New Ram SUV, Subaru BRZ Review, Audi's High-Tech Headlights

Whether you drive a car, need a car, or just occasionally bummer ride with friends, you've

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Join Gell and Tom as they break down everything that's going on in the auto world.

New car reviews, shopping tips, driving green, electric cars, classic cars, and plenty of

great guests.

This is the Consumer Guide Car Stuff podcast.

All right, this is the Consumer Guide Car Stuff podcast.

I'm Tom Appel.

Thank you for joining us this week.

When you get a chance, you know what I'm going to say.

Join us at ConsumerGuide.com, check out my new car reviews, check out my old car reviews.

It all sorts of fun stuff.

A lot of news there this week too, so you'll want to check that out, including, and we'll

talk about this in a minute, some stuff from the Japan Mobility Show, which used to be

known as the Tokyo Auto Show.

Yes.

They changed it two years ago.

I always forget that that's a biannual show.

Oh, okay, yep.

So, odd numbered years only.

Yes.

That voice is Jill Seminello.

Hello.

Contributing editor here at Consumer Guide, a prolific freelancer and North American car

of the year juror.

How are you, Jill?

I am still playing catch-up, actually, post-Rebel, but otherwise, okay.

Well, you got called away right away because you did some car of the year stuff too.

I did.

I got home on Sunday and essentially left on Tuesday.

So, you've got a bunch of short videos up there people should check out.

Yes, on both YouTube and TikTok.

All right.

Happy belated birthday to Paul Harold.

Yes.

His birthday was yesterday.

Yes.

He is a spry looking 73 years old.

He's not 73.

Isn't he?

He is not.

Oh, because he looks good for 73.

He looks really good for 73.

He looks good for 63.

He's also not 63.

So there you have it.

Yeah.

He's an old man though.

He's older than me.

The old sons of speed.

I'm not trying to tweak you here.

You are trying to tweak me.

I'm not.

You are.

But this is a new story and I would dug a little deeper and there's a very interesting fun

fact here.

Okay.

Maybe it's not so much fun.

But I wrote an article called Is Car Play Dead?

Correct.

And what has happened, and we talked about this a little bit last year, or last week,

I don't think we talked about it last year.

You talked about it with Paul last week.

Yes.

And that's simply that General Motors had first announced that they were going to kill

Car Play in its electric vehicles.

And then not too long after, months, right, months after, they decided they were going

to kill Car Play across their whole product line.

Well, we all knew that was coming.

So we can deduce from this that there wasn't enough pushback or enough sales resistance

for them to worry about.

Yeah, because the EVs are like, what?

What is the percentage of sales that their EVs are of their entire lineup?

It's pretty big at General Motors.

It's like 10%.

Okay.

Still 10%.

And if you get 50% pushback on 10%, that's not anything anybody's going to listen to.

While you're right, they just put their whole lineup there.

I know.

So you're assuming that their market research department doesn't know what you know.

Yes.

That's wrong.

Okay.

And here's the interesting thing.

There's a fun fact.

I wrote an article about this.

I will share it.

I have shared it.

You have.

I've shared it.

I have shared it.

One of the last things I wrote about was something called Car Play Ultra.

Yes.

Car Play Ultra was revealed by Apple in 2022 as an update to Car Play.

As an update slash option.

It is not forced.

No.

No, it's not.

But here's the thing.

Not one manufacturer, except for Aston Martin, has adopted Car Play Ultra.

I feel like Hyundai, Genesis and Kia are at least in negotiations.

The last I read, they were talking about it.

I don't know.

I think there's enough pushback here.

So I've got a bet I want to make with you.

Okay.

You're already losing the bet on Blue Sky.

All right.

Yes.

But here's a bet.

Okay.

I will bet you that by the Chicago Auto Show.

Okay.

At least one major manufacturer jumps in and kicks Car Play to the curb.

I will take that bet.

Other than General Motors.

I don't think that'll happen.

Right.

We've got General Motors.

I'm thinking one, maybe two by then.

We're not going to see it this year probably because-

But you're saying by February, that's just a couple months away.

I disagree with you.

I think we're going to see manufacturers talk about this.

No.

So here's the thing.

And here is why I am so violently against removing Apple Car Play and Android Auto.

Again, this is why you are.

Why I am.

Because Google built in does not integrate your phone the way Apple Car Play and Android

Auto do.

And I, as you know, if you've listened to me, I take regular road trips to and from Indian

apolis pretty much every other weekend.

So that's six hours in the car every weekend.

And I spend a lot of time on my podcast.

I spend a lot of time making phone calls.

I do a lot of voice to text messages.

I want to be able to access, like I literally save my voice, my text messages.

And I have like 20 of them on my phone to return when I'm driving so that I can do the

voice to text thing.

And even Google built in, you cannot access any of your past text messages.

I see.

I don't know.

I don't do any of that stuff.

I know you don't.

But Tom Volk, and I forgot who he's with.

He's with his own thing.

He does his own YouTube.

But he is a professed Apple diehard.

And he is amazing.

And he did a review, a video review, you can find it on YouTube.

I can share it of the Equinox EV.

And then he did a separate one just of the built-in system that replaces basically car

play there.

And he loved it, basically.

So I'm going to have to look at that because I have done my own reviews of the Equinox as

well as, like, I think I've done 20-minute reviews of the built-in system after having

an hour conversation with General Motors and then sitting with the vehicle for five hours

trying to deal with it.

And I managed to pair my phone, I logged into my Google account, I did all the things.

But again, it does not access your voicemail messages, it does not access your past text

messages.

I feel he addressed this and had a way to do it.

OK, because I will be very curious.

So watch the video.

Yeah, I will do that.

But, like, when Google built-in can integrate your phone as well as Apple CarPlay and Android

Auto, like, I will lodge the system.

But it's interesting, though, and I think this is a youth thing as well.

But it's interesting that General Motors has determined they don't care.

Like, they're just isn't enough.

But they also determined they didn't care about you having a defeat switch for their

auto-stop start system and, wait, now they have a defeat switch for their auto-stop start

system.

Well, I mean, companies adjust.

Exactly.

But I don't think they're making a mistake here.

They launched into this pretty quickly.

Yeah, I think this is a big mistake.

So.

You know what?

I would love for people to tag Tom and I on Blue Sky Twitter wherever you are and I

would love for you to weigh in on this.

They can weigh in, but until they've tried the new system, I don't know that you can

cast an informed vote.

Or watch Tom Volks and mine, our YouTube videos.

All right.

Well, we'll share both videos.

Yeah.

You got to send me a link because you always say you will and you don't.

You know what?

I'm picking up my phone right now and I'm sending you the link.

Well, you probably should pay attention to the show.

I'm kind of paying attention.

A little piece of news here.

Interesting.

Ram.

Ram trucks.

We've heard of them.

Ram who?

We know that recently Jeep dropped the Wagoneer.

Right?

They're just going with the Grand Wagoneer.

And that's not the change it sounds like because of the Grand Wagoneer pricing now comes down

far enough to include what would have been the territory of the old Wagoneer.

Here's what's interesting.

They cleared house of one model there and Ram, same showroom, is going to get a utility

of about that size.

And this is the other interesting part.

We know that Ram killed the Ram Rev.

Yes.

And then they moved the Ram Rev to what was called the Ram Charger, which is their extended

range vehicle.

So they killed the electric vehicle.

Yes.

They have promoted the plug-in hybrid extended range vehicle and they've renamed that one

Rev.

Yes.

So that leaves the Ram Charger name free for Ram to use for this big truck.

That is correct.

If you want to make another lunch bet, this is a good one, but I'm calling this one Ram

Charger.

It's a classic Dodge name going back to the 70s, between 74 and I think 93.

It was a full-size utility like a Bronco or a Blazer was in those days.

And I love them.

I love the Ram Charger.

So that's coming in 2028.

A big truck built in Warren.

You think 100% is going to be called Ram Charger?

Yes.

Okay.

I mean, there's some other names that it could, like it could be Rampage.

It could be, like there's some other thoughts that it could be.

Yeah.

Rampage goes back and it was on little stuff.

Okay.

Well, you know what?

Maybe the mid-sized truck that they're going to come out with is going to be called the

Rampage because I don't think they can go with Dakota.

Rampage is a good name for that truck.

It was the name of a tiny front-drive truck based on old Simca architecture and you don't

want to hear this story.

But it was in the 80s.

Oh, okay.

But there's the Rampage.

Okay.

It was kind of cool.

All right then.

So here's this news.

I think we can nutshell this now.

September closed with huge, huge, huge EV sales.

Huge.

13% market share up from about 8% for the rest of the year.

General Motors has since laid off a bunch of people from their factory zero in Michigan.

Okay.

So they're anticipating lower sales.

Now this is where this is going to get messy, right?

That 13% where people cashing in on the tax incentives and other war tax incentives.

The problem there is that those were pull-ahead sales.

Like people rush to do this, which means that sales this month are going to suck.

There's just no incentive and people have already bought the vehicles they want to buy.

So there's going to be this vacuum for a while and I think EV sales for the rest of the year

are going to be very poor and people are going to misinterpret that.

Yeah.

I mean, automakers are doing the best that they can to try and offer incentives of their

own and I think states are coming in to also offer some extra incentives.

So I think that they're trying to keep the momentum going and there are a lot of great

EVs out there right now.

It's interesting you would mention that I drove the Hyundai Ionic 9.

Fantastic vehicle.

Really nice family vehicle.

If you wanted an electric family vehicle, good way to go.

It's a little expensive.

So that tax incentive would have done what it could have done.

But Hyundai does have six grand in incentives on it right now.

So check around.

Don't be depressed yet.

Also, a lot of the research right now is bad.

You hear researchers asking like this single question, like how much does the incentive

need to be for you to consider an EV?

Dumb question because who cares what the incentive is, you care what the price is.

So it's really the transaction price and manufacturers are offering their own incentive.

So I don't know what this mystery incentive is, but there are still different ways to

bring the price down.

So also consider lower trim levels, which we're seeing increasingly on the big EVs

because they're expensive.

So yeah, that's that.

We're going to get some bad reporting though.

Yeah.

All right.

I want to talk about this because it's fun.

Lexus.

Lexus played a big role in the Japan Mobility Show this past week.

That's the old Tokyo Motor Show.

Yes.

Or Otto Show.

I think it was Motor Show.

Was it?

Yeah.

So it's a biannual show every other year, odd numbered years, but Lexus found itself

in an interim position.

Now, you and I talked about this, the Lexus LS, the big sedan, going away.

Correct.

It is a historically significant vehicle for Lexus.

In fact, it's the most important Lexus in the history of Lexus because it was the first...

It's like 36 years it's been in the US.

Yeah.

It's the first...

1989.

Yeah.

So it's the first Lexus that mattered.

There was a little Camry-like thing that didn't matter, but this car came in and blew

people's socks off.

It was like 35 grand, V8-powered, multi-valve.

We didn't talk about four-valve engines anymore, but that was a big deal then.

But it was less expensive, just as roomy, just as fast, and perhaps arguably better

built than the Mercedes-Benz S-Class for considerably less money.

And the whole world became aware of Lexus right away.

They couldn't have had a better launch.

The car was fantastic, and the car's been in their lineup ever since, and it played

the role of flagship, but sales are very slow, very low now, largely just because people

don't buy big sedans.

No.

And we talked about the numbers before, right?

The 7 Series, the BMW 7 Series, the Audi A8, Mercedes-Benz S-Class, they just don't sell

like they used to.

So Lexus, having some fun at the show, is looking for a vehicle to brand, at least it looks

like a brand, a new flagship.

So there's a car that's not interesting.

There's the Lexus LS Coupe concept.

This is just a fastback, big crossover.

That's the one I'm afraid is going to actually be the next LS.

But there were two really fun cars there.

One of them was the LS Micro Concept, which is like a lounge chair on wheels.

It was this little three-wheel commuter thing, beautifully lined.

So it's like a luxury commuter car, steered with the rear wheel.

So that was cool.

You want to look at the pictures and I'll post my...

I would be afraid to drive something like that in the United States.

You know, because this is Asia and because they're from Japan, everyone knows about

terrible, terrible city traffic in which something like this could actually work.

It's still absurd, but it would work better in Tokyo than in Chicago.

Yeah.

And then my favorite, my favorite was the Lexus LS Van Concept.

Oh, yeah.

It looks like a huge minivan and it has six wheels.

Yeah.

It's like a dually, almost.

It's weird.

It's one of those things where I'm sure the six-wheel thing was just a design thing

and then they came up for a reason for it later.

But there's a reason.

Are you ready?

Okay.

You want to guess?

No, go.

Guess why it has six wheels?

You tell me.

Apparently, the wheels in back are smaller.

So kind of like if you see a tractor trailer, kind of like that.

But the small wheels apparently intrude less on the passenger space.

Yeah, whatever.

All right.

I'll just nod and smile at that.

I read somewhere else.

I don't think I read this directly from Lexus.

I read somewhere else that apparently the third-row seat could be wider because of the

six wheels.

I will say most third-row seats in vehicles that have three rows, those seats kind of

stink.

Yeah.

And they are, in fact, compromised by wheel well intrusion.

Yeah.

And they should only ever have two.

Yeah.

So it's back there.

Yeah.

So whatever.

But the van is cool-looking.

And the interiors of these vehicles are lined with bamboo.

I don't know much about lining things with bamboo.

Is it expensive?

Is it treatable?

I mean, I don't understand bamboo as an interior material, but they look beautiful.

Okay.

So I can share, I wrote about this, so I'll share that too.

But I'm hoping that there is an LS moving forward and I hope it's the van.

With six wheels.

Yeah.

We're not going to see the six wheels.

You never know.

We never thought we were going to see the LC.

We thought that was just going to be a beautiful concept car and it was never going to see

the light of day.

And there it was.

The thing about six-wheeled cars is they're difficult to steer.

You're going to have to pay more for tires.

It's all very complicated.

Also, it's bad for mileage.

Yeah.

So I don't think they'll do that.

All right.

That's that.

You drove something kind of fun and cool.

Yes.

Was that a 2025?

Yes.

The 2025 Subaru BRZ-TS.

Yes.

And that's small T big S.

Yes.

Because Subaru hates editors.

They do in fact hate editors.

So I don't know how many people remember this car, but I'm glad it's still out there.

Yeah.

It may not be long for this world.

Yeah.

Because volumes are low, but tell us about it.

Yeah.

So this is the car that is built on the same platform as the Toyota 86, which was the FRS.

And so...

The Scion FRS.

Yes.

The Scion FRS.

So that's how long this car goes back.

Yeah.

And if you don't remember Scion, that's just fine.

Well, it's sad.

I liked Scion.

I did too, but they never did what they were going to do.

No.

Okay.

We don't have time for that conversation.

No, we don't.

We don't.

But so this is a compatible or similarly constructed vehicle to that Toyota counterpart.

It is a two plus two vehicle.

So you've got, you can fit two passengers in the front.

Two plus tiny two.

Yeah.

And I actually just posted a very funny reel today of me sitting in the back seat.

It's both on TikTok and YouTube.

You should go check that out.

And we will, I will get, I will send Tom the link to also show that.

But so yeah, you can fit fake two people in the back seat or somebody who is me sized.

Or some groceries.

Yeah.

You can fit groceries, storage things.

But it's, it's, it's a small sporty car.

It is real wheel drive is the only real wheel drive in the Subaru lineup.

It is the, the model I drove actually had a manual transmission.

It is one of the vehicles out there that still has a manual TS in the WRLX also has a manual

transmission.

Did we talk about this?

Is that the only vehicle in the BRZ lineup that gets manual?

I don't think so, but I don't know.

I didn't look at the other, at the other trim levels.

I would assume for the BRZ that there are other manual transmissions available because

I feel like they've always had it across the entire lineup.

But you know, short throw shift, really fun to drive.

It's not, it's not a huge amount of horsepower, but it is still I think really peppy.

And it was just, you know, driving on the highway was fun.

Driving the city was really great because it's such a compact size.

But the TS vehicle that I drove, it had this beautiful like blue pearl paint with some

blue interior accents to it was like $39,000.

Is there any sporty stuff that comes with the TS?

I mean, I think the trimming accents, suited seats.

Oh, but there aren't wheels, tires, brakes?

Brembo brakes.

Oh, Brembo's?

Yeah.

Just up front?

That's typically the case.

Yeah.

I mean, I know that they are definitely up front.

I'd have pictures.

One of the interesting things about that, this engine got bigger a couple of years ago when

they refreshed these cars.

But 228 horsepower, not going to change the world, but that's okay, but 184 pound-feet

of torque.

So when you've got the thin torque and the big horsepower, it's generally an engine that

likes to rev.

So this would be a great engine with stick because it's going to reward you for making

correct shifts.

Yeah.

And so I'm looking at the Minroni right now and I will say it has a sport-tuned suspension,

so tuned by STI.

It also, it's this Brembo braking system with four piston, two piston calipers.

And then it's a...

So serious brakes?

Yeah, 18-inch aluminum alloy wheels.

And then it's got the Michelin Pilot Sport performance tires.

So expensive tires.

Oh, so you had the summer tires.

So if you bought that car, you definitely, especially like something like Michelin Pilots,

you're going to need winter tires here.

It's going to be useless in the snow.

So overall, I really like this vehicle.

I like how it drives.

I did have some tech issues with it in that it's supposed to have Apple CarPlay, but

I could not get my phone to hook up to Apple CarPlay.

At all?

No.

I tried a couple of different...

It wasn't Bluetooth, it wasn't wireless, so I tried a couple of different wires.

I have had Subaru Bluetooth issues.

Just trying to get ahold of their native system.

But I...

So I used my Bluetooth system to listen to my podcast.

That worked pretty well.

And to make...

Oh, here's the other problem with it.

I had very few problems with it.

Okay, you keep saying your podcast.

This podcast?

Yes, I did actually listen to this podcast.

What did...

But when you say your podcast...

Oh, wow.

So I have a list of podcasts that I listen to.

Oh, okay.

I thought you had another podcast.

Including the...

What is it?

The Daily Drive from Auto News.

Auto Motor News Daily Drive, and then I also listened to Auto Line.

Yeah, and I listened to We Are Motor Driven when they have their new podcast out.

I am behind in those.

I've listened to three of them.

It's excellent.

Yeah.

Also, I'm a guest coming up.

Oh, good.

Good.

Yeah, I was just on there, and those guys do a great job.

They do.

But the problem with this vehicle is interior cabin noise.

When you're driving around Sturford Street, it's not a problem.

You can listen to your podcasts, fine, and talk on the phone, fine.

But I found that as soon as I was on the highway, I could not get the audio high enough to be

able to hear what was coming through the radio.

Part of it's those tires.

And I tried to call my mom on my way back from a drive yesterday, and I was like, I can't

hear you.

I can't hear you.

And I'm like, I felt like I was going deaf.

I actually had to put her on the speaker on my phone rather than the speaker through

the car to be able to talk to her while I was driving.

Interesting.

Another interesting thing about that car, it looks small.

I fit really well in it.

No one's ever going to fit behind me.

Again, I direct you to the video of me sitting in the back seat.

But I do actually love that car, and I love the Toyota GR86.

Those are fantastic little cars.

I wish they sold better because I want there to be a future for things like this, but they're

not.

And in fact, my review of the Volkswagen GTI just went live yesterday.

What a delightful little car.

No manual.

No, and not in the Golf R either.

I had thought maybe, I think maybe you corrected me on this.

I thought there was still a manual in the GTI, but there isn't.

The Golf R and the GTI, which are the only Golfs available in the US now.

For 2025.

Or automatic only.

The only good news is that is a fantastic automatic.

It is.

It's like the world's best automatic.

It is.

7-speed dual clutch.

They're DSG.

Yes.

System.

So anyway, nutshell this BRZ for folks.

Really fun, sporty vehicle, somewhat affordable under $40,000.

Big and tall people can fit in it okay, but you're not going to be able to sit anybody

in the back seat.

And it's just a fun to drive, really compact package.

I can't remember.

Is that a hatch or a trunk?

Trunk.

Okay.

Is that enough for two people to go away for the weekend?

Yeah.

So there's some practicality.

Because you can throw stuff in the back seat too.

Yeah, you can fit definitely two roller boards in the trunk.

I had a roller board in a backpack back there, no problem.

So no second row seating to talk of, but relatively practical.

Yes.

All right, cool.

All right, we're going to take a break.

When we come back, we talk to Jerry Perez, deputy editor at the drive.

Yes.

Stick around.

Questions or comments?

Drop us a line at carstuffatconsumerguide.com.

That's carstuffatconsumerguide.com.

Welcome back to the Carstuff Podcast.

And we're back.

This is the Consumer Guide Carstuff Podcast.

I am Tom.

She is Jill.

Yes.

How are you, Jill?

Good.

Help me out here.

You would like to talk about social media.

Yeah, a bit.

Not a lot.

But I'm Car Guy Tom on Twitter, X and Blue Sky.

And I was talking with Nick DeGilio today.

This isn't car stuff.

Okay.

But I'm on Facebook too, where I do my TV stuff.

So StarSpotter.

Okay.

Do you remember Rant B?

No.

Rant B from the Andy Griffith Show.

I just saw Ant B on an episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents.

Okay.

So what do I do?

I pause the TV.

And you took a picture.

I took a picture and then I post the picture on Facebook.

You post a picture of a picture on social media site.

It's hard to believe that I'm a guy that says he's busy, but that I have time to post pictures

of Ant B on Facebook.

But there you have it.

Okay.

Car Guy Tom.

So yeah, everybody should go look at his Facebook page now for the picture of Ant B.

Before you forget this, all important.

Oh yeah.

All right.

On the phone with us, a first time guest, we have Jerry Perez, deputy editor of The

Drive.

Jerry, how are you today?

I'm doing well.

Thank you for having me.

What about you guys?

I won't speak for Jill, but I'm doing great.

I am.

I'm doing okay.

Jerry, we haven't had you on before, so let people know.

Tell us about The Drive and what you do there.

Well, TheDrive.com is all about car culture.

I am the deputy editor there, so I'm in charge of a lot of things really, but my main job

is to bring you cool stuff, whether it's automotive news, car reviews, or my personal

favorite, motorsports.

We try to keep it simple.

We try to keep it fun because there are enough things going on in our world that are not

fun right now, so we want to be a bit of an escape for our readers, so yeah, check us

out.

Yeah, Jill and I were just talking about The Drive, and I have to admit, I have not

read much of your stuff before, but I just commented to Jill, you're a great writer,

sir.

I enjoyed reading your articles.

Thank you.

I appreciate that.

I mean, I think you're okay, but Tom seems to like your writing, so people should go

check you out.

Awesome.

That's it.

I think what I can get.

You're in a range between okay to great.

That's pretty good.

That's a good range.

So you wrote a couple of articles recently, and I enjoyed both of them very much, but

one of them, you drove an Audi A3 equipped with a lighting system that we don't get here

in the US, and we probably really want.

Tell us about that.

Yeah.

So it was actually, it was a Q3, so it was the new.

Oh, I'm sorry.

I'm sorry.

It's okay.

So it's a new Q3.

It was a global drive, so we went all the way out to Scotland, you know, because it

wasn't already chilly enough in the midway, but we decided to go to rainy and chilly Scotland.

So, you know, it's, as you guys know, it's rare for there to be driving opportunities

at night, especially during these programs.

So, you know, Audi really went out of its way to facilitate that, and I thought it was

really interesting because, you know, there's so much technology in cars today that a lot

of it really doesn't come alive until it's dark out.

I mean, whether you talk like ambient lighting or the, you know, the brightness or the resolution

of screens and obviously headlight technology, you can't experience that during the day.

So these new micro LED digital matrix headlights, quite the name.

It's a mouthful.

They're actually, you know, standard equipment on global vehicles.

So if you live outside of the States, you know, and you buy an Audi of, you know, a

certain trim, then you get these.

But due to our regulations here in the States, which have been changing, we still can't get

them.

So it's all, it all has to do with, you know, glare levels and how they adjust between low

beam and high beam.

So it's, you know, I'm not an engineer.

It actually gets extremely complicated.

And even if you talk to the professionals like, Hey, can you put it in layman's terms?

Like, why does it doesn't work?

It's still confusing.

But at the end of the day is there is a video on our Instagram that shows the benefits of

these adaptive, adaptive beams, which the whole goal is to not blind people in front

of you.

But also, they also add some different safety measures to them.

So yeah, it's all very cool.

But unfortunately, not welcome here in the States.

Well, one of the things you mentioned in your article was how the lights would project

on the road.

And I have a really hard time kind of envisioning that.

Can you talk a little bit about like what, what that did and what that meant?

Because I remember reading at one point in your article, you talked about trying to like

bright somebody in their rear view mirror and it didn't happen because the projection

beams like actually like shrunk.

So I just, I was very intrigued by this.

So I was just wondering if you could describe that and what it was and it's, it's, it's hard

to describe it.

And it's actually super trippy when you're experiencing it because we're used to pretty

primitive headlights here in the States.

And I mean, obviously, you know, if you get into a high end car, you're going to have

excellent vision, you know, the Mercedes and the Porsches and whatever.

But at their most advanced here in the States, you get automatic high beams, right?

That's about as complex as it gets when you're driving the Q3 and your adaptive headlights

are activated, which they're always on.

I tried in this exercise to, to essentially tailgate the car in front of me.

And now what would normally happen, especially in a high rating vehicle is you would essentially

just become a very bright light and the rear view mirror of the, of the car in front of

you.

In this case, with adaptive headlights, the beam in combination with the camera for the

A does, it will actually lower the light beam.

So it will never shine higher than the license plate of the vehicle in front.

So no matter how hard you try to tell that person, now, if you, if you're an a-hole,

like, this may be, you know, but if you're a normal kind person behind the wheel, this

is huge. And as someone who daily drives an older Civic, which, you know, rides pretty

low in comparison to most SUVs nowadays, even comparison to most today's nowadays, you know,

I'm always getting blasted by essentially every vehicle out there.

So something like this is almost a real to experience to see the light move to adjust

to the car, but it would also just be really nice to have it here at home.

That's very cool. You had mentioned in your article, too, that there is a connection

between the other A-dash systems and the lights themselves and that the system in the Q3

was capable of directing people in a corner or a sweeping corner, I guess.

Talk a little bit about that because that's cool as heck.

It's really cool. And, you know, obviously driving and we were driving on a highway,

but we also experienced some country roads, you know, they're pitch black, there's no other

type of lighting out there. The camera can see, you know, much farther than the road than the

human eye. So it would essentially create these two sort of lines, kind of like a, if you were

to grab an equal sign, but rotate them vertically. And this would, if these two lines were

straight, and these were essentially drawn on the pavement in front of you where your

headlights are illuminating, if these two lines were straight, it means that the road in front

of you was straight. But then they could actually bend, those lines would bend a little bit to the

left, letting you know that a left turn is coming up or they would, you know, bend to the right

if it was the other way around. So it obviously is never going to show quite, you know, the radius

of the corner or the exact angle, but it's just to give you a little bit of an idea, just a

little bit added sense of safety that, you know, that a certain turn is coming up. So that was

very cool. And then this can also work for blind spot monitoring. It can also work for maybe

you're feeling drowsy and you're getting too close to the lane marker, it'll actually, you

know, project some images to kind of get your attention. So yeah, very cool stuff.

So, you know, you mentioned that this isn't available in the United States. Did the folks at

Audi talk about what they're trying to do to maybe get this in the United States? You know,

did they have any inkling of whether this will ever be available in the United States, or we

just SOL? Well, you know, I think it's all of the above. It's a combination of things. So the

regulations have changed. They changed, I believe it's in 2022, where there were some amendments

to the rule where the feds will allow the adaptive beams to work on a headline, but the

demands are actually too high, or they're too strict to what the rest of the world uses. So we

went from having headlight rules written, I believe, was it in the 40s or 50s, I believe,

now having them be extremely, extremely strict. So we went from like completely lax or extremely

strict. And the rest of the world lives somewhere in the middle, pretty much. So what Audi said is,

okay, you guys may allow a version of adaptive headlights, but it's not quite our version.

It's really not quite anyone's version, except for Rivian, who has rolled out a version of adaptive

headlights, which they're not quite the same as Mercedes or Audi's and how they work. But as

besides the point, so what Audi has said is, you know, that they're looking into it, obviously,

things are always changing to knowledge or changing hardware is changing the laws themselves are

changing. But as of right now, there is no estimated arrival date per se. So, you know,

they can't justify creating new hardware and your software to fit just the American regulation.

Also, because the regulation is extremely new, they haven't really had the time or desire to

design something just for us. Interesting. Jerry, we got to move on to another topic. But real

quick, can you tell me, is this system branded? Does it have a name? And is it standard on the Q3?

Or is this an option? So in overseas or in Europe, for example, which I drove a European model,

it is it is standard on a certain trim, which I couldn't tell you. I believe it's prestige enough.

But but yeah, so the name itself is micro LED digital matrix headlights. So man,

that's a bunch of name. Yes. All right, you just drove something super cool. And it's kind of a

vehicle I forgot existed. But you spent time in the Fiat Topolino, which is a delightful car.

Super cute. Yeah. But it's actually a car. And it's interesting that that it is,

it is remarkably tidy, small and affordable. And it is being used on the streets to commute in.

Yeah. So you talk about a completely different vehicle than the Q3, which is super advanced

and, you know, luxurious and whatnot. And then this is essentially a very,

a very charming glorified golf cart. And if you read, if you read the comments in my review,

that's essentially what everyone's saying. Oh, like, you know, cute golf cart, but it's true. So

this is only available in Europe. And it's quite cheap, at least if you were to buy one in Europe,

converted to dollars, it's under $10,000. Okay. It's made by, it's actually made by Citroen,

but it's also batches the Fiat. So it's called the Amy. It's super cute. And the Fiat is called

the Topolino, which means the little mouse. And I think it's even cuter. Now, the one I drove is

called the Dolce Vita, which is, you know, has little little ropes for doors. If you can even

call them that, it has a, you know, a fold up, you know, cloth roof. So it's pretty much convertible.

And, you know, I drove it in the South of France, where this car really is about, you know, perfect

for. It only has a top speed of 30 miles an hour, which, you know, for Americans, that's like,

you know, people just start laughing. But if you think of- I just started laughing.

Yeah. Where you see these vehicles, you know, Paris, Milan, you know, London,

you know, Rome, obviously, or, or, you know, crowded beach, tourist destinations,

you're never really going to go any faster than that. Even better is you have almost 50 miles of

range, 46, 47, to be precise. So this is all about either commuting to your job and to the

grocery store on the way back and not having to charge for, you know, upwards of a week.

Or, you know, just maybe commuting between your yacht and your, your condo, you know, up the

mountain. So it's, it's a toy, but it's a very, very lovely toy. Jerry, you make the case that

we should have these things here in the US. Do you think that's actually a practical thing that

might happen? Can manufacturers sell these sort of things here? And what markets do you see them

working in? Well, you know, is it a practical thing? I think so. Will it happen? I don't know,

but I'll tell you that in my subdivision where I currently live, I would say 65, 70% of the people

who live here have a golf cart. And the only thing to use that golf cart for, we don't have a golf

course. So let me start with that. The only thing they use it for is to either go to the pool or

maybe go down to the corner store, you know, whatever. It's really, it's really kind of annoying.

So, you know, could we use something like this to replace that? Absolutely. But this has, you

know, a much wider, you know, use case. So I could possibly drive this, if I live closer to

the airport, I could drive this. This could be my car. You know, I only really go to the grocery

store or, or to the gym or to meet, you know, Jill for breakfast as we did a few weeks ago.

You know, I can get just about anywhere in one of these. So I think there is,

there is a value proposition here where if I could buy a cool little car for under $10,000 that

would get 80% of my driving done. So unfortunately, you couldn't take this on the highway. But if you

could, I mean, that would, that would make it a pretty good one car solution, in my opinion.

So, I mean, looking at the pictures, I don't know that you get a really good gauge of the,

the size of the vehicle. Would you say this is like smaller than or about similarly sized to

like the old Smart 4 2, because there are only two seats in here, or is it like bigger?

So, you know, I never drove a Smart 4 2, but I have driven, well, I used to own one of the

gas-powered Fiat 500s when they, when they came back to the US. I would say it's just a little bit,

it's, it's just a little bit smaller than that, obviously, because you don't have the rear seats,

but inside, once you get inside, it feels just as spacious as a Fiat 500, not quite the new

electric one. That's just a little bit, you know, bigger. But, but yeah, I mean, it feels like,

this is weird to say, but if you could go back in time about 10, 15 years when cars were just a

little bit less bloated, this is about the size of a hatchback from, from 15 years ago. So,

it would be ideal if you had an extra two seats, but, but then again, you know, that that would

create a whole set of new set of compromises. Jerry, this is all great stuff. Tell us how

people can find more of your stuff. Yeah, so you can check us out on, check us out on thedrive.com,

we're also, you know, on YouTube, we have a lot of videos going up weekly. We were also on social

media and I encourage you guys to check out the Audi headlight video on Instagram. I did not

watch the video. I read the article, I haven't seen the video. Yeah, you get a great visual on,

on what I'm actually talking about, which is much better to watch than to listen to me talk.

Okay, we will link to that as well. Jerry, thank you so much for your time today. We have to have

you back on. Thank you so much. I appreciate it. I'd love to. All right. That's Jerry Perez,

deputy editor at the drive. We're going to take a break. And when we come back,

it's time, it's time.

Questions or comments, drop us a line at carstuff at consumer guide.com. That's car stuff at consumer

guide.com. Hi, it's Brendan from Sons of Speed. You've heard me and my colleague Paul on the car

stuff podcast whenever Jill's out of town. But now you can hear us every week on the We Are Motor

Driven podcast along with Jennifer from Auto Exotica and Harvey from Rides and Drives. We talk

about everything from sports cars to trucks to EVs and our favorite speed. So join us each week by

searching We Are Motor Driven wherever you get your favorite podcast. Welcome back to the car

stuff podcast. And we're back. This is the consumer guide car stuff podcast. I'm Tom. She is Jill

fun talking to Jerry there. It really was. I'm sorry. You told me I needed to eat a donut.

So I'm eating a donut. Yeah, you started. I got this from Paul. This is a text. He must be

listening live. I am not 72 or 63. Told you. Okay. My bad. Then he, I don't know, more than 73. That

seems unlikely. I very, very unlikely. Okay. Speaking of social media, which we weren't.

But we can. Yeah. So yeah, I'm on it. Oh, all right. Next topic. No. So Twitter, Instagram,

YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, LinkedIn, all the things currently actually working on a rebrand

for my YouTube channel. Oh, I know. So TBD, I have a friend who is does that mean videos of this will

go back up there again? Yeah, I'm hoping in the New Year, I'll be able to start. I know there was

a lot of work for you. There was a lot of work for me. But I think if I can get the unedited

audio, I might be able to make that easier. So TBD. But yeah, so I'm working on a rebrand there.

And I have a friend who is an old running friend, because I know you know, he's bragging. I've

got a friend. I have a friend. Yeah. But an old running friend who is several friends and a running

friend, though. My buddy Dave runs. I don't run with Dave. Okay. But he's the one who's going

to be working on the logo. So buddy Dave. No, my running friend. That would be weird. So once,

once that gets up and running, we'll we'll I'll make sure I give him full kudos for it.

All right, there you go. Next week, episode 300. Wow. Congratulations to us. The consumer

great guests lined up. Yes. I don't know what we're going to talk about yet. I don't know if

we're going to do regular news, but I don't think we'll do a car review. But Jenny Newman. Yes.

Managing editors. Yeah, our very first guest is coming back. Thanks to her. She's busy. Yeah.

She's really busy. She's been all over the automotive news daily drive talking about affordability,

which cars is all over. And then Damon Bell, our good friend, Damon Bell, Damon and I worked

together for 20 years. Yeah, he was one of our original co-hosts. And one of our original

co-hosts, Damon, is great. He'll be joining us as well in studio, both of them. Yes. So I'm going

to get like six donuts. We're going to need an extra chair and a microphone. We should make him

chair a microphone. So that's next week. You don't want to miss that. And I'll have to come up with

an extra special quiz. I need to start working on that now. Okay. All right. Which donut did you

go with? I went with that. You said it was like apple crisp cinnamon something. Yes, that one.

That's pretty sick. Probably the most boring one on the other two you didn't like, but we should.

Well, I mean, we've posted pictures, but one like has a glop of apple stuff on it that looks weird.

I think that's like the taffy apple, the apple taffy version. Okay. It just doesn't look good.

And then the other is, you said it was a pumpkin spice donut that has cream cheese and

pepitas on top. It's just weird. I don't think that's that weird. It's weird. It's weird. It looks,

you know what it looks to me that would make it slightly weird? It looks a little savory.

And that's the pepitas. It does not look savory. I don't know what it looks like. It does not.

I don't know. All right. Yeah. All right. So I'm going to force producer Randy to make a choice.

Okay. I will not choose. Patty Vasquez. Yes. I was in studio with her last week. She liked

the apple or the pumpkin spice. The pepita donut. Yes. Okay. The pepita donut. In fact,

she cut it up for a lot. Maybe she didn't like it. She cut it up for lots of people to try.

That, that should be your tell. It crosses my mind that maybe she didn't like it. Yeah.

Oh, this is so good. Here, have some. I gotta get rid of this. Yeah.

All right. It's quiz time. Okay. And you've been begging me. Oh, so much. You've been begging me

for more spelling quiz stuff. So this one is even more spelling. I before E, except after C.

Yeah. Some of these are real easy. Some of these I think are hard. All I'm going to do is give you

a model. It's a real car model and you have to spell it. Oh, great. All right. And then use it in

a sentence. I have never driven one is just fine. Okay. All right. Are you ready? Lincoln Versailles.

See, my wife could do this. She, she took Spanish. French. French. So I think it is

V-E-R-S-A-I-L-L-E-S. Correct. Nice job. You want to know how I know how to spell that?

Yeah. Because there's a Versailles, Indiana. Is there one in Illinois? Or is it, is it Indiana?

I think it could be Indiana. Where's the weather? Just isn't there like a weather

center, like a weather reporting area in Versailles, Illinois? I don't know, but Versailles.

Oh, all right. Anyway, you've got the first one. Nice job. The Lincoln Versailles was available

from 1977 to 1980. And it was really just a glorified Granada. And this was Lincoln's response

to the Cadillac Seville, which was kind of cool. Seville was based on the Nova, but got a fuel

injected engine and coil spring rear suspension. And the Seville was cool. They're kind of collectible

now. But the Versailles was a Granada. Okay. It's sad. All right. You're probably going to get this

one because you had to write it a bunch of times. Volkswagen Faten. Oh, PH. Oh, it's,

here you go. Okay. You can write it out. You're actually giving me a pen and paper. You can write

it out. Yeah, I think it's P-H-A-E-T-O-N. Nice job. Okay. This is one of the weirdest cars ever

sold in the US. Oh, I loved this car. It was a good car. Between 2004 and 2006, it was a

large sedan sold by Volkswagen available with a W12 cylinder engine. Also, the weird thing is,

is you said the word Faten, though it does conjure luxury things. Fatens were parade cars.

Yeah. So this was not a convertible. So very strange. No, but I have to say, I loved the Faten. It was,

I drove it to my sister before my mom moved to Indianapolis. My sister lived in Indy. And I

drove to Indy and I won't tell you how fast I made it there, but it was the fastest I have ever

driven to Indy in ever. Yeah, that engine was a honey. Ever. If anyone ever wants to be confused,

find a picture, a cutaway picture of that engine. It makes no sense. Because they say W,

but it's actually four branches. It's two VR6 engines joined at the head. It is crazy looking.

I mean, it is wider than it is long. Yeah, it was, it was, it was amazing.

So there's that. It was also 120 grand or something with the V12, W12. Failed luxury option.

I drove one to my sister's wedding and that was my sister and her husband's wedding limo.

I was a chauffeur. All right. Mystique, Mercury Mystique.

Hmm. All right, you've got the pen. I've got the pen. Your handwriting is frightening.

It is not. I mean, if I was your psychiatrist,

I'd be a little alarmed. Got a Rorschach test going on there. Kind of. Okay, so I'm not qualified to

interpret this. I'm just like, I'm, I'm. Mystique, Mercury Mystique.

Gonna need an answer. I know. And I, hmm, is one of those right? Can you tell me? No,

I can't read that. I'm surprised you can. You can. My writing is actually not that bad.

One of them is right. One of them is right. Okay.

I, I think that feels like cheating. I think it's M Y S T I Q. No,

M Y S T I Q U E. Okay. The Mystique. And this is a car that wasn't around very long,

but you may have driven one between night. No, you wouldn't have between 1995 and 2000.

It replaced the Mercury Topaz. I don't know how to put this nicely. The Topaz was crap.

But the Mystique was the, the, the Mercury analog for the Ford contour. Oh, okay. And

the Mystique was replaced by the, the Milan and the contours were replaced by the fusion.

And the fusion would be a very big seller. So here's a fun fact for you. When my husband and

I first got married, he had a Ford contour SVT. Oh yeah. Yeah. I remember knowing that. Yeah.

Crazy little car. Crazy little car. Just that was still when we were talking about four valve

engines. Like that was a, I forgot what that engine was called, but it was a two and a half liter

super Revi six that like pushed out 200 horsepower or something.

Anyway, it was, it was a fun little car. Yeah. Those were cool. I couldn't reach the clutch.

So I'd never drove it. All right. We've got two. So you need to tell the rules. I don't think you

told the rules yet. Five questions total plus a bonus question needs three for a win.

That one can include the bonus question. Okay. So I've got two out of three so far. Yeah. You

need one more to win. Okay. Daihatsu. This is a brand. Daihatsu. Daihatsu sold cars in the U.S.

between 1988 and 1992, including the Rocky, which was a cute little ute like that looked like the

Suzuki sidekick and the charade, which I think was terrible, but I never drove either. I did.

I drove it a hits you Rocky on my honeymoon. Okay. And they came in islands.

Yes. I think I'm going to be wrong, but I'm going to go with want to write it down. No. Okay.

D I H A T S U. No. No. D A I. Yeah. I'm like, there's something in the yeah, in the beginning.

Yeah. Interesting thing about the how to wholly owned now by Toyota. Okay. And we've spoken about

K cars, K cars. That's all they make now. Mostly for the home market. They're wholly owned by Toyota.

All right. It's getting a little scary now for you.

We did Versailles, Faden, Mystique, Daihatsu. You got one more of the regular questions.

Months. Months. The months jet was sold between 1951, 1954, very collectible car. Now,

sold by a guy named Madman Earl months. He's a guy that a lot has been written about. He was in

the TV business very early. He also sold used cars. But he designed a car. Never made any money

on these bad boys, but they were super expensive. Beautiful convertibles. I've never heard of this.

You haven't? No. Interesting piece of history. I bet you Sam knows all about the months. Got it.

Well, there's there's two spellings I think you could go with. John Beal too would be super into

it. I think it would either be M-U-N-T-Z or M-U-N-Z. It's got to be one of those. All right. Like

Schmitz. Don't always have the T in Schmitz. I'm going to go M-U-N-T-Z. You are correct.

Yep. The months jet beautiful car was 5,500 bucks in 1951. That comes to about 70 grand now.

Four place convertible. They're really cool. It came with Cadillac and Lincoln engines,

which is probably why you had a hard time making money on these bad boys.

Because I bet you Cadillac and Lincoln didn't cut them a deal. New. All right. You got three. You

have one. The bonus question is just for fun then. I like it when it's tense. It's not tense now.

All right. This is just for fun season. This is me getting into the holiday season. Are you

ready? Oh, who kissed a girl in a Christmas sweater from Hallmark? We're close. You're close.

I need you to tell me which of the following is the real Hallmark Christmas movie.

So this is, for those who have been here, like this is your first episode. Yeah. This is an

ongoing running joke as far as the podcast goes. I feel like way back in 2019, you were asking us

about Hallmark, Hallmark Christmas movies, and it was like, because there was no chance Damon knew.

No, no. I mean, you have actually watched some of these. I have watched some of them. I watched

them with my mother Christmas. Yeah. I've lost a little bit of respect for you. I kissed. It was

like I kissed a guy in a Christmas sweater or something. Never kissed a guy. Never kissed a guy.

Something. Yeah. But okay. The fact that you remember that is actually hilarious. That is

actually frightening. It is frightening. It is frightening. Okay. I don't have room in my brain

for that. You apparently do because you remembered and I did not. Okay. Oh yeah, I need to read this

list then. Yes, you do. I kind of thought I was done here, but I'm not. You are not. Which of the

following is the real? The real Hallmark Christmas movie. Okay. By the way, there are like 300 of

these. Oh, believe me, I know. Holiday in Helsinki. Okay. Holiday in Helsinki. Hot Frosty. New

years in New Brunswick or Yuma Yuletide. And there's only one of them that's real?

Or I have to spot the fake. No, one of them is real. Only one is real. Holiday in Helsinki.

Hot Frosty. New year in New Brunswick or Yuma Yuletide. I'm laughing because there's that Yuma

movie. Is it 318 or Yuma or something like that? That would be very different from the movie. That

kind of like Hot Frosty as a movie title. I would watch that. Who wouldn't? Exactly. Hot Frosty.

If it's got a viewer warning, I would want to watch it. What was the one after Hot Frosty?

New year in New Brunswick. Okay. It occurs to me some of these could accidentally actually be movies.

They could be. Okay. Read the list one more time.

Gladly. Holiday in Helsinki. Hot Frosty. New year in New Brunswick or Yuma Yuletide.

These ones are all like 65 minutes long too, right? No, they're like two hours. Are they?

Yeah. Man. Yeah. Lots of commercials though. So it's probably more like an hour and a half

with lots of commercials. Wow. I'm going to go with the Helsinki one. Nope, that's fake.

Okay. New year in New Brunswick is fake. That was my other choice. Yuma Yuletide is

fake, but Hot Frosty is real. Oh. And I've got. Wow. I wanted it to be real. Now I'm going to have

to watch it. Well, after I read you this description, I'm sure you're going to like just go ahead and

book it. Widow Cathy magically brings a snowman to life. His innocence help her heal and find love

again. The bond before Christmas, what? They bond before Christmas, but he's doomed to melt.

But then that's when the magic kicks in and then he lives forever. Don't they make medicine for that?

I don't know. He's doomed to melt. All right. You did not get the bonus question,

but you did get four correct. But it's the movie I wanted to watch, so therefore I'm

super excited about this. Also, I wrote the word Paul on here at the top. Okay. That was so I

remember to read his text on there. Got it. All right. That's for you. Awesome. Thank you.

Yuma Yuletide. Yuma Yuletide. Hot Frosty. I'm excited about that one. Yeah. I'm sure that'll

be good. I think I got to all the topics I meant to. I'm going to look a little further into

CarPlay Ultra. Okay. See if I can find out what the pushback was. I don't ever remember

hearing or reading anything about that until I dug into this. No, no, no. So the pushback on

Apple CarPlay Ultra is that it essentially takes over all of the vehicles, telematics,

audio, everything. And so somebody like General Motors, who wants to capture your

data to sell it to somebody else, would not be able to do that. Before Apple does.

Before Apple does. Would not be able to do that. So because Apple gets all your information and

then Apple controls the entire environment. Yeah. I don't know if you heard the whole

thing about GM too. They're coming up with brand new, basically connected car architecture.

Yes, I did. That is pretty much computer-defined, software-defined vehicle. And that's part of

the reason that they're ditching CarPlay. But yeah, they want the telematics stuff to themselves.

They want the information to themselves. And they want you to pay money for it.

Even if that data isn't directly associated with you, they have demographics of you that

they can attach to this information and share in very valuable stuff. So we'll see where this

goes. But I'm pretty sure CarPlay is going to end up excise from all vehicles in the next

five to 10 years. Oh, no, you said by February. That there will be an announcement about another

major manufacturer. Nope. Yep. And I think it'll be big. Nope. Small manufacturers will likely

keep it because they're thinking, hey, we can get some customers who still want it.

Watch Mitsubishi stick it out. Well, Toyota just redesigned their entire

infotainment system. So they're not going to be one of them.

No, right. Because it's got to go at least three to five years for them.

All right. Good show today. Yes. Glad to have you back in studio. Thanks to Jerry Perez,

deputy editor of The Drive. We're going to link to all the stuff we talked about.

So you know what? People should just reach me out to me at CarStuffatConsumerGuide.com.

Get on the mailing list. If not, check us out on Facebook. Yes. All right. Thank you, Jill.

Thank you to producer Randy. We'll talk more about cars again next week. Next week.

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