Daily Recap: Saturday, March 14, 2026
17 episodes · If you only listen to one: Bonus: Autocar meets David Durand: The designer that took Dacia from cheap to chic — My Week in Cars (Autocar)
Honda announced plans to cancel its Zero Series EVs and the Acura RSX, expecting nearly $16 billion in losses tied to the decision. BYD introduced its Blade Battery 2.0 with faster charging capabilities, while Acura recalled 137,000 vehicles for all-wheel drive system failures. Shows also covered Toyota's C-HR+ development, catalytic converter theft prevention, and brake fluid maintenance basics.
Honda EV Cancellation: More Shows Weigh In
Honda's decision to cancel the Zero Series and Acura RSX EVs — first covered Wednesday — continued to ripple through the podcast world. Saturday's shows added new angles, with Automotive News Daily Drive framing Honda's $16 billion write-off alongside Ford's and Stellantis's retreats, asking whether the EV market could still stage a comeback despite the industry's combined $70 billion restructuring bill.
March 15, 2026 | Weekend Drive: Automakers pay big to retreat on EVs, but could the market make a comeback?
"Honda's canceled three EVs, the Zero Series SUV, the Zero Series Saloon, and the Acura RSX. They're expecting losses up to nearly $16 billion."
"Honda has canceled. I have it pulled up right here that the development and sale of the zero series, which includes the zero series SUV, the zero series saloon, and of course, the RSX EV"
BYD Blade Battery 2.0: Deeper Dives on the Chemistry
BYD's Blade Battery 2.0 — first covered Sunday when shows focused on the flash charging network rollout — got more technical treatment on Saturday. EV News Daily's dedicated bonus episode dug into the chemistry shift from LFP to lithium manganese iron phosphate (LMFP), which raises each cell's working voltage for greater energy storage, and the headline charging numbers: 10 to 70 percent in five minutes, 10 to 97 percent in nine.
BONUS: BYD Tech Day – The Impossible Dream
"On the 5th of March, BYD held a landmark tech event unveiling their second generation blade battery. A 1,500 kilowatts megawatt flash charging network, 11 new or updated vehicle models that can now take advantage of this charging."
Episode Spotlights
On BYD's flash charging speed and network expansion:
"The flash charger can take a blade battery 2.0 from 20 to 97% in only 12 minutes, with 4,239 flash charging stations already installed across China, BYD expects to have 20,000 in operation by the end of this year."
On oil change intervals for synthetic versus conventional:
"most vehicles that are new on the road today take a synthetic oil... it's a synthetic oil. And that I would say is definitely a 5,000 mile interval. If your car still uses conventional oil, which would be a little bit an older vehicle, I would say the 3,000 mile interval is probably appropriate."
2026 Hyundai Ioniq 9 SEL AWD: Finally, Battery-Electric SUV that Makes Sense
On Honda exporting US-built vehicles back to Japan:
"In the second half of 2026 Honda will ship the Acura Integra Type S and Honda Passport Trail Sport Elite to Japan from its American assembly points."
If You Only Listen To One
Bonus: Autocar meets David Durand: The designer that took Dacia from cheap to chic
Autocar sits down with the designer who transformed Dacia from Europe's budget punchline into something people actually want to look at. Durand explains how military and outdoor gear — not other cars — shaped his minimalist approach, stripping away everything that wasn't essential and making what remained look intentional rather than cheap. It's a fascinating window into how constraints can drive better design than unlimited budgets.
By the Numbers
Most-Discussed Cars
| Car | Mentions |
|---|---|
| Jeep Wrangler | 6 |
| Ford F150 | 5 |
| Dodge Charger | 5 |
| Toyota Corolla | 4 |
| Nissan Pathfinder | 4 |
| Land Rover Defender | 3 |
| Toyota bZ4X | 3 |
| Toyota Tundra | 3 |
Trending Terminology
| Term | Mentions |
|---|---|
| hybrid | 3 |
| suspension | 3 |
| all-wheel drive | 2 |
| spark plugs | 2 |
| energy density | 2 |
| BEV | 2 |
17 episodes. 195 car mentions. 335 terms explained. Browse every episode with searchable annotations and plain-language term definitions in the Car Curious app.