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01:05
We're diving right in.
01:06
We're thrilled to have you with us.
01:08
Big announcement right up front.
01:09
Next week's podcast will be live in the studio.
01:13
It'll be questions only from you guys.
01:15
It'll be rapid fire.
01:16
Those always fly by.
01:17
That'll be super rapid fire.
01:19
So keep in mind, this is Tuesday.
01:21
This coming Monday, we will be in the studio.
01:23
We will announce the times.
01:25
It'll be in the evening.
01:25
We'll do an all-live podcast.
01:27
We'd love to have you here for it live.
01:28
And then, of course, it will release on all the audio
01:30
formats the next day.
01:31
But just letting you know that's happening.
01:33
Other announcements.
01:34
Have you seen it yet?
01:34
Have you seen our biggest comparison of the year,
01:37
the $12,000 used car piece?
01:40
There's things to say here.
01:43
We had a lot of fun making this piece, guys.
01:45
Thank you for watching.
01:46
Please pass it on to friends.
01:48
It got us thinking about what are fun cars out there
01:51
that are 12K and under because you watched that $8,000,
01:55
under $8,000 piece from what?
01:57
Three years ago, three or four years ago now.
01:59
And that has just really resonated with all of you.
02:02
So thank you for that.
02:03
So this is under $12,000.
02:04
Like I said, pass that along.
02:05
But we had a lot of fun making it.
02:07
And there's a ton of cars that we could have included
02:10
in the piece, some that didn't show up like a TTE,
02:13
others that, you know what?
02:14
We've covered those before, like GT86s and that kind of thing.
02:18
Specifically, did bring the 86.
02:20
But it was deliberate choice.
02:22
But it hopefully got everybody thinking about and shopping.
02:28
But thinking about what stuff is out there
02:30
and so many people are loving the Fiesta ST.
02:33
It's not revelatory.
02:34
It was just fun to rediscover it.
02:36
And I think that's with all the comments,
02:38
it was sort of like, yeah, we know the Fiesta ST is fun.
02:41
Like, yeah, we know that too.
02:43
But once again, it was fun to rediscover it
02:46
and redrive all of these cars.
02:49
So again, thank you for watching.
02:52
So in the top right corner of your screen.
02:54
And yeah, pass that along.
02:56
Hopefully you enjoy it and watch it again.
02:59
One thing I want to add on this that's very funny
03:00
is thank you for all the comments,
03:02
all the amazing comments on that piece.
03:03
Thank you for sharing it, passing it along
03:05
and watching it a lot.
03:06
Some of you are sending us photos.
03:07
Have you watched them on the big screen?
03:08
That's what's intended.
03:10
So thank you for that.
03:11
I also want to pause here on how we do these
03:14
for one quick second and talk about one thing.
03:16
And that is, I'm loving to see all the comments
03:18
about why didn't you guys bring whatever.
03:21
But there's this weird misconception out there
03:23
when you fought this battle for us since the beginning.
03:25
It's weird misconception that if we as automotive journalists
03:28
would like to put a bunch of cars together,
03:30
there's just a parking lot somewhere
03:32
of those cars available.
03:34
They just, we'll just go get the exact one we need
03:36
with the exact spec we need.
03:37
We'll get it right now.
03:38
That not only is that not true with new cars,
03:41
it gets harder and harder as the cars get used.
03:43
So once you guys know right up front,
03:45
we want to do more of these.
03:46
We love this format.
03:47
We want to do more of these.
03:48
We're excited about them.
03:48
We're glad you are too.
03:49
But we started with a list of 12 cars,
03:52
hoping to get six on camera.
03:55
The five we ended up with, I'll be honest with you,
03:57
some of those five were like a,
03:58
yeah, we should include that car.
04:01
It wasn't that has to be there.
04:03
Some of the has to be there.
04:04
We could never find one that was available for our shoot.
04:07
So we actually go out all over our local area,
04:10
which again is Assault Lake area.
04:11
We're looking for all of the 12 cars on the list,
04:15
The morning we filmed, we had six
04:17
and then the TT didn't show up
04:18
and suddenly we had a five car shoot.
04:19
Well, there's always caveats about,
04:20
well, what about this?
04:21
Could squeak in like, yeah, maybe we should include that.
04:23
So it would be 12 to 15 cars.
04:26
That's a huge undertaking.
04:28
So it's more representative,
04:30
even though you guys have had many great ideas
04:32
about which cars should have been included.
04:34
But many of the ideas you've come up with,
04:37
we're on our list, we had a 12 list
04:39
and we had like the nine really chase those lists
04:41
and it was the six we hope we get
04:42
and then it was five that actually went on camera.
04:44
So please understand, we love doing these,
04:46
but there's no like,
04:48
well, I'll just pull out my wish list
04:49
and I'll grab the six best cars possible
04:52
The cars are all in my neighbor's driveway.
04:53
They're all next door.
04:54
We have them at a barn somewhere.
04:55
So that's the fight.
04:56
But anyway, thank you guys for watching it.
04:58
We have to move on to big, big Toyota news.
05:03
It's very exciting news.
05:04
We watched last week,
05:07
the reveal of the Toyota GR GT.
05:09
We've been talking about it
05:10
and discussing it for a long time.
05:12
It was a Goodwood Festival of Speed
05:13
over the summer of 2025
05:16
they're reusing the nomenclature LFA,
05:20
which is fine with us.
05:21
But we watched the reveal last week
05:23
and came away as blown away,
05:24
I think as all of you are,
05:26
not just by the specs,
05:27
but by the car itself
05:29
and the exciting news that Toyota
05:31
is investing in this market.
05:33
They're pushing it forward.
05:34
And I think by having these cars,
05:36
they're putting all the other car makers on notice.
05:39
Like, this is cool.
05:41
They're gonna make money.
05:43
Putting the effort that they did
05:44
and it will reap rewards.
05:46
You can go GT3 racing.
05:47
The FI GT3 rules is what they followed here.
05:50
Offer into that segment
05:51
and I think other car manufacturers
05:54
are already sitting back going,
05:55
huh, maybe that's something we should revisit.
05:59
Toyota is unique in the fact that Accio Toyota,
06:02
he wants to do good to drive cars
06:05
and not all of the CEOs
06:07
or people high up at any of these car companies
06:09
is that their focus.
06:10
They wanna make cars they can sell
06:12
hundreds of thousands of,
06:13
which means five seats.
06:16
Starting with the letter T?
06:17
Possibly, that was a shot.
06:19
This is really interesting
06:20
because we're talking about a twin turbo hybridized V8,
06:24
somewhere in the neighborhood of 600 horsepower,
06:26
somewhere in the neighborhood of $100,000.
06:29
This is a big halo car moonshot for Toyota.
06:33
They have the hybrid background.
06:34
They're gonna do a race car.
06:35
I mean, you see in the photo here,
06:37
the car looks, I gotta be honest, it looks big.
06:42
AMG GT kind of big.
06:44
Like last gen AMG GT.
06:45
That's what we're hearing.
06:46
Which it looks like you crossed that with a Supra
06:48
and you got this thing.
06:49
It also looks really low and wide.
06:52
It almost looks like you laid a deck of cards on the table.
06:55
It's like that looks like,
06:56
and then okay, I'll put a little bit of a cabin on top of it.
06:59
I mean, that's what it looks like.
07:00
Just a tiny greenhouse on top of the deck of cards.
07:01
Yes, deck of cards is what it looks like.
07:03
I mean, this will probably be really cool to drive.
07:05
I suspect the power is gonna be awesome
07:07
and it is cool looking,
07:09
but it feels big in photos.
07:11
Even the guy walking around the stage.
07:13
And I thought the Lexus looked swoopy and really cool.
07:16
This looks almost utilitarian.
07:18
Like we have a job to do.
07:20
I mean, that's good.
07:21
Yeah, I wanna see it in a color, but this is a big car.
07:27
What we know so far, it is a four liter twin turbo V8 hybrid.
07:31
Turbo's in the hot V front mid engine.
07:33
You can see that reflected in the architecture here.
07:37
At least, again, all we're hearing,
07:38
this could all change.
07:40
But what we're hearing right now,
07:41
at least 641 horsepower and 627 foot pounds of torque
07:45
with an eight speed automatic transaxle.
07:48
And in EV, the electric motor replaced in the torque converter.
07:52
So right at the engine,
07:53
battery above the transaxle in the rear,
07:56
here is the GT3 version of that.
07:58
And what we're also hearing is the GT3 version came first,
08:02
which is always good news when the race car comes first.
08:05
And then let's build the street car out of the race car.
08:07
That's a whole heck of a lot easier,
08:09
but it also just bodes well
08:10
for GT3 class racing in general.
08:13
Aluminum chassis, entirely new,
08:14
designed for the GT3 version here.
08:16
And a 45 to 55 weight distribution.
08:20
Here is the Lexus version of that to LFA,
08:23
so they're bringing that nomenclature back.
08:25
This looks even better than the Toyota, I think.
08:29
This looks like, this is the right design on that.
08:33
Yeah, it really is.
08:33
It really looks amazing.
08:34
So interestingly, what we're hearing is
08:37
the Toyota GT and the GT3 will be sold
08:42
through Lexus dealers.
08:44
We're hearing new information here.
08:45
And that is because when you buy something this expensive,
08:49
this halo of a car,
08:51
you want a higher level of customer support and service
08:55
rather than buying a $200 plus thousand car
08:59
next to a Sienna minivan.
09:01
I think it could work
09:02
because this is not being positioned as a luxury vehicle.
09:05
It's positioned as a high performance vehicle,
09:07
which is what the Toyota brand is all about.
09:09
So I think it could work,
09:10
but if it's through a Lexus dealer, fine with me.
09:13
Here's the GT and the GT3 together.
09:16
The back of it, I think the styling works so well.
09:18
Back looks amazing.
09:19
I actually think the back
09:19
is the best angle on this car right now.
09:21
Yeah, it's excellent.
09:23
And then we've got a few more photos here
09:25
just showing the packaging, which is quite interesting.
09:27
So you can see that front mid-engine layout here,
09:30
passenger in the center,
09:31
and they kindly indicated the center of gravity.
09:35
So right here in the car,
09:38
so it's right at your knees.
09:39
Right below the steering wheel, essentially, yeah.
09:41
Yeah, right below the steering wheel.
09:42
So they're indicating a 45 to 55 weight distribution
09:45
for this car, which is pretty ideal.
09:47
And you can kind of see center of rotations,
09:50
CG right there in the middle, which is cool.
09:52
I'm gonna say something controversial.
09:54
This looks like it could be the next gen Viper.
09:57
That's no bad thing.
09:58
It's not a bad thing, but think about
10:00
the Viper's perception. The size.
10:02
The size perception of the Viper.
10:03
Now granted, I've juxtaposed this before.
10:04
The current 911 is as long as a Viper.
10:07
It doesn't seem like it.
10:08
Doesn't seem like it.
10:09
The Viper over time has gotten smaller in perception,
10:11
but this looks like somebody sat down and designed
10:14
what is the updated version of the Viper,
10:16
and it has that feel about it to me.
10:19
And the Viper is related to the AMG GT.
10:21
I mean, they all have a similar kind of feel to them,
10:23
long nose, et cetera, but yeah, anyway.
10:26
Moving on to the chassis.
10:27
So you can see this is brand new,
10:28
developed by Toyota, designed for the GT3 cars.
10:32
You can see the transaxle out back,
10:34
and you can see just from the image here,
10:36
looks really wide and low.
10:38
I'm so excited to drive hopefully both of these,
10:41
both the Toyota version and the EV Lexus version.
10:44
This, I love that Toyota is doing this.
10:47
I cannot believe it, I cannot believe it truly,
10:49
but I love that they are.
10:50
So a few photos from the interior,
10:52
and you might say that it looks a little bit bland
10:56
at first glance, but keep in mind,
10:58
this is a purposeful car for the Toyota version.
11:01
This is not being positioned or even sold
11:03
as the luxury GT Cruiser.
11:06
The 911 could be accused of having
11:08
kind of a boring looking interior.
11:10
I've read the Mercedes AMG, it's cool,
11:13
big screen, a lot of buttons,
11:14
but what are we looking for, I suppose?
11:17
Does it have to be crazy Pagani-like
11:19
to feel super car-like,
11:20
or would you rather have a purpose-built environment here?
11:23
The Lexus will look, I think,
11:25
pretty interesting, pretty driver-focused,
11:26
but we're hearing pricing based
11:29
on what current GT3 cars cost.
11:32
That's all we know right now.
11:35
And the seats, very purposeful.
11:36
This looks really cool.
11:37
I wanna see one, I wanna drive one.
11:40
I love that Toyota and Accio Toyota
11:42
even spoke at that reveal,
11:45
and I love that he has gone all in
11:47
because look what it's done to both of these brands.
11:50
Everybody's talking about Toyota and Lexus,
11:53
and the fact that this Toyota,
11:54
Halo car would be sold at Lexus,
11:56
that is huge news, that is getting
11:58
everybody talking about it,
11:59
and so it makes you want to have a piece of this
12:01
by going and buying a GR product or a Lexus.
12:05
Sort of like, I've gotta,
12:07
I kinda relate to it,
12:07
because this is where Toyota's going
12:10
with their entire lineup.
12:13
Very interesting, and again, pricing could change.
12:16
Everything is here, say, right now.
12:18
Everything could change.
12:19
There's no details posted,
12:21
and they're saying it's a 2027 vehicle,
12:23
so hopefully introduced in 2026, mid-2026,
12:26
hopefully at some point in first drives,
12:28
and it's for the recreational track driver.
12:31
So if we're hooked on driving drivers,
12:33
it's for GT3 class racing,
12:35
and the Lexus, I mean, what a sexy,
12:37
looking, cool, modern, this is automotive,
12:41
this is motoring in the future.
12:44
Yeah, I can't believe they've done it.
12:45
I'm very excited about it.
12:47
A bit more news, a little bit old at this point
12:50
about a Jaguar, well, I mean,
12:52
we've heard specifically that Jerry McGovern,
12:54
the head of design, has been fired.
12:57
He was friends with Rotan Tata,
12:59
who passed away last year,
13:02
and so when you don't have any more champions
13:04
than the company that believe in you
13:06
and had a lot of pushback from the public.
13:09
Excellent way to put it, I was gonna say,
13:10
well, the public is not loving what's going on.
13:15
He was convinced the public was not.
13:18
That's a shirt I want, I want hashtag unconvinced.
13:21
Those of you making T-shirts for us, pay attention.
13:23
I wanna have this profile,
13:25
and I want over the long hood, hashtag unconvinced.
13:28
There's just that, that is the,
13:30
I wanna wear that, that we should do,
13:32
because hopefully this firing kills this car,
13:37
and hopefully it creates a-
13:40
You know what I really hope this is?
13:41
I hope this is Jaguar's new Coke moment.
13:44
Because Coca-Cola was like,
13:45
Coca-Cola was like, we're gonna do new Coke,
13:47
you're gonna love it, they brought out new Coke
13:48
and everybody went, what is this swill?
13:50
And they filled up their cars with all the old Coke,
13:52
and I remember all the news stories
13:53
when I was growing up, I mean, I'm dating myself,
13:55
but still, it landed with such a thud
13:57
and Coke had made a big deal about,
13:59
this is our new direction, like we're not looking back,
14:01
this is our new direction, just like Jaguar.
14:04
Actually, and then the response to the public was so bad,
14:06
they were like, Coca-Cola classic.
14:08
I bet you, this is their new Coke moment.
14:10
I hope it is, I hope what comes next from Jaguar
14:12
were like, that's a Jaguar.
14:14
I guess in modern terms, it's their
14:15
cracker barrel moment, so they're-
14:18
We were just kidding moment.
14:20
I respect Jerry McGovern's styling, his eye,
14:23
and what it did for Land Rover, for the Ranges.
14:26
Because that is a slab-sided vehicle
14:29
that really evokes luxury, and anytime
14:32
any SUV manufacturer is designing something new,
14:35
I think they're looking at Ranges.
14:37
Lincoln did, and they're successful.
14:39
Lincoln looked at those and went, you know what?
14:43
That's a luxury high-end, the tone was set
14:47
You're right, I mean, I will say,
14:47
what he did to the Land Rover Range Rover styling
14:50
is like refine what they were already doing,
14:52
and what's interesting is if you put a picture,
14:54
we don't have one, but if you put a picture
14:55
of the current loaded Land Rover
14:59
above this Jaguar concept, you go,
15:01
of course, that's the same guy.
15:03
And I've always thought that the current Land Rover
15:05
is about as far towards slabs as they could go,
15:08
and that we found them too far.
15:11
This was the bridge too far.
15:13
We overcorrected, everyone.
15:14
There was the 2002 or 2003 when Jerry McGovern
15:18
briefly worked for Ford Lincoln Mercury,
15:21
and came up with the MK9 concept
15:23
that we'll put up briefly on screen.
15:26
And we're moving on from that
15:27
because I was never a fan of that car.
15:29
I'm not putting it on screen here,
15:30
but we're noting a trend.
15:32
So yes, moving on from that.
15:34
A bit of other news here about Porsche
15:37
introducing a virtual transmission into their EVs,
15:40
starting with the Taycan, it's understanding,
15:42
because Porsche apparently is super impressed
15:44
with Hyundai's i5N, and so they liked the shift points
15:50
that Hyundai had introduced
15:52
and made it more interesting to drive.
15:54
And so I think we're gonna be seeing
15:56
virtual transmissions from Porsche here shortly,
15:59
in whatever EVs they do next.
16:01
How much celebration has quietly gone on at Hyundai
16:05
when they read that Porsche bought one of their products
16:08
to check out how they did it?
16:10
There is probably no more engineering endorsement
16:14
on the planet for a car maker than Porsche bought one.
16:17
That's a great point.
16:19
And this also, frankly, it elevates,
16:22
should elevate Hyundai even further
16:24
in the eyes of enthusiasts,
16:25
that Porsche is looking at Hyundai?
16:28
And impressed enough to kind of-
16:31
Do their own thing, yeah.
16:32
That was like the start of a joke
16:33
at your local cars and coffee.
16:34
Oh yeah, Porsche is looking at Hyundai.
16:37
That's a great point.
16:38
Porsche is looking at the i5N and the i6N
16:41
and going, how'd they do this?
16:43
The shift points is what made us fall in love
16:46
That's very cool, yeah.
16:47
You've gotta talk briefly about the Toyota Sienna
16:49
minivan that we just had over the Thanksgiving break
16:52
and I think you enjoyed hauling the family right on that.
16:54
I put all the people in it.
16:56
We used all the seats.
16:57
We folded seats down.
16:58
We folded seats up.
16:59
We did all the seats.
17:00
Now, Toyota is only selling this right now
17:02
as an all-wheel drive hybrid.
17:03
That's the way the Sienna comes.
17:05
This is an expensive minivan.
17:07
Okay, it's about $50,000,
17:09
which is what minivans cost.
17:10
I'm sorry, but they do.
17:11
It was fully loaded.
17:13
I had to train my family how to use the big doors
17:18
because they were desperate to do it themselves.
17:21
But I could be like, just sit, just sit.
17:24
Is there a button somewhere?
17:26
I have all the buttons above my head.
17:27
Just sit down, put your seat belt on.
17:29
The door will come to you.
17:30
There was like three or four tries in some cases
17:32
of members of the family, just sit.
17:35
So the doors are great.
17:36
I mean, the reality is if you want a minivan,
17:38
we've talked about it before.
17:39
Nothing out does a minivan
17:41
at what a minivan does well.
17:42
We say nothing out, minivan's a minivan.
17:46
I can open either side door with the fob
17:48
while I'm walking up to the car.
17:50
And I can close them from the minute I sit in the car.
17:54
So this made easy access for those members of my family
17:57
that are not easy access folks.
17:59
They struggle to get in and out of cars.
18:01
My father-in-law is struggling right now.
18:03
So it's just one of those things where it just works.
18:06
If you have families, this is excellent.
18:07
I'm not saying the Sienna does something
18:09
that no other minivan does.
18:10
I'm not, except for possibly gas mileage
18:13
because I hooned it for like four days
18:16
and hadn't even burned a quarter tank.
18:18
When I dropped it back off with you, I was like,
18:20
did I not try hard?
18:22
You got a full tank here, man.
18:25
I drove it all over the place.
18:26
Sport mode, it was in sport mode, right?
18:28
Yes, it was the only mode.
18:29
That's the only mode.
18:30
As soon as it turned it on, it was like up to sport.
18:33
Which basically was just through all the response.
18:35
So it refused to burn gas.
18:39
That was the big thing about it.
18:40
I mean, you gotta pick minivan
18:42
on the features that you want.
18:43
This has all the normal features.
18:44
It had the, because it's a press car, it was loaded.
18:48
I had the hose for the vacuum system in the center console.
18:53
The hose was in there.
18:55
We're past the part where anybody in my family
18:57
is young enough to make a mess.
18:59
So we're past that.
19:00
But it also had the cooler in the back center console.
19:04
Where you could actually heat and cool your beverages.
19:06
So that was in there too.
19:07
So it was everything.
19:08
And sliding seats with the leg rest.
19:12
I mean, you and I are too tall for those to work.
19:14
But if you're the size of my sister or my wife
19:17
or whatever, you're the mid five footers,
19:19
you can actually slide the seat back
19:20
and get the ankle rest.
19:22
And it's all very nice.
19:25
But if you need a minivan, the Sienas are very cool.
19:27
And I was most surprised by, I didn't even notice.
19:30
I pulled back into your driveway to drop it off.
19:32
I looked out of the fuel gauge.
19:33
I was like, how much of a, oh nothing.
19:35
I just burned like nothing.
19:38
Which does set it apart.
19:40
That's very good, yeah.
19:41
Did you know you lose 91 days a year to scrolling?
19:44
That's your entire summer, gone.
19:47
So this summer, log off and show up with friends
19:50
and some ice cold Heineken's.
19:51
Then instead of commenting on your crew's stories,
19:54
you'll be making memories with them.
19:56
Sorry, social media.
19:57
The scrolling ends and the fun begins
19:59
with cold Heineken's and good friends.
20:01
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20:06
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20:09
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20:11
Griot's Garage is our official car care partner
20:14
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They don't just make great car care products.
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21:04
It's that time of year again.
21:05
Consumer Reports does this every year.
21:07
We actually had a big discussion about it last year
21:09
where they released their report card for the year.
21:12
They take all the brands and they do this a couple of ways.
21:15
It's wide and deep.
21:17
It's road test, reliability, owner satisfaction,
21:20
and safety are the four major parameters
21:22
for them to create their best brands report.
21:24
That's the headline.
21:26
But then they have the best used cars,
21:27
best new car values.
21:28
They have all kinds of stuff.
21:30
I really dug in mostly on the headline one,
21:33
which was the best brands,
21:34
which is the culmination of all the ways they test
21:37
and all the surveys that they do.
21:39
I wanted to talk about the top five
21:41
and the bottom five of that listing
21:43
because last year, quite famously,
21:45
Subaru was at the top for the first time.
21:48
And also quite famously, last year,
21:49
Rivian was at the bottom.
21:51
Interesting to see the brands.
21:52
Have things changed.
21:52
In the top five and the bottom five.
21:54
But again, most reliable new car brands,
21:56
both the top three and the bottom three there
21:59
Most reliable used car brands,
22:02
top three and bottom three.
22:03
But I wanna point something out real quickly
22:05
before we dive in too far.
22:07
In the best brands, Porsche is listed
22:10
as one of the best.
22:11
And we'll talk about where Porsche is listed.
22:13
But one of the things that's key here is
22:15
all the surveys that they get.
22:18
All right, and this came up last year with Rivian
22:20
because they, Rivian was like the outlier,
22:23
even though it was the bottom of the list
22:24
because they almost had enough surveys to make it work.
22:27
If you go into the new car brands
22:29
or the used car brands, just those separate lists,
22:32
Porsche vanishes as a brand.
22:36
And I can only account that to being not enough
22:39
survey results for them to do it.
22:40
That's what my thinking too.
22:42
There's other brands along with Porsche,
22:43
but some are missing off the list.
22:45
But they get enough information to include it
22:48
on the overall, like the overarching best brands one.
22:51
But I just think it is funny that you have a Porsche
22:54
and I have a Lotus and those brands
22:55
are pretty much nowhere to be seen.
22:57
So because there's just not enough,
22:58
there's just not enough.
22:59
Owner surveys, yeah.
23:00
Not enough people are buying them,
23:01
not enough people are doing surveys.
23:02
I found out a Lotus survey the other day.
23:05
When they asked me multiple questions,
23:06
I was like, I'll fill out a survey.
23:08
And they asked me if I would ever,
23:11
and I took the question at face value,
23:13
would I ever consider, that was the word used,
23:17
ever consider a Lotus electric SUV?
23:20
And I was like, you've got the word ever
23:22
and consider in there.
23:24
I would absolutely consider.
23:26
You didn't ask me, would I buy?
23:29
You said ever consider.
23:31
Interesting. I took it to Facebook so I said yes.
23:33
Because I'm also thinking-
23:34
That's very deliberate on their part
23:35
because they just want,
23:38
they want to kind of grease the-
23:40
You know, the scale a little bit.
23:41
But consider and buy, plus,
23:43
because they also don't know they're asking me.
23:44
I'm an automotive journalist.
23:45
I want to consider everything.
23:46
I want to drive it all.
23:48
I may tell you, you're way, way off the mark,
23:51
but I'd love to get in and drive it.
23:52
If you said buy, it'd be far more definitive results
23:55
but it might not go in the direction they want.
23:57
Yeah, that's the thing.
23:58
That's the thing I was concerned about
24:00
is they're going to look at these survey results
24:01
and most people are going to be like,
24:04
I'll consider everything.
24:05
Our audience really wants an electric SUV.
24:07
That's not what we said.
24:08
It's not what we said.
24:09
I specifically not say that.
24:10
I said as an automotive journalist,
24:11
if you build that as a concept,
24:13
I'll drive it and go, is this a Lotus?
24:15
Well, that way when sales go way down
24:17
and they point fingers at the marketing people,
24:18
they can say, well, hey, all these people considered.
24:20
We can't force people to buy.
24:22
All the surveys we had-
24:22
Why didn't people buy?
24:23
Jaguar's going through that very thing right now.
24:26
The new Coke moment at Jaguar.
24:27
I really like that.
24:28
I'm going to lean into it.
24:29
So can I run through my five?
24:30
Do it, yeah, do it.
24:31
This is Best Brands.
24:32
Top five and bottom five.
24:34
Once again, they're back with more forest
24:37
and all-wheel drive.
24:38
Subaru is the top of the list.
24:41
Now with more forest.
24:42
Now with all the all-wheel drives and the CVTs
24:45
and in the back of the photo that I have on screen,
24:46
they're right back.
24:47
They're right back, is the BRZ.
24:49
How did that get up there?
24:50
Yeah, it doesn't belong in the photo.
24:53
That is rock and gravel and mountain.
24:55
That is, there's probably a road just,
24:56
in fact, I think there is,
24:57
and there is a road.
24:58
There is a road, yes.
24:59
But anyway, but the point I'm making here is-
25:00
How did that get up there?
25:01
The BRZ is way at the back.
25:02
They drove at it early in the morning
25:04
and they scrapped it again.
25:05
Exactly, carefully placed.
25:06
We've joked about this a lot.
25:07
Look, Subaru is killing it,
25:09
especially in North America.
25:10
They're killing it.
25:12
They also are doing incremental changes to their cars.
25:15
And that was actually brought up last year
25:16
when we talked about this at length.
25:18
One of the things that's led them to rise to the top,
25:20
especially reliability,
25:21
is they're not making big swing for the fences changes.
25:24
Making little tiny tweaks to what's already working
25:27
and that leads to long-term reliability.
25:29
Toyota being a great example.
25:31
They've done a bunch of new engines.
25:33
They're going through those growing pains.
25:34
Subaru's been using the same engines,
25:36
same transmissions forever.
25:38
So they're actually at number one.
25:42
I couldn't believe that.
25:43
And they were tied with Subaru.
25:47
I couldn't believe that.
25:49
Whoever thought that best brands
25:52
number two would be BMW.
25:54
I'm a little astonished by this.
25:55
That's based on all the results.
25:56
The owner satisfaction surveys,
25:57
owner satisfaction road tests,
25:58
safety, all of the above.
25:59
So there's BMW at number two.
26:01
Porsche at number three.
26:02
Again, they don't appear on the other sub-lists
26:04
but they are on this list.
26:05
So Porsche at number three,
26:06
which they've been in the top five kind of forever.
26:10
Yeah. I mean, that's the truth.
26:11
They are the performance brand that is the most reliable.
26:15
I mean, I realize Toyota has performance stuff
26:17
but this is their performance brand
26:18
that is the most reliable is Porsche.
26:20
Honda is at number four.
26:23
Good. Which is very interesting.
26:24
Good, they're up there.
26:25
And Toyota is at five,
26:26
which feels a little lower than I would have expected.
26:29
But again, they're going through some big changes
26:31
in their lineup and that is leading to
26:33
less current reliability
26:35
whereas Subaru is doing incremental changes
26:37
and things are working.
26:38
You're starting to see the change there.
26:39
That is the top five, bottom five.
26:42
I want to bring up something before I go to bottom five.
26:44
I'm going to stay here on Toyota at number five
26:45
for a minute. Right, right.
26:46
Last year, Rivian was the bottom of the list.
26:49
Okay? It was way at the bottom.
26:52
Now, owner satisfaction in a separate list was really high
26:54
but like how it did on everything
26:56
it was bottom of the list.
26:57
It's risen five places.
26:59
Five places, which means that the five I'm about to talk about
27:04
are all lower on the list than Rivian
27:07
who was the bottom of the barrel last year.
27:09
But are you saying Rivian marketing people
27:11
can now claim we rose five spots?
27:14
Yes, in the Consumer Reports Best Brand Survey,
27:17
Rivian, we're giving the marketing department
27:19
of Rivian freebies. This is how marketing people do it.
27:22
We've ridden five spaces.
27:23
And what's interesting is some of their direct competitors
27:26
are now below them.
27:27
So let's dive into the bottom five below Rivian
27:29
five from the bottom is Alfa Romeo.
27:31
I love them, but they just don't do well here.
27:34
Also, a lot of Stellantis products in the bottom five.
27:37
I'm sorry to say it.
27:38
The Stellan Terrians, yeah.
27:40
And Dodge is below Alfa Romeo.
27:43
You don't want to buy a Hornet?
27:45
Granted, you notice that the Alfa has the,
27:47
it's Hornet variant, the Tonale, the Tonale is there.
27:51
And then we have the Hornet.
27:52
So Dodge is even below Alfa Romeo.
27:58
who is pretty much only making high-end trucks
28:00
from the Chevy platforms,
28:02
but they're just not working very well.
28:04
So GMC is making things like the Hummer.
28:06
Hummer is listed under GMC.
28:09
And then below GMC is Land Rover.
28:12
At the bottom of the list is Land Rover.
28:15
They still sell though.
28:18
They sell and they have a reputation
28:19
for not running great and not being reliable,
28:21
but their owners do love them.
28:22
I mean, one of the things that's interesting is
28:24
the cars at the bottom of the market,
28:26
the ones I just ran through Rivian through the bottom,
28:28
you've got militant owners that love these vehicles.
28:31
And look, I have championed the Alfa Romeo Giulia.
28:34
I'll probably do it again this podcast.
28:37
And I've known people with them that were problematic.
28:39
I've known people with them where there was like,
28:41
all this does is run.
28:43
And they're like, what is everybody talking about?
28:45
So I mean, I understand.
28:46
We have multiple friends, it's Park City.
28:47
We have multiple friends with Range Rovers
28:49
and Land Rover products.
28:50
I know a few that just are like,
28:51
I don't know what everybody's complaining about.
28:53
We have one friend who does all his own maintenance
28:55
and it's like, I don't know what everybody's complaining about.
28:58
But anyway, so we'll see how it all goes.
29:00
But that is the quote unquote best brands,
29:02
top and bottom from Consumer Reports from me.
29:04
I thought it was a fascinating list this year,
29:06
but Rivian on the way up and BMW at the top.
29:11
I like that you showed photos of everything
29:14
because I'm list guy.
29:15
It was hard to get photos of the lineups.
29:18
Harder than you think.
29:19
All that just to find the lineups, the current lineups.
29:22
So I'm showing a few lists here.
29:23
A little bit of it is repetitive,
29:25
but I just wanted you to see some screenshots
29:27
from Consumer Reports and how they rank things.
29:30
So this is starting with most reliable new brands.
29:33
Just wanted you to see the top 10 here.
29:36
Toyota is predicted reliability based again
29:39
on all the owner surveys and all the research they do.
29:41
Toyota is at the top for best new brands
29:45
for used car brand reliability.
29:47
Now Lexus swaps places with Toyota
29:50
and look at all these.
29:51
BMW is still on their Mazda, great Audi Volvo.
29:55
They're still way up there.
29:57
And then moving on to satisfaction by brand
29:59
you touched on this.
30:00
Rivian is way out front.
30:03
Not even a contest way out front.
30:06
People that have Rivians love their Rivians
30:07
and that helped them last year too,
30:09
but it is interesting because in spite of the foibles
30:11
and the issues and whatever,
30:12
the Rivian owners love their cars
30:15
and that changes the dynamics a lot.
30:18
So moving on here to the list form for sports cars
30:21
with the images, I wanted you to see this
30:24
because at the very top for $40,000 sports cars
30:28
and under the BRZ, and I would think
30:32
even though it's fourth on the list,
30:33
but they all share almost the top four spots,
30:35
the GT86, sorry, GR86 and the BRZ.
30:38
So those are way up there, which is pretty cool to see.
30:41
Even the Mini Cooper in yellow.
30:45
Hey, it's actually recommended, look at that.
30:46
They're at the top.
30:47
I mean, I have a 20 year old one now for my son,
30:49
so you know, we'll see how that goes.
30:50
But you got the good year with the Supercharger.
30:52
The number of people in the comments
30:54
on our $12,000 car piece that were like,
30:56
Minis are terrible.
30:58
I'm like, well, I've had two that have run.
31:00
Hopefully this second one keeps running.
31:01
They're like, they don't know what you're talking about.
31:02
The big lesson we're doing now
31:03
with my son and the Mini is it's freezing outside.
31:07
The engine is cold.
31:09
We don't have to find red line yet.
31:10
Just mechanical, easy, easy, just, you know,
31:13
we'll get there, let some of the gauges
31:15
climb off of the peg at the bottom.
31:16
Like some of the gauges lift.
31:18
Is he getting in, starting it, and just hammering on it?
31:21
He drives it the way he's used to driving it,
31:22
which is just, I'm gonna wind out through the gears
31:24
and it's like, okay, right now just calm.
31:27
Let's get into sixth when we only need third.
31:29
Let's just ease our way in, you know?
31:32
This is a good lesson.
31:32
Yeah, we're working our way.
31:34
Moving on to sports cars, $40,000 and above,
31:38
amazing to see the C8 Stingray
31:41
at the very top of the list
31:42
as a consumer reports recommended by
31:45
boxers up there as well, which I'd like to see.
31:48
The Miata didn't rank quite as high
31:50
as I thought it was going to,
31:52
but at least it's, you know, up here.
31:54
It's good, Z4, all the stuff that we do like.
31:57
And then talking a little bit about trucks,
31:59
the F-150 took all the categories
32:01
in hybrid and regular form, so it's
32:03
F-150 from here on out.
32:06
But what was interesting is we currently have
32:08
a Santa Cruz press vehicle,
32:11
and here it is at the top of consumer reports,
32:14
recommended list for the small truck category.
32:17
And that was pretty cool to see.
32:19
I'm reminded that it's actually pretty fun to drive,
32:22
although I feel like the turbo isn't kicking in.
32:24
I have to really tell it.
32:26
I have to downshift a lot.
32:27
I don't remember that the last time I drove it.
32:28
I don't remember that either.
32:29
It's almost like something about
32:31
the throttle response was changed.
32:33
I've got it in sport and I've got a really downshift
32:38
I thought this was turbo, but maybe not.
32:41
Checking it out, it's turbo.
32:43
Where is the turbo?
32:44
I shouldn't have to just...
32:46
It needs to come on a little bit sooner,
32:48
but maybe people were complaining about that.
32:49
It was too jumpy because that's why we liked it.
32:52
It was just snappy.
32:53
It was on it, yeah.
32:54
Hot throttle response.
32:54
That's the last one I remember, yeah.
32:56
Here is the off-road focused SUV market.
33:00
This is why you're doing this list.
33:01
Very top is the new Toyota 4Runner.
33:05
That's why you did that.
33:07
You haven't seen why I got one piece.
33:09
Here is the link in the top right corner again,
33:11
and yeah, I bought one.
33:12
Really, really do like it.
33:13
And yeah, so off-road focused SUVs.
33:17
The Wranglers up here, which is good,
33:20
but the scoring isn't too high.
33:21
Yours and the Wrangler are the top three,
33:24
but the reliability scores of both the Branco
33:26
and the Wrangler do not compete
33:27
with the expected one on the Toyota.
33:30
I'm sorry, you know.
33:31
But then moving on to the luxury versions,
33:33
the Cayenne is very, very in the top three here as well.
33:37
Interesting to see the X5 all the way out front.
33:41
Plug-in hybrid or regular X5 is way out there,
33:44
but that definitely corresponds to BMW
33:47
being at the very top of the overall list,
33:50
which is pretty cool to see.
33:52
Watch what happens in 10 years.
33:53
That's what I think it's interesting
33:54
as long as we're doing this job
33:55
to watch how brands' perceptions
33:57
completely change in five or 10 years.
33:59
Certainly in 10 year increments,
34:01
it's amazing how an entire brand
34:02
will remake itself.
34:03
Toyota's done that almost twice
34:05
in the time we've done this show, which is crazy, yeah.
34:08
And then here is the EV list,
34:11
BMW once again at the top with the i5
34:15
for electric luxury cars.
34:17
And the i4 in second,
34:18
which I mean brand to the top here, yeah.
34:20
So BMW's, Taycan's up here, which is nice to see.
34:23
Tesla has definitely risen a lot,
34:26
but pretty interesting to see BMW
34:28
all the way at the top of this list.
34:30
Moving on to subcompact SUVs.
34:32
You are a list guy.
34:39
You didn't do this by accident.
34:41
Essentially all the lists have just led us to this list.
34:43
That's really the reason you did lists
34:44
was to show the four rider at the top
34:46
and to have this discussion
34:47
we're about to have right now.
34:48
Get it all out of the way.
34:50
So I could show you the subcompact SUV market.
34:54
There's 15 cars in this market.
34:56
The very bottom is the new Subaru Crosstrek hybrid.
35:00
So it is still in test.
35:01
It's still testing.
35:02
And doesn't have quite all the scores yet.
35:03
That's why it's not really ranked.
35:07
the Tows has moved up one notch.
35:11
It's still 13th, pretty much dead last in my opinion.
35:16
But the Mitsubishi Outlander Sport
35:18
has taken the crown from the Tows for being the worst,
35:21
according to Consumer Reports.
35:22
This is not my reporting.
35:23
But they don't have enough actual,
35:25
the other reason it's there
35:25
is because they don't have enough surveys yet
35:27
to maybe raise it off the floor.
35:29
That's just Consumer Reports commenting as well.
35:31
So good news, the Tows might still come in last.
35:33
With actual road test score
35:35
and over satisfaction surveys,
35:37
the Tows is at dead last.
35:41
You're gonna do a little dance, aren't you?
35:42
You're doing your little victory dance in your head.
35:44
I was right, dance.
35:45
I see it happening.
35:46
Just saying, there it is, the proof.
35:49
I was the butt in the seat.
35:52
I was the subjective reviewer here.
35:55
This is concrete results.
35:57
What you're saying is, it's not just me.
35:59
It's really what you're saying.
36:00
You're like, not just me.
36:02
Yeah, okay, got it.
36:03
Pretty cool that Consumer Reports
36:04
goes that deep and it can definitely affect
36:07
your purchasing decisions, but it's not always
36:11
because we recommend cars that are a lot of fun to drive
36:14
and are still kind of in the middle, top to middle
36:17
of the list and they're still great to own.
36:18
It wouldn't be, you know, off of your say, well.
36:20
Well, but the cars, the $12,000 car piece we just did.
36:28
We all know that the RX-8 is not something
36:29
you buy for its reliability, but it is superb to drive.
36:34
The Mini's wonderful to drive and not just because
36:35
I bought one, but it is genuinely fun to drive,
36:37
but yet people have had really mixed reliability there.
36:39
So sometimes the hassle is worth it.
36:42
You just have to decide what, it's that spectrum
36:45
That's the takeaway.
36:46
What's your hassle tolerance?
36:50
The holidays mean more travel, more shopping,
36:53
more time online, and more personal info
36:56
and more places that could expose you
36:57
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Hooked on driving announcements coming towards
38:05
the end of 2025, there is still one day left,
38:08
one weekend event left for hooked on driving
38:11
in NorCal that is Saturday, December 13th.
38:14
That'll be the three mile configuration
38:16
and Sunday, December 14th for the five mile
38:19
configuration, Thunder Hill Raceway in Willows,
38:22
California come out and see us because you and I
38:24
are going to be in attendance.
38:26
We've never done the five mile.
38:27
I'm hoping to actually get on track
38:28
and drive the five mile because we've never done it.
38:30
Yeah, that's pretty cool track
38:32
and cool that we're doing two different configurations.
38:35
So hooked on driving.com for Thunder Hill that weekend
38:39
and also 2026 pre-grid pass will be on sale
38:43
starting December 15th.
38:45
That sale goes through January 15th, 2026
38:48
and that is a great way to get a discounted pass.
38:52
So three different tiers and yeah,
38:55
that'll be on the hooked on driving website
38:56
for each region, pretty good discount.
38:59
Yeah, it'll be the biggest discount
39:00
so the year for 2026 you can pre-buy
39:02
against track days in the coming year.
39:03
We're very excited about it.
39:05
The schedules are getting released
39:06
on the December 15th as well.
39:08
We're already hearing about the schedules nationwide.
39:10
It's gonna be awesome.
39:10
There's gonna be so much coverage
39:12
hooked on driving next year.
39:12
It's gonna be really cool.
39:13
And there's gonna be multiple Europe trips,
39:15
Portugal and the Ring and Spa trip as always.
39:17
So that's happening plus we're going back
39:19
to Circuit of the Americas.
39:20
All of this is coming soon, but we're very excited.
39:24
Tony writes in with our first car debate here.
39:26
He says he's spinning tires
39:27
and trying to decide his eldest son
39:29
is on the brink of learning to drive.
39:31
He'll be given Tony's current car,
39:33
which is the 2019 GLS 450, which is,
39:36
that's quite a big car.
39:38
That's a huge car for a new driver.
39:40
Although I had a cheap Grand Cherokee.
39:41
True, but GLS is, that's big.
39:43
Anyway, he's gonna drive that through his high school years
39:45
which means that Tony needs a new daily.
39:48
But here is the big trick.
39:51
He needs not once must have a hitch rack
39:55
on whatever car, which he'd like to be fun
39:57
has to have a hitch rack that can carry bicycles, plural
40:01
and potentially a singular dirt bike.
40:04
So we're talking about somewhere in the neighborhood
40:05
of 300 pounds or so that must be able to be tolerated
40:08
by a actual hitch mount.
40:11
That is the big thing.
40:12
He likes something smaller than the GLS,
40:14
maybe actual sports car intentions.
40:17
He has, his sports car is handled,
40:20
is two, count of two, 911s.
40:23
A 991.2 C4, so an all wheel drive 911
40:26
plus a 996 turbo as a track and weekend fun car.
40:31
His wife has his description here.
40:33
The behemoth Jeep Grand Wagoneer Series 3
40:36
for family and hauling duty.
40:38
That's suburban size now.
40:39
Yeah, that's extra big.
40:41
He's had a Durango 392 in the past, a Focus RS.
40:44
He's looking at maybe a GR Corolla or Golf R.
40:48
But he's wondering about the ability for suspension
40:51
to handle the load of the dirt bike.
40:53
So that also gets him thinking
40:54
about maybe small SUVs.
40:55
This is where we are.
40:56
Tony's wandering mind is considered an SQ7 or SQ8 Audi,
40:59
GLE 53, McConn, Cayenne, GLC 43,
41:02
you know, all the usual suspects in there.
41:04
In that regard, yeah.
41:04
With a budget of $60,000, what can he get?
41:09
And the hitch is the through line here on this debate
41:15
I did, I noticed that.
41:15
I stumbled across, I didn't go too far down
41:17
this rabbit trail, but I just,
41:19
and this is not an endorsement
41:20
because I just saw it literally in passing.
41:21
Of course, there is a YouTube channel
41:23
who does a series called Does It Bike?
41:25
Does it bike, everybody?
41:28
So like does it blend from years ago?
41:30
It does relate to us.
41:32
Actually, I'll give you a totally random aside.
41:35
You remember the Does It Blend Blender?
41:38
The Does It Blend Blender did the Does It Blend
41:41
They were these YouTube videos.
41:43
Find them if you haven't seen them.
41:44
They're totally viral kind of things.
41:45
They would just like throw it in their
41:47
super industrial blender you could buy
41:48
for your, their kitchen.
41:49
I don't remember what the name was, but
41:52
I think it was Blend Tech.
41:52
Anyway, it doesn't matter.
41:54
It would soup everything.
41:56
I happened to be working as a commercial
41:58
editor in Salt Lake when they got a new
42:00
marketing person at that company
42:03
and they decided to do legitimate commercials.
42:05
Which was a Utah-based company,
42:08
It was Utah, was it not?
42:09
Actual, genuine, normal commercials
42:11
and released them on TV.
42:13
And this marketing person, talk about
42:15
the Jaguar issue, this marketing person
42:17
got the commercials made, shot,
42:20
through edit and up to approval.
42:23
I don't know how this happened.
42:24
I was the editor on them.
42:27
And then when they were shown to the guy
42:28
that owned the company,
42:30
he said I will never run traditional
42:32
commercials and they died at that step.
42:34
Now maybe this has changed since then.
42:36
It's been a while since I did this edit.
42:37
It's been a lot of money to get to that point.
42:39
It's like nobody along the line was like,
42:40
should we show the boss?
42:42
Anyway, but the point I'm making here
42:43
is that the Blend Tech blends everything,
42:46
but apparently the viral videos
42:47
were enough that it needed commercials.
42:48
So out there is, does it bike?
42:50
Which is what we need for Tony.
42:53
Well, Tony, I had got some great choices for you.
42:55
I love how you're thinking, $60,000 budget.
42:58
I'm not trying to blow it out too much.
43:01
Just ever so slightly,
43:02
but I do have great choices for you here.
43:04
Starting off, you know how you talked
43:06
about your Cayenne idea?
43:07
I went shopping and found a 2022 Porsche Cayenne coupe
43:12
because you're looking for something
43:14
sports car-ish driving.
43:16
That's what the coupe does.
43:17
It instantly makes it a sports car.
43:22
It is in Bellevue, Washington at Park Place LTD.
43:24
It is the all-wheel drive.
43:25
It's not the turbo, but regular coupe with 33,000 miles.
43:32
So hopefully a lot less than you were thinking
43:35
and look at that lovely hitch right on the back there.
43:37
So yes is the answer.
43:40
it's kind of a blend between sports car,
43:42
Blend Tech, will it blend?
43:44
It blends at sports car and kind of off-road-ish
43:48
taking the bike on the back,
43:50
the 300 pound dirt bike actually leaving it on there,
43:53
racks on there so that is just a traditional hitch.
43:56
And it's my understanding these towed somewhere
43:58
in the neighborhood of 6,000, 7,000 pounds,
44:01
somewhere in there.
44:03
And yeah, you've got your raised sports car
44:07
for $64,000 with a hitch rack.
44:10
I think that's a great choice here.
44:12
I also had considered the BMW X5 Competition
44:16
because I know this is something
44:18
that will easily do that.
44:20
The X5, especially the M, drives kind of like a sports car.
44:24
Todd and I were always like,
44:25
why does a brick drive so well?
44:28
Well, it's a BMW and they forced it to drive well.
44:31
So it does have kind of a sports car,
44:34
a tiny bit of a sports car flavor in there.
44:36
But you know what is also interesting
44:38
and sort of like the coupe?
44:40
And that is the X6M.
44:43
I'm going to continue to say no.
44:50
Merely an idea because you'll notice
44:52
there is no hitch on this one,
44:55
but StealthHitches.com does make a conversion kit
45:00
that you can put on this bad boy.
45:01
So if you're looking for, again,
45:02
more of the sports car shape,
45:04
that's why we, as a planet,
45:07
we went through the era of making all the SUVs
45:11
with a sloped rear backlight.
45:13
I don't think they've left that era,
45:15
The sports car, the sports coupe, sports SUV.
45:19
You and I continually are baffled by it.
45:20
I know why they sell, I just think they shouldn't exist.
45:23
Again, it doesn't come with it.
45:24
That's why you want the X5,
45:25
but if you wanted the X6,
45:27
then you could go to StealthHitches
45:28
and get that conversion kit.
45:29
And I was thinking, oh, I've got it.
45:31
Tony, make your MDX Type-S.
45:34
I mean, it's got a motorsports derived engine.
45:36
Here is the SUV that doesn't drive like an SUV.
45:40
It's shockingly good.
45:42
It's excellent to drive MDX Type-S.
45:44
The problem is it doesn't have a hitch
45:47
and there's no solution in sight
45:49
from any manufacturer that I can tell.
45:50
Oh really, interesting.
45:51
So that's the unfortunate part there.
45:53
But as the crazy, crazy wild card,
45:56
I came up with the Mustang Mach-E rally.
46:01
StealthHitches does make a conversion kit for this one,
46:05
which could make this viable
46:06
because it's sport-ish, off-road.
46:11
It's in that kind of category.
46:14
So none of these are cars, but they all drive,
46:16
I mean, the Mustang least so,
46:18
but they kind of drive better
46:19
than you would suspect an SUV to drive.
46:22
So with a conversion kit on this,
46:24
you could be a one-of-one driving around
46:26
in your Mach-E rally with a dirt bike on the back,
46:29
kind of sport-ish, kind of off-road.
46:31
I mean, we're parked on some gravel and rocks.
46:34
There's dirt under the tires.
46:35
Some dirt under there.
46:36
So there's trees in the background.
46:38
Sport, rally, dirt bike, off-road.
46:41
But again, except for the MDX Type-S,
46:44
all the others do have a conversion kit
46:46
available from StealthHitches,
46:48
and you're going to have to call them
46:49
and find out what the weight-carrying limits are
46:53
on all of those just to make sure everything will fit.
46:55
But I think you've got some great choices.
46:57
I think the Cayenne coupe could be great.
46:58
It's got a sporty back.
47:00
It's like a sports car.
47:01
So therefore it's a sports car.
47:02
It's exactly like a sports car.
47:04
It's got a sporty back.
47:05
It's gotta be a sports car.
47:09
Tony, I'm gonna go through your list,
47:10
but I also realized as I was going through my photos
47:12
that I forgot something earlier
47:14
and that was the current bottom of the brands.
47:17
Taking Rivian Spot is now Jeep,
47:21
which let's be honest, that is Jeep's direct competitor.
47:23
Jeep is at the bottom.
47:24
Sorry, I hate to circle back.
47:27
But anyway, we're gonna go to Tony.
47:28
We're gonna go to you and towing.
47:29
And you started here with the GR Corolla.
47:32
And I like this idea,
47:34
except for one little problem
47:36
that's visible in this photo.
47:37
I'm showing a rear three-quarter.
47:38
This car has three tailpipes.
47:40
And one of them, the biggest one,
47:41
is in the middle where you would normally put a hitch.
47:46
I also don't know what the suspension would deal with
47:48
on this having 300 pounds on the back,
47:50
but the biggest issue is the fact
47:51
that you have a center tailpipe to worry about.
47:53
Now I did some digging.
47:55
Yes, someone has done it.
47:57
They put on a dual-pipe aftermarket exhaust
48:01
and they put a tow hitch out of the back center port
48:04
because there was no longer a third exhaust pipe there.
48:07
So bodywork-wise, you could do it.
48:09
The interesting thing is that pretty much any car
48:11
you would like to have a hitch on,
48:12
somebody could find you one that will work.
48:14
You might end up cutting body panels
48:15
and that kind of stuff.
48:16
I still think this is a bit of a stretch for this car.
48:21
There's too many changes to get you there,
48:22
but you've got the Golf R.
48:24
I'm showing a picture right now.
48:25
I specifically went for pictures
48:27
with bike racks on them.
48:30
I think this is a 7.5.
48:32
And you can actually see,
48:33
if you look at this photo,
48:34
there has actually been a well-machined cut
48:37
through the center back bumper to create the hitch point.
48:42
Hitches like this exist.
48:42
I think the Golf R would be great.
48:44
I think you would enjoy driving it very much.
48:45
That would be an excellent choice here.
48:47
I have others like the Macan.
48:51
A little bit smaller than the-
48:52
I mean, it's Porsche's hatchback.
48:53
We've talked about it many times.
48:54
This is the closest Porsche gets to selling a hatchback.
48:57
There are all kinds of hitches available.
48:59
Could absolutely tell your bike.
49:00
Could absolutely tell your dirt bike.
49:02
This would get this done.
49:03
I think this might be the right mid-size
49:06
you're looking for.
49:07
I mean, I'm not gonna fight you off the Cayenne or the X5.
49:11
But I think the Macan might be the size you're hoping for
49:14
that still has the utility you need in towing.
49:17
So I'm wondering about the Macan there.
49:18
Moving on to the X3,
49:20
we are huge fans of the X3.
49:21
We've driven it a few times,
49:22
and it's just great.
49:25
And it is kind of like the Macan.
49:26
It's kind of smaller size, a little bit right size.
49:28
Tons of hitches available for that.
49:34
My favorite, though,
49:35
I landed on after a little bit of digging around.
49:37
And it's so new that I can't show you a hitch photo,
49:41
but I can talk about the car
49:43
because I actually think I have your answer.
49:47
Get yourself the Ionic 5N.
49:50
Could you do a hitch?
49:51
This is a sports car.
49:52
This is a sports car.
49:53
That's how it drives.
49:54
Now, it is the size of a small SUV,
49:56
like the Macan, like the X3.
49:58
This drives as sporty as anything you're ever going to want.
50:00
This is going to feel like the other end of the spectrum
50:03
from the GLS you got out of.
50:05
But you have decent space.
50:07
You've got all-wheel drive.
50:08
This drives really, really well.
50:10
Now, to this point, I have not found anybody
50:12
that's put a hitch on one of these.
50:13
However, the standard Ionic 5, toes like crazy.
50:19
You can find pictures all over the place.
50:21
Bikes, dirt bikes, random little campers like this.
50:25
It has a decent toe rating.
50:26
I can't imagine I'm not an engineer.
50:29
I can't imagine that the Ionic 5N can handle nothing.
50:33
I mean, I realize the body work can handle nothing.
50:35
That's an issue that can be solved.
50:37
But the mechanics here are fundamentally the same.
50:40
Say that the standard Ionic has a couple thousand pound
50:43
The end's got to have something.
50:45
It's not zero, okay?
50:47
So I don't have an answer for you there,
50:50
Suspension is something-
50:51
It's a different animal.
50:52
It's a totally different animal.
50:53
It's a sports car, different suspension,
50:55
so we're not sure what we'll do there.
50:56
I don't know, but somebody's going to try it.
50:58
Somebody's going to try putting an actual
51:01
tail-mounted rack on the back of an Ionic 5N.
51:04
Again, the standard Ionic can do it.
51:06
So the 5N, that is my personal choice.
51:09
If it's interesting, you ended up in electric and so did I.
51:12
Other options here, but Tony, I think Ionic 5N
51:15
would do sports car and would do utility
51:17
at a way I think that would surprise you.
51:20
All right, Tony, thank you for writing.
51:22
Thank you for the tough choice, the tough debate here,
51:25
because it just got us thinking differently,
51:27
and we definitely welcome photos
51:30
when you figure out what you're buying
51:33
and write to us everydaydrivertvedgmail.com,
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53:14
Douglas writes to us with an existential car crisis.
53:17
He's in a painful car dilemma
53:19
and hoping that we can help before he loses his mind.
53:22
He's looking to downsize to one,
53:23
do-it-all car and need some advice.
53:26
He needs to upgrade from his loathsome Subaru outback.
53:29
His word, but interesting.
53:32
And his turbo Miata into one car that is fun to drive
53:36
and that can haul his two-year-old
53:37
and five-year-old kids and his wife.
53:40
Okay, so can do family duties, but must be fun.
53:43
Like loathsome Subaru outback.
53:46
That's a great word, by the way.
53:47
I don't hear that nearly enough.
53:48
It's excellent, yeah.
53:49
Douglas is in Michigan,
53:50
so this does not rule out snow tires in rear-wheel drive.
53:52
He says, and while he admires German brands,
53:54
he does not want to stand out in the neighborhood or at work.
53:59
I'm gonna come back to that.
54:00
There's a lot of thoughts out there.
54:01
Are you gonna poke holes in that?
54:03
One thing Douglas is looking for
54:05
is a compromise car that could take a track day,
54:06
winter weather and a tow hitch.
54:08
There you go, there's, through line, I see it, good.
54:10
Needs to be automatic under about 30 to $35,000
54:13
and replace a really fun Miata
54:15
when it's just Douglas driving.
54:18
He's narrowed the list down to the Golf R,
54:19
7.5, maybe the 8, 7.5, and a Mustang GT.
54:25
He gives us a list of cars that are off the list.
54:29
Most people write to us and say,
54:31
here's the ones I'm considering.
54:32
Here's the cars that Douglas is not considering.
54:35
The G70 and Stinger, no tow and kinda boring.
54:38
CT4, Cadillac Blackwing, over $40,000.
54:41
The IS350 is boring.
54:44
The Chevrolet SS, too old, he writes.
54:47
Charger, scat pack, too heavy.
54:48
The Volkswagen Arteon is boring.
54:50
Cadillac ATSV, well, it's a little bit older right now,
54:53
but horrible interior.
54:54
And the WRX, he says, another CVT, please no.
54:59
Love it, good stuff.
55:01
I have some interesting choices for you here, Douglas.
55:04
At least when I was starting out on my thinking,
55:06
I thought I'd solved it.
55:10
For the same reason you brought up the GR Corolla,
55:12
I thought, Integra Type S.
55:14
And then you'll see in the back,
55:16
it's got that tailpipe.
55:19
All of the tailpipes.
55:20
At least the Corolla's got three spread out.
55:22
At least it spreads.
55:22
The Type S has got all of the tailpipes
55:25
exactly where you wanna put a hitch.
55:27
I thought I'd solved it because, yeah,
55:29
well, I mean, it's manual, but still, again,
55:32
there's some flaws here,
55:33
but at least it's a starting place.
55:35
But the tow hitch is a real problem here
55:37
because they're gonna do some serious rerouting of things
55:39
or have a very hot, hot bike.
55:43
My bike is so hard.
55:45
And then I thought, okay, what else does Zach have?
55:47
How about a TLX Type S?
55:49
Ooh, that'd be cool.
55:50
No solve immediately that I can find on the internet
55:53
for a hitch installation on this.
55:56
I'm sure there's something out there
55:58
automatic can take the family.
56:00
Yeah, that's great.
56:02
The three and five year old, of course.
56:04
I don't know about the hitch.
56:05
The hitch, maybe not so much.
56:08
But I think I've solved hands down.
56:09
I think I have fully solved once and for all.
56:17
Ooh, the Mini Countryman JCW.
56:21
Hopefully not the current one.
56:22
Not the current one, just go one gen back.
56:24
Got it, okay, yeah.
56:27
This is a cool, sporty looking thing.
56:29
You can put a hitch on the back
56:30
because Stealth Hitches actually makes a conversion
56:32
even for the JCW Mini Countryman.
56:35
The JCW has a lot more power.
56:37
And the promo photos from Mini,
56:40
not only do they show it,
56:42
slicing on a fun canyon here,
56:45
they show it on a track.
56:47
There you go, I like it.
56:48
Which to me means if a manufacturer shows their car
56:51
on track, SUV like an X5.
56:55
Just an endorsement, right?
56:58
That means you can track it.
57:01
On the ring no less.
57:02
The Countryman JCW on track.
57:06
It's a sporty, fun little car.
57:08
It can take everybody.
57:10
It's the JCW, so it's got the upgraded power.
57:12
It's got a lot of power.
57:15
I think this is the all in one.
57:17
No, it's not a Miata,
57:18
but anytime somebody writes to us,
57:20
it needs to do a thing a Miata does.
57:21
Well, there's only one car that does what a Miata does.
57:25
Guess which one it is.
57:26
I mean, you can put a bike rack
57:27
on the back of your mountain.
57:28
We've seen it many times,
57:29
but you can't hold a family.
57:30
But the family, yeah, no go.
57:32
The Mini Countryman, one generation back.
57:35
JCW, Bob's your uncle, that's it.
57:38
Go shopping, auto-tempest.com, slash every day.
57:41
And I didn't take these photos.
57:43
I mean, Mini is promoting this on track.
57:46
The word country would suggest off-roading,
57:49
super outback, but no,
57:52
here it is on some great asphalt on track,
57:55
doing all the things, all in one.
57:59
You've done, plus you didn't do the current one.
58:00
You did the one, one back.
58:01
Well, I had to because it was, yeah.
58:04
I went to the Mini USA website.
58:08
Let's go one generation back.
58:09
I mean, it's still for sale.
58:10
I mean, if that's your jam, that's your jam.
58:12
You can go get one, but these are definitely
58:14
in the sweet spot for pricing, for doing it all.
58:17
Stealth hitches does have the conversion kit.
58:19
You can get it done.
58:20
And here's all the Minis on track.
58:21
I mean, they're just showing everything.
58:23
So this is my choice.
58:25
As I dive in here for Douglas,
58:26
I have to note two things.
58:28
Two things that were key in your email, Douglas.
58:30
One is, you said it has to replace
58:33
a really fun Miata when it's only you driving,
58:36
which is a tall order to have it do these other things.
58:39
And no German brands.
58:42
And then you said, what about a Volkswagen Golf R?
58:48
Which is a German brand.
58:51
You also are worried, you're actually,
58:53
you're also, and look, I don't know
58:55
what you do for a living.
58:56
You're in Michigan.
58:57
I don't know what perceptions you're struggling against,
58:59
but you're worried a little bit about perception.
59:01
But you brought up Cadillac.
59:03
You brought up Lexus.
59:04
And you have a Volkswagen in here.
59:07
So I kind of am ignoring your no German brands thing.
59:10
I'm admitting it because I think
59:12
if you buy the right car, it isn't flashy.
59:15
And I think you prove that with the Golf.
59:17
The Golf would work great for you.
59:18
The Golf R 7.5, excellent.
59:21
I think you would like that car for your needs.
59:22
It would do all the family stuff.
59:25
It's not Miata fun, but it is fun.
59:28
Let's move on though.
59:29
You talked about the Mustang.
59:32
The Mustang is only okay here.
59:34
You were talking about the new GT.
59:35
The thing you can't get around is this drives big.
59:40
And the steering is mute.
59:42
And you're coming from a Miata.
59:43
If you weren't coming from a Miata,
59:45
I think the Mustang might do this.
59:48
But you're coming from a Miata, which is about
59:51
body movement and steering feel and weight shift.
59:54
And this feels heavy and numb,
59:56
which is not the direction you want to go.
59:57
I mean, there's things to like here,
59:59
but that's not against a Miata.
00:00
So can't go Mustang.
00:03
You said Chevy SS too old.
00:09
You walked right by the answer.
00:11
You went, yeah, it's too old.
00:14
I mean, it's a Chevy.
00:15
The hardest thing you're gonna trouble with on this
00:18
But the lower price actually justifies it
00:20
because it's too old.
00:21
Well, prices come down a little bit.
00:23
Look, GM said it, and then I have agreed with it
00:26
because I thought, no, it can't possibly be.
00:27
That's marketing speak.
00:28
It's the four door Corvette.
00:29
This is, if you need it, if you want a Corvette,
00:31
but you have to have four doors.
00:32
This is exactly your car.
00:33
I was gonna say not a Malibu, but either will work.
00:35
Either way, that's what it's true.
00:36
But the reality is, look, this doesn't have
00:39
a super modern interior,
00:41
but it also doesn't have an offensive interior.
00:42
That's the problem you're having with the Cadillac
00:44
is you're going, oh, just, ah, the styling's not.
00:47
This is, I know this sounds good.
00:48
In this reality, this is bland enough
00:50
to not be offensive and actually not age as fast.
00:55
And it has a better interior than the Malibus
00:57
and that stuff that Chevy was selling at the same time.
00:59
So while this is a 10 year old car,
01:00
I say run, don't walk and actually drive
01:04
and possibly buy the Chevy SS.
01:05
You want the automatic,
01:06
so you're gonna get the ones
01:07
that are gonna be more affordable anyway.
01:09
You're gonna love it when you're driving it by yourself.
01:11
It's got good actual GM power
01:12
and yes, you can haul the family, bike,
01:14
all of the above is there.
01:15
I didn't stop there though
01:17
because I think there's other options.
01:20
The Alpha Giulia, I have to bring up.
01:21
I'm under contract.
01:23
I'm not under contract, actually.
01:24
There's no such thing.
01:24
But the Alpha Giulia, I have to bring up.
01:27
It's never happened.
01:29
Nobody's ever paid us a thing to say anything.
01:31
Anyway, but look, I love the Alpha Giulia.
01:33
This is the fantastic dad car
01:36
that is amazing to drive
01:38
and does the dad things.
01:39
You can get in an all wheel drive
01:40
if you're worried about weather.
01:42
You could put a hitch on it.
01:43
I've got to mention the Alpha Giulia
01:44
but my answer for you
01:47
needs to replace the Miata for fun.
01:50
Needs to haul a bike.
01:52
Needs to have at least some back seats for the kids.
01:55
Is the first gen BMW M2.
01:59
You're right, I thought of this
02:01
because of our mutual friend Greg.
02:03
But he said no German brands.
02:04
But he then said Gulf.
02:07
He said Volkswagen.
02:09
So Todd kicked it open.
02:11
He said Lexus, he said Cadillac.
02:13
So the point I'm making here is,
02:14
I think that, and I don't know where you work
02:17
and I don't know what the perception is,
02:18
but if you're gonna show up in a Volkswagen
02:20
and all German cars are out,
02:21
you can't show up in a Volkswagen,
02:23
but you're considering it.
02:24
If you're gonna show up in a luxury brand
02:26
and you're worried about that perception,
02:27
but Lexus and Cadillac are on the thing,
02:29
you can't consider those either.
02:30
The reality of the M2 is, especially this older one,
02:33
don't get the new one, get the old one,
02:34
it's better looking anyway.
02:35
The reality of the M2 is,
02:36
this is one of those only if you know cars.
02:40
It's just an average BMW to the average person.
02:44
Yeah, it's got a BMW badge on it,
02:45
but we all know the BMW sell stuff
02:47
that lots of people have bought.
02:49
It's not a luxury brand at the bottom end.
02:53
So you buy an M2, I'm gonna even recommend
02:55
you get it in the gray or the black
02:57
because it goes super stealth when you go gray or black.
02:58
I love it in the blue.
02:59
The blue is amazing, yeah.
03:00
But get it in gray or black,
03:02
and then it's just a small-ish BMW sedan that you bought
03:06
and nobody's gonna know unless they are a car person.
03:08
That's true, it'll just be,
03:10
you got your two-door car right there
03:11
because it looks like a normal car.
03:12
Exactly, and the normal BMWs are the same price.
03:16
I mean, these kind of BMWs are the same price
03:18
as a loaded out lots of brands,
03:20
including like the Volkswagen's.
03:22
I think this could slip under the radar
03:24
unless there's like a major BMW bias somewhere.
03:26
I'm glad you brought it up because I thought M2
03:29
with a hitch-track.
03:30
I think the M2 gets it done, yes.
03:31
But no German brands, but you're right.
03:34
I think there's, except the doors open and I kicked it.
03:37
That happened for sure.
03:38
That's definitely the case.
03:39
Smashed through there, so that's excellent.
03:42
Really appreciate your email.
03:44
Thank you so much, Douglas, for writing,
03:46
yeah, write to us, everydaydriver.tvedgmail.com.
03:50
Building a portfolio with Fidelity Basket Portfolios
03:53
is kinda like making a sandwich.
03:56
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03:58
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04:01
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04:06
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04:09
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04:12
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Fidelity Workers Services LLC, member NYS CSIPC.
04:21
Car inclusion number one comes to us
04:22
from Brian in New York and Florida
04:27
You remember us talking about
04:28
the Mercedes SL55 replacement.
04:32
Brian, thank you for writing back.
04:33
He said, we both had great suggestions
04:34
for replacing his 2005 SL55 AMG,
04:39
ranging from Aston's to Maserati's to BMW's.
04:41
That sounds like us.
04:43
And Maserati was first on his list,
04:45
but fell off after he chatted with his neighbor
04:47
that owns one, who owns one.
04:49
You know it's bad when you talk to owners of the car,
04:52
do you leave the coverage with the owner thinking,
04:54
I can't get one of those.
04:55
But the reason is not what you think.
04:57
He says it's because Maserati's apparently
04:59
downsizing the number of dealers
05:00
and the local service might be a challenge.
05:01
And so if you don't service it frequently,
05:03
you perpetuate what people did with Maserati's
05:06
and that is pass along the service to the next owner
05:08
and then they were never serviced and became terrible.
05:12
You never did that, did you?
05:16
He also liked the idea of the E93 M3
05:19
that is the V8 retractable hard top.
05:22
It's very cool, yeah.
05:23
But the BMW 840 rose to the top for him.
05:26
I mean, cool car, but yeah.
05:29
I'd take a Maserati that is well maintained
05:31
over an 840 that is.
05:32
It is a bit of a dice roll.
05:33
It's a bit of a dice roll.
05:35
His wife loves the BMW 430 and 440s
05:38
even with the beaver teeth.
05:39
So that also rose to the top of the list.
05:41
After debating it for some time,
05:43
they had a change in focus.
05:44
Driving back and forth from Syracuse to Florida
05:47
was beginning to wear on them.
05:49
So they decided to stop driving and start flying.
05:52
Okay, which means they aren't going to take the car down.
05:54
They've got to have a car there.
05:56
That led to the search for their car
05:58
to leave in Florida and shelve the AMG replacement search.
06:02
After they drove a number of SUVs,
06:03
they settled on a Volvo XC90 Ultimate Recharge T8.
06:07
That's the end of the words after Volvo.
06:11
He still has the AMG and looks forward
06:12
to continuing to drive for now,
06:13
hopefully with no major issues.
06:15
In the meantime, he can't complain
06:16
about the XC90's turbo, the supercharged
06:19
two-liter engine combined with the electric power
06:21
getting 455 horsepower, 523 pound-feet of torque.
06:25
You can smoke everybody at the light.
06:28
Somewhere there was a Volvo planning meeting.
06:30
They were like, what's all the technologies
06:31
that engines come with?
06:32
Can we just put it all on one?
06:34
Can we just, you're the supercharger people.
06:36
You're the turbo people.
06:36
You're the hybrid people.
06:38
I have an internal combustion engine.
06:39
Let's just all get along.
06:40
Let's build it all.
06:42
Could he just put it all on one?
06:46
There were different pitches that they were like,
06:47
let's have all of that.
06:49
It's amazing, yeah.
06:50
Apparently it comes in at the 11.15 weight
06:53
to horsepower ratio, so it's just under the 12.
06:58
It says it feels like a cool sleeper at the red lights.
07:01
You can just, people are not ready for you.
07:04
Even though the purpose shifted,
07:05
he says thanks for the input.
07:06
Really appreciate it, Brian.
07:07
Thank you for writing.
07:08
Congratulations on the car.
07:10
And yeah, right back when you're shopping
07:12
for the next SL55 replacement,
07:15
you really want to get it done.
07:18
Paul C. also writes to us, it took him a while
07:20
to put this conclusion together.
07:22
He comes from episode 941 where he mistakenly
07:28
wrote that he drives 85,000 miles a year
07:30
and kind of blew our minds.
07:32
We were like, you do what now?
07:34
He meant to say 85,000 miles in two years.
07:37
Still a lot of mileage.
07:38
Which is still a lot.
07:39
It's not like, oh, you don't drive much
07:41
and all anymore, Paul.
07:42
It's just, yeah, okay.
07:43
He was doing the voice recording on his phone,
07:45
so it transcribed incorrectly.
07:48
But when he sold his Mazda CX-50,
07:50
it had 90,000 miles on it.
07:51
And it was barely two years old.
07:52
I mean, that's what we're talking about, yeah.
07:54
He says the current stable now includes
07:56
his first car and still owns that 1969 Z28.
07:59
A 69 Firebird convertible will be his daughter someday.
08:02
Whoa, whoa, whoa, hang on, stop, stop, stop, stop.
08:04
Hang on, I have to stop right there.
08:06
You have, Paul, a 1969 Z28.
08:11
You have a very similar car
08:12
in a 1969 Firebird convertible.
08:15
You say will be your daughter someday.
08:17
And I'm going to ask the question,
08:19
for your sanity, for your wife's sanity,
08:22
and for your daughter's sanity, does she want that car?
08:30
If she does, she's like, dad, that's so cool.
08:31
I don't know how old she is.
08:32
I don't know, I don't remember.
08:34
I mean, but maybe she's reached a place
08:36
where she's like, I'd love to have that car
08:37
and that's why it's gonna be your daughter's car.
08:39
But I'm worried about, this is dad going,
08:42
that's my little girl's car.
08:45
And I just, I feel like when parents thrust a car
08:50
they love, onto the child they love.
08:54
There's a conflict there if the kid's not all about it.
08:57
Maybe, maybe she is.
08:59
But I just, I read that like, this is my plan.
09:02
And I'm sitting here going, has she heard?
09:05
Has your wife heard?
09:06
What if she doesn't want it?
09:08
I'm just trying to save you fights.
09:09
That's all I'm trying to do.
09:10
Just save you the fight.
09:11
If she wants it, you know, blessings and awesome
09:14
and keep it for her, that's amazing.
09:15
And a really cool car for your daughter to drive
09:17
is a 1969 Firebird convertible, awesome.
09:20
If she doesn't want it, I'm gonna suggest that's okay.
09:24
We'll say yes for now.
09:26
Well, let's hope she does.
09:27
Let's hope it's, she's already like yelling
09:29
at the speakers and going, I love that car.
09:31
I want it, but I'm not certain that's the case.
09:34
Here's how he stacks those cars in the garage.
09:35
You can see him right back here.
09:38
On the stacker in the garage.
09:39
He's also got that CT4 black wing
09:41
that is his weekend fun and track car.
09:43
And now the new work car, which is a 2025 BMW M240i.
09:49
Again, with the hitch through line.
09:51
And the mammoth bumper sticker on it too.
09:55
He says, because his company took so long
09:56
to get back to him regarding their final conclusion
09:59
on what the work stipulations were for cars
10:02
in order to receive a tax-free reimbursement,
10:05
things were rushed at the end of the year.
10:08
And he says he wanted to go with our response
10:10
from episode 941 to go with a Volvo V60.
10:13
The problem in California seems to be no one has them.
10:17
He finally found one in the Bay Area, was ready to buy,
10:19
but still had no resolution from his company.
10:22
So upon hearing the car did actually have
10:24
to be over $53,000.
10:27
That ruled out replacing his CX50 with a hybrid CX50.
10:30
So he had to laugh when he told the sales team
10:32
that it just didn't cost enough.
10:35
I like it, but could you, well, forget it.
10:39
The majority of his research was done online,
10:41
but he did get in some test drives
10:42
and the special note was that test drive of the M240i,
10:48
says was concerning and frustrating
10:50
because during the test drive of a used car,
10:52
while getting onto the freeway and hitting the gas,
10:53
his wife's first reaction to a funny noise was,
11:00
The moment when the salesman head
11:01
just drops at the back seat like, oh no.
11:04
Same time, he was thinking to himself,
11:06
oh no, he's mazed us faster than this.
11:09
And the sales person in the back seat was quiet
11:10
and then finally said he'd have maintenance, check it out.
11:13
Yeah, that's not working right.
11:15
He went down multiple rabbit holes
11:16
and various flights of fancy in his decision-making process,
11:19
but he was able to get some additional track days
11:22
in that black wing, which is pretty cool,
11:25
and made him think, what if at some point
11:27
he could get a work car that could double
11:28
as a track car, like that?
11:31
Yeah, he says he actually thinks
11:33
that the black wing is a great track car.
11:35
In fact, at Hooked On Drive
11:37
we have the Cadillac V-Club come to many of our events
11:39
and the number of black wings on track
11:40
when they show up, they all are showing up
11:42
in black wings and loving it, which is very cool.
11:44
So you're right, it does.
11:44
But he said it has a bit of a consumables problem,
11:48
which I think is kind of funny
11:49
because he was thinking about maybe he'd get a GR86,
11:53
he looked at that for a bit,
11:54
but he eventually found his way back
11:57
And I will say that the BMWs are not known
11:59
for not having high track consumables,
12:02
but at least this is probably
12:03
a little bit smaller car than your black wing.
12:06
He says he's now driven his 2025
12:09
Brooklyn Gray M240i for 11 months.
12:11
He already has over 42,000 miles on it.
12:14
Wow, you're having a big year.
12:15
His long guys work are much more fun now.
12:17
And even though he finds himself
12:18
at least a couple of times looking for weights
12:20
to fit in favorite back roads when working home,
12:23
he says the car has even been at Laguna Seca
12:25
during an HOD track day,
12:27
which is pretty cool, back in March.
12:29
He says the short wheelbase is great fun on the track
12:31
and he was able to put down a great time,
12:34
147 just over a second off his best time
12:37
Wow, that's impressive.
12:38
So apparently our suggestions
12:40
help open up the world to him of BMW.
12:44
So he says when this has really high miles,
12:47
look forward to another car debate in the future.
12:50
Won't be long as fast he puts miles on it.
12:51
That's just amazing.
12:52
I love that you're driving it hard
12:53
and driving it a lot though.
12:54
I mean, and I love that it's holding up.
12:56
I mean, BMW is at the top of the list
12:58
from Consumer Reports.
12:59
So here you go, you chose wisely.
13:01
Would have never expected that BMW would be there,
13:04
but that's what the current reporting is.
13:07
A reminder that next Monday
13:09
we are doing a live podcast.
13:10
We're not gonna do any questions on this podcast
13:12
because that will be all questions.
13:13
I want you guys to just be ready with all the questions.
13:16
They go so fast, it's really nuts.
13:18
We're gonna do it live, it's gonna be very cool.
13:20
But I am gonna do a short, Did You See This?
13:23
And it is a little bit off kilter
13:24
because I talk about the film industry a lot
13:25
when I do the Did You See This
13:26
or what TV shows you're watching.
13:29
And I'm not actually talking about a show
13:30
or a movie right now
13:31
even though there's some I could discuss from recently.
13:34
I'm gonna discuss something going on in the industry
13:36
that is very surprising.
13:38
And maybe you've read past this in the last week
13:41
and you've read past this news and gone,
13:42
oh, that's interesting.
13:43
But I wanna make it land, okay?
13:47
The film industry is shrinking.
13:48
Okay, that's not news to anybody.
13:50
The film industry is shrinking.
13:50
It's going through a lot of turmoil,
13:52
a lot of stuff's going on.
13:53
I'm not gonna bore you with all of that reality.
13:54
But in the process of it shrinking,
13:56
you have a few major studios that make everything, right?
13:59
And most of those studios either feed the direct,
14:02
like HBO Max makes HBO stuff
14:05
and you see HBO stuff on HBO Max, okay?
14:08
Netflix makes their own stuff, right?
14:10
Some people feed their own streaming service.
14:11
Some people are feeding every streaming service, okay?
14:15
But a place like Apple TV,
14:16
like if you watch stuff on Apple,
14:18
that's not produced by Apple.
14:19
It's produced by Warner Brothers or Sony
14:21
or whoever and it sells it to Apple.
14:23
That's the production studio.
14:24
So there's four or five major studios in Hollywood
14:28
which if there were 30,
14:30
there'd be a lot of places to take a movie.
14:32
Really just four or five?
14:33
Seems like there should be more.
14:34
And the problem is they've been shrinking
14:36
over the years, okay?
14:37
So like Columbia TriStar is merged
14:39
and that's owned by Sony.
14:40
That's been a long time ago.
14:41
Like Fox is now part of Disney.
14:44
Fox used to be separate and now part of Disney.
14:45
So there's been consolidation going on.
14:47
That's been the story in Hollywood for a while.
14:50
You may have already heard that Paramount has new owners.
14:54
Larry Ellison, one of the billionaires of the world.
14:57
His son who runs Skydance Productions now owns Paramount.
15:01
You've probably heard that that's been in the news a lot.
15:03
They've been looking to swallow up something else, okay?
15:08
In the process of looking to swallow up something else,
15:10
they got their eyes on Warner Brothers
15:12
because Warner Brothers has not had a good few years.
15:13
And I feel connected to Warner Brothers
15:15
because we were the sister company at New Line
15:17
when I worked there
15:18
and then New Line got absorbed into Warner Brothers.
15:19
So I feel a connection to Warner Brothers.
15:21
So I don't know people that still work there.
15:23
So that suggested Warner Brothers was for sale.
15:26
Warner Brothers is storied, one of the best.
15:29
Did they put themselves up for sale?
15:30
Essentially, they were taking offers
15:32
over the last couple of months.
15:33
They've been taking offers, which is amazing
15:35
because that means depending upon who buys it,
15:38
what does that do to the industry?
15:41
Warner Brothers, it's been announced,
15:43
is being bought by Netflix.
15:46
Netflix, now the way I wanna make this land is,
15:49
Netflix is a phenomenon.
15:51
Netflix is valued way above.
15:53
Netflix is valued compared to the other studios
15:55
like Tesla is valued compared to car companies.
15:57
I'm connecting the dots here to cars.
15:59
It's the same kind of thing.
16:00
Netflix is valued as the rule breaker, the disruptor,
16:03
and so it's worth all this money
16:05
and has been wildly successful
16:07
and done a lot of off-kilter things and worked.
16:10
But the key thing about Netflix is
16:13
they don't license stuff to anybody else.
16:15
They keep it all in-house,
16:16
all the stuff they own, they keep only for them.
16:18
They don't send it anywhere else.
16:19
You can't see a Netflix show anywhere else but Netflix.
16:23
And they staunchly refuse to put movies in theaters.
16:28
So Netflix is buying Warner Brothers,
16:31
home of Batman, Lord of the Rings.
16:35
Think about where this is going.
16:40
I mean it's all the DC.
16:41
But friends is under Warner Brothers,
16:43
which is likely is a lot of places now.
16:44
So this begs lots of questions no one has answered yet.
16:49
Are they gonna license other people?
16:51
I'll give you a weird one.
16:53
A lot of the Apple shows,
16:56
this is a competing streaming service, Apple.
16:58
Okay, but a lot of the Apple shows
17:00
are produced by Warner Brothers.
17:02
So is Netflix not going to allow
17:05
a Warner Brothers produced show
17:06
to now play exclusively on Apple
17:08
because Netflix now owns it?
17:10
This is a quagmire.
17:12
Now there's discussions that Netflix
17:14
is going to allow traditional Warner Brothers movies
17:17
to continue to get like big tent poles
17:19
that would have been Warner Brothers theatrical things
17:20
will still come out in theaters.
17:22
But theaters don't want to play Netflix movies
17:26
because Netflix has always been so adversarial to theaters
17:29
and just gone theaters don't matter
17:30
where it's just about what plays at home.
17:32
Which is the foundation of their business.
17:36
So I'm mentioning this,
17:38
you may have read lots of things about it,
17:39
you may have read nothing about it,
17:40
but if you read past a headline and passing like,
17:42
oh, Netflix bought Warner Brothers, that's cool.
17:44
I saw the combined logo today
17:46
and it kind of gave me chills
17:47
because what this means is unknown,
17:50
but it means that Warner Brothers now owns
17:52
a huge library of properties
17:55
that if they decide to pull it all home
17:58
and keep it all on Netflix,
18:00
it's going to reduce opportunity
18:02
and it's going to reduce things in the theater
18:03
and they're going to have a massive monopoly
18:06
on their hands of the stuff they can only play.
18:09
Think all HBO shows of all time,
18:11
they could, you could maybe now only find them
18:14
About HBO, wow, of all time.
18:16
That would mean what?
18:19
Game of Thrones too?
18:20
Of the Warner Brothers produced NBC stuff
18:22
would now be Netflix's library.
18:26
This is a big shift, it's a big change.
18:28
I don't know what it means,
18:30
it's not a have you seen this,
18:31
like have you seen this show,
18:32
but have you seen this happening?
18:34
It's not car related, I'm sorry about that,
18:36
but this is news, this is news that hits me
18:39
because I think about my history as a filmmaker,
18:41
my history in Hollywood and I'm just like,
18:45
I see that and definitely related to cars
18:47
because we see stuff all the time
18:50
that car manufacturers are doing
18:52
that we think, well, that'll make every car
18:55
just drive like every other car.
18:56
There's no, where's the boundary?
19:00
It's just a blurring of lines
19:01
whereas Volkswagen's investment in Rivian and Scouts
19:04
and the same 10-speed transmission
19:07
in the Mustang GTD and Corvette ZR1.
19:10
Well, does that mean they're just,
19:12
no, they program them differently
19:13
and they're different architecture of course
19:15
and there's differences,
19:16
but for all the other, hey, we're sharing technology,
19:21
Honda, GM, all these things that we hear like,
19:25
well, does that mean just there's going to be car
19:30
We're just making car
19:31
and now I guess Netflix is just making content.
19:33
So we'll see where it goes.
19:34
Movie, the name of our new movie is movie.
19:38
New from Netflix show.
19:42
We at Netflix make movie and show.
19:44
Movie is longer, show is shorter.
19:45
We're also going to make shorts.
19:46
We're going to make movie, show and shorts.
19:48
I'm a little horrified, but that's my, did you see this?
19:52
But again, it's TBD.
19:54
There's all these questions and no answers.
19:57
Kind of like a concept car.
19:58
We're bringing it all back around.
20:00
Anyway, we have so many questions about the Toyota
20:05
We just have to wait.
20:07
Okay. Speaking of waiting,
20:08
we'll see you guys live next Monday.
20:09
We're very excited about that
20:10
to do one in this studio with a live thing.
20:12
It's going to be very cool.
20:13
Rapid fire questions.
20:14
We promise it will be mostly about cars,
20:17
but we are taking all questions.
20:19
We're looking forward to it.
20:20
As always, thanks for watching.