Off-Road Mustang, Discontinued Models, Ford's Electric Saga, Cadillac F1

Hello, and welcome to another episode of the AutoGuide Podcast.

This week, we talk about Ford and whether or not it really enjoys making electric cars.

We talk about the potential for a hotter golf, cars that aren't going to make it past the

end of 2025, and we finish with more Ford stuff.

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All right, everyone.

We have a fun show this week.

I have Greg with us, our editorial director, Mike is taking some well-deserved time off.

And so, Greg, how are you doing?

I'm doing great.

It's a great day to podcast.

It's like we were talking about a little chilly, but hey, it's a great day to

talk cars.

We're heading into the fall driving season.

It's true, right?

We've had a bit of a quiet, well, not really that quiet, but quietish August.

And now it's just going to all ramp up.

So since car week wrapped up in Monterey recently, a lot of people got to talk with Jim Farley

on the lawn out there.

And this was an interesting little tidbit of news to kick off the week.

The Ford CEO flat out refused to turn Lincoln all-electric, and we've seen other premium

brands make big grand gestures towards being electric and then quietly pull that back.

Yeah.

You know, I think it's interesting because their arch rival Cadillac made a big deal about

how they were going to go all-electric, and I believe they've kind of pulled back

on that to a certain extent.

You know, Mercedes, some of the other premium luxury brands were all about electrics

for a pretty long time, and now they are sort of pivoting or retrenching or adding some nuance

to that strategy with hybridization and even keeping some internal combustion engines in

there.

In Lincoln's case, they usually have a small enough lineup that I think being all-electric

would be prohibitive for them.

You know, as good as electric technology could be.

For a brand like Lincoln, I think you want to be able to meet your customers where

they are.

I think that's what Jim Farley was trying to say.

He's really started using Pebble Beach as almost like his, I don't know, state of the

union for Ford Motor Company.

It seems like he really likes going out there with the race cars and the vintage race

cars.

So, yeah, he had a lot to say on the lawn there at Pebble Beach.

Yeah.

I like that you brought up Cadillac because that was something that I mentioned

in this story, too, about Cadillac does have a lot of EVs.

It seems like it's doing fairly well for them, but yeah, I think they have a different

target audience, right?

And they have a broader lineup.

They still have cars, although I guess they technically have an EV car, right?

If you count the Celestic.

But it seems like the SUVs are doing well for them.

And the nice thing in this interview is that he does expand that they're not

against electrification, even though it's not in a whole lot of models right now.

That was my main criticism with the navigator, actually, when I drove the new one earlier this

year is I wish there was some level of hybridization.

And Jim talks about that and talks about a future where he sees hybrids and extended

range hybrids being a thing for Lincoln.

And I think that does make a lot of sense, right?

Like people who are getting big gas guzzling SUVs wouldn't say no to the option to

power them in short little bursts in the city on electric power.

I imagine.

Yeah, I agree with that.

I think especially for Lincoln, a brand that I think is somewhat still trying to

reestablish its identity and reach some new customers.

I think having some hybrid augmenting the rest of their lineup would be really helpful,

especially from a performance and efficiency standpoint.

I think when I think of Lincoln's, you almost kind of you do think of the

motor is a little bit of a selling point.

So this is going way back like the 50s and 60s, like, hey, the Lincoln has a V8,

right?

So I think the hybrid as a performance element could help.

I mean, I think they have to have an electric at some point in that lineup to

be competitive, because even though some of the other brands we mentioned

have retrenched a little bit, they all still have some very good

electrics that I've driven, you've driven and we like a lot.

So I think Lincoln does have to go down that road, but with such a small

lineup, probably being only electric would be quite limiting for them,

especially when you consider sort of like the age and demographic of many

Lincoln customers, right?

So yeah.

Yeah.

So it's it's interesting.

And then we'll we'll we'll flip over to the other side of FOMO Co and talk

about how Ford is not building an all electric Mustang.

Yeah, I can't say I'm shocked here.

But it's it's a little confusing here because wouldn't you already say they

have an all electric Mustang?

I mean, I'm pretty sure I've driven one haven't you?

It's just a little bit.

Yeah, exactly.

Exactly.

So I mean, I think what they're, you know, semantics aside, as we said,

I think what they're trying to say is like, hey, they are going to keep

like a traditional Coupe and convertible with, you know, a gasoline fed

engine that is playing right to the base, the pony car base.

I think it was kind of controversial to use Mustang on the Mach E in the first

place. When I saw it, I kind of thought this is a it's a gamble.

It's a risky play.

It seemed almost unnecessary because I mean, I get that the notion of a

Mustang has been a lot of things for the last 60 years.

So if you want to do this, sure, you're Ford, you're well within

your rights to do that, but it did seem like they were stretching it a little

bit. I would almost argue Chevy with the Blazer.

They could have called that a Camaro as much as Ford called, you know,

the Mach E a Mustang, just because I mean, think about it, right?

Look at look at the design and I think it's it's not that far off.

So I mean, I think Ford's just trying to establish and remind people

that they're, you know, their signature pony car is going to live

on with somewhat of a traditional engine for at least another decade.

Yeah. And I feel like, look, we don't have to we don't have to pull up

sales figures to remind ourselves that the Mustang is a tiny drop

in the yearly sales.

So if it's going to continue with the V8,

that doesn't dramatically change the makeup of the whole lineup.

And so if the brand is working towards ever tightening fuel,

emissions, regulations, this isn't a major issue.

I I personally wouldn't be opposed to seeing

alongside the V8, an electric Mustang.

But I guess it hasn't really worked too well for Dodge.

So maybe just just let that sit.

You know, it's funny and we can do a whole podcast on the charger

electric, because I actually think that is a car that is ahead of its time.

I think a performance, Cooper, four door muscle car, pony car,

whatever you want to call it, I actually think is a great solution

for a lot of enthusiasts.

I think just they launched it right in the midst of changing

political, economic and all sorts of other, you know, global conditions

that made it so it wasn't going to necessarily probably resonate,

especially with the Dodge buyers.

I still think it's a great car and could even be something

between mainstream and niche.

So like somewhere in that maybe like middle ground in there.

And I think the Mustang, you know, an electric Mustang

Coupe convertible could definitely get into that space.

I think a lot of people would be super excited to get something

that looks like like the new Mustang, like a dark horse with an electric motor.

Would it be the the majority of their sales?

Of course not. I think, you know, they've been very liberal

by growing the brand of Mustang with a crossover.

And this $300,000 race car and stuff.

So I mean, I think you got a room for an electric motor in there.

They just, you know, I think, frankly, I think they should do it.

So we're we're on the same page there.

We just disagree with Jim Farley and he may have a little more clout

than we do as far as calling the shots here.

Maybe, maybe. Well, we'll have to talk to him.

So moving on, actually staying on the subject of EVs.

This was an interesting little nugget.

So Porsche is getting ready to launch the Cayenne EV.

And there were some first drives going around in Europe recently.

Well, not even first drives, they're still in prototypes.

But the interesting thing about this is that Porsche has

at least one development model that's floating around that has

artificial shifts and artificial engine noise,

which is something that we've seen in other brands, most notably Hyundai

with the Ionic 5N, but we've also seen it in Lexus.

And so it seems like Porsche's.

Backing down from a previous decision to not use those features

in a way to just provide a little more engagement for EV drivers.

Yeah, I don't know how I feel about these.

Part of me thinks it's kind of, you know, like a Coke Zero kind of thing.

We're like, why do you just maybe don't go down that road?

And I actually like Coke Zero, so that's maybe a separate discussion.

But I'm not sure this is a move Porsche needs to do.

I can see why Hyundai did it.

And I feel like it's well intentioned, but I don't know.

I'm not sure Porsche should go down this road.

Yeah, I after after experiencing it, the interesting thing

is not all implementations are the same, right?

The the Lexus RZ with its fake shifts isn't as satisfying

as I found with the Hyundai, but on the flip side, I was very fortunate

and got to drive the Hyundai on a track.

And that's where these sorts of things make a lot of sense,

because it really plays with your mind and your sense of speed

when you can downshift and head into a corner, right?

We have instructors doing lead follow telling you

it's a third gear corner and you know to do that.

But for day to day driving, yeah, this this doesn't really serve a purpose

and feels kind of antithetical to the point of an EV, which is smooth quiet progress.

Yeah, I worry a little bit about the authenticity, too, of Porsche

because you can't really fake the engagement here.

And I mean, it is like sort of faking the engagement.

So it it's a little bit of a concern that Porsche of all brands would go there.

But I guess we'll see.

We will. Yeah.

So a sibling brand, the other bit of the news

from the entire VW group this week,

it sounds like there are serious rumors

that the Volkswagen Golf R is going to get an additional cylinder

and a whole lot more power.

I think that would be a great move.

I'm fully in support of that.

I there's no no argument there.

I think it makes a ton of sense, frankly,

to give it just how sort of small a segment

like the golf lineup is at this point.

You know, why not add that degree of performance?

Really play to the enthusiast base and have some fun with it.

I mean, I think I mean, by, you know, my estimation,

this would be like sort of like the corporate five cylinder,

which is an outstanding engine.

At least that would be one way to, you know, do it.

I don't know if they go all the way

with what they did with like the TTRS back in the day.

But I mean, that gets you another cylinder

and that was a great power plant.

So I think this makes a good deal of sense.

And I think also given the fact that the climate

for efficiency regulation,

especially in the United States, has changed a little bit.

Some of these automakers are, I think,

kind of using that as an opportunity

to experiment with different things in their lineup

that maybe they would have been done with,

you know, dodge of a hemi.

And now they're like, hey, let's bring it back

and see what happens.

So even if it's only for could be four years, you know,

I don't know, thinking of how things quickly,

things change here in the States, but, you know, it's a play.

Yeah, I think, you know, just despite how different

the lineup is now for BW, especially in Europe,

the Gulf and the GTI and by extension, the Gulf are.

That's that's the basis of hot hatched them, right?

That's where it all started.

And so if if the gas powered one purely gas powered

is going to be limiting, living on borrowed time,

why not go out with a bang, like put the five cylinder in,

have a super golf, target everything.

I think that's a really.

Appropriate way for this model to bow out.

Four hundred horsepower and it sounds like nothing else.

What a way.

I mean, I drove that that motor on a track in,

I believe it was Spain or Portugal at the TTRS launch.

This is probably 2016.

So I'm dating myself, but it was a brilliant engine.

And it was something that I think in some ways,

like the Volkswagen could glomer and sort of underused.

I thought they were a little too cautious with it.

So, you know, an updated version of that in the Gulf

are I think would be a really good move for enthusiasts.

I think you and I would have a lot of fun with that car.

I mean, very much even the Gulf are the regular one.

It's already hilarious.

So yeah, here's hoping.

So while we're talking about future cars,

now we get to talk about one of the fun parts of the job

that happens right around this time over here,

where we collect all of the models that are going to die.

Twenty twenty five is no different.

There are quite a lot of vehicles

that aren't going to live to twenty twenty six.

And there are some surprises on this list.

And also I should point out, you know, we still have four months of the year left.

So, Greg, I'm going to run through them real quickly.

And you can pop in with an opinion on them.

Acura TLX, we've already talked about this, I think, on the podcast.

It's one of Mike's favorite midsize sedans, but yeah, it's disappearing.

I liked it a lot.

I thought it was a nice throwback to what Acura could have been

and used to be at times.

So I'm sad to see it go, but we'll probably get to this throughout this list here.

It's a sedan.

There's not a huge market for things like this.

Nice try Acura.

I like this car, but probably not enough other people that.

Yeah. Yeah.

Next on the still the premium segment,

which gets a lot of this portion of the list.

But the BMW eight series also bowing out.

It, you know, this is one that I think struggled to find a market

as far as that really high end sort of performance, but luxury segment.

It just I don't think it really hit like it did with some of the some of its competitors.

I think people it didn't have that emotional feel.

You know, you do get a special edition and that's that'll be it for it.

So yeah, there you go.

It was a it was a tough one.

I drove the M eight last year

and was really impressed at how good it was when I wanted to push it.

But but to your point, it's like I'm spending that money.

I could look at a nine eleven and then the Alpina B eight.

Fantastic. The the four door so great.

But also I just it's such a niche item.

I think in some ways Mercedes and BMW have grown their lineups

with cars and crossovers to places they don't necessarily need to go

in an effort to grab new customers and sell more cars.

But that's that's probably also a separate podcast.

And this to me is sort of evidence of it.

They're just they're over stretching here

because I would take a nine eleven and a few other things all day.

Yeah. So moving on, the Cadillac XT6.

Forgot they sold this to be honest.

Yeah, I feel like Cadillac might have too.

So look, we're not going to miss it.

The the Lyric and the Vistik are the EV alternatives

that sort of cover both ends of this.

And yeah, the XT6 never made a dent.

So oh, well, the Ford Escape, that's that's a big one.

That's a big loss.

What's interesting to me is that they launch the Escape

and it was pretty well received.

This was I want to say what five years ago at this point

and give or take for when this generation launched

in another website I worked for.

People were so excited about this

that we delayed a compact comparison test,

compact crossover test, because we were like,

hey, we got to get the escape in there.

So we pushed it back a few months.

So I think it was pretty well received.

I think it did a lot of things well.

The hybrid was very good.

I don't know if this is necessarily a move they should be making

because I think it's a solid performer that sells well.

And I'm not sure this is the right road for them to go down.

Now, Ford would tell you they already have the Bronco Sport.

They have the Maverick.

They're pretty well covered in this segment,

even without the escape.

But I don't know if this to me feels like a little bit of a

you're going to have to have a really home run product.

Replace it to make up for the fact

that you took a pretty good product out of the lineup.

Yeah, that's that's the serious concern

right and I mean, Ford has this grand plan

with the new affordable V platform,

but we'll see if it replaces this.

Never mind, I mean, the Bronco Sports

not going to make up the the difference either.

I also want to point out that the related Lincoln Coursera

is also done, though, which actually makes more sense.

It doesn't really feel like it needed to exist.

So, you know, 50 percent ain't bad for Ford.

Lincoln's just they never seem to stick around.

No, so we're going to fly through the rest of the list here.

The Genesis Electrified G80 fantastic vehicle.

It was sold in a handful of states.

They sold dozens of them where it sucks.

But it was a great car.

Yeah, I was even willing to give it some votes

for a car of the year a couple of years ago for an actoy.

But it just would you find out just where it's sold?

Like, sorry, good luck with that.

Yeah, so so that one's unfortunate.

Infinity is killing off the QX 50 and 55,

which means that for a brief little window of window of time next year,

Infinity will be a two vehicle, only three row SUV brand.

So they're really focused in on one segment and just that.

Infinity has been struggling for a long time, right?

So the QX 65, maybe that'll change things for them.

I mean, it whenever I get in their products,

especially on the front end of their often very long product cycles,

they're very good vehicles.

But in this case, these were not, I think, super competitive.

They were always like right in the middle of most of the like

rankings of things of vehicles of this type in their segment.

So, I mean, I think this is probably actually a good chance

for Infinity to kind of hit reset and try to do something

maybe a little more unique.

Here's hoping the Mercedes Benz EQB is disappearing.

The GLB was a very funky, small SUV that I really enjoyed.

But the EQB just felt like an afterthought.

It had slow charging, not enough power, not enough range.

And it was expensive because of the Mercedes.

So I like this vehicle, actually.

All the everything you said is true, but I liked it.

I thought it was kind of a fun, small electric vehicle

that actually did serve a market.

Like I think some people, like you want a vehicle

that has the three point star on it.

It's attainable.

But yeah, to your point, some of the basic genetics

didn't do what they should.

Yeah. And on that note, the penultimate one on this list

is the Lexus RC, a Frankenstein of a vehicle.

That platform is something like three different cars

underneath in a trench coat.

And so it's ancient.

It's understandable that it leaves.

The RCF was fun, but flawed.

The V8 dominated that experience.

Yeah, I mean, I think this is another one of those cars

that I kind of thought disappeared maybe a year or two ago.

I'm a little surprised to see it's on this list.

So it was fun to drive, though.

But it wasn't what some of the other ones you mentioned

could do.

And to wrap it up, talking about fun to drive,

the Porsche 718 Twins, the Cayman and Boxer

are disappearing for good this year.

And that one hurts.

My absolute favorites.

I literally, in every summer, usually you get like one

or two Porsches through the fleet.

These things are perfect.

I think this is a tragedy.

I think this is one where I don't know if,

like sure, do an electric version.

That could be great.

Put the batteries in a certain spot, keep the design.

But this is where I think having like, you know,

internal combustion engine with the sound,

the manual transmission, these were amazing cars.

Yep, yep.

And they're a better driver's car than the 911.

I'm saying it.

It is.

Yeah.

So that's it for the news.

Greg and I are going to take a quick little breather

and then we're going to talk about the reviews.

And yeah, we'll be right back.

Okay, we just needed a quick breather there

because there is a lot to cover today.

So, Greg, up first for reviews is you

in something a little boxy and plug-in-able.

Plug-in-able?

That's a great way to describe it.

2025 Range Rover Sport Dynamic SE.

This is the PHEV.

Stickers for just a shade over 100,

we'll call it $107,000.

So you're paying a lot of money for a lot of car.

I'm curious how many Range Rover buyers will opt

for this specific model because plug-in hybrids,

I personally enjoy them and find them interesting,

but they're kind of a niche use case.

You know, people, I don't think fully know

how to use them to get the most efficiency

and electric range out of them.

But I mean, frankly, I would probably do that

for this and many other models.

I think for most people I'd recommend

just maybe get one of the many other Range Rover Sport models

you can get, but I had a good weekend in this thing.

To explain it, it's very sporty,

but also very like a functional SUV

with all that kind of Range Rover DNA coming through it.

So yeah, I really liked my weekend in it.

I really did.

Okay, sorry, I think there was a little glitch

on my end there where I froze or you froze

for a little bit, seems like it was fine.

So, you know, I just want to quickly point out,

this is something that's always kind of got to me

because you mentioned to like,

people don't maybe understand how plug-ins work

or how to get the most out of them.

And I agree, I feel like that is something

that is just kind of a knowledge black hole currently

with a lot of car buyers.

And then I always wonder, is that our fault?

Are we the baddies?

Because I've had people ask me this year,

oh, well, a regular hybrid,

aren't you supposed to plug that in?

Like people still think that regular hybrids

need to be plugged in and I'm just like, no, no, no,

but this could be very beneficial for you

if you use it properly.

So I always wonder how to like better give

that information away in a way that makes sense, right?

Because when I have a plug-in,

if I'm going to be driving on the highway,

I always try and force the gas engine.

Like please don't go into electric.

I want to save that.

I want to save it for the city.

Yeah, it's interesting though.

I mean, like in the case of this one specifically,

you do get a lot of benefits, you know,

it's 53 miles of electric range,

but it also gives you zero to 60 in like five seconds.

So it's like the best of all worlds.

This one was super powerful.

It had the three liter inline six,

it's the Ingenium, 454 horsepower

and 87 pound feet of torque, which believe me,

this thing could get up and go.

So I mean, if you're looking for a plug-in hybrid,

this is a richly appointed sporty one

from a brand you might not expect

to be dabbling in this area.

You know, I will say this,

I drove a Defender earlier this year.

And when I look at the like the Land Rover

such as it is lined up

because they've really changed some of their branding,

I think I would lightly go with the Defender

because I think you could get more Defender cheaper

than you can Range Rover Sport.

You know, it was $106,000.

This is like escalated territory.

It's not quite as big,

even though it is a very like large,

relatively speaking vehicle.

I will say this though,

like from a style and just, you know,

aspirational standpoint,

Range Rover Sports give you that,

that just that, you know, image,

that aura all day long that other things don't,

that you don't get from the Germans,

you don't get from the American brands.

And that's where a thing like this is something special.

You know, mine was like kind of like really dark gray.

It had a really sleek interior.

So I mean, from that perspective, you know,

this is almost like your, you know,

I don't know, picture for the Tigers or Blue Jays

or somebody who's pretty well off

in wants a nice car that looks different in, you know,

the players lot or the country club or whatnot.

So that's where I think Range Rover

really does have a strong hand to play.

And you know, I don't know,

lots of things about this were really, really enjoyable.

So yeah, they had a good week with it.

Took it golfing, took it, took my son around in it.

The family really enjoyed it.

I didn't put the dog in it though,

because that would have probably, you know,

messed up the very handsome interior,

but you know, good looking vehicle, lots of fun, sporty,

and very good looking, luxurious,

all the things you want at this price point.

Yeah. And it's relatively subtle, right?

At least how yours is specced,

which feels like a good segue

to talk about the complete opposite,

which is the Mustang Mach-E rally.

So I had this a while back,

and actually, so Mike drove it even before I did.

And he did a video,

which you can definitely watch

on the AutoGuide YouTube channel.

I took it somewhere different.

I took it camping.

I was invited by a fellow autojournalist

to head out for a weekend and camp out in the wilderness.

And they told me to bring something rugged.

And in my mind, this qualified.

You know, it's the most rugged Mach-E.

So it made sense.

As it turns out, when you're rock crawling,

maybe not the best choice.

It did what it needed to,

but it did require some very careful maneuvering

and avoiding, you know, hitting the floor

because that's where all the important bits are

in a Mach-E rally.

But I really enjoyed this vehicle.

I didn't think I would,

but I think it shows the elasticity of this platform,

which Ford is criminally underusing

by only having it as a Mach-E.

This platform is used nowhere else.

It's basically a Mustang Mach-E GT

with the performance upgrade,

but then an inch suspension lift,

some underbody protection, all-terrain tires,

a new drive mode, some tweaks to the suspension,

and some really ridiculous over-the-top graphics

and rally style wheels,

and a huge Focus RS rear wing.

Or at least it looks like it's just pumped off the Focus.

It's so much fun to drive.

On dirt roads, this thing is hilarious

and it feels, I don't know, 1200 pounds lighter

than it actually is.

It feels agile and fun and predictable

in a way that I don't think many people realize EVs can do.

EVs always feel very efficient

and very straightforward at what they do,

but not a lot of variance and room for play.

And this was that.

It was a lot of fun.

It was very comfortable taking the highway,

the country roads up.

I slept in it.

It's probably a little short.

Someone any taller than six feet

would not have a good time sleeping in the back,

but I had an all right time.

I just had a nice comfy sleeping bag and I was good.

It's a lot of fun and it's weirdly almost a good deal

in terms of what you get.

There's not a lot of 480 horsepower,

700 pound feet vehicles that you can buy for this price.

I'm kind of jealous.

I've driven a few different Machis,

but not the rally.

I saw this at,

I think it was actually the Detroit on our show

a few years ago and I,

it's been on my list to try to get from forward.

I think I still want to get one in here.

The rock crawling thing I got to give you credit for,

that's a gutsy play.

I've taken the Machi off road a few times.

I've taken it through the snow

and this is where having like off road-ish,

Mustang crossover thing could be a lot of fun.

It really is.

I think it's a brilliant chassis.

It handles very well,

but yeah, man, rock crawling,

that's not something that I necessarily think

I'd ever associate with anything with a horse on the grill

or wherever the horse is on the Machi.

Yeah, yeah.

So for the nervous Ford PR person who's listening to this,

I mean very light rock crawling,

but yeah, it was surprising.

It was good and to your point,

this chassis is great.

Even the regular Machis are really fun handlers

and I think there are some people still,

we talked about just earlier.

There are some people who might not enjoy

that the Mustang name is on EV crossover,

but if you look past it, it's a really good vehicle.

Still after five years of being on the market.

So yeah, I thought this was great,

but I would have just like to say

if you are considering a Machi rally,

please get it in ridiculous grabber yellow.

I've seen one in my neighborhood and it's the gray

and they've got gray wheels.

They don't have the white ones

and I'm just, I don't understand what the point is.

You know, it's funny you say that

because I immediately started calling up

Machi rally colors because I like,

there's some different options here.

I kind of like the blue metallic

and then there's like,

it's called a eruption green metallic.

Oh yeah.

Like the kind of work a little bit for this

and you could also customize the roof.

So yeah, I don't know.

I'm with you like if you're going to do this,

why not do it all the way?

But you know, there's some pretty attractive

other options here too.

So you know, maybe if you have to live with it,

you don't want the bright neon yellow every day

for the next five to 10 years or forever,

however long you have this car.

That's a good point.

And eruption green is fantastic.

So I love the wheels on this thing too.

Side note, it's totally superficial,

but I just love the big kind of like

white, they remind me a little bit of those

that FX Mustang, the Fox body throwback they did,

different purpose, but sort of same design.

So it's a good look.

Yeah.

Yeah, it was good.

So that's it for our news and reviews section

of this episode.

This is the Auto Guide show brought to you by eBay Motors

and we're going to take a quick commercial break

and then we will be back with a special guest.

After that, Greg and Colin will talk F1

and then I'll rejoin to wrap things up.

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All right, and welcome back to the Auto Guide Show

brought to you by eBay Motors.

This week we have a special guest

that both Greg and I are pretty familiar with.

So can you just introduce yourself for our listeners?

My name is James Rizwick.

My job is car, like many of us.

I am the former senior editor for reviews

and all of the West Coast of AutoBlog.

I was an auto mail-to editor at Edmunds for a decade

and now I am a freelance writer and videoist

for various publications, including on occasion AutoGuide.

And Edmunds, that's where people can find

a lot of your stuff here, there.

Yes, yes, I write primarily for Capital One Auto Navigator

and JD Power, like full reviews.

And then I do like myriad content types for Edmunds,

the most visible of which is my cargo tests,

which migrated from AutoBlog to Edmunds.

So that's where I put all of the luggage

from my garage into the back of vehicles.

People like those, the one you guys really had

quite a following along with your duties

manning the West Coast from like what Baja, California

all the way up to...

Sitka, Alaska, sitka, Alaska, yeah.

You really got up there, the dog theme.

I refuse to do the allusions, no, no.

The AutoBlog Navy would have had patrol that, so, you know.

That's correct.

Here we go.

So for listeners who aren't aware,

I guess we should point out that, yeah,

Greg and James worked together at AutoBlog.

So I guess that actually should lead us

into the typical first question.

James, how did you get started in this field?

I wanted to be.

So I was in high school and I was like,

what am I good at?

I'm somehow good at writing.

And then what do I like?

I like cars and I have this closet filled with car magazines

and clearly there's people who do that.

So why don't I make my goal to do that?

And so I went to college at Pepperdine University

to be a journalist major.

And I worked at the school newspaper

as much as humanly possible.

I was the editor in chief and did all that.

And I interned at a Canadian car magazine called Car Guide,

which is no longer exists.

That was my kind of first foray into the car sector.

And after college, I briefly sold cars for three months.

That was enough of that,

but it gave me some valuable dealer knowledge.

I was born in Canada.

I'm from Toronto or outside of Toronto

and I lived there until I was 12.

So I had a Canadian citizenship.

I have American citizenship.

And in my brain at the age of 20,

I thought, well, in no way would I ever be able to like

go intern at a motor trend or a car and driver,

even though I definitely, I'm sure I could have.

But I was like, no, you know what I'm gonna do?

I'm gonna go try Car Guide.

And that's why I spent the summer there.

Yeah.

What's in your personal fleet these days?

Last I checked you at a Mercedes wagon,

which is kinda cool, is that still there?

Oh, yes, yes.

I have, once I left, or auto blog left me,

I wasn't guaranteed to have like

a large functional family vehicle, whatever I wanted.

So I was like, I'm gonna need a backup car here

for like family vacations and just

if I don't have a car at a time.

Cause my other car is a 98 Z3.

That is not a functional family vehicle.

And I'm not gonna get rid of it.

So I wanted big family vehicle,

something that doesn't suck,

something like a car that I used to really like.

And for those times when I have only one,

I have one child.

For those times when we need to go out to dinner

with my parents, a third row would be nice.

So I got a three-row family vehicle,

which is an E-class wagon from 2013.

With the rear-facing seat?

Yes, yes.

My wife is five feet tall.

So she is the demographic for which that is useful.

So she uses it.

She's always kind of,

it's always very weird people like laugh

cause they're not expecting to see someone facing them

from behind.

Perhaps I should get some,

maybe I should get the windows tinted.

But it is a very nice car.

Like I remember when that generation came out the 212.

And that was a clear step up from its predecessor

in terms of overall quality.

And it sure seemed like it at the time.

And it's true,

because my car feels like old school,

like bulletproof Mercedes.

The interior is beautiful.

It is just so nice to drive.

It is really gratifying,

like all these years later,

to get into a car that you really liked

and kind of stuck with you.

And then as it turns out,

oh no, it's still,

it actually was really good.

And impressively,

it's still good after all these years.

And the other thing is that,

it's funny,

I have now between my wife and I,

we have now owned three cars from 2013.

Part of it is a coincidence,

because it could have been a 2012 or,

but really it is that like that era of luxury cars.

Just it's when everything you want is in it.

So it still has Bluetooth audio.

It has a USB port.

You can charge something in it.

So like you can connect to stuff.

It doesn't,

it's not,

it's functional for today.

It doesn't have Apple CarPlay for example,

but whatever,

I put them out my phone and it's Bluetooth.

It's fine.

But it's before they started slathering on stuff

that in its earliest days didn't work very well.

So like no drive modes.

My X5 did not have drive modes.

The drive right thereafter,

BMW started putting sport and normal

and they were bad.

They were bad.

And you don't have like early eight.

I have lane keep assist in the Mercedes.

It's one of the best lane keep assists

I've experienced oddly.

Yet like a lot of that stuff could not have been,

were not very good.

The tech interfaces thereafter were not as good.

My mother has a 15 or six,

whenever the first year of the GLC,

that tech interface, not good.

She still has no idea how that thing works.

I barely know how it works.

But mine is simpler and it's easier.

So it's just like that golden era of luxury cars

that oddly is just kind of a sweet spot.

So it's interesting.

This was a vehicle I sort of considered as well.

They're pretty hard to come by

when a number of us sort of auto blog alumni

were looking for reserve cars

that you didn't want to drop a fortune on

but we're also like car people.

So you're not just going to go buy a Civic.

It's like you got to go buy an E-class wagon

or something, right?

And there's some good ones out here on Edmunds.

If you actually look around,

there's even a few in the auto guide listings

but here's a good one for $16,000.

It looks like 93,000 miles.

So they're attainable.

And hey, you're still driving a Mercedes

and maybe your wife is the demographic

for that third row.

And I mean, you as an automotive journalist,

I think are the demographic for an E-class wagon.

It's like we're out there with a three series wagon,

preferably brown with a manual transmission, but.

So that's what I was going to ask you is,

James, what do you think makes wagons in particular

such a like auto journalist catnip?

Well, I think there's two things.

I think because we generally don't like SUVs

for on-road driving because they don't handle as well.

And it's just a general inefficiency of just packaging.

So I think there's that functional element.

And my car is more maneuverable.

It is more efficient.

It still has a gigantic cargo area.

If anything doesn't fit in the back, the roof's lower

so I can mount stuff on the roof more easily

than if I could on a GLE, for example.

So, you know, there's a functional element.

And then the other element is the ridiculous element

which is vehicles that you use in a way that is a bit silly.

So you like an RS6 Avant is a wagon,

yet it also has like sports car performance.

So it is like, these two things should not go together

and yet they do.

It's like if you got like 911 Dakar

would be another example of something that like,

well, this seems silly, but it's silly in a good way.

Like combining two things that really shouldn't be

into one, it's like good spork, right?

Yeah.

Yeah, you know what I mean?

Yeah.

But it's a balancing act though, right?

Because for every RS6 and there's a high performance SUV

and we're just like, eh.

No, it's not the same.

No, because that's trying to,

yeah, that's just trying to overcome physics

at least with a high performance wagon.

You're not, it's not this tall thing

that weighs more because it's a tall thing.

And working again, it has inherent limitations.

No.

I think, but like you could also have an SUV theoretically

that's really powerful

but isn't trying to go around the Nurburgring, right?

I think you could have that like a G-Wagon

with a lot of power, cool.

But if it like, that's why like the AMG

had improved the handling from what, right?

Yeah.

Oh, great.

It's a more agile tank.

You took it from here to here.

Congratulations.

Yeah.

So going back to your fleet,

so you have the Z3.

Yes.

The E-Wagon.

Yes.

And then you have something a little bit newer.

Yes.

So my wife just got a Cadillac OPTIQ.

She had a Kia Niro EV, which she loved.

I loved it.

It was a great little car.

But a number of things doomed it.

First, EV tax credits are going away in the United States.

So if we were going to re-up and get something,

we needed to do it sooner than later.

The other thing is we bought the Niro in December of 22.

We were lucky, lucky to get it for MSRP.

And at the time, like leasing was nonsense.

Like lease rates, we could have leased it for like 880 a month,

like a Niro EV.

Today you can lease one for like 150 bucks, right?

It was just like insane.

So like we're paying more than we needed to really

for this car.

And so just kind of made sense to sell it.

And take the equity we had at it, put it in the bank.

And then lease, we could now lease an electric car.

And there was more selection available also in December 22.

Like you couldn't get a Mustang Mach-E

without paying like way more for it.

Like your choices were slim.

Now there's so many more choices.

The OPTIQ is beautiful.

And the interesting thing is I mentioned

my wife's five feet tall.

She sat in that thing and she didn't look like,

like old lady, like driving like really up close.

Like in a car that normally in a car,

she looks like this car was not meant for her to drive.

She does in the OPTIQ.

It's really weird.

A strange thing she had never even noticed before

was that the base of a seat hits her calf

when she sits in it.

It's almost the opposite of like me,

like kneading the thigh extension, right?

It's the opposite.

And her legs don't touch that OPTIQ.

It's the straight, like,

and then she got into the Nero,

which she thought she was,

and she did, she had never noticed this before.

So she sat in that thing was more comfortable

than she ever has been before.

And so like that played a big role.

We got the kind of icy blue exterior

with the navy blue interior.

Oh, oh, it's really nice.

It's very, it's very, very nice.

And all the toys in it, good news.

She doesn't use Apple CarPlay.

So she does, I care that that car,

she's a perfect demographic for GM electric cars

that don't have Apple CarPlay.

Couldn't care less.

So it's kind of too big for her.

She's comments, it feels gigantic.

She's driven, she's had a mini Mazda 3,

like the first Mazda 3.

Her Audi all-road felt big at the time.

And then, yeah, her Nero.

So, but it's a lovely car.

And yeah, so that's our little main family vehicle.

Yeah.

I'm curious what made you get into it?

Just the Cadillac family.

I mean, it's, yeah.

Yeah, yeah, it's surprised a lot of people.

But honestly, it's just nice.

It's like this car, you sit in the OPTIQ,

and it's like, well, this is what we thought Cadillac

should be doing for the last, my entire life, right?

How many reviews have we written,

have you read that have been like,

it's pretty good, but the interior is crap.

And this is the opposite.

It is so like the materials quality,

the perceived quality of, well, of build quality, right?

We'll see how that shakes out over time.

But, and then just like the functionality of it,

the jump from the last generation,

so CT4, XT6, that, which was kind of like discount BMW

to what this is, which is not only much higher in quality,

but its own thing.

Like it's its own design language

for lack of a better term, but it started with the lyric

and it really, it really makes a big difference.

And, you know, also from an EV spec perspective,

you know, we get over,

we don't really need a lot of miles.

It doesn't really matter that much.

I've publicly charged our electric car, never.

Now, like almost three years of owning them,

we have never used a public charger on our car.

But it has over 300 miles.

It's, you know, it has a good amount of power.

It's all-wheel drive, but it is more like,

it is the reactive all-wheel drive system,

the rear motors on, it is, it is more like,

so it is the OPTIQ is more like the Equinox EV

in that it's primarily front-wheel drive.

And there is some torque steer actually in it,

whereas lyric is rear drive biased with some,

with front, it's almost, it's basically flipped.

So there's that.

But yeah, but in terms of, you know,

charging's 150 kilowatt, I think,

which is a lot slower than the other GM vehicles,

but it has like a lot smaller.

It only has an 85 kilowatt hour battery,

but you know, not a hundred or the Escalade IQ,

which is 200, 200, it is more than double

the amount of battery that the OPTIQ has,

which goes 3300 miles, right?

Yeah.

No, it sounds so far,

like you're really enjoying the OPTIQ.

And I mean, like, yeah, it makes sense.

I've been able to drive the Escalade,

the OPTIQ and the Vistik all this summer.

And yeah, like what you said, the interiors are great.

It feels weird to make this comparison,

but it's almost like Genesis really,

where it's this really great first impression

of getting into the car.

And it has this distinct feel where it's its own thing.

It feels almost like comfortable

in being an American car and an American take on luxury.

Yeah.

It's interesting.

It's what we've wanted, right?

From Cadillac and like we don't,

it's almost like why Cadillac has maintained,

I think in some people have written Cadillac off along,

but like a lot of us were like,

no, we know what you can be.

Like we've seen it, right?

Like the 60s.

We remember that, right?

This is what you could be.

Just do that again.

And they're kind of doing it now with their electric ones.

Like you can see it.

It almost seems like by trying to just sort of be the best

as you kind of put it there, James.

It's like, it's been a better, more sustainable path

than when they were like trying to like sort of beat BMW

in a knife fight over Nürburgring times.

And they made some amazing like hot rod sedans,

but we would all get in those things

and we're like, wow, the interior is kind of,

junky over here or this plastic is too sharp.

But I mean, literally every Cadillac electric

that I've driven lately has been very, very good

on the inside, which isn't something

that you've been able to say universally

for sure for GM products.

So very pleasing, you know?

It's oddly, it's strongest attribute.

Yeah, which was not the case,

but it was the opposite in the past.

Yeah, so it's been doing really good.

Flipping back to your personal lineup,

you talked briefly about an X5.

Yeah.

And so the question we ask every yes,

and so we're just gonna ask you,

is there anything that you've owned

that you regret getting rid of?

Oh, yeah.

Well, forever.

For the viewers at home,

this would be my 2000 Jetta

with me getting it on my 16th birthday,

driving it to school for the first time

and all my 90s garb have to tuck my shirt in at high school.

Are those cargo pants?

Those just do not quit.

Those are the khakis that we all felt

and needed to wear on that time.

Oh, and they even had a very brief time

when drostring was acceptable.

From American Eagle maybe or something like that.

But it's a 2000 Jetta VR6,

GLS with the leather package.

It was a lovely car, it was really nice.

Lucky boy, and I took very good care of that car.

And because that was my car, right?

And I sold it, it wasn't very, I regret,

I got an Acura TSX, which was cool,

but I didn't like it as much.

That was the car,

that was the switch that I realized,

oh, I like torque.

And so, and I didn't have the TSX very long

because I got the Edmunds job thereafter

and I was just gonna be driving the Carbuffet

and it was just gonna be collecting dust

and depreciation, so I got my Z3 instead.

But like, it's the weird thing

because that in my brain was like my car, right?

Like, I never really owned the TSX long enough.

I don't drive the Z3 enough.

And it's the weird thing, when I dream, right?

My car is my Jetta.

I still own it.

In my brain, that's just like, oh, I'm going somewhere,

I need a car, of course I still own it.

And then my brain does these weird gymnastics

where it's like, oh, I never sold it, I still have it.

So it makes me sad, you know,

when I see the photo of the day I sold it,

I, you know, if I wouldn't have,

there's a decent chance I'd still own the thing this day.

Why did you sell it?

What was the tipping point, college or something,

or why did you sell it?

There was no reason.

I think, well, I worked at an Acura dealer

and so I was just like, oh, I can,

when I get this instead, my parents were prodding me.

So I don't know, it was dumb.

It's a shame.

Now, we don't ask this about every guest,

but I think it's unique because we are having this discussion

on the Auto Guy podcast as opposed to perhaps another one.

What do you think about the state

of just like automotive journalism?

It's just things have changed so much

in the last, say, three, four years,

but I mean, especially in the last year with AI

and everything, I'm just curious what it's like

from your viewpoint, James.

Well, things are going good for me,

but I sure don't think it's,

but that's not the case for a lot of people

and it sure looks a bit grim.

There are fewer sites out there

and then of those, there's fewer doing quality content.

Maybe it could be argued that there was a glut, right?

Like how many first drives of a Subaru Forester

does one really realistically read, right?

But there's a lot of really quality sites disappearing

or changing and effectively those people

are kind of disappearing unfortunately.

And it's, it is sad that that's unfortunate.

And with AI, I think it's very easy.

Like I'm sorry, like you're gonna have

to be like AI cannot drive a car

and then tell you what it's like.

Like it just can't, but like Google with their little,

if you Google like Cadillac OPTIQ cargo space, right?

It's just gonna suck in my cargo test on Edmonds.

It's like before, like, you know, I write it for SEO

so people can find it easily.

It goes up when you Google that.

That's one of the reasons I did it.

I created those tests at AutoBlog was for SEO purposes.

But Google sucks in that information.

And so if you go to Google's page,

the entire screen is their own AI creation

vacuuming up my and other information

and presenting it as its own thing.

Ergo, you find that basic question on Google

and never look anywhere else.

Yeah, yeah, we put so much weight in Google results

and now it's being used against us.

Kind of, yes.

But the algorithm strikes back.

Right, so you have to rely on people.

So it's like, what's the cargo space in an OPTIQ?

Okay, I've seen that, but you don't actually that

that kind of defeats the purpose

of why I do the tests in the first place,

which is often the cargo volumes or BS

or not like comparable or something's off

or it doesn't tell the whole story.

So that's one thing I discovered while doing them.

That's not why I did them, right?

Yeah, but that's just one example and it's, yeah.

But it highlights, I mean, you brought it up earlier

when your wife Testro of the OPTIQ,

it's like you don't realize how a seating position

can really impact you until you're in the car.

And like cargo space, sure it's a number in cubic feet,

but what does that mean?

Yeah, no, exactly.

And you know, the main thing,

if we wanna dive in just briefly into it,

the main takeaway is that you cannot compare

the cargo numbers of sedans

or things with a notch back secured trunk

and hatchbacked vehicles, not comparable.

They are not comparable, do not do it.

A civic sedan and a civic hatchback.

The hatchback has 10 more cubic feet of cargo volume.

The sedan can hold more luggage.

What?

Well, it's because the bit of the hatchback

that gives you more volume is like an acute wedge, right?

You can't put anything up there, right?

Cause A, you're not carrying around a giant block of cheese

on top of all of your luggage.

Two, if you put anything up there,

fly forward into the cabin.

So also like, are you gonna find like a tiny triangular bag

to fill up the rear most portion of it?

No, so it's stuff like that

that makes the two like not comparable for cargo volume.

Well, now I want a giant wedge of cheese.

How do you test cars?

You don't, you know, roll around with a wedge of monster?

I mean, come on.

We've got the AutoGuide logo just stamped right into it.

It's real easy.

Giant block of cheese test.

Yeah, yeah, there we go.

Google can't take that from us.

Well, James, I'm sure we could talk about cheese

and cars a lot longer.

Maybe bring in the wine.

You could return to that role.

But we're probably gonna let you go.

But James, thanks as always for joining us.

My pleasure.

Always a blast.

It's a blast to talk to you.

And yeah, we'll have you on again sometime down the road.

And then we can hear how the optics being to live with.

I wish I could tell you

because honestly for almost a month now

it's been out of commission.

Oh, because on the way to the DMV

to get its California black plates,

a softball sized rocker, hunk of concrete,

hit the windshield.

It was terrifying.

Everyone's okay.

Yes, I was driving it alone.

It was so much forced.

There's tiny shards of glass in the car.

Good times, good times.

It was terrifying.

So we were kind of told by the auto glass people,

yeah, don't drive that on the highway.

So we got lucky it didn't hit the A pillar

because that would have been a heavier design.

But it's such a new car

and the windshield is like 12 feet long

because it is this insane rake that it's hard to get.

So yeah, it's just been in the,

it's like Fred Flintstone,

you know, like Fred Flintstone kicks the cat outside.

It's done that to the E-Class.

The E-Class has been on the driveway for the last.

And my wife's been driving.

Actually, the funny thing is

it's a good thing I got the E-Class

because my wife can drive it.

So she didn't have to get like a rental car

for all this time.

So she's been enjoying it as much as she can.

Well, that's good at least,

making the best of a bad situation.

All right, well, thanks again, James.

It's been a pleasure.

And yeah, everyone who's listening,

this is the Autograd Show,

brought to you by eBay Motors

and we'll be right back

after a short commercial break.

All right, joining us now

to talk all things Formula One is column.

What's going on?

Hey, Greg, I'm great, man.

I'm great.

There's a busy, a busy week as always.

And actually there'll be a racing this week,

which we've been on a summer break for a long time.

So very excited to get that back in.

But I guess the big news of the week,

it almost is old news by now,

is, you know, Cadillac now has,

first they have a team,

now they have drivers,

Botas and Perez,

which is a pretty darn strong duo.

I think they went with just a smart choice.

They don't want to take risks

with rookies, binning cars

and doing all that stuff.

So, but now we have,

I think the most exciting thing is that

these guys have often been talked about

as the two best number two drivers in Formula One.

So now we'll find out who's the real number two

of the two of them, so.

It's interesting because Cadillac,

I think, wanted to go with experience here.

You look at all the starts.

These guys have like 16 wins between them.

So sometimes with teams,

there's almost like that expansion vibe.

I 100% think Cadillac did not want that.

They're Cadillac.

They don't want an expansion vibe.

And, you know, hey, they have some,

I saw a couple of headlines

called these guys grizzled,

which I mean, they're younger than us,

but not much.

I mean, these are some experienced gentlemen.

So it'll be interesting.

I'm excited for F1 next year.

See what you like.

I think it's great.

If they can come anywhere close,

I actually saw, I think it was Crofty

from the F1 broadcast on a podcast

that they were talking about how,

according to him, and he would name names

that there are more big names set to join the team.

So I've talked on this podcast before

about the rumor of having Christian Horner come.

I don't think that will happen at all,

but I'd be curious if they hire some,

you know, big name, you know,

technical personalities to sort of help them get going.

It'll be a, it'll still be a rough first year.

There's no doubt about it,

but yeah, but the rules changing anything's possible.

So.

All right.

Well, let's speak of big names.

How about a guy from IndyCar?

You know, coming over maybe.

I saw Chip Ganassi was pretty quick

about shooting that down.

It's kind of hovering out there.

So yeah, so the rumor, of course,

is that Alex Pallu is going to be the,

you know, could be the replacement

in the second seed at Red Bull.

So alongside Max Verstappen,

and so that came along.

But yes, as you mentioned,

Chip Ganassi on a Zoom call basically said,

quote, I wouldn't have it.

Alex had the opportunity to leave and didn't.

So, and more importantly, I think it seems

as though this rumor was started by Alex Pallu's agent.

So a tremendously unreliable source there.

So I don't think it's going to happen,

but you know, is there a spot from,

it's super rare that anybody moves from IndyCar to F1.

It's kind of a shame because,

but it almost like,

it almost feels like once you go to IndyCar,

you're tainted goods, right?

They don't want you.

And I know that Formula One,

I'm sure there's some great snobbishness around.

They want you moving up through their system of F4, 3, 2,

et cetera.

You know, I mean, he certainly is talented enough.

He's still young enough.

I mean, it would be interesting to see him

in Formula One in the next few years,

but he's just crushing it so much in IndyCar right now.

Like, why would he leave, right?

The money is still pretty good,

but F1 has more.

F1 has lots more money.

It could be pretty wild.

So yeah, I'd love to see it.

I wish more guys would make the move that way,

but it seems like,

like I'm trying to think I know Jacques Villeneuve did it,

right?

But other than him, I can't think of many,

go back to like the Mario and Dredi's and stuff.

That's how far back you have to go to think about guys

who make that jump versus the other way around, right?

Like Juan Pablo Montoya was F1 and left it

for the joys of NASCAR and IndyCar

and stuff like that.

And I don't think he regretted it, so.

No, that's a good point.

That's a good point.

Speaking of money or perhaps lack thereof,

let's talk about Caterham.

Yeah, well, it's funny because earlier you mentioned about,

you know, sort of back runner teams

about how Cadillac doesn't want to be that, right?

So, and Caterham certainly was.

So there's this new rumor, which has some legs,

I guess, that the team could come back.

There's a, the company's called SKM Capital

and it's run by a 24 year old Indian investor

named Saad Kasis Mohammed.

And I guess he wants to like bring back the team,

blah, blah, blah.

There's some quotes from him in an article

in trying to think of sports car is the name of,

sports star is the name of the magazine.

And basically saying like, very clear,

basically saying he's like F1 now operates

with clear financial guard radials

and stable financial technical frameworks

making the category investable.

He's basically saying like this is,

this isn't what it used to be.

And he actually says, here's a quote,

our plan involves two options,

a change of control transaction in an existing entrant,

I bet that's Alpine,

or applying in the next FIA process

as a compact, well-funded customer team

with long-term PUs supply.

So he sounded more educated

and usually these things just come on as crazy rumors, right?

Like you just hear, oh, you know, auto week

or not auto week.

I'm trying to think of some of the Brit publications

that always have more rumors than fact are,

those instances are, there's no basis to it,

but here's an actual interview with the guy saying,

this is our plan.

And I'm like, well, that's, you know,

we didn't make this up.

We're not putting words in his mouth.

He's saying them themselves.

So.

I mean, if he wouldn't be the first sort of,

you know, age investor to come in with big ideas

on formula one, but I mean, I don't know.

I also kind of question if Katerham

has all that much brand value,

like is that the name you want to bring back?

I mean, it's great in cars,

but NF1 we're talking like three years of history.

I don't know.

Yeah.

It doesn't even have a lot of car history.

Like most, like car guys know Katerham,

but most people don't.

Like even like casual car guys,

probably never heard of them.

So I think there's no brand value there either.

So why not just come with a totally unique name

or something?

Bring back force India.

Who knows?

And there's, yeah, I just don't see it funny enough.

Do a little research when I was looking into Katerham

and so yes, they had their three years.

They actually didn't race some of that year

because they had no money to race.

They're actually the first team to have crowdfunded

their entry into a race.

They basically got people on the internet

to just put down a couple of buttons

like a GoFundMe or something

so they could actually make it to a race

and it didn't work out.

And if you want a real sad indication,

you can find the whole Katerham F1 team Twitter handle

which hasn't been used in a million years

and all of the last tweets are them

at their auction selling off all the items of the company.

And it's like down to like, here's 10 hats.

Like it's not just like, you know,

we're selling chassis and other stuff.

They're selling some like things

you're gonna get 20 bucks for.

So pretty sad ending for that team.

And yeah, I wouldn't want to,

I'd go with a whole new thing.

I'm with you.

Well, you know, who has a ton of experience

in formula one and like every other series

way more than Katerham is Rubens Barrichello.

Hey, there you go.

I can't believe we're still talking about this guy.

Here's a guy who is considerably older than both of us.

But he won an Ascar title in the Brazil series

which I honestly didn't know was a thing.

I did not either.

I saw this.

So I saw exactly, you're looking at the screen here

which was on Instagram, I think.

And it says champion.

And I just, it doesn't even say,

it's hard to even see the words Barrichello on there

but I saw his face and I was like,

what do you mean Rubens Barrichello's a net?

I'm like, this season's going,

what are you talking about?

And then I had to look into this and be like,

it's in Brazil.

They have a Brazil series independent.

Apparently it's his rookie season.

And he just went in and cleaned up.

And so good for Rubens.

And apparently what's cool is that

at NASCAR when they do their end of year

award ceremony, they invite all the winners

from all their global series.

So like there's like,

I think there's an independent one in Mexico, et cetera.

So he'll be there at the big,

with all the regular NASCAR guys getting awards.

So that's very cool.

Like good for Rubens.

Yeah, he was a very strong as,

we talked about earlier, number two driver for many years.

He was solid for Ferrari and he hung around.

And I mean, frankly for NASCAR,

I would assume NASCAR Brazil 53 is not that old.

Like there were some of those guys

who hung on into their mid fifties.

So I guess we'll see.

I always look at like endurance car racing

always is fascinating to me

because there's always like really old guys there

that are quite competitive, right?

Like it's a fascinating thing.

I don't know if it has anything to do with it,

but there's statistics around like

that things that involve endurance,

which endurance racing is a little bit different

than like regular physical endurance.

Like it is, but there's also a,

you know, you're racing a car,

but endurance racing is like,

endurance in general,

there's like a peak of like peak physical performance

is like for like man, it's like 26 or something like that.

But peak like physical endurance for men

is like 32 or something.

So you actually, you know, it goes on further.

So there's like great endurance capability

in your later years.

So maybe you can't perform at that ultimate peak of F1,

but if you need to like put in,

you know, four hours stints behind the wheel at Le Mans,

you can do that.

So good for Ruben's stuff.

Very, very good.

Maybe he'll like, I don't know,

maybe he'll come to ask her in the States,

wouldn't that be well?

I mean, that would be cool, actually.

It really would.

He'd be a name that if you like like racing,

you would know who he is.

So there we go.

Well, speaking of another name,

can we write back in the news,

not someone known for the level of class,

the endurance of Ruben's Barricala.

Yeah.

This is gold.

So this, I saw this on Instagram.

Absolutely priceless.

If you miss this, man,

this is true Kimi Reichen and all the way.

So you could see there's this,

there was this Instagram post that Formula One put out

from the recent,

was it good one, I guess?

And so they had all these things there.

And if I got a squint here to read,

this is a 14 F1 world champions at one table last month.

We've got something special on the way.

So, you know, this is a Formula One talking about it.

And you could see in the picture,

there's what is it we got Mika Hakkinen,

there's Mario Andretti,

there's like, you know, all sort of the legends.

And then the reply on Instagram below,

Kimi Reichen and replies, thanks for the invite.

Oh, man.

That was like, what's the result of Saturday Live skit,

but I'm not bitter.

So it's just like, I mean,

the funny thing is he responded on Instagram too.

This is like through his agent or like some high level.

He's just like it reduced himself to an internet troll.

Yeah.

Come on, Iceman, like what?

I love it.

And clearly like there's no love for him.

He's still Ferrari's last world champion, right?

But he just, in one respects, just never gets the,

I think he often gets talked about more,

not as a joke, but like we love his antics

and stuff like that.

When he was even trying not to have antics,

but I think, you know,

he probably deserves more credit than he even gets.

So.

Talitha guy, he's still only 45.

So I mean, frankly, I'm surprised he hasn't turned up

a little bit more recently somewhere, more high profile.

Well, he's very focused on his kid's carding careers.

If you thought on Instagram, his kids,

he's got like a track up there in Finland

or maybe they're,

I think they have a place in Switzerland as well.

He is like full tilt.

And actually it was one of the recent,

I think, Monaco races.

He was there with his kids and everyone's like,

oh, he's shopping around, you know,

trying to find a team to get one of his kids on eventually.

So there may be other,

I guess there's another Kimmy and F1 right now,

but there'll probably another Reichen in the near future.

So, up to his old trace.

Well said, well said.

Well, thanks for hanging out this week.

We'll see you next time, Colin.

Sounds great.

Take care.

All right.

Welcome back, everyone.

This has been a lot in this episode.

We covered a lot of ground.

And so, Greg, just to take a look ahead for the next week,

what's your next few days look like in terms of the schedule?

Any interesting cars that you're gonna be driving?

So I am currently at a Mercedes-Benz S580,

which drives like butter.

It is beautiful inside.

Family is loving the massages,

the ambient lighting, the sound system.

We're having a ball in this thing.

It's very comfortable.

And then when it leaves,

I will replace it with a Mercedes EQS.

So this is the 450 version.

So what I think I'm gonna do when I write about this,

or maybe we talk about these on the podcast,

it's kind of push it all together

and make like one big Mercedes luxury car review,

like two weeks and something really nice,

but with very different powertrains.

I think that's such a great chance to do back-to-back

because as we know, the EQ cars are quite different

or were quite different from the gas ones.

And so you're going to be back-to-back.

All right, well, dang, I'm a little jealous.

And also very much looking forward to that.

That's a tough one to beat, right?

Like sometimes we're on these shows

and it's like, well, I'm gonna be in an accord.

Great car, don't get me wrong.

But it's like, well, I'm gonna be in this,

BMW M something special edition variant.

And yeah, back-to-back Mercedes is a bit of a pocket aces,

if you will.

I might have a higher hand.

Let's hear.

So this week, because I wasn't on last week's episode,

because I was on vacation,

this week I am in the BMW M5 Touring

and the Porsche Taycan GTS Sport Tourismo.

Oh man, okay, all right.

I don't know, I mean, this is like a push maybe.

This is tough.

Yeah, yeah, so this was booked months ago

and we wanted to do a wagon comparison.

And since Porsche doesn't make a Panamera wagon anymore,

we thought we'd go electric, kind of switch things up.

And so I'd be living with both of those for the week

and it has been interesting.

I will obviously go in depth in the comparison

whenever that comes out.

But I will say that it's really strange

when you're doing a comparison

where no one gives a second glance to the Porsche.

But that's the case, right?

The M5 Touring has got a whole lot of attention

in the last year, both good and bad.

But out on the road, everyone notices it.

There you go.

So yeah, that's been my week.

And then next week I will actually be going

to something a little more pedestrian.

That feels insulting.

I'm gonna be driving the 2026 Genesis GV70 Electrified.

That was a great car.

Yeah, it's great.

It's been updated for this year

with the styling updates that actually,

James I think drove the gas version for us a few months back.

So I'm gonna be driving this one.

It has the Maxport.

So that's an important update.

And yeah, the GV70 is such a great little luxury SUV.

So I'm excited to be in it again

for the first time in a few years.

Sounds good.

I can't wait to hear what you think about it.

Excellent.

Well, that's it for us this week.

So from Greg and I, everyone have a great week.

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