The Best Cars for 2026 with Mike Quincy of Consumer Reports

WATD presents John Paul, The Car Doctor, All Things Automotive.

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Now, here's John Paul, The Car Doctor.

And good Sunday morning everyone and welcome to another edition of the Car Doctor program

on 959WATD.

My name is John Paul, The Car Doctor here to help you with your car problems.

Maybe you're thinking about how you got through the snowstorms we had, maybe your power is

back on.

I know our little house got the power finally back on on Thursday, which was good.

Fortunately, we have an old, old-timey heater, so the heat stayed on inside the house

where neighbors could go to live if they wanted to.

But anyway, so weather is here, you hate to say it, but maybe you're thinking about buying

a new car and what a great place to go, of course, is to go to Consumer Reports.

And with us on the phone is Mike Quincy.

He is an auto writer and tester at Consumer Reports.

Mike, good morning and welcome back to the Car Doctor program.

Good morning, John.

Thanks for having me on.

You've been at Consumer Reports has been around since 1936.

You've been there almost as long, almost 25 years, right?

Yeah, actually, we're celebrating our 90th anniversary and I'm old, but I'm not that

old.

But yeah, I started with Consumer Reports in 1993, took a little sabbatical during

the dot-com craziness of 2000 and then came back in 2001 at Consumer Reports Test

Track in Connecticut.

And I've been there ever since.

So yeah, this May will be 25 years at the track.

And you know, a long time.

And let's talk a little bit about, you know, what you and Consumer Reports does differently

than everybody else does.

You guys don't take loaner cars from manufacturers, you buy all of your cars, right?

Correct.

Yeah, all the vehicles in our road test ratings are purchased by Consumer Reports.

We don't take advertising, we're not beholden to any companies.

So we really do work hard to maintain our independence.

We occasionally will borrow a car from a manufacturer just to kind of test it out.

But we never actually do, you know, empirical testing on a borrowed car.

We're kind of looking to see where it might fit into a test program and just to get

some experience with it.

But yeah, we do buy all of the cars that we test anonymously.

And you have a phenomenal test facility in Connecticut.

It's like 350 acres or something, right?

The way that I remember that, that's a really good small block Chevrolet VA.

Good point.

I was going with a slightly bigger small block, yeah.

Yeah, no, the 327 works for me.

Yeah, so it's actually the site of the old Connecticut Dragway.

Consumer Reports bought this property in the mid-80s and we've turned it into a world

class testing facility with handling circuits, straightaways, special lanes devoted to

breaking tests, a new ADAS loop opened a couple of years ago so we can figure out all the

autonomous driving systems that are being offered.

And it really is a pretty cool place to work.

I remind it of myself when I'm typing away at my computer and I look over my shoulder

and there's the track.

So it's a very cool spot.

Yeah, it really sounds like I've only been there once and that was ages ago

but I need to make a point to try to come back and visit because especially to see the

ADAS test track where does this stuff work or doesn't it?

It's always one of the questions.

But Consumer Reports recently came out with top, the 10 top picks in new cars, trucks

and SUVs and this time, and I guess it shouldn't be a surprise, but this time

every single one of them was some sort of a hybrid, right?

Or are you?

Yeah, actually for the first time every top pick is available either as a hybrid,

is a hybrid or available as one or an electric vehicle.

So that's really good for the consumer.

I mean, hybrids are not kind of the dorky pre-issues that came out in like 2000.

They're much, much better.

They're so well integrated.

They improve the performance in every measure.

They're usually quicker.

They're quieter.

They ride better.

And of course, there's a big boost in fuel economy compared to a non-hybrid version

and almost in every instance, we're testing a regular version as well as a hybrid.

You could think Honda Civic versus Honda Civic Hybrid, Hyundai Santa Fe versus Santa

Fe Hybrid.

The hybrid versions are almost always better.

Yeah, and it's interesting to, and I keep saying this and maybe someday I'll stop

saying it, but this really is the golden age of the automobile.

People can go out and buy an EV, a hybrid, a plug-in hybrid, a straight electric car,

or a straight gasoline car.

So I don't know that there's ever been more choice for consumers than there has

been in the last couple of years.

I cannot agree more wholeheartedly.

And I'll add to that mix.

You can still get a front-engine V8 rear-wheel drive manual transmission

Mustang, which makes my heart feel really good.

But no, you're right.

I mean, you and I grew up at a time when we were told, oh, the 50s were awesome

and the 60s, the muscle cars, and blah, blah, blah.

Today's cars are so much better than they were in the past.

Yeah, they really are.

And in fact, I just answered a reader or listener question this morning.

And they were looking at the Toyota Camry.

And the Toyota Camry throws one more little wrench in there.

They say, well, you can get an all-wheel drive Camry or a front-wheel drive Camry.

But it's a hybrid no matter what.

And they're like, well, what's the advantages?

What's disadvantages?

And I'm like, well, if you live somewhere where it's wet, slippery, or snowy,

all-wheel drive, take the couple miles per gallon cut and fuel economy.

And I think there was a $1,500 difference in price.

I'm almost surprised, like Subaru did years ago.

Toyota just doesn't make everything, every Camry all-wheel drive at this point.

Yeah, correct, because not everyone needs all-wheel drive.

People think that all-wheel drive will make you drive faster in snow.

And I'm actually looking over my shoulder.

We're getting a little snow here in Connecticut right now.

All-wheel drive helps you to get going.

It doesn't help you stop any faster.

It doesn't help you corner any faster.

The thing is, whatever you drive in the winter in New England,

you see a car that's off the road.

Undoubtedly, it's got all-wheel drive, or it's an SUV, or something like that.

People think they're indestructible if they have all-wheel drive.

And truthfully, the front-wheel drive Camry

will be the perfect car for many, many people.

And it just so happens to be a Consumer Reports top pick.

So there you go.

There's your segue.

Yeah, well, let's go through the pick.

So let's start with the, and I almost

want to say the lowly Honda Civic.

But the Civic has been a lot of people's first new car.

Dependable as can be.

And it's a top pick for Consumer Reports.

And it was my first new car in 1987, believe it or not.

I bought a little Civic SI, and I thought

it was the coolest car ever.

The new Civic, though, blows the doors off of my old one.

44 miles per gallon overall in Consumer Reports

testing for the hybrid model.

We have a podcast called Talking Cars.

And we did a year-end edition where everyone on the staff

got to talk about their favorite cars of that test year.

And the Civic kept coming up.

I love the Civic because it's not a boring economy car.

It has really engaging steering and handling.

The braking systems are great.

The standard safety features are incredible.

And again, that fuel economy is just possible to beat.

Yeah, it really is.

And then Subaru had two up on this.

They had the Crosstrek and the Forester, both great vehicles.

And it's kind of amazing how the Forester has kind of grown up

over the years, too.

It absolutely has.

And the best news, if you're a Forester fan,

is that there's now a hybrid model, which

returned 34 miles per gallon overall in Consumer Reports

testing.

The Forester and the Crosstrek,

and as we mentioned, the Camry and the Civic,

are examples of how you can get an excellent car.

All these models are Consumer Reports top pick.

And you put it in context of the average price of new cars

are $50,000.

All of these are base priced, like $40,000 or lower.

So that's really good news.

I love the Forester mainly because the visibility

is incredible.

It's easy to get in and out of if you're dealing with aging

parents that need a car.

The Forester is almost always our go-to model

because the visibility is great, because access is easy,

because controls are easy.

But even if you're not a senior, it's still a great car.

Yeah, it really is.

And I think historically, Subaru's

had a couple of bumps in the roads.

But every year, they seem to be getting better and more

reliable and just becomes like you said,

it's an easy car to recommend for a variety of different people,

whether it's somebody going to college for the first time

and they want something reliable that's not going to break down

or like you pointed out, a car that gives you good visibility,

easy to get in and out of, and really good fuel economy.

Let's go down to the Toyota Grand Highlander, which

I've always been a fan of the Highlander.

When the Grand Highlander came out, I'm like, ah,

did they really need to make the Highlander a little bit bigger?

But once I drove it, I was like, they

thought this one through a little bit.

Yeah, and I keep coming back to this

because I think it's always relevant is the fuel economy.

So the Grand Highlander is a three-row SUV,

35 miles per gallon overall on consumer reports test,

which is pretty impressive for a three-row vehicle.

You're getting the usual Toyota excellent reliability.

The ride is good.

The controls are super easy.

It is a prototypical family vehicle.

A lot of families need extra room for car pooling

and kid stuff and all that, not garbage.

But my kids aren't young anymore,

so I'm kind of blowing it off.

But for families with young kids,

this car makes a lot of sense.

It really does.

And in the luxury category, and again,

the average price of the new vehicles today

are right around $50,000.

At what point do you think the American public's

just going to say, cars are too expensive?

No, I think they're already saying it

because of the demand for used cars.

Yeah, yeah.

I think that's your answer right there.

But listen, the Lexus NX is one of those vehicles where,

let's say you've been working hard your whole life

and you want to treat yourself for something

a little bit more luxurious.

And the NX has a beautiful interior,

as most Lexus models do.

38 miles per gallon overall and consumer reports testing

for the hybrid model, which is outstanding.

A great cruising range.

The NX is a vehicle that I would definitely

concede treating myself if I ever go off

to that retirement way of thinking,

which might happen one of these days.

But not the BMW X5?

Well, the X5 is also a very, very nice choice.

However, it is priced between $68,000 and $76,000.

And I need to remind you and all of your listeners

that I work for a non-profit organization.

So my retirement account isn't quite that chunky.

But if yours is, definitely treat yourself to the X5.

We tested the last model, we tested with a plug-in

hybrid version, it gives you 39 miles of all electric range

and then it just reverts to a regular hybrid model.

The X5 is very luxurious, it's comfortable, it's quiet,

it's super fast, it handles like you'd expect

with BMW it handle, which is really precise,

very satisfying to drive, a very, very nice car.

And one of my favorite vehicles is on your list,

the Ford Maverick pickup truck.

Although I did cringe a little bit

at the Maverick name when it first came out,

I've sort of adapted to it now.

But it's a great little truck.

Yeah, you and I remember the original Ford Maverick,

which was kind of a junky little coop

in sedan back in the 70s.

I think they like left the factory already rusted,

but by go, the Maverick is one of those rare vehicles.

It's a small pickup truck.

People go on and on about huge pickup trucks

and they're the largest selling type of vehicle

in the United States, but not everybody needs

a hulking 1,500 series truck.

So check out the Maverick, 37 miles per gallon overall

from the hybrid model and consumer reports testing.

It has super simple controls.

This is a model that's really easy to live with

as long as you don't need that haul

like a really heavy trailer.

Right, I remember when they first came out

and it was the hybrid only front wheel drive version

and you could buy it for like 20 grand

and I put my name on a list and they're like,

yeah, good luck.

You're right, this was a super popular, hard to get model.

Yeah, yeah, and you're right.

For somebody who's not hauling heavy stuff around,

but they need the versatility of a truck

and for how many years of people like you and I

have been saying, harken back to the original

small Toyota pickups or the small Nissan pickups

and how seemingly practical they were

and now when you do see one that's 30 years old,

you're like, what a great little truck that was

and you look at the Maverick and go,

here's a great little truck that also

you can stick four people in it if you need to.

Yeah, I just got back from visiting my brother

in Santa Barbara, California

and those little rear wheel drive,

regular cab pickup trucks are all over the place

because they didn't rust out there

but yeah, I do have fond memories

of small pickup trucks.

The most of the world has small pickup trucks

so I'm glad that Ford is sticking with the Maverick

and not making this thing ultra huge.

Yeah, exactly.

Speaking of ultra huge though, the F-150.

Yeah, this is actually one of the biggest stories

of Consumer Reports top picks is that the F-150

after its last redesign had real reliability issues

especially the hybrid model

but Ford looked at their warranty data

and looked at their problems and they made it better.

Ford improved the reliability of the F-150 good enough

so that it is a Consumer Reports top pick.

Again, the hybrid model is the crown jewel

of the F-150 line, about 20 miles per gallon overall

in Consumer Reports testing

which is outstanding for a full-size pickup truck

and get this a 600 mile cruising range.

I'm a road trip junkie so this vehicle totally speaks to me.

I'm really glad that Ford has improved the reliability

of the F-150 because it has made this truck

for the first time in years.

A full-size pickup truck is reliable enough

to be on our top picks list so hats off to Ford.

Yeah, and something that wasn't reliable

when it first came out was like the Tesla Model 3

and then the Model Y but the Model Y is on the list

and I really like the Model Y a lot.

Just like Ford, Tesla looked at their reliability issues

and made improvements and that's what Consumer Reports

like to see when manufacturers are actually looking

at their problems instead of ignoring them

or trying to shoot the messenger,

they're going back to the drawing board

and say, okay, how can we fix this?

How can we make it better?

And Tesla has absolutely done that with the Model Y.

It is among the most reliable EVs out there.

331 mile cruising range,

assuming you're not driving it in the winter

but listen, if you're gonna go electric,

check out the Model Y

because it really did well in Consumer Reports testing.

Yeah, it really did.

And it's not just reliability and price and fuel economy,

it's also about safety ratings

and although not on your list,

Mazda is doing extraordinarily well

with their safety ratings, aren't they?

Exactly, I mean, when you think about

how much safety you can afford,

that's always been Consumer Reports message.

Is that you wanna get the most safety features,

especially if you have a young inexperienced driver

in your house and we have a new Consumer Reports safety verdict

which looks at vehicle safety beyond just crash test.

I mean, handling, braking, simple controls

that don't distract you are also a big part of safety.

And when you combine all of those things,

Mazda has really come out to be one of the safest manufacturers

on Consumer Reports safety verdict

when you think about something small,

the Mazda CX-30, a little bit bigger, the Mazda CX-50,

these are vehicles that did well in Consumer Reports

testing, they're reliable and they're full of safety features.

And do you think it's because in kind of relative terms,

Mazda is a small company

that makes small incremental improvements?

Yeah, absolutely, because they can't revamp their product line

top to bottom every year.

I will say, in full disclosure,

they have done some updated models like the CX-70, CX-90,

and they started dipping their toe into plug-in hybrids.

And those are the issues that Mazda now has to deal with

as those two models did not do well

in Consumer Reports reliability ratings.

But knowing Mazda, they're not just gonna sit back

and let a lousy design kind of just fester,

they're gonna fix it, they're gonna find out what's wrong.

I have a lot of faith in Mazda,

I think they make a number of really good products.

And you're right, they are smaller, they're leaner,

they can pivot and make changes pretty quickly.

And they have a lot of impressive vehicles.

We can't talk about Mazda without not mentioning the Miata,

which is one of my favorite sport cars of all time.

Dependable, handles great.

It has the ability to add on aftermarket accessories

if you want more power, more sound, or whatever.

You're right, been around since time began,

I think people that don't know any better

probably think of the Miata as, I think of like an MGB.

It's like the original sports car.

Yeah, and that's the vision that Mazda had

because coming out of the 70s and 80s

when the sports cars mostly came from the UK

and they were miserable or Italy

and they rusted and they weren't reliable.

Mazda was like, what if we took that premise

and just made them a lot more reliable?

And that was the birth of the Miata.

I think it was 1989 or 90 when they first debuted.

And I've honestly, I've driven every generation of Miatas

and they've never failed to put a smile on my face.

Yeah, absolutely, it's always a fun car to drive.

You know, if people want to find out more information

about the safety verdict rating system

or the top 10s, consumerreports.org, right?

Consumerreports.org, we're at.org about it.com

and believe it or not, we still produce magazines.

So if you ever shuffle by a newsstand,

check out the March, April issue of Consumer Reports

that has a bright red Mazda 3 on a cover.

And so if you like to hold information

like in paper form, then that's available.

But definitely check out our website.

We work really hard to keep it updated

and keep it lively, keep it interesting.

And honestly, nobody tests cars like Consumer Reports does.

And it's, I remember years and years ago

when I met the folks from Consumer Reports

and people called people in your job

kind of white-coated toaster testers.

Which you guys embraced at the time.

I remember seeing a bunch of toasters

sitting on the start of a road test track.

But you have a lot of depth in your life too.

You were ahead of the curve.

In fact, ahead of Taylor Swift,

you're a bread baker, right?

Yeah, well, during COVID,

I definitely got into baking bread cookies and whatnot.

It was a way to kind of stay amused

with being domestically confined.

And a number of people on Facebook got into it.

We created this thing called, we called it breadwars.

It was just a tongue-in-cheek look

at who can outdo each other with their baking prowess.

So did Taylor Swift ever share her sourdough recipe or?

Not at this point.

I don't think she has my number,

but that's okay.

And also for people that have been out shoveling snow

where their power just came back on,

can you recommend a good evening cocktail?

Well, sure, I would love to.

I think a good evening cocktail in the winter

probably is one based on bourbon.

I'm a big fan of this drink called the Boulevardier,

which combines Campari, sweet vermouth and bourbon

and kind of chill it and then put it over ice

and it will warm your soul

and probably solve any problem that you're dealing with.

There you go.

And I'm not a big Campari person,

but maybe mixed together, it does blend nicely.

Oh yeah, I would never drink Campari straight.

It's very bitter Italian aperitif,

but you combine it with these other things

and the drink is just magical.

Well, it sounds great.

So for those of you that are still shoveling out

and cleaning up your driveways and sidewalks and steps,

there's a good hint for you later in the evening

to relax a little bit and let your muscles unwind

and maybe your mind at the same time.

That's right, you burn your calories shoveling the snow

and then you reward yourself with a really nice drink.

There you go.

Mike, always a pleasure talking to you, always informative.

Stay safe out there and we'll talk to you again soon, I hope.

Thanks so much for having me on.

All right, thanks, Mike.

Take care.

Mike Quincy, auto tester for Consumer Reports,

been there for almost 25 years now.

Very knowledgeable guy, nice guy to talk to

and also a big charity guy.

He's a bike ride, it's a pan mass challenge.

I donated, I don't have a lot of money

to donate for those kind of things.

I donate a little money to him, just a good guy

and always fun to talk to and you know, how can you go wrong?

We need to take a break, pay some bills.

My name's John Paul, this is a car doctor program

if you wanna give us a call about your car,

your car problems, whatever's on your mind,

give us a call at 781-837-4900,

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Jesse's just waiting to talk to you.

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Now, back to the car doctor.

And our phone number, 7-8-1-837-4900, 7-8-1-837-4900.

We have a couple of lines open if you want to join us

but right now let's talk to Wayne from Weymouth.

Wayne, good morning.

Good morning, how are you?

Good.

Good to do it.

I have a 2017 Dodge Ram pickup, quad cab, four wheel drive.

The part brake, if I apply the part brake

which I constantly use, it does not hold.

Is it the old school cable type

or is there a mini caliper in the rear?

I had the brakes down front and rear.

The front was a complete overhaul.

It was a rotors pads and discs

and the back was just rotors and pads.

And I thought maybe we'd be working by now

but I bought a used three years old with low miles.

I love the truck but I like to use the part brake

and it will not hold.

Is it cable style on that?

Well, there are always cable style

one way or another I guess

because what happens is there's different types

of parking brakes.

Some actually do use the caliper

and just squeezes the pads together.

Others and yours, your parking brake is

got little brake shoes under the brake rotor.

Oh, okay.

So they may be just out of adjustment

or maybe they're all glazed up or something like that

but yours, yeah, even all of these newer cars

that have push button parking brakes, really all that is

is an electric motor that winds a cable.

It has something to do with federal motor vehicle

safety standards and how parking brakes work.

Excuse me.

But it is, but yeah, on your particular vehicle

on a four wheel drive Ram pickup, yeah,

it's just the inside of the brake rotor

is like a brake drum.

And then under that is a set of brake shoes

and the cables just go to the brake shoes

and it does have an adjustment on it.

So it could very well be that when you have the brakes

done, the rear emergency brake shoes

just not doing what they're supposed to do anymore.

Okay, that's what it must be.

That kept things like the calipers

with the slide pins and all that,

but I don't think that's exactly good.

Yeah.

So that's okay.

So that could be an adjustment like you said

or they could be.

Yeah, it could be.

Yeah, yeah.

I mean, is it possible the cable was stretched

or the tension isn't right or something?

That's possible, but it's,

but it is possible to adjust it.

So I'd go back to whoever did your brakes

and just say, look, the parking brake's not holding.

Can you look at make sure the parking brake,

and the parking brake shoes literally last forever

because unless you've driven with the parking brake on

and you forgot, they don't get any real wear.

But they can get, you know,

if somebody who doesn't use the parking brake

a whole heck of a lot,

they can get rusted builds up in there

and you go to use it and just not gonna hold tight.

So, yeah, I would just,

I would go back to whoever didn't ask them

and they may just snug up the cable a little bit

and call it a day.

Well, that's great because that's a concern of mine

because I like using park brakes.

I think it's, that's what they're there for.

You should use them, you know.

Well, you know, and your,

you actually called it the right term.

It, you know, a lot of people call it an emergency brake.

It doesn't, it wasn't really ever designed

to work well in a case of emergency.

It's really designed to hold the car in park

when you're stopped.

So whether you're, you know, whether you're, you know,

backing, you know, backing up a trailer

and you wanna lock the truck in place, you know,

and you know, the lawyers will tell you

that anytime you put a vehicle in park,

you should put the parking brake on

because it could be that time

the park doesn't hold the way it should

and that's what the brakes are for.

So, yep.

Yep, I didn't realize that I bought the truck

with low miles and I always used it

but I thought it was doing the truck

until one day I left and I heard the little beep

and noise and I saw the light on the dash

and I said, oh my God, the brakes.

But it would probably be too late to go back

with the dealership.

No, yeah, I just have, I just have,

take a look, make sure everything's okay.

If the shoes are glazed up, maybe they'll just,

maybe they'll just clean them up a little bit.

If not, maybe they're just gonna tighten up the cable

and call it a day.

Okay, well, terrific.

Well, thanks for your information.

All right, take care.

All right, thank you.

All right, yeah, bye-bye.

Bye now, bye.

781-837-4900, 781-837-4900 is our number

if you wanna get through and give us a call.

Let's talk to Ann Marie and Marshfield.

Ann Marie?

Hello, car doctor, I have a question.

So, I have a 24 Honda HRV.

Okay.

So, when I bought the car,

I went on the expressway to Gloucester

and coming home at night, there was a construction

and there was like two sets of markings on the road.

Well, unbeknownst to me, this car was aggressive.

It wanted to go on the old line on the expressway.

And it was a miracle I made it home that night.

So, long story short, I had that part of this car

disengaged, so supposedly it doesn't do it anymore.

And I Googled it and I told the dealership all about it.

And I think there was some recall,

but I don't know if it had anything to do with that.

So, since then, it has affected me so badly

that I don't trust this car, but I have to,

I can't sell it now and get rid of it because of that.

So, I don't trust the car.

Have you heard anything about this?

And I-

I mean, other than your vehicle has something

called lane keeping assist,

I think is probably what Honda calls it.

And that's, and the idea is it looks at the lane line

and it tries to keep you in the lane

because it's got electric power steering

and it can actually make the steering wheel turn

a little bit one or else force you,

you wanna go in the lane and it's looking

at the other thing.

I haven't heard of any,

I haven't heard of any kind of defect with it.

What I would personally, what I would do,

because I find it annoying when I drive a car

with lane keeping assistance or lane keeping warning,

I usually just reach over and find the button to shut it off.

It is off, but it left me PTSD about it

because I don't trust it, I don't know-

Yeah, once you have it turned off,

it should be off until you restart the car

and turn it back on, yeah, yeah.

So, it shouldn't be a problem.

It shouldn't be a problem as long as you shut it off.

I think that also might have something called

a traffic jam assist or something,

which doesn't do that much, but it does,

it works with the lane keeping assistance,

but yeah, if it's, I would just,

personally, I would just shut it off.

I would just hit the button and shut it off

whenever you get in the car.

I don't find it as bad.

Somebody I worked with had a brand new,

might have been a Chevy Suburban,

and he was absolutely convinced

there was something wrong with the steering.

And he's like, I'll go to change lanes

and I'll go to do this

and it just forces me the other way.

And I went out for a ride with him

and I said, well, yeah, because in this case,

he was actually trying to change lanes,

but he was a typical Massachusetts driver

that I'll pick on Massachusetts drivers,

didn't use their turn signal.

And he's like, I can't look, the steering wheel's stuck.

I can't change lanes.

I'm like, well, put the steering wheel, put the blinker on.

And he goes, oh yeah, now it changed the lane.

And it did the same thing.

It was forcing him in.

It was forcing him into a lane he didn't want to be in.

But yeah, I would just shut it off.

And I think you'll be fine.

I think you'll be fine.

All right, okay, take care, Henry.

Bye-bye.

Our phone number 781-837-4900,

it sounded like Anne-Marie was calling from her car

at the same time, so.

Some of the other, somebody just wrote to me and said,

I'm looking for into a new electric vehicle

possibly to replace my 2016 Chevrolet Bolt,

which I enjoyed owning since new.

I like the Bolt, although I like the Volt.

I like the Volt was the gasoline version

that it was sort of weird.

It was a gasoline generator

that basically charged the battery

that ran the electric motor.

I thought it was kind of an interesting idea.

They did away with it.

I like the design of it.

I'm sort of a, I have a soft spot in my heart

for hatchbacks and I like the idea it was a hatchback

and it gets crazy gas mileage

and would run on electricity up to 60 miles an hour

for, I don't know, 50 miles or something.

Then the gasoline engine would kick in.

I just liked it.

Anyway, in 2016, when he bought his Chevrolet Volt,

he got a Bosch PowerMax level two charging station

installed in his garage.

It's a 220 volt unit with 16 amps of power output.

Would I be able to use the same charging unit

on a brand new electric vehicle now 10 years later?

Yes.

Although 16 amp output is a little on the low side

these days, but it will work.

The other thing, depending on what kind of car you buy,

you may have to get an adapter to go from the plug

that you have, the level two charging plug you have

that is compatible with your Chevrolet Volt.

And if you go to that North American charging standard

that is basically the Tesla style,

you might have to get an adapter

that go between the two.

I think depending on how big the battery is

in the new vehicle you're looking at,

you may just find that six or eight hours

of overnight charging might not be quite enough

to recharge the vehicle when it's fully discharged.

You may have to go a little bit longer

than just that plug it in at night

when you get up in the morning is fully charged.

But chances are it's gonna be okay.

So I haven't looked up the specifications

of the Bosch PowerMax thing,

but I would assume 16 amps of power output

should be fine.

Way better than C at 110 volts.

You're probably only getting about two,

maybe three amps of power output.

So you're charging up way faster than a regular plug-in,

you know, 110 volt outlet that you're, you know,

running normal appliances on.

Let's see, somebody else,

somebody said to me,

they have a 2008 Toyota Corolla

and there's no power for whatever reason,

sounds like the battery's dead.

They're trying to shift into neutral

so they can move the vehicle

just a little bit out of the way, I guess.

And they said there's a black button near the shifter,

I still can't shift to neutral.

In 2008, and this is where I had to look in,

my first go-to, you know,

I have all data, I use Mitchell,

I use motor a little bit, not as much

because I'm more familiar with the other two,

although I will admit it,

kind of like motor better than Mitchell sometimes.

But my Icon T10 scan tool

came with a motor subscription for two years.

And, but anyway, where do I go first?

Owners manual.

When I don't know something

that should be relatively simple,

like what do you do to shift this into neutral?

Well, look in the owners manual.

And the owners manual is pretty much,

I mean, in this particular case,

when I looked it up about 45 minutes ago,

looked it up, that's not a button, that's a cover.

So it looks like a button, but it's not a cover.

So you take a little flat blade screwdriver

and you pry that off,

then under there, there's a button.

And then you take the key or your finger or something

and stick it down in that little hole

and then you can release the shifter

and put it neutral so you can roll the vehicle.

So whenever I'm in doubt, I go to the owners manual.

And that can be the case with a variety of different things,

whether it's maintenance, fuse location sometimes,

the owners manual sometimes will do a better job

of telling you what the fuse number is

than some of these other systems that have diagrams

and all this other stuff.

So owners manual first, a good place to go.

And if we were supposed to, a couple of weeks ago,

we were supposed to talk to a company that had

repaired data that would be available

for a variety of reasons.

And it could be that, you know,

similar to, I guess, something like all data,

but a little bit more affordable

and I don't know what happened to them.

They were supposed to call in back a while ago

and never heard from them,

don't know what happened to them, so I don't know.

But I also stumbled across a company

that had some car related information

where you could find repair manuals and that sort of thing.

And it's not perfect, but in a lot of cases,

it's fairly inexpensive and it's actually free.

It's not inexpensive.

So we'll come up with that.

While I'm talking here, being silly,

I just said, well, I can find this right away.

Well, I guess I can't find it right away.

But it is, I have used it for, it's only up till 2013,

but it goes into a lot of older vehicles,

which is kind of nice, where you can find some of it.

And it is called Charm.

So it's HTTPS colon, backslash, backslash,

which sometimes you, depending on your computer system,

you still have to use the HTTPS thing.

But it's called Charm, C-H-A-R-M dot L-I.

And it has service manuals.

And for instance, if I wanted to look up

something on a older GMC,

say like a 2000 GMC, something or other,

pick up or something,

I wanted some information about the 5.3 liter engine.

It has repair and diagnosis information in there,

starting and charging stuff, diagrams, specifications.

And it's called, and it really,

I don't know who put it together.

It doesn't seem to, it doesn't,

my antivirus program doesn't seem to kick it out

as any kind of problems.

It has testing for trouble codes,

diagnostic trouble code descriptions.

I just happened to be looking up this,

2015 under GMC pickup truck.

It has body codes, all the various descriptions,

what different things mean,

anything from a code that has something to do

with a wheel sensor that dropped out,

all kinds of different stuff in there.

So for free, it's Charm dot L-I.

And if you're kind of a do-it-yourselfer,

you might want to look at that.

I was gonna give away, last week, if you remember,

we talked to our friend from Wax Oil,

about Ken Lemoine, which he started a podcast,

by the way, he said he was gonna,

but he started a podcast behind the garage door,

I think it's called.

But he is also the executive director

of the Bay State Motor Festival,

which is gonna be taking place on Father's Day.

And he was generous enough to offer up

a kind of DIY kit of Wax Oil.

I was gonna give it away today,

but I think I'm gonna wait till next week.

I just think it might be better to wait till next week.

And we'll kind of go from there

and we'll see about giving it away.

If you're somebody who is doing a restoration of an old car

and you've cleaned up the frame

and maybe you've taken a wire brush to it,

or not a rotisserie restoration, or maybe you did,

and you wanna try to preserve what's there.

The Wax Oil product got two different parts.

It's the one that does cracks and crevices,

so it's sort of a misty sort of stuff

that doesn't clog up drain holes.

And then the rubber, I shouldn't use the term rubberized,

but the other undercoating,

the thicker undercoating that locks in,

it dissipates any moisture,

and then locks in the body to keep rust from happening.

I have used it, my daily driver car

had an issue with the rear suspension

that was supposed to get rusty or something.

And I sprayed, I had,

I didn't, my wife's fault's why I was going with Wax Oil

to try it when I got some.

And then I had about a can left, I think.

I probably didn't put it heavy enough on the other car.

And I just did all the rear suspension components

just because, and when I got the notice in the mail

about some vehicles, if you live in the Northeast,

could suffer from some rust,

I crawled under there and looked at it,

and it still looked the same way it did

when I got it and sprayed it.

So I'm a believer in Wax Oil.

I think it does a good job.

And it's sort of one and done, you do it once

and that's all you have to do.

Maybe you wanna look at it a few years later

and touch it up if you think you need to,

but I think it does a good job.

Our phone number, 7818374900,

7818374900, why don't we take another break,

pay some bills, my name's John Paul,

this is the Car Doctor Program.

Phone lines are open if you would like to join us

at 7818374900, we'll be right back.

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Hello, Chris Bethany of Bethany Builders here.

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Hey there, folks, it's Quinn Kelly,

reminding you to tune in Sunday night at five

for the South Shore's first voice in sports talk radio,

the Sports Exchange.

Unmatched coverage of local high school action,

as well as a relatable voice

on all things Boston Pro Sports.

We've got you covered live at five every Sunday night.

Have a question for our host, Ms. Last Week Show,

or just want to share a great sports story

you can find us on Twitter at SE on WATD.

But remember, mark your calendar, folks,

and we'll see you Sunday night at five

for the Sports Exchange on 959-WATD.

Honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award

from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

He's John Paul, the car doctor on 959-WATD.

And welcome back to the car doctor program on 959-WATD,

your South Shore radio station,

where you can listen to anywhere in the world.

Just tell your smart speaker you want to listen to WATD

and magically it just happens.

And we were actually off the air for a couple days

and the stream held together

so people could listen on the stream

rather than on the radio

because there was transmitter problems.

But by Larry and team,

I guess got the transmitter up and running

just the way it should be, so there we go.

Let's talk to John in Norwood.

John?

Hi, John, how are you?

Good, how are you?

Good.

My girlfriend's 2013 Civic.

That maintenance minder that's in her car,

it's showing a coolant message.

You know what that car does?

It monitor the coolant for miles or time or degradation.

What is that?

No, not degradation.

It's making a degradation assumption

based on time and mileage.

And it also, and I don't,

not even going to pretend to know

how Honda does it on that year car.

But what happens sometimes, it looks at temperature,

it looks at how often you start the car,

how long the car runs for.

But if you're getting a coolant,

if you're getting whatever it is,

number three that pops up,

this is service to cooling system,

it probably just means it's time for a flush and a refill.

Okay, and that,

unless it's been done

and then no one ever reset the maintenance minder.

I guess that's my question.

The maintenance minder is the thing so primitive

that it seems like it's given one point this week

it was given like four different messages,

air, which I replace,

tells you how much oil life has left.

It had a coolant and also when it was real cold,

the tire pressure system.

When you reset that,

it doesn't let you reset individual items in that list.

It's like all or nothing.

No, it's all or nothing because what happens is,

if it was just the oil reminder and you hit reset,

it would reset the oil reminder.

If the maintenance reminder came up for coolant

and you hit the reset, it actually resets that.

So it doesn't, it's not like you went in

and there was a menu and you go,

okay, I want to reset the brake fluid, the coolant,

but not the transmission fluid because I didn't do that.

It's not smart enough to know how to do that.

It just resets based on the reminder that pops up.

That's the way the folks from Honda explained it to me.

So.

So it's got four things basically,

even if I'm just trying to get rid of the coolant,

I'm going to reset the oil to 100%

even though I haven't done an oil change.

Yeah, yeah, it, well, unless it's going to,

if it has an oil change reminder coming up right now.

No, no, no, it should, it should hold,

if you hit the reset button,

it should remember the last time you reset that for the oil.

It should, whether it really does or not, I don't know.

Yeah, but that's the way it's supposed to work

that when you go in and, when you go in and do it,

it's supposed to, it resets,

it resets the reminder that comes up

but doesn't reset all of them.

Now, if it was an oil, now if it came up,

time for an oil change, time for coolant flush

and you hit the reset button, it would do both.

But if you just, now in theory at least,

if you hit the reset button now,

it's going to clear the coolant one off

and still when you went to go back

and looked at percent of, you know, oil life left,

that still should hold in place.

I think, I say with some skepticism.

But that's the way, that's the way,

because I asked the same question

and I went to one of the Honda guys and said,

hey, in this particular vehicle,

when you reset that, does it reset everything?

And they told me, no, that wasn't the case.

It does it this way.

And so I said, okay, I'll believe you then.

So I did.

So, you know, is it-

And what does the oil drive off of it?

Is it monitoring oil quality

or is it just monitoring?

No, the only vehicle I've ever seen

that monitored oil quality was Mercedes.

And they weren't really,

and I don't want to say they were really

monitoring oil quality.

What they were really doing,

they had a sensor in the oil pan

that would look at moisture content.

So it kind of was,

but it wasn't like it really did that much.

So, but yeah, when you go in and reset things,

you know, it should just, you know,

I think on yours,

now I would, you said yours was 2013?

Yeah.

Agreed.

10 year old.

Yeah, and it probably came up

maintenance symbol B, maybe.

Well, it actually says coolant.

Yeah.

But I think it does put a letter next to them, like.

Yeah.

That was more just counting them down, you know.

Yeah, yeah, cause, yeah.

I mean, it was, I mean, it was,

you know, it, there was a time

where the vehicle manufacturers would go in

and they'd do this, they'd look at the maintenance minder

and then they'd come back and they'd go,

well, you know, if you don't believe the maintenance minder,

we'll come in and do a, we'll do a chart

that give you kind of the same idea.

And when they used to do that,

coolant was supposed to be replaced at 120,000 miles.

Now,

you know, if you drove an average of, you know,

10,000 miles a year or 12,000 miles a year,

you know, 10, 15 years old somewhere in that range.

So it's probably just coming up with time, time and miles.

You know, and looking at, looking at both it,

you know, it says, you know,

what I'm looking at at this comparison.

And it's kind of funny, Honda did away

with the comparison part after a while,

but it came up, you know, right, right at,

when I looked it up, right at 120,000 miles is when,

if you didn't go by the maintenance minder,

that's when they wanted you to change the coolant.

So, you know, and again, if you kind of did the,

well, you know, 12,000 miles a year,

you know, 10, 12 years somewhere in there,

it's time to change it.

You know, if it was changed five years ago,

fantastic, but if it wasn't,

it's probably time to at least check the coolant level,

make sure it's full, check the conditions,

see what it looks like.

And probably not bad time at this juncture in life

to, you know, at least do a drain and refill.

Yeah, I mean, I've done that in the past

and I've used the Honda coolant.

Yep.

I think they really,

quite a lot of times.

Yeah, Honda is really fussy about a lot of stuff.

Honda transmission fluid mandatory.

Coolant, pretty mandatory.

They're a little bit more flexible on the coolant,

but it's still, it's still not a terrible idea to use it.

And it doesn't, you know, you know, it's interesting.

And that's why the reserve tank is like

down a big, long neck at the bottom.

You really can't even see it.

I think we're getting under the car because.

Right, right.

Yeah, and the, yeah.

And, you know, the coolant reservoir there takes,

I don't know, I think it takes

a little bit more than a quart.

So there's quite a bit that goes in there.

So, but, you know, and I think if you just do,

if you just do a drain and refill,

probably a gallon and a half is probably all you're gonna

use.

So, and that's, you know, pre-mixed, you know,

pre-mixed or, you know, or get the full strength

and mix it half and half, you'll be good to go.

All right.

Okay.

All right.

Thank you.

Bye-bye.

Well, that music created by Jesse means it's time

for us to go.

So until next week, make sure you're where you see

belt drive safely.

Be good to your car.

And if you do see an emergency vehicle

by the side of the road, slow down or move over.

It saves lives.

Talk to y'all next week.

Bye-bye.

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