A station wagon is a car with extra space behind the back seats. The back area is built for carrying stuff, so it’s more practical than a typical sedan.
The Audi RS6 Avant is a fast, performance-focused wagon. It’s built to be quick while still having the space you’d want for cargo. The podcast mentions it because it’s known for strong performance.
The Porsche Taycan is an electric car from Porsche. The episode mentions that the wagon versions of the Taycan have been discontinued. That matters because it tells buyers what styles are still available.
The Toyota RAV4 is a popular SUV that a lot of people buy. Here, they’re saying it’s so in-demand that it’s hard to find, and that Toyota’s move toward hybrid versions slowed things down a bit.
A hybrid uses both a gas engine and an electric motor. The host is saying that when Toyota started making the model hybrid-only, it took time to ramp up supply.
Tariffs are extra taxes on imported products. The host is saying that if Toyota is building cars in different countries, those taxes can affect pricing and supply.
Unfilled orders means people have already ordered cars, but the dealer can’t get enough vehicles to deliver them yet. That can lead to waiting and pricing changes.
The Tesla Model Y is an all-electric SUV. It’s designed to be a practical daily driver, with room for passengers and cargo. The podcast mentions it to help people understand how big and capable different electric Teslas are.
The host is basically saying that not many people are shopping for big, high-end sedans. So even if a car is good, the sales may still be weak if the demand isn’t there.
Lucid Gravity is an electric SUV/crossover from Lucid. The discussion suggests that when Gravity came out, it changed what people were buying and hurt sales of Lucid’s other model.
This phrase means an electric SUV-style car that’s in the middle size range—not a small compact and not a full-size vehicle. The host is using it to explain what kind of buyers Gravity is trying to reach.
The Lucid Air is an expensive electric luxury car. The host is talking about how Lucid offers it in different versions, and whether that makes it harder for shoppers to understand the lineup.
Apple CarPlay is a smartphone-integration system that lets you use an iPhone’s apps and navigation through the car’s infotainment screen. The host mentions it as part of what makes the Lucid Air feel better and more complete than the Tesla Model S.
Here, “architecture” means the car’s underlying design and layout. The host is wondering if using the same basic design for both cheaper and ultra-expensive versions might confuse buyers.
Rivian is an electric-car company. The host is talking about how many they’re selling now and what kind of smaller, cheaper model they plan to bring out next.
The Rivian R1S is an all-electric SUV. It’s built to carry people and gear, similar to other larger SUVs, but with an electric powertrain. The podcast mentions it as one of Rivian’s main models.
The Rivian R1T is an all-electric pickup truck. It’s designed to do the kinds of jobs people expect from a truck, but with an electric powertrain. The podcast mentions it as one of Rivian’s main vehicles.
A trim level is the “version” of a car you buy, based on what features it includes. The host is saying Rivian will start by selling the top, most expensive version first.
The Toyota Corolla is a small, everyday car made for commuting and errands. It’s popular because it’s generally straightforward to own and maintain. The podcast mentions it as a likely model in their discussion.
The Ford F-100 is an older model in Ford’s pickup truck lineup. The podcast mentions it while talking about how long the F-series has been around and how many trucks have been sold. It’s mainly used to highlight the truck’s long history.
The Ford Model T is an old, historically important car. It was one of the early cars that became widely available to regular people. The podcast brings it up as part of a list of notable vehicles.
The Honda Accord is a very common Honda sedan that many people buy as a practical daily driver. The host is just flagging it as something they’ll talk about next.
The Jeep Cherokee is a Jeep SUV you can drive daily, but it’s also built to handle rougher roads than a typical family car. Here, they’re saying it’s back after being missing from Jeep’s lineup for a few years.
They mean Jeep wasn’t selling the Cherokee for a few years, so there was a gap in what models Jeep offered. It’s basically a pause before the next version comes back.
A compact crossover is a smaller SUV. It’s meant to be easier to drive and park than a big SUV, but still gives you extra space for passengers and cargo.
Cargo is the space in the vehicle for bags, groceries, and gear. “30% more cargo” means there’s more room to carry things than before.
Term
tech on the inside that you connect five
Uconnect is the Jeep system for the touchscreen and phone features. It helps you use things like navigation, music, and hands-free calling through the car’s screen.
The Jeep Grand Cherokee is a mid-size SUV. It’s meant to be bigger and more capable than smaller Jeep SUVs, while still being easier to live with than the largest options. The podcast mentions it to explain where it sits compared to other Jeep models.
Rear seat leg room is the amount of space for passengers’ legs in the back seats. It’s a key driver of how long and wide an SUV needs to be, because more leg room usually requires more cabin space and packaging.
A rear-facing car seat is how many baby car seats are used—facing backward for safety. It can take up more space in the back seat area, so it influences how roomy the vehicle needs to be.
The Ford Escape is a compact SUV. The podcast talks about it because it sounds like the model may be getting dropped or changed in the lineup. That matters if you’re shopping and want to know what will still be sold.
The Ford Bronco Sport is a smaller SUV with an off-road style. The podcast points out that it doesn’t offer much (or any) rear seating, so it’s mainly for front passengers. That’s important if you need to carry people in the back.
The XJ Cherokee is the older, famous Jeep Cherokee from the 1980s and 1990s. The designers are saying they wanted to keep some of that original, boxy “heritage” look, but still make a modern vehicle.
The Cherokee is a Jeep SUV model name. The podcast talks about older Cherokee versions from the 1980s and 1990s and how people remember them. It’s mentioned to connect the newer discussion to the model’s earlier history.
Term
square key
They’re using a nickname (“square key”) to talk about the Jeep’s boxy, upright shape. The point is that this shape helps make the cabin and cargo area bigger and easier to use.
A “boxy profile” means the vehicle is shaped more like a box than a teardrop. In this case, that helps the designers fit more space inside and make the cargo opening as wide as possible.
A liftgate is the rear door on many SUVs that swings upward to access the cargo area. Here, the hosts discuss how the Cherokee’s rear sheetmetal and cut lines are shaped so the opening is as wide as possible when the liftgate is opened.
A restomod is an older car that’s been kept in the spirit of the original, but improved with newer parts so it drives better. Here, they’re talking about doing that while still honoring the Cherokee’s classic look.
They’re saying you don’t need to plug the car in to charge it. Instead, the car charges its battery using its own systems while you drive and slow down.
A trip computer is the car’s dashboard screen that tracks things like fuel economy. They’re using it to see how many miles per gallon the car is getting.
The Toyota Prius is a hybrid car, meaning it uses both a gasoline engine and an electric system. It’s known for getting good gas mileage. The podcast mentions it because it historically performed very well compared with EPA fuel-economy estimates.
Easter Jeep Safari is a Jeep event where Jeep shows off special concept vehicles. They’re saying they’ve been testing fun design ideas there for a long time.
Car
Jeep Laredo
The Jeep Laredo is a version/trim of a Jeep. It’s meant to be a little nicer than the base model, with more features, but not as expensive as the highest trims.
The Jeep Wrangler is Jeep’s famous off-road SUV. It’s also the model Jeep loves to customize with special colors and themed designs, and that’s what they’re talking about here.
The Jeep Gladiator is Jeep’s pickup truck. They mention it while talking about how fun, bright colors stand out compared to the usual neutral colors.
Car
Trailhawk
Trailhawk is a Jeep trim meant for off-roading. It’s the more rugged, trail-focused version, and they’re talking about whether it’s coming as a future product option.
A “Hemi” is a type of engine design where the inside of the cylinder head is shaped to help the fuel burn more efficiently. It’s commonly linked with powerful V8 engines from Chrysler.
The “12 for 12 program” is Jeep’s plan to release a new special Wrangler every month for their 85th anniversary. They’ll announce each one on the 12th day of the month at 12 o’clock.
“Hemi 392” is a powerful V8 engine used in some Jeep models. The “392” is the engine’s size, and “Hemi” refers to the engine design that helps it breathe and burn fuel efficiently.
A “price sweet spot” means there’s a price where the car feels like a really good deal. It’s when you get enough features for what you’re paying.
Car
Oldsmobile Omega
Oldsmobile used the name “Omega” for a couple different eras. The hosts are saying it was built on GM’s shared car platform and was similar to other GM models from those decades.
The Chevrolet Nova is an older car model name that was used across different years. In the podcast, it’s brought up because they’re comparing it to other cars from similar time periods. It’s mainly being used as a historical reference.
Car
Oldsmobile Savoy
The Oldsmobile Savoy is a model name Oldsmobile used. In this clip it’s just introduced as the next quiz question, before they say whether it’s real.
The Plymouth Savoy is an older car model. The podcast mentions it to talk about what cars were available between the 1950s and early 1960s. It’s mainly a historical reference.
Starfire is a car name that the hosts are trying to recall, specifically whether Oldsmobile used it. The podcast brings it up as a historical question about older model names. It’s not about a modern car in this context.
The Chevrolet Monza is mentioned as a related GM car. The point is that it shared the same basic GM platform as the Starfire, so they were similar in how they were built.
The Pontiac Sunbird is another GM car the host says was similar to the Starfire. The reason is that they shared the same basic platform (H-Body), so they were built in comparable ways.
The host discusses an “Intrigue” and initially wonders if it was an Oldsmobile. They later clarify that the character Sipowitz drove an Intrigue in NYPD Blue, making this a specific model name tied to a real-world TV product placement moment.
The Toyota C-HR is a small SUV crossover. The podcast mentions it to compare it with other similar-sized SUVs. It’s part of a discussion about what models are in the same general category.
The Subaru Uncharted is a small electric crossover meant for city driving. The hosts say it’s built on a Toyota platform (the Toyota CHR), so it should feel similar in size and layout.
Car
Subaru Saltera
The Subaru Saltera is described as Subaru’s version of an older Toyota EV (the Toyota BZ). That usually means the two cars are closely related in how they’re built.
The Subaru Trailseeker is mentioned as the Subaru version of the Toyota BZ Woodland. It sounds like they’re related cars, but with different trim and look aimed at outdoor use.
For an electric car, “range” means how many miles you can drive before the battery runs low. The host is saying their real driving matched (or beat) what the car’s estimate said.
The “EPA figure” is the official mileage estimate the government publishes for an EV. Your actual miles can be higher or lower depending on how and where you drive.
The host is talking about Toyota’s electric cars and how their stated range tends to be conservative. That means you often get at least as much driving distance as the estimate suggests.
A “wall jack” means using a normal home outlet to charge the EV. It usually charges slower than a dedicated EV charger, but it can still be enough if you don’t drive far every day.
A “level two charger” is a faster EV charger you can install at home or use at public stations. The host is saying they didn’t need the fast charger because their regular driving fit what they could get from a regular wall outlet.
The Dodge Charger is a car that’s usually built for a sporty, powerful driving experience. The podcast mentions it alongside home charging, which implies the topic is about how you power it when it’s electric or plug-in. The key point is whether you need special charging equipment at home.
They’re saying the driver’s seating position might not work well for taller people. The steering wheel can interfere with where the controls/displays are.
The Nissan Juke is a small crossover with a very unusual look. The hosts mention it because its door handle design can make it hard to figure out how to open the door at first.
All-wheel drive means the car can send power to all four wheels. That usually helps it grip better on slippery roads, and here it’s the main thing they’re comparing between trims and models.
Front-wheel drive means the front wheels do most of the work to move the car. In this discussion, it matters because the host says Subaru doesn’t usually offer FWD in America for its mainstream models.
The Subaru Forester is a compact SUV meant for everyday driving. It’s often chosen for its versatility and the option of all-wheel drive. The podcast mentions it to explain how it compares in size and role to other SUVs.
An E-axle is basically an electric motor built into the rear axle to help drive the wheels. In this case, the host says they didn’t use that setup because it could have made the all-wheel drive less capable.
The GMC Sierra is a big pickup truck from General Motors. In this episode, they’re talking about a new 2027 version and how it should be very similar to the Chevrolet version.
Pushrod refers to a traditional engine design where the camshaft moves the valves using rods and rocker arms. It’s an older layout that can still be modernized with newer fuel and efficiency tech.
A 10-speed automatic is an automatic gearbox with more gear steps than older transmissions. More gears can help the car feel responsive and sometimes improve fuel economy.
GM is General Motors, the company that makes trucks like the Silverado and Sierra. The hosts are talking about how GM’s sales and profits are affected by what other automakers can build.
“Half-ton” is a way people categorize pickup trucks by how much they’re meant to carry. Here, the host says they usually get the smaller “1500” size and just drive it normally.
The Dodge Ram is a large pickup truck. People choose it for hauling and towing, and it’s available in many different setups. The podcast mentions it as part of a group of well-known trucks.
The Ford F-150 is a very popular big pickup truck. The hosts are saying Ford couldn’t build as many as usual because of a shortage of aluminum after a fire at a supplier.
An aluminum shortage means there wasn’t enough aluminum available for car parts. The hosts say a fire at a supplier reduced supply, so Ford couldn’t build as many F-150s.
LIVE
Whether you drive a car, need a car, or just occasionally bummer ride with friends, you've
come to the right place.
Join Jill 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, I am Tom Appell and this is the Consumer Guide Car Stuff podcast.
Thank you.
Thank you for joining us this week.
When you have a chance, check us out at ConsumerGuide.com.
While you're there, check out our 2026 Best Buy Picks.
If you were shopping for a new car or truck, this list is super handy.
It's basically your must drive, test drive list.
You can also listen to back episodes of the podcast right there on our homepage, though
you really should subscribe.
Right, Jill?
Yes, absolutely subscribe.
Subscribe and review.
Yes, and review, please, only, but like all the stars, though, five star reviews.
Yeah, use all the stars.
My wife gave us a four star review.
My wife.
I don't know.
My wife and daughter have this pushback against the notion that I think I'm funny.
So the podcast being a venue more or less for me being funny, I think, irritates them.
My mom thinks you're funny, if that counts for anything.
Maybe, yes, I'll take it.
OK.
I don't get enough of that.
My mom thinks I'm funny, too.
See, there you go.
Mom's thinking you're funny.
Which is, our core audience is women over 85.
Well, you know.
That voice is Jill Siminello.
She is contributing editor here at ConsumerGuide.com.
North American Car the Urger and a prolific freelancer.
Yes.
How are you doing this week, Jill?
Good.
Good.
Still pigeon-free, so that's good.
Oh, I forgot about your pigeon problem.
Yeah, the pigeon problem.
Still pigeon-free, and the sun is shining in Chicago, so no complaints here.
No, it's very nice looking outside of my window.
Last week, we talked about obscure station wagons.
In my parking lot, in my driveway right now, 2026 BMW M5 Touring.
Oh.
Station wagon.
That's a good one.
The fastest station wagon, probably you combine in the U.S. right now.
Delighted to be driving that.
I would say, you know, and I haven't looked at the specs on it,
but I would also say the Audi RS6 Avant is probably also pretty fast.
Oh, you know it's faster accelerating?
Hmm.
Will be the Porsche Taycan wagons, which have both been discontinued.
Yeah.
Those will be faster from a stop.
I wanted to talk about something real quick.
We have not talked much about producer Margaret,
but she has a long and interesting history here in Chicago,
including having produced Green Sense Radio for a number of years,
which I was a regular guest on, honored to be a guest on,
as hosted by Robert Colangelo.
But Margaret is also famous for her interviews of Chicago radio personalities,
and one of those people is Jennifer Kuiper.
You and I both know Jennifer via mama,
the Midwest Automotive Media Association.
But Jennifer is one of those people that just got caught up in the swirling vortex of CBS,
CBS Radio, CBS News being discontinued, unfortunately.
But she's got a great history.
She knows a lot about cars.
She knows a lot about business.
But Margaret, you just spent an hour producing Margaret.
You just spent an hour or so talking to Jennifer Kuiper.
Tell us about that.
Yes.
And it was the third time I interviewed her.
Oh, okay.
Yeah.
And the first time I interviewed her was 10 years ago at WLS Radio.
And then previously I interviewed her at WVVM News Radio,
right when the pandemic was hitting.
So we sat outside.
And then this time I interviewed her after she left CBS News Radio.
And of course, CBS Radio doesn't exist.
And it existed almost 100 years.
So we talked, we just did an update.
But she said some surprising things.
She did talk about cars towards the end,
about her association with you guys.
And she also talked about some personal things.
Usually I don't require anybody to talk about anything personal,
but she shared some news about her background,
some challenges they went through,
and her family went through,
and that her sister tragically died by suicide.
And she wants to get that out there for people to get help.
And then also, it turns out her sister's son also passed away
some time later.
And then she just talked about, you know,
sticking to quality and the fun that she has.
Like she's a big Burning Man fan.
So she goes to Burning Man.
Oh, cool.
I don't know if I would have entirely guessed that.
No, no, not at all.
Yeah, that's why we talked about it for a while.
Like what?
And yeah, and then she talked about how she discovered it,
why she likes it so much.
She goes with her friend.
She broke it down.
And I guess there's some Midwest things happening there, similar.
And then she talked about, you know, the changes in media.
But I mean, if you want to hear everything.
So like the previous one, we did a live stream,
and then I posted it on the Radio Girl podcast.
You can find that on Apple or at podcast.radiogirl.us.
And you can also find the two previous interviews I did with her,
because we covered her career at various points.
So I didn't want to do a rehash.
We will link to that stuff in our show notes and on our Facebook page.
Yeah, thanks.
I appreciate you mentioning it.
Yeah, absolutely.
Thank you, Margaret.
Yeah, Jennifer Kuiper, cool lady.
I don't talk to her as much as I'd like to.
I don't know when the last time you chatted with her, Jill.
It's been a couple of years.
Yeah, I used to see her at the rally,
but I have, due to my mobility issues,
I haven't been to the rally in a while.
Speaking of mobility, not in the physical sense,
but sort of in the global sense,
I have weird, weird numbers for you.
And I don't know how much people are going to care about these,
so I will go through these quickly.
But I want you to guess what country our podcast is most popular in.
Well, I know it's not Sweden.
Well, you should get the first one.
The United States.
Yes, and you should get the second one.
I mean, if I had to guess, I would say Canada.
Yes, you are never going to guess number three.
Never ever.
Well, you would eventually because you would run out of nations, but I don't know.
I would have to do like a look at a map.
I'm going to say Germany.
No, 34 and five are so weird.
I don't even understand Singapore, Spain and Vietnam.
Ah.
Well, I can say all out of the people in Spain,
but I don't unfortunately know those other languages.
Yeah, after that, it gets normal.
Like I would expect the rest of these.
Japan, Australia, China, the UK and Germany.
All of those make sense.
There are four nations that either speak English or these people there
learned English.
Not on the list, interestingly, is Brazil.
I mentioned this before.
I used to be involved with the production of collectible automobile magazine.
And we had a shocking number of subscribers in Brazil and Australia.
Like they love American cars there,
but they have their own cars based on American cars.
So there is a crazy symbiotic classic car thing going on here,
but apparently that doesn't stretch to new cars.
Got it.
All right.
I'm going to challenge you next week to do your intro,
at least a part of it in Spanish.
Spanish?
Yes.
My daughter can help me with the Spanish.
Yes, you can.
Well, it's bienvenido, consumer, consumer guide.
I'm going to mess up on the English consumer guide,
automotive car stuff, podcast.
Bienvenido.
We, I'm changing topics now.
Okay.
I'm not even shooting for a segue.
Okay.
I'm just changing topics here.
RAV4, Toyota RAV4.
Yes.
If you want one, you're screwed.
Yeah.
Like the demand is high and the supply is very low.
Yeah.
Apparently the rollover to the hybrid only thing slowed them down a little bit.
And they're now coming from three different countries.
Japan, Canada and the US, which is messing with things.
It's also messing with them when it comes to tariffs.
Okay.
By them, I mean Toyota.
But the fact is there are 55,000 units behind demand at the moment.
Wow.
So if you, if you want a RAV4, you're going to be paying less price for it.
And if you want to plug in hybrid, that's actually the only model that's sort of available.
But there's a dealer in California that reports having 800 orders for vehicles.
Wow.
That's a lot.
Unfilled orders.
So RAV4 are tough to get right now.
Apparently you've driven it.
I have.
Yeah.
Your take.
You know what?
I think it's a great vehicle.
I really liked it.
It's very comfortable for a road trip.
I like the tech.
I had the regular hybrid, not the plug-in hybrid, but the fuel economy was spot on.
You know, I had me, my husband and a six foot tall dude in the back and all of our luggage fit.
And he was comfortable in the back seat.
So, you know, every, it was like win, win across the board.
Oh, this guy in the back seat, did you know him?
We picked him up on the side of the road.
That's what I'm asking.
No, no, we knew him.
It was one of my husband's fraternity brothers.
I actually think picking up hitchhikers is a violation of the loan agreement.
Probably.
I don't know if you've ever read the loan agreement.
It's pretty complicated.
There's weird stuff in the loan agreement.
Some, you know, and some are more weird than others.
Like some don't want you to park on the street and, you know, some won't let you use a valet.
I occasionally dip into them.
You can't barbecue in the car.
That's a thing.
Dang it.
Yeah.
That's no fun.
I got some bad news here.
Okay.
And it's kind of bumming me out.
Lucid.
Do you remember we were talking about electric, like new companies?
And I said the jury was still out on whether or not Lucid's going to make it.
Okay.
Lucid sales are really down this year, despite the introduction of the gravity late last year.
And for people who don't know the Lucid air, a Tesla Model S size large electric sedan,
very nice vehicle.
One of the nicest vehicles I've ever, ever driven.
Just a fantastic vehicle.
Not selling so well because the market for large luxury sedans doesn't exist.
But they brought out the gravity, which was a midsize electric crossover.
Everything Lucid sells is electric.
And it's not selling so good.
Also, the S sales just fell off a cliff when the gravity came out.
But yeah, we're looking at some bad news here.
And Lucid's going to have to revise its guidance for 2026 because they'd hoped to sell 25,000
units this year.
Not going to happen.
It's going to be more like half that.
And this is just kind of sad, really.
And yeah, we've talked a little bit how all of Lucid's money, much of Lucid's money comes
from the Saudi wealth fund, which is almost limitless money.
But at some point, even if you have limitless money, you don't want to waste it.
Right.
Well, you know, and I will say they do have a product like a product cadence of things
that are coming that are exciting.
And, you know, the large sedan is a tough sell.
Let's be honest.
And even though Tesla just got rid of the Model S and the Model X, you would think that Lucid
might be able to break up some of those sales.
So I don't know.
Maybe that's coming.
You know, I do have to say my brother-in-law owned like Teslas for several years.
He got one of the first Tesla Model S's in 2012 and owned them all the way through.
I want to say like last year, 2025, and just bought a Lucid Air and loves it.
He said it is so much better than the Tesla Model S.
And, you know, because of features, functionality, how it drives, Apple CarPlay.
And, you know, he was just like, I didn't know what I was missing until I got this car.
This is amazing.
So, you know, if you have a Model S and you aren't going to be able to replace it with
another Model S, I would say give the Lucid Air series consideration from a Tesla owner
to a Lucid Air owner.
You know, they think it's amazing.
So just going to put that out there.
I wonder too, if Lucid hurts itself a little bit by putting, attempting to sell way too
much variance on the Lucid Air architecture, right?
You've got a car that's about 80 grand and you've got a car that you drove that's about
250 grand.
Yeah.
And that's very confusing, I think, for consumers.
And I think it's very hard to sell a quarter of a million dollar car that's based on an
80 grand car.
But I don't know.
But we're watching Lucid.
We'll see what happens there.
But I'm wondering if that has the legs anymore.
I'm hoping so.
I've got my fingers crossed.
Yeah.
I hate to see it go because they've made a nice product.
They've done their own battery development work.
They're a real company.
They've got real technology.
So the whole thing makes me a little bit sad.
And when we talk about Lucid, it's hard not to talk about Rivian.
Rivian is selling some volume of vehicles.
It's R1S, R1T, nearly big pickup and nearly big crossover.
And people seem to love those vehicles and the reviews are good.
But their next vehicle is a compact crossover with a more attainable price.
Though they are launching it in its most expensive trim level.
But there's supposed to be like a 40 grand version of that coming at some point.
So we'll see.
Yeah.
All right.
I'm still trying to get someone from Rivian on the show, by the way.
Good.
I'd love to talk to those folks.
I love the look of the car.
Real quick, I wrote an article about the best selling models, car model names.
Okay.
In the U.S. of all time.
Do you want to guess?
No.
The quizzes at the end of the show.
So just spell it.
So the best selling, I lost my list.
I lost my list.
Well, the best one, you can guess the first one.
I mean, I would guess Corolla.
No.
No, not Corolla F series.
Okay.
But this is messy.
And the people who report this, I got these numbers from different places.
So everything is grain of grain of sand, grain of salt here.
The Ford F series, 40 million sold since 1948.
That's when the F1 came out.
That was considered the first F series.
Number two, it should be easy after that Silverado.
Hmm.
In 1999 Chevy started calling his big truck Silverado.
Before that they were just called CK.
Right.
Number three, the Model T.
Number four, we're going to be talking about this later.
Our friend Vince is going to be coming back on the show Vincent.
I'm sorry to talk about the Honda Accord.
Wait.
Oh, John Vincent.
I was like, our guest coming up is Vince Galanti.
No, no, I'm sorry.
That was today.
Yeah, no.
After the break, we talked to Vince Galanti, Vice President of Design for Jeep.
John Vincent of US News and World Report.
We'll be talking to us about the 50th anniversary of the Accord.
And that's a great story.
And then finally, the campaign.
Okay.
Wow.
Corolla was even on the list.
No, it is actually just not the US list.
Okay.
The Corolla has done like 50 million units, but only about 8 million in the US.
Okay.
So there you have it.
All right, that's some stuff.
Later on, you're going to review the Subaru Uncharted.
Yes.
But before that, we're going to take a break and come back and talk about the new Jeep Cherokee.
All right, stick around.
Welcome back to the Car Stuff podcast.
All right, we're back.
This is the Consumer Guide Car Stuff podcast.
Thank you for joining us today.
Jill, how are you doing?
I'm doing all right.
How are you?
I am.
I am well.
I am dealing with computer issues that I'm not going to share right now, but I find them
frustrating.
Do you know what's kind of frustrating about them?
What is kind of frustrating?
My in-house tech person is my 27-year-old daughter.
And the answer to everything is that I'm old.
Well, my in-house support system is my husband, and his answer to everything is always, well,
did you restart it?
Did you turn it off?
Did you turn it back on?
That is quite...
And usually he's right.
That works for me.
If I go to check what should be wrong with it, everything keeps telling me to reboot
my docking station, which I swear to God, 18 months ago, I didn't know was a thing.
But enough of that.
Let's talk about stuff that works.
I just spent a week.
I just spent a week in the Jeep Cherokee.
Okay.
And for people who don't know, there's been a hole in the Jeep lineup for a little while
now, because the Cherokee had disappeared about three model years now.
But it is back.
It is a bigger vehicle.
It is a more Jeep-looking vehicle.
And on the phone with us, online with us is Vince Calante, Vice President of Jeep Design,
and we're going to talk all things Cherokee today.
Vince, how are you?
I'm good.
How are you doing?
Apart from dealing with my daughter's snide remarks about my age, I'm doing good.
How are you?
It's a good day.
It's a nice day here just outside Detroit.
So we had a good Father's Day weekend.
So yeah, doing great.
Well, happy Father's Day.
Thanks.
Yeah, I'm looking out the window.
It's very nice out there right now.
So let's talk a little bit about Jeep and where Jeep is going.
The lineup there was a little bit like for a while.
You guys had the Cherokee disappear on you.
Kind of a core segment, right?
For everybody, even Jeep.
And that's compact or large compact crossover.
It's back now.
Tell us a little bit about what that does for the Jeep lineup.
Sure.
It really, as you, as you mentioned, it really the, the all new Cherokee fills
kind of a gap we had there.
And we're really excited about what we've brought to the market.
I think, of course, for me, the kind of boxy, unique Jeep looks,
I think every dimension on the vehicle is larger than the predecessor.
So now you're going to have tons of great space on the inside,
about 30% more cargo than we had before,
which was something we found from customers was an area where we could improve.
So that's great.
Got a new hybrid powertrain.
It's going to be super efficient.
Lots of tech on the inside that you connect five.
So I think overall it feels a nice spot in our showroom,
but I think really answers a lot of a great question for some of the,
you know, the families that are really looking for a Jeep.
I want to get back and talk about you connect a little bit and I know Jill does.
But let's talk about the fact that the Cherokee is a little bit bigger overall.
Is that something that we're seeing in the segment?
Did Jeep need to make this vehicle just a little bit bigger to kind of fill that space
between the, what is it, the Compass and the Grand Cherokee?
Yeah. Yeah.
It's kind of sits right in between those.
I think, you know, we were, we start, you know, every car to every Jeep design that we do,
we start from the inside out.
And so when we were looking at that specifically at that rear seat spaciousness,
the rear seat leg room and the cargo room that we were after,
that's really what drove the size.
So it really started from making sure that people, you know,
were comfortable and they could fit all their stuff.
And we worked from the inside out.
So I think if you look at the segment overall, the vehicles are trending,
you know, a little bit larger with each generation.
So I think we're right on point with that too.
Jill and I were talking about something off air recently and I had this theory.
And maybe I'm wrong.
Maybe you can tell me that rear seat space isn't all that important in this segment.
You're throwing down the gauntlet there.
Yeah.
I don't know.
I mean, I have a young family that we pack cars full.
We put car seats in the back.
You know, we're out of the rear facing stage,
but I know for some of those young families that do have a rear facing car seat,
they'll take all the room they can get back there.
And, you know, so I think it is important,
especially in a vehicle like this and what people are using it for.
So.
One of the reasons I thought this, and you can comment on this if you like,
was simply that Ford has just abandoned the escape,
which seems like a really strange move from, you know, looking from the outside in.
And that was a vehicle with some rear seat space,
but they're still going to sell the Bronco Sport,
which has absolutely no rear seats whatsoever.
And that's now their entry into this segment.
And that vehicle compared to the Compass actually has so much less cabin space
that I'm wondering how important that is.
Or is the segment so big that there are just,
there's a lot of room for a lot of different vehicles in it.
I mean, I think, I think you, the segment, it is the largest segment.
So you do see a lot of different types of vehicles, everything from,
you know, I would say more utility to more lifestyle and everything in between.
I think for us, we're looking to kind of balance that, you know,
the cool kind of adventurous Jeep lifestyle and capability,
but also make something that works well for families.
You do see a lot of people, you know, myself,
I drive back and forth to work just me in the car.
But again, like on the weekends or if I'm going to soccer tournaments or basketball practice or whatever it is,
you know, that backseat becomes awful important real fast.
So I think for us it was in cargo.
Yeah. So I think for us that was top of mind.
And I think we can, you know, we've done a good job of making a cool,
exciting vehicle that does happen to have all that utility.
So yeah, for us, it was important.
You start with the interior and you get your interior dimensions and then you kind of like wrap the exterior around it.
Were there some design considerations and some things that you wanted to do with the Cherokee when you were,
you know, putting pen to paper and then, you know, making your models and things like that,
because, you know, when you look at it, you know, it's a Jeep.
But I'm just wondering if there were any like special touches or anything like that you specifically wanted to focus on with this vehicle in terms of design.
Yeah, I think we wanted to make sure.
So, you know, they're all of us in the studio are 80s and 90s babies and we grew up with or maybe had a the original XJ Cherokee like that 80s 90s Cherokee is, you know, that was our,
for me, that was my mom's car when I was growing up for some of the guys in the studio that was their first car.
You know, so we wanted to not do a retro design, but bring some of that heritage in.
So I think, you know, one of the first thing people call it the square key for a reason.
So we wanted to have kind of this boxy profile, which I think, you know, for, you know, brands that like to do more slick aerodynamic types of things.
It is a struggle to get that spacious descending inside in the cargo, but for us, the boxy profile lent itself really well to the mission that we were after.
And, you know, like you look at some of the kind of the D pillar all the way in the back and the way the the liftgate cut line wraps around the side and the tail lamps are integrated.
There's some there's some small touches there that kind of hint back to that that XJ Cherokee, but then at the same time they make they help us make the cargo area, you know, wider and taller and they make the cut lines go all the way out
so that the opening when you do open that that trunk is as wide as it possibly can be.
So I think it worked out well for us on this one because we wanted to do something boxy and kind of tough and boxy and kind of tough gives you lots of space.
So, you know, if you really wanted to do a cool homage to the XJ, you've got to do a two door version of the current Cherokee.
Yeah, we were designers always try to do a two door of everything.
I think I think we have our other two door that we're having tons of fun with too so I think hopefully you guys just just saw the our 12 for 12 release this page and we did Sarge and we showed.
I saw a lot of the forums light up and a lot of the comment sections light up because the two door reappeared. So I think we were pretty excited to see that out there so we get all our.
We get we get it all out on that one as far as two doors go for people who don't know but to do a little bit of car spotting if you're looking for old XJ jeeps and they're still out there.
And there's two of them right there's completely trashed examples and unbelievably clean loved examples and and of the clean loved examples, a lot of them are two doors still.
It's and that didn't go the whole run right that was just a few model years I think.
Right yeah and if if you follow the Easter Jeep Safari that is back in March and then sometimes early April this year we actually did a two door Cherokee.
So kind of a resto mod heritage piece on that it was kind of the you know the classic kind of gold metallic color but we left it.
We upsized the tires and give it a little bit of a lift but we did leave it kind of in place but it's exactly like you said we found a really nice clean example down in Florida of a two door Cherokee we're so excited to have that we were able to to kind of modify and look at that one again.
For people who don't know those vehicles were exceptionally good off road and there's all sorts of video on YouTube.
Just XJ just just type the next year Cherokee XJ great video these vehicles dominating off road.
I mean they earned their legend.
You know it's absolutely cool.
We haven't talked about the big thing here about the new vehicle or at least one of the big pieces of news and that said we're hybrid only for 2026.
How was that decision reached and hybrid only and all will drive only correct.
Yeah.
Yeah so we're for us it was again it came back to the customer that we were designing the vehicle for.
I think you know efficiency again is top of mind.
I you know like to picture the people of all ages that buy these but the young family that needs the spaciousness and utility like we talked about but you know wants to have something as efficient as possible.
So with the hybrid the hybrid did make a lot of sense and we wanted to do something that you didn't have to plug in.
So this one you know you know for for a lot of people this would be just a nice easy transition if they're used to just a standard kind of gas vehicle.
So I think it's a really nice kind of in between step that'll work really well for the customers that are you know attracted these these types of vehicles.
Are there to the best of your knowledge there's still people that are hybrid resistant.
I get the sense now that electric is the big you know the big scary thing out there for car buyers that that hybrids are now fully accepted and just people associate them with good fuel economy and with gas where it's at.
Are we are we just in sort of an open hybrid market now.
I think so I you know I've never heard any resistance to hybrid.
I know for me my toughest critic is always my wife.
And so we've you know we've rented a few cars here and there on vacations and gotten hybrids and just the.
I kind of you know the routine of going to the gas station and putting gas in just like you would any other car I think you know for her makes that something really pretty seamless.
So I think I you know besides for her I have never heard of anybody having any resistance to it and they just love they love the extra fuel economy.
I think when you're driving them it feels pretty seamless as well.
So yeah I think it's a great power train.
I had the the Laredo for the weekend actually for the week just got out of it and I photographed it yesterday and usually right before I photograph but I check all my numbers including my fuel economy.
I got 45 miles per gallon last week according to the trip computer.
Pretty dang good for a vehicle with this kind of interior room and and decent power too.
Are you hearing similar numbers from from customers.
I know I know that you know that that's wonderful because I think the label is right at 3837 38 so there's something like that yeah 4445 I think in real world conditions I think that's amazing.
So that's pretty cool.
Yeah and I know I I'm usually very hard on the gas pedal and I think I was even averaging around 40 to 42 miles per gallon when I drove it.
I know I did better than what the EPA estimated.
So I was thoroughly impressed with the hybridness of the of the powertrain and how efficient it was.
That used to be great to hear.
Yeah that used to be the unique territory of the Prius the Prius would always exceed its EPA numbers.
Vince can you walk us through the lineup and just let us know what people have there to choose from.
Yeah so the base model is called the Cherokee and then we have the Laredo which is the one time that you drove the limited and the overland and then just today we teased the trialhawk.
So it'll be exciting.
So that's a 2027 the trialhawk.
Yeah we have there's no timing officially on that yet but yeah if you look online today that we released a teaser image of that so it'll be it'll have all of the.
It'll have exactly what you expect.
Listed earlier this year was the 85th anniversary edition is that already sold out.
You know I can't I'm not sure I don't I don't get so much into the sales numbers but yeah the 85th anniversary that was a fun one we got to work on a package across the entire showroom.
So and I think one of the most exciting ones on the Wrangler.
You know besides for the exterior package we finally we put the plaid seats in which I was so excited about.
I got to see that when I was at headquarters a couple months ago and I actually got to see that and it was so lovely it was very attractive.
Yeah something we've been showing in Easter Jeep Safari concepts for a long time but I just love the idea of these patterns and textures and things that we can add to the jeeps and just add a little bit of fun.
I think time you were asking about the lineup you said you drove a Laredo and I think one of the things you know our design models of course when we build them in the studio and we sketch them are always the top of the line biggest wheels.
You know most luxurious interior all of that stuff but you know so the Laredo I think I was pleasantly surprised every time I see one how premium it feels even though it's just one step off off the base.
You know I think one of the we talk about you know some of those retro touches and the actual the pattern on the cloth seats of that vehicle.
We're inspired from the XJ as well they're not a literal copy by any means but just kind of having fun with those patterns and textures are color materials team really cited that one is one of their favorites which is is you know pretty awesome that a base model would be kind of that that well appointed.
Yeah I think Laredo hits a sweet spot in terms of pricing and just general content because it's right at $40,000 and I think people shop by that.
I think they're trying to keep their price at 40 or under but it also hits a payment right now with high interest rates of about 600 bucks a month which I think is a line in the sand for people to so this is like you can tell me if I'm wrong this is probably your volume car right.
Yeah, yeah, I think it's right in the heart of the market so.
So what is it about the Turkey we haven't asked you that you want us to know.
I, you know, I think we were just in.
You guys have seen kind of the ones that are out there now, and I just mentioned we tease the trial Hawk but I think you know we've been having a lot of fun with the Wrangler on the 12 for 12 program and doing heritage inspired things and military I guess more modern youthful types of things and all kinds of pop culture
sorts of like, and we can go pretty far in the Wrangler but you know we're looking to have fun with the Cherokee to so you know whether that be color, patterns and textures, like we've been talking about but we really do have kind of a nice future outlook on that vehicle and how far we can push and pull it
and because I do think, you know you see when we look at the trend reports you know it is always white and silver and gray cars that have been the most popular and we're starting to see that actually kind of reverse and people are looking for color again so.
Yeah, so you'll see us having a lot of fun I think it's a in its own way. It's a it's a canvas as the Wrangler is so looking to have a lot of fun on the design side inside now with the.
I need to thank someone at Jeep for juice. It's just when I see a juice Wrangler I just feel better about my whole day for people who don't know this is an orange color that's fantastic.
And it's just in a sea of white and gray and silver, a juice colored Wrangler or scram not scrambled. I'm getting ahead of myself here. Gladiator. Just a wonderful thing to see.
Yeah, yeah, we have we have tons of fun. Yeah, I'm like you guys always do the best job with your colors from the names to the actual vibrancy. I actually just this morning got Willis 41 Wrangler and it's that drab olive green and it has the olive green wheels and I'm just like this this is this is amazingly well designed and I love.
Awesome. Thank you. Yeah, thank you. Yeah, I love that way once.
It's the original right.
Yeah, people want to go to the Jeep website and check out the Willis products because the Willis Wranglers look fantastic. I love the distrust lettering I love the throwback to the
to the World War two colors and stuff. It's just fantastic.
So Vince, we're running out of time here but you mentioned a trailhawk which is off road oriented. Does that mean we'll see a trailhawk you guys like to talk about future products.
Yeah, no, I think we teased it today. Yeah, so you will see a trailhawk.
I'm sorry, in track Hawk forgive me track Hawk. Oh, no, nothing on that on the on the charity.
All right, no, no hemi engine in the Cherokee.
Fortunately, the thing doesn't fit in there.
But well, Vince, thank you so much for your time today. If there's anything we need to know about Jeep that we didn't ask what was it?
I, you know, I just think keep we're having so much fun, whether it's the Easter Jeep Safari concepts the colors that you mentioned some of the special editions that have come out or will and will come out I think we're having so much fun
with the brand and with the different products so you know looking forward to seeing what our customers think of them I'm always online looking at forums looking at comments and I love to get the feedback and see where we can take the brand in the future I think it's a unique brand in that way that we have such a rich community to listen to to learn from and to kind of
serve so yeah excited excited to see where the future goes along those lines before we sign off can you just tell us briefly what the 12 for 12 program is you've mentioned that a couple of times and I think that there are people who might not be familiar with it so I was just wondering if you could just
give us a brief synopsis of what it was what it is and what we should look forward to in the future.
Okay, so the 12 for 12 program. So for 85th anniversary. Of course the Wrangler is our icon and it's, you know where it all started. You mentioned the willies 41 and the green and all that we have an original one of those cut in half and mounted to the wall in the studio so that's, you know, kind of our one of our inspirations but the 12 for 12 program.
For the whole 85th anniversary year, we wanted to do a different special edition Wrangler every single month of the calendar year so
you know some of them, you know, the one we just showed is called Sarge. It's a very military inspired back in May, we showed the rewind, which was a very like 80s 90s kind of throwback kind of pop culture type of right where we've done the willies 392, which is kind of a entry level but with the
Hemi 392 v8 and the white cap which has kind of white a white grill and a white top and kind of has a little bit of a heritage flavor nostalgic flavor so we're having just trying to see how many different personalities we can we can make.
And so every month on the 12th of the month at 12 o'clock we do another drop. So, you know, you can look forward to the next one on July 12.
And they just keep getting I think more and more, more and more fun as we go so yeah, special edition every month for a year. So, cool.
We're waiting to give us any teasers about what's coming.
Um, it's the only, the only thing I would say like keep watching the interiors we've been the last few we've done some pretty cool different interiors that I think a lot of people have been really asking for and looking for so just keep
Wait to see if there's some good ones coming.
Awesome.
Sounds good.
Vince, thank you so much for your time today.
Yeah, thank you for having me.
All right, that was Vince Calante. He is vice president of design and cheap. We're going to take a break and when we come back.
Quiz time.
Quiz time.
Questions or comments?
Drop us a line at carstuffatconsumerguide.com.
That's carstuffatconsumerguide.com.
Welcome back to the Car Stuff podcast.
And we're back. This is the consumer guide carstuff podcast. I'm Tom Appel. She is Jill Seminello. Jill, uh, it's good to see a Cherokee back in the lineup.
You know, it really is. And this is, this is a nice Cherokee. You know, I think I had the opportunity to drive it maybe a month before you did.
It was right after the Midwest Automotive Media Association spring rally meeting. And so it's been, it's been a minute, but I have warm and fuzzy memories of that car in terms of, you know, the overall design and the way it looks.
I, um, I'll be honest, I wish it was a little bit more engaging to drive, but I'm super impressed by the fuel economy and I'm really impressed by the use of space and the interior looks good. I have read, I have read some concern that the interior doesn't live up to the price and I disagree strongly.
I would agree with that. I think that the interior, especially on 11 level up off of the base is really nice.
Yeah. And I think they are hitting a price sweet spot at 40K for that vehicle. The only option on the vehicle I drove was, um, uh, special paint.
Yeah. So that took it to, I think it was 40,000, 495 or 595, something like that. But nice vehicle. All right. Uh, it's quiz time.
Okay.
And as, as you know, I know that you love to talk about classic cars. Really, your, your knowledge sweet spot and today's topic. Are you ready?
Okay.
Was it an Oldsmobile?
Okay.
Okay. I mean, I like how classic cars look. I mean, you know, I have pillows of classic cars, photos that I've taken, but was it an Oldsmobile? Okay.
Yep. I've got five model names for you here. You just have to tell me if it was an Oldsmobile or not. And then there's a bonus question. You need three total for a victory.
Okay.
And the bonus question is just an excuse for me to go completely off topic. I mean, the bonus question is always related to the topic of the day.
Completely, completely related.
All right. Number one, the Omega. Was there an Oldsmobile Omega? You do get the nice alliteration.
I know. And I'm like, but only if there was an alpha. Um, I'm, I'm going to say yes.
There was. Yeah. In the seventies and the eighties, the Omega was on both times and General Motors X chassis. The first one was similar to the Chevy Nova.
And for the eighties, it was similar to the Chevrolet Citation. You're on the board. You have one point.
All right.
Number two, the Savoy. Was there an Oldsmobile Savoy?
Savoy.
I mean, it sounds like it could be a car name, but was it an Oldsmobile?
I mean, that almost Savoy.
I should have looked up Savoy. I know it was like a Harlem club. And I think that history, the names got great history.
I'm going to say no.
No, it was a Plymouth.
Okay.
There was a Plymouth Savoy between 54 and 64. Nice. You've got two points. You're not in trouble yet.
Yeah.
Star, Starfire. Was there an Oldsmobile Starfire?
Ooh, I know there was a something Starfire.
Yes.
Yes. Between 1975 and 1980, it was on GM's H-Body architecture.
And it was similar to the Monza from Chevy and the Sunbird from Pontiac. Nice. You've already won.
Ooh, okay.
All right. Was there an Oldsmobile Intrigue?
Ooh, I, again, I know there was an Intrigue that was the name of the car, but I don't think it was Oldsmobile.
I'm going to say no.
No, there was.
Oh.
And what's really weird, I was a big fan of the show NYPD Blue.
And Dennis Francis character, Sipowitz, for some reason in one episode, did this crazy product placement scene where on the side of the road, he gets out of his intrigue.
It's the only time we ever see the car.
Hmm.
It was just a really weird scene, but yeah, Sipowitz drove an Intrigue.
Were there any other brands that had an Intrigue?
Not that I'm aware of.
Okay. Okay.
All right. Apex. Was there an Oldsmobile Apex?
Hmm.
Okay, so I have to say whenever I hear Apex, it makes me think of the TRX because Apex Predator, but that is a compute, like a huge digression.
I'm going to say no.
There was not.
There is an Apex Motors out of Hong Kong.
I don't know much about it. I don't care.
It's just another one of these really weird small super car makers that doesn't sell cars in the U.S.
Okay.
All right. So you have three.
Bonus question doesn't matter.
I had four.
You got Apex?
Yeah.
Oh, all right. You got four.
All right. We're back to one of my favorite bonus question topics, and that is franchise opportunities.
Okay.
From franchiseopportunities.com, I have a list of four franchise opportunities that you can invest in today, Jill.
Today.
Today. Three of these are real. One of them is fake. I need you to tell me which one is fake.
All right. Let's see. What's my next career going to be?
Number one, Area 51 Cup Cakery.
That's Area 51 Cup Cakery.
Number two, Jet Set Modern Pilates.
Number three, USA Ninja Challenge.
Number four.
I want that one.
You want that one?
I want to do that. Okay. Sorry. Go.
All right. And finally, Chao Chao, quick healthy Asian cuisine.
Let's Chao Chao, quick healthy Asian cuisine.
All right. So my initial thought is that the Area 51 Cup Cakery would have very, very limited opportunity.
Unless it was like, you know, the Cup Cakery is the franchise, and then it just happens to be one that's available in Area 51.
But otherwise, like...
No, that's actually the name, Area 51 Cup Cakery.
I'm like, I just don't think you could put an Area 51 Cup Cakery in Chicago.
That's all I'm going to say.
I mean, no.
So first inclination is to say that one is not real.
Okay.
And I mean, I'd like the... I would go eat it at Chao Chao.
Chao Chao, quick healthy Asian cuisine.
I'm sorry, quick healthy Asian cuisine.
Yeah, I would eat there.
All right.
And I want to own the Ninja one.
USA Ninja Challenge?
Yes.
And, you know, I mean, the Pilates thing, I feel like that could be real too.
But I feel like it's either going to be the first one or the last one, because like Chao Chao really sounds real and Area 51 just does not.
I'm going to go with Area 51.
I'm going to go with my first inclination.
Yeah, that one's real.
Wow.
And you can get a franchise for $80,000.
Okay.
Yeah.
Chao Chao, quick healthy Asian cuisine is fake.
But I can make up a number.
You can get one for $20,000.
Check made payable to Tom Appel.
And that's A-P-P-E-L, not A-P-P-L-E.
Yeah, just mail your checks to me.
Should modern Pilates, should those words be pushed together?
That's a weird... I don't know.
I don't know much about Pilates.
All right.
All right.
Enough of the quiz.
You won the quiz.
Nice job.
We were going to talk briefly, not that briefly, Toyota and Subaru.
And we've mentioned this on air before are confusing me, because all of a sudden there's
a bunch of Toyota EVs that there are Subaru analogs for, and the Subaru analogs confuse
me, but here they are.
There's the new Toyota CHR, and there's a Subaru Uncharted, which is based on it.
Yes.
There's also the old Toyota BZ, which is the Subaru Saltera.
They've been around for a few years.
There's the BZ Woodland, which is the Subaru Trailseeker.
And then finally, the Highlander for 2027 goes electric.
And there's a Subaru based on that called the Getaway.
Correct.
Yes.
So that's what's going on there.
But you just spent time in the smallest but not cheapest of the Subaru EVs, and that's
the Uncharted.
Yeah.
Yeah.
So I got the Uncharted on Wednesday, and they took it away today.
Oh, so you just drove it.
Okay.
Just drove it.
And I really, really liked it, and I think it is an excellent city vehicle.
So it's funny, because they delivered it to me on Wednesday morning, and it was raining
and miserable, and I had to go downtown to pick up my in-laws.
And then we went out to Highland Park to, we had to go out to the suburbs for something.
And then I had to go back and drop them off and then come home.
And I live on the Northwest side in Chicago City proper.
And so I was concerned when I got that car.
I'm like, I don't know that I'm going to have enough range to do all of that, especially
because they're going to deliver it to me not at 100%.
Well, they delivered it to me at like 95%, which was 280 miles of range.
And I was like, I got this.
This is going to be fine.
And it was like, I feel like I only went through like 50 or 60 miles of range, even though
I drove far more than that.
And so first off, I want to say they're very conservative on their range estimates in nice
weather, which is good.
That has been true of Toyota EV products since the beginning.
Yes.
The range tends to exceed the published EPA figure.
Yeah.
So I was very, very impressed with that.
And second, I brought it home and I plugged it into a wall jack.
And so I drove again.
I think I went 48 hours without driving and I came back out and it was up to 100%.
And I was like, oh, okay.
And so for the driving that I do, I would not need to have a level two charger at home
and just plugging it into a wall jack was fine for me.
So those were the range and the plug in were two of the things that I really, really liked
about it.
It has a Tesla Nax charger.
So standard Nax charging, which means you can go to a Tesla supercharger to charge.
It has really nice interior, comfortable amenities, smooth ride and handling.
And even though I have driven the CHR, I have to tell you that I couldn't tell you what
the differences are, even though the CHR is or the uncharted is supposed to be tuned
differently for Subaru.
It would take an expert, I think, to really be able to tell the differences in the ride
and the handling.
But the interior is very similar to the CHR.
It has a large infotainment screen, the Toyota infotainment system, that weird gauge cluster
above the steering wheel that I like, but I don't think you like.
It's not weird.
It's dreadful.
I think it's fine.
But people who are taller or larger than me are going to have a problem because the steering
wheel kind of hits it in a weird place.
I have to interject for a moment.
It's not related to the car.
I just accidentally drew on my face.
So the fact that my camera isn't working is to my advantage right now.
That's all I got.
I'm holding the pen for emphasis, even though no one could see me, but I just drew on my
face.
So I just want to get that out there.
The reference to the camera is, yeah, I'm now recording these because we're doing these
via Zoom.
So I'm now recording these and putting them on my YouTube channel.
So unfortunately for those who are watching, you're not seeing Tom today because his camera
isn't working.
Also, since no one can see me, I'm freshly shaving.
Oh, yeah.
That's not true, but let's just make it seem like I put in the effort.
Got it.
I wanted to ask you about this.
The CHR used to be a Toyota product, a gasoline-powered Toyota product.
Kind of a cute sub-cop had crossover.
Actually, it was a lot of fun to drive.
Is this based on that or is this all-new architecture?
It is all-new architecture.
I mean, it does look a little hatchback-y.
It has that quirky rear door handle that's kind of embedded in the seat pillar.
My parents-in-law, when I picked them up, they couldn't figure out how to get in the car.
The Nissan Juke had that.
Yeah.
Yeah.
And I was just like, oh, oh.
And they're like, you know, they're not getting in the car.
I'm like, why are they getting in the car?
And then I was like, oh, the door handle, right?
They don't know where it is.
You know what else had that?
And just to say topical, a bunch of old surreal cutlery from the 90s.
Because the quiz always has everything to do with the topic of the day.
There you go.
Good tie-in.
But no, I really enjoyed my time in the Uncharted.
I thought that it was comfortable.
It was fast.
You know, I had the mid-level, they called it the sport trim.
And so standard with all-wheel drive.
And so here's the interesting thing about the Uncharted.
It is not standard with all-wheel drive.
The base trim actually comes as a front-wheel drive model.
And this is like the first front-wheel drive Subaru in America in many, many years.
You have the BRZ, but that's real-wheel drive.
So the Salterra, their first EV, was all-wheel drive only?
I think so.
OK, interesting.
I don't remember that.
Yeah, and the really interesting thing is the CHR version of this vehicle is all-wheel drive only.
And I thought that was a little reverse to me.
I would have thought that Toyota would have the front-wheel drive model and with the all-wheel drive being available.
And Subaru would be all-wheel drive only, but it is not.
What's really interesting about that is that Subaru seems to be willing to give up some of its legend and lore for its electric vehicles,
but not its hybrid vehicles.
The Forester, Subaru's compact crossover, which we compete directly with the Compass.
I'm sorry, the Cherokee.
They did a hybrid version of that, but they didn't go with an E-axle in back because they didn't want to compromise the vehicle's all-wheel drive capability.
So it's using the mechanical hookup to get power torqued to the back of the car, which most hybrids do not do,
because you can save money and power and fuel by going another way, but they wouldn't compromise on that.
But on the EVs, it's like, what are we going to do?
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Alrighty. So overall, nice vehicle.
Overall, nice vehicle.
If you were looking for a compact EV, I think that this is a good one to start with.
And, you know, obviously the CHR is another good option.
I have some TikToks that I'm going to be in YouTube shorts that I'm going to be uploading over the next week.
So if you are curious about what I liked and what I didn't like more specifically, you can dig into those over the next week.
I like the orange TikToks.
Have you had those?
I'm not really fond of TikToks.
Oh, my bad.
I don't need a lot of candy.
All right. Sorry, my bad.
You wanted to get to a topic today, and strangely, I have notes on this topic.
Just because I thought we might get to it.
But the Chevrolet Silverado, the second best-selling vehicle in the United States, is all-new.
I believe it's all-new for 2027.
It is. Next generation.
This is a big stinking deal for a bunch of reasons.
And General Motors, Chevy, excuse me, and GMC Sierra, which is a companion vehicle,
they're not twins, but they're very similar mechanically.
These vehicles are all-new for 2027.
And interesting decisions were made here.
Yeah, and we haven't seen the GMC version yet.
They've only released photos of the Chevrolet.
And I like the look.
I think it looks cleaner than the last one.
The grille is borrowed from the medium-duty trucks from the 2500 and 3500,
but the flanks are a little bit cleaner.
But one of the really interesting pieces of news, and this is total geek stuff,
but they've replaced the two top engines.
There used to be a 5.3 and a 6.2 pushrod,
but otherwise very advanced engines with direct injection and cylinder deactivation
made it to 10-speed automatic.
So there's a lot of tech there.
But the pushrod allowed them to build a lighter engine and a more compact engine.
But that 5.3 becomes a 5.7, and this matters if you're my age,
because the 5.7 was a Chevy engine of great legend.
It was the 350, 350 cubic inches, and it was in everything for a long time.
So the engine got bigger, but reportedly fuel economy is going to improve.
We haven't seen the EPA numbers yet.
And then the old 6.2 becomes a 6.6, which is another legacy thing.
I don't know if it's 400 cubic inches, but if it is,
that's another historic number for General Motors too.
So a little bit of legacy play there, but huge deal here,
because this is a high-volume, high-profit, high-margin vehicle,
and something like a third of all the money GM makes comes from the Silverado and the Sierra.
So huge deal.
And early word, I think people like the design, they like the look.
I think the design is really bold and different.
I like the new kind of reverse sea headlight treatment they've got going on.
Yeah, no, I like it. I think it looks great.
I'd like to get someone on the show.
We don't talk too much about trucking, and you and I don't tow, for example, or haul.
I don't need a lot of hay. Do you need a lot of hay?
I don't actually need hay, no.
Yeah, so when I get a truck, it's almost always a half ton, a 1500,
and I drive it like I would commute in it, and I generally enjoy these vehicles very much.
The Ram, the F-150, the Silverado, these are really, really nice vehicles to just drive around.
But this is a huge deal. We will talk more about this.
And maybe we can get someone from Chevy I to talk about this, because Ford,
I don't know how many people know this story,
having a hard time getting F-150s built because of an aluminum shortage,
because there was a fire at an aluminum provider at their factory.
So General Motors has been sort of incrementally gaining market share anyway.
Yeah.
And I think that there's still a shortage of F-150s,
but maybe that shortage is going to be dissipated
because there's going to be a shortage of Chevys in a minute when they do the switchover.
Yeah, yeah, because they're saying this is going to be 2027 model,
which means it should be out by the end of this year.
Yeah, and we don't know that much. We don't know horsepower figures.
We don't know specs. dimensions.
It would be really, really bold if this was the first full-size truck in like 30 years that didn't get bigger.
Yeah.
Because, dang, our trucks getting big.
They are getting big, which is why we need to introduce more compact trucks.
Well, I guess they're coming.
Yes.
Yeah, apparently the Toyota Model T Moment $30,000 electric small truck
is being seen on the roads in camouflage.
So they're really pushing that pretty fast.
They're talking about having that on a road next year.
Yeah.
All right.
Well, that's the stuff.
Did you have anything else about the Silverado you wanted to share?
No, I mean, just TBD, more to come.
We don't know much.
It's going to have a lot of standard technology across the board with large infotainment screens,
digital displays and things like that.
I noticed that in some of the pictures, the shifter looks like it might exclusively be on the column,
which is kind of a big deal for truck drivers.
So I'm going to be very curious as more details come out about this truck.
Yeah, it's not manly.
It's not manly to have the shifter on the column.
No, it's not manly.
But if you want to get three giant Yeti mugs into the center column,
you've got to move something off of it.
Yeah.
Off the console, and one of those might be the shifter.
Yeah.
I mean, the OG shifters were on the steering column.
Three on the tree, baby.
Yep.
All right.
Well, guess what we did?
We did another great show.
Yeah, that was a fun show.
Big thanks to Vince Galante of Jeep for joining us today.
Thank you, Jill.
Thank you to producer Margaret.
Let's talk more about cars again next week.
Next week.
Remember to check us out at consumerguide.com.
The Car Stuff podcast is produced by J-Turn Media.
To advertise on the show, please drop us a line at carstuffatconsumerguide.com.
If you liked the show, please take a moment to rate, review, and subscribe.
It really does help the show to grow.
Thank you for listening.
About this episode
The Car Stuff Podcast moves from station-wagon speed talk to EV and hybrid realities, then lands on hands-on impressions of the Subaru Uncharted. Hosts connect the Uncharted to the new Toyota CHR, note its city-friendly character, and discuss charging, real-world range, and an unusual front-wheel-drive base trim. The Jeep Cherokee deep dive follows, focusing on its return, bigger dimensions, and a hybrid strategy designed to protect all-wheel-drive capability. The episode also looks ahead to the 2027 Silverado redesign and ongoing RAV4 supply constraints.
Jill and Tom open a content-packed episode by welcoming the BMW M5 Touring to Tom's driveway. Expect to hear much more about this practical super-car in future episodes. Producer Margaret then shares details of her recent interview of Chicago-based radio reporter/journalist Jennifer Keiper, a peer of Jill's and Tom's. Jennifer lost her most recent position in the radio industry as CBS News wound down its broadcast operations. You can listen to that interview here.
Tom share a list of the countries in which the Car Stuff Podcast is most popular, and it's rather surprising.
Still in the first segment, Tom shares bad news for folks waiting to purchase a 2026 Toyota RAV4. The all-new compact crossover is in high-demand, and redesign rollover constraints have limited supply. Jill says the small crossover is worth the wait. The hosts also discuss slumping Lucid sales, and the most-popular model names of all time.
In the second segment, the hosts welcome Jeep Vice President of Design Vince Galante to the show. Vince walked Jill and Tom trough all of the news surrounding the return of the compact Cherokee crossover to the Jeep lineup. Listen in for details.
In the last segment, Jill is subjected to Tom's "Was it an Oldsmobile?" quiz, complete with a popular franchise-opportunity bonus question.
Jill also reviews the all-new Subaru Uncharted small crossover EV.
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
