This week Robbie is driving the BMW M3 Competition and Sam has the Toyota bZ XLE Plus Links The Board of Volvo Cars appoints Klaus Zellmer as President and CEO VEHICLE CARGO SPACE ACCESS PROVIDING METHOD Ford Patents reveal new clues for Fathom! Can the 2026 Toyota RAV4 PHEV Keep Up With a V8 Jeep Wrangler 392 in a Drag Race? Electric future, established name: The new ID. Tiguan premieres in October | Releases 2027 Chevy Silverado 1500 Full Pricing Uncovered How recycled minerals from GM EV batteries are helping power new ones…

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This week Robbie has been driving the Kia Telluride hybrid and the GMC Sierra EV while Sam had the very impression new Kia Seltos. In the news, VW showed a new EV concept and a lot of people misread the press release. Ford is again refreshing the F-150 and adding hands-free towing capability to BlueCruise. Volvo has upgraded the XC90 and XC60 PHEVs with double the electric range. GM dropped details on the new V8s in the 2027 trucks and the updated user interface. Robotaxis without controls make problems for first responders and Sam and Robbie visit a magnet factory.

This week Robbie has been driving the Kia Telluride hybrid and the GMC Sierra EV while Sam had the very impression new Kia Seltos. In the news, VW showed a new EV concept and a lot of people misread the press release. Ford is again refreshing the F-150 and adding hands-free towing capability to BlueCruise....

Sam shares his thoughts on the Dodge Charger Six Pack Scat Pack and Robbie teases the Kia Telluride hybrid and talks about e-bikes. Honda adds more ground clearance to the Passport Trailsport, Audi fully reveals the new A2 e-tron, Volvo refreshes the XC40 and Range Rover launches an EV. Arbe gets a first production contract for its imaging radar. Donald Trump wants Chinese automakers to build cars in America, but the Senate has opposite ideas. Stellantis wants to sell its Brampton assembly plant and Xiaomi has a new EREV SUV with a popup roof.

This week Robbie finally gets his hands on the new Honda Prelude and Sam drives the Land Rover Discovery. Links Nissan and Honda Conclude Joint Development Agreement to Standardize ECUs and Software for Next-Generation SDVs The Isuzu V8-Powered Chevy Feretta Was GM's Forbidden Camaro-Killer New Ford Mustang Fox Body: ‘80s Icon Reborn! | 4K - YouTube Classic Fox Body Ford Mustang The World’s EV Capital Doesn’t Need Fast Chargers Everywhere Hyundai Dealer Set EV Charging Rates That Led to a $418 Bill - Autoblog Scout Motors Reveals Two Distinct Expressions of the Scout® Traveler™ SUV…

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This week Robbie has the GMC Hummer EV SUV and Sam has the Kia Telluride X-Pro SX Prestige. In the news, Hyundai announces at its investor day that the Santa Fe will be its first EREV and Lincoln is bringing the Corsair back as a hybrid from China. Rivian R1s are getting a software update Honda is waiting to see what happens with US trade decisions before it finallizes plans for another factory. The Ford Maverick is getting both cheaper and more expensive and Nevada is getting up to 8,000 robotaxis.

This week Robbie and Sam are joined by Craig Cole who has his own thoughts on the 2026 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV. Robbie tells us about hauling band gear in the new Subaru Outback and Sam pontificates on the BMW XM. In the news, why are some automakers using NACS only for DC charging with a J1772 port of AC? Chinese regulators are forcing a recall of millions of cars with manual door latch backups that are too hard to find. Cadillac's midsize crossover finally gets a PHEV, but only in China for now.

This week Robbie and Sam are joined by Craig Cole who has his own thoughts on the 2026 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV. Robbie tells us about hauling band gear in the new Subaru Outback and Sam pontificates on the BMW XM. In the news, why are some automakers using NACS only for DC charging with a...

This week Robbie and Sam are joined by Perry Stern. Perry has two cars to compare that are basically the same, the Lamborghini Revuelto and Chevrolet Bolt. Sam had the new Subaru Outback and Robbie drove the Dodge Charger R/T SixPack. Sam and Perry also drove the 2026 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV, mild hybrid and Eclipse Sportback. Kia has dropped price and range details for the EV3, GM cancelled the battery venture with Samsung, and is expanding its charging network with EVGo. Who buys Mansory cars? There's some new stuff from Acura, Cadillac and McLaren from Monterey car week.

This week Robbie and Sam are joined by Perry Stern. Perry has two cars to compare that are basically the same, the Lamborghini Revuelto and Chevrolet Bolt. Sam had the new Subaru Outback and Robbie drove the Dodge Charger R/T SixPack. Sam and Perry also drove the 2026 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV, mild hybrid and Eclipse...

This week Robbie and Sam are joined by Stephanie Brinley. Stephanie drove the Mercedes-Benz CLA and Lexus ES350e, Robbie had the Subaru Uncharted and Sam had the Jeep Cherokee Sam also had a conversation with Dodge CEO Matt McAlear about the new new Super Bee and what's happening with the brand. Links A2 e-tron sets new efficiency benchmark at Audi Electric Ford Fathom to Be Priced From $29,945 | GreenCars The 'Freedom Car' Aims The Right Idea At The Wrong Villain Mercedes Boss Says The Auto Industry Went 'Too Far' With Removing Buttons…

This week Robbie and Sam are joined by Stephanie Brinley. Stephanie drove the Mercedes-Benz CLA and Lexus ES350e, Robbie had the Subaru Uncharted and Sam had the Jeep Cherokee Sam also had a conversation with Dodge CEO Matt McAlear about the new new Super Bee and what's happening with the brand. Links A2 e-tron sets...

It's just Sam and Robbie this week and Robbie has the BMW M5 Touring while Sam drove the Rivian R1T Quad. Audi took the wraps off its new Q9 three-row SUV this week while Mercedes-Benz went for the opposite end of the scale with the new GLA crossover. Zoox got a NHTSA waiver for its robotaxi and the feds are finally going to start working on AV regulations. Nissan and Honda are expected to partner on next-generation software platforms. If a bill in congress goes through, Mercedes-Benz could get booted from the US market and Jim Farley expects the Chinese to be here within a decade anyway.

This week Sam had nothing scheduled so he drove his 1990 Miata around. Robbie joined in a bit late to tell us about the Lucid Gravity and Kia Telluride X-Pro SX Prestige while Nicole shared some thoughts on driving her spouse's Wrangler PHEV. Jalopnik provided a reader listicle on concepts that didn't translate well to production. Recurrent provided some data on rising prices of used EVs. Ford invited us out to Michigan Speedway to sample some products from its custom garage and see the new Bronco Desert Rising Edition. Ford also announced a partnership with GenerLink to make connecting an F-150 to the house for power backup easier.

This week Robbie has been driving the Ford Mustang Mach-e GT and Sam had the Ford F-150 Lariat PowerBoost Hybrid There's lots of news including a Ford patent that could immobilize cars, a proposal for a VW Thing revival as an EREV and an Abarth version of the Fiat Topolino. A wagon version of the Polestar 4 has been spotted testing with a rear window and Volvo is planning to bring sedans and wagons back to the US. Horse has a range extender system with an axial flux motor and VW is considering building its China developed EVs in Germany.

This week Robbie was driving the Chevy Trax and Sam had the Ford Maverick XLT Hybrid AWD and Subaru Uncharted GT. In the news we discuss our friend Joel getting tracked by flock for an allegedly stolen license plate on a press car. We also have longer loans, right to repair, testing driver response time with touch screens, AVs and first responders, the Fiat Topolino, new EU safety rules, an electric hot hatch from MG, and a proposal to require multiple sensor types for AVs in New Jersey. Links How Flock Cameras Wrongly Tracked Me For Days over ‘Stolen’ Plates and Sent Police After Me…

This week Nicole shares her adventure of trying to get a test drive in a BMW, and testing the Subaru Crosstrek hybrid and Ford Maverick hybrid. Robbie went on an adventure in the new Subaru Outback and Sam did truck stuff with the Ford Maverick Lobo. In the news, Jeep teased the new Cherokee Trailhawk, a Toyota engineer said he's like a Rav4 Ute, and we discuss bad old car ads. IIHS crashed old and new Blazers, Polestar pulled out of the US market, Honda is bringing back the Element, our pal Andre tries a restomoded 23-window VW bus and we look at the new Hyundai Elantra.

This week Sam drove the Polestar 4 and Kia Sportage Hybrid. Robbie had the Sportage plug-in hybriid and Nicole had the Chevy Silverado EV Trail Boss. The Porsche Taycan is looking its wagon variants in America and gaining fake shifting. Chevrolet is redesigning the Silverado for 2027 with bigger V8s. Electrify America has opened a new 20 bay charging station in Santa Barbara. The Jeep Recon's range is even worse than anticipated and the Chevy Bolt has no battery reserve. The Hyundai Ioniq 6 N has beat the Lexus LFA's Ring time.

This week Robbie and Sam are on the road as part of Operation Frodo Electric 2026, transporting rescue dogs from the midwest to the Pacific Northwest in a fleet of EVs and they recorded live from a Kia EV9 somewhere on I-80 in Nebraska. This week Robbie drove the Kia K4 hatchback and Sam had the Honda Prelude. Sam also has a conversation with Nik Miles about Operation Frodo. Nicole interviews IIHS COO Joe Nolan and Mazda safety strategy chief Jennifer Morrison.

This Nicole drove the new Subaru Outback Wilderness, Robbie had the Mercedes-Benz EQS 400 SUV and Sam had the Kia EV9. In the news, GM opened a new Pasadena design studio and showed off a couple of GMC Hummer concepts. Waymo is having some challenges with its Robotaxis while Zoox is making improvements. Slate will announce final pricing in a few weeks and Mitsubishi is partnering with Nissan for a new truck for North America. Honda is pausing production of the Ridgeline and Ford is decontenting the Bronco Sport and planning to revive the Escape as an EV.

This week Nicole was driving the 2026 Subaru Solterra and Sam had the Kia Sportage plug-in hybrid. In recent days, both AMG and Ferrari have revealed new four-door GT models with over 1,000-hp electric propulsion and the response has been very different between the two. Stellantis had their big investor day last week and announced a bunch of new products and Sam got to try out a couple of European models and see a bunch of secret stuff. Citroen is also bringing back the 2CV. Rich Rebuilds bought an $800 Audi A8 with slight corrosion issue.

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Nicole is back from Disney World and she caught lots of fish. Robbie got to drive the new Mercedes-Benz S-Class and Sam had the latest Nissan Sentra. Robbie and his wife also got a great deal buying a new Hyundai Ioniq 5 to replace the one that is ending its lease shortly which means he probably won't be getting the new 2027 VW ID Buzz Tourer. Honda had their annual business briefing where they made a big commitment to hybrids and showed prototypes of the new Accord and RDX. Tesla is testing supercharger waiting lists and Chrysler might be planning a sub-$30k car.

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Nicole is spending mothers day at Disney World so our friend Stephanie Brinley has stepped in again. Steph drove the Volvo EX30 and Hyundai Tucson PHEV. Robbie drove the oldest car any of us has ever been in (or on) the Benz Patent Motorwagen and Sam had the new Nissan Leaf. Sam and Stephanie both got to visit the Ford EV Development Center in Long Beach, home of the skunk works. VW has launched the ID Era 9X, a very impressive 3-row EREV built only for China. Lexus announced the new TZ 3-row electric crossover.

Nicole has returned from the Big Easy after driving the Acura MDX and eating beignets with too much powdered sugar (is there such a thing as too much?). She also drove the Infiniti QX65, Dodge Charger R/T and Kia Sportage. Sam had the Toyota Corolla FX and Robbie rented a Kia Carnival for a mini vacation. Fiat inexplicably raises the price of the 500e by $5,000 while Motor Trend drives a $10,000 Chinese EV that doesn't suck. The US spec BMW iX3 is projected to get 434 miles on a charge.

This week Nicole is off in New Orleans with Acura so our buddy John Voelcker is sitting in. He's been driving a bunch of stuff including the Ford Maverick hybrid, Porsche Taycan, Cadillac Escalade IQ, Jeep Cherokee and Subaru Trailseeker. Robbie drove the Hyundai Ioniq 5 XRT and Sam had the Lexus GX550 Overtrail. At Milan Design Week, Hyundai unveiled its new Ioniq 3 compact and Kia showed off the Vision Meta Turismo. Hyundai also showed off the new Ioniq V in Beijing. GM has paused development of a next set of electric full-size trucks and Rivian has launched production of the R2.

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After last week's travel challenges, Robbie and Nicole are back. Nicole has driven the Chevrolet Equinox EV and the Honda Pilot Elite while Sam had the Mazda MX-5 Miata 35th Anniversary Edition. Robbie tells us about the new Mercedes-Benz GLE and GLS and we discuss the company's new drive by wire system. GM is apparently going to build a new Buick sedan as well as a new Camaro. Nissan has a new electric Juke for the rest of the world and Porsche has a convertible 911 GT3 S/C with a manual transmission.

Robbie and Nicole both ran into travel delays today so Chad Kirchner is jumping in. Sam makes the case for buying an Acura Integra A-Spec over the ADX. Nissan has revealed its next-generation Rogue and teased the upcoming XTerra. Kia is laying out its plans through 2030 including a midsize pickup with hybrid and EREV drivetrains and more EVs. Hyundai is launching an Ioniq sub-brand in China. BYD wants 20 dealers in Canada by the end of this year and is planning to install 300 1,500-kW charging stations in the UK in the next 12 months.

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Welcome to the YouTube channel for the Wheel Bearings podcast. Every week, Nicole Wakelin, Roberto Baldwin and Sam Abuelsamid review the vehicles they are dr...

Unfortunately, it's Robbie's turn to lose his voice this week so our pal Perry Stern stepped in which worked out well because he was also at the New York Auto Show with us last week and we have lots to talk about. Before that Nicole shares her thoughts on the Dodge Durango Hellcat, Perry drives the Toyota Tundra TRD Pro and Sam has the VW Jetta GLI. From the New York show we have the Hyundai Boulder, Kia Seltos, Kia EV3, Kia PV5 taxi, Volkswagen Atlas, and Subaru Getaway. Stellantis wants to build Leap Motor EVs in Canada and ride hail drivers are paying exhorbitant fees to rent cars.

This week Nicole has been driving the Hyundai Santa Cruz trucklet and Sam had the Genesis GV80 Coupe in Prestige Black (aka the Darth Vader edition). In the news, Infiniti unveiled the its own crossover coupe, the QX65 and Nicole spoke with product marketing manager Brian Maragno. Chevrolet took the wraps off the new Corvette Grand Sport and its 6.7-liter LS6 small-block V8. Afeela is finally calling it quits. VW CEO Thomas Schafer blames his predecessor for allowing the company to go with so many touch controls and bad door handles.

Infiniti is a brand that has long struggled to find its place in the automotive landscape. Is it just a more luxurious Nissan? A sportier Nissan? It’s still not entirely clear what the brand is actually going to be in the coming years as parent company Nissan tries to get itself back on a firm footing. But in the meantime, Infiniti is launching a new model in its lineup that draws heavily on what it’s already doing, the new 2027 QX65. From the front, the QX65 will look familiar to anyone familiar with the Infiniti lineup since this is essentially a coupe-ified version of the QX60 three-row crossover.

Sam's getting better but his voice is still a bit hoarse as he drove the Infiniti QX60 Sport AWD. Nicole had her turn in the Kia K4 Hatchback GT-Line without a turbo and was still impressed. In the news, BMW has unveiled its new i3, an all-electric 3 series, with up to 440 miles of EPA range and 400-kW charging while Rolls-Royce has decided to keep offering V12s for a while. Lexus is about to start offering its next-generation ES sedan with the battery electric version arriving before the hybrid. Carvana is expanding from used to new car sales by buying some Stellantis dealers.

This week, Sam is a bit under the weather, but he talks about driving the Mazda CX-30 S Aire Edition while Nicole had the Toyota Tundra Platinum Off-Road and Robbie got to try out the Everrati Land Rover Classic. Nicole and Sam both had the chance to drive the new 2027 Kia Telluride in Santa Barbara and Hyundai looks set to follow it's Kia cousin by ditching the V6 engine. Honda has cancelled all of its North American EV plans and Afeela is probably going next. Rivian has dropped pricing on the new R2 and it's not starting as cheap as many hoped.

Just over a decade ago, Ram joined Ford in offering a compact commercial van for the North American market. At the time, Ram was part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles before its parent company merged with PSA to form what we now know as Stellantis. Like its big brother the full-size Promaster, the Ram Promaster City was a rebadged version of a European Fiat van, in this case the Doblo. Ram discontinued the Promaster City after the 2022 model year but the name is back for model year 2027, although it has now moved up to a midsize van platform.

This week, Nicole tells us about driving home in a remote area of New England in the Range Rover Sport SE Dynamic while Robbie shares some thoughts on the new Mercedes-Benz GLS and GLE. Sam shares thoughts on the gas guzzling Toyota Sequoia and has mixed feelings on the Polestar 4. While visiting his daughter in Denver, Sam saw one of the new Waymo Ojai robotaxis in her neighborhood. Lexus announces pricing of the new 2026 ES which will start cheaper for the electric version than the hybrid. Scout Motors CEO Scott Keogh provides updates on the brand's progress toward production.

Even as a non-fan of minivans, Nicole found some beauty in the latest Toyota Sienna with a hybrid system and all-wheel-drive, plus 18 cup-holders for all her diet Cokes. Sam drove the Volvo XC90 B6 and really enjoyed the new Kia K4 hatchback. The EPA published its latest annual Automotive Trends Report and US automakers still lag far behind the rest of the industry in fuel economy -- really far behind! Range Rover is preparing an electric replacement for the Velar and it looks like it will adopt a fastback profile.

We're a little late with this week's show because we were waiting for the embargo to lift on some stuff. Robbie drove the Aston Martin Vanquish Volante, Nicole had the Volvo XC40 and Sam had the 2025 Mazda CX-5. Nicole had the opportunity to drive the all-new 2026 CX-5 and talk with project manager for in-vehicle technologies, Matthew Valbuena. Sam drove the new Toyota bZ Woodland and C-HR. Uber is building out a suite of tools to support the deployment of robotaxis on its platform. First reviews of the 2026 Jeep Cherokee are out.