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Hello and welcome to The Auto Guide Show.
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This week we have some huge new debuts, Kyle and I drive some fun trucks, and Kyle drives
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All right, so for those of you watching, may notice that we have Greg with us again, but
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Kyle's also here and I'm here.
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So the three of us are going to cover all of the news and reviews because there's some
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big news this week, and instead of a guess, we'll just spend a little more time there
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and then I'll call them on later to talk F1 and we'll wrap it up with what's ahead.
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So welcome again, Greg and Kyle, nice to be back.
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We had Greg for the last two weeks subbing in for one of us.
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So now it just makes sense that the three of us are all together.
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Yeah, I was like, Colin and I too.
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We missed two weeks because of our vacation, so it's been a while and the whole crew's
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All right, so let's get started with easily the biggest news of the week is the much-anticipated
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Honda Prelude has finally officially fully been revealed and what do we think about
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I'll let you guys go first because I'm pretty positive on it.
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I know people are saying it's just a Civic Coupe, but I don't think so.
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I think it's more than that.
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If you expected Prelude styling cues, that wasn't going to happen.
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It looks like it should for a modern car, and even the Prelude itself completely changed
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every generation, so there's no precedent there.
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With Civic Type R pieces, it should drive phenomenally.
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The only thing I'll hold judgment till we drive it is the hybrid system is great
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I just hope it's in sport mode all the time.
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They've made it more eager, and then I don't think it'll be a big issue.
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I know people will bag on the electronic continuous transmission, but wait till you
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I'm actually cautiously optimistic too.
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I'm very intrigued to drive this.
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I think I give Honda a lot of credit for going down the Coupe route.
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Who else is doing stuff like that these days?
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I think the hybrid powertrain is going to be solid.
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Honda's done a good job with that.
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Of course, the Type R bits, I mean, yes, please, let's see what they can do.
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I think the interior, that's one of those I think you really have to see, feel, and
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touch and experience just to see, but Honda's been pretty solid with interiors for the
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last probably five or so years.
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I'm cautiously optimistic on this one.
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I'm leaning towards positive for it.
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I think, like Mike said, I think it looks fantastic.
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I did realize Canada is not getting the boost blue color that is in a lot of the hero photos.
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The press releases for that had photoshopped red ones.
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I find that interesting because this white and blue interior, I hope no one's going
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to expect it with a red exterior because that's a cursed combination, but I agree
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that it looks good inside and Honda's quality has been solid.
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And I think now is the time where a hybrid actually makes sense.
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If Honda would have brought back a prelude 10 years ago and said, oh, it's going to be
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hybrid only, I don't think it would really work with this idea of it being a grand tour.
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And now when you contrast it against something like the Civic Si, which is a more
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paired back sport compact that we're used to, or the Integra, which is a little
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more luxury focused, I think there is a small part of the market that this fits into nicely.
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The hybrid powertrain is great in the Civic.
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I don't feel bad missing out on the added interaction of a manual.
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And now that we're going to have this S plus shift feature, which will simulate shifts.
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I feel like that'll give people more of that flavor if they want it.
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I think this works.
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I hope the market reacts positively to it because I think it's a unique thing.
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Like you said, Greg, no one else is doing this.
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When the Civic coupe died, that was the last of the front drive coupes.
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So now we have one again.
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This reminds me a little bit of the Cherokee I saw a few weeks back where I think
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some of the real like hardcore base was maybe hoping for one thing.
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And then they got something a little bit, maybe not quite what they were hoping for.
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But I think Honda did a good job being like forward facing with this, you know,
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with with the hybrid, with the it's I think it's a good looking design.
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So I think it's, you know, just like the Cherokee fans didn't get a carbon
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copy of the old XJ, this is not, you know, the early 2000s or 1990s prelude.
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But I think they did what they had to do.
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They moved it forward.
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And I think that's a good thing.
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I think this whole, like any vehicle that comes out is fully
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going to be a successor failure, depending on price.
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If Honda prices it up around the type R, it's going to be an utter failure.
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But if they keep it closer to the side, because the prelude,
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the last gen prelude, at least it was this front wheel drive crazy
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handling performance car that could run with a lot of rear drive
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four and six cylinders of this time.
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So in my mind, this needs to be the front drive BRZ, basically.
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But if it's 10 grand more, it doesn't matter.
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So pricing is going to be a big factor.
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Yeah. And that was something interesting.
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Honda's PR sent a follow up email today about this.
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And while they're not telling us price yet, they did give us
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the Japanese pricing and then talked about the conversion as a way to just,
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you know, let us know roughly where it might fall.
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And with the conversion, it's 40 grand, 41.
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And that's tough, right?
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Because that's that's five grand above where the Integra starts.
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And I expected it to start above the Integra because this is more loaded.
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There is no base model.
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But I think this needs to start under 40 to really make a dent.
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Yeah, like you're playing in some high powered territory at that point.
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And again, the original period, the last period was kind of pricey,
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but it was equivalent.
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I mean, I guess like a fully loaded BRZ is around just under 40 now.
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But yeah, still, yeah, the Z Nissan Z isn't much higher than that.
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You're you're plenty well into EcoBoost Mustangs, if not up to GTs.
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I'm not saying you're going to I mean, Kali,
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I don't like to say these are cross shop,
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but the only things that you can think of that performance.
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Yeah, yeah, exactly.
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Like you get a very well trimmed GTI for that money.
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Right. And then you're getting into an interior
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that's just as nice quality, more powerful, just as practical.
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The the prelude obviously has the fuel economy advantage
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and maybe the handling advantage against its front drive competitors
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because it does have type R bits.
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So yeah, I'm I'm very curious if you can get a base Z
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with literally double the horsepower of a prelude for the same money.
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That's going to be tough.
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Although, then you're stuck in the interior of a Z.
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I think in this case, it's not like this is going to be used.
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Yeah, yeah, I mean, if you can stick a car seat back there,
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I think that's going to be that's going to be tricky.
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But you'll probably be able to get, you know, I don't know,
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a booster seat back there, pretty reasonable.
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So and that's truthfully probably not the market here, too.
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So I mean, it's it's going to be interesting, you know,
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especially you look at some of the figures, 200 horsepower
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is like exactly on the nose.
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What the old one did back almost 25 years ago,
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232 pound feet of torque, though, that's a torquey experience there.
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I mean, that's going to be, I think, pretty fun to drive.
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You know, it, you know, contextually, when you think back
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to like what 200 horsepower was in the year 2000 dish
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and then what it is now, I almost kind of wish, hey,
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maybe they could have added like 20 or 30 more just to like,
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you know, because 200 horsepower now is like, I mean,
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that's like an HR director's Camry or something, you know,
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that's nothing special, like, but 20 years ago it was.
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So it feels like they should have maybe goose it up a little bit
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just for, yeah, especially since this prayer
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that's going to carry like three, four hundred more pounds
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at least because just everything's heavier nowadays,
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plus the hybrid tax, so the the Japanese specs
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put this put this at 3200 pounds.
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So it's actually nicely light for a hybrid.
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That's not too bad because the prelude was just under three thousand.
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So that's only just over 200 pounds.
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So that's not that anyway.
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Let's move on because we got lost to talk about we do
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like the next big debut, which I mean, we are all
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children of the 80s and 90s that loved the prelude.
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So it was sort of more near and dear.
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But this is arguably the bigger deal.
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This is BMW trying to reinvent the brand's styling and sort of
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I wouldn't say they're their philosophy
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because they still want fun to drive.
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But the new IX3 is the first of the new way class A
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that has been teased six times before.
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But hey, it's finally here, kind of.
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It'll be produced later this year for Europe
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and we'll get it probably summer next year.
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So they already have an IX3 in Europe, not this one, just an old.
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Yeah, it was like, which is like the X3 all electric.
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But this is the first of the whole new thing.
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And I was in Germany to see it in person.
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There's a video you should check out on the YouTube page.
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I was, as we've been saying this whole podcast,
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positively optimistic about it.
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So basically, what will be the big power is coming out first.
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So it's just under 500 horsepower from the two electric motors.
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The way the electric motors and computers and everything
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and the battery, which is over 100 kilowatt hour usable energy.
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Everything is so much more efficient and requires less pieces
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and hopefully keeps weight down.
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The styling is growing on me.
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I think it's better than the current BMW styling.
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I know a lot of people don't like it,
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but they're purposely trying to look like the original new way
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class A from the 60s, which I think is kind of cool.
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And in person, that grill actually does kind of slant forward
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a bit at the top and the bumper exaggerates that look inside.
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There's so much space front and rear.
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Four adults are fitting in this thing,
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even though it's within an inch of the current X3 in every dimension.
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It's a little longer, a little shorter and sort of a little longer,
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a little lower the ground and a little less wide.
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The cool thing is like every car nowadays,
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it has a pillar to pillar screen.
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It's forty four inches, I think, and it's about two inches tall.
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But it's all 3D to a degree.
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So it looks like the stuff you're looking at in the screen
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is two feet further down than it really is.
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So it kind of gives you perspective
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where you can look at the road more than the info.
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And the touch screen allows you to customize what you see there.
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Sort of like Lincoln and Cadillac have.
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It has 3D augmented reality head up display.
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Couldn't really use it because it was stationary,
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but that's going to project something like 19 feet down the road.
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So it looks like where you're looking.
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You're actually seeing the stuff down there
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as opposed to having to look down at your little screen.
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So all the text there, like I said,
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it's built on an 800 volt architecture.
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I can charge a 400 kilowatt speed.
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I mean, good luck finding that charger anywhere.
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They'll come one day, but yeah, they're saying I could do
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I guess 300 something kilometers of range in 10 minutes
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if you have a 400 kilowatt architecture.
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So I mean, I got to touch and feel I'm impressed.
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What do you guys think?
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I think this is I kind of like the Noya
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Class A however you say it styling.
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I think it's BMW is, you know, they're not afraid to take risks.
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I like the kind of throwback grill.
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I think it's funny how divisive the grill is.
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We could do a whole show on the BMW grills,
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but they've actually really changed quite a bit over like the last,
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you know, their history.
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So I kind of like that they're doing this throwback,
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even though it's not a direct throwback.
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I think the clean styling looks good.
13:17
The electric architecture and range and everything sounds very promising.
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I like parts of the interior just looking at the pictures.
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And I know, Mike, you probably you did see it much more closer
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than I am just through pictures.
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I don't love cars that have that kind of like almost horizon
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like like visual display set up and then have that big screen
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just tacked on like the iPad.
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I much prefer like like Lincoln's where they do a pillar to pillar,
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but it's a bigger screen.
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Like if you're going to do it, go big.
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Don't give you that kind of like, you know, again,
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the way I describe it is almost like a horizon type setup.
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Like to me, that's just not as usable.
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I'm actually in a Mercedes right now.
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It's yes, it's the EQS and it's just screens,
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but it's all very more usable.
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I realize this is a different price point, different segment,
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but that's my soapbox on the different screen interfaces.
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So that's one thing I don't love about this.
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Maybe, you know, drive it be a little better.
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But overall, I think they're in a pretty good spot with this.
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I think, you know, BMW is still being aggressive here about like,
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you know, electrical architectures and try to, you know, advocate for that.
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And, you know, again, I like the design.
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So I think, you know, in fact, I think I like it
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more than many things BMW has done recently.
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I was just thinking the same thing, Greg,
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is from a styling perspective, these pictures, I really like this
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in a way that I haven't felt for a lot of modern BMWs.
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But to your point, they've the brand has taken a lot of swings
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and is not afraid to take risks in a way that the other German brands just don't.
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I mean, I guess Mercedes did with the EQS and we see how that went.
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But largely, I think BMW is the least conservative of the three.
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And this is a new look,
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but it really does feel old school influenced in the nose, especially.
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I think the proportions are good.
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It's interesting to me that it's so close to the X3
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because then I wonder if it's sharing a platform like a basic platform architecture.
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I know that the EV architecture is all new,
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but it seems strange since the X3 just debuted last year, right.
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And so I mentally I'm trying to make sense of that.
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But this all sounds promising.
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I like the look of the interior.
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The new steering wheel probably takes some getting used to.
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But I again, like that they're taking a chance
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and making a very interesting looking design.
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I I was very jealous that Mike got to do this
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because I've done multiple BMW trips that have led up to this,
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but not the actual Neue Klasse.
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And so like I remember experiencing that horizon screen at CES a few years back.
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There was the Neue Klasse X concept a year and a half ago.
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And I think BMW has been slowly building this, right.
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They have been getting us used to this idea.
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And I think this is the right thing for the market.
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The charging sounds super impressive.
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The range is great.
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I just wonder what's going to happen to the IX.
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This feels like it's nearly the same size, maybe not as fancy.
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It's going to start at a much more reasonable price range.
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But other than that, like I I don't know why you go with an IX anymore.
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I I X is our number, like I think there'll be an IX five down the road.
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Yeah, with the IX three and it'll be, you know, slightly bigger or something.
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Steering wheelie broad is interesting.
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It's crazy and the pictures don't show it, but it's only attached
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at the top and the bottom with this sort of almost like framework metal pieces.
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The pieces at the side are actually not connected to the wheelie.
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And that's where all the function buttons are.
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But everything fits where it should be.
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And it's one of those things that got used to using it.
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It would be fine, but it's not a not something that you'll just jump into.
17:23
But I think it'd be better than, say, the Mercedes, which has never been good.
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My experience, so yeah, I so size wise, it is way less
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cargo friendly than the X three.
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It's kind of soopy, so it kind of explains it.
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This is more of a it's like almost half the cargo when you put the seats down.
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It grows and it does have a two cubic foot frunk for, I don't know, tiny things.
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But BMW did say, well, I'm just looking back on my article
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to get the exact number, but they're going very aggressive.
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So 40 BMW models will have this technology by 27 so in two years.
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Now, that's not to say they'll look like this, but that new
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I drive and the horizon screens and all that, they're going to be everywhere soon.
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I would I would I just want to add to about this is what I really appreciate about
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BMW and I'm sure they gave the same messaging spiel to you, Mike, when you
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were there is they they see a holistic view, right?
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That I think makes a lot of sense.
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And I think car buyers would like to hear more of this.
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There is no one answer.
18:30
Like, yeah, they're they're moving towards electrification.
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And in Europe, there's a lot more electrification and their plugins run
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50 percent of the time on EV power, but they're reinvesting in hydrogen.
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They are still doing gas.
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They they see a diversified approach as the only way to make sense.
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And I I really appreciate that a brand is upfront and honest about that.
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Well, what's great is anything to add and move on to our next one.
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I think we're good.
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I think we hit that pretty hard.
19:03
So a complete different direction.
19:05
Kyle and I did a comparison, which wasn't really head to head.
19:09
It was more of a fun and it was about off-road fun.
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So we each grabbed a brand new pickup truck, sort of midsize, that we thought
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would be the most fun off-road ready truck.
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I will start with what I got.
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I grabbed the new Tacoma, the new Tacoma.
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The non-hybrid max, just the regular version, because it has a six-speed manual
19:31
option in the TRD off-road, the off-road is right in the name, so I'm good to go.
19:35
Yes, it's not the most off-road capable by far, but it's still got
19:39
decent tires and ground clearance, but I have a six-speed manual.
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Before we get into how it drives, Kyle, what did you bring?
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Oh, yeah, yeah, let's let's conveniently skip over how the six-speed manual drives.
19:50
Yeah, so I I brought the Jeep.
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I brought the Jeep Gladiator, the Willys.
19:59
I mistakenly thought that there was a six-speed manual still available for it.
20:03
That is not true as of 2025,
20:06
but it is the only convertible pickup out there.
20:10
So that earns it a whole lot of fun.
20:12
And I mean, it's a it's it's a Wrangler with a pickup bed.
20:16
That's the shorthand, but it's true.
20:19
They haven't even, as we pointed out when we were walking around it,
20:22
they haven't even changed the rear doors.
20:24
They still have the awkward cut that makes them very tiny,
20:29
where the wheels would be on the Wrangler.
20:32
But you know what? It was weird.
20:34
It was interesting. I drove this and I wasn't I'll be honest,
20:37
I wasn't hugely looking forward to it because
20:40
I don't know, I've driven a Gladiator a few times over the last few years.
20:43
Nothing has really changed.
20:45
But since we did a comparison with a Wrangler recently,
20:50
it provided a really nice perspective of how smooth the drive is in the Gladiator
20:55
by comparison, because of that longer wheel base, that it's actually
20:59
pretty OK to drive.
21:00
I know it's not good for truck things,
21:03
but this is a statement.
21:05
It just happens to be a pickup.
21:07
So it's like a Wrangler and I really enjoyed that.
21:10
It is the best driving double solid axle vehicle sold today.
21:19
So let's let's go back to your six speed manual, though.
21:22
Yeah, so it has the turbo four cylinder, which is fine.
21:25
I mean, I'm not one of those people who's like, I need the iron anchor V6 of old,
21:30
like, whatever, makes more power, way more torque compared to your V6.
21:34
It had less, little less power, but way more torque.
21:36
We both agreed way more usable torque going up hills.
21:40
You'd have to downshift the gear to with your auto to kind of keep up or
21:44
get a little heavier with a throttle.
21:45
This thing just powered the four cylinders.
21:47
It's really interesting, though, because
21:50
as a lot of direct injection engines are, it kind of clacks at it.
21:54
And with the little turbo whistles that are audible,
21:57
kind of feels like you're driving an old Tacoma diesel or Hilux, I guess, more so,
22:01
which kind of gives you this old school feel, which perfectly matches the
22:04
transmission because I'm pretty sure Toyota dug into their 1980s parts,
22:09
been to find this transmission.
22:10
It is a massively tall long throw with a
22:18
it takes a big effort to switch gears.
22:21
I don't mean in the sense of it's tough or strength, it's just you have to launch
22:26
from one gear to the next because of how long the throws are.
22:28
And then when it's in gear, every time you hit a bump because it's actually
22:31
connected to the actual transmission, the whole thing shakes back and forth
22:34
like an old school manual.
22:36
So as you're driving down these dirt roads,
22:38
my gear shift lover is literally moving within a foot back and forth nonstop
22:43
and the bigger the bump, the more it's going to jump.
22:45
And if you watch our video, I got some footage of it dancing around.
22:48
And that's just how transmissions were in tons of cars back in the day.
22:52
And when you add that sort of fake diesel soundtrack,
22:56
it just feels like you're driving an old truck and we were trying to find fun.
23:02
And it's not a fun manual.
23:03
It is not all that fun to drive in the sense of like enthusiastic fun driving.
23:07
But it's fun because it feels like you're in a bit of a time machine
23:10
and you can go over a decent amount of trails.
23:15
Tell you what, I was having your top off and a bright green truck.
23:19
But that truck is just crazy looking that gladiator.
23:24
I wasn't part of this one, but I will say this, I'm not a huge fan
23:28
of the manuals in either of these trucks.
23:31
I know that might be blasphemous, but it's just it's so much work to drive
23:35
them. You know, I much prefer and they both offer really good
23:38
automatics and get me wrong.
23:40
I love a good manual transmission and almost anything.
23:43
But these trucks are a lot of work to drive.
23:46
And I think I could say that roughly two
23:48
bitty feathers with the stick shift.
23:50
And, you know, I do think the new the new
23:53
taco is really a really great truck.
23:56
It's really something that is offered.
24:00
I think they did what they had to do to update it.
24:02
And, you know, the gladiator just continues to abide.
24:06
They did some light refreshes a few years ago, and it's still a lot of fun.
24:10
I guess my other sort of hot take on this is I actually think the gladiator
24:14
rides better than the Wrangler.
24:15
I think that longer wheelbase just it's way more forgiving.
24:21
it's just, you know, the Wrangler can be very harsh on the gladiator.
24:25
I just think dimensionally smooths things out.
24:28
Yeah, if people have the extra room to handle having the pickup.
24:33
And don't mind the price.
24:35
I would actually steer people towards maybe trying to gladiator if they were
24:39
thinking Wrangler because it does ride much smoother.
24:42
It doesn't wonder as much either, which is yes.
24:46
It's easy to take the roof off, too.
24:48
I think that's kind of obvious, but much to my surprise, one day I came out
24:54
and my seven year old, maybe six year old at that point, this is last year,
24:58
had the roof largely off.
25:00
He had pulled both of the handles and like was lifting it up.
25:03
And I'm like, I think that roof weighs about as much as you.
25:06
So I mean, it just shows, you know, jeeps,
25:09
the cult of Jeep starts young and they're easy and accessible and
25:14
kind of want to drive a gladiator right now.
25:16
That's I guess that's my other thought of this.
25:19
So before I just to your point, Greg, about the trucks and manuals,
25:23
like obviously we're not expecting a manual and a truck or a purpose
25:27
built SUV to be like a Honda S 2000.
25:30
But because there was such a low take rate, it's like the technology
25:36
or refinement just stopped because why invest into it?
25:38
And the ones that exist, they're just so out of step.
25:41
And like you said, the autos are great.
25:42
I mean, different class, but a similar situation is I remember years ago,
25:47
I drove the last v6 manual Cayenne and I was so excited.
25:52
I was like, oh, yeah, it's looking at manual Cayenne.
25:53
I remember driving it being like, oh, like this manual isn't good.
25:56
It doesn't make the Cayenne any better.
25:58
So, yeah, it's, you know, I said in my review, if you're going to do a lot
26:04
of serious off-roading, you're probably not buying this truck anyway.
26:07
But if you are going to do a lot of like more hardcore off-roading or towing
26:10
or dead and you want full control, there's no better thing than to have
26:13
your manual to check your gears with the two speed transfer case.
26:16
But that's a small percentage of people, which I guess is why this
26:19
is only available on two trips.
26:23
All right. Moving on to, hey, we're back to debuts
26:26
and are very important for manufacturers.
26:28
Audi has introduced the Concept C, which is, well, it looks like a electric TT.
26:35
But from some angles, they're going to hate me for saying this,
26:38
but I get some crossfire vibes.
26:42
Crossfire vibes. Wow, shots fired.
26:46
OK, not that we were in Audi's good books, but we're definitely not now.
26:49
They have made a new book just to burn our names in it.
26:53
This overhead shot was the way that the back is.
26:56
That's it's only the overhead angle, like from the sides and the three quarters.
26:59
No, but yeah, it's it's going to be.
27:06
I wouldn't say it's quite new, a class A for Audi, but this is sort of
27:10
hinting at where they want to go as a brand stylistically and probably technology.
27:15
And in terms of design, this seems like a new one, which is good because
27:19
Audi's design language the last few years has just kind of.
27:23
I mean, it's my turn for a hot take, I guess.
27:26
I feel like the VW group like VW, Seat, Coupre and Audi, they've all just kind
27:32
of blended together and they've gotten more close
27:35
stylistically than I think maybe they should be.
27:38
And this reinvents Audi in a way where the the shield grill is prominent again.
27:43
It has a more distinct like a rectilinear face.
27:46
I I think this looks great.
27:48
It calls to mind a lot of the great concepts from the 90s and 2000s that Audi
27:53
nailed because that's when they were doing their best work.
27:56
And so, hey, cool, a new era, I'm on board.
28:00
It's it reminds me a little bit of like a GTR, a Nissan GTR.
28:06
And I mean that in a good way, as in like a kind of muscular
28:09
coupe that they're trying to make a statement.
28:12
I also like the fact that they're just doing a concept coupe.
28:15
You know, it's like a meeting motor show is, you know, happening.
28:19
And like, Audi's like, hey, we're going to, you know,
28:22
get our design language out there in the news to it.
28:25
Like I wrote in our hot takes, this feels like 2015 or something.
28:28
So, you know, credit for doing this.
28:32
I don't like love every element of it.
28:35
I definitely don't see the 1936 Auto Union Type C race car lineage.
28:40
They're trying to like draw into this.
28:42
That's that's a bit of a stretch.
28:44
But, hey, I think what will be interesting
28:49
is to see what they do with this.
28:51
Do they actually make, you know, an interesting coupe?
28:53
Are they going to, you know, are we going to get like a TT or a TT RS or something
28:59
like that? Think of all those years, you know, Kyle,
29:02
like you said, they did those cool concepts.
29:04
Like it seemed like every auto show, we got a cool E-tron concept or something.
29:10
It'd be great if they could do that or something like this.
29:13
And, you know, because I think as Honda is showing,
29:16
I think there is a bit of a market for coupes.
29:18
So let's go for it.
29:21
I agree with you, Greg.
29:22
If they wanted to go full Type C lineage,
29:24
they should have put the dual rear wheels on, you know,
29:26
really, really go after the old hill climb look and stretch it out a bit.
29:32
Kyle, do you point out with the shield?
29:33
I think that's huge.
29:34
Audi has like a cool logo, like one of the coolest.
29:37
And I've always loved it.
29:38
And too many of their modern cars, you can get it blacked out.
29:42
And to your point about styling, just yesterday, I saw a car coming
29:45
like, oh, that's cool. What's that?
29:46
And I was thinking of a ton of brands and it's got closer.
29:49
Oh, it's an Audi because the four rigs were blacked out on the grill.
29:53
And it couldn't and it was slightly modified.
29:56
So couldn't tell. I was like, yeah, I don't even want to get into the cars.
29:58
I thought it might have been at first.
29:59
But, you know, like, did you think it was a crossfire?
30:03
What this is? No, no, no, no, no.
30:05
I said, it's only the overhead look.
30:08
I see the GTR in the front end, like you're saying, Greg, I do see that.
30:12
No, it's just so many sedans look so similar now with the
30:16
thin little lights in the blacked out grills.
30:19
And they have a prestigious name in history and, you know, flaunted a bit more, I think.
30:25
I mean, BMW is going a little over the top with their kidney grills and badges,
30:28
but there's a happy medium in there somewhere.
30:31
Yeah, I'm I'm really excited about this.
30:36
And I know that well, I think this is sharing the platform
30:41
with the Porsche EVs that are supposed to replace the 718s.
30:45
And so dynamically, look, I know that's a whole other subject of whether or not
30:51
those should be replaced with the EVs.
30:52
But if I'm going to have a brand make an EV sports car,
30:57
I want Porsche to do it.
30:58
So if Audi gets to benefit from that suite.
31:03
I mean, here, here, I agree totally on that front.
31:05
And I would argue that this platform would be actually better served for Audi.
31:11
Because this is kind of what they do is like Audi is like electric
31:16
coupes, things with this type of proportions.
31:21
You know, you just think back to all those e-tron concepts, like I said,
31:24
this to me, this makes way more sense for Audi versus an electric 718, which,
31:29
hey, I love EVs, but to me, the 718, you got to have a gas fed motor and those
31:35
things just for them to be sort of what they are.
31:38
So and if there's one styling element that makes it off this car,
31:44
Audi, keep those tail lights. I love those tail lights.
31:46
They look really cool. Yes.
31:50
All right, moving on to another debut, far less important for the manufacturer,
31:54
but still pretty cool is Mercedes is teasing that the G-Class,
31:58
their big off road is going to go back to Cabriolet.
32:01
And now this isn't Wrangler Cabriolet, where you're taking the roof off
32:04
and the doors off like maybe you could.
32:06
But the kind of old school where the back section opens up only.
32:11
Yeah, yeah, it looks like it's going to be similar to the
32:16
the Maibach from about a decade ago.
32:20
I guess you get your servants to take the roof off for you.
32:25
Or your your posse because you're about to shoot a hip hop video.
32:31
I don't. This is so far removed from like every day folks.
32:37
But it's it's going to be what everyone wants, right?
32:39
Because that's what the G is.
32:41
It's what everyone wants.
32:44
It's the ultimate image car, right?
32:46
Like that's what people buy.
32:47
It's like a Wrangler, but like five times the money,
32:51
but it doesn't drive well.
32:52
It's just people want to be seeing it.
32:54
So what's a better way to be seen than with the roof missing?
32:56
So I think I need to just send a message to the press fleet.
33:01
I kind of want to drive a G class.
33:02
That's my main takeaway from this is this just reminded me that,
33:06
along with the gladiator, is like, hey, let's every car we're talking about.
33:09
Craig wants to drive.
33:10
I think I want to drive that one.
33:12
Yeah, I've been in some other things.
33:15
They're a little more basic in many ways that's like, hey,
33:19
you know, let's have some off-road fun here in the suburbs.
33:26
I just say because we're talking about the gladiator so much
33:28
and looking at the silhouette, I'm like,
33:30
is this like a pickup truck G wagon?
33:33
And then I started thinking how cool that would be, but it's sort of.
33:37
Yeah, I mean, like as much as I'm joking about it,
33:40
I just recently drove a G class for the first time and it was the EV.
33:44
And yeah, I understand the that side of the appeal of it being the ultimate
33:51
status car and so to Mike's point, why not get the convertible?
33:56
You're going to be silly and try to draw a spotlight on yourself.
34:01
Get that and convertibles are more fun than hard top cars.
34:05
So yeah, I'm sure they'll sell every single one that they make
34:10
and then they'll get people on the wait list for the next one.
34:13
I'm always surprised how many celebrities drive these things because they're
34:17
fairly difficult to drive, you know, with the steering and, you know,
34:21
just how like top heavy they can feel like, I don't know.
34:25
I guess you have the money to pay for the repairs if you bend them.
34:31
And to your point, Kyle, but convertible is better.
34:33
I mean, people will always like you.
34:35
Well, it doesn't make the car handle as well.
34:36
This and that. It doesn't matter in this thing.
34:39
If anything, you're helping it off road because there's less weight.
34:43
Mercedes will sell every single one they make, just like when they had
34:45
the six wheel version and then when they had the
34:50
what was the one that was jacked up with the portals?
34:54
Oh, the square square.
34:56
Yeah. Yeah. That thing was so cool.
34:58
I've never seen that at the auto show and being like, I want this.
35:02
But there's a part of me I'm realizing now that wants jacked up SUVs
35:05
that I never thought existed.
35:06
I'm driving a Bronco heritage this week and I'm liking it.
35:09
Like it's like I become a different person behind the wheel.
35:15
Speaking of cool, Kyle, let's talk about another car you recently drove.
35:21
Yes, I got to drive the second Panamera this year for myself.
35:26
And this one does not have a plug-in hybrid powertrain.
35:30
The GTS is V8 only.
35:32
It's the simpler 4600 pound all wheel drive twin turbo sports sedan.
35:39
It's it's interesting.
35:41
I drove the four S E hybrid a few months back and I thought that was
35:47
such a fantastic everyday car because it's a big luxury sedan.
35:51
It can be sporty when you want it to be or you can drive on electric power
35:55
through the city and save some money.
35:57
Not that Porsche buyers need to worry about saving money,
36:00
but I guess you're not going to buy the next one if you just keep spending all
36:04
willy-nilly. This is more focused and it lacks the Porsche active ride
36:13
that debuted on the plug-in hybrids and on the Taycan that
36:17
uses the electric architecture to essentially play a witchcraft with the
36:23
suspension and eliminate all body roll.
36:25
It'll react to bumps.
36:28
It is so impossibly smooth and it's incredible and this doesn't have that.
36:32
This has a relatively simple straightforward suspension and it's really good.
36:38
That's the thing is like Porsche knows how to do sports sedans so well.
36:42
This is so fun to drive and it really does feel
36:45
two feet shorter than it actually is and more agile.
36:50
And it sounds fantastic and I know that I shouldn't really care that much about it.
36:55
But look, if you're buying a expensive six figure sports sedan,
36:58
you want it to please all the senses, I assume, or as many as it can.
37:04
I really enjoy this and I think
37:08
I applaud Porsche for keeping it in the lineup.
37:12
Yeah, I haven't driven anything over the base model recently and even that I was
37:18
fully enamored with.
37:19
So I totally get your saying and it's always felt smaller and lighter than it
37:23
is, which certain manufacturers can pull off with some cars, which is always
37:27
a great feat because cars are big and heavy.
37:31
And I think that's like the important thing when you're buying it.
37:34
Enthusiast vehicle, right?
37:36
So many people say that they want to buy
37:38
crossovers because oh, they feel big and safe.
37:41
And it's like when I'm in something that's remotely fun to drive,
37:44
I want it to feel as small as possible.
37:46
And the Panamera does that in a way that no other sedan in this class does.
37:54
Well, that just about wraps up our news and reviews on the AutoGuy show
37:58
brought to you by eBay Motors.
38:00
For those of you that are listening or watching, there's lots we didn't get
38:04
to cover, so check out our site.
38:05
Volvo's teasing the EX-60, Porsche's teasing the new 911.
38:09
We have a fun story about what car would, sorry, what NFL team would be a car?
38:15
What car would be an NFL team?
38:17
Didn't explain that right, but you get the gist of what I'm trying to say.
38:22
Yeah. And lots of other fun little stories and informative ones like
38:28
Daniel Ricardo is an ambassador for Ford Racing now.
38:32
And yeah, all sorts of great stuff.
38:34
So we'll take a break and I'll be back with Call of the Talk F1.
38:37
And then Kyle will join me to wrap things up and take a look at what's next.
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All right, welcome back.
40:47
What on Colm? You go on vacation.
40:48
I go on vacation and then we have one world seems to flip upside down.
40:51
Yeah. Well, at least they're back at work, which is nice,
40:54
because I feel like we had it was like those two summer breaks that were
40:57
together and there was a lot of I would say that my lawn care and house care
41:03
and stuff vastly improved over the summer because I didn't have any F1 to watch on
41:07
the weekend. So but now I guess we're we're back at it in full swing.
41:13
Yeah, yeah, we are.
41:14
So I guess we'll start with the big news of this week,
41:18
which just relates to me because I was watching the IndyCar finale on Sunday
41:23
and then all of a sudden one of the drivers is peacing out.
41:27
Yeah, off and gone, which is so it's funny when when they announced this.
41:31
OK, he's the test driver.
41:33
There were rumors that he might also
41:37
skedaddle entirely and go race formula to which everyone was saying that's nonsense.
41:44
He's not going to do that.
41:45
He's not going to go back down the rung.
41:47
But apparently it's true.
41:49
And he's going to become an F2 driver next year, which is there's two things.
41:54
Like one is that it's it's a lot of people say it's a risky move because F2 is
41:58
kind of a you know, a crapshoot sometimes guys who have done amazing and F2 have not
42:03
done well in F1 and vice versa.
42:05
So like he could be taking a big risk there if he does it and does poorly,
42:09
they might not want him, you know, but but I think he really wants to.
42:13
He's invested to make the jump.
42:15
And so this is how he's going to get a shot.
42:17
And I was reading something this morning on I think motorsport.com that
42:20
apparently he only needs to finish like eighth in one race to have sufficient
42:25
super license points to actually become an F1 driver.
42:27
So it's it's almost guaranteed that throughout a course of a season,
42:31
he'll he'll get what he needs and become an F1 driver.
42:35
Yeah, it's not like he needs to get the eighth and that's to get said.
42:37
I mean, you can accumulate over races.
42:41
I was talking with some people about this yesterday and some people say like,
42:44
oh, it's kind of old already to be trying to jump.
42:46
It's 25, but I get it.
42:47
Some guys are in at 18, but it makes sense.
42:50
We've said this before Cadillac.
42:52
Well, we I guess you covered the news last week when I was in here.
42:55
But with the team that got it makes total sense.
42:58
You got two older experienced guys that have been in multiple teams.
43:01
They can tell Cadillac through the season like you're way off base or you're
43:04
on the right track. They're not expecting success.
43:06
I mean, I think both of us might steal some points here.
43:10
Sure. But the goal is Cadillac wants their team to be competitive.
43:14
But I think it's 28 when they also bring their engine in.
43:17
And this is going to be their driver.
43:18
Yeah. And probably Botas has gone by then.
43:21
Maybe also Perez, because I mean, Botas will be like in his late 30s.
43:25
So I like I think he knows he's here for a couple of years to develop the team.
43:28
And then he can always say, like, hey, I'm the one that I'll put them on the
43:31
map or he can forget about it if the team fails spectacularly.
43:34
But yeah, yeah, great point.
43:35
And in the meantime, make some great cash and raise some cool cars.
43:39
So and if it all works out, he becomes the Cadillac ambassador and you're
43:43
like, he loves coming to the States and stuff.
43:45
So, you know, it's win-win all around for him.
43:47
And this I'm surprised what teams don't do this with their backup drivers
43:52
because yeah, they need to be there for most weeks in case something happens.
43:56
But F2 is usually there anyway.
43:58
Yeah. And I relate it to, well, not all sports, but let's hockey baseball.
44:03
If you have a future star, you don't want them sitting on your bench
44:06
in the major leagues.
44:07
You put them in the minor so they can play every day and develop and get reps.
44:10
So like this is perfect.
44:11
And then in a couple of years, he's ready to go.
44:13
Or like he said, it doesn't work.
44:15
And you realize, well, we shouldn't use him anyway.
44:17
Yeah. It A, keeps them fresh and B, generally improves their confidence, right?
44:22
Like because because they're just, you know, kicking the butt of everybody
44:26
in the minors and they can do it.
44:27
So so yeah, it looks looks like a Cadillacs continuing to piece things
44:32
together, looks very impressive.
44:34
Yeah, but what's not impressive is how long F1 races are apparently like.
44:41
I don't know if you saw this story.
44:44
I know the traditionalists will be like, they shouldn't shorten.
44:47
And I know NASCAR has tried everything under the sun to make their races
44:49
more interesting with sections and I don't want that.
44:52
But yeah, if we went to 80 percent, I wouldn't be opposed like you.
44:57
I watched all the races and I usually watch them on tape delay
45:00
because of our time zone.
45:01
We have, you know, most races aren't in our time zone.
45:04
So the first, I'd say, third, I'm fully invested and really curious.
45:09
But then that middle third, sometimes I'll be fast forward
45:12
because not much is happening unless that's where the pit strategy happens.
45:15
Then I'll watch the last third.
45:16
So maybe tighten it up in the middle.
45:20
Like I'm I can't believe I'm the one saying this, right?
45:23
Like again, so this is for people who aren't familiar.
45:26
This is a Stefano Domenicali that the head of CEO of F1 basically saying
45:31
that they potential that F1 races are too long.
45:35
They need to shorten them up that apparently people love the sprint
45:38
races and also obviously the advertisers love the sprint races.
45:42
I don't think they love them so much because they're short.
45:44
They love them because it's more racing and more opportunities to sell.
45:48
You know, you get your brand in front of a big audience, right?
45:50
So I think that's a big piece of it.
45:53
So I think that there's there's sort of competing interests here.
45:56
One is it proved that the entertainment value by making it a bit shorter.
46:00
But the other is, well, does that mean we can do sprint races at every weekend
46:04
and then run the main races for shorter?
46:07
But then I guess it's weird that if you make the other races shorter,
46:11
then the sprints become less of a sprint, right?
46:13
But then who knows?
46:14
Maybe we can even have somewhere along the line.
46:17
But I like I like the idea there have always been,
46:20
especially if you have a one pit stop race, there's generally a good long lull
46:25
in the middle of the race where it's kind of like, OK, here's time to go.
46:28
Make myself a coffee or, you know, grab another snack or something.
46:32
There's things, things calm down in every race for a little while.
46:35
So and that's one thing that like Martin Brundle, when he's on the F1
46:38
broadcast, always talks about people pitched and moaned about the sprint races.
46:44
And there are some critiques about them.
46:45
But basically saying it's a lot better than free practice too, right?
46:49
Like if in terms of what you're getting to see, like a sprint race is,
46:54
I think there was only one sprint race that wasn't exciting.
46:58
Every other one has been quite entertaining.
47:01
And I mean, Indies also tried many things because that's probably the closest
47:05
parallel, like they did that everybody used to do double races to shorter
47:08
races on back to back days.
47:10
And that's kind of interesting, actually, like that.
47:13
Now they're doing with the Firestone tires, they have the the red tire that burns
47:18
out real quick, but everyone must use at one point
47:21
to try to liven things up and craze more pits.
47:23
I, I personally would almost say this sprint races are too long as well,
47:28
because they're not quite long enough to need a pit, but they're not short
47:31
enough that you just go all out like they should.
47:34
It should be a race where everyone's on the soft tire and you're burning
47:38
that thing down before the end of the race.
47:41
Yeah, well, going to a medium or hard
47:43
doesn't isn't worth it because of how short it is.
47:45
Yeah, because they have figured out, well, I don't know, I feel like early on
47:49
when sprint first came out, there was this thing between using the soft
47:52
or using the mediums, the guys, oh, can we stretch the soft?
47:55
And then they just decided it's not worth the risk.
47:57
And it was also not worth the risk of crashing and bending your car
47:59
and messing it up for your mechanics.
48:01
So they're like, we'll just do mediums.
48:03
And if everybody does it, it evens things out.
48:07
So I like the idea of I think even F2 will do like like the double
48:13
headers on a weekend, right?
48:14
So and sometimes they'll do double headers with a sprint race as well.
48:17
So there's like just a ton of F2 racing in one weekend, which I like a lot.
48:22
The easy way to make it more interesting and get better pits of strategy,
48:25
but is the thing racers won't want and there's no way Pirelli would want
48:29
because any tire makers, you make the tires burn out faster,
48:33
like they make them worse, but no tire makers wants their tire.
48:35
Like, oh, look how fast this war out.
48:37
And the racers don't want to have to pit or where you go tire wear.
48:40
But yeah, if they wear out, you know, 30% faster on all three levels,
48:44
more pits and more strategy.
48:45
But oh, it's always the races.
48:47
And it seems to never happen anymore, because I think Pirelli's
48:49
were around for so long.
48:50
They figured this out.
48:50
It used to happen that there would be unpredictable tires.
48:54
Like it'd be like, oh, the tires, it's just like, yeah, it's 35 Celsius.
48:59
It's Silverstone today.
49:00
And all the tires are just melting off the cars record fast.
49:03
And then that changed all the strategy.
49:05
And it's like rain.
49:06
Like it just causes chaos and they got to do something to.
49:08
So I love when stuff like that happens.
49:10
Or if you remember, yeah, like go back 15 years, tires used to blow out
49:14
all the damn time there was like issues and it's, yeah, it's interesting.
49:19
I think they could they should try something.
49:23
I'm not I'm not opposed.
49:24
I thought like when I first read this, I was like, oh, I would.
49:26
And I know Alonso is there saying that like it's a problem with
49:29
the kids and, you know, tiktok generation, et cetera.
49:32
I'm like, I get that.
49:33
But everyone who's honest with themselves would acknowledge that
49:35
there are periods in an F1 race that get a little slow.
49:40
I mean, that's probably the problem that we all have so much other things
49:42
that can steal our attention back in the day.
49:44
It was like you hunkered in for the race
49:46
because there was nothing else you could do.
49:48
And if you like to watch one, you just sat there.
49:50
But yeah, not to get into the tire thing too much, but how you're
49:54
saying they figured out when I was with Firestone at Indy, it's crazy.
49:58
I had no idea every track gets its own tire.
50:00
And every corner of the car has its own tire.
50:02
They're all slightly different compounds, different sizes, different depending on the track.
50:07
I mean, Oval's obviously you want the rights to take more load,
50:10
but even some tracks that have more rights or ones that have more left.
50:13
Yeah. So like they're engineering something like 60 different tires.
50:18
Then you've got to times that by four because there's the two compounds.
50:22
And yeah, it's crazy.
50:23
So if Pirelli brings a tire that disintegrates, they could probably just
50:27
be like, oh, let's go get our spa tire.
50:28
Maybe that'll be better here.
50:29
Yeah. Yeah. Good point.
50:32
All right. Moving on to our next story.
50:34
Oh, yes. Just a little rumor that is, I would say, mostly unsubstantiated
50:40
because I see lots on Twitter about this and some Instagram posts, et cetera.
50:45
But I can find no actual authoritative source, but it's this rumor
50:49
that Verstappen, after we've heard he's raced or tested
50:54
at their Nurburgring race car that he could enter the it's the Langstriken
51:01
Siri. They have a double header September 14th, 13th, 14th,
51:06
which comes between the Italian and Azerbaijan GP, which is like a sort
51:11
of people see this as for some reason.
51:13
The rumor is that he's going to be racing there in this race or the two
51:16
races and that will basically set him up as having done some races
51:19
so he can compete in the Nurburgring 24 next year.
51:22
So we'll see if that comes true.
51:24
Will he race under his France, Herman, you know, name?
51:28
Well, I don't know.
51:29
But, you know, Ty will tell it's we're talking about whatever guys from
51:35
like Colton Hurta moving moving up the ranks to Formula One.
51:37
And then we're talking about guys like Max who are like,
51:39
let's explore other areas instead of F1.
51:43
I think there's only one way this happens.
51:45
So you're Ricardo retired today, I guess, or today for us.
51:52
By the time he has a couple of days ago, because he's going to be
51:54
a Ford ambassador leaving basically Red Bull, but Ford's going to
51:58
power Red Bulls next year and how much of a deal was made there.
52:02
And if it's a Mustang GT3 car, which Ford's really starting to
52:06
push again, that happens to be at the 24 hours of Nurburgring,
52:09
I could see that as part of their deal to power the Red Bull
52:12
team next year, and it'll probably be a Red Bull branded
52:15
car that Max would drive it.
52:16
That's the only way I see it happening.
52:17
And so, but so the other thing is so that the team,
52:21
the car that Max drove before that the one that he tested on is
52:24
a Red Bull branded sponsored car that he owns.
52:27
It's his own team that like he actually runs a team in addition
52:33
He runs this or co-owns operates this team with these
52:37
bunch of other drivers who race there.
52:39
So like it is, there's still a, you know, I don't know,
52:45
that's why it was funny when those pictures came out and
52:47
people were watching this video can see it on the screen,
52:49
him driving the Ferrari and it says, you know, that he didn't
52:52
run under his own name in the race or in the, in the
52:55
practice sessions, and yet the car says for Stappen.com across
52:58
that they're like, well, who the hell else is driving?
53:00
It's like, well, actually, there's a whole bunch of
53:02
other drivers who do drive that car who aren't named for
53:06
I think that there's fun to speculate, be interesting to
53:10
I know he's interested in lots of different things.
53:12
And I always, I love seeing, I love seeing when it's
53:17
like the Daytona 500 and all the, like the NASCAR guys
53:21
coming to race something that's super cool.
53:22
I love when we see 25 hours of Le Mans.
53:24
I think last year there were like 19 former F1 drivers
53:27
that raced in Le Mans.
53:29
And I just enjoy seeing that sort of collaboration.
53:33
And I think actually it benefits those other sports
53:37
to have the F1 drivers there.
53:38
They bring in people who might not otherwise watch.
53:42
So yeah, I don't think you get clear to drive
53:44
his own team, even though he owns one.
53:46
Like I really think it would have to be through
53:47
Ford, because like you said, the NASCAR guys that do
53:49
the 24 hours a day tone, it's usually they're
53:51
Chevy drivers and they're driving the Chevy Corvette
53:54
or the Cadillac, it's through the other sponsor
53:58
So, you know, if you're powering a vehicle and
54:01
throwing tons of money at a TME, you might be able
54:03
to steal a driver for a weekend.
54:06
If it, if it doesn't coincide with a race weekend.
54:08
And I'm not sure if that happens or not.
54:11
Well, we had other stories, but we better move on.
54:14
So big race this weekend.
54:17
Norris is pretty much relegated to not winning
54:20
the championship, which is fine.
54:21
Good for anything that can happen.
54:23
I know we're supposed to move on, but I still
54:25
think that it was an engine issue, despite the
54:27
fact that Clarence says it doesn't.
54:29
And I feel like Piatri will have an engine issue
54:31
before the end of the year.
54:32
So I feel like a DNF for Piatri is due to
54:35
happen before the season runs out.
54:36
And that will help bring Norris back a little
54:39
So that's like your engine was smoking.
54:41
And Mercedes has had a lot of engine issues
54:43
So anyway, nobody will use it.
54:47
I mean, we said for weeks, like one of them gets
54:48
a DNF, that's what's going to decide it.
54:51
If Piatri gets one, he's right back in it.
54:52
But, you know, Piatri wins and McLaren gets
54:55
the thing, and then Lando can try next year.
54:57
Yeah, yeah, but that team's like, if they
55:01
didn't start the rest of the season, maybe
55:03
Like they're so far ahead.
55:05
Yeah, they are there.
55:07
Well, thanks for joining us and we will
55:08
talk next week with this week's results.
55:10
Another room news and news and rumors.
55:13
Thanks a lot, Mike.
55:18
So before we end this episode of the AutoGuide
55:20
show brought to you by eBay Motors, take a look
55:22
at what we've been doing this week.
55:23
So technically it was kind of last week,
55:26
but over the weekend I was in Nashville,
55:27
as I mentioned earlier, to watch the IndyCar
55:30
season finale with Firestone.
55:34
There's an article on AutoGuide about sort
55:36
of how their tire tech trickles down
55:38
and why it matters, more of a personal
55:42
family touch as to why it matters than a tech side.
55:45
And I'll be doing a full review of a tire
55:48
that we got to drive about 300 miles.
55:50
So that's pretty good.
55:52
Then I came home and yeah, then I
55:54
I know I usually don't get to put a
55:55
lot of miles on things.
55:56
And it was, you know, through these roads
55:58
and tail the dragon, the skyway to Tennessee.
56:02
And then I came home and jumped in a Bronco
56:04
heritage four doors, I mentioned,
56:06
which I'm quite enjoying.
56:08
But I'll save the rest of my thoughts for later.
56:11
I just got to say, it looks fantastic.
56:15
I know we drove a heritage two door last year
56:16
and I really liked it.
56:19
And I saw your vehicle when I went to pick up.
56:21
And yeah, it's it's good looking.
56:24
I am in the 2026 Genesis Genesis
56:33
And it turns out I'm the first to get it in our area.
56:37
It just arrived on fleet.
56:38
And so I really lucked out on that.
56:40
And yeah, I'm also going to save my thoughts
56:43
for a later episode, of course.
56:44
But I will say that the changes are subtle.
56:48
It's one of our favorite EVs in that class.
56:51
And so there's been some slight improvements
56:53
And now there's a Tesla style next port.
56:56
So yeah, I'm looking forward to spending
56:59
more time with it on the weekend.
57:00
I haven't got to drive it much this week yet.
57:03
So just some minor updates, but some important ones, right?
57:05
Yeah, yeah, exactly.
57:08
All right. So what are you up to next week then?
57:11
Oh, next week, next week I will be swapping
57:16
into a Maverick hybrid all-wheel drive,
57:19
which I'm very much looking forward to,
57:21
because that is one of the best
57:23
launched vehicles of the year, as far as I'm concerned.
57:26
And going elsewhere, I'm traveling for the first time
57:30
in six weeks or so to drive the new Nissan Leaf,
57:35
which is another one that I think we're all looking
57:37
forward to because it is an affordable EV.
57:40
And that's what we've all been talking about.
57:42
So yeah, really looking forward to it.
57:46
What about you, Mike?
57:48
Well, I am going nowhere next week,
57:51
so I will be here and I'll have some time to drive
57:54
a vehicle that I know you're kind of
57:56
side you're going to miss and I really want to drive.
57:58
And it is the BMW 540i legacy.
58:03
Is that legacy? Yeah.
58:05
Just yeah, it's not a super legacy.
58:07
It's a BMW 540i legacy.
58:09
What that means is it's sort of like that M3 we had earlier,
58:12
even though it was an official throwback,
58:14
but this is a vehicle sort of to mimic
58:17
the classic 540i is that we grew up loving.
58:22
Yeah, because we don't actually get
58:25
a 540i normally anymore, right?
58:28
It's the 530 is the gas
58:31
and then you move to electric or a plug-in hybrid.
58:34
So this is a pure gas
58:35
and it's a it's a really subtle color, right?
58:41
And the crazy thing, too, is it has zero options.
58:44
Like once last time I drove a German car that has zero options,
58:46
not even the paint like that crazy paint you get as part of the package.
58:50
I don't think I've ever driven a German car with zero options.
58:58
it's the it's the three liter turbo.
59:00
So like the 40 cars usually have.
59:03
But yeah, I look forward to want to see if it kind of gives you
59:05
that old school vibe, surface just sort of an image.
59:08
But I haven't driven a five series period gas or electric in so long.
59:11
So I'm looking forward to it.
59:13
I'm excited. I can't wait to hear what you think.
59:16
Yeah, well, and I can't wait to hear you think about the all wheel drive
59:19
hybrid Maverick because that might be a car my Monday,
59:22
although I'll probably go for the turbo if I get a Maverick.
59:24
I just I just can't resist.
59:26
It's just, you know, I know every aspect says
59:31
that hybrid's the more sensible one.
59:32
But what have I ever bought a car sensibly?
59:36
Now, the fact that the 4K tow package is available
59:39
on the all wheel drive hybrid, that really like cinches it for me
59:42
where I'm just like, if I was in the market, it have to be hybrid.
59:45
But I also want the Lobo, which is even less practical.
59:49
So yeah, the lowest level is fun.
59:53
Yeah. All right. Well, that wraps things up for this week.
59:57
We will be back next week, as Kyle said, we'll have lots to talk about.
00:00
There's a bunch of reviews going up next week.
00:03
You'll have some adventures, hopefully, to talk about.
00:05
And some of our past adventures will finally get to talk about.
00:08
So lots to talk about.
00:09
So until then next week, go long, everybody.
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