The Straight Shift with The Car Chick Mar 18, 2026

Life Update + The Straight Shift Podcast Pause

Annotations will appear as you listen

0:00

1:45

Term

tariffs

Tariffs are extra taxes that countries put on things they buy from other countries. For cars, this means imported vehicles can cost more because of these extra fees.

Term

EV pullback

EV pullback means that companies are slowing down how many electric cars they make or sell for a while.

Term

dealership markup

Dealership markup is when car sellers add extra cost on top of the car's price to make more money.

LIVE

Hey everyone, it's The Car Chick. I know you were expecting another episode of the

straight shift podcast today, but life has happened. My 80-year-old mother has

been diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia. That's a particularly nasty form

of blood cancer that given the particular type that she has and her

advanced age and other complications, it's not something that can be treated. So I

have moved in with her for the duration and she has been admitted into a

hospice and they will help me care for her here. But that means I'm not near my

podcast studio, which is at my house, and I need to focus on taking care of my

mother as she enters this final phase of her life. So the straight shift podcast

is going to be on hold for a few weeks. Now I don't want to just leave you guys

in a lurch because there's a lot going on in the automotive industry because

between tariffs and the EV pullback and we declared war on Iran. There's a lot of

crazy stuff going on and a lot of changes. So I always focus on the news

related items in my straight shift newsletter and that comes out the

opposite weeks that the podcast normally would. So if you're not already

signed up for the straight shift newsletter, you can go to my website,

TheCarChick.com and sign up for that. I am going to do my best to still get that

out twice a month so that you can keep up with what's going on in the industry

and how that's going to impact your wallet as a car buyer and car owner. But

don't worry, the straight shift is just temporarily parked in the garage. I

absolutely will be back behind the microphone as soon as possible and

until then, folks, drive safely and try not to fall for any dealership

bullshittery. I'm out of here for now.

0:00

1:45

Life Update + The Straight Shift Podcast Pause

tariffs

EV pullback

dealership markup

About this episode

Original notes