Lucid is an EV company that makes electric cars. This episode segment is about Lucid having financial trouble, and how rumors about bankruptcy or restructuring can shake investor confidence.
Bankruptcy protection is a legal process that gives a struggling company time and protection while it tries to reorganize. It often signals serious financial trouble, even if the company later insists it’s not going bankrupt.
Alex Partners is a business that helps other companies with big financial problems. Here, it’s brought up because Lucid may have been considering a bankruptcy-style plan, or at least restructuring their finances.
Restructuring means a company changes how it runs and how it handles money to get back on track. In this case, it includes cutting staff and reorganizing to reduce how much money it loses each month.
Chapter 11 is a legal bankruptcy option in the U.S. where a company tries to keep operating while it reorganizes its debts. Even the rumor of it can spook investors and move the stock price.
Unsold inventory means cars (or other products) are already made but not being sold. If a company has a lot of it, it can hurt their finances because they’ve spent money to build cars that aren’t bringing in revenue yet.
Lucid Gravity is Lucid’s electric SUV. The hosts say problems getting parts and too many cars not selling have led to production being paused or reduced.
Subsidies are money incentives that can make electric cars cheaper or easier to sell. The host says Lucid initially benefited, but those incentives have ended.
Price point is just the price level the product is sold at. The host says pricing might be adjustable, but other problems affecting how people feel about owning the cars are tougher.
Term
software issues and glitches
That means bugs or problems in the car’s computer systems. If the software is glitchy, it can make the car feel less dependable or less pleasant to use.
Concept
market segment
A market segment just means a specific “type” of car buyers. The host is saying some categories are harder to sell a lot of cars in.
The Tesla Model Y is an electric SUV made by Tesla. It’s designed for everyday driving, and it’s been sold for a long time. People talk about it a lot because it’s one of Tesla’s most common models.
The Subaru R2 is a small car made by Subaru. It’s the kind of model that may not be common in many places, so people notice it when one is available. The podcast mentions it because they’re looking at one that’s currently for sale.
The Tesla Model 3 is an electric car made by Tesla. It’s meant to be a practical, everyday sedan. It’s often discussed because it’s one of Tesla’s main models and it’s related to the Model Y in how Tesla sells EVs.
The Lucid Air is an electric sedan made by Lucid. It’s designed for premium comfort and everyday driving as an EV. The podcast mentions it alongside another Lucid model to say both are strong products.
“Gas-powered” means the car runs on gasoline and uses an engine. They’re basically debating whether Lucid should focus on gas cars instead of electric ones.
They’re referring to the bigger Volkswagen corporate group, which includes more than just Volkswagen-branded cars. The point is that changes at the group level affect multiple brands.
In automotive policy, “emissions” refers to regulated pollutants produced by vehicles, especially from exhaust. The hosts allude to VW’s historical emissions scandal, where software was used to affect emissions testing results, leading to major legal and financial fallout.
The Volkswagen ID. Buzz is an electric van from VW. They’re saying it won’t get a future next generation, which would change what VW plans to sell in that EV-van category.
The Volkswagen Passat is VW’s long-time midsize car. They’re saying it won’t be built anymore anywhere, which is a major change for VW’s lineup.
Car
Volkswagen Q2
The Volkswagen Q2 is a small SUV/crossover model. They’re saying VW will stop making it, which is part of the larger story about VW reducing its lineup.
An internal combustion engine is the traditional type of engine that burns fuel to make power. This segment is using it to talk about whether a future Porsche 718 would still be gasoline-powered or not.
The Porsche Taycan is Porsche’s electric car. It’s a fast, performance-focused EV, and the hosts are talking about whether Porsche dealers will keep pushing it.
The Porsche 718 is Porsche’s mid-engine sports car line. Here they’re debating whether Porsche will still sell a gas-powered 718 or move more toward an electric 718.
EV stands for “electric vehicle,” meaning a car powered primarily by an electric motor and a rechargeable battery. The segment uses EV repeatedly to describe Porsche’s and other brands’ shift toward electric model lineups.
Car
Volkswagen T-Roc
The Volkswagen T-Roc is VW’s smaller SUV/crossover. The host is saying they rented one and liked it, using it as a quick example of VW products being solid.
They’re talking about labor unions in Germany. The unions are pushing back on plans to close factories and lay off workers, which makes it harder for the company to reduce costs.
The Volkswagen Atlas is VW’s bigger, family-oriented SUV with three rows. The hosts clarify that “TerraMont” is actually the Atlas, and mention it’s getting a redesign for 2027.
This is an Audi SUV called the Q5 Sportback. It’s basically a Q5, but with a more stylish, slanted roof that makes it look more like a coupe while still being an SUV.
The Volkswagen Tiguan is a common Volkswagen SUV. Here they’re joking about how its name sounds like it’s built from German words meaning “tiger” and “iguana.”
The Porsche Cayenne is Porsche’s SUV. They’re saying it was a big turning point for Porsche’s sales and direction, and that it can be set up for rough/off-road driving.
“Low range” is a gear mode that makes the car move slowly but with more pulling power. It’s meant for rough terrain or steep hills where you need extra control.
The Nissan Sentra is a smaller sedan. Here, they’re saying it becomes Nissan’s only sedan option once the Altima is discontinued, and that the newer Sentra is larger than before.
The Nissan Pathfinder Hybrid is an SUV that uses a hybrid powertrain. The hosts say Nissan stopped it after just one model year, which they see as part of a bigger shift away from certain models.
Concept
segment that we think is dying
They’re talking about a type of car market that they think is getting smaller. The idea is that Nissan doesn’t see enough future demand in that category, so they’re shifting focus to a different model.
A V6 is an engine with six cylinders. In this context, the hosts are saying the V6 version is the more exciting, faster option compared with the smaller engine choices.
“3.5 SE” means a specific Altima version with a bigger 3.5-liter engine. “SE” usually indicates a sportier or more feature-rich trim than the basic models.
The Nissan Rogue is a compact SUV made by Nissan. It’s sold in different versions, including some that use hybrid-style technology. The podcast mentions it because some electrified Rogue versions were removed from the lineup.
The Mitsubishi Outlander is an SUV made by Mitsubishi. Depending on the year, it can be sold with different engine types, including hybrid-style versions. The podcast mentions it while talking about which electrified versions were offered and which were not.
e-Power is Nissan’s system where the car drives like an electric vehicle, but a gas engine helps generate electricity. It’s different from a typical hybrid or a plug-in hybrid.
CVT means the car uses a transmission that can change ratios smoothly, rather than shifting through set gears. The host is joking that the CVT in an older Altima has lasted a long time without failing.
The Nissan Rogue Sport is a smaller Nissan SUV. The hosts are saying that version has been discontinued, so you won’t see it as a current model anymore.
The Nissan Leaf is an electric car made by Nissan. It’s designed for normal driving and charging at home. In the podcast, it’s mentioned as a familiar EV model people recognize.
The Tata Motors Aria is an SUV/crossover made by Tata Motors. It’s not one of the most commonly discussed cars, so people may be checking whether it’s still part of the conversation or listings. The podcast mentions it as a model to look up.
The Nissan Z is a sports car line known for its rear-wheel-drive layout and performance-focused heritage. The hosts mention it as something the other person “missed,” tying it back to the broader Nissan model lineup discussion.
The Perdana is a sedan model that the podcast is asking to look up. They mention it because it’s supposed to matter for the current discussion. The key point is that they want to confirm what the car is.
A heavy facelift means the car gets a big “refresh” partway through its life. It usually changes the styling a lot, even if the underlying car is still basically the same.
A character line is a raised line or crease on the side of a car. It helps the car look more “sculpted,” and they’re using it to say the doors look similar to an Accord.
The Honda Jazz is a small Honda hatchback that’s popular because it’s practical and fits a lot inside for its size. The host is saying that, in the UK, people really want them right now.
The Honda Fit is basically the same car as the Honda Jazz, but it’s sold under a different name in some countries. The host is talking about how interest in it grew.
In Europe, there are very small vehicles that can be treated differently by the law. That can mean you don’t need the same full license as you would for a regular car, which changes who ends up buying them.
A three-wheeler is just a vehicle that has three wheels instead of four. Some countries treat these differently for driving rules, which is why people talk about them in the context of “who can drive it.”
Fiat 500 is a tiny city car. Here they’re discussing a special converted version that turns it into a three-wheeled vehicle, which can make it easier to drive under certain European rules.
Car
McLaren 788HS
This is a special McLaren supercar that’s being made in a small number of units. The episode says it’s based on McLaren’s 720S platform and that it has huge power—around 777 horsepower.
A limited production car is made in a small number of copies. Because there aren’t many, it’s usually more exclusive and can be more expensive than a regular model.
“HS” is the model’s special badge, and in this episode they say it means “high support.” It’s basically McLaren’s way of labeling what this version is meant to emphasize.
The McLaren 765LT is mentioned as one of the earlier high-performance McLarens in the same family. The host is basically asking which car the 788HS is replacing.
The McLaren 750S is brought up as another earlier McLaren that the 788HS could be replacing. It’s part of the same conversation about which model came before it.
Car
McLaren 775S
The McLaren 775S is another model in the same family. The host uses it to show the order of McLaren’s recent performance versions.
The McLaren 720S is the earlier supercar platform the host says the 788HS is based on. The segment frames the 788HS as the “end of the line” for that 720S-based platform, which has been in use since around 2011.
A “platform” is the car’s main foundation—how the body and major parts are laid out. If that platform is ending, it usually means the next cars will be built on a new foundation.
They’re talking about collector cars that stay in great shape and don’t get driven much. Because collectors and specialists focus on certain brands, you can often find low-mileage examples.
A battery tender is a small device that keeps a car battery healthy when the car is parked. It helps prevent the battery from going dead if you don’t drive the car often.
“Wrapped” usually means the car’s paint gets covered with a vinyl film. People do it for style or to protect the paint, but it can complicate things if it’s done badly.
“Tuned” means the car’s settings are changed to make it run differently—usually for more power or sharper response. The concern here is that many cars get modified and then end up in worse condition.
Concept
first gen Gyarados
They’re using a Pokémon example as a metaphor. The point is that early versions of something can get ruined or disappear, so it becomes tough to find a “nice” one later.
The McLaren 570S is a high-performance supercar from McLaren. In this discussion, it’s brought up as one of the cars people buy and then use aggressively, so it may not stay “perfect.”
A limited edition car is made in small quantities, usually with special features. The point here is that those cars are more likely to be kept in better condition because fewer people have them and they’re treated more like collectibles.
The Ferrari 308 is a famous older Ferrari sports car with a V8 engine. Here it’s mentioned as an example of a car that got driven a lot and still ended up being sold.
F1 means Formula 1, the highest level of race car competition. They’re saying that while this collector may not want certain supercars, they would want F1-related stuff.
Term
200 of them
When a car is limited to a fixed number—like “200 of them”—it means only that many will be made. Fewer cars usually makes it harder to get one and can make it cost more.
“Speculation” here means people are guessing the price before the company officially announces it. So the number being discussed is an estimate, not a confirmed MSRP.
Term
Storato versions
“Storato” here sounds like a special Lamborghini version meant for tougher, more off-road-style use. The point is that it’s not just a gimmick—it’s tied to how some customers actually use their cars.
The Lamborghini Urus is Lamborghini’s SUV. It’s not just for looks—it’s designed to handle rougher driving too, and the discussion here is about an even more off-road version.
Term
shuttering factories
“Shuttering factories” means closing factories down, usually for good or for a long time. It’s about stopping production at that location.
Term
off-road versions
“Off-road versions” are cars set up to handle dirt, bumps, and rough ground better than a normal road car. Here, they’re talking about making a supercar more rugged.
The Lamborghini Huracan is a supercar made by Lamborghini. The podcast mentions it while talking about a specific version name. They’re trying to understand what that variant means in the context of the Huracan.
LIVE
Hello and welcome to this car pod. I'm Kenan. I'm Flippo. And there's a lot to cover today.
Let's start with the news and let's start with Lucid. That's tough. Lucid had some news
this week. Flippo, you want to take us through what happened here? Yeah. So Lucid has had
some struggles of late, let's say. Yeah. We talked last week about how the gravity is
being advertised as 0% financing because there's 0% interest. There were some reports yesterday,
on Tuesday, that they had engaged a firm called Alex Partners that does bankruptcy protection
and restructuring things. Now, Lucid's statement unequivocally is that they are not going bankrupt.
They're also not going private. And the goal of engaging Alex Partners is to just help them
restructure. They brought in a new CEO, they fired a bunch of staff, they've restructured
a bunch of things, and they want help doing that to try to help make them profitable and
by profitable, I mean losing marginally less money every single month. The market obviously
has taken this as they're going bankrupt. Well, I want to be clear. Alex Partners is
not a company that helps with bankruptcies and restructuring. It's also potentially
an advisor that could just help streamline and improve your business operations. It was
a signal. Well, it wasn't just a... It's not unusual for a company to hire an outside
company to help them improve. A lot of companies we love have done that, including some of
Filippo's favorites. But there was a report or a leak got out that maybe one of the things
they were considering and part of their improving their business operations was Chapter 11.
They just have strenuously denied this. The stock market, obviously word of this gets
out and people start sniffing around and it has a pretty negative effect on your stock
price and just sort of the general feelings around your company, with which the stock
price is highly correlated. Anyway, Lucid denied it like crazy. And for all we know
their denials could be completely accurate. They also might not be. Obviously, we know
Lucid's been having trouble. They have an enormous amount of unsold inventory. Filippo
told us something a couple weeks ago, we were talking about Lucid, that they... What was
it that they weren't... They had slow down production because they had some unsold cars.
They have some supply chain issue with the gravity. That means that they're not producing
cars. They had pause production. They'd also cut a shift. The supply chain issue is that
so many of them are sitting unsold that they no longer need a supply chain.
They have all the supply. They don't need the chains.
Anyway, they don't know if... They've said that bankruptcy is not in their immediate
future and that could very well be true, but certainly they're not in great shape. If a
report came out that General Motors was seeking bankruptcy, I don't think the stock market
would believe it. The response to this Lucid thing clearly proves investors jitters already
about the future and current state of this company.
To be clear, Lucid's stock, if you zoom out, not doing great since launch. It's like there
was a spike when they launched, and then my public can then just slowly decline.
There's a lot of forces at play here for Lucid specifically. I think that they're in a uniquely
difficult market position. They've positioned themselves in this high-end luxury market.
There were some pretty significant subsidies that were benefiting them initially when they
launched that have gone away. They're already expensive products have become even more expensive.
There's been a general turn away in consumer sentiment from EVs. Do they sell globally,
Philippa?
I think in theory, but the U.S. is their biggest market.
The U.S. is the biggest market.
The cars are produced in the U.S. while they're assembled in the U.S.
They build them here, which can't be cheap. The market has just generally started to reject
EVs. Those are a lot of that stuff is things that they couldn't necessarily control except
for maybe the price point. The real issue that they could have controlled, I think,
was there's a perception that the cars are challenging to own. There's a lot of talk
about software issues and glitches and other problems like that. I think that at that price
point, that helps to keep people away. I think that a lower-priced vehicle, maybe that looked
a little bit differently, would have had a little bit more success.
Yeah. I mean, did they launch with a large sedan followed by a large SUV? They do have
many events. They do have smaller models coming up, but this is a tough part of the segment
to compete in, especially if you want volume. Thankfully, they have the Cosmos and whatever
the other one is called. I just don't live in the world of coming up. To me, it's like
the R2 is on sale. We got one live. The R2 is on sale today. The Model Y has been on
sale for 10 years. I don't live in the world of coming up. Filippo, I'm going to ask you,
as an automotive industry expert and owner of several mediocre cars, what do you think they're
going bankrupt? I think that they are exploring all possible options. They're actually saving,
by the way, the consulting firm had not recommended that they file for bankruptcy.
I think they still have a chance to split off some things, maybe sell some technology,
get acquired, or continue creating models in some much more limited fashion. I have a feeling
they will need to sell a lot of assets. They do have a lot of debt, which will be a struggle.
To what extent do you think the Saudi backing has an effect on people not purchasing the cars?
Minimal. Really? I mean, you don't think there's a lot of California liberals who are trying to
save the environment, which is probably their prime market, who look at the fact that, okay,
oh wait, the Saudis are backing this company. If you don't think that were the thought process,
I think, especially in California, Tesla would not have continued to have sales
success, which they have with the Model Y and the Model 3. Well, maybe. I mean,
it's a different market segment. I feel like people who buy Teslas are making a decision based
on price point and affordability, whereas people who buy Lucids, it's an expensive car that they
sort of see as a prestige object. Do they see it like that? I don't think it matters. I think it
product is a good product. The air and the gravity are both excellent products that are just not
compelling to consumers that are looking for that for a high-end luxury product.
Do you know what I would do if I were Lucid and if I wanted to succeed?
Gas-powered. Go after up-seal nurturers and trend-setting achievers and active explorers?
Oh my God. I'm sorry, can't you just say?
Yeah. To flip this point, I have seen a lot of, I bought this car before I knew Elon was crazy,
stickers, haven't seen any. I bought this car before I realized the Saudis had backed its
stickers. Well, because that identifies you as an idiot. Elon being crazy, you could have
made the argument, oh, I didn't know, I did buy it before, but the Saudis have always been backing
Lucid. So you couldn't make that argument except to say that you were just not doing your research.
And I think that everybody who buys those cars knows about that.
So to your point, if we see one, we should be like, man, that guy backs us out. We know, we know,
I don't think. There's a lot of things that the Gulf thing is interesting.
The Gulf thing is interesting. The Saudis have kind of demonstrated with live golf that
they may not be willing to keep throwing good money after bad after certain.
We all thought, we all thought, because the Saudis had come up with this idea for a building that
was a mile long. I think it was supposed to be a hundred miles long. It was a mile long.
And that, we all thought that they just had endless money, that it was like salt in the
Brunei 1996. And now we're learning maybe they have a limit.
It's also been a tough year. It's easy to feel bad for the Saudi government regime.
Speaking of companies that are massively struggling, Volkswagen has said that they are
going to need to be cutting up to 100,000 jobs, closing four factories and cutting half of their
cross brand mobile model lineup. I don't mean just a Volkswagen brand.
Volkswagen auto group owns a lot of brands or owns large states and a lot of brands
and has partnerships that also mean models across Porsche, Lamborghini, Bentley, Skoda, Seat,
Volkswagen. There's a bunch of other. Who got it? When we look back on the auto industry in 30
years, we're going to look back on these years as being some of the most pivotal years in the
automotive industry, where EVs were becoming a thing and China and globalization was becoming
a thing. And then certain markets shifted away from EVs. And then there was like this is there's,
it's crazy the kind of shakeup that's happening right now and tariffs became a situation.
It's hard to overstate just how big of a deal it is for Volkswagen to be laying off people and
shutting down factories. Isn't Volkswagen's thing that they've never laid off anybody or something
like that? They are historically quite proud of their, especially in Europe, union relations,
and kind of the commitments that they've made and the commitments they've been able to hold to.
They're going to be in a really tough spot, right? So their Chinese market's not going
as well as they want to. That's going to be a huge driver of their struggles. A lot of their new
development, including EVs, hasn't been as successful as they want. They haven't actually
launched most of the EVs that they plan for the US in the US. And their US sales are also just
kind of made. And in Europe, there's so much competition from the Chinese and other manufacturers
that mean that they're struggling there too. And so they have to make really,
really, really comprehensive cuts to remain at all solvent after a certain point. I mean,
they have a lot of assets. They have a lot of, their balance sheet is maybe okay,
but they need to take action now. They would argue that they need to take action a few years ago,
but they were really stopped by the German government and the unions. And that's really
brilliant to do that. And then there was that whole thing where they were killing people with
the emissions. That was a struggle. tough point. But I want to talk, because this isn't
just about the automotive industry, but also practical information for enthusiasts
about the models that, that per some reports, they will be cutting or will no longer survive this.
The Jetta and the Volkswagen Taos will be. The Jetta is still on sale.
The Jetta is still on sale. Yeah. They just had a big refresh for the third time.
Big. Yeah. The Taos also just had a refresh, but that's not going to, these are not,
this is not a Polestar situation where they won't be for sale in 2027. This is a,
there will not be a next generation. There will not be another refresh. This is the end of the line.
There will not be a next generation Taycan. I mean, what a shot.
You know what? Wait, before you finish, I'm going to tell you what else there's
to be next generation of. There's not going to be a next generation ID buzz.
The Tuareg will not return globally. The Volkswagen, what is it called now? The CC,
which is now called the Artea. That's dead. That, that's already dead. That will not come back.
The Passat will not be manufactured in any capacity in any market.
By the way, these are not ones that were named. There's the T-Rock.
Is there a convertible? The T-Rock sells well.
The Taos sells well. Not compared to the T-Rock. The Taos sells well.
I would not be shocked. What you're saying is they're having trouble selling,
they're having trouble profitizing small cars and so. That's part of it, but it's not just small
cars, right? The Q, I think it's a lot of like trim variants that they will.
Oh yeah. We can go beyond Volkswagen. Yes. The Q4 definitely will not return.
The ones that they've said are the Q5 Sportback and the Q6 Sportback. So the Sportback
obviously, the A1 Sportback, the Q2, the Fabia, let's go to Fabia, which is actually a really
notable small car nameplate. The Q2 is going away. I know. Tragic.
Canon. One. Pull up a picture of a Q2.
One really interesting one is they have, this report at least says that they will,
even though we've been talking a lot about Porsche's decision to figure out how to put an
internal combustion engine in the 718, they've said that per this report,
there will not be a gas powered 718 coming. So we've got a lot of back and forth where originally
they said it was going to be the only and then they delayed the launch so they could have a gas
powered version. They've now, per this report at least, decided not to do that, that it's not
worth investing. I'm going to tell you something. Porsche dealers who have just been asked a year
or two ago to build a brand new facility, after building a brand new facility a few years ago
that looks like a football helmet, are going to be livid if they cancel the Taycan and the 718,
and they're throwing EV McCons down their throats and EV Kions down their throats.
If I was a Porsche dealer, I would literally be on a plane to Stuttgart right now to start
throwing some people, knocking some heads around. You know what I'm saying, Ken.
I do know what you're saying. If they don't do a gas 718,
apparently their plan is to, at least from this report from Bill, which is a German newspaper,
that is the current plan is to not have a gas 718, the electric 718 not on the
axed list. So that might still happen. So nobody wants from the beginning is the car
they're going to go with. That's a good decision. And we're going to lose the Q2,
which has been a fantastic partner for our Mexican listeners.
I had a rental car T-Rock four years ago, and it was great. As most Volkswagen products kind
of are, they're just good. They're in a really tough position because the Union so far in Germany
have absolutely rejected the plan to close four factories and cut 100,000 employees. It's gone
down to 50,000 employees from kind of some recent statements, but they're in a tough position where
they will need to have real cost savings. They will not be able to keep throwing money at things.
The good news for enthusiasts is that there's no planned cuts to Lamborghini.
They already killed the EV, and that was probably the only thing they could do.
Yeah. Hey, Filippo.
Are they going to keep making the TerraMont?
I'm sorry?
The Volkswagen TerraMont. Are they going to keep making that?
That's the Atlas. So yes, just got redesigned for 27, by the way.
This is one of Doug's favorite things, is to try to get Filippo.
Well, I have to look at that one.
I'll be honest.
He had to Google it. He had to Google it. He doesn't know anything.
I don't know that one. It's going to be interesting. Some of them are obvious.
The Q5 Sportback. Okay, sure. But also, how expensive is that?
Let me ask you this.
The Jeddah.
Apparently, the Volkswagen Tiguan was named by combining the German word for tiger,
which is something like tiger, with the German word for iguana, which is like leguan, or something.
Tiguan. Do you think that there's some regrets now that Volkswagen is cutting all these jobs?
Do you think that there's some regrets that the car was named so stupidly?
I think they should have kept naming them after Wins.
Wins.
Yeah, I think that's that was the issue they ran into. They ran out.
They really ran out.
Just like they said.
Lamborghini will run out of bulls.
All right.
No, they keep the story.
Bulls are born every day.
The type of wind doesn't change that much.
Famous ones or not.
Well, you wait.
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I want to move on to talk about Porsche, because you know,
what the folks are talking about.
And it's you, of course.
Yeah, of course.
We have first half of the year Porsche results and they're really, really interesting.
Overall volume was in a tough spot because it turns out
McCann availability is limited because they're not making that many McCanns
and nobody wants an EV.
Panamera has a new design, Tycon sales are half what they were in 2025,
but one bright spot, 9-11 sales.
So far through 2026, we're about 8,500.
That's up from 5,400.
Yeah, but wasn't the car, the car was like ending its life cycle last year.
It was the dot one to the dot two.
It's not a big trend.
Yeah, but it was this time because they switched to hybrid.
There was a period where they didn't have any.
I'll tell you this, they should be thrilled that they have the 9-11
and that they continue to convince, to erroneously convince people
that it's some limited production car that they're still paying all the money for.
Because boy, do they not gotten much else.
Have they still any Cayenne EVs?
Did they sell any?
They don't break out EVs versus not EVs, so I can't answer that.
That's good for them.
Overall sales in the first half of the year are down 15% year-over-year
because everything else is not selling.
Obviously, there's no 718 anymore, which was 3,700 sales the first half of last year.
You know what it feels like?
Porsche 9-11, strong.
You know what it feels like for Porsche?
Feels like 1992.
Yeah, that's tough.
They were circling the drain.
Luckily, we got 12 more years before the Cayenne comes out.
What do you mean luckily?
The Cayenne changed the world, same Porsche.
And it has a low range.
Maybe 12 years from now, the new product that will change the trajectory will come out again.
Yeah, next story please.
This is the Nissan Altima.
The Nissan Altima is dead after this year, which leaves a single sedan in Nissan's lineup,
the Sentra.
The Sentra got bigger.
Is anything sacred?
Is anything sacred?
I mean, the Altima is so old.
We were all surprised when it stayed around for 2026.
Is anything sacred?
The Altima is an incredibly popular car.
You see them everywhere.
It's unbelievable.
The rental fleets will just buy Sentras instead.
It works out.
First, they cancel the fourth generation Pathfinder Hybrid after just one model year,
2014.
And then they cancel the Altima.
How could they do this to us?
I was on the Pathfinder Hybrid launch.
I gave my time for that car.
Yeah, it was in Nashville.
Of course it was.
The Altima being dead is a little bit surprised that there's not a replacement.
Their view is we made the Sentra bigger.
Therefore, it can play in this segment that we think is dying.
And it is nothing sacred.
Let me tell you something.
I'm going to tell you guys a story.
I was 14 years old.
We always talk about the mid-2000s being this seminal point in car enthusiast history.
It was an incredibly important point in Nissan's history, too.
I was 14 years old when the 2002 Altima came out.
Flippo pull up or Ken and pull up a picture of a 2002 Altima.
Who's one of the things?
The best car.
The best car.
The 2002 Altima saved Nissan as a company.
Look at that.
There it is.
Now, that's a 2.5 SL.
That was a rare trim.
The V6 was really the hot rod of the whole situation.
It was fast and efficient.
And this car saved Nissan.
That's a V6.
That's a 3.5 SE.
That was the right car.
It saved Nissan.
And here we are all these years later saying goodbye to this car.
As if just tossing the side in the wind.
Yep, pretty much.
There are some...
Nissan product lineup is getting a little bit interesting.
They also killed the rogue hybrid or plug-in hybrid,
but that's because that was an outlander.
The actual rogue e-power, which doesn't really matter.
You don't care, Ken.
It's coming out next year.
They also have some...
The XTERRA is coming out the next year or two.
There's some other things entering,
but the lineup is kind of sparse for a few years
and very, very light on sedans and cheap cars.
I can't believe this.
Now, the rogue...
They have the rogue and the misnamed rogue sport,
which should have its own name,
which would convince consumers that it's its own product,
which it is.
Yeah.
The Versa, by the way, also dead after this year.
Just throwing it out there.
The Versa is dead.
Ken, what do we have left in this world?
If the Taycan is gone...
Right.
How am I going to identify very risky drivers with big Altima energy?
They're going to drive Sentra.
No, I mean, those people drive used Altimas.
These are still driving 08 Altimas with a long turn signal.
With the CVT that somehow hasn't blown up.
But it's getting going.
The Pagana.
Can you name any of the Nissan lineup?
Currently?
Yeah.
I have it all.
I didn't need it, but I have it all.
Are there five cars they make right now?
I can name them all.
There are seven SUVs and three cars on their website.
Seven.
Three of these are dead.
I can name them all.
You ready?
Yeah.
Go ahead.
Rogue?
Yep.
Rogue sport.
Rogue sport is no more.
Sorry.
Rogue plug-in hybrid, which is a different car.
Yes.
Pathfinder.
Yep.
Armada.
Armada, yep.
Oh yeah, whatever.
However you say it.
Frontier.
Yep.
Altima versus Leaf.
Oh, Leaf is an SUV, according to them.
Yep, Leaf is an SUV.
Aria.
Is Aria still on there?
No, Aria is dead.
I'm sorry.
I know it's dead, but sometimes they leave it on the road.
I'm sitting here.
You're missing two SUVs.
They're two of their strong selling SUV models.
Two of their...
And you've named many that don't exist, like the Rogue sport.
Okay, hit me.
What are they?
The Kicks, which is their small SUV.
Oh yeah, of course.
And the Morano, obviously.
Morano is dead too.
No, it's still on there.
It exists.
By the way, you also missed the Nissan Z.
Yes, so did the consumers.
All right, move on to the next new story, please.
Oh man, this is a disturbing grab.
This is a huge news story.
The Grand Tour is back.
We have Thomas James and the train fellow.
And when is it premiering, Filippo?
It looks like September 4th.
September 4th, Labor Day.
Mark your calendars.
Instead of having a cookout with your friends and your neighbors,
put on the Grand Tour.
Take... Here's what you do.
You take a bed sheet.
You hang it from your roof.
You get a projector.
And then when you're having your cookout,
you project the Grand Tour, right?
So that everyone in your neighborhood can see it.
Do you agree with that, Filippo?
That's an idea.
Can I tell you some of the things
that they've announced will be episodes?
Please, I'm very curious.
All right, apparently from Amazon's press release,
things that you will see on the Grand Tour.
Crossing the Angolan Desert in track cars.
Oh, that sounds good.
That sounds good.
Exploring Malaysia's vibrant car culture.
That sounds less good.
Heading to California to test cutting-edge performance cars.
Zinger, the only one.
That sounds less good.
And then challenging fighter pilots
and even an entire nation's legal system.
That sounds good.
That sounds good.
I don't understand what that means.
No, I don't need it, but I'm curious to see what it is.
I mean, look, I'm very happy to give them a shot, of course.
We love them.
I'm very just curious to see how this trio works together.
I'm excited about it.
I'm an in-tuit person.
I would definitely give it a shot.
I know there's a lot of angst on the internet right now
about this, and it is impossible to follow up the other trio,
if we're honest.
Like, it will not be the same thing.
Can't be the same thing, yeah.
Can you pull up the Proton Perdana?
This is going to be relevant.
We're going to talk about Malaysia.
Yeah, pull up the Proton Perdana.
P-E-R-D-A-N-A. Proton Perdana.
Now, exploring Malaysia's car culture.
Folks, you don't even have to watch the Grand Tour,
although you should.
Is the first generation, is this just a regal?
It's a Honda Accord.
Wait, go to it.
No, it depends on the year.
I'll tell you that much.
There you go.
But zoom in on that.
Zoom in on that.
Folks, this is the Proton Perdana.
Now, I don't know if you are aware of this,
but it's a Honda Accord.
Is it?
Wait, it doesn't depend on the year.
It turns out there was a heavy facelift,
and it stayed as a Honda Accord,
but they just changed the look of it a lot.
But it's still a Honda Accord.
Look at that.
That is just like a 2012 Honda Accord.
This is Malaysia's car culture right here, folks.
Some regal tillets.
But you see in the doors, it's a Honda Accord.
Yeah.
I see a lot of regal.
I see a lot of regal.
But I do see the door and the character line.
Malaysia's car culture involves this company Proton
taking old Japanese designs
and making them into like selling them as new cars.
Now, I can't wait for the train guy to tell us about this.
He's going to do a much better job explaining it than I did.
Flip, are you going to watch?
Of course.
I'm very excited.
I will watch.
I will also say, James Angle's been texting me the other day
and said, you consistently make sense on the pod.
And so I appreciate that, James.
Thank you.
You got his number?
How'd you get his number?
He Instagrammed me to be fair.
But so, close enough.
I got his number.
Okay.
Now, I don't have train guy's number.
Francois.
Francois.
But it's in Britain.
So it's a lot of digits.
I don't understand a lot.
I think singlehandedly started a Honda Fit or Honda Jazz craze.
And I don't know if it was his doing or if you followed the craze,
but the Honda Jazz in the UK is like a hot commodity right now.
Really?
Yeah.
Incredible.
Which as it should be, the good car.
It's a, yeah.
All four generations.
Well, hey, Kevin got one.
Yeah, the first generation.
That's right.
We should get Jazz badges for him.
Don't you think?
We should.
We should.
That'd be a good idea.
We should.
Oh, here's an interesting fact void for you.
Are you aware that the Honda Fit Jazz was called the Honda Life in China?
I was not.
Thank you for sharing that.
And you're just full of obscure facts today.
Should we move forward?
Maybe.
I, no, wait, go back a little bit.
We got to give them a little bit more time.
These are all personal friends.
I'm quite hopeful and excited that there will be more teasers coming out that we can react to.
Kenan, are you watching this?
Yeah.
I am absolutely going to give it a try and see how it goes.
Like I said, I'm not a, I really hope they don't try to mimic what the other three had done.
I really hope they do their own thing.
I'm very curious how these three work together in terms of,
I know these two work together in terms of chemistry, but I'm not sure how.
Francois.
Are you about, you're a little skeptical about that train guy.
You're still skeptical about the train guy.
Yeah.
I mean, I follow him and his enthusiasm for trains is fascinating.
But I am like curious about how that's going to transit on a TV.
You know, he can't have a camera like here looking down on us.
That's his thing, like looking distorted.
Like I just don't know exactly what, how he's going to interact.
What happened to Chris Harris?
That's a great question.
He was involved in some show.
What was it?
Top Gear may have heard of it.
Well, I don't know.
Let me tell you my experience with Top Gear and Grand Tour.
I watched the first Top Gear was the one that was with Clarkson and James May
and the other at the short fell of Hammond.
And it was wonderful.
And then they went on Amazon and I kind of lost touch with which one was called,
to me, Top Gear is those guys.
So when they went on Amazon, I still referred to that as Top Gear,
but then there was a different Top Gear that went on with the UK
with Joey from Friends and Chris Harris.
Is this about correct?
Yeah, pretty much.
It's accurate, Jason.
Yeah, that's pretty good.
Okay.
So Chris Harris was on Top Gear after the guys left Top Gear.
Yeah.
Yeah.
And did that end?
It did.
Not only did he stop doing that, but the whole show ended.
The show ended.
Top Gear is dead.
We should bring that back.
Why don't we bring that back to three of them?
There have been other spin offs that I think have come back and forth.
But we're funny.
Well, Top Gear did in fairness.
So like it went away.
Yeah, I love it.
But there you go.
Top Gear US.
It'll be interesting.
I think you can't compare it to what it was.
I also didn't necessarily love all the Grand Tour episodes.
I don't know that I've seen all of them because I don't, whatever.
It'll be interesting to see what it comes out as.
I think people have to go in with an open mind,
but hopefully we see more, but teasers, trailer, whatever,
to get a sense of what it will feel like.
People are fickle.
Like it's a hard, it is a hard side thing for a lot of people,
but I am absolutely willing to give it a chance,
just like I gave Top Gear USA shout out to our producer, Sean,
who made that back in the day.
I gave that a chance.
I did stop watching eventually, but I will still give this a shot.
I will.
I'll tell you this.
I want to see him do well.
I'll tell you this.
I think we're going to give him a run for our money
because we're going to run over Nick's Ford Focus,
and we got a buddy, Kevin, who's got a Honda Fit Jazz City life.
And we're going to run over that too.
So that's too tall.
It's very tall.
It's not that tall.
It's not that tall.
It's like inclined.
Also, you can't kill a fit.
It's not allowed.
It's too space efficient.
It's not fair.
Let's talk about the to-do list item that survives every to-do list.
You know the one.
Make a doctor's appointment.
It's been on there since, honestly, I don't even remember,
because making the appointment means calling during business hours,
getting put on hold, playing phone tag with the front desk,
and then after all that,
finding out the next opening isn't for four months.
So you just don't.
And that item keeps rolling over again and again and again.
I did this exact thing when looking for a dentist,
putting it off way longer than I should have.
And that's why I went to tell you about ZocDoc,
because it removes every excuse I just listed.
ZocDoc lets you search and compare local and network doctors.
You put in your insurance,
and you're only looking at doctors who actually take it.
You can see the actual appointment openings
and click the instantly book a visit right there
at 11 in the night in your pajamas,
which is when all responsible healthcare decisions get made.
And appointments happen fast,
usually within 24 to 72 hours, sometimes even the same day.
The thing that got me, it's free to use.
The barrier between you and finally crossing that item
off your to-do list is genuinely zero.
Your health matters and taking care of yourself
shouldn't be complicated.
Find and book the right doctor with ZocDoc.
Head to ZocDoc.com slash cars to get started,
and check that appointment off your to-do list.
That's ZocDoc.com slash cars.
Move on to the next news story.
We got another Topolino news call.
Really quick.
Nine seconds to make this interesting, Filippo.
All right. The Fiat CEO has said
that they want to go after younger people with the Topolino.
In Europe, there are countries where you can have a car.
It didn't happen.
Small enough.
Next segment.
They might come out with an abarth thing.
They said it would be really cool to have an abarth Topolino.
Would you buy that?
Absolutely not.
But maybe somebody would.
Maybe instead of 20 miles of range,
it'll get 14 miles of range.
But it'll be faster.
Instead of not getting to 60, maybe it'll still not get to 60.
This is cute.
I think there are communities in the U.S.
where it will legitimately sell.
It's not something I do well, where it will sell.
Coronado.
Yeah. In Europe, there's this whole market of small cars
that don't require a full license to drive,
which is where this plays.
But apparently, they've mostly been getting mid-40s people to buy them.
Filippo, that's an interesting point.
Whether you can get it on young people.
It's an interesting point that you mentioned that.
If we were in Europe,
would you be driving one of those three-wheel Fiat 500?
No, he'd be on a bicycle, obviously.
Pull up, Kennan.
Pull up the three-wheel Fiat 500.
You know what I'm talking about?
Of course.
There's a company that converts Fiat 500 to three-wheels
and removes the 500 E's, if memory serves,
to three-wheels and four-wheels, really, but three.
Are you aware of this, Kennan?
So that you can make them fit the combined.
I was unaware of this.
I like the one on the track.
It's a German thing only.
Apparently, in Germany, three-wheels
is like a different driver's license qualification.
Some Germans are going to write it
and give us the precise reason that this is done
down to the letter of the law
and the days in which you can drive it per year.
But there's some company that does this in Germany
and to exploit some loophole.
And if Filippo was a German boy instead of an Italian boy,
look at that happy German kid.
Pull in, zoom in on that.
Zoom in on that happy German kid.
So happy my son today.
We're learning how to drive in a car
with the wheels in the wrong place.
But he saves so much money.
It's wonderful.
There you go.
There you are.
Now we're in the top, Alina.
All right.
Give us our next new store, which is a big one.
A big one.
Oh, yes.
Are you rich?
Do you want to go fast?
So there's a new McLaren.
There's so many cars that are in that category.
But McLaren is the king of it.
And this is the latest in that edition.
So this is the 788HS.
This is going to be a limited production car
that are making 200 of them, 100 Cubs, 100 Convertibles.
It makes 777 horsepower.
Torque is the same as its predecessor.
But HS stands for high support.
Wait, what is its predecessor?
Is its predecessor the 750S or the 765LT?
775S.
So it's going 720S, then 765LT, then 750S.
Is it a replacement, right?
They're just like the 750S exists.
Well, just a high performance version.
Well, they're saying this is the end of the line.
This is the end of the line for the 720S-based platform,
which has been around since 2011, I think,
which is kind of hard to... I think that's right.
But it's not quite that long, but it's been around for a while.
Not quite that long. It's like 2015, I think.
I mean, it's 2017, something like that.
But 2017, it was sold at Amelia Island.
But yeah, this...
Yeah.
I mean, so it's...
It's another McLaren.
Like, to me, it looks like yet another McLaren.
I am... I don't know if I'm sad
that the 720S platform is going away.
I think it is actually one of their better platforms.
But...
Life progresses.
Life progresses.
The same recipe as always.
Here's a 720S thought for you.
I was having dinner with my friend Lucas the other night.
And this... The following thought hit us.
You know how the Ferraris...
There are always people who, like, perfectly preserved.
So there's, like, seven-mile Ferraris and, like, 2,000-mile Ferraris.
And they're, like, pretty readily available
because there's, like, preservation people for Ferraris.
Doesn't matter the model, doesn't matter the year.
You can always find, like, a low mileage, everything.
There is no one doing that with McLaren.
Like, there is no guy who, in his collection,
you know, all plugged into tenders in their car covers,
has, like, a 720S.
Like, every 720S is out there getting wrapped
and tuned and bad wheels.
And, like, all of them are in that situation.
And it's going to be, like, first gen...
In 10 years, it's going to be, like, first gen Gyarados,
where you literally cannot find a nice one
because they do not anymore exist.
It does not exist.
No one saved them.
They were all bought by Bitcoin guys who wanted to go fast.
They were all tuned.
The interiors are ripped up.
The paint is bad.
The headlights, the panels are misfit.
That's the future of every McLaren.
That is such an interesting point.
I'd never really consider that, but you're absolutely correct.
You will not see nice...
Now, you still can see nice ones now with 720Ss.
But I think they're going to start hitting next owners,
next owners over these next few years.
There won't be a single nice one in existence.
So maybe some...
One person, please tuck one away for posterity.
But, uh...
Yeah, it's all right.
Well, I think the, like, the high-performance,
more limited edition cars, those are...
No, no, the LTs and stuff is a different story.
But I mean, like, the 570S, the 720S,
all the, like, regular performance for Clarence
are all just going to get beat up, driven hard, tuned...
That is so interesting.
Because, like, with all Ferraris, like, you could find...
I drove a 1900 mile 308 that we sold on the site.
Like, they...
All Ferrari models, there's an example of that.
Oh, yeah.
And when you think about collections,
you hushed room with Ferraris plugged into tenders
and, you know, soft lighting.
That guy does not have any McLaren's.
That guy does not want any McLaren's.
He has not ever thought...
I mean, an F1, of course.
F1, yeah.
So he wasn't coming.
But he ain't getting into 720Ss on the way.
No, or 788HHS, bro.
Are these for sale?
They are for sale.
But like I said, they're only going to be 200 of them.
So I'm sorry, Filippo.
You're probably not going to be able to get one.
I know you're a rich guy.
He likes to go fast.
Love going fast.
I think that 200 units actually represents
a pretty significant production run.
When you think about the end of the line for the 720S,
I think you will be able to get one, Filippo,
if you would like to get one.
I'm good.
It's, well, like, $500,000, some of them.
They didn't announce pricing.
They're speculation.
They'll be in and around that price figure, yeah.
Okay.
Give us the final news story, the most important of all.
Oh, yes.
This one is for you, Doug.
This is not the last news story I don't think.
This is an important one.
So Lamborghini, the chief marketing officer,
a good word was his past week,
and he said that they're going to continue
to make Storato versions.
They want to continue to make crazy editions of their cars.
Now, he cited actually something very practical.
He says, quote, we have customers that live in the country.
We have customers who use their cars
to hook up a trolley with the horses.
So they need a car to do that with.
And that's his argument, an attempt at a rational argument,
which maybe is a very Italian,
would you want something from Lamborghini to do?
But I don't know, man.
It's crazy.
But they did specifically mention something, Doug,
that you had talked about.
You said they should do a Storato version of the Urus.
They should do a specific off-road version.
And they said, that's what the car is.
It already exists.
At its core, it is built to do that.
So unfortunately, you're not going to be able to get that.
But I am here for them doing more like crazy, weird.
I think they should lift should be higher.
I think they should do more crazy.
It's fun that they did great.
Isn't it great?
The irony Volkswagen group is canceling the Jetta.
But they're just shuttering factories,
but they're going to do off-road versions
of a $600,000 sports car.
Great optics there.
Because people need to hook up their trolleys.
Right.
Yeah.
Flippo, you ever hook up a trolley?
I don't even know what that means in the context of a Huracan
Storato.
I don't either.
It's the whole statement was ridiculous.
But I don't know.
I'm here for these cars.
I do think that is one of the most compelling versions
of the Huracan.
So if they make those with the John Tamarian,
I'll be happy about that too.
Storato was not a strong seller.
I'm surprised they're going to do more.
But I'm thrilled they are.
It's just going to be a different car with the John
Tamarian.
Because it's such a heavy car.
And it's such a big car that it probably won't
quite feel as nimble.
And it's going to be so expensive.
The Huracan Storato was a pretty cool market segment.
It was a V10 still.
It was relatively affordable compared to everything
that has come later.
It was kind of a cool little thing.
It was kind of live, dynamic, athletic.
All right.
Give us our actual final news story.
Speaking of V10s.
Final news story.
Folks, this is the biggest and most important
news story of the week.
And I'm going to tell you why.
Lexus brought itself out of Goodwood.
And we all discovered that it doesn't make sound.
And the reason it doesn't make soundflip
is because it is.
Electric.
But this is not a discovery.
This is a discovery.
No, they have announced it already.
But we all thought they were lying.
And then they actually showed it to us.
And we said, oh my god, they're telling the truth.
Here's my problem with this.
And I'm going to explain my thoughts.
And Ken and you can agree with them.
The previous LFA is agreed by everyone
to be an utterly mediocre automobile
with the exception of its powertrain and engine note.
Those were the only distinguishing
and fantastic characteristics it had.
It was this level of car with this level
of powertrain and engine note.
And so for the new one, what they've decided to do
is remove the only positive thing about the previous car.
Do you?
Am I wrong in thinking this?
It's OK.
So it's not the only car on this platform.
There's also the GR GT, which is V8 power.
Doesn't that have a V8?
Yes, that does.
So I think what they're trying to do
is that they really want the GR brand to be
the sporty brand in Toyota umbrella.
It is indeed a standalone brand in Toyota's eyes,
even though the only GRs are the Brad Ford
and the Corolla in the US.
OK, you still haven't given me any reason
why the LFA didn't.
No, I don't have a reason.
But I think what they're trying to do is like have,
like they want to differentiate the Lexus offering
and just making it more luxurious doesn't make sense to them.
They want the GR GT to be the sporty V8 track car.
And they want the LFA to be like technology.
Did you learn from the Lexus LC,
which offered a V8 and a hybrid?
Yes.
And then they canceled the hybrid
because it was purchased by 11 total human beings
over a 10-year span.
I think all they're hoping to sell is like 12 EVs.
If they're hoping to sell 12, they'll sell them the same way
they sold the LFA's, which was to Lexus dealers as a carat
that if they bought an LFA, they would give them
more RX allocations.
However, if they want to sell to actual enthusiasts,
we want a V10.
Ken, look into the camera and tell the world what we want.
V10.
Yes.
That's what the better transmission,
that would have been nice.
That was the worst part of the LFA.
In addition to its price tag was the transmission.
I know.
If the LFA had PDK, it wouldn't suck.
But unfortunately, it does.
And now they're $1 million.
And this will be an EV because they really do want Lexus to be like,
they call it the vanguard of the electrification for Toyota.
The vanguard of electrification.
The problem is enthusiast don't want electrification.
That is not me making it up, by the way.
That is literally a quote from their PR team.
Enthusiasts don't want electrification.
Like ultimately, we learned this about the new NSX,
which we've all been waiting for for the market to realize is such a great car.
And it's been 10 years now,
and the market still hasn't realized it because people don't want that.
People don't want it.
Filippo, tell the world what enthusiasts want from their supercars.
I don't.
Here's the issue that they run into.
I don't think enthusiasts care about a Lexus sports car.
And so why try?
What do you mean the LFA's are selling for like a 5
That's all we're talking about.
If they had made this a V10.
And the funny thing is Lexus is like the only brand who can,
because their emissions and carbon situation is so beautifully green.
They're like greener than Filippo when he's listening to NPR and composting.
I'm serious.
They're like, it's like a situation.
Lexus has surprisingly few EVs.
They have two new EVs, the ES and then the three row, which is called something.
They have the BZ4XRZ.
I don't know that they still do.
I don't think most importantly, they have an enormous number of hybrid cars
and they sell their lineup is probably the vast majority of sales.
The RZ did get a refresh.
I apologize.
Thank you.
Yeah.
Remember it got more range and it doesn't look as bad anymore.
Yeah.
There's also the whatever the three row, the TZ.
That's what's called.
Well, regardless, no, it's not, but it's soon.
Aren't we upset about this?
You guys are not as outright as me.
Don't give up.
Well, because I, well, he doesn't.
I don't care either now.
I don't care either now.
This was the GRGT will exist.
If you want a twin turbo VA, if you want a 911 GC3, which is what they're building
out, you have, I want an NA V10.
Like, like, go buy an economy.
Go buy an economy like the Ford E350.
That's what I want.
I mean, it's great for adding the Ford E350.
That's what I was pushing you towards.
I want a church van.
It's a good way to get, you know, you want a V10.
Just go to your local U-Haul.
You got one available.
Has anybody ever straight piped or like put a great exhaust on one of those?
On a big old V10.
I also love when they do like the Quigley four wheel drive conversion
and some other mods.
They're cool.
That is our final news story for the day.
Thank God.
Thank God.
That was quite a slog to get through a lot of bad things in there, honestly.
We have to move on to the talk cars segment,
which of course is brought to you by bad decisions from Lexus.
Not to mention from every other manufacturer.
No, other manufacturers are doing great.
Let's go through them all.
Okay, Acura.
Well, no, not so great.
Audi.
Oh, they're ditching the Q2.
Aston Martin.
It's going to be a tough list here.
Aston Martin is doing wonderful things.
Although they needed G-Wagon competitor.
Okay.
The talk car segment is brought to you by Aston Martin's G-Wagon competitor.
Filippo, you wrote on our list dash cams.
All right.
Ken and I want your take.
Doggy, you can chime in if you want.
Okay.
All right.
A friend of cars in bed Steve recently got rear-ended,
but he has it all on dash cam,
which has been really helpful in his insurance argument.
He sees a C63 coming up behind him and hitting his RA.
Very clearly.
I don't have any dash cams in my vehicles.
I used to.
But then the one time I needed it to work, it didn't work.
Obviously.
Because you bought the cheapest one you could.
Because I bought the cheapest one I could.
That's a Filippo problem.
You undoubtedly bought some cranky.
Yeah, 100%.
I am debating adding dash cams at the very least to the 911 front and rear.
What I am, is it worth it?
And is it worth the effort of routing the cords
and pulling down the headliner and like...
People plug it into the rear view mirror power
to have it be always powered.
Is it worth that work?
Yes.
Did you do it yourself?
Yes, Ryan Schultz and I did.
I have had mine in my M5 almost since I got it.
And to be honest, it has...
I haven't needed it for anything really.
Like I haven't been hit...
I've never been in an accident of any kind.
I will say it is also helpful
if you see someone else in an accident.
You can submit that to the police as well to help them.
So it is useful for people around you.
There's also another benefit.
If you have a dash cam, Nick Roshan will not ride in your car anymore
because he's afraid of being caught on camera
saying some of his usual stuff.
Right?
Crazy Nick.
And so it's one more thing.
He's so afraid of saying it on camera
that he says it right here on the podcast
with three cameras pointed directly at him.
And he just hits the cutting board.
But what's the problem?
Was that wrong?
Was that right?
Should I not have said that?
Let me choose another politically incorrect point
to make up for that one.
That's even worse than the first thing you said.
Okay, I won't say that thing about women.
Let's just talk about gays.
That's Nick Roshan.
That's our buddy.
But no, I think it is useful,
especially with the car of your price level now.
I think it is worth doing.
I would invest in a good one.
Yeah, it turns out mediocre ones are mediocre.
Yeah, I bought a good one.
Flippo, you will never do this.
You haven't even upgraded your wheels or untinted your windows.
Your car, except for the Sequoia,
where it came from the factory.
OE, baby, but you don't have it in your other cars.
I don't drive much.
My problem is why I split my driving
around between nine cars,
and I'm not putting it in nine cars.
And so that's kind of the end of the situation right there.
And I don't want to put it in my wife's car
because I don't think it would be helpful.
Some things you want to accept the liability of.
It's better if there's no video evidence.
Uh, somebody should make a really good battery-powered one.
Just like recharge the battery,
and then it doesn't need to be plugged into anything.
Yeah, no, Flippo, they do.
You know what it's called?
Your cell phone.
You could.
There are mounts, I guess.
What do you even get?
Mount.
Well, that's just impractical, though,
because then you have recording the whole time.
Those final sizes would be huge.
Like, there are reasons that these cameras exist.
Well, you'd delete it if nothing happened.
Yeah, so every time you get out of your car,
you go, oh, good, they're up and delete it.
That's just TV.
He's right now talking about recharging the batteries every time.
I don't know.
What's the difference?
Well, here, I'll tell you.
Do it right.
Just do it right.
If you're going to do it, do it right.
Reba, I don't want to pull down the headliner.
In the entire time I've known him.
I don't want somebody to pull down the headliner.
In the entire time I've known him,
Ken and Flippo has never done something right.
He has always looked for a second rate.
I'm not, like, he's always looked for a second rate,
like, quicker, cheaper solution.
Always, without exception.
Always.
Well, I love mine.
To be honest with you, most of what I've done
with is capture wild things I see on the road with it
and send it to our friend group,
or I capture it when I tour the front problem at M5.
But, like, yeah, I think that it is useful to have.
I'm sorry to Steve that that happened to him.
But, yeah, it can be useful in those situations.
Flippo, if you had to drive a modern Buick,
which one would it be?
Not new.
Not a new Buick, but a modern.
Regal Torex.
Yep, that's the right answer.
Fair.
Good car.
Fair.
Okay, move on to our next talk car segment.
Ken and I, before we go any further,
I'm curious, how's business going there?
You launched your business.
I launched my business about a month ago now.
Yeah.
Are we allowed to talk about this?
Sean's going to yell at me later.
Ken and tell us about your business.
I don't care.
So the way I can answer this, really,
is that I have been sent a ton of cars.
So I've been working with clients.
So one thing I didn't do is I didn't say I wanted
to work in California specifically.
And so people have sent me their cars
from all over.
Today, a Ferrari test.
Not pictures of their car.
No, no, no.
They're just pictures of the actual automobile.
Whoa.
So someone sent me a Testerosa that arrived this morning
from Johnson City.
Shout out to Dylan.
Very excited to bring that car to me.
Johnson City, Tennessee.
Johnson City, Tennessee.
Those people that know the US knew already.
Yep.
I mean, there aren't that many of them.
It's not Johnson City, Illinois.
Though there might be one.
Oh, there might be one.
There's a Johnson City in Texas.
Well, yeah.
This one further, came from further away.
If you listen to country music, it's all with Tennessee.
So that car came out.
So what it means, so that car came out.
I have an E46M3 with 28,000 miles.
I can see over the shoulder.
I have sold on cars.
And previously, I have a Miata that's
coming with like 5,800 miles.
You remember this car, the red one?
Yes, of course.
Yeah.
I love that car.
You reviewed it.
It was zero.
Yes.
And that car is coming back again.
Where did it go?
It was from New Mexico.
Who bought it?
It went all the way to Exotic Temecula.
That's where that's coming down.
To Corvette Collection, oddly enough.
Ken, have you got any Buick's?
I don't have any Buick's.
I do have a manual DB9 that's coming.
So I've been driving a lot of really cool cars recently.
And I also right now have a Continental GTC V8 that's live.
Which I had a point I wanted to bring to you about this car.
I drove around on this thing recently.
The W12 is awesome.
But it is scary to own.
But the way the V8 delivers power is impressive.
It reminds me a lot of the W12.
Like the way it spools.
The V8 didn't exist.
If the V8 didn't exist, we would just be the V8.
If the W12 didn't exist, the V8 would be beloved in that car.
I agree.
Once you've been in the W12, you're like, this is God.
But then you fact it back in what it's actually like to own.
And you're probably, that's probably true.
And the V8, isn't the V8 the same V8
in various other Volkswagen products?
The beauty of that car is it's the RS7 underneath, in essence.
So I took pictures underneath it and it's like,
Audi everywhere.
It's incredible.
So from a reliability perspective, it's better.
But like, as you can see with the car behind Filippo,
I like to own the thing.
You know what I'm saying?
I hear you, but like, it is interesting.
Well, there wasn't a V8 Kuntas you could buy instead.
Thank God.
I drove a Flying Spur W12 Flying Spur
to Laguna Beach with my wife.
The final edition, edition.
Remember it.
I never take the press cars on personal trips.
I think I have a whole thing about it,
but that one I did because I just love,
and I knew I would never own one myself.
Anyway, the point is I agree with you.
The V8 is great.
It does build power well.
It feels good.
It's got a lot of torque.
But the W12 is God.
It's God.
I don't disagree, but I was just,
I was like really, I was impressed with that car.
Now admittedly it's the GTC,
so the Scuttle Shake like actually bothered me quite a bit.
Really?
It was, it's really pronounced in that car.
If the road isn't perfectly smooth,
there's no road in San Diego.
There's some of the worst roads around.
It does vibrate quite a bit.
However, like cruising around top down on a GTC V8,
and like the engine sounds good.
And like, I really enjoyed the experience in that car.
But so far, the highlight of the ones that have come
was like the Testerosa, I'm so excited about.
I'm taking it up for service tomorrow,
and then it's going to get a little bit of reconditioning.
Elite finish, and then it'll come back down here,
and it'll be on the site soon.
It also has 98,000 miles.
A pause for the owner.
It comes with service augmentation,
like I've never seen anything like it.
And it was owned by like the Testerosa man
on Ferrari Chat for 23 years.
So it's like the one.
But nonetheless, like it is so,
I'm just like, I just have to say like,
I am so positively overwhelmed
and just humbled by the response.
I had some email glitches,
but so I'm catching up with some people on some things.
And there have been some headaches and stuff,
but like, I'm just having the greatest time
driving these really cool cars
and like finding them new homes.
That's awesome.
Having those cars like brought to,
like delivered to you,
you get to see them,
experience them, present them,
and like touch them.
And that's so special.
Yeah, I have seven to be clear that I've arrived.
So it's like, we're busy over here.
Any Hyundai scoops?
You know, someone submitted one,
I said, you know, it sounds like a great car
to just send this to Filippo.
Yeah, send it to me personally.
Send it to Filippo personally,
or Sean at Sean at carsandbids.com, you know.
Any Fiat Fremonts?
Not yet.
I don't know what that is.
It's the Dodge Journey.
And in Italy, I saw a Fremont
and I just felt so sad for that person.
That's tough.
It is not the Dodge Journey.
Oh, really?
It is the Fiat Fremont.
God!
Sorry.
It's very similar to the car sold here
as the Dodge Journey.
Very similar.
A couple of small differences.
The badges?
The badges.
Are you gonna tell me that the launch of
Voyager is the Chrysler town and country?
Pacifica.
Yeah, I don't know.
I want to.
The launch of Voyager, please.
No, don't, don't, don't, don't.
Okay, well, we got, we have to.
Pull up a picture of the launch of Voyager.
I'd like to see what that car looks like.
I just want to see it right now.
Oh, that is so impressive.
Which is also so sad,
because the European minivans were great.
Folks, this is the country that brought us the Delta
into Grale.
This is what they've become.
They're giving us high quality vans.
You've never seen that van marketed as anything else.
That van certainly wasn't sold as a Volkswagen.
Let me tell you.
Well, I'll tell you what.
You show this thing a rally stage
and you'll see what that Lancia badge can do for you.
Credit to them, it was their most consumer-friendly product.
No other car in the Lancia lineup, I think,
had even folding seats.
Much less stow and go folding seats.
What motor did that have as a launcher?
In this case, it only had 2.8 liter multi-gear diesel.
The VM motory diesels.
Oh, it's a four-cylinder turbo diesel.
Wow.
I think they're all the VM motory ones.
150 horsepower?
Oh, that must be an absolute trash.
It's as fast as everything else in Europe.
10 seconds zero to 60.
This works.
10 seconds.
I guess I don't know.
God, we fell far from the Delta into Grale.
Listen, I got an announcement.
Sean, we'll perk up.
Put down your words with friends, Sean, and perk up.
I'm making a lot of automotive moves.
Yeah.
And I think one of my big three will be affected.
Whoa.
Uh-oh.
Okay, let's move on to the next segment.
You're just going to drop that thing?
Give us one more line about it and one more sentence.
I will be doing something or not.
I don't know.
Well, thank you for that.
You're welcome.
Appreciate it.
I don't have any talk cars to add, and I don't want to.
Sean gets mad at me when I reveal too much.
Yeah.
He wants it to be in a video so we can make more money.
We're already making money on this podcast.
I just want to make more money.
Sean comes to me and he says, we already make money.
But how can we make money on top of money?
That's what Sean says when he calls me.
To be fair, every morning I call Sean,
6 a.m., and just say, how are you going to make us more money today?
And so it's only fair that he relays that.
How are we making money today?
More money.
More money.
The more is important.
I remember when I worked at Porsche, there was a guy who had been appointed
to a high-up position on the operations floor,
and he was totally out of his element.
And he had no idea what was going on.
And he used to walk out from his office every day
and go to the guy who did all the shipping,
because the cars would be invoiced
when they would get shipped from the port to the dealer.
That's when we would make money as Porsche.
And he would walk out to that guy and say,
hey, how are we doing today?
Every single day, sometimes multiple times a day.
And of course, it was always about the same, you know, like every day.
There was no, like, surprises.
The cars were already sitting at Port.
And that's kind of how I imagine your conversations go with Sean.
The only things out of car dealership I worked at
would go walk in there to you.
Guys, what are we selling?
And that was this.
What are we selling?
What are we selling?
We're selling the same questions yesterday.
Anyway, one of the big three may be affected.
All right.
Let's move on to the market report,
which, of course, is brought to you by Cars and Bids.
Cars and Bids is the leader in automotive selling and buying.
Yep.
All right.
Can I start by talking about an E63 AMG wagon?
Look at that 996 turbo.
Click on that 996 turbo.
Is that already sold by the time this airs?
By the time this airs, it will be sold.
It's currently at $146,000, which you missed your chance.
If you're watching this right now,
you missed your chance for the best 996 turbo in history,
a bright color and an X50 and a low miles.
You missed your chance.
This is big money.
I wouldn't be shocked if it goes up a little bit
from where we're at.
There's been bids kind of consistently
over the course of the auction,
including the last day or so as we're selling this.
Ken, you look at these pictures.
Do you want a 996 turbo?
No.
Really?
You want one?
I do want one, but in our friend group,
everybody's selling their turbos.
This person is in our friend group, Edison.
He's getting rid of it.
You're going to get rid of yours.
I'm only getting rid of mine
because I bought a better car, the Mark IV Super Turbo.
Yeah, better, strong word.
Yeah, better is a really strong word.
It does a lot of that word.
It just depends on how you use the car.
And the way I use my car, the Super is better.
But the turbo, well, what do you mean?
I take my kids and my dog, my Super Turbo,
driving experience is fourth on my list of priorities
for that car.
And the Super probably drives like the 993 turbo,
but more importantly, it's more reliable, cheaper to own,
and it looks 10 times cooler.
And I know that that might not be agreed by everybody.
The Super Turbo is, in my opinion,
in the opinion, I think of the general car enthusiast,
a Mark IV Super Turbo is cooler looking
than a 993 twin turbo.
You're going to have that car in nine months.
And I know this has accurately gone Rennlist,
but it's true in reality.
Your account's banned on Rennlist.
I think you're going to be bored of that car
in six months tops.
I don't understand.
But I use it to take my kids and my dog around.
I think that your problem is that you think
that every car has to be like the best driving experience.
But there are some, like my Sequoia, I'm obsessed with it.
It does this enormous amount of things.
And it's not the best driving experience,
but it is the best at delivering other things
that I need it for.
Do you understand?
If you're buying a fun sports car
to transport your kids in the driving experience
should be good seeing as they won't be in the car
all of the time.
They will.
I only use the car when I'm taking a car.
We prize looking cool differently,
but regardless, I want to talk about that.
I prize enjoying it myself as opposed to what
a lot of people think.
Well, I have three cars or maybe less than three
or maybe more than three, I don't know.
Who knows?
That I already do that with.
This has a different purpose.
Kenan, I'm going to educate you someday.
Oh, someday.
Automotive purposes.
I have one car that does it all, some would say.
But let's get to the 63 because you want to talk about it.
This is really cool.
This is a 60 manual swap.
The first one that I've seen come to market.
Obviously, your friend, Nick Roshan,
has a different 60 manual swap.
55, not 63.
Same gen, pretty faceless.
$61,000.
Clearly the market really, really, really loved
that you have a manual swapped wagon
and also probably some of the other mods here
that were generally quite high quality desirable.
Kenan, you want one car that does it all.
There you go.
One car that does it all.
This is one car it does it all,
including have a shift knob from, what is it?
That's okay.
Yeah, that is tough.
That's the only one available.
Yeah, but it is so cool.
Obviously, we knew it would do well.
All wagons do well on cars and bids.
All sporty wagons do well on cars and bids.
All manual wagons do well on cars and bids.
And these builds, it's going to do well.
But I am a little bit surprised by how much this went for.
This exceeded, certainly, my expectations.
Boats well for a friend, Nick, in the future.
But also, I wonder if we'll see more and more of these.
It's doable.
It's a proven concept.
There are multiple shops that are swapping Mercedes,
the M113.
It'll be interesting to see whether this becomes more of a trend
now that there's some proof.
Curious about what I'd like to see personally.
You know what I'd like to see is a 65 motor swapped into that car.
Yeah.
I don't, the Novi 12 was ever offered in the E-Class.
No, I don't.
And so I don't think, I'm not convinced it fits.
You think a manual was offered in the E-63?
Well, no, but that doesn't change the sizing of the engine bay.
You could change the sizing of the engine bay.
Haven't you seen, dude, the Renault Clio V6,
they took the engine out of the engine bay.
Sorry on this weekend.
That's the level of work product that you can do, OK?
Nothing is impossible, Filipeau.
Yes, but the point of this car is that you have three rows
and you can't put the third row in the front,
in front of the driver, if you move the engine to the back.
Because it doesn't really work.
That's a great idea.
OK, now you're talking.
Third row in the front and then make the engine,
the hood cover, clear like SoFi Stadium.
Oh, I was imagining no hood covers so that people could sit.
No, no.
I am excited by it.
I'm thrilled by the result and it's going to be interesting
to see what else keeps happening.
We've sold over our history cars and bits
a bunch of really cool wagon builds,
a B7 RS4 of on-build, an E61 and 5 build.
I actually think we have an E61 and 5 build live right now.
An F31 and 3 build, wherever they are.
We also sold an F31 with a Maserati engine swap.
There's certainly interest in these.
That did so well.
The F31, which was an M3 build, clearly there's a lot of demand
for cool performance wagons.
It'll be interesting to see whether we kind of keep seeing
that more and more and more.
A lot of wagons live.
A lot of wagons live.
A lot of wagons live.
What do you want to say about this LC 500?
Yeah, we've just sold the LC 500.
With 5,000 miles for about $17,000 over MSRP.
Wait, I'm looking at this Grand Cherokee sold for $8,000.
Pull up this Grand Cherokee.
I didn't buy this for $8,000.
This is the worst moment of my life.
Filippo, save me, please.
Oh, one owner.
Filippo, this was the nicest Grand Cherokee you've ever bought.
Why didn't you buy it?
What are you doing?
I thought about it.
I thought it would sell for more.
I want this car.
It was on the title.
This is beautiful.
Look at the interior.
It's like horrible in the best way.
Filippo.
Filippo.
It's like toes.
Don't say big toes.
You know what missed out?
You also missed out buying LC 500.
You know what the problem with this car is?
My childhood and Filippo's childhood
are very different in terms of cars.
I wrote in the back cargo area of that around the Cape as a kid.
I have fond memories of doing so.
What do you mean?
Weren't you in Italy?
You got all these cross stories about how you were in Italy
and you were in America.
You got to pick a lane.
Were you in Italy or were you in America?
Both.
Incredible.
These did not disappear on a certain year.
They were still around.
Oh, yeah.
No, they did.
They absolutely did.
I was here when they disappeared.
That LC 500, can you go back to it?
Yeah, of course.
We're already leaving the Jeep.
We are.
A good four-liter Jeep.
There is nothing like a good four-liter Jeep.
This car, which was in a great color,
good build, 5,000 miles, had a 110 sticker.
So it's actually 20 grand more than sticker,
which surely LC 500s were going for under sticker
at some point or another.
Right?
They weren't that decidable brand new.
Are they not for sale anymore?
No.
What?
2026 is the last year.
2025 is the last year.
Really?
I thought there was some improvement for a little longer.
You know, the LC 500 thing feels like the Heritage Land Cruiser.
Like I'm sitting here today knowing that this is a car that's going to increase in value.
And I remember I felt that way with the Heritage Land Cruiser.
I know this car will increase in value.
I don't really have a place for it in my life.
I don't really want to park money in it.
But I'm sitting here like literally in my mind,
I can tell that this will be a desired enthusiast car for many years to come.
Yeah, I really want one.
Maybe I should buy one.
It is surprising to see it still.
It is still for sale.
I'm sorry, I was wrong.
26 is the last year.
Thank you.
Still for sale.
Pretty limited numbers, is my understanding.
One of the great interiors.
I don't.
It's rare that a car currently for sale
or even just recently out of sale sells for over MSRP when you can be pretty confident
that Lexus dealers are not charging ADM on a product that's been out for seven years.
NA V8, that interior, those.
Yeah, it's really cool.
Here's a question.
Would you rather have that LC 500 or that Grand Cherokee and a flatbed tow truck?
Let me do the math quickly.
I carry the one.
A tow truck is ain't cheap, dude.
I'm talking hydraulics, the whole thing.
I'll see.
A tow truck could help you, especially in closed.
Oh, I could be helpful on occasion.
What happened with Sean's G?
I didn't follow it.
Where did that go?
Still for 45.
Sean's G, yes.
Producer Sean's G has gone on to a new home.
He sold it to somebody.
What was he in this for?
Are we allowed to disclose this kind of stuff?
Did he make money?
Did he lose money?
What I'm saying is that he has the amount all in and the sale price are very close to each other.
So he did like okay on this car?
Well, I mean, the G market has fallen a little bit compared to when he first bought it.
I think that this color did resonate with people.
Do we factor in his absolutely ridiculous trip to Oregon in order to purchase it where he?
I don't know.
Sean's mental accounting is quite suspect at best.
So probably not.
Oh, he says he wants to fly.
So we're good.
And we don't have to count with those.
I'm surprised you could get a flight that fast with the points to be on this.
He has a lot of points.
My understanding, by the way, is that it's going to get some work done before going to the new owners.
Which is exciting.
Is it going to be four by four squared converting, Sean?
It's going to nothing but Gs.
It's going to nothing but Gs to get some rust.
Take care of it.
Okay, that's great.
Up in Colorado.
That's great.
I think that's lovely, Sean.
I think it'll be, it'll, it's great that you've moved on from this car.
You never were able to really sink your teeth into it.
And for those who don't know, Sean has moved on to a 2000 Dubuque Century with a 3,100.
He couldn't even splurge for the 3,800?
The 3,800 was not offered in that century.
Oh, you're right.
It was only offered in the regal.
He couldn't splurge?
Surely the price difference is $10.
We're 30 or 25 years old.
I'm just going to tell you something.
This is a true fact and it is a fact.
There is no one currently driving one of those 3,100 centuries who bought it.
They were all handed down by a grandparent or a cousin or their dad's dealership had one,
you know, like the dad's a salesman and one came in on tray.
Like no one went searching for one and bought one.
Have we ever sold one, pull up a Buick Century?
I think we have.
I think we do.
My wife growing up had a Buick Park Avenue that was indeed gifted by a grandparent.
And then she subsequently gifted it to a friend who's then subsequently gifted it
to a different friend.
That's what happened to these cars.
This is exactly the century I'm talking about.
Nights, 3,100, yep, yep, yep.
My father had a little saber.
So Park Ave, a little saber, you know.
Felipe, when you look at this, do you have a little bit of nostalgia from this period
when you were both simultaneously in the United States and Italy?
I moved to the U.S. in 2002.
Okay.
But this car was sold through like 06, 05.
Hey, I have nostalgia for this.
Let me ask you a question.
You came to the U.S. in 2002 as like a 12-year-old, where you are 10-year-old or seven-year-old.
When you came to the U.S. and saw that this country had these cars,
were you like, oh my God, we've made a terrible mistake?
No, as a kid and still in Italy, where we knew people in the U.S.,
I had photos of like an XJ Cherokee that one of them owned.
Because it was like the coolest, biggest car I could have fathomed.
The coolest, biggest car I could have fathomed.
Then he showed up and there were hummers.
Time to move on to the questions.
The questions are interesting this week.
Usually, I prepare the questions so everybody can prepare how to time.
However, I've been derelict.
I actually wanted to take this podcast off and I pitched that to Sean and he told me I couldn't.
So we're going to wing it today.
We're going to wing it.
I love winging it.
Let's wing it.
Sean, you got questions?
What's that?
We can just pull solicit questions from the firm already.
No, I'm going to do them, but I'm not going to tell you what's what.
So go back to the, no, no, don't look at the questions.
Go back to the main page.
This is going to be a new experience for all of us.
All right.
There's the main page.
We got that 996 turbo.
Looks pretty cool.
So from Cavalieri, this is the first question.
Hi team, could you explain how cash for clunkers
change the automotive landscape and market?
This is a, this is a hot topic among midwestern, like low budget.
It really is.
Yeah, it is.
Because they think that it like destroyed everything and there are no more cheap used cars.
And there is some truth to that.
400,000 Ford Explorers were destroyed, which obviously it hurt those of us who wanted to do a Jurassic Park bill.
Yeah.
But I think that the damage of cash for clunkers is, is done.
I mean, those cars were all like early nineties cars at this point.
Probably most of them would not be on the road anymore anyway.
But it did take off, admittedly, it did take off the road.
A lot of reliable, easy to work on simple, mechanically simple used cars.
And that was the goal of the program.
The program was, it was, came out during the recession.
And I worked at a dealership when this program came out.
And I'll tell you, there's a, there's a lot of differing opinions about this.
But if you worked at a dealer when this program came out, this was a lifeline.
There were no cars selling.
And this program created an opportunity for automakers and dealerships and factory workers
to get a little bit of a new pipeline of cars selling.
Because basically the program was you traded in your old, inefficient car.
And they gave you way more than it was worth in order to buy a new, efficient car.
And a lot of, you know, know what all enthusiasts are like, this ruined the car industry.
But actually at the time it was, it was quite beneficial.
But it definitely did ruin the ability to have some of these cheap kind of older
cars that could have been worked on.
And so I do think it had some, some effect on the enthusiast market.
Now people look at the list of cars traded in for, on the cash for clunkers and they say,
well, people trade out in land cruisers.
This was terrible.
I mean, like a few that we're not talking about massive numbers of any of that stuff.
But there was, there was definitely an effect on, you know, those cars.
But again, I mean, a lot of the cars traded in were late 80s, early 90s stuff that at this
point are coming up on 35, 40 years old, you know, a lot of these cars would probably no
longer really be on the market today anyway, or on the road.
And they're quite efficient.
And it did.
We wouldn't have any 2009, 2010 cars for sale today if it weren't for the program.
It's a mixed bag, obviously.
Right.
But like the intent was not a bad one.
There are a lot of know it all car enthusiasts who say that it was horrible and there were no
benefits.
There were benefits.
There were also drawbacks.
And that's the truth of any program like this.
And they knew that at the time.
They knew at the time they were taking off the road.
Now also it should be pointed out a lot of the cars traded in a cash for clunkers.
People see the raw numbers and don't understand.
A lot of the cars traded in cash for clunkers were literal clunkers.
So the rule, I think, was that the car had to be running when you brought it to the dealership.
And if it was running, then you got your money.
And you should have, again, I worked at this, Rick does Saturn dealership.
A lot of our cars qualified for the rebate.
You should have seen what people were bringing in as running.
I mean, these are cars that like were literally on their last legs puffing out smoke cylinder
had fried.
The last mile it did was to the dealership.
It wasn't just like really pristine examples.
Like a lot of enthusiasts try to claim it was.
And trust me, I know I was literally there.
I remember at the end of cash for clunkers, when they came to round up the cars,
all of us at the dealership did a destruction derby with the crappy cash for clunkers cars
in the dealers back lot because some of them were so utterly terrible.
They had to have been registered and insured for the year prior.
They must be drivable.
They had to have under a certain fuel economy.
There was a requirement, I think, with 18 miles per gallon or worse.
There are cars that likely would not be running now.
Period.
Now, I'll say some of the most of the floor is pretty.
Some of them would have been, it did remove a lot of cars that then were the cheap,
could have been the cheap cars at that point.
But it also introduced a whole lot of new supply that would have been really hard.
And to some extent may have saved dealerships and the automotive industry in the U.S.
Yeah, I know.
The U.S. is not the only place that's happened.
It was also true in Europe.
Also, no one talks about this because car enthusiasts claim not to care about this,
but it did actually serve a significant effect also at bringing more efficient cars on the road.
Ultimately, millions of cars were traded in on millions of V8,
inefficient cars.
Now, enthusiasts may not care about this, but you got to remember this was an Obama administration
program, and that was one of their goals.
In addition to various other goals like stimulating the economy,
and that was one of their goals.
And I think that they would argue that they achieved that goal as well,
whether or not the enthusiasts are supportive of it.
I think it's important to maintain perspective on all issues and sort of look at nuance and
all the different sides of things.
Unless, of course, we're talking about the electric LFA, which is just bad.
Or the luce.
We didn't have to talk about the luce yet on this podcast this week.
I didn't get to talk about the manual.
I have an opinion on this.
Oh, yes, please.
For clarity, we talked last week about the manual that's manual-ish.
What's your opinion?
It better be the same as our...
My opinion is I have absolutely no problem with it whatsoever.
I think that it is, and I think it's reasonable, which I think I still haven't listened to the
last week's podcast, so I'm a little busy.
But yeah, I think I hope that they take that tech, the reason they did it that way,
with it being a dual clutch and kind of shift by wires,
that they then apply that to other models.
A manual 296 would be...
I know there's more to it, but that's why they did it, I suspect,
and didn't develop a manual transmission that could...
Plus, also, the overriding opinion I heard everybody say is,
why didn't they just take the 599 transmission and put it?
It's like, the 599 made 612 horsepower.
This thing makes almost 1,000.
It's a big jump.
It wouldn't work.
Totally agree with everything you said.
That was our opinion last week on the podcast.
We said that.
I said that.
Felipe said that.
Nick said that.
And then he made two racist jokes.
So that was kind of how it went.
Good.
So thank you for doing it without the racist joke.
Yeah, I omit the racist joke.
But I am very into this.
I'll never get to drive one.
I'm sure they'll talk about it.
I'm sure that will happen.
But as long as it feels good, there's that...
I say I underscore all these opinions as long as it does feel like a manual.
If it feels synthetic or anything like that.
Okay, next question from Brat Machine Sam.
Rank all Lexus GX generations.
Folks, there's only one Lexus GX generation.
There are three Lexus GX generations.
Not in my mind.
There's only one.
And it's the original.
Pull up a nice 2009 GX470.
Pull it up.
That one's modified.
Yeah, man.
There's a lot of...
Can I just await one?
This one, sorry.
Sure.
Yeah, modified white.
I never liked this generation GX.
Really?
I've never looked at any generation GX to be fair.
From the perspective, first off, they all had manuals.
And that was the coolest part.
They were all manual transmission.
Yeah.
Yeah.
You know this, obviously.
Go to interior photo.
Oh, I can't do that.
Look at that manual.
Does look like a manual.
It's like a little up into the left.
It looks like you're in first gear with parts.
Keep going.
Keep going through those.
Show the transmission selector a little closer for people who can't see.
Every GX from this era looks like it has a manual transmission.
If you have a walking body, it looks like it's parked in first.
Yep.
Why did they do that?
It's bizarre.
It's absolutely bizarre.
But if you...
I meant to it.
If you look at it, look at that.
Tell me that doesn't look just like a manual.
Totally.
First off, so they were all manuals.
That was beneficial.
But also the 2UZ.
Ultimately, Filippo, I don't care what you say,
because this was the most reliable powertrain ever put in any automobile in the history of Toyota.
And it is, therefore, it is the GX.
The other ones are simply AGX.
I've never loved any GX.
Sorry.
So that's fun.
That's insane.
I mean, what is love to you?
Like, I think these are ugly.
And they're obviously inefficient and they don't have good tech.
But they're robust to you.
But they're robust.
This is an incredibly good used car.
They're robust.
They're incredibly capable.
They are unbelievably reliable.
They're relatively luxurious.
They're practical.
Like, what are you trying to get out of your car that you don't love about this car?
Well, I like it to have not the issues that you laid out at the beginning there.
I don't want it to be ugly.
Well, Filippo, I got a deal for you.
You go pick up a 4th gen 4Runner, same powertrain,
and you've got an attractive car.
I agree with that.
That's the issue.
The 4th gen 4Runner is an attractive GX.
The early ones were better looking and then it kind of got worse.
And then the new one, I'm not a big...
I'm not actually that...
It's very controversial to say, but I don't really love the new GX.
Yeah, same.
I also don't love the new Land Cruiser, accordingly.
Next question from Ian Greer.
Dear Doug, love the pod.
Doug and Group love the pod.
I hear you guys reference the mid-2000s as the peak of modern cars.
Yes.
Next question.
No, and I agree.
I'm curious why I don't hear any love for the 0405 06 GTO and the G8 GT and GXP.
Absolutely.
We don't bring them up enough.
I think because Pontiac died right after that
and we're thinking about modern brands when we're talking about this stuff.
But those were part of it.
Those cars were absolutely part of it.
In this era in 04, the mid-2000s, when all the cars were cool,
Pontiac revived the GTO.
And then next year, they gave it an even bigger engine with even more power.
And it's incredible.
I mean, the GTO actually came back.
And the G8 was incredibly cool.
There was V8 power.
It was a serious car.
It absolutely deserves that.
Look, great.
Thank goodness, Australia, for giving us both the cars.
Yep.
Thank you, Australia, for giving us those cars and the Mercury Capri.
Yeah.
Equally notable.
From 2008 E60 EKB, dear Doug and friends, if you lived in Europe,
what would you want to be your daily?
Let's say we're in Milan for just for the sake of argument,
because that makes sense for all of us, for various reasons.
It does.
Let's say we're in Milan.
I would love that.
Kenan, what are you dailying?
That's so hard.
Does it have to be a brand new car, or does it have to be anything?
No.
What do you want to daily?
A hot mobile?
You're there.
I already do that.
Let me see.
Let's say what I want.
It would certainly be a station, like a small to mid-sized station wagon,
because you're a 308.
I think a good looking car.
I do.
The DS station wagons also look good.
Fiat at the moment, let's be honest, doesn't have any super compelling products,
but I would also have a Fiat 4x4 of any generation, except for the newest one.
Sorry, Panda 4x4.
Not the newest one, but every one prior.
And I think my sporty car would be a Fiat Panda 100.
Wow, you've got this all figured out.
Yep.
And honestly, none of them are that appealing.
Yep.
It all fits perfectly.
I am who I am.
I'm just being true to it.
Really?
Kenan, give us the truth here.
I'm really trying to think.
I personally, in that city, I would love for the Microlino.
Isn't that the new electric, like BMW, IZETA looking thing?
You would drive that daily.
You drive around on a new IZETA looking.
In Milan, I'm going like eight feet to get places.
No, Milan is a big city.
No, no, no, no.
This isn't like you're in Filippo's bedroom.
That's the perfect thing in Milan.
That's what I can use to cut around.
But you also got to go to the outskirts.
You're in Monza.
Ah, I'm in Monza.
Well, I mean, M3 Touring would be the run of the one I would.
I don't do automatics though.
You're not dailying that in Europe.
I want a real answer.
You're in Europe today.
You've got to go buy a car.
What do you buy?
A station wagon, hybrid manual.
I believe it exists.
I understand you have answered the question properly.
Kenan, you have your current budget.
And I'm trying to advocate here for a friend.
I guess that would be expensive.
What do you got?
What are you getting?
You're in Europe.
I don't know.
I'm just trying to think of things that I would want that we didn't get.
And most of them are like French cars.
What about a Polo GTI or a Polo, whatever the sporty one is called?
Up exclamation mark would be fun too.
Small.
You're not a small car guy.
No, but I feel like Europe, I look, I went to Europe.
I had a big SUV, which was fast and powerful and very fun.
And boy, was it perfect for the Autobahn.
You were wrong about that.
But I realized that in Italian cities and other cities,
smaller car is definitely better.
Actually, the new French electric, what's the Renault of the electric?
The Renault four or five.
Yeah, I love that.
They look great.
I think that thing is so cool.
The Renault five is cool.
And I imagine it's been a long restrictive on emissions and stuff to drive in town.
So then you would need something like that.
Okay.
But I probably that, I think that is the coolest thing out there right now.
Yeah.
Yeah.
The Renault five is incredibly cool.
Agreed.
You know, my answer is a team rock convertible.
E39 and five.
Yeah.
I can't really, I already do it.
You can't there.
It's going to get smashed to bits there.
You also can't pay for gas.
No, it's actually only like 910 dollars a liter.
Sorry, Gallant.
It's actually not that much more than it is here.
But it's still fixed.
It's a lot of my car that gets 11 miles to the gallon.
Is that what you get?
Filippo.
Yeah.
Filippo with three children.
What would I get?
Like an XC90 and that what people have in Europe?
There are a lot of MPV type things.
They're just practical family vehicles.
There really aren't that many.
There's like the Mercedes Vans.
What else?
Are you on luxury?
Oh, well, that's no.
No, no.
What are their minivans?
Minivans are dead in Europe.
They don't exist anymore.
Minivans are dead.
But like MPVs that have the three are still around.
You think I'd have like a Citroen, whatever the new big
Citroen is.
You should have the Hyundai, whatever the wild looking thing is.
I'm not going to get a Hyundai just because I live in Milan.
The Staria.
Look up the Staria.
Pull up the Hyundai Staria.
I'm in Milan now.
I want to fit in.
You know what I would get?
Launcher Voyager.
150 horsepower four cylinder baby.
You want to fit in and then launch a Voyager?
Good luck.
Look at this.
It's like a futuristic looking minivan.
All right.
It looks like death.
You think I don't know.
Is that even for sale in Europe?
I see it in Asia.
I saw it in Australia.
No, it's good to go to Europe.
Okay.
Final question.
Final question from El Farah 03.
Dear Doug.
Felipe, I want you to weigh in on this, but it's dear Doug.
You mentioned in a previous episode,
you may move towards having an off-road vehicle,
such as a Jeep in the future.
And you wanted to know what contributed to your decision
to want a Jeep over a Bronco.
Is there a large difference in reliability
or does reliability influence your decision at all?
I'm going to get a Jeep.
I have to sell my convertible G-Wagon.
And I'm going to get a Jeep to replace it.
And I'm going to get a Wrangler 392.
Felipe, tell me, tell the people why I'm getting the Jeep over the Ford.
There's a V8 offered.
Boom.
There it is.
Folks, this was a great podcast.
I really appreciate it.
Thank you.
That's a good reason to thank.
You know, there's actually two reasons.
There's a V8 offered and the Bronco Raptor,
although it is a cool car, is the most socially unhinged.
Ford product, for sure.
You see these things driving around?
Like, I think it's cool as hell, but I would never in a gazillion years drive such a vehicle.
And especially when you factor in the Jeep,
the Bronco Raptor looks like that and doesn't have a V8.
The Jeep Wrangler 392, I dare Kenan to tell apart a Wrangler 392 from a regular Wrangler.
I can.
And it does have a V8.
Well, the sound is instantly recognizable.
And also that exhaust tip thing they do with the low.
I know what I'm looking for, the 392.
Don't don't mess with me.
But what are you going to look at every Jeep?
Like, it's like one person.
I notice them.
I do notice them when I see them.
It's not often, but I do notice them.
There's a new trim, which is what I'm going to get.
It's like a super base level trim.
And the only way you can tell the exhaust.
And then also there's a 392 badge on the top of the hood,
because there's a little hood bulge and it says strange on the top of that.
Other than that, the newest ones are like untellable.
And that is the primary reason that I looked at the Bronco Raptors.
And I'm sitting in this thing and I'm like,
this is so over the top absurd.
I cannot participate in this situation.
No, having that parked in a charming New England fishing village.
And ultimately the Jeep has more power and a V8.
Like that's the problem solver right there.
Am I wrong?
Do people think I'm wrong?
If you think I'm wrong, right to us at Sean at carsandbids.com.
That's S-E-A-N at carsandbids.com.
And putting the subject line, bad color G-wag.
He has too many emails to say that.
All right, Filippo, you have any final thoughts for the podcast?
Yeah, the Buick Riviera has been on my mind.
Oh, yeah?
The first little drive, the 3800 one?
The late 90s Buick Riviera, yeah.
We were talking about Buick's 3800s.
Pull it up.
Pull it up.
You got to like specify 1995, 1994.
Have you ever been in one?
No, I've never been in one.
Horrible.
There it is.
Okay, there's one in there that's been expanded to include these.
The fuel economy was not bad enough.
Yeah, I know.
But they should have made an exception.
They should have made a carve out.
Cars must have this level of fuel economy or be a Buick Riviera.
It's a very concept car.
That's a concept.
Well, I know what that one is.
I'm just saying in general, it looks like it does look like...
Yeah, I mean, that's hard to believe that a committee went,
yes, that's a real car.
This is a different time.
This was at a time when a big two-door car
was still like a thing.
And everyone had them, honestly.
Oh my God, what happened here?
Everyone had them.
Ford had multiple.
They had the Thunderbird and the Mercury Cougar,
which were both like these big Lincoln had one called the Mark 8.
It was not uncommon to have big luxury coupes and convertibles.
There was the old Cutlass at the time.
And they were a bunch of different ones.
To be fair, and it was supercharged.
Had 240 horsepower, 280 pound-feet of torque.
Well, they were offered as supercharged.
Almost none of them are supercharged.
And either way, it was stunted by a trash four-speed automatic transmission.
Do you know that they made 90,000 just about?
They sold 41,000 the first year.
I'm telling you, at that time, remember, they made a Camry Coupe.
They made a Honda Corp Coupe.
Like cars in that era, like a two-door car, four-seater two-door,
was like pretty common.
Like there was a Chevy Cavalier.
Like everything was like, there was a four-door and a two-door version.
It was not that weird.
True.
And it all went away.
All right.
It all went away.
But it did.
Well, it's a shame.
Yeah, it's a shame.
Anyway.
Speaking of going away, goodbye.
Goodbye, everyone.
Goodbye.
About this episode
Lucid’s financial spiral takes center stage, with rumors of restructuring help and even Chapter 11 speculation, plus practical issues like “an enormous amount of unsold inventory” and paused Gravity production. The conversation widens to Volkswagen’s shrinking footprint—job cuts, factory closures, and model discontinuations—while weighing how EV demand and subsidies are shifting the market. The hosts then pivot to enthusiast and collector angles: Nissan’s Altima exit, Lexus LFA talk (including an “electric LFA” backlash), and a flurry of used-car pricing, dash-cam, and microcar detours.
Have a question you want answered on the podcast next week? Ask HERE https://crsnbds.com/PODQUESTIONS
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Chapters:
00:00:00 THIS CAR POD!
00:00:00 Lucid Stocks Plumet
00:07:46 Volkswagen Cuts Jobs And Models
00:17:49 Porsche Sales Figures
00:19:36 The Nissan Atlima Is Dead
00:24:05 The Grand Tour Is Back!
00:32:11 Fiat Topolino Abarth
00:34:11 McLaren 788HS
00:38:13 Lamborghini Will Make More Sterratos
00:40:10 The New Lexus LFA Is Electric
00:45:18 Talk Cars
00:45:55 Dashboard Cameras
00:50:05 Kennan's Business Update
00:56:09 Doug's Announcement
00:58:11 Market Report
01:01:04 2007 Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG Wagon
01:03:54 2024 Lexus LC 500 Coupe
01:04:04 1995 Jeep Grand Cherokee
01:07:02 Producer Sean's G-Wagon
01:10:18 Community Questions
01:10:51 How Did Cash For Clunkers Change The Car Market?
01:17:20 Rank The Lexus GX Generations
01:19:51 Why Don't The Pontiac G8 And GTO Get More Love?
01:20:53 If You Lived In Europe What Would You Daily Drive?
01:25:22 Why Would Doug Buy A jeep Over A Bronco?
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