New Ram SUV, Subaru BRZ Review, Audi's High-Tech Headlights
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Term
CarPlay Ultra
CarPlay Ultra is a new feature from Apple that helps connect your iPhone to your car's dashboard. It makes it easier to use apps and access your phone while driving.
Car
Hyundai Genesis
The Hyundai Genesis is a fancy car that offers a lot of luxury features and a comfortable ride. It was Hyundai's first step into making high-end vehicles.
Car
Chevrolet Equinox EV
The Chevrolet Equinox EV is an electric SUV that provides a greener alternative to gas-powered vehicles. It's part of Chevrolet's effort to produce more electric cars.
Term
Android Auto
Android Auto lets you connect your Android phone to your car. You can use apps and features like navigation and music on the car's screen.
Term
Apple CarPlay
Apple CarPlay lets you use your iPhone in your car. You can see your apps and use features like maps and music on the car's screen.
Car
Jeep Wagoneer
The Jeep Grand Wagoneer is a fancy version of the Wagoneer, designed to be more luxurious and comfortable. It has a lot of modern features and is great for families.
Car
Jeep Grand Wagoneer
The Jeep Wagoneer is a large SUV that combines luxury features with the ability to drive off-road. It's a modern version of a classic vehicle that many people loved in the past.
Car
Ram Charger
The Ram Charger is a type of vehicle that can run on both electricity and gasoline, allowing for longer trips without needing to recharge frequently.
Concept
plug-in hybrid
A plug-in hybrid car can be plugged into a wall outlet to charge its battery and can use both electricity and gas to drive, making it versatile for different driving needs.
Car
Dodge Charger
Car
Dodge Ram
The Dodge Ram is a big truck that people use for work and hauling things. It's known for being strong and comfortable, which is why many people like to drive it.
Car
Dodge Ram Charger
The Dodge Ram Charger is a large SUV that was made from the 1970s to the early 90s. It was built for utility and off-road capability, similar to other popular SUVs like the Bronco and Blazer.
Car
Ford Bronco
The Ford Bronco is a tough SUV that people love for driving off-road. It has a long history and has recently come back to the market, making it popular again.
Car
Dodge Rampage
The Dodge Rampage was a small truck made in the 1980s. It was different because it had front-wheel drive, which is more common in cars than trucks, and it was based on a design from another company called Simca.
Term
EV sales
EV sales mean how many electric cars are being sold. These cars run on electricity instead of gasoline, and their popularity is growing, especially with help from government programs.
Car
Hyundai Ionic
The Hyundai Ioniq 5 is a new electric car that looks very modern and has a lot of space inside. It's designed to be eco-friendly and can drive a long way on a single charge.
Car
Hyundai Ioniq 9
The Hyundai Ioniq 9 is a family-friendly electric car that has a lot of space and good features. It's part of Hyundai's line of electric vehicles, which are designed to be eco-friendly.
Term
incentives
Incentives are discounts or special offers that car companies give to help sell their cars. They can make the car cheaper to buy.
Term
EV
An EV, or electric vehicle, is a car that runs on electricity instead of gas. They are usually better for the environment and can save money on fuel.
Term
transaction price
Transaction price is the final amount you pay for a car after any discounts or deals. It's what you actually spend, not just the sticker price.
Concept
Japan Mobility Show
The Japan Mobility Show is a big event where car companies show off their new cars and technology. It used to be called the Tokyo Motor Show.
Car
Lexus Ls
The Lexus LS is a large luxury car that has been around for many years. It's known for being very comfortable and packed with high-tech features, making it a popular choice among luxury car buyers.
Term
V8 engine
A V8 engine has eight cylinders arranged in a V shape. It's popular in powerful cars because it provides a lot of horsepower and torque.
Car
Mercedes-Benz Sclass
The Mercedes-Benz S-Class is a very fancy car that offers a lot of comfort and high-tech features. It's considered one of the best luxury cars, which is why people often talk about it.
Car
Audi A8
The Audi A8 is a big luxury car made by Audi, featuring lots of technology and a smooth ride.
Car
Bmw 7
Car
Lexus LS Micro Concept
The Lexus LS Micro Concept is a tiny car that looks like a comfy chair on wheels. It's made for easy driving around the city.
Car
Toyota 86
The Toyota Corolla is a small car that many people trust because it's reliable and good on gas. It's a popular choice for everyday driving.
Car
Scion Frs
The Scion FR-S is a small sports car that is fun to drive and has a cool design. It's made for people who enjoy a sporty feel on the road.
Car
Subaru BRZ
The Subaru BRZ is a small sports car that is fun to drive and has a sporty design. It's made for people who enjoy driving and want a car that feels exciting on the road.
Term
horsepower
Horsepower is a way to measure how powerful a car's engine is. More horsepower usually means the car can go faster and accelerate quicker, making it feel more lively when you drive it.
Term
torque
Torque measures how strong an engine is when it starts moving. More torque means the car can pull heavier loads or accelerate faster from a stop.
Term
rev
To rev an engine means to make it spin faster. When you rev an engine, it can produce more power, which helps the car go faster.
Part
18-inch aluminum alloy wheels
18-inch aluminum alloy wheels are big, lightweight wheels that help a car perform better and look good.
Part
Michelin Pilot Sport performance tires
Michelin Pilot Sport tires are special tires that help cars grip the road better, especially when driving fast.
Car
Volkswagen Gti
The Volkswagen Golf GTI is a fun and sporty version of a small car called the Golf. People like it because it's enjoyable to drive and still has enough space for everyday use.
Car
Volkswagen Golfs
The Volkswagen Golf is a small car that many people love because it's practical and reliable. It's great for everyday driving and has a lot of space for passengers and cargo.
Car
Audi A3
The Audi A3 is a small luxury car that feels nice inside and drives well. It's a good choice for people who want a fancy car without going for something too big.
Car
Honda Civic
The Honda Civic is a small car that many people trust because it's reliable and saves on gas. It's popular for daily driving and is known for being easy to maintain.
Car
Fiat 500S
The Fiat 500 is a tiny car that looks cute and is great for driving around the city. It's easy to park and has a fun design, making it popular among city dwellers.
Car
Ford Granada
The Ford Granada is an older car that was made to be comfortable and stylish. It was Ford's way of competing with other fancy cars back in the day.
Car
Volkswagen Phaeton
The Volkswagen Phaeton is a fancy car that was made to compete with other luxury brands. It has a simple but elegant look and lots of high-tech features.
Car
Ford Contour
The Ford Contour is a small car from the 1990s that was designed to be fun to drive. It has a sporty look and was made for people who wanted something compact.
Car
Ford Fusion
The Ford Fusion is a medium-sized car that many people liked for its comfort and good fuel economy. It's no longer made, but you can still find used ones that are a good option.
Car
Holden Ute
The Holden Ute is a special kind of vehicle that looks like a car but has a truck bed in the back. It's popular in Australia for being useful and fun to drive.
LIVE
Whether you drive a car, need a car, or just occasionally bummer ride with friends, you've
come to the right place.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
About this episode
Gell and Tom dive into the latest automotive news, including a review of the new Ram SUV and the Subaru BRZ. They discuss the implications of General Motors dropping Apple CarPlay across its lineup, and the potential future of EV sales. The episode features an engaging conversation with Jerry Perez from The Drive, who shares insights on Audi's innovative headlight technology and the quirky Fiat Topolino. The hosts also tackle some fun spelling quizzes and Hallmark movie trivia, making for an entertaining listen.
18 inch aluminum alloy wheels
Android Auto
Apple CarPlay
CarPlay Ultra
EV
EV sales
horsepower
incentives
Japan Mobility Show
Michelin Pilot Sport performance tires
Audi A3
Audi A8
BMW 7 Series
Chevrolet Equinox
Dodge Charger
Dodge Ram
Dodge Rampage
Fiat 500
Ford Bronco
Ford Contour
Ford Fusion
Ford Granada
Holden Ute
Honda Civic
Hyundai Genesis
Hyundai Ioniq 5
Hyundai Ioniq 9
Jeep Grand Wagoneer
Jeep Wagoneer
Lexus LS
Mercedes-Benz S-Class
Scion FR-S
Subaru BRZ
Toyota Corolla
Volkswagen Golf
Volkswagen Phaeton
Original notes
Jill and Tom open the show discussing Tom’s take on the future of Apple CarPlay. You can read Tom’s recent blog post on the topic here.
The hosts also discuss Ram’s new SUV, which is due sometime as a 2028 model. Expect the truck to be mechanically similar to the Jeep Grand Wagoneer.
Next topic is a trio of boundary-pushing Lexus concept cars seen last week at the Japan Mobility Show. The six-wheel minivan is Tom’s favorite.
Still is the first segment, Jill reviews the 2025 Subaru BRZ tS small coupe. Good news, the rear-drive sportster can still be had with a manual transmission.
In the second segment, the hosts welcome Jerry Perez of The Drive to the show. Jerry shared details of his time in the updated Audi Q3 featuring the maker’s Micro LED Digital Matrix Headlights. Jerry also recalls his time in one of Europe’s smallest—and most charming—electric vehicles, the Fiat Topolino.
In the last segment, Jill is subject to Tom’s “More Spellin’” quiz, featuring a Hallmark Christmas move bonus question.
Car Stuff Podcast
Consumer Guide Automotive, Tom Appel, Jill Ciminillo
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58:03