The Car Curious Weekly for March 22, 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.

March 15 - March 21, 2026 · 197 episodes across 129 podcasts.

This week's podcasts wrestled with EV market realities on multiple fronts. Some 300,000 lease returns are expected to flood the used EV market in 2026, creating unprecedented affordability just as new EV sales slump. At the same time, Middle East supply chain disruptions forced Toyota and Nissan to cut production immediately.

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

Used EV Market Surge Expected as 300,000+ Lease Returns Hit US in 2026

Around 300,000 EVs from 2023-2024 model years are expected to flood the used market in 2026 as three-year leases expire, with models like the Bolt and ID.4 available under $20,000.

Industry observers note the irony that used EVs are becoming the best entry point into electric vehicle ownership just as new EV sales dropped 40% year-over-year in January 2026.

From CAR KEYS:

"We talked about that a few weeks ago about the lease electric cars, cars that were on lease in 2023's coming on the market and that seems to be confirmed that you know there are a bunch of good EVs that you can buy under $20,000 you know 23s and 24s and yeah I do think that is the way to go"

Shows agreed the timing was fortuitous: gas prices surged just as cheap lease returns hit dealerships. Two Blokes saw it as validation for EV skeptics, while CAR KEYS connected it to broader fuel security concerns during Middle East supply disruptions.

From Two Blokes Talking Electric Cars:

"I think that if there were people who were maybe on the fence about an EV, this may tip them over. Think of, well, there's more security around my fuel, which is electricity than there is around petrol... If you're a petrol car owner, where are you going to get your fuel? If this conflict continues, are you going to be sitting in a queue for an hour to get 20 bucks worth of fuel?"

Daily coverage: Sunday · Monday

Iran War Disrupts Supply Chains: Toyota and Nissan Slash Production Immediately

Diesel prices hit $5 per gallon nationally as Iran conflict disrupted tanker routes, with trucking fuel surcharges expected to ripple through the entire automotive supply chain.

Iran exports 90% of its crude through Kharg Island, making the conflict a critical chokepoint for global oil supply.

From The Watt Car EV Podcast:

"The national average for diesel topped $5 a gallon. Before you say, well, I don't drive a diesel, why do I care? Well, guess what? Your groceries, all the stuff at Walmart, literally everything delivered anywhere came by diesel. You may be fully independent off the grid, solar, EV car, but everything in your fridge arrived via a diesel truck."

The Watt Car EV Podcast analyzed the geopolitical oil supply implications while noting only a modest uptick in EV search interest (from 20.7% to 22.4%), far less dramatic than the 2022 Ukraine war surge. The Car Dealer Podcast noted that petrol prices crossing the £1.50/litre psychological threshold drove a Saturday sales record at EV Experts, with owner Martin Miller describing the predictable correlation between fuel price spikes and electric vehicle purchases.

From Car Dealer Podcast:

"We thought that petrol prices rising would equal people buying electric cars. Everyone's in panic mode. We have done this in the past where we've literally plotted our monthly sales for the last eight years against unleaded, and it's £1.50 a litre. As soon as unleaded goes above £1.50 a litre, people just suddenly... It's not the actual numbers of the finances. It's the fact that what was a 70-quid fill is now an 80-quid fill, and that's another tenner each time. It's a psychological tipping point."

Daily coverage: Thursday

BMW Launches Electric i3 Sedan with 440-Mile Range and 800V Architecture

BMW's new i3 sedan launched with 465 horsepower all-wheel drive, 440-mile range, and 800-volt architecture supporting 400kW DC fast charging.

The i3 represents BMW's new design language — wider grilles instead of taller, flared fenders, and a slanted parallelogram center screen — and will serve as the template for redesigned 5 and 7 series EVs.

From THIS CAR POD! with Doug DeMuro & Friends:

"This is unusual because this is a completely different car from the existing three series. Are we to assume that this is the redesigned next generation three series and that it replaces the three series completely? Absolutely. You assume that? Yes. Even after the iX3 V debacle?"

Podcasters debated whether this signals the end of the traditional 3-series, with Doug DeMuro's crew uncertain if BMW would diverge platform designs after the i4 shared its body with the gas 4-series, while Greg from EV Musings saw it as validation that well-designed EVs can overcome buyer hesitation.

From The EV Musings Podcast:

"Range anxiety is gone... We tested cars that were perfectly capable of 250. I'm not going to drive more than 250 miles in one stretch without a break. Range anxiety is gone."

Daily coverage: Friday

Rivian R2 Finally Priced Higher Than Expected, Disappointing Customers and Influencers

Rivian's R2 launch pricing came in at $57,990-$59,000 for the performance model, roughly $12,000-$13,000 above the originally promised $45,000 starting price, with the cheaper variant now delayed until 2028.

The company won't open online configurators for 'coming months' and pushed customer deliveries to June 2026 despite marketing materials claiming 'spring' delivery, leaving early reservation holders waiting until at least mid-summer.

Enthusiast podcasts expressed frustration that Rivian — praised for its forward-thinking approach — is repeating legacy automaker mistakes by delaying the affordable model years beyond initial promises.

From EV News Daily:

"Orders don't enter production until June, and the timing matters because Rivian's been telling anybody and everybody that R2 delivers in spring. But they did tell the local Illinois media outlet, WGLT, that customer deliveries would start in June... it does sound to me like the majority of even the early reservation holders should think about a mid or late summer delivery."

Kia Telluride Adds Hybrid Powertrain and X-Pro Off-Road Variant as Demand Surges

The 2027 Kia Telluride added a hybrid powertrain with over 600 miles of range and more torque than the outgoing V6, while the X-Pro variant packed 9.1 inches of ground clearance and functional tow hooks for serious off-road capability.

Kia increased Telluride production capacity at its West Point, Georgia plant by 50% to handle over 180,000 units annually, up from 120,000 sold in 2026, as demand continues to outstrip supply.

From Total Car Score:

"I go to the gas station, I pull up, I'm pumping some gas, and a Range Rover pulls in next to me. And the guy gets out, and he looks, he goes, hey, is that a Telluride? He has no idea I work for Kia. He goes, is that a Telluride? I said, yeah, it is. He goes, oh, I wanted one of those. I'm like, oh. Oh, really? Couldn't get it? I said, okay. He goes, but, you know, I didn't want to wait six months for it, so instead I settled for the Range Rover. Oh, my God. I paid like 50,000 more."

America on the Road interviewed Sang Lee, Kia's national manager of product planning, about the redesigned Telluride, while Total Car Score sat down with Russell from Kia's marketing team who shared anecdotes about Range Rover owners expressing envy at gas stations.

Daily coverage: Tuesday

Recommendations

If You Only Listen To One

Dealerships Sue Volkswagen Over Plans to Sell Scout Plug-in Vehicles — Bloomberg Hot Pursuit!

This episode works because it mixes serious industry reporting with genuine car enthusiasm. The hosts share a helicopter ride story with Aston Martin's CEO discussing the Valhalla supercar, then pivot to Eden Cooper explaining his fund that invests in collectible cars like the Ferrari F40. The chemistry is natural, the access is unusual, and hearing someone run a business buying Carrera GTs as assets makes for compelling listening even if you're not shopping for a $3 million car.

More Episodes Worth Hearing

• Motivating Students & Helping Them Succeed (Beyond the Wrench) — Garrett Jacobson's enthusiasm for teaching automotive tech is infectious. He explains how he uses tuning software to get students excited about diagnostics, talks about teaching resilience through failure, and discusses the real technician shortage. It's a rare look at how the next generation of mechanics actually gets trained, told by someone who clearly loves the work.
• Pomona Snyder Sportsman Classic (Bracket Breakdown) — This covers the first divisional drag racing event at Pomona since 2002, sponsored by the In-N-Out Burger family. The hosts break down standout racers like Tanner Theobald and Macy Gordon, discuss racing in extreme Phoenix heat, and share stories about track concessions and NHRA legends' candid comments. It's niche racing coverage done with real personality.
• Hyundai & Genesis CEO: Record Sales Volumes, Dealership Profits, and the Fight to Protect the Franchise | Randy Parker, CEO of Hyundai and Genesis Motor North America (Car Dealership Guy Podcast) — Randy Parker explains how Hyundai posted record sales in a down market, discusses the company's no-layoff philosophy through the 'Circle of Life' program, and addresses the real challenges dealers face with tariffs and inventory. He's candid about Genesis as a luxury brand and the future of digital retail channels like Amazon Auto.
• 1985 Mazda RX-7 & Hudson Hornet: Zack Pradel on 1,700+ Car Reviews (To All The Cars I've Loved Before) — Zack Pradel of Shooting Cars explains how rebuilding multiple RX-7s led to producing over 1,700 automotive reviews on YouTube. The conversation covers rotary engine mechanics, deep-cut automotive history like the Hudson Hornet's racing legacy, and his dream garage of Skyline GT-Rs and air-cooled Porsches. It's a genuine car-obsessive origin story.
• Episode #216 - No Sport Variant, But Deserved One (Another Pointless Automotive Podcast) — A fun conversation imagining cars that deserved sporty variants but never got them: a turbo Subaru Brat, a hot Hyundai Venue, a Nissan Versa Spec-V. The hosts mix nostalgia with modern hot hatch dreams, share personal project car updates, and run through a playful automotive ad quiz. It's lighthearted car culture talk done well.

Next Week

Watch for dealer reactions to FTC advertising enforcement, more fallout from the Iran supply chain crisis, and whether rising gas prices actually translate to EV sales or just more hybrid interest.

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197 episodes. 2647 car mentions. 3639 terms explained. Browse every episode with searchable annotations and plain-language term definitions in the Car Curious app.