The Car Curious Weekly for April 5, 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 29 - April 04, 2026 · 189 episodes across 130 podcasts.

This week's shows covered production pauses, regulatory enforcement, and new product reveals. Meanwhile, Hyundai unveiled plans for a body-on-frame midsize pickup to compete with the Wrangler, signaling confidence in the segment despite broader affordability concerns.

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

Stellantis in Early Talks to Produce Leapmotor Chinese EVs at Idled Canadian Plant

Stellantis began discussing using its idled Brampton, Ontario plant to assemble Leapmotor EVs, which would arrive as 'knock-down kits' with all parts made in China and only final assembly done in Canada.

Unifor, Canada's largest private sector union, pushed back against the proposal, warning it would keep most manufacturing jobs in China rather than creating Canadian employment.

From Autoline Daily:

"The Union is against that because most of the manufacturing operations and jobs will stay in China. The head of the Canadian Automotive Parts Manufacturers Association warns allowing this will quote kill Canadian industry."

Automotive News Daily Drive also covered the story, noting the broader concern that knock-down kit assembly could set a precedent for other automakers looking to sidestep North American manufacturing commitments.

GM Idles Detroit EV Plant, Pauses Hummer EV and Silverado EV Production Amid Weak Demand

GM idled its Factory Zero Detroit plant that builds the Hummer EV and Silverado EV, with production paused through at least mid-April 2026 due to weak EV demand.

The shutdown added roughly 50,000 units to GM's EV inventory overhang in Q1 2026, echoing Tesla's inventory problems during the same period.

Shows including The Motoring Podcast highlighted GM's inventory crisis and compared it to Tesla's simultaneous struggles. Multiple hosts noted the timing problem: gas prices spiked during the quarter, which should have boosted EV interest, but GM's brand and product mix left them unable to capitalize.

Daily coverage: Tuesday · Wednesday

Hyundai Develops Body-on-Frame Midsize Pickup Truck to Challenge Jeep Wrangler

Hyundai unveiled the Boulder SUV concept at the 2026 New York Auto Show, a body-on-frame off-roader designed to compete with the Jeep Wrangler and redesigned Toyota 4Runner.

The Boulder remains a concept with no confirmed production timeline, though Hyundai confirmed a midsize body-on-frame pickup truck will arrive before the end of the decade.

Auto show coverage focused on Hyundai's entry into the body-on-frame segment, with hosts debating whether the Boulder concept would reach production. TFL Car Chat noted that alongside the Boulder, Hyundai displayed its full XRT lineup, signaling a broader push into rugged off-road positioning.

Daily coverage: Wednesday · Friday

FTC Settles with Lindsay Automotive Group for Deceptive Pricing, Orders $75 Million in Customer Refunds

The FTC and Maryland AG secured up to $75 million in customer refunds from Lindsay Automotive Group, 7.5 times larger than any previous FTC auto dealer enforcement action.

Lindsay paid a separate $3.1 million civil penalty while denying wrongdoing, despite evidence that 88% of customers in a sample paid over $2,000 more than advertised prices.

From CarEdge Live:

"Today is a watershed moment for the auto industry. This is the largest potential settlement and refund we have ever seen, and by magnitudes more than ever before. If you live in the state of Maryland, or I guess it's actually state agnostic, if you bought a car from Lindsay Automotive Group, you're going to get a letter soon. That's literally what the state AG said."

Daily coverage: Friday

Recommendations

If You Only Listen To One

Bob From The Machine Shop on Bugatti, Mat Armstrong & Hardest Challenges, Road To Success with Benedict Fowler

Bob's journey from learning to MIG weld on the way to a job interview to becoming the fixer for YouTube car creators is genuinely compelling. The Bugatti Chiron repair story alone is worth the listen, but it's his candid takes on chaos-fueled problem solving, distrusting 'theory-only' engineers, and how YouTube growth helped him recover from a tax crisis that make this conversation memorable. His knock-on-the-door hustle and hands-on credibility shine through every story.

More Episodes Worth Hearing

• Japanese GP Race Review (P1 with Matt and Tommy), The 50G Bearman-Colapinto crash anchors a serious debate about F1's new regulations and dangerous closing speeds caused by battery deployment gaps. Matt and Tommy balance the safety concerns with sharp race analysis on Piastri's McLaren pace and whether Mercedes are truly beatable, making this more than just another podium recap.
• C.R.E.A.M. #76 - Edwin's New Car, Rogers Files Declassified and T50 Too Good? (C.R.E.A.M. (Cars Rule Everything Around Me)), Edwin's reveal of his TVR Tuscan purchase, complete with the moment it 'invaded his soul', is pure enthusiasm. The crew's debate over whether the Gordon Murray T.50 is too clinical, plus a Range Rover drive-shaft failure story that feels like declassified intel, keeps the energy high and the topics varied.
• Spring Cleaning Your Car? Or Waiting for It to Break? | The Truth About 'It Still Drives Fine' (Car Connection Workshop), Niall Motormouth Jenkins uses a 2010 Dodge Grand Caravan teardown to explain why 'it still drives fine' is a dangerous mindset. His walk through ball joints, control arm bushings, and tie rods, paired with real failure consequences, makes preventative maintenance feel urgent rather than optional, all delivered with his signature no-nonsense style.
• Episode #218 - Budget Overlander Reveal (Another Pointless Automotive Podcast), Chad and Frank's $5,000 budget overlander builds, one a supercharged 2003 Xterra, the other a rough 2008 Off Road, are filled with the kind of project-car reality that enthusiasts know well: knock sensors, oil leaks, cooling-system risk, and the thrill of finding OEM wheels with brand-new AT tires. The first-gen vs. second-gen Xterra debate adds practical insight to the fun.
• The AMG Story, Chrysler Concepts, and Saving the Manuals with Matt DeLorenzo (Cars Loved), Veteran automotive journalist Matt DeLorenzo traces AMG's arc from independent tuner to Mercedes factory powerhouse, detours through Chrysler's wildest concept cars, and makes the case for why manual transmissions still matter. A solid mix of industry history and enthusiast advocacy.
• The Adventure Bug Bites Nick's Whole Family (The Avants Podcast), Nick shows up with a Storyteller Beast Mode and a KTM 390 Enduro R, and the resulting conversation captures the contagious side of the vehicle hobby: one purchase leads to another, and soon the whole family is in. Dan and Nick's "question of the week" about dream cars on Utah red-rock roads is a fun closer.

Next Week

Watch for fallout from Stellantis's Chinese EV production talks in Canada and whether GM's EV production pause signals a broader strategy shift or just seasonal adjustment.

This recap publishes every Sunday. Subscribe below to get it in your inbox.

By the Numbers

Most-Discussed Cars

Trending Terminology

Publishing Pattern

189 episodes. 2320 car mentions. 4336 terms explained. Browse every episode with searchable annotations and plain-language term definitions in the Car Curious app.