The Car Curious Weekly for January 18, 2026

The Car Curious Weekly is a look at what the automotive podcast world is talking about, who's saying it, and what patterns emerge when you listen to all of them at once.

Car Curious tracks over 100 automotive podcasts. We transcribe episodes, extract car mentions and terminology, and surface connections across shows. This recap pulls the patterns from the noise.

This week: 173 episodes across 104 shows.

The Pattern: China Everywhere

Forty episodes across fourteen different podcasts covered Chinese EVs, tariffs, or BYD this week. That's nearly a quarter of everything we tracked.

The catalyst was Canada. After years of following the U.S. lead on Chinese EV tariffs, Canada opened a door. Electrek put it plainly:

"Xiaomi and BYD, they don't exist in the US. They didn't exist in Canada really until now."

But the first movers might not be who you'd expect. Automotive News Daily Drive noted that Tesla and Polestar—who manufacture in China—could be early beneficiaries of the lower rate, since they already have Canadian dealer networks in place.

At CES, Car Stuff Podcast test drove Zeekr's lineup and came away impressed with Geely's luxury EV brand. These aren't the cheap Chinese cars of a decade ago.

In the UK, BYD isn't waiting for tariff changes. EV News Daily reported strong sales momentum, noting BYD is "particularly strong with plug-in hybrids" as UK buyers embrace the brand. The same episode covered New York City opening its largest public charging hub and EVs dominating the World Car Awards finalists—signs that the infrastructure and recognition are catching up to the sales.

Car Dealer Podcast covered dealer anxiety about the coming wave. And in Australia, Two Blokes Talking Electric Cars is watching BYD's rapid expansion firsthand:

"BYD's a new EV company, huge company in Australia, and just taken over Tesla as the world's biggest EV manufacturer."

What makes this interesting is who's talking. Electrek covers EVs and clean energy. Car Dealer Podcast is a UK trade publication. Two Blokes is Australian consumer-focused. Different continents, different audiences, same story.

Corvettes Everywhere

Road & Track named the ZR1 its 2026 Performance Car of the Year. The "base" ZR1 makes 1064 hp from a twin-turbo flat-plane crank V8, rear-wheel drive, $180,000 starting price. The Smoking Tire compared it favorably to cars costing three times as much:

"The ZR1 is like legit like a 750 McLaren, but with more traction."

Then GM released the ZR1X numbers. The hybrid AWD version makes 1250 hp. It posted a 0-60 time of 1.68 seconds. Eight-second quarter mile. On pump gas. The Bring a Trailer Podcast put it simply:

"It pretty much blew every supercar out of the water for a fifth of the price."

The Corvette was the third most-discussed car this week with 25 mentions. The conversation has shifted from "is it a real supercar" to "can any European supercar justify its price premium against this?"

BMW M3 Goes Electric

BMW revealed its electric M3 this week. The spec sheet leans hard into simulation: four motors, synthesized engine noise, artificial gear shifts, dedicated sound profiles. My Week in Cars from Autocar discussed BMW's approach alongside THIS CAR POD!, which asked the question on everyone's mind: can an electric M car really feel like an M car?

Five shows covered the announcement across the US, UK, and Spanish-language markets. The question across all of them: does simulating what made ICE M cars special preserve the lineage or dilute it?

Tesla's FSD Goes Subscription-Only

Tesla announced this week that Full Self-Driving is moving to subscription-only. No more $12,000 one-time purchase. EV News Daily reported the context:

"The move comes amid falling uptake of full self-driving, and broader pressures on Tesla forcing a rethink of economics."

Electrek added a reality check that's been building for years:

"It's just going to be a service to subscribe to. And right now that service is a level two system, as we've been telling everyone."

Level two means the driver is still responsible. It's adaptive cruise control with lane keeping. It's not a robotaxi.

The timing matters. Rivian and Nvidia are pushing into self-driving territory with cheaper ADAS systems. Competition is arriving just as Tesla admits FSD isn't selling well enough to justify the upfront price.

If Tesla believed true autonomy was imminent, the $12,000 purchase would be a bargain they'd want to keep selling. A subscription makes sense if you think the timeline keeps extending.

Detroit Auto Show Reactions

The 2026 Detroit Auto Show drove Friday's publishing spike (42 episodes that day). TFL Car Chat, TFL Talkin' Trucks, The Truth About Cars, and Automotive News Daily Drive all filed floor reports.

The Bolt's return got the most attention. GM brought it back under $30K with 150kW charging. TFL Car Chat praised the positioning:

"Electric cars in general, and trucks, have been way more expensive than their combustion counterparts. GM is not one of those companies."

That framing matters. The EV price premium has been a consistent obstacle in podcast discussions for two years. A mainstream EV under $30K with fast charging changes the conversation from "EVs are expensive" to "some EVs are expensive."

Ford's F1 Return

Bloomberg Hot Pursuit landed the big interview: CEO Jim Farley and Max Verstappen discussing Ford's Formula 1 return. The quote that stood out:

"It's not just a tweak here and there. You're starting with a brand new partner with Ford who's going to build the engine with you as a collaboration."

Total Car Score went deep on the Red Bull Ford power unit.

The story beneath the story: Ford is investing in combustion power units again. For a company that bet heavily on EVs and has been publicly walking it back, an F1 partnership is a statement. Racing relevance matters to Ford's brand, but the choice to pour engineering resources into internal combustion in 2026 says something about where they think the transition is heading.

The Hybrid Pivot

This story has been building for months. Stellantis announced this week it will delay PHEV production at its Mirafiori plant while it sorts out battery supply contracts.

The pattern across shows: pure EV strategies are softening. Toyota, which took years of criticism for not going all-in on electrification, is starting to look prescient. Hybrids are back in the conversation as a bridge technology.

By the Numbers

Most-Discussed Cars

Trending Terms

Publishing Pattern

Friday is always the busiest publishing day, but this week's 42 episodes was notably higher than usual—likely driven by Detroit Auto Show floor coverage.

If You Only Listen to One

The Carpool with Kelly and Lizz got a shoutout from THIS CAR POD! this week. It's a show that doesn't get enough attention. Two hosts with genuine chemistry talking cars without the usual podcast formula. Worth adding to your rotation.

More Worth Hearing

• Transmission Care Myths That Lead to $7000 Repairs on Car Connection Workshop - A mechanic explains what actually damages transmissions and what doesn't. The kind of practical knowledge that saves money.

• What is that spot on the driveway? on My Car Guru Podcast - Not every car question is about horsepower. This episode covers the fluid leak you've been ignoring and why it matters.

• Hagerty's 2026 Bull Market List on That Car Show - Which cars to buy before prices climb. Hagerty's data reflects actual auction results.

• Andy Wallace on 300mph on The Evo Podcast - Speed record secrets from someone who's done it.

• Addressing the Opposition to Driverless Riding on Smart Driving Cars Podcast - A nuanced look at why people distrust autonomous vehicles and what it would take to change their minds.

Next Week

Watch for: More Detroit Auto Show aftermath. CES automotive tech coverage will continue rippling through. And if the China tariff story develops further, expect another wave of analysis from the industry shows.

Recurring theme: The hybrid pivot narrative is building week over week. Every major automaker adjusting EV timelines becomes another data point.