Daily Recap: Tuesday, March 24, 2026
33 episodes · If you only listen to one: We Need to Call Training "Continuing Education" | Bret T. Fadley — The Jaded Mechanic Podcast
Toyota's billion-dollar U.S. expansion and its challenge to GM's sales position led the discussion, while CarEdge named the worst-scoring dealer in the country at 26 out of 100. The recap also covered rural repair shop challenges and real-world F-150 Hybrid fuel economy numbers.
Headlines
Toyota's Billion-Dollar U.S. Expansion Targets GM's Sales Leadership
Toyota is investing $1 billion to increase assembly plant capacity in Kentucky and Indiana, with an additional $8 billion in U.S. investments planned over the next four years.
The automaker, which already sells more vehicles in the U.S. than Ford, aims to surpass GM, which currently leads by approximately 300,000 units.
"Toyota is pretty bullish about its future in the US market. It's investing a billion dollars to increase capacity of its assembly plants in Kentucky and Indiana... in total, it will invest another eight billion dollars or so in the US over the next four years. Toyota already sells more vehicles in the US than Ford, but it's about three hundred thousand units behind GM."
The Kentucky facility will dedicate $800 million specifically to support 2027 Highlander EV production launching fall 2026, alongside a Subaru version.
CarEdge Names Worst Dealer in America — 26 Out of 100
CarEdge's dealer transparency scoring system identified South Atlanta Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram as the lowest-ranked dealership in the country.
"Your worst car dealer in the United States of America right now, at the moment, based on the data that we have available to us, is South Atlanta Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram. They scored a 26 out of 100."
Episode Spotlights
Ron Ananian, The Car Doctor - Classic Car Doctor - August 22, 2015 - Hour 1
On why seasonal car repairs take longer at rural shops:
"It's a lot tougher in the last 20 years to work on seasonal cars... the car that he sees, you know, June, July, August, and then he doesn't see it for a year... His repairs take longer."
A Wine-Bought Cadillac Comeback
On the Ford F-150 Hybrid's real-world fuel economy:
"I drove this vehicle 325 miles and I got 21.2. Now, 54.3 miles of that was actually on the electric portion of the hybrid."
That works out to about 21 mpg overall, with the hybrid system covering roughly a sixth of the distance on electric power.
If You Only Listen To One
We Need to Call Training "Continuing Education" | Bret T. Fadley
Bret Fadley previews The Tools event in Hershey, PA (April 29–May 3) and argues that calling shop training "continuing education" better reflects what technicians actually do — and might get more shop owners to invest in it.
By the Numbers
Most-Discussed Cars
| Car | Mentions |
|---|---|
| Toyota Grand Highlander | 8 |
| Chevrolet Camaro | 6 |
| Ford Mustang | 6 |
| Toyota Tacoma | 6 |
| Nissan Rogue | 5 |
| Jeep Wrangler | 5 |
| Toyota Corolla | 4 |
| BMW M3 | 4 |
Trending Terminology
| Term | Mentions |
|---|---|
| ABS | 3 |
| NASCAR | 2 |
| slicks | 2 |
| track prep | 2 |
| rust and corrosion | 2 |
| wing | 2 |
33 episodes. 313 car mentions. 778 terms explained. Browse every episode with searchable annotations and plain-language term definitions in the Car Curious app.