense you're getting rid of it for

any reason other than just

>> should I have moved on just age alone

it's oldish should I have moved on this

is where the question comes this is an

interesting one but I'm going to say

Brandon my big recommendation for you is

I want you to just drive things not

drive because you're shopping

because you're researching this is pure

drive homework that I have for you

>> oh good I have homework for you shopping

because you're driving things Yes, I

have drive homework, my friend. And

>> get an M2.

>> If we're just driving things.

>> Yes.

>> Are we just driving things now?

>> Are you sure? I like it.

>> M2. Have you seen those seeds? The seats

are really good. They're

>> great. I just had No, it's very good. I

I do like that.

>> I'm going to tiptoe around your budget.

I'm going to look at your budget and I'm

going to say, "Hey, there's your budget

over there." And isn't that nice? And

>> you're going to use it for reference.

>> I might not even do that.

>> Okay.

>> I'll just say, "M2, can you go drive

that?" The Genesis G70 of course pops to

mind. I like it because it's about the

same size and scale and almost does the

same kinds of things. With all of my

choices, you might have to buy a bike

rack

>> and that is okay. We don't have less

space in the

>> back bikes into a car.

>> True.

>> To true.

>> Again, it doesn't have to do everything

the Stinger does. Like, well, it gets

the bikes in and it, you know, the same

tech and same everything. Well, then

just keep the Stinger. But you you're

not keeping the Stinger because you

wrote the email.

You're not. You're not.

>> All right. All right. Keep going.

>> Moving on to the Cadillac CT4V

Blackwing. I think either transmission

would be a laugh riot and it absolutely

lives up to the hype. It's interesting

to drive. The steering has some feedback

and a little bit of feel to it. It's

not, you know, a sports car, but it's

surprising for a sedan to drive like

this to be rear wheel drive and have

this kind of power.

>> Phenomenal.

>> Such a great car to drive. And Cadillac,

can we all agree now Cadillac has broken

out of the mold of the old person's car.

It's not the old enthusiast. It's not. I

mean, my grandfather

>> Mhm.

>> Cadillac through and through. Cadillac

guy

>> except for the Lexus he bought as the

last car before he passed. because that

he started to see that as the new

Cadillac. That's why he bought it.

>> But still, it was it was like, well,

that's the Cadillac of Toyotas, so I'll

buy that.

>> Exactly.

>> Perfect. Well, but but now look, you've

got these crazy Black Wings and an F1

team. That is that is a brand determined

to change their image.

>> Yes. I think this is absolutely valid.

People would want like a Cadillac. You

bought a Cadillac. Why'd you buy a

Cadillac? And then you say, "Well, let

me drive you to lunch."

>> Yeah. Exactly.

>> And then you'll know. And then of course

I can't ignore the Panamera because I

like your TYON idea, but this is the

bigger car and if we wanted to do

Stinger sorts of things with a hatch,

all the family, lots of power, great to

drive. I'm showing the GTS and I'm sure

that's out of your budget, but I don't

care. I'm going to

>> Polish Bucker everybody. There he is.

>> I'm just going to recommend it because

you need to drive some form of this car

and tell me we're wrong. Tell me like

slam the door and be like, "No.

That doesn't work for my life

>> because you're going to be like, "How do

I what what kind of interest rate can I

get?"

>> That's funny. I love it.

>> What kind of loan term can I get? Is it

196 months?

>> Sure.

>> Cuz it's 196,000 if you Anyway, moving

on.

>> And my last recommendation is a Model S

before they go away. You don't have to

get the new one. You can go get

something that is in your budget, but

>> those have a cavernous hatch. It's like

the electric stinger.

>> That's a great point. I hadn't thought

about that, but you're right. It is the

electric stinger. That's a great one.

>> Gobs of space back there. It's huge

hatch. It does all of those things.

Commute friendly, lots of power. It's

got a huge glass roof and a giant screen

>> for all the stuff we denounced in the

half early half of the podcast. But

otherwise, I'm just saying for 60 grand,

go get yourself a Model S and Bob's your

uncle. I mean, that's kind of

interesting for commute. It's the in

between car.

>> Yeah, I see that. You've got your MIT

that could really work.

>> That is good. I do think that it's

fascinating that he drove the Ionic 5

and thought it was intriguing. That's

kind of fascinating.

>> I mean, if we're talking He mentioned

electrics, he mentioned EVs. And this is

this is what started it all. I feel like

like we were genuinely impressed.

>> The Model S is I' I've always felt like

car.

>> It's the best looking car they made.

>> I agree. Yes, for sure.

>> It's interesting. It's got a plenty of

space. It does all the Stinger things.

It mountain bike family. the the

electric equivalent of the Stinger is

bang on right there. You're 100%

correct. All right. I didn't I don't

think I was nearly as creative as Paul

was, but I'm going to run around this a

little bit. Let's

>> see. If you throw out budget, it just

frees you up.

>> It does free you up. It does. It does

make things much more fun. Look, I want

you to drive a bunch of things just to

decide. I have four for you. Just to

decide, do I like this better than the

Stinger? Because if you don't, you just

keep the Stinger. The thing I keep

reading in your email over and over and

over again is the fact that the Stinger,

you like it and it works and it does

everything you need. And it's in that

perfect middle space, occupying the

middle space with no notes. It's just

like that does it. So, you've got the

big Suburban, you've got your fun Miata,

you have actually solved your garage. Do

you know how few people write this show

that have ever come close to solving

their garage? I feel like the only

problem you're really having is, is this

car too old? But you've solved it.

>> It has solved it. The whole equation for

you personally is done. So I'm kind of

feeling like why should we disrupt this?

So what I want you to do is wrote that

email. That's why

>> drive these just going, do I like this

more than the Stinger?

>> Okay. So starting with the A7. I have to

mimic something you did and that is the

Porsche you were looking at is the

Panamera. That's the one to drive. And

I've got a few years back here because I

hate the new styling and you can't

afford it anyway in your budget. But the

pesky trifle don't trifle me with

details. The Panamera is the car that I

think dynamically and tech-wise and

features-wise is going to surpass the

Stinger. I don't know that it will for

space,

>> but but this is the one you want to look

at is the Panamera, not the TYON. So,

Panamera has got to be on your shopping

list. And then I have to bring up two

because the way you're using this is

kind of like a small SUV. You have the

big SUV,

>> so you do need to drive the Macan. Okay.

This is This is I say it over and over.

This is Porsche's GTI. This is Porsche's

hot hatchback. It is excellent.

>> Yes.

>> And yes, you could also get a Golf R.

Those of you going, "Why not a GTI?"

Yes.

>> It's a little smaller. This This is a

little bit bigger. So, drive a Macan in

a couple of specs. Don't get the base

four-cylinder, but drive it in a couple

of specs and see if you understand why

so many people bought it.

>> I think I personally, I would go Paname

over Macan, but I want you to at least

drive this. And if you're driving the

Macan, there's one other you have to

drive, and that is the BMW X3. Okay,

that's

>> with the B-58 engine out of the Supra.

Well, okay, the Supra has the engine

BMW, depending on which way you want to

slice it. It's the point, the reason I

bring up the Supra is because Supra

sports car in an SUV. Pretty cool.

>> This X3 when we drove one here recently,

actually, it's been a couple years ago

now, but we drove the uh the X the X3

M40i. Yes, that's what that one is.

>> BMW's lying about horsepower. It's got

so much power. The dynamics are

excellent. This is absolutely a direct

competitor to the Macan. And this has

small good SUV dynamics. You will

surprise yourself with how good it is.

My question is, do you feel like it is

too tall or not as good dynamically as

the Stinger? This is actually a smaller

car than the Stinger in just how much

space it takes up in the world, which is

kind of fascinating. The Stinger is a

big car. I think the dynamics here will

impress you. So, that's my other one for

you. But you may just want to stay

stinger. I mean, again, you are the rare

person who goes, "My garage just works."

And I kind of go, okay, I mean, look, I

love cars. I love trading cars. I love

getting a new car. The new car is

fascinating. My son has his little Mini

Cooper. Every time like, this is really

cool. And I've got two low tie in the

garage.

>> I know.

>> Okay. And I'm still I'm still excited by

the Mini Cooper cuz it's the new thing.

I haven't driven it this many miles. I

get that. I do understand. But you have

solved it. So maybe just leave it alone.

>> Conclusion number one. Patrick W writes

to us. He was surprised to hear us

answer his question. Midcomute. Patrick,

surprise, we're doing your car

conclusion.

>> Very cool.

>> Our suggestions as he as he worked

through them before revealing where he's

landed, all we really did was give him a

lot to think about. That's the entire

point here, Patrick.

>> That's that's us doing our job properly.

He also said we actually were more than

20% higher than most of his budget

recommendations. And again, that's

something we we do as well. He said 45K

was the limit, but it got him thinking,

which is really good.

>> 991 911. He says there's little doubt in

his mind the 911 he'll have one one day

which generation and which model

depending on where he's at, you know,

financially when the time comes. But he

says, you know, maybe 996 Carreras or

high mileage 997s, just kind of

depending. He did s we suggest a Lotus

Avora. He had the opportunity to

photograph one of these years ago and he

says beauty is so subjective and he just

doesn't find them super appealing.

exacerbated by the fact that the Amir is

so beautiful.

>> It's It's a fantastic redesign for sure.

Yeah.

>> He has deep rooted fear of Lotus

reliability.

>> You shouldn't.

>> Okay. All right. That's fine. Okay.

>> GR Supra is almost the car that made him

make terrible financial decisions.

Gorgeous manual B-58. And then he looked

at the manual prices and they didn't

make them, of course, until 2023.

They're very expensive, hard to find.

and he didn't let himself test drive

this because he doesn't have

self-restraint to not buy it.

>> He actually thought he was so convinced

this car was going to be so perfect, he

avoided it because it was above his

budget. Because again, budget's 45K.

This is every bit of 6065 if you can

find one. And so he didn't test drive it

cuz he knew he would spend that money,

which is what you're c on, Paul. I

totally get

>> I'm counting on it. Last on the list is

Jaguar F-Type. Gorgeous, great sounding,

also tempting. He thinks over time and

after listening, he just landed on

really wanting a manual. So that's why

that got ruled out.

>> They're hard to find in manual.

>> What did he get? A 2008 BMW M3 manual

transmission coupe. So he got an E92 M3.

Everyone

>> found it on AutoTus, which I love that.

Good for you, by the way. That's a

fantastic car. He said he's actually

learning how to drive a high revving V8.

We talked about it before. And that is

it doesn't have torque down low. It's a

fantastic engine, but all those engines

like that, you have to rev them out.

He's figuring that out. He likes the

formula rear wheel drive manual V8. It's

harder and harder to find that. He's put

over 2,000 miles on it since November.

He is loving it. He's added, let's see,

he's added a slightly louder exhaust.

He's had the rod bearings serviced. You

have read the internet. Good job. He's

replaced the shifter linkage and added

Apple CarPlay. So, so far he's just done

some refinements to make it more

reliable. But he loves this thing and

that is all we could hope for on a car

inclusion. Brilliant. Having fun

learning and getting used to it. Tame

for daily commutes and feeling truly

special on good roads. And I love that

you're shoveling gas at it.

>> Yes, you are.

>> It's fantastic.

>> Car conclusion number two comes from

Timothy T, who recently bought a GR86

after a lot of internal debate.

>> Good,

>> but he's happy about it. We have sold

another one.

>> We should have like

>> hash marks on the table or

>> Well, that wouldn't work. We need like a

chalkboard. Like

>> Toyota is a big car company. We have

friends at Toyota. They should be giving

us a commission. You and I would

probably do better off the commissions

of G86s than we do off of YouTube

because YouTube's not doing great, by

the way. So, we might make more money

with commissions off that that ship has

sailed. We aren't getting commissions,

but they are I'm really glad we sold

another one. That's good.

>> Tim used to have a Volvo C30. It was

unfortunately totaled in an accident,

but he's fine. And he says if Volvo made

another C30, he would totally buy that.

But I can see how he got to the GR86

after having one of those.

>> Yep. I agree. Imagine a shooting brake

GR86. Is that the next model for Toyota?

>> I I actually love these cars. These

Volvo C30s are one of my all-time

favorite hatchbacks. I am a huge fan of

them. I actually I'm showing the very

first styling cuz then they revised the

front end and I actually think it got a

little bit worse. It still worked, but

got a little bit worse. The really small

hatch of it, the the sloped glass back.

I don't have a picture of the back, but

I think these are underappreciated. He

feels the same. I would love Volvo to do

something like this, but Volvo has

leaned so far into electrification and

safety that I suspect this car feels too

small for them to consider doing.

>> I love it. It's great.

>> So, if they did more gas engines and

were a little less safe about

themselves,

>> I mean, look, I'm sure you could make

this car plenty safe, but Volvo is

really leaning toward larger electrified

cars, and this is the other end of the

spectrum. So, unfortunately, it's gone,

but they are really cool. Guys, thank

you for writing your topic Tuesdays,

your car debates, and those car

conclusions, too. You've done really

well. I want to compliment you on all

those car conclusions. We've got a ton

of debates lined up. So, a great

pipeline. Thank you all. Really

appreciate it.

>> Let's move to questions. We've got a ton

of them because we posted prelude photos

and everybody has an opinion.

>> Yes. Well, every No, everybody has a

decision. We've gone beyond opinion.

Everybody knows what they know. What

they know. We're going to We're going to

try to shake that up here in a couple

days.

>> All we were We were just waiting to

drive it.

>> Yes. Let's just wait to drive it and

maybe it sucks, maybe it's great,

>> and let's put it with other stuff that

we know is interesting. We're very

excited about that piece.

>> All right, what do you have?

>> Preston wrote in and said, "How do I

make road trips better and more

appealing for my girlfriend who can't

stand being in the car longer than 3

hours?" Uh, Preston, there's a few

things. First off, uh, don't push her

tolerance level because that's going to

make her less likely to go on a trip the

next time. I want to give you a couple

of ideas. First off, what about an audio

book? The two of you. You know, there's

nothing wrong obviously with driving and

talking. You can learn so much about

each other by just having great

conversations.

>> You have a screen. I'll have a screen.

We'll just ignore each other.

>> Exactly. But the point I'm making is

there's something interesting about

taking in a story together. So, an audio

book can be great for that. So,

audiobooks are a good option there. And

and audiobooks over podcasts. And I

mean, we do a podcast. I don't want to

shy you away from a podcast and maybe

you listen to the podcast and she'll

enjoy it. But there's something about an

audio book that's very involving. And I

find personally that it makes the time

go quicker because my brain is engaged

in something that has a story and a

progression versus just another mile

marker goes by. So that's one option.

Also, if she doesn't like being in the

car more than 3 hours, plan a break

every two.

>> We're going to get a meal. We're going

to make the road trip a little bit

longer so that you can stop at

interesting things. And they could be

interesting because they're ridiculous.

Like I'm talking about the ball of twine

kind of stuff. just places to stop and

be like, "Can you believe this exists?"

That's perfectly valid. But just find

stuff along the sides of the road, and

we've done it on a lot of our road

trips. We're going to continue to that

are interesting things to stop at. I

will say one of the only regrets I have

in a lot of our road trips is I almost

always wish they were twice as long

because there's always stuff we don't

get to do that we want to that we just

have to drive by. We just have to get to

our hotel tonight. So, extend the trip

out a little bit. Take it in little

bite-sized chunks with actual stops.

That could be a hike or a cool meal or a

we have to stop at this stupid ice cream

place because you won't believe what's

out front. Do all of that. It'll make it

better.

>> Got a question on Instagram. Bradley

J1983 asks if we expect more competition

in the small truck segment. The Maverick

has been successful and given everyone's

insatiable need for dump runs, do we

expect other manufacturers to follow

suit? We also got a note that saying the

Santa Cruz has been discontinued by

Hyundai. Sadly, we really like that

little ute. Everybody tried the ute

thing. I expect Honda to continue to

make their truck. I expect

>> uh big trucks to continue. But Kia

actually wants in on that market.

Remember that uh kind of ugly

>> body on frame truck that they're trying

to introduce that they haven't actually

introduced the US market yet because

when everybody saw photos, they recoiled

in horror.

>> Well, and Toyota has teased a smaller

truck, too.

>> Yeah,

>> trucks are going nowhere. I'm just not

sure. I do have a friend Damon who works

at Honda. He is totally into mini

trucking and mini trucking still is a

thing. I'm just not sure that are people

buying them because everybody wants the

huge Ram and the GMC Sierra with Super

Cruise and everybody wants the giant

thing

>> even though the small trucks

>> will do the dump runs perfectly well

>> cuz I mean what are we taking? Is it

mattresses? Like let's hope not. But but

yeah, I don't know. It's bizarre. Uh the

the thing is with a mattress though, you

just put that on the roof and you hold

on it with your arm. That's your arm.

>> That's perfect. That's gonna be fine.

I'm gonna give away one of our jokes

that actually didn't make it into the

piece. I'm gonna give it away right now.

And I'm I'm I'm noting it on this

podcast, today's podcast. Okay. Which is

early February of 2026. I'm putting a

timestamp on it so you know this was our

idea if you see it.

>> Okay.

>> We came up with a SEMA build while

driving the Prelude.

>> We did. Yes. the Prelude for all of its

pros and cons, which those will be

discussed at length in a couple of days.

You can drop the back seats with the

hatch open, and it has an enormous

amount of space behind the two front

seats,

>> 40 cubic feet.

>> It's it it feels honestly like a mini

truck.

>> Yeah. So, our idea was to take the

entire hatch off. Just leave that big

space, build a temporary wall or however

you're going to build that wall behind

the two back seats,

>> that window and the

>> Exactly. back of the

>> And then you Rhino liner the entire back

and it's the new El Camino called the

Prel Camino.

>> There it is.

>> It's the Prell Camino

and you take that to SEMA. That's my

SEMA build is the Prel Camino. In fact,

while we're doing it, while we're doing

SEM build, I'm just going to go there.

While we're doing the SEMA build, if

we're going to do that,

>> since it's got Civic Type Running gear,

let's give it the Civic Type R engine.

>> Thank you.

>> And a manual transmission.

>> So, it becomes the Pearl Camino.

>> Yep.

>> And then we're going to have to put it

on the appropriate kind of ridiculous

wheels and maybe lower it a bit.

>> Do you take it to the dump or

>> It doesn't matter. The point is you have

a Pearl Camino.

>> Pel Camino. All kinds of things.

>> That is our SEMA build. We actually

mentioned that to our Honda rep and he

nodded politely. He nodded very politely

at us like, "Yes, guys, that's a

fantastic idea, but somebody's going to

>> fantastic." He called it an idea.

>> He He acknowledged that we had had an

idea. We amongst ourselves.

>> You have had an idea.

>> We've had an idea. You and me and

Chance.

>> It we ended up calling it the Pel

Camino. That was Chance's refinement. It

was very, very good. So, there that is.

I am timestamping it now in case someone

does it. You heard it here first because

we are not a build show, but it made me

laugh and I think it'd be fun. Austin

Shredder says, "The car at the top of

his list is the Elantre Inn, but as his

second child is set to arrive, the

Sonata Inline has piqued his interest as

a better daily driver and dad car. What

are our thoughts on this vehicle? Is it

even on our radar?" Okay, two things.

The Sonata is a slightly larger car than

the Elantre. Yes. The Inline is the

slightly spicier version of the Sonata.

Yes. However, I submit to you the

Elantre N should still be your dad car

for two main reasons. The Inline does

not compete with the Elantre N. It does

not. The Elantre N is a fantastic car to

drive. Great chassis and it has more

space than you think. Something about

the high performance seats in the

Elantre N. They're thinner and smaller

than the standard Elantre seats, which

gives it I haven't done it back to back,

but I bet you it has more rear seat

space for knees than the Sonata does.

>> You think so?

>> Because it's got a ton of rear seat

space because those seats shrug so much

>> because of the seat back. The Elantra

seat back is so small. It has a shocking

amount of rear seat space. I think

depending upon

>> what I don't know what the seating

arrangement is. Okay. And I know you're

talking about trash can rearfacing

seats, but I bet you the Elantre would

do it really, really well. That is the

better enthusiast dad car. I wouldn't go

Sonata in line personally. Kyle Anderson

is asking why everyone doesn't see more

of my Cayman. You're meaning the GT4 I

think. Uh on road trips and the Elise

and the Mirror have made a million

appearances apparently. So, get ready

for a million and one. But, but you know

what? I'll give him credit on this

because when I was driving the Elise,

you were driving the show's vet.

>> That's true.

>> Instead of taking your Cayman Fair,

>> so we did road trips in that. And before

that, you were taking the 928 cuz I was

in the Zcar. So, there were a couple of

road trips in there where I was in the

Elise and because we had the vet, you

were taking the vet because we wanted to

give that show car show time.

>> That's true. And that's what we bought

it for was to do road trips and and

>> and that was while you had your 98 uh

your 9 which one was 981. Yeah.

>> Thank you.

>> Was while you had your your second

Cayman

>> and so that one actually never really

made a really good appearance on major

road trips, but your GT4 is just

beginning its coming out party.

>> Yes, I'll be doing more owner updates on

that and we've got a great road trip

that'll be going on the May Monterey

road trip along with the Amira. So,

we're excited about that. And also

question from Larry M. Are we ever going

to have a test comparison show back on

TV? Apparently, Motor Trends now doing

Discovery Turbo Channel. No, I think

that era is behind us because YouTube is

really still the best place for us. Uh

TV is just such a hit and miss. There's

just so many ins and outs with TV and it

uh it is expensive to do. But uh I

appreciate your interest. Thank you. We

we definitely want to do more of those

TV kinds of style uh comparisons, which

we will, and uh right here on the main

channel for uh for Everyday Driver

stuff. So,

>> well,

>> it was, I think, an era for us.

>> It was an era. I I'm actually

remastering those recently for uh for

there's a TV station in Vegas area

that's going to play those the old

episodes. And I'm I'm very very proud of

our TV era and what we did. It was 11

seasons worth. It's 70 episodes of TV,

half hour TV. I'm very proud of all of

that. Here's the thing. I would totally

do it again. 100% would do it again.

>> We're going to need an interested

channel and a backer

>> because the expense of it was very high.

And it was it was those were great

years, but they were very stressful

years because of the amount of work. We

had four of us total doing a TV show,

which is not nearly enough people, but

but I'm very proud of what we did. If we

had an interested channel and a backer,

it would work because the reality is,

unfortunately, YouTube is changing

around us and many, many other people.

and long- form content is getting harder

to get discovered and to make money with

on YouTube. Thank you to our patrons

because you are helping us stay alive

and we have some changes coming to

Patreon here in the near future. But the

the reality is YouTube has become a

harder place for what we do which is a

little disappointing

>> because when we left TV it was 2223 and

actually 2023 was our biggest YouTube

year ever. That was the first year after

television was our biggest YouTube year

ever. Not because of anything we did.

That's just where YouTube and our

content converged at the time and it has

been a steady slide. This is real talk

here. Steady slide ever since on

YouTube. That's not just us and thank

you for those of you that watch, but we

have certainly felt it. So, it would be

nice to have not even going to say

traditional TV, another outlet than

YouTube to help us, but it's a

costbenefit discussion and I think it's

ongoing. Again, a tested channel and a

backer. I'd do it tomorrow.

>> You're right. Our interest hasn't waned.

We would love the economics are the hard

part.

>> It's the economics to make it work and

uh you know short of a full buyout but

you know whatever.

>> Yeah.

>> Don't know if that'll be

>> I don't know that a full buyout we end

up with something we're as proud of but

we'll see.

>> Yeah. Anything's for sale I guess. I

don't know. How big's your budget? How

big is the truck? I don't know. Yeah.

>> Hey, we're open to those conversations.

>> What else you got?

>> Oh, I think that's most of the stuff.

You guys have been with us for a monster

today. Thank you for being with us

again. We are two days away from I think

by the time it releases it may be the

only Prelude comparison video out there

and and we had great road, perfect

weather. We were in Southern California.

The right cars to put it with. Lots of

discussion. It's coming on Thursday

right here to this channel. Thank you

guys for watching, for listening. Please

rate, review, share. All of the things

do help us.

>> Yep, for sure. And thanks to Honda for

supporting us with a press loan and all

the others that all of our car companies

that uh support us with press loans and

also all of our sponsors that make this

show happen. We really highly value and

appreciate what you do and uh we're very

enthusiastic to be your partner, too.

Until next time, everyone. Cheers.

Interior Hits & Misses, High-Speed Autobahn Commute, In The Name Of Research | Episode 1,031

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