The Car Curious Weekly for February 15, 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.

February 08 - February 14, 2026 · 175 episodes across 112 podcasts.

Big EV losses and unexpected design moves defined the week. Ford wrote off $11 billion, Cadillac confirmed its F1 entry with a split livery reveal at the Super Bowl, and Toyota announced an all-electric Highlander arriving by 2027.

Here are the five biggest storylines and where they showed up across the feed.

Ford Posts $11 Billion Q4 Loss as EV Strategy Unravels

Ford posted a $9 billion operating loss and over $8 billion net loss in 2025, driven by EV write-offs, tariff impacts, and a fire at an aluminum supplier that disrupted F-Series production.

The losses pushed Ford behind BYD in global automaker rankings — Ford sold 4.3 million vehicles (down 2%) while BYD moved 4.5 million, flipping their sixth and seventh place positions from the prior year.

From Shift and Steer:

"Ford, who we all love, they had a tough time, but all the automakers had a tough time. They all had a really hard year this last year. Ford took a loss of 11.1 billion in the fourth quarter due to aluminum shortages, aluminum coming in the country, and that's how they make their F-150s, and that's tough."

Shows focused on the scale of Ford's write-offs and its slip behind BYD in global sales rankings, with hosts noting the company's attempt to reassure investors with optimistic 2026 forecasts despite the losses.

From CarEdge Live:

"If you just read that headline, major automakers have written off 55 billion dollars after overstating EV demand. Why would that give you any confidence that they're any good at predicting the future? Because they're not, okay?"

Ferrari Reveals Luce EV Interior Designed by Apple's Jony Ive

Johnny Ive's design firm Love From handled both interior and exterior of Ferrari's Luce EV, marking a major departure from Ferrari's 25-year loyalty to Pininfarina design.

The interior features a 10-inch screen with physical controls and anodized aluminum throughout — no decorative carbon fiber anywhere, which Ferrari declared 'played out'.

From My Week in Cars (Autocar):

"I thought the six 39 inch screen in the GLC is going to look old style compared to that. It's going to be just touch screens. And no, it's not, it's a 10 inch screen at the front, loads of physical controls, a three spoke wheel. It's beautiful."

Enthusiast podcasts focused heavily on the shock of Ferrari handing design duties to the iPhone creator, with hosts debating whether Ive's minimalist approach — physical buttons, small screens, no carbon fiber — was refreshingly restrained or disappointingly conventional for a brand known for drama.

From THIS CAR POD! with Doug DeMuro & Friends:

"There's zero carbon fiber anywhere. They decided carbon fiber is dead. It's no longer cool. So they use different materials throughout, but refuse to do decorative carbon fiber."

Cadillac Confirms F1 Team Entry with Split Livery Design

Cadillac revealed its F1 livery during Super Bowl weekend via social media, skipping a dedicated commercial despite initial plans for a Times Square unveiling at 10:30 PM Eastern — the car dropped nearly an hour early at around 9:45 PM.

The livery features a split design with black on one side and silver/gray on the other, drawing comparisons to the 1999 BAR half-and-half livery but with subdued corporate colors instead of vibrant hues.

From P1 with Matt and Tommy:

"This is their grand entrance to the sport. This is the time where we're most interested as to what they're going to look like. Most eyeballs on, they've done a bloomin' Superbowl ad. Like, this is what we're... Imagine spending all that money putting a car in a box in Times Square. And the first reaction is, that looks like a Mercedes."

P1 with Matt and Tommy delivered the most detailed coverage, tracking the chaotic Super Bowl launch timeline and critiquing the muted color scheme compared to Cadillac's yellow WEC livery. The Cooldown Lap Podcast took a more measured view, noting the design grew on them despite initial disappointment and acknowledging strong online reception.

From The Cooldown Lap Podcast:

"In the beginning, looking at it, I fucking hated it. Like, I honestly just did not like it. I was like, it's just like, you know, there's no color to it. It just didn't pop out to me whatsoever. It looked very bland. And the more I look at it, the better it gets."

Toyota Announces All-Electric Highlander Coming by 2027

Toyota teased the all-electric Highlander BEV through cryptic photos over several weeks before revealing the badging, a notable move for a brand that has long favored hybrids over full EVs.

Speculation pointed to an 80-90 kWh battery with around 300 miles of range and 350-400 horsepower, though Toyota kept official specs under wraps.

From The Watt Car EV Podcast:

"I would say based on what your specs are... prepare to be disappointed because if Toyota can do anything, it's come in slightly under what you're expecting. So it could be 270 mile range and charges at a 140 kilowatt rate... it'll just come in below what you want."

Enthusiast podcasts expressed skepticism about Toyota's execution, with The Watt Car EV Podcast predicting the Highlander BEV would arrive "slightly under what you're expecting" despite solid fundamentals, while 9WERKS Radio speculated the announcement signaled the beginning of the end for Toyota's confusing BZ naming scheme.

Mercedes-Benz Reports 57% Profit Decline Amid Global Sales Slump

Mercedes-Benz reported a 57% profit decline in 2025, with higher tariff costs cited as a major factor crushing margins across the luxury segment.

Mercedes dealers faced mounting floor plan costs as vehicles sat unsold for nearly 300 days, with one Arizona dealership holding 250 new vehicles including multiple units aging past nine months.

From The Carmudgeon Show:

"Mercedes hasn't built a bridge between their competition heritage and their production cars. It's because, yeah, it's just the frumpiest thing on earth. Mercedes has been loathed to offer really sporting road cars in the U.S. market, if it's something that had any actual racing success."

The profit decline dominated industry analysis, with hosts examining both manufacturer-level margin pressure and dealer-level inventory bloat. Discussion centered on how long luxury brands could absorb tariff costs before passing them to consumers.

Recommendations

If You Only Listen To One

DIY Repairs: what Saves Money and What Destroys Cars — Car Connection Workshop

Host Nile Jenkins walks through a real rescue of a neglected 1997 Jeep TJ Wrangler pulled from the crusher, detailing exactly what maintenance neglect put it there. Decades of shop experience give weight to his advice on when to DIY and when to pay someone, especially around electronics.

More Episodes Worth Hearing

• Comfort is Optional, from Frostbite to Firewalls (I Speak Jeep) — A surprisingly deep dive into Jeep heating systems through the decades, from manifold heaters to modern designs, told with humor as hosts Neil and Scott celebrate hitting 50,000 downloads. They discuss retrofitting old-school bus heaters into vintage Jeeps and share winter driving war stories that blend technical knowledge with the realities of creature comforts in vehicles designed for durability over luxury.
• Henry Catchpole Reveals The secret competition in car journalism (Road To Success with Benedict Fowler) — One of automotive media's most respected voices discusses the transition from print to video, the authenticity required for camera work, and how a significant crash shaped his approach to driving and journalism. Catchpole's reflections on competing in a crowded media landscape and maintaining credibility while presenting supercars offers rare insight into what goes on behind those glossy car films.
• TOP 5 DRIVERS NOT TO WIN A RACE (BTCP British Touring Car Podcast) — The hosts dig through touring car history to profile five talented drivers who never managed a race win, analyzing whether it was bad machinery, bad timing, or bad luck. From Gavin Smith to James K, they blend statistics with storytelling about near-misses and what-ifs, with enough debate about talent versus opportunity to keep racing fans engaged throughout.
• 538-Teapots Don't Fly, Dave (Apex Adjacent) — What starts as a discussion about ski jumping regulations somehow connects to F1's piston thermal expansion controversy and 3D-printed parts designed to game compression ratio testing. Hosts Ian and Dave's tangential conversation style turns technical F1 rule-bending into an entertaining exploration of how engineers find loopholes, all while maintaining their signature humor.

Next Week

Watch for dealer reactions to the EPA endangerment ruling reversal and whether China's physical button mandate influences Western automakers' interior design decisions.

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Publishing Pattern

175 episodes. 2178 car mentions. 2453 terms explained. Browse every episode with searchable annotations and plain-language term definitions in the Car Curious app.