Japan Mobility Show, Elantra N TCR, QX80 with a GT-R Heart, New Hurricane 4
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Car
Hyundai Elantra
The Hyundai Elantra TCR is a special version of the Elantra car made for racing. It's designed to be faster and is only sold in Canada.
Concept
TCR
TCR means Touring Car Racing, which is a type of car racing where regular cars are modified to race against each other. It's exciting and very competitive.
Term
suspension
Suspension is the part of a car that helps keep it smooth and stable while driving. It includes springs and shocks that absorb bumps in the road, making the ride more comfortable.
Car
Honda Civic Type-R
The Honda Civic Type-R is a sportier version of the regular Civic, which means it goes faster and handles better. It's a favorite among people who like to drive quickly and enjoy racing.
Part
carbon fiber adjustable wing
A carbon fiber adjustable wing is a part of a car that helps it stay on the ground when going fast. It can be changed to work better in different situations, like racing or regular driving.
Part
upgraded brakes
Upgraded brakes are better brakes that help the car stop more quickly and handle heat better during hard driving. They are often found on sportier cars.
Part
Alcantara steering wheel
An Alcantara steering wheel is a fancy steering wheel made from a soft material that feels nice to touch and helps you grip it better while driving.
Car
Golf R
The Golf R is a fast version of the regular Volkswagen Golf. It has a stronger engine and better handling, making it more fun to drive.
Car
Toyota Corolla
The Toyota Corolla is a small car that many people buy because it's dependable and saves on gas. It's very popular around the world.
Car
Toyota GR Corolla
The Toyota GR Corolla is a faster and sportier version of the regular Corolla. It's made for people who want a small car that can be really fun to drive.
Term
turbocharged four cylinders
A turbocharged four-cylinder engine is a smaller engine that uses a device called a turbocharger to make it more powerful. This helps the car go faster while using less fuel compared to bigger engines.
Car
Jeep Grand
Car
Jeep Cherokee
The Jeep Grand Cherokee is a type of SUV that can handle rough roads and off-road conditions. It's also comfortable for everyday driving and has a lot of space inside for passengers and cargo.
Car
Ford Ranger
The Ford Ranger is a smaller truck that can carry things in its bed and drive off-road. It's popular because it's tough and can be used for work or fun adventures.
Brand
Stellantis
Stellantis is the name of a big car company that owns many brands like Jeep and Dodge. They make a variety of vehicles.
Term
turbocharged engine
A turbocharged engine is a type of engine that uses a special device called a turbocharger to make it more powerful without needing a bigger engine. It helps the car go faster while using less fuel.
Term
horsepower
Horsepower is how we measure the power of an engine. The higher the horsepower, the more powerful the engine is.
Term
torque
Torque measures how much force an engine can use to turn things, like the wheels. It's important for how quickly a car can speed up or how much weight it can pull.
Concept
STI
STI is a performance version of Subaru cars, especially known for the WRX model. These cars are built for speed and handling, making them popular among car enthusiasts.
Concept
Evo
The Evo is a fast car made by Mitsubishi that's designed for racing and performance. It's known for being powerful and fun to drive.
Term
two liter
A two liter engine means the engine has a total size of two liters. This size is common in smaller cars and SUVs, providing a good mix of power and fuel economy.
Term
inline six turbo
An inline six turbo is a type of engine that has six cylinders lined up in a row. It uses a turbocharger to boost power, making it more efficient and powerful than a regular engine of the same size.
Term
Hurricane engine
The Hurricane engine is a new type of engine made by Stellantis that has six cylinders in a straight line. It's meant to be more efficient and environmentally friendly compared to older V8 engines.
Term
Hemi
The Hemi is a special kind of engine design that helps it run better and faster. It's well-known in some Chrysler cars and has a reputation for being powerful.
Term
straight six
A straight six engine is a type of engine that has six cylinders lined up in a row. This setup makes the engine run smoothly and can provide a lot of power.
Term
turbo four
A turbo four is a type of engine that has four cylinders and uses a turbocharger to boost its power. This helps the engine run better while using less fuel.
Car
Jeep Wrangler
The Wrangler is a type of Jeep that is designed for off-road driving. It has a tough build and can handle rough terrains, making it a favorite for people who like outdoor adventures.
Car
Chrysler Pacifica
The Pacifica is a minivan made by Chrysler that is great for families. It has a lot of room inside and features that make it easy to travel with kids and their gear.
Car
Charger
The Charger is a large car made by Dodge that is known for being fast and powerful. It has a sporty look and is often chosen by people who want a fun driving experience.
Term
EcoBoost
EcoBoost is a type of engine made by Ford that uses a turbocharger to make the car faster while saving on gas. It’s a way to get good power without using too much fuel.
Car
Ford Mustang
The Ford Mustang is a sporty car that many people love because it looks cool and goes really fast. It's known for having strong engines and a fun driving experience.
Car
Infiniti QX80
The Infiniti QX80 is a large, luxury SUV that can carry many passengers and cargo. It's built to be strong and can tow heavy loads.
Car
Chevrolet Suburbans
The Chevrolet Suburban is a big SUV that can fit a lot of people and stuff inside. It's great for families and can also tow trailers, making it very useful.
Car
Infiniti QX60
The Infiniti QX60 is a fancy SUV that can fit a lot of people and has nice features inside. It's designed for families who want a comfortable and stylish ride.
Car
Nissan Juke
The Nissan Juke is a small SUV that has a very unique look. It's fun to drive and is popular among younger people who want something different.
Car
Jeep Gladiator
The Jeep Gladiator is a truck that looks like a Jeep, which means it can go off-road and handle tough terrain. It also has a truck bed for carrying things, making it very handy.
Car
Infiniti G35
The Infiniti G35 is a stylish and powerful car that helped make Infiniti a well-known brand. It was popular for its sporty feel and luxury features.
Car
Nissan Skylines
The Nissan Skyline is a famous sports car that many people love for its speed and cool features. It's popular in car culture, especially among racing fans.
Car
Toyota Prius
The Toyota Prius is a car that uses both gas and electricity to drive, which helps save fuel and is better for the environment. It's known for being very efficient and is popular among people who want to reduce their carbon footprint.
Car
Nissan Leaf
The Nissan Leaf is a car that runs only on electricity, so it doesn't use gas at all. It's a good choice for people who want to drive an eco-friendly car that can save money on fuel.
Car
Audi Etron
The Audi e-tron is a fancy SUV that runs only on electricity. It's designed to be comfortable and high-tech, making it a great choice for people who want an electric car with luxury features.
Car
Subaru BRZ
The Subaru BRZ is a small sports car that is fun to drive and easy to handle. It's designed for people who enjoy driving and want a car that feels sporty.
Car
Lexus Lfa
The Lexus LFA is a really fast and expensive sports car that is made in limited numbers. It's known for being very high-quality and is a dream car for many people.
Car
Toyota Supra
The Toyota Supra is a fast sports car that many people admire for its style and speed. It's popular among car lovers who enjoy driving and racing.
Car
Toyota Tundra
The Toyota Tundra is a big truck that can carry heavy loads and tow trailers. It's built to last and is a good choice for people who need a tough vehicle for work or play.
Car
Mazda Cx70
The Mazda CX-70 is a type of SUV that is designed to be fun to drive while also being practical. It's a good choice for people who want a vehicle that can do a bit of everything.
Car
Acura Zdx
The Acura ZDX is a stylish SUV that combines luxury with a sporty feel. It's designed for people who want a nice-looking vehicle that can also be practical.
Car
Buick Century
The Buick Century is a comfortable car that's been around for a long time. It's known for being reliable and is a good choice for people who want a smooth ride.
Car
Mercedes-Benz S-Class AMG
The Mercedes-Benz S-Class AMG is a super fancy car that is very comfortable and fast. It's known for having the best features and is a top choice for people who want luxury.
Car
Ford Flex
The Ford Flex is a big SUV with a boxy shape that can fit a lot of people and stuff inside. It's great for families who need space and comfort.
Car
Ford F1
The Ford F1 is an old-style pickup truck that many people admire for its classic look. It's a favorite among collectors who love vintage cars.
Car
Fiat 500e
The Fiat 500e is a small car that runs on electricity instead of gas. It's perfect for driving around the city and is good for the environment.
LIVE
Hello and welcome to the AutoGuide show.
This week I drive a fancy fast Hyundai.
There's some news from Stellantis and Infinity, and Greg and I will cover everything from
the Tokyo Mobility show.
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Okay, so like I said, Greg is here with me this week because Kyle is our man on the
ground in Japan covering the Mobility show, so he's the one giving us all the information
that we will talk about.
He should be back next week.
But before we get to that, we'll just cover, well, one review this week.
There's been another, but I'll let Kyle talk about it because it's his next week.
And I've been a news.
So we'll start with a car that Greg, you don't even get.
So this is how much we'll add to this.
I think you got a five solo on this one here.
So it's the Hyundai Elantra and what you do get in the US, but this is the TCR edition,
which is a special edition for Canada only.
And it's to celebrate the brand's success in TCR, which is touring car racing.
Because all over the world, they've been doing great, Nürburgr 24, Europe, North America.
They've been basically factory-backed team, not, yeah, well, basically.
And the success came pretty fast and often for them.
So what this is, is it's just a regular N, which is such a fantastic car.
And I haven't driven one since the facelift, I don't know if you have Greg.
When we first had the car, it was so raw and fun and fast and a great value, but it also
was raw in the sense of it was kind of loud and punishing and, you know, all those sort
of things.
It was very compromised.
Well, this facelift, they have fixed the suspension so much.
I mean, it's still on the stiff side, but I would say like a Civic Type R, where in
the softer settings, it's fine, like perfectly fine, and then you can make it more hardcore
when you want to.
They've toned down the exhaust, it's still loud, it still gives you those nice pops and
bangs and in the end mode, it still makes a good growl, but it's not ridiculously obnoxious.
Like there are people you saw online getting pulled over by the police for thinking they
had aftermarket exhaust and whatnot and they've kind of avoided that next level setting now.
So that's fine.
Just to remind me how much I like this car and the pricing is still so good.
So TCR edition, what it does is it adds a bunch of bits, most notably is the Goose neck
spoiler.
So it's basically the wing right off of the TCR race car.
I mean, not the exact same, but it sure is a good replica, a carbon fiber adjustable
wing.
It's a bit much.
I mean, maybe it's because I'm a middle-aged dad, but driving around in this thing, I'm
having so much fun and then I remember when people are looking at me sideways, it's like,
right, I have a three foot wing off the back of my car.
You look like you're trying a little bit too hard.
What do you do with that with like car seats on the back, you know?
Yeah, the rest on the outside is just blacked out wheels and other bits and pieces.
It does actually have the upgraded brakes, which is cool.
It has, yeah, and the bites noticeable.
The four pistons up front really just clamped down inside.
Again, it's just mostly badging.
You get all of the cool performance orientated interior bits like the Alcantara steering
wheel and shift lever and parking brake.
And this is the manual with the rev match, which not the best manual out there, but
still a pretty good one.
I think it's problems that's going against the GTI slash Golf R and the Civic Si slash
type arcs. It follows in between pricing on both of those.
And those are all such great transmissions, but compared to Corolla,
G.R. Corolla, this is a better transmission.
So my conclusion was for the pricing, it's such a good value and something I could
totally see myself buying.
But in Canada, this TCR package is like $6,000 extra and just skip it.
I mean, the only one who's going to want it is the hard core Hyundai and
enthusiast, and there is a community of them now, a huge community.
So someone who wants like the ultimate or the special edition or, you know,
just to really flaunt how much they like the brand in the car.
But otherwise you're not getting enough performance.
And in my opinion, you're getting a slightly worse overall exterior
appearance, just get the regular and have it last.
I would agree with that.
I think it's, I mean, I will say this Hyundai does a great job of chasing value.
You know, so you do get a fair amount of stuff in, you know, this and many
of their other products, but it's, this is a little bit over the top here.
So I will say this.
I'm jealous you got to drive it.
This is one I wish I, I would love to drive this for like a week and just
kind of, you know, have fun with it, you know, push it a little bit, get some
stairs and, you know, blow up my Instagram feed, all that good stuff.
Yeah.
And like I said, I mean, two weeks ago, we talked about sports car value and this
is the one I picked because you're essentially getting the exact same car
for like 35 with destination in the US, which is crazy.
Yeah.
All right.
So moving on to turbocharged four cylinders, we've got a theme going right now.
The new Jeep Grand Cherokee has finally been unveiled.
And we kind of saw it leak earlier, but it's, it's one of those.
It's almost like a Ranger over where it's got a familiar style that
Stellantis knows not to mess with much.
So I mean, I like the new look.
It looks good.
It's just a slight different take on it.
But the big news is what's under the hood, at least one of what's under the hood.
And that's a new hurricane four cylinder turbocharged engine, which is interesting.
They're making it a family of engines.
It's almost like eco tech for GM back in the day.
And it was Ford's Z tech or something.
Or yeah, now I'm blanking at it.
Car guys going back here.
Yeah, it's going back a ways.
But yeah, it's interesting.
And the engine is it's no slouch.
It's a two liter, I think.
Yeah, this is quite the pocket rocket here for an inline four cylinder.
Yeah, it's a two liter.
And I think it makes 300 and like.
50 horsepower or something.
Or no, maybe not quite.
That's the torque, I think.
But yeah, here I got it here.
Three hundred and twenty four horsepower and three hundred thirty two
pounds heated torque for two liter.
Like that's a lot.
That's a lot of power.
Remember when Evo's and STI's didn't make that part of two liters
and they still seem like ridiculous.
So this is an SUV now.
But at first I was like, why are you using the hurricane name?
But then I was like, you know what?
This two liter and the power it's making.
And this is like step one.
Who knows what else you could make down the road?
It's like their inline six turbo where it makes so much power for its size.
So people will complain.
I want my V8 or my V6 in the Grand Cherokee.
You know, I'm sure there'll be other engine options.
But this is going to be more than enough.
And what I'm excited about is this engine potentially trickling its way
into other Stellantis products down the road.
I think it's a good move to actually kind of broaden the scope of the hurricane family.
I think it's got even just in the few years it's been around.
I think it's got a lot of like brand equity.
I think enthusiasts like it.
I think it kind of softened the blow of when the Hemi went away for just a little bit.
You know, the straight six, I think is a real gem.
I've driven that in the variety of products.
I'm sure you have to most recently, the Ram, actually.
But I think for, you know, the Grand Cherokee, this is a smart move.
I think having, again, making this four cylinder sound like something
a little more special, you know, giving it that up level of power
in the the hurricane branding, I think is a good move.
I do like how they cleaned up the design a little bit like living in Metro Detroit.
Like everybody seems to have a Grand Cherokee.
It's like the three row you get when the rest of the domestics
or maybe you're not doing a Honda or Toyota or whatever, a Mazda.
This is the one you get to try to sort of still stay cool
unless you want to try to get a huge three foot wing on your family sedan
or something, you know, and it's.
So you see a lot of these, but they look they really start to blend in.
And this looks like they cleaned it up just a little bit,
gave it a little bit more of a distinctive look subtle.
But I kind of like the the light freshening.
And like I said, I really hope this engine trickles its way into the products
like this being the new turbo four and the Wrangler would be great.
Put it in the put it in the Pacifica.
You know, what a good place to be the new charger.
This could be your entry level engine.
I don't know what you call it, four pack, but the one the, you know,
make a new lower price point.
Well, I think to mess up a little bit, drop it in the especially like the two door
charger, that sounds like a hell of a good time, right?
I mean, you know, I bet you they could easily get 360 out of that thing.
I don't know if that's what charger owners really want, but it reminds me of like,
well, you would know this, the old Genesis, that R spec, that four cylinder
that had plenty of power, the EcoBoost Mustang, that thing would go all day.
That turbo four was great.
So I don't know, we're given some some free advice to Stellantis here.
And put it in the upcoming compass.
You can make it like an SRT compass.
Put it in the five hundred, although I don't think the new electric
five hundred can take a gas engine.
There is an Abarth for you, right?
Yeah, put it in the back.
The old style, like a French hot hatches with the engine just shoved in the back instead.
In the fire extinguisher up front.
Anyway, speaking of shoving engines into things,
Infinity, this is SEMA news and we'll have more on SEMA next week
because when SEMA is on, but this was an early tease.
And I just had to bring it up because it is ridiculous.
But Infinity took the QX80, you know, the massive body on frame SUV
that fights with suburban's and well, not suburban, sorry, escalates
and navigators and whatnot and decided to make an R spec.
And it isn't just big wheels and a really cool looking wide body kit,
which has all of that.
It has the GTR's engine shoved in it.
And not just the GTR's engine, but one capable of one thousand horsepower,
which is amazing because they've always since this three five turbo V6 came out
have kind of been like, you know, not saying it's the GTR engine because it's not.
And not even saying it's sourced, but saying it has some family familiarity.
So this just shows it has more.
If Infinity had a couple of these engines kicking around,
they should make a special run of these.
You don't need a thousand horsepower, but even like a six seven hundred.
Six hundred. Sure.
I've used a little short run.
The QX80 is so like opulent right now and so expensive and such a design play.
Like I actually think they kind of do need to put in some sort of halo engine.
So SEMA is often a show where stuff does start to kind of it can be a preview show.
So hey, if this is maybe a kind of a head fake for what they're going to do,
I'm here for it. Let's let's dial up the power for the QX80.
Yeah, no, I always thought, remember, they had an IPL for a while
and then they had the recall of the car is like red.
The red in the magma or magma was Genesis.
Never mind. But yeah, they just they don't have any cars right now.
And we'll get more on that in a little bit.
But they can't with like a lot of their SUVs do much more,
nor would anyone really want probably a QX60 performance.
Like this is the one where you could do it and even the three five.
I bet if you forgo refinement and fuel economy,
you could probably get good five, six hundred out of this anyway.
So anyway, I just love this concept.
I really hope it's one of those two.
Like remember the the Juke ours and whatnot?
That's fully functioning so they can take it around and show it off.
So the sun and infinity have a great track record of concept cars.
So let's let's see what they do next. Exactly.
So moving on, we got news that the upcoming midsize Dakota,
if it's I mean, I assume it's going to be Dakota, but the midsize truck.
There was a lot of discussion.
It would be based on the gladiator, which I thought was terrible.
And it turns out it won't be based on the gladiator.
It will be different even though there is dodge siblings to the gladiator
and other markets. It just makes sense because the gladiator is cool
being a Jeep that has a pickup bed, but it's a terrible pick up.
And obviously the body would be a little different, but there's
you can't fix how ridiculously long the wheel base is with the turning circle.
And then there's the whole double solid axle.
Like if you really want to fight in the compact pickup,
you need to make a compact pickup or I guess the midsize now.
But but yeah, so I didn't expect to be gladiator.
And I wanted to make two of the same.
So this should really be more of a full on Tacoma Ranger Colorado
competitor. What that means, shrink down the RAM platform,
have another one we don't even know right now that we're not thinking of.
Who knows?
The RAM platform, I think is quite good.
I think the RAM is one of the best riding.
I think it is the best riding pickup truck in the full size segment.
So I think it makes all the sense of the world to kind of work off of that base.
The gladiator is, to me, a very unique thing in the segment.
You know, some of the things like, you know, the axles and the long wheel base,
I think are strengths because it gives you almost like a different take on the wrangler.
But it still feels like a wrangler, in my opinion, when you drive it.
And I don't think you want to just rebadge it into a RAM,
which they weren't going to do that.
But I also like kind of wondered cynically when it looked like they might kind of go down that road,
like, how much can you really do with that platform to make it something that people are going to really want?
So I think, yeah, it sounds like they're on the right course to go more
kind of ram this into the midsize segment, not make it a gladiator.
Yeah, I know. I think you nailed it right there.
It's how are we going to make people want it, which is gladiator.
Like the only real appeal to gladiator is it's a wrangler with a bigger bed
and convertible and all that coolness.
I mean, if it was just another truck, like I said, it's not a great truck.
It's not a good truck, but it gives more utility to a Jeep, which is its point.
So good on them for.
Well, I bet they were never thinking of doing that.
It was just, you know, us auto riders like to run with rumors and complete speculation and go with it.
That's what we do.
So, yeah, that's a job.
So just finishing things up here with our last news story is, as I said,
we were going to circle back to this infinity has confirmed that a rear drive
sports sedan is on its way.
So something inspired by the G 35 G 37, which I mean, especially the 35,
when it came out, it completely revolutionized infinity.
It threw them on the map from just sort of a bit of obscurity.
And if kind of their SUVs are good, but they have no cars right now.
Reports also come out that a new skyline is on the way.
And everyone's thinking like, oh, a new GTR is like, no, no, no, a new skyline.
I mean, maybe we'll get a GTR, but that further confirms a new infinity is coming
because the last two skylines were the G 35 and the Q 50.
So, you know, any news of a sedan is good news.
So let's say, and if it gets that three, five turbo, I'll take an infinity
sedan with 450 plus horsepower in rear wheels or all the wheels.
I mean, my analysis is like two words.
Hell, yes, you know, let's let's do this.
They made great sedans.
I remember like motor trend used to compare these things
with like three series in Mercedes and other things.
And the infinity would often very much hold its own.
I mean, this is like 15 years ago at this point.
Really good steering, really good chassis setups.
Once upon a time, Nissan Motorco did have some really prodigious engines
like that five, six V8.
I don't think they bring that back, but they know how to make a good sedan
and give it some power.
So I think right now there's openings in the sedan market.
You know, they it's not like your mainstream family car anymore,
but it could be this special thing that you market the certain enthusiasts.
So let's do it.
Let's try to see some more sedans.
I'm a big sedan guy.
Let's go.
And and with that new three, five turbo six, I mean, it makes sense, too,
because it's only in the Armada QX and it can't really go anywhere else
because they don't really have any of the rear wheel drive based vehicles.
I mean, the stairs coming and hopefully it goes there.
That'd be awesome.
I have that power in there.
But yeah, look forward to this.
Like we both said, sedans are awesome.
So that wraps up the news and reviews on the AutoGuy show brought to you by eBay Motors.
We will be taking a bit of a longer break.
And then Greg and I will be back to cover everything that Kyle's been
covering for us at the Tokyo Mobility Show or Salooner, whatever the official name
as I always get it wrong.
And then column beyond to talk F1 and then I'll be back to wrap things up.
OK, so we are back in, you know what, as we get started here,
I think a theme of the show this year, which is fantastic,
is it's giving hope for people who like cars.
So many shows, especially this one, were like single pod transport.
Don't get me wrong, there's someone there and we're going to talk about them
or self driving, autonomous EV, this and that.
And here they're like, no, here's some really cool cars,
some performance cars and some way over the top luxury cars.
So I think it's sort of a reflection.
I think I don't think any of what I just said before that is not going to happen.
I think we just went a little too hardcore into it.
And now the industry is kind of balancing itself back out.
So it's healthy to see.
I mean, it's funny because the Tokyo show was originally almost
a little more of a mobility show.
Like I went to it like probably 10, 15 years ago and they were among
the first shows to really get into it besides like CES.
So yeah, let's talk cars though.
That's that's what's fun.
Yeah, I mean, it's right in the name.
So first up, we'll talk about the most probably relevant car
because it's the top selling vehicle in the world, the Toyota Corolla concept.
So it's interesting.
It has a very prius look to it, especially the front end.
And we've all talked about how much we like it.
And it seems to be the theme with these tiny, thin daytime running lights
and headlights kind of attached to them.
So I wouldn't be surprised if this is sort of the Corolla slash
camera styling direction going forward.
Crowns got a lot of it, too.
Yeah.
Will it look this sleek?
Who knows?
I mean, people think, oh, it's just a concept, whatever.
Well, look what they did with the Prius.
Like Toyota could totally 180 the Corolla.
And if you suddenly make the Corolla somewhat engaging
and really good looking for a car that already sells like crazy.
Now, that's going to sell more.
The concept, they didn't get into specifics on engine,
but there is a new family of engines coming.
There's going to be a one five and a two liter four cylinder
both paired to hybrid.
And this would most likely have the one five.
So I fully see the next Corolla.
Like it'll just be hybrid only.
Toyota's already kind of going that way selling the product.
So why not?
I mean, if there's one company that knows hybrids, it's definitely Toyota.
No, I mean, if they can make the next generation Corolla look like
even a fraction of this good, it's going to be really formidable.
And it could even remake that segment, you know, get people,
you know, more into this type, into compact cars.
I mean, honestly, that looks like the next gen McLaren from that angle.
If you look at the, you know, the front, the front fender
and the headlight kind of angle, it looks like a boomerang halo kind of thing.
And to your point, I think that kind of like light stripe
going across the grill, you're seeing it from like Hyundai, Tesla.
It's becoming more and more common.
And I think it's a really good look.
So Toyota keeps investing in Corolla's.
And I think it's they have a winner there and they know it.
So definitely they really went for it here.
It's funny how you're saying to re rejuvenate the segment or change it.
It seems like we're getting into this point
where we're getting these like transition cars,
which are called like almost crossovers, they have crossover styling
like the leaf, the Prius, this that are getting people like
here's here's a crossover looking vehicle, but it's it's lower to the ground
and it drives better and it's better or fuel economy like, oh, this is cool.
But it's just a car.
So maybe we'll start to get back that way.
We'll see.
Next up, we have the first of some cool concepts that came from Subaru.
And we really hope this isn't Subaru just teasing us
because they've done that plenty of times in the past of the concepts.
They bring out so many amazing concepts.
And then nothing comes of them or the road version of it
ends up being absolutely nothing like what the concept was.
This one's different, though, because this first one,
it is the Performance B STI concept.
It is a hatchback STI concept, basically, which yes, hatchback,
which is awesome because the STI lost that a long time ago.
The thing with this is this isn't an over the top
non-interiors shell of a concept study like they do a lot of times.
This really looks like an impressive hatchback that's currently sold
with wide bodywork, hood scoop, which is kind of cool and a two-toned hood,
I think with carbon, huge wing on the back in blue with the right wheels.
Like it looks almost production ready, which is not a Subaru thing.
Like I said, they usually don't go this production close.
So I don't know if this is a testing the waters
or maybe they are going to bring it back.
The most curious thing has always been how do they bring an STI back?
I make it live up to the name because they don't have an engine that can do it.
Like they're two four turbos, cool.
But I don't think it's capable of getting to like 350, 400 horsepower,
which is almost where I need to play now.
But if they have convinced Toyota to give them a little more hybrid
bits and pieces of know how and you have that engine
with 100 horsepower electric motor stuff between it and the transmission,
then maybe getting somewhere.
So let's hope this isn't just a study because it's so
it looks like it could go on sale tomorrow.
So yeah, no, I agree.
I think some of that bodywork is a little over the top.
It's very like STI.
It even reminds me a bit of some of those kind of crazy civic type R concepts.
But if you're going to do this, you got to do that.
You know, you really need to dial it up.
I personally think a hatch for this would be I mean, just great for guys like you and me
who would like to see this come back and kind of run the focus of what that is.
To your point, though, how many like STI like like concepts has super rolled out?
It's almost like when Audi rolls out another e-tron concept, you're like, OK,
sure, what do you do with this one?
Something else called an e-tron, another STI from Subaru.
Really? No way.
So I would love to see them do something like this, though.
Like you made a good point about the civic type R.
Like the rear wing is a little ridiculous and it wouldn't be that big,
but they're really showing a rally.
But a lot of the way the fenders are in bits and pieces and exhaust and all that,
I see a lot of G.R. Corolla, a lot of civic type R.
And they're doing OK for those brands.
So I hope this isn't a Subaru being like, hey, like we could do this, too,
as opposed to, hey, maybe we should get back here.
So we'll see.
I'm not going to be overly optimistic and hopefully be pleasantly surprised.
There you go.
And speaking of STI concept, there's another one, too.
And this one is more of the out there left field dramatic concept.
And that's the performance E STI concept.
And this is an all electric take on what an STI could be.
And it's got the usual Subaru concept with this super sleek body.
Looks great, huge, half gold wheels.
It's got the blue and everything like this is sort of what I more
expect from the company is this.
They'll say this is sort of like styling direction in the future.
And they'll take little elements and bits of pieces,
but the cars will actually look like this.
But there's been rumors forever that there could be an all electric
STI ice.
I personally still don't think that's going to happen.
But at the same time, you now have this 336 horsepower
electric platform that's going to be in even the the uncharted.
Is that the small one?
Yeah.
And in the Solterre and in the Trailseeker.
And the uncharted looks smallish.
So imagine you put that.
Imagine you just basically take that but put a car body on instead
and finagle the electrons because it's not hard to do and make it
suddenly for the horsepower.
OK, maybe as crazy as sounds, this is the more
not realistic, but this is potentially the easier to do than the other one,
even though this looks crazier.
So who knows?
I mean, this right here is why I like got into cars,
like going to car shows as a kid and seeing the crazy concepts
and just wishing they would build that.
I love everything about how this thing looks from the wheels
to those back fender flares to the front end.
It I mean, I think it looks sweet.
This is why we like cars right here.
It's interesting because you wonder with like it seems like
the the electric market is receded a little bit.
You wonder if there is like even the market before would have been pretty niche.
Is there even less of one?
You know, because you're talking about this like niche electric performance,
like, you know, Puma shoe of a race car sports thing.
I don't know, but this is actually if we're doing awards,
I would give this votes for maybe best in show.
I really like this thing.
Yeah, the WX always outsold the estate, obviously price and accessibility
and it had an automatic, but the WX still sells pretty well.
So I really think the estate was killed more due to not financial constraints,
but just what it would have taken to get a proper powertrain
that was worthy of the name ready to go.
Like, I don't think they killed it just because the car wasn't doing well.
It's just a dollar and cents thing, a company to bring two STI concepts
like this to an auto show.
It's one of two things.
It's the really exploring about getting into a performance again.
And hey, maybe they'll take the performance ease drivetrain
and put it in the performance B's body because that could work.
Or it's the manufacturer trying to get attention.
Like things aren't great.
And it's like, hey, remember I passed this and that.
But I mean, like Subaru sales, they keep breaking records.
It's not like they're in trouble.
So it's not like some other Japanese companies
that won't name that keep rolling out concepts using some historic names
from the past that are just like, hey, look at us still, we're still here.
So we'll see.
I think it's it's also like the Tokyo Mobility Show.
I think sometimes Subaru, like, you know, you want to put out
your best foot forward on your home show, like the Detroiters do it.
In Detroit, you see like when Frankfurt was a bigger show,
sometimes still with Munich, the Germans will show up.
It's almost like this is not the show for you to kind of like
roll out your, you know, next decade business plan
with the market guy nobody's heard of and call it a day.
This is one where you got to roll out two concept cars
and try to control the new cycle.
So I think Subaru is going for it here, which is a good thing.
And the more I'm looking at the other like the pre the performance B,
the previous, the gas one and the amount of detail
and work put into it for it to just be a concept when you're using an existing car.
Like, I'm also wondering if this isn't ever planned to be a road car,
but maybe this is going to be a rally cross car
or they still do North American rally and the STI has been dead for so long.
They kind of need they're using the WX, but almost need something new.
So I wonder if it's going to be like a motorsports car.
Who knows?
Formancy could be the new GT 300 car, although the BRZ is pretty cool.
I can see it.
I think they hey, we're throwing some ideas out here.
Free advice from the AutoGuide podcast.
Yeah, with unlimited pockets, just do it.
So Lexus and Toyota have confirmed what we all knew for months.
It's nice to hear from the manufacturer 100 percent confirmation
that is there is a twin turbo V8 engine coming.
And it sounds like it will be tuned different depending on application.
So my thinking is it'll have more power, be more frantic and temper,
not temperamental, but just peaky in whatever Toyota sports car goes in.
And then Lexus version will be sort of like their current V8s
and V6 is just very smooth and tuned for performance and refinement.
It's coming from the same family as that one five two liter we talked about earlier.
So there's a good chance this turbo V8 is also going to be hybrid.
And I just wonder, is it going to be like a little four liter?
I mean, four liter, four four, that's a German size forever.
And if it's a two liter kind of times two, it makes sense.
And it would fit in more applications, I think.
So yeah, it's.
Any time you hear there's a new V8 and a twin turbo one is a good day.
So yeah, this is yeah, I think Toyota is it's interesting
because they really, I mean, have long had like a very strong V8.
You know, if they've put in different Lexus products and they've kind of stayed
with it, even as that engine has aged, but a twin turbo, to me,
puts them almost in a different sphere like they're trying to compete with,
like, OK, not literally McLaren, but I mean, that's the neighborhood
you're like kind of hanging out in as far as who's making big V8s with twin
turbo power BMW to your point, the four four liter that, you know,
BMW's had for forever and they could do a lot of things with this for like,
you know, maybe this gets us back into some like Lexus LFA type supercar.
Who knows? But when you're going to make this engine, you're certainly not,
you know, investing all this time and resources to have it sit on the shelf.
So, you know, we'll see more, more power to them quite literally.
I wonder if Toyota enthusiasts would lose it if the next car was called Supra.
The same people complain as much as the BMW, but now it would be fully Toyota
but not as a V8 sort of in line.
So I don't know, I'm sure they'll get a different name, like the 2000 GT,
if this is a four liter, like 4000 GT, something like that would be kind of cool.
But I was going to say how you said they have the history of the V8,
like that V8 didn't save the company.
It was fine, but it really transformed it to the next level.
And that V8 started going in the Lexuses in the early 90s and the Toyota trucks
eventually, yeah, it was a big deal.
I was literally just going to say, throw this thing in the tundra.
I mean, that could really, it's not going to flip the field in trucks
because nothing ever does.
But I mean, maybe you grab some incremental sales for people who are interested in that.
You could certainly do some things here to really create interesting halo products
up and down your lineup.
And, you know, right now, again, like the Hemi is basically an old engine.
It's not this new thing.
Like the newest Stalantis engine is like the Hurricane family we're talking about.
And you're not seeing a lot of new V8s.
And hey, this is borderline exotic territory.
So let's let's go to your point.
The tundra makes total sense.
But I think even more is the Lexus, like you want to have real left sports
or just real F models is you put this into the LX, the GX,
maybe even put it in the forerunner and get like a TRD forerunner,
I don't know, desert runner or something.
Like what's there is a lot of places you could shove this in.
Tacoma X runner come back with a 500 horsepower.
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Moving on to Mazda, we haven't talked about them in a while.
And you won't believe this, Greg, but it's news about a Mazda concept
having a rotary engine.
No, no way.
So they actually unveiled two concepts.
They are called, what was it, the vision concepts, I believe.
And there's the Vision X Coupe and the Vision X Compact.
I think it's how they positioned it.
So the, we'll start with the coupe because that's the cool one.
So it is a big two-door car, but it's kind of got a bit of,
it's like a CX-70 with the roof chopped.
And again, it goes to my point of we're making like these now transition
like true crossover vehicles that are like trying to warm people back up to cars.
It's like, it's kind of SUV, but you know, it's lower in sporty.
But the big news is it has a twin rotor hybrid system under the hood
that makes 500 horsepower, can do almost 200 K on electric power
and then like 800 on total.
It's what we've been hearing for, I'd say at least a decade
that if the rotary came back, it wouldn't be a power plant.
It would be more of a generator for electric.
And that's what it sounds like here.
And done right.
I know those engines, everyone complained about the fuel economy.
I own one, I know, but they seem to, it was like, it's weird.
If you drove it softly or if you drove it hard,
the fuel economy didn't seem to matter much.
So if you, if Mazda could find a way to a certain size to RPM, optimize it.
It could actually be a official little thing.
I mean, our conventional four cylinder makes way more sense
because this is technology that's had its issues, let's say, over the years.
But it's also the packaging is incredible.
So you can really just shove it in a vehicle like this and not see it.
So rotary or not, make this thing.
Did you see the horsepower, 503 horsepower?
That's insane.
Ninety nine miles of electric driving.
I mean, total range, almost almost 500, 497.
These are like, like PlayStation numbers.
Like they don't even seem real.
So that's, it's the specs are impressive.
It's a coupe.
They're calling this like kind of a coupe preview thing,
but honestly, see a little bit of like a way they could take like a Mazda three
or something if they wanted to and make it kind of riff off of this.
And, you know, it's yet again, another iteration of Kodo.
I guess to be perfectly honest with you,
I feel like I've written about this concept every two or three years
since about 2010, because it feels like they roll out a rotary concept
with Kodo design language that is either a coupe or a coupe like styling.
It's just the same playbook.
They just kind of keep rolling it.
Rotary does have so much like, you know, cash for the Mazda base.
And again, this sounds like it could maybe be practical,
but they never really seem to like make it pay the rent.
So I don't know.
I guess I'm always a little cynical about these.
Yeah, they always this is like the long rumored rear drive
sedan platform and it's kind of evolving.
But one day Mazda or Mazda is just going to make something and surprises.
But I don't know if this is it.
And then the other one that could easily happen is the compact
and that isn't rotary powered or anything.
It's just I would say it's more of a stylistic preview of the future.
And again, it's like they both have that with the new Kodo styling.
It seems like they have the running lights are almost like fangs down below the headlights,
which is cool, because normally has that.
And I can imagine it would give a very distinct signature.
And it's a very compact little thing.
I don't think this is what the new three would look like.
It's a little too upright and whatnot.
But maybe this is the styling direction for the next CX 30 and the CX family in general.
So these are probably out of everything we've talked about so far,
the least likely to really go on production.
But it's just Mazda kind of, I think, experimenting with new style.
And I bet that light signature might be what we get out of these.
Although 500 horsepower hybrid rotary.
So, yes, same.
It's also kind of like the Acura ZDX.
Do you see that? Am I crazy? You seeing that there?
I don't know. That's kind of my.
Yeah, just on there.
So.
All right, well, we are moving along here, almost wrapped up.
We go back to Toyota Lexus and we've talked about this before.
And it was the Century Coupe, which we said back in the day,
was going to target Rolls Royce and Bentley.
And now they've rolled it out in the flesh,
in the sheet metal, I guess, for people to look at.
And it's sort of what we thought.
It's a giant, another one of these, it's not really a car
and it's not really an SUV.
It's this big backwards opening two door Coupe door thing,
which screams of Rolls Royce like this.
This could have been a Rolls if it had a different badge,
which it has like Genesis like headlights, which is kind of like.
But yeah, if you're going after Rolls
and you suddenly have a new twin turbo V8,
that's probably also going to have a hybrid.
This is the kind of vehicle I think you start with.
It's not going to sell much, but it's a halo.
It's if you want a whole new brand called Century,
that's going to be above Lexus, then got to make a statement.
So I definitely see the Genesis in here.
It kind of looks like a Franken car, if I'm being honest.
Like I generally I'm here for the concepts and just like crazy design.
This is pretty wild.
It's also got kind of a weird like stance.
Like it almost has like the vibe of like a rally car.
At least that's how it looks in the pictures,
because it's a little higher than you might expect.
But I mean, we're talking about it.
And if Century is going to really become a thing,
you got to make people talk about it.
So I mean, it's it's tricky because we've seen Cadillac.
They ruled out that they have that limited edition
sort of program with that enormous thing.
It's tricky, even when you're Cadillac,
like you say what you want about Cadillac,
but literally if you say the Cadillac of whatever,
most traps, putting whatever, it's still the Cadillac of.
It's not anything else.
It still has all that brand recognition,
but you see how hard it is for what they're doing.
And then so I'm still a little cynical,
but Toyota is going to really ever get great get traction
with the Century brand here.
I think it's there's a lot that you got that goes into it.
Maybe they'll make some cool cars,
but even Mercedes with my box kind of rolled it back into being a trim level.
I don't know.
I feel like there's just like the opportunity to make more money
off your luxury products is is there in theory,
but it feels like car makers haven't really been able to capture that.
Yeah, like your point with my box and some others,
they're almost seem like there wasn't enough separation,
like Mercedes S class AMG was so up there already,
like how much can you go?
Whereas with Lexus, I've always felt recently
they're not really going after the Germans like they used to some segments
they do, but they're really sort of they're playing in their own little world
where they're better than the premiums, but not in the
I wouldn't say not full luxury, except luxury,
but they're going more for like comfort luxury
as opposed to the performance luxury that a lot of the other big brands do.
So there is a there's definitely a ceiling and a gap between there
and this high one and Toyota being Toyota.
I mean, if they are very serious about Century and creating this brand,
I mean, if they give it the the Lexus treatment when they first came out,
like if this thing comes out quieter than a Bentley or Rolls Royce
with like 700 horsepower twin turbo V8 hybrid system
and like just go nuts with everything.
And it's buttoned together with like the world like concrete.
It's so well put together.
They could start something.
But I think I think again to your point, if they want to do this,
it's it's a long play and you got to be willing to lose money
probably for the next decade as you get the name out there before you start
making it back. And I mean, Genesis, they did that.
They started with the sub brand within the brand and they made a brand.
And now I feel they're pretty established with car people,
but maybe not the regular public, but they've been they keep going at it
like they've been pushing it.
So it 10 years is not that long in the car business and it's it's expensive.
But I mean, if you can stand something up, well, then then you have, you know,
and you've got pardon the pun, but then you have a brand for the next century.
So I mean, maybe if you're Toyota and you're on good financial footing,
this is a reasonable play.
I think it's some of the other companies that go down this road.
It's more questionable.
But if they can pull this off, it probably makes a good deal of sense for them.
Yeah.
Yeah, you're going to say I can't really disagree.
But our next story can basically throw everything we said out the window
because it has a group of concepts that are they're all called the LS.
And it's like the LS family now.
So there's like, oh, Lexus is going to make a top tier model lineup.
So now you're like, well, now where does this go with Lexus and Sentry?
It's like Toyota's just like looking at the automotive landscape and saying,
hey, there's a couple of parts we're not in.
Let's let's try everything.
So the LS family has a bunch of vehicles and we'll start with the one
that we saw the picture of.
And that is the six wheel super van, which I am still a giant fan of.
If it's like weight, if it's Rolls-Royce luxury in a massive seven or eight person van.
I mean, I was just in Mercedes Vans in Europe this week.
And I forgot how nice a proper luxury van that's a lot of spaces
because we don't have that too much here.
Like we get our people shuttles or we get SUVs, but we don't have the middle.
So this is obviously not happening.
Lexus isn't making a six wheel van, but it's sort of a design study.
And then they have the LS coupe, not coupe, sorry, crossover,
which is a coupe over, basically.
It looks like just a big RZ to me.
And that's sort of what it is.
And then there's the, what do I call it, the LS micro concept,
which is basically a personal super luxury pod, which is actually really cool
because these personal pods are always like a plastic seat in like a cardboard box
that's going to drive you around.
Whereas this is like full Lexus treatment in this like cocoon of luxury that drives you around.
So, yeah, I don't know.
None of this is being built, but I don't know what they're trying to prove here.
Like there's there's some style or philosophy they're trying to get at.
But it's it's cool.
Like maybe that's it.
I kind of like the Lexus catamaran concept too.
If you're talking Lexus concepts from this, I don't know.
I, this to me felt a little bit like they were almost trying too hard.
Reminds me of like when Volkswagen would like they would do group night at like, you know,
in German or Swiss auto show, and they just had to do all this stuff
because it was ostensibly like a home show and like Ferdinand Pieck was there.
And they like, they just had to do it this way.
And I don't know, this feels almost like you're trying a little too hard
because you've got it really flex at your home show.
I did like the van, though.
If I got to pick one from these, sure, yeah, the van.
That's the one I'd go with.
The sports coupe things pretty sweet, too.
Yeah, I'm I tell you what, though.
I'm done with the mobility pods.
I'm just like, don't show me any more of these concepts.
I am so over these things.
It's so 2015.
Like, we're not all riding around like the Jetsons.
Like, just like, no, like, as the kids would say, it's like, brah.
No, like, just no, thank you, you know, like, if you're making one to be
like a really fancy mobility scooter, you know, like those ones that have
the full body so you can drive them in like, cool.
But that's not a car, not a car show car.
But I feel like Lexus and you've been on these events as much as I have
when a luxury brands like they get into all this like way out there
thinking about what their brand's supposed to evoke an emotion.
And what's its influences in essence?
It's kind of this feels like it's like, this is what the core philosophy
of understanding and whatever Lexus is.
And this is like how we envision it.
It's like, these aren't cars.
Like, just just show us real things.
But anyway, I don't know, so I'm with that.
So that wraps up what we've so far covered at the auto show over there in Tokyo.
We will take a quick break and I'll be back with Colin to talk F1.
And then I'll be back at the end to sort of wrap things up.
All right, welcome back.
It has been a week off for me and it's been quite the two weeks, I guess,
in the world of Formula One, but we have Colin Woodback to talk Formula One.
And hey, look, there is a new leader, which when this plays is already a week
old news wise, but I don't think we saw this coming.
We talked about possibilities and if someone collapse, but there's been no collapse.
It's just Lando's been chipping away and Max chipping away too.
And I still think Max winning is far fetched, but grab second
if one of the two guys falls down.
I think it's further fetched than it was before actually the Mexico weekend
because it just didn't work.
And like the pace, I mean, you said nobody fell apart.
I feel like Piastri is really just like where the heck has he been?
Like he's been like a guy who was, he's won like, what I don't know,
with 30% of the races this year and he was like just dominating some races,
just qualifying ninth or sixth.
He seems just like lost and Lando just, holy crap.
Like that last race, yeah, he won by like 30 seconds just in a different league, right?
It's amazing.
It's funny you say loss is like how many guys out there like love if they keep
qualifying sixth to ninth and finishing like fourth and sixth.
But yeah, like what I meant by fall apart is like we thought someone's car
would break or they'd crash and then I would have like a 20 point swing.
But it hasn't.
It's been a couple of weeks.
If yes, you're just being ordinary for the car he's in and Lando actually
I think exceeding his car and Max has been exceeding his car, well, for five years.
But recently for sure, like the competitive he has, although I think Red Bull has done
something to fix their car because Sinod has been in the mix too in the last couple of races.
Yeah, he's been doing way better.
Yeah, overall, I actually felt like the Mexico race is one of the best races I've seen in forever.
It was like things were going on.
There was some crazy chaos at the start.
There was chaos going all over the place.
And then just the fact that like the whole, I mean, the virtual safety car at the end,
which kind of creates some chaos and just the fact that Max was like chasing down
Charles like, you know, it was getting closer and closer and closer.
And it was actually because so many times you see this happen in the race
because the announcers talk it up and they say, oh, you know, it's, you know,
however many seconds off and he's taking three tenths a second every lap.
And you kind of look up at the numbers and you think he doesn't have enough time to get in close.
And then even when they do, they're chipping it off, they either run out of laps
or they get to a point where their tires start to fall off and then they just stop catching.
And it becomes a non-event.
And this one actually, I mean, you know, we've got a virtual safety car.
So that kind of killed some of the fun of it.
But it was the race was interesting like the whole way through.
And I don't know that that ever happened.
Usually even in good races, there's like, you know, there's a cell of like 30 minutes
in the middle of where you're like, yeah, I could just go to the bathroom now
because we're in tire saving mode or something.
Yeah. No, I'm glad you just talked about the end of the race time thing.
So I was trying to do that too.
Like he's taking off seven tenths.
It's like, yeah, but when he gets to the guy, he's going to have tires that are now worn, dirty air,
a guy blocking him.
Like it's not like you just, it's you're going to foregone passing.
Yeah, it was funny.
So I'm going to say that virtual safety car is funny because
some people are like, oh, like it hurt Max.
And others are saying it hurt Piastri because he was catching bearman.
He was never catching bear.
He's never passing bearman.
So I think it benefited him more by Max not passing Charles
and getting even closer to him for second place.
And yeah.
Yeah, no, absolutely, absolutely.
It was, yeah, it was great.
I wish we got more races like that.
And I guess up next is your favorite race, Sao Paulo.
So I love that track.
Yeah.
I, and so back to how Lando's now on first, like I've said on the show,
like I like Lando, I like Costco too.
Like McLaren's my team.
I just always liked, I don't know.
I just always liked McLaren since I was younger.
I think the F1 like printed imprinted me in my teenage years forever.
And I like the papaya colors and they just seem like Zach's sort of taking it or leave it.
But the drivers seem like both just regular guys, which is nice.
And I like that I don't know why I don't want to blame everything on Christian
Horner, but Max seems so much more like just a regular guy that he like always has been.
Recently, like someone took like this restraints off him and let him just be maxed
or maybe he put too much pressure on himself.
But like, yeah, you know, it's nice to see like,
for the most part, got good personalities all on F1.
But back to the points.
I really hope Lando stretches it out in the next couple of races.
Because you already have the conspiracies of he's getting the better parts.
If the team's not supporting Oscar, then like legitimately there were those times
where they had them swap places because of whatever.
And I know we've got a couple more points that maybe he shouldn't have off Oscar.
So stretch it like 20 points and then all that can go away.
But if he wins by like two points, sort of like Max beating Hamilton all those years ago,
you'll never hear the end of it.
No, my wife is a Hamilton fan and every time something comes up,
it's like about like safety cars or whatever.
And she'll just be like Abu Dhabi 2021.
She's like, she's not over it all these years later.
Speaking of stolen championships.
So there we go.
Good segue.
So this is the Felipe Massa.
I've talked about this before that he's basically contesting his world championship.
He's not actually contesting, I think that he should win.
He's basically saying that he should have won.
And therefore he should be getting a bunch of money from the FIA is the gist of it.
So, so yeah, this whole week he was in court in England basically arguing it was a pretrial.
So they're basically the judge can determine if there's enough evidence to warrant a trial.
So that is all wrapped now.
There was a lot of, you know, this goes back to the crash gate thing where
basically that skewed the points, although it's funny the judge in defense of the FIA
basically came out and said, you couldn't beat Hamilton over a full year.
That's not our fault, right?
Like it's not one incident that is the reason you don't have the points to be the world champion that year.
It's because over an entire season you came across this Hamilton at his peak and you couldn't do it.
So, and that's a pretty strong argument, right?
I've watched some of this too and I know there's some shenanigans here and there.
And but like, yeah, would it have changed anything?
I don't know.
I won't be surprised if this doesn't go anywhere, especially because it's in a British courtroom.
And there's some, you know, like you just feel like the Brits are like,
you weren't going to beat P. Hamilton anyway.
So let's just stop talking with this nonsense.
Well, I have one comment to make on that a sec.
But do you think about the judge's response if you can beat him all year?
Like my sport, I love F1, but my big sports baseball and I'm guilty.
You don't say like, you don't say it.
And I try not to, I try to not do this because I know they're ridiculous.
But you'll hear like, oh, that umpire, like that strike call ruined the game for them.
Or that guy couldn't get the big hit in that one moment.
And it's like they had eight other innings that they could have scored runs and they did not.
It's not, that's the one that was the final deciding factor,
but they put themselves in the situation for eight innings.
So yeah.
And over the course of a whole season, a race, a game, a year, whatever,
there will be eds and flows and sometimes you'll win.
Sometimes you'll lose.
Actually, it's funny, they asked Max at the end of that race with the virtual safety car.
And they actually asked him about how, you know, doesn't that suck?
And he said, well, you know, in the past safety cars have been to my advantage.
So, you know, you got to kind of take them, take the wins where you can.
And, you know, don't, don't get too upset about the losses.
So yeah, you're right.
Like overseas in any sport, there's going to be victories you get that you had no business
getting.
And there's going to be losses where it looked like, like you should have easily won and you blew it.
So I'm just running with masses.
This is a principle of stick it to the FIA at a principle.
Or is it someone didn't manage their money well enough and they
didn't need more money.
Well, is he?
Oh, no, it's Barrichello who's racing in the NASCAR series and in the result.
That's different.
So, but, but yeah, I don't know what's up with, with Massa.
I, I, I'm sure he's upset.
He could have been there.
He's suing for what comes down to, I want to say it's 64 million British pounds.
So I don't want to change today.
No, it's not the FIA, but I'm sure it is.
Yeah.
Yeah.
The FIA can just throw that around anywhere.
So, so we'll see.
I'll, I'll keep you updated if it becomes an actual court case or not.
I'm sure if it does, it'll get juicy, but I predict it goes nowhere.
All right.
Yeah.
So do I.
All right.
Moving on.
We have some Colopinto news.
Yeah.
So the rumor has it and I, I have to say it's unsubstantiated.
I don't know where this came from that the Colopinto will be extended and
the some interviews with Flavio Preatory.
He basically said he was satisfied with his performance.
That's not a glowing, you know, sort of comment from your boss.
But I mean, I think we've seen him, Gasly, the car is terrible.
They're way at the back.
You know, it, new drivers not going to change anything right now.
Maybe that's a bigger admission that right now it's, if you went out and
brought in somebody else, they're, you know, they're going to be, oh,
instead of being one place behind Gasly, there'll be one place in front of Gasly.
Big well, right?
Yeah.
Like Gasly's had some flashes of hope through the season where he's up there.
Colopinto has it so much, but I mean, you know, for a guy that was cut and then
got back in a different team and looks like he's getting extended good for him.
But yeah, like you said, it's basically the team's like, well, you know what,
there's no one else around.
So let's just stick with this guy.
He's, he already knows where the trailer's parked and we know what kind of
meals he likes and we have, we have a size fitted for his suit.
So let's just keep it.
And you have to think that if all the teams who have given up on development
this year already, it's Alpine, right?
Like they're even using a different engine next year.
You know that they, they couldn't give two craps about the rest of the season.
They're just like, yeah, we're last at the end.
I don't think Alpine or Kickstarter gave up on this year.
I think they gave up last year.
This is just the, let's just wait till the, till next year when we have our new,
new names or new engines or new everything.
Although Kicks Hoppers have some decent finishes.
The one team that I'm surprised, they're suddenly getting very competitive.
And another one I thought would have given up a way to lecture is Haas.
Like I was saying earlier, like Bairman, like they're in the top 10 consistently,
both of their drivers.
I totally agree. Haas has been a huge surprise.
So maybe it's because they need to get some attention before Cadillac shows up
next year and anybody who cheered on Haas as the American team is now like
going to go shoot over to Cadillac.
So maybe.
All right.
So let's move on to our last story of the week.
Oh, and that's, it's a red light.
The rumor has it that there will be a launch date for their new car on January 15th.
And it's going to be in Detroit.
So they're going to do it with, because Ford is there.
Interesting.
Yes.
Because Ford is their new engine partner.
So they're going to debut.
Is it?
No, they'll do their own thing for sure.
But yeah, January 15th is the date.
It's funny because it's not called NAIS anymore, right?
Detroit Auto Show 2036.
There you go.
We're both Googling at the same time.
14th to 25th.
Yeah.
The media date would be then be the like 12th or 13th though, right?
So I think it'll be just, it sounds like it'll be just after the auto show.
Which is also very interesting because you'd think you'd do it just before.
It's going to be hard to get attention during.
But besides all that, I thought this was for having that crazy gala thing we did last year
going forward where everyone shows their cars together at once now.
Is that already dead?
I don't know.
I can't remember.
I'm not sure it was all that successful.
I remember Max said something about it.
He wasn't even going to show up.
So maybe they do that too.
I don't know.
But there's always the potential that they show their car here,
but they don't show their livery till another event.
You know, they always like to tease everything out.
And knowing Red Bull, it'll look identical to the year before their livery anyway,
because they never get terribly creative with that.
So yeah, it'll be interesting.
So we'll, uh, uh,
So just down the road, I dug into it deeper.
Media and industry days are the 14th and 15th.
Charity previews the 16th and the publics on the 17th.
So if they're going back to a double media day, like four might be like,
you know what 15th is just us.
It's just going to be our cars in Red Bull.
So there's a good chance.
And then Robin Thicke apparently plays a concert on the 16th for some reason,
a Canadian at the whatever.
Yeah.
So maybe they'll do their own event.
Like they've done.
Yeah, off site.
But then the car will be at the show,
which I would totally get because Ford will want that car front center on their display
to show everyone and, you know, get interested in the brand and F1.
So I like that.
Coincidence.
It's the 15th.
Like the can't be Ford F1 and Ford passenger car.
Both just are like, we'll pick this date randomly.
Like there's, there's a reason that they're doing the 15th.
So yeah, they want to exploit the hell that they're like,
they're spending a ton of money.
They want to make sure, uh, you know, they got the, you know,
Ford max for staff in Red Bull conversation going everywhere in the world.
Hopefully sell a few more.
I don't know.
And on there.
No, F1 50s.
On the other side is F1 50s in the world.
That's what they want to do.
I could also see the auto show being like,
we'll give you your entire day because if this is true, it's like,
well, I guess I'm going to the auto show now.
And that's what the auto show wants.
Right.
So I could see it being a partnership on all fronts.
Good point.
Yeah.
I still think Ford will do it independently,
but the auto show would give them anything
because nobody cares about that auto show anymore.
So no, I agree.
They'll have an independent launch,
but then I think the car shows up for the public.
Oh, yeah.
Time will tell.
Well, we'll see.
Yeah.
Not much time.
That's like, is it crazy?
It's like three months away.
It feels like it's so far out there.
It's actually two and a half months away.
It is two and a half.
Yeah.
Jeez.
All right.
Well, on that depressing note, the winter's coming
on the auto guy show.
Right.
D-Bay motors.
We'll talk to you next week.
Call them and yeah, it's going to be a fun end of this season.
Like one of the most fun ends I think we've had in a while.
And then we're going to have the craziest off season in a while.
So this, it's a good time to be around F1.
It is.
It is.
I'm stoked for the next race.
So we'll talk soon.
All right.
Talk to you later.
Say it.
All right.
So that just a bit wraps things up for the auto guy show this week.
As I mentioned, Kyle's in Japan.
He is at the auto show there,
getting us tons of coverage and he's been there all week.
So that's been his week.
He hasn't driven anything.
Next week, he's actually still there to finish up his trip.
So once again, he will be Carlos,
but he should be back to talk with me soon on the show.
This week, I too was on a trip.
I was in Italy for most of the week with Lamborghini, which is amazing.
It was a ton of fun.
Lots of details on that trip will come out down the road.
I was not driving anything this week because I was in Italy.
But next week, I will have the FIA 500E Giorgio Armani,
which I'm looking forward to just to see how it differs from the regular 500E.
It's going to be just style wise,
but hey, maybe it'll feel just a little cooler special.
Who knows?
We'll find out.
But until then, this has been the auto guide show brought to you by eBay Motors,
and we will see you next week.
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About this episode
The latest episode dives into exciting automotive news from the Japan Mobility Show, featuring the Hyundai Elantra N TCR, a new turbocharged engine from Jeep, and an Infiniti QX80 concept with a GT-R engine. The hosts discuss the merits of the Elantra's TCR edition, the potential of Jeep's Hurricane engine, and the outrageous power of the Infiniti concept. The episode also touches on Subaru's STI concepts, Mazda's rotary hybrid, and the upcoming Lexus Century Coupe. Formula One discussions cover Lando Norris's rise, Felipe Massa's legal battle, and the upcoming Red Bull launch event.
Alcantara steering wheel
carbon fiber adjustable wing
EcoBoost
EVO
Hemi
horsepower
Hurricane engine
inline six turbo
Stellantis
STI
Acura ZDX
Audi e-tron
Buick Century
Chevrolet Suburban
Chrysler Pacifica
Dodge Charger
Fiat 500e
Ford F-1
Ford Flex
Ford Mustang
Ford Ranger
Honda Civic
Hyundai Elantra
Infiniti G35
Infiniti QX60
Infiniti QX80
Jeep Cherokee
Jeep Gladiator
Jeep Grand Cherokee
Jeep Wrangler
Lexus LFA
Mazda CX-70
Mercedes-Benz S-Class
Nissan Juke
Nissan Leaf
Nissan Skyline
Subaru BRZ
Toyota Corolla
Toyota GR Corolla
Toyota Prius
Toyota Supra
Toyota Tundra
Original notes
This week Mike and Greg discuss all the latest news from the 2025 Japan Mobility Show in Tokyo. We have new concepts and debuts from Toyota, Lexus, Mazda, Subaru, and much more.
Mike also discusses his drive of the 2025 Hyundai Elantra N TCR Edition. We take a look at the latest news which includes a new rear-wheel drive Infiniti, the crazy QX80 R Edition, and a new engine for the Jeep Grand Cherokee.
Finally, Colum joins us to discuss the latest Formula 1 news and rumors, and then Mike takes a look at what's next.
The AutoGuide Show
By AutoGuide.com
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