"Let's Talk Wheels: Massive Truck Recall, Acura ZDX EV & Car Theft Prevention"

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Music.
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Auto Shops, now in session. Okay, what company is recalling 600,000 trucks for engine problems?
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You need to pay attention to this one. And why don't new cars have dipsticks?
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Another question is, how do you park on an incline? We're talking about that.
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These are just a few of our topics today, along with a look at the Acura ZDX EV.
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How about that one? It's a pretty cool guitar. It really is. How exciting.
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Welcome to your favorite auto show, Let's Talk Wheels. I'm Mike Herzing.
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And every week, we give the automotive and power sports news,
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interviews, car reviews, and classic car information from my co-host,
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Jeremy Bierenbaum, based right there in Southern California.
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Let's bring him on. Mr. B, how you doing, buddy?
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Hey, I'm doing well. They might have gotten rid of the dipsticks in the engine
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compartment, but I still know there's a bunch of dipsticks in the driver's seat
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that they can't pull out. Yeah.
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Yeah. Well, Audi and BMW, yeah, you're right.
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There are some dipsticks there. But yeah, I had two people ask me that.
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I'm like, wait a minute, what's up, Audi?
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And I said, man, it's just, we're going to talk about that.
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All right, before we get ahead of ourselves, let's get started with the news and notes segment.
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Talk about this huge recall, 600,000 engines. What's going on, buddy?
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Yeah, so this is encompassing basically anything, everything with the 6.2 liter
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naturally aspirated V8 from 21 to 24.
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That would be in the Escalade, Escalade ESV, Silverado, Suburban,
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Tahoe, 1500 Sierra, Yukon, Yukon XL.
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So it's a big boatload of cars.
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They're saying inside the engines, the connecting rod and or crankshaft may
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have manufacturing defects.
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So that's not a great thing
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to happen in your new car and you know
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chevy's got a fix for it yeah i mean here we are with ford having
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engine problems honda has engine problems toyota has huge engine problems what
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is up that this is something we just it was just ice engines in internal combustion
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engines they don't ever have problems we've kind of solved all those problems well maybe not.
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But could this be part of the COVID stuff? You know, maybe, maybe not.
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I know a lot of those are built more in-house.
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It might just be, you know, going to cheaper materials.
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I really don't know what the cause of it is.
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It's kind of a shame that all these manufacturers are going through that,
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especially when, you know, you think the problems are with the electric cars,
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not the gas, not their bread and butter.
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Yeah, but, you know, it seems like whether, you know, don't forget,
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But during the COVID, during all of the lockdowns and all the other junk,
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we didn't have anybody in the plants. And they started opening the plants up a little.
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They brought in volunteers that wanted to work.
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And so, you know, there wasn't the usual team of people putting these cars together, assembling them.
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We may have some aftermarket, some different suppliers for the engine bearings and stuff.
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We don't know the stories. But I can tell you, this is another case of another
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big recall. You can back up and go to 19, you know, 2020, 19, 20, 21.
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You know, those kind of stuff is when all those engines were built.
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We get to build the engines before they build the cars. Yeah, definitely.
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And it stinks, man. To address the issues, the affected vehicles will go under
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an inspection at dealership.
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With engines being repaired or replaced as needed, ones that pass inspection
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will be provided a higher viscosity oil, which will also require a new oil fill
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cap after a filter replacement and a new owner's manual insert.
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I'm a little concerned they're not really fixing the problem.
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They're just putting a band-aid by going with a higher viscosity oil,
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but we'll talk in 10 years and see how it goes.
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Well, maybe the clearances are too loose and they need a higher viscosity oil. That could be it.
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And if you got too thin of oil and loose clearances, it's going to hand grenade
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the engine. That could be it.
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Maybe so. It's not strange, isn't it? Yeah, definitely. Well,
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we better figure that one out.
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Ford, he's got a bunch of recalls. Let's not get all the recalls over with.
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Ford, they just announced three of them this week.
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Yeah. And, you know, two are for the exact same issue in different cars.
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The first one impacts 128,000 Broncos from 22 to 23.
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What's happening is when you put the car in reverse, you get either a black
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or blue screen and your camera is not working.
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That's the same issue in 160,000, 2015 F-250, 350, and 450.
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They're saying it comes down to some corrosion on the connecting wires for the camera.
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We're so electronic. It makes me crazy sometimes. I know. And the third is involving
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only 326 F-150s from 2025 model year that are missing an airbag warning label.
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And they're just going to send it to you in the mail if you're one of those 326 cars.
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Oh, well, that's pretty simple. That's not so bad. Well, we've also got cases of people stealing.
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I mean, a few years ago, people used to steal GM and Ford tailgates.
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All the time you'd see people stealing a tailgate because someone would just
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crash their car and somebody didn't want to go spend a bunch of money for a
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tailgate, especially ones with a camera in it. Those things are thousands of dollars.
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And here it is. People are stealing the one out of the Tacoma. This is the new Tacoma?
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Yeah, this is the new Tacoma. And it's so simple and easy. You'd think the manufacturers
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would have done something a little bit different.
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But at the same time, their sell is, hey, look how easy it is for you to take
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your tailgate off. It's not.
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Look how easy it is for someone to steal your tailgate. And,
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you know, the article goes on and it mentions some some ways to prevent it and
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how you park and putting a tonneau cover over the top.
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I really think the best way, if this is one of your fears, if you live in an
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area where you park outside, is they make these tailgate protector kits.
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It's a couple of bolts. Right.
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The only thing it's going to do is slow somebody down.
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But sure, they're going to pop your tailgate down, see you have this and go on to the next car.
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Right. That's exactly it. They're just going to go, never mind.
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By the way, folks, Mike Herzing and Jeremy Berenbaum, this is Let's Talk Wheels.
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We're talking about people stealing tailgates.
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You know, Jeremy, I remember these tailgates, somebody had one stolen the other
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day, and it was like, I don't think it was like $12,000.
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But it had the rearview mirror camera. It has the backup cameras. It's got sensors.
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And it has to be painted your color. It's a big expense. It's a real bummer.
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And, you know, this week we're talking tailgates.
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Two weeks ago we were talking taillights, you know.
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Before that it was catalytic converters, which they're still being stolen.
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I know. And then it was Kias.
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You know, thieves are just going to do anything they can to try and,
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you know, take your property.
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And the best you can do is, you know, be conscious about where you park,
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how you park, the areas you park in.
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You know, it's a shame. If you park in your driveway, back up to your garage
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doors, you know, they're back up to your garage door.
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So they can't stand back there and unhook the tailgate. You know,
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there's just ways to park.
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Then again, just get a tailgate protector. When they open it up,
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they're going to find out, hey, it ain't coming off. And it's just on to the next.
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On to the next. That's absolutely right. But, you know, you're right.
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It's kind of nuts about those kind of things with these people.
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But I can't figure out any other way to do this. I mean, it's just you need a tailgate.
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You know, I remember years for people used to pull their tailgate off and,
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you know, they had a slide-in camper bed or a camper shell or something,
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you know, or a truck camper or anything they were going to put in there so that,
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or somebody will take the tailgate off if they have a fifth wheel or something like that.
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And they just lean it up on the side of their house or whatever,
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you know. Put it in the garage.
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I think the sucker weighs about 100 pounds. They become so expensive nowadays.
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And, you know, that's one of the first uh-ohs that people have.
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You know, they forgot to put their tailgate up and they backed up into a pole
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or, you know, they didn't strap a load down correctly and it smashes their tailgate.
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So those are the ones that go first and they're expensive to get on the aftermarket.
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And so that's why people are stealing them. You've got people wanting to steal
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them. It's terrible. It's terrible. Okay.
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We got a great show today. I had a nice conversation with Brian Johnson from
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Demontron Auto Group about the industry and tariffs and just kind of where we're at.
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And then I'm going to do a car review on the Acura ZDX.
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Got a lot of things going on today. So hang on. And I'm also going to review that Acura ZDX.
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And we're going to talk about EVs in one of our segments and extended range EVs.
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That's our topic for today. So we're going to get to that. So hang on. A lot of stuff going on.
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Be back with more. Let's talk wheels after this quick break.
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We'll be right back.
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Music.
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Welcome back to let's talk wheels
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mike herzing and jeremy barrenbaum this is
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our car review segment and this week i was driving the really awesome acura
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zdx it's an ev and i had the model i had is the type s now this is a five or
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six passenger probably five passenger suv and you You can get it with more,
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but it's really a wonderful vehicle.
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They make this several different ways. First of all, they make this as a,
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A-spec. They make it an rear-wheel drive. They make it an A-spec all-wheel drive.
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And then they type S all-wheel drive.
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Now, these are all electric vehicles. Some of them have the lower trim has one
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electric motor, but the type and the two lower trims have one electric motor.
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And they start in the mid-60s and the low 70s.
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Now, the type S all-wheel drive, it's got two motors, and it has a sticker price of $74,500.
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But after you ship it and you get the Cosmic Black paint on the roof,
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it is going to be $76,450, which is a lot of money.
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But it is a luxury car. It will have 0 to 60 in 4.3 seconds,
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the one I had. The standard levels, the two lower entry levels have 358 horsepower.
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The Type S has 499 horsepower. Oh, yeah.
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Range, I charged it up. I used it. And it showed 293 miles of range. It was pretty accurate.
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And I think that's pretty cool because it was inaccurate. And it was accurate.
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What do you think? That is. Not bad? No, not bad at all.
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Okay. And we've also have, it's got, you know, little things like 16-way power seats.
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You can just move everything around. It's got heated and cooled seats.
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It's got all kinds of wonderful goodies in it. You know, this is the cousin. You know, it's funny.
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I remember back in the 80s and 70s, 80s and 90s, you know, GM would have,
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didn't have any small cars.
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So they went to Honda and they went to Isuzu and a couple other people and had
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them build some cars for them. where they needed at a shortage of a product.
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They went and had somebody else build it. Well, this thing is built Acura and
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Honda had these, had two vehicles built by General Motors.
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This is actually the Ultium platform for GM and it's basically the Cadillac Lyric or the Blazer EV.
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Those are the cousins of this thing. It's a wonderful car.
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And the coolest thing about it, the neatest thing GM could have done is give
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it Super Cruze, which is their hands-free driving, which is works amazingly well.
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And they gave it OnStar, which is great if you have an accident,
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you know, do you ever use your OnStar?
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I do. And, and if I had SuperCruze, I would probably use that as well.
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When I was in the market for new cars, that was one of those things I was asking about.
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And unfortunately, GM only offers that on their highest trim packages right now.
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So it's actually really cool to see it in an Acura and kind of see how,
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you know, Acura designs the same platform because at the end of the day,
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one car doesn't always fit for everybody.
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But, you know, there's so much money invested in designing and building these
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EV cars. So why not share the love?
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Well, yeah, no kidding. It's just the development of this technology is very expensive.
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And the funny, the bad part is, or not bad, it's just funny,
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but it's just that EVs are not that popular right now.
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Extended range EVs, that is going to be the poster child, and that's going to
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be the favored child for the next few years until we can get the infrastructure built.
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But I mean, this thing has got wonderful room, and it's got tri-zone climate control.
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It's got a really nice big screen, and it's got different drive modes.
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It's got normal, sport, snow, and individual. You can set yours the way you want.
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You can adjust the steering. you can adjust how sensitive the
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brakes are you can adjust the suspension a little
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bit okay and you could so if you want to be a real
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aggressive that's great or if you've got the grandchild or
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one of your your babies in there and you want to drive real slow and be
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real smooth and not wake them up because they'll go crazy okay that
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you can set it that way but i mean you accelerate this
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thing i mean stuff goes flying off the dash it you know if you're holding a
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drink i swear it you'd almost shoot back it's like being in the space shuttle
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and i'm like this is like being in a hellcat i mean it was wonderful and it's
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just it's just the problem you have is it's so quiet,
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that you look down i do an 80 you're like oh crap you know and i'm looking at
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them wow it's funny we're passing people i'm like doing 90 you know we're just
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like oh my gosh and even in texas you can pass people at 90.
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It's just so many nice things, okay? And it's got airbags everywhere,
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and it's got all the adaptive cruise controls. Like I said, it's got Super Cruise.
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And that thing is so, it works so well.
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Super Cruise is probably arguably the best. For the roads that are available
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on Super Cruise, it is, I think, the best.
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There were so, I mean, I drove this a year ago. Super Cruise a year ago,
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and they first came out with it. Maybe two years ago.
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And I had a few roads, and I could get on the major freeways,
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and sure enough, I could use Super Cruise.
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I can use Super Cruise all over the place. I mean, I can use it on just state
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highways now that I never could use it on before.
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I mean, these things are barely on the map, much less Super Cruise,
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and here it is working fine.
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And I mean, we're talking brand new roads. I'm just, I was really happy,
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but it's got, you know, a banging old premium audio system. It's got 18 speakers.
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It's got the wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto capability.
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It's got a wireless phone charger that actually works.
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110 volt outlets it's got a heated sport
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steering wheel and it's got all the neat adjustments for
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your radio and everything else on the steering wheel which works
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really well they kind of got that from general motors it's really it's got a
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digital rearview mirror which is so nice i'm just so spoiled by those especially
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if you have dogs or tall people in the back seat you can't see out of your rearview
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mirror well guess what you just use the camera you rearview mirror and so everything
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else is really, really a neat vehicle.
00:16:30.426 --> 00:16:35.366
And you can get this, I think, at three rows or two rows.
00:16:35.586 --> 00:16:40.006
And it's been a wonderful, wonderful vehicle. And you can also charge up to
00:16:40.006 --> 00:16:43.186
81 miles of range in 10 minutes. That's not so bad.
00:16:43.506 --> 00:16:47.726
No, not at all. I'm curious where you go. Can you get a service at GN?
00:16:48.554 --> 00:16:52.374
Yeah. Well, I don't know. I can't get any warranty work done,
00:16:52.454 --> 00:16:54.134
but I bet you they would do the service work on it.
00:16:54.434 --> 00:16:59.134
Sure. Yeah. I mean, just really brakes on an EV car. That's all you're servicing, right?
00:17:00.214 --> 00:17:03.274
Brakes, shocks, tires, you know, all those kind of things.
00:17:03.594 --> 00:17:06.234
Well, the steering is a little vague on it. You can adjust it,
00:17:06.374 --> 00:17:08.334
make it to support steering and things like that.
00:17:08.574 --> 00:17:15.154
But it is really, really a fun vehicle. And, you know, GM's got a great platform.
00:17:15.674 --> 00:17:18.834
But, you know, zero to 60 is just crazy.
00:17:19.554 --> 00:17:22.914
And like I said, when I drove up to the lake, it's 144 miles.
00:17:23.414 --> 00:17:27.154
I made it with 100 miles left of range, over 100 miles.
00:17:27.454 --> 00:17:32.094
And I was very happy with it. So check out, if you're looking for an EV or just
00:17:32.094 --> 00:17:36.274
a really nice SUV, period, go to your AcreDeal and check out the ZDX.
00:17:36.434 --> 00:17:39.174
They've got all kinds of vehicles you're going to love. All right, quick question.
00:17:39.714 --> 00:17:43.674
Yeah, Gary just moved to Colorado and parks on a hill. Does he need to be aware
00:17:43.674 --> 00:17:46.494
of anything parking on a hill? Yeah, you do.
00:17:46.854 --> 00:17:51.194
First of all, when you put it in park, your transmission in park,
00:17:51.394 --> 00:17:58.454
it basically is a big toothed gear called a parking paw and it kind of looks
00:17:58.454 --> 00:18:03.754
like a latch that snaps down onto it and locks the thing in so it doesn't roll.
00:18:03.754 --> 00:18:06.474
But that puts everything in a bind that puts all your
00:18:06.474 --> 00:18:09.354
transmission your shafts and your bearings everything
00:18:09.354 --> 00:18:12.914
in a bind when you're that and when you go to take it out of gear it goes clunk
00:18:12.914 --> 00:18:17.594
well don't do that put the parking brake on first and then put it in gear put
00:18:17.594 --> 00:18:21.594
it in park that'll take the weight off of the transmission you need to do that
00:18:21.594 --> 00:18:27.274
so hang on brian johnson for demand auto group coming up next right here on let's shock wheels.
00:18:28.080 --> 00:18:46.640
Music.
00:18:46.483 --> 00:18:48.943
Welcome back to Let's Talk Wheels. Mike Herzing and Jeremy Berenbaum.
00:18:49.763 --> 00:18:52.423
Folks, as we talked about earlier in the show, we've got Brian Johnson.
00:18:52.623 --> 00:18:57.223
He's from Demontron Automotive and RV. They do both stores.
00:18:58.063 --> 00:19:00.163
Brian, welcome back, buddy. I know you're here all the time,
00:19:00.323 --> 00:19:02.803
and we sure appreciate every time you come and talk to us. I appreciate you
00:19:02.803 --> 00:19:05.583
having me. I know. You love being had. We always talk about that.
00:19:06.163 --> 00:19:10.983
So it brings up a good chuckle to everybody. But, I mean, car business,
00:19:11.263 --> 00:19:12.503
it's really up in the air.
00:19:16.703 --> 00:19:20.183
Man, it's been a while since we've had leftover inventory, isn't it?
00:19:20.423 --> 00:19:23.103
Well, especially during the COVID time, we didn't have any inventory.
00:19:23.643 --> 00:19:28.443
Right, right. And amazingly, I mean, it cleaned everything up. Margins were better.
00:19:29.523 --> 00:19:34.343
But manufacturers are manufacturers. That's what they do. And so they loaded
00:19:34.343 --> 00:19:35.863
us back up as quick as they could.
00:19:36.243 --> 00:19:40.023
You know, instead of, so like in Europe, they order when they sell it.
00:19:40.363 --> 00:19:43.683
Right. They don't stock all the inventories like we do. But in the United States.
00:19:43.743 --> 00:19:46.283
They try to do that during COVID, remember? It doesn't work.
00:19:46.743 --> 00:19:50.083
Because we're so used to instant gratification that we want it.
00:19:50.163 --> 00:19:52.563
We want it now. I want this one. And we don't want to wait.
00:19:53.163 --> 00:19:58.483
Yeah, well. You know, and I mean, I do order cars when I want a car,
00:19:58.643 --> 00:20:00.563
but I'm the exception, not the rule.
00:20:01.083 --> 00:20:04.003
Yeah, because you can wait. I mean, there are times if somebody smashes your
00:20:04.003 --> 00:20:07.663
car and you just need something, I mean, because it's wrecked or stolen or whatever,
00:20:08.383 --> 00:20:10.403
engine blue, you're like, I'm just going to get another one.
00:20:10.683 --> 00:20:13.563
Well, heck, you don't have time to sit there and wait. I won't wait three weeks
00:20:13.563 --> 00:20:14.823
for one to come in or three miles.
00:20:14.823 --> 00:20:17.943
Oh, and, you know, now that I just finished saying that and you say stolen,
00:20:17.943 --> 00:20:21.603
I just reminded myself that I had a truck stolen a couple months ago and I had
00:20:21.603 --> 00:20:25.743
to buy another car to have at the house for my brother to use. Yeah.
00:20:26.003 --> 00:20:29.203
And it was one of those that I needed. I needed it now.
00:20:29.383 --> 00:20:32.203
I reached out to Tiffany, who's our concierge, who does an amazing job.
00:20:32.203 --> 00:20:35.563
She does a great job, yep. And she helped me. I actually ended up buying a Kia.
00:20:36.626 --> 00:20:40.666
Those are great cars. They are. Yeah. You know, my buddy, our buddy Patrick
00:20:40.666 --> 00:20:43.526
Creighton just bought Mitsubishi Outlander from me. It was a 24.
00:20:43.866 --> 00:20:48.506
I mean, he got this thing at an unbelievable price. It's like 33% off.
00:20:48.686 --> 00:20:50.626
There's so much value in those vehicles.
00:20:50.866 --> 00:20:56.786
And Mitsubishi, when I sold Mitsubishis in the early 90s, it was the value. Yep.
00:20:57.006 --> 00:21:01.846
Because you can buy a Gallant for several thousand dollars cheaper than a Camry.
00:21:02.026 --> 00:21:05.766
People don't realize, but Mitsubishi is the oldest Japanese car company there is.
00:21:06.106 --> 00:21:09.926
Yeah. They made a lot of, I mean, they were the original zero. Yeah.
00:21:10.486 --> 00:21:13.566
That was hard to overcome. That was hard to overcome in the early 90s.
00:21:13.626 --> 00:21:17.566
Models of Mitsubishis that we like seeing. Different division. Different division.
00:21:18.126 --> 00:21:21.766
But no, they built some great cars. I mean, I'm looking at, we used to see cars,
00:21:21.826 --> 00:21:25.526
you'll see these ads for, you know, so-and-so Chevy pickup or Ford pickup or
00:21:25.526 --> 00:21:29.146
whatever, and it'd be $10,000 or $12,000 off of MSRP.
00:21:29.586 --> 00:21:32.546
And they're like, yeah, that ain't going to happen anymore. Well, guess what?
00:21:33.126 --> 00:21:37.866
We're back. You know, it's back to, it's beneficial to the consumer.
00:21:38.166 --> 00:21:41.946
I know, but they are charging more and then they give you a bigger discount. I'm like, come on.
00:21:42.266 --> 00:21:44.006
Why don't you just give me the right price at the right price?
00:21:44.046 --> 00:21:46.786
Why don't you just give me the right price to begin with? Yes, let's just start there.
00:21:47.026 --> 00:21:51.266
Yeah. You know, I mean, it's okay to make a margin. I mean, we're in business for a profit.
00:21:51.686 --> 00:21:53.806
Yeah. You know, but we also give a lot back.
00:21:54.486 --> 00:21:59.126
And, you know, it's just like I tell people that dealerships have support so
00:21:59.126 --> 00:22:01.766
much of the community that people don't actually realize.
00:22:02.126 --> 00:22:06.606
Between sponsoring little leagues and all the vendors that we use,
00:22:06.946 --> 00:22:11.766
the ripple effect that pumping money into the economy has, that's a lot.
00:22:11.946 --> 00:22:15.426
Yeah, but you guys, and let me kind of, I don't want to have to correct you
00:22:15.426 --> 00:22:18.986
or anything like that, but you're looking at it from a different view because
00:22:18.986 --> 00:22:21.466
you are a family-owned and operated
00:22:21.466 --> 00:22:25.226
dealership group and you have several different stores. Okay, fine.
00:22:25.666 --> 00:22:29.686
And you guys help. People can always come in. The Boy Scouts can come in here.
00:22:29.686 --> 00:22:31.566
The Girl Scouts can sell cookies out front.
00:22:32.146 --> 00:22:36.466
They have, you know, you guys will sponsor all the sports teams from the neighborhoods
00:22:36.466 --> 00:22:37.826
and stuff like that. That's all great.
00:22:37.946 --> 00:22:42.006
But some of these company stores that are now owned by these big corporations,
00:22:42.006 --> 00:22:45.186
they don't do that. They don't. They're not involved.
00:22:45.506 --> 00:22:47.906
And so we just say that only with you.
00:22:48.466 --> 00:22:50.906
You have to be involved in the community. Yeah. Yeah.
00:22:51.534 --> 00:22:55.754
Plain and simple. And the publics that do a good job are involved in the community.
00:22:55.814 --> 00:23:00.134
That's what you call them, publics, as in corporate-owned dealerships.
00:23:00.234 --> 00:23:03.394
By corporate, I mean the root rate, Nasdaq.
00:23:03.774 --> 00:23:10.474
So they're a publicly held company with a CEO and a board that votes on different things.
00:23:10.614 --> 00:23:14.934
And there's a lot of red tape. Yeah, but the local people that make the decisions
00:23:14.934 --> 00:23:19.534
are gone. Well, the local people that are working at the stores don't have the
00:23:19.534 --> 00:23:23.254
ability to do the things that people here have the ability to do.
00:23:23.634 --> 00:23:27.394
You know, our chief operating officer for cars and our chief operating officer
00:23:27.394 --> 00:23:30.394
for RVs have the ability to make decisions. Right.
00:23:30.714 --> 00:23:33.514
You know, and if we disagree with the decision, then we'll have a conversation
00:23:33.514 --> 00:23:36.714
with them and explain to them why we think we should have gone a different direction.
00:23:36.954 --> 00:23:40.114
But they have the ability to make a decision and actually get things done.
00:23:40.334 --> 00:23:43.414
That's a big deal. Folks, we're talking to Brian Johnson. He's from Demontrand
00:23:43.414 --> 00:23:46.874
Auto Group and D-E-M-O-N-T-R-O-N-D.
00:23:47.394 --> 00:23:51.374
And they're one of the family owned and operated. There's very few of them left in the country.
00:23:51.574 --> 00:23:56.634
And you guys are like number 140 out of the top 150 dealership groups in the
00:23:56.634 --> 00:23:59.674
United States, which I think is a hell of a cool deal.
00:23:59.894 --> 00:24:02.834
I mean, that's choked up just thinking about it. I do. I mean,
00:24:02.894 --> 00:24:06.074
it's really awesome to be mentioned in automotive news for something like that.
00:24:06.374 --> 00:24:11.034
And, you know, we've been in business since 1953, same year as a Corvette.
00:24:11.274 --> 00:24:14.874
Yeah. So, matter of fact, somebody stopped me yesterday and asked me why my
00:24:14.874 --> 00:24:16.294
license plate said 70 years.
00:24:16.774 --> 00:24:20.174
And I said, well, the Corvette is 70 years. Because you don't look at data.
00:24:20.174 --> 00:24:21.294
I'm going to try with 70 years.
00:24:21.894 --> 00:24:26.154
Thank you. Not too bad considering I'm only 50. But car business can be rough.
00:24:26.274 --> 00:24:29.954
Boy, car business can be rough. Let me tell you, it's pretty tough.
00:24:30.294 --> 00:24:35.274
But, honestly, God, it's so, you know, it's kind of nice to have a group.
00:24:35.534 --> 00:24:37.754
You know, it's just friendly. You guys are family.
00:24:38.254 --> 00:24:40.994
There's always a family member wandering around in one of the stores.
00:24:41.734 --> 00:24:46.014
And, you know, that just stuff doesn't get out of hand and it's not run by corporate.
00:24:46.214 --> 00:24:49.234
And that's one of the people, that's one of the reasons I don't like dealerships
00:24:49.234 --> 00:24:54.714
that don't have their local independent dealer where you have Tesla and you
00:24:54.714 --> 00:24:57.154
have those kinds of guys where it's like going to the Apple store.
00:24:57.294 --> 00:25:00.154
People think, oh, I don't like going to the Apple store.
00:25:00.654 --> 00:25:04.474
They're basically very cold and dispassionate and they just,
00:25:04.614 --> 00:25:07.554
they don't seem to really want to help, but it's a big corporate deal.
00:25:07.634 --> 00:25:08.814
If you don't like it, too bad.
00:25:09.034 --> 00:25:13.434
Yeah, that's it. Now here, I can go to Demontra and go to your Chevy store.
00:25:13.594 --> 00:25:16.474
You can go to your Ford store or whatever and say, look, I'm having trouble with my warranty.
00:25:16.734 --> 00:25:20.114
I think Ford should cover this or think Chevy could cover it,
00:25:20.194 --> 00:25:21.334
whatever. I need some help.
00:25:21.634 --> 00:25:26.354
Could you step in? And you guys do. Absolutely do. And so that's the difference.
00:25:26.654 --> 00:25:29.694
And same with RVs and cars. I mean, whatever we can do to help.
00:25:30.034 --> 00:25:33.314
And we rely on the manufacturers to help us assist in that too.
00:25:33.774 --> 00:25:37.594
You know, we had a situation where we had to take somebody out of an RV and
00:25:37.594 --> 00:25:40.934
put them in another RV because they were having issues. but the manufacturer
00:25:40.934 --> 00:25:42.194
helped assist us with that
00:25:42.604 --> 00:25:46.484
And that's because of the relationship that we have with the manufacturers,
00:25:46.724 --> 00:25:48.184
both in cars and RVs. Yeah.
00:25:48.544 --> 00:25:50.684
And you can't go into the Apple store and get that kind of help.
00:25:50.904 --> 00:25:52.224
No. I mean, and that's the deal.
00:25:52.464 --> 00:25:54.624
And there are people, well, I want to do it just like the Apple store.
00:25:54.744 --> 00:25:56.464
Well, I wouldn't be all that proud of that.
00:25:56.604 --> 00:26:00.884
I mean, I don't think that's an achievable goal that you want to aim for.
00:26:01.284 --> 00:26:04.324
Yeah. I'm not interested in customers. I'm interested in having guests.
00:26:04.444 --> 00:26:07.384
There you go. Because I want the guests to come back over and over and over.
00:26:07.564 --> 00:26:09.364
I don't want to sell you one car. I want to sell you all of them.
00:26:09.584 --> 00:26:12.584
That's right. And you and all your family and everybody you know,
00:26:12.604 --> 00:26:16.484
I want to sell you all the cars and make you very happy and keep you coming back. Exactly.
00:26:16.724 --> 00:26:18.304
And come back for service and come back for everything else.
00:26:18.424 --> 00:26:21.044
And that's what I tell people is, you know, sales may sell the first car,
00:26:21.164 --> 00:26:22.184
service sells the second one.
00:26:22.364 --> 00:26:25.484
That's exactly right. Because if you don't take care of the people after they
00:26:25.484 --> 00:26:27.444
buy, they're not buying the second one from you.
00:26:27.704 --> 00:26:31.044
Yep, yep. And you're right. And you guys have been around forever.
00:26:31.184 --> 00:26:32.464
I mean, you have all these different stores.
00:26:32.964 --> 00:26:36.624
Do you see, I mean, Carvana, for example, they're trying to buy,
00:26:36.764 --> 00:26:39.664
pick up, buy cars and sell them. and they kind of struggled,
00:26:39.804 --> 00:26:40.804
almost went out of business.
00:26:40.964 --> 00:26:44.424
They look like they're trying to pull out of this bankruptcy and things like
00:26:44.424 --> 00:26:47.164
that. But they're just one of them. There are so many dealer groups.
00:26:47.344 --> 00:26:50.744
You know, there's Group One, there's AutoNation, there's all these different companies.
00:26:51.164 --> 00:26:55.044
Even people like Hertz or Enterprise that are getting into the car selling business
00:26:55.044 --> 00:26:58.624
where they ought to be just a renting business. But oh no, they got to do all of it.
00:26:59.804 --> 00:27:03.884
Do you see it kind of coming back around to family owned and operated?
00:27:03.944 --> 00:27:09.424
I would like to say yes, but I don't really see that happening because the Publix,
00:27:09.464 --> 00:27:13.284
as I call them, are buying up most of the family-owned stores.
00:27:13.524 --> 00:27:16.524
Yeah, that's the problem. They buy them up. In Houston area,
00:27:16.704 --> 00:27:19.864
the John Eagle Group got bought out a year or two ago by a big corporation,
00:27:19.864 --> 00:27:22.484
and it was just a small family-owned deal.
00:27:22.664 --> 00:27:27.084
And that's a shame because now it's a totally different place when you walk in.
00:27:27.364 --> 00:27:30.144
And all the people that have been there for all those years are gone because
00:27:30.144 --> 00:27:31.584
they don't want to deal with the corporate stuff.
00:27:32.304 --> 00:27:35.684
They thought that they had escaped the corporate world, but they didn't.
00:27:35.684 --> 00:27:42.464
So as wrapping up man thanks for doing what you do and the way you do it it's
00:27:42.464 --> 00:27:46.504
our pleasure I mean it's a family thing and we want to keep it that way all
00:27:46.504 --> 00:27:47.584
right so what's the website,
00:27:48.424 --> 00:27:53.944
demontron.com d-e-m-o-n-t-r-o-n-d dot com and if you want to get really sexy
00:27:53.944 --> 00:27:59.244
you can go demontron.rv.com as always thanks for joining us again my pleasure
00:27:59.244 --> 00:28:02.404
all right folks hey more Let's Talk Wheels coming up after this quick break.
00:28:02.640 --> 00:28:13.040
Music.
00:28:21.200 --> 00:28:31.920
Music.
00:28:27.092 --> 00:28:28.532
Let's talk wheels,
00:28:32.852 --> 00:28:37.112
welcome back to let's talk wheels mike herzing and jeremy bierenbaum uh all
00:28:37.112 --> 00:28:41.652
right folks uh let's talk about some stuff here jeremy sales numbers tell us
00:28:41.652 --> 00:28:44.332
that the ev market seems to be getting a little slow now.
00:28:44.472 --> 00:28:48.132
You can pick up, you can go in any dealer in the cities, most cities,
00:28:48.192 --> 00:28:52.272
and you've got EVs sitting on the showroom floor that you can get at a discount.
00:28:52.692 --> 00:28:56.292
So basically, they're not selling like they wanted them to.
00:28:56.532 --> 00:29:00.812
And it's just, you know, a bunch of them sold out and people are happy and they
00:29:00.812 --> 00:29:03.972
got early adopters to get, but there's just not enough infrastructure.
00:29:03.972 --> 00:29:07.532
So a lot of parts of the country, EVs don't always work.
00:29:07.812 --> 00:29:10.892
Or if you're pulling a trailer and this kind of stuff, they don't always work.
00:29:11.232 --> 00:29:17.652
But what's going to come, there's a whole wave of vehicles called extended range EVs.
00:29:17.952 --> 00:29:23.112
And people think, what's that? Well, it's the gas engine comes on and charges
00:29:23.112 --> 00:29:26.952
the battery or runs the wheels, one or the other. I mean, we're familiar with that.
00:29:27.092 --> 00:29:32.592
If you're familiar with the BMW i3 or I think it was the Chevy Volt,
00:29:32.812 --> 00:29:36.372
those were both extended range electric vehicles.
00:29:36.392 --> 00:29:42.072
So They had a gas motor, but that motor did not power the wheels at all.
00:29:42.232 --> 00:29:45.672
All it did was provide power to the battery.
00:29:46.647 --> 00:29:50.507
Yeah. Now the Volt used to not charge the battery, but it ran the wheels and
00:29:50.507 --> 00:29:51.927
everything else through the battery.
00:29:52.087 --> 00:29:56.887
Okay. But it didn't provide enough extra to charge it along with drive the wheels. Okay.
00:29:57.287 --> 00:30:02.027
And that's what people are doing. They're looking at, okay, I need an engine to kick in.
00:30:02.347 --> 00:30:08.267
I'm going to tow on my F-150 or my Chevy Silverado, and I'm going to do some towing.
00:30:08.447 --> 00:30:12.267
And so, all right, well, I don't want to have to sit there and charge for six
00:30:12.267 --> 00:30:14.207
hours every time I drive a hundred miles.
00:30:15.527 --> 00:30:20.927
Or drive it 150 miles or 200 miles and be battery totally flat and I've got
00:30:20.927 --> 00:30:23.967
to sit there and wait for it to charge up all day.
00:30:24.167 --> 00:30:31.987
No, let's have a gas engine come on or a diesel come in and get a store we need to go.
00:30:32.127 --> 00:30:38.447
So that extends the range from 200 miles or 250 miles or 300 miles to like five or 600 miles.
00:30:38.667 --> 00:30:43.707
You know what I mean? And that is doable because EVs work great until you try
00:30:43.707 --> 00:30:47.067
to put a trailer behind them. Then it's really tough, right? Yeah, definitely.
00:30:47.347 --> 00:30:51.727
You know, it also works for someone that wants the EV but can't charge anywhere,
00:30:51.927 --> 00:30:54.007
can't charge at home, doesn't have time to charge.
00:30:54.227 --> 00:30:56.867
They do have time to go to the gas station and put gas in their car.
00:30:57.047 --> 00:31:01.907
You're not nearly putting, you're not putting nearly as much gas as you would
00:31:01.907 --> 00:31:04.587
as a full internal combustion engine.
00:31:04.587 --> 00:31:08.647
You're just putting, you know, half of that and it's running a small generator
00:31:08.647 --> 00:31:10.467
type engine to power the battery.
00:31:11.067 --> 00:31:14.487
Well, you know, it's real funny. I had a neighbor a few years ago down the street,
00:31:14.567 --> 00:31:16.067
nice guy, and he had a Chevy Volt.
00:31:16.207 --> 00:31:18.127
I said, how do you like it? I mean, how far do you get on the battery?
00:31:18.247 --> 00:31:23.307
He goes, I'll be honest with you, I've never plugged it in. I just use it for the gas engine.
00:31:24.207 --> 00:31:27.687
Really? Yeah, it's so smooth. I got it at such a good deal. And,
00:31:27.767 --> 00:31:31.407
you know, it was a company car that somebody gave up, and I bought it cheap.
00:31:31.427 --> 00:31:33.887
And he says, I love this thing. Well, okay.
00:31:34.727 --> 00:31:38.967
What kind of, you know, because you could get 25 miles on the battery alone,
00:31:38.987 --> 00:31:41.827
and then the gas engine would kick in. Well, now you're sitting there,
00:31:41.847 --> 00:31:45.767
you can go 250 miles or 200 miles or whatever the range is.
00:31:45.907 --> 00:31:48.427
And then the gas engine will kick in and get you where you need to go.
00:31:48.787 --> 00:31:51.307
That's kind of nice. Oh, for sure.
00:31:52.174 --> 00:31:59.694
And so what we're seeing in the market is, you know, the big manufacturers are doing their own builds.
00:31:59.874 --> 00:32:04.574
But now we're seeing automotive suppliers like ZF start to introduce,
00:32:04.674 --> 00:32:09.154
you know, full extended range electric vehicle powertrains.
00:32:09.294 --> 00:32:12.654
So basically you buy the powertrain from ZF where you used to buy just like
00:32:12.654 --> 00:32:14.234
a transmission or something from that.
00:32:14.554 --> 00:32:19.254
And you're able to design a car around it. And this works for some of these
00:32:19.254 --> 00:32:24.814
smaller, you know, manufacturers, like people that are just trying to get their
00:32:24.814 --> 00:32:28.314
foot in the door and they don't have enough money to build these huge plants.
00:32:28.574 --> 00:32:32.634
But they can, you know, go to a supplier like ZF and say, we want to make an
00:32:32.634 --> 00:32:37.814
EREV and can you supply us with a drivetran for it?
00:32:37.814 --> 00:32:41.954
Well, you know, for example, I know that Ram was going to, working all excited
00:32:41.954 --> 00:32:46.314
about the new Ram, that was going to be an EV pickup truck to compete with the
00:32:46.314 --> 00:32:51.234
Silverado EV and then also compete with the Ford Lightning F-150.
00:32:51.594 --> 00:32:55.094
And then they said, well, let's hold off on that one.
00:32:55.234 --> 00:32:57.674
We're going to rush that. That was going to come next year. And now it's going
00:32:57.674 --> 00:33:00.354
to be an extended range EV called the Ram Charger.
00:33:00.574 --> 00:33:04.594
And that's going to be a big deal. And so. That's a great name. That is so smart.
00:33:05.194 --> 00:33:11.074
That's a great name for an extended range. EV, the RAM charger, right? Isn't that cool?
00:33:11.454 --> 00:33:14.874
You know, the thing is, you and I, we talk a lot about the U.S.
00:33:15.014 --> 00:33:21.654
And the reality is China is far surpassing what we're doing in sales.
00:33:21.854 --> 00:33:26.494
And companies like ZF are looking at it and saying, we need to be supplying
00:33:26.494 --> 00:33:28.314
them because they can't keep up.
00:33:29.114 --> 00:33:34.294
You know, the global market is really going towards these extended range in
00:33:34.294 --> 00:33:35.754
plug-in hybrid vehicles.
00:33:36.434 --> 00:33:39.494
Yeah, folks, Mike Herzing and Jeremy Berenbaum. This is Let's Talk Wheels.
00:33:39.574 --> 00:33:43.974
If you just tuned in, we're talking about extended range electric vehicles,
00:33:44.134 --> 00:33:46.854
which is the new, I guess.
00:33:47.799 --> 00:33:51.699
Magic word or something of the new hot setup and
00:33:51.699 --> 00:33:54.559
we say it but there's not very many on the market right now
00:33:54.559 --> 00:33:57.559
there's i don't know if there are there any not that
00:33:57.559 --> 00:34:00.899
come to my mind anymore we don't have the mazda's working on one with a little
00:34:00.899 --> 00:34:04.599
bitty rotary yeah there's a bunch of people working on everybody's working on
00:34:04.599 --> 00:34:08.739
them right now that'll be by next year they'll be out here and we're all gonna
00:34:08.739 --> 00:34:13.199
say this is what we wanted i mean this that would solve the problem that keeps
00:34:13.199 --> 00:34:16.139
you going if If your battery screws up, you still got an engine,
00:34:16.339 --> 00:34:19.339
you know, you didn't charge it. Well, no, not really.
00:34:19.679 --> 00:34:23.039
Or a breaker or this or that. Because that engine is only powering the battery.
00:34:23.239 --> 00:34:24.979
It's not connected to the drivetran.
00:34:25.279 --> 00:34:29.359
So, but at least if you're worried about, if you're worried about having an
00:34:29.359 --> 00:34:34.199
EV with no sound, you can get an extended range EV and maybe they'll get some
00:34:34.199 --> 00:34:37.339
custom tuned exhaust to sound like a V8 or something.
00:34:37.499 --> 00:34:41.859
Oh, this Acura I was driving this week, it did have different exhaust sounds,
00:34:41.859 --> 00:34:44.459
different engine sounds that you could play and i
00:34:44.459 --> 00:34:47.319
was just i was like i just couldn't do it well it's kind of fun just
00:34:47.319 --> 00:34:50.299
lean into it you already know you're driving in an electric car
00:34:50.299 --> 00:34:53.199
so you know have some fun i guess i know
00:34:53.199 --> 00:34:56.719
but i just couldn't do it i mean i'm like oh man no
00:34:56.719 --> 00:34:59.479
i can't this is cheating now if
00:34:59.479 --> 00:35:03.259
it sounded like the jetsons car that little you know
00:35:03.259 --> 00:35:07.879
i would just do it you know rosie you know have the rosie the robot i wish it
00:35:07.879 --> 00:35:14.399
was like ringtones but i think we've realized that people can't be trusted to
00:35:14.399 --> 00:35:19.519
put their own sounds to their cars because you know something would happen.
00:35:20.219 --> 00:35:22.839
Autobots assemble, you know, or something like that. You know,
00:35:23.179 --> 00:35:27.399
well, I'll do Optimus Prime or, you know, one of those things.
00:35:27.539 --> 00:35:32.139
Maybe one day then HTSA will release a bank of, you know, 20 different sounds
00:35:32.139 --> 00:35:35.859
that you can program your car as. That would be actually pretty cool.
00:35:36.059 --> 00:35:40.139
I would go for that. Maybe we could start a lobby.
00:35:40.499 --> 00:35:44.739
You know, Jay Leno just had his bill in California that's got a lot of traction.
00:35:44.859 --> 00:35:50.259
Maybe we can have the Mike Herzing and Jeremy Berenbaum bill to get NHTSA to
00:35:50.259 --> 00:35:51.799
allow certain sounds for cars.
00:35:51.979 --> 00:35:54.739
Yeah, I had Zed, you know, you just get ringtones. And by the way,
00:35:54.799 --> 00:35:55.679
here's your exhaust tone.
00:35:56.019 --> 00:35:59.959
Exhaust engine sounds. Oh, yeah. That would be so cool. You know?
00:36:00.539 --> 00:36:04.459
Yeah, what can I say? Of course, the ones I'd probably get would be a Morris
00:36:04.459 --> 00:36:07.299
Minor or, you know, a Triumph.
00:36:07.979 --> 00:36:13.419
You know try a tr7 or something we're on different wavelengths because i'm going
00:36:13.419 --> 00:36:17.139
boss 429 all day in my tiny little electric car,
00:36:17.894 --> 00:36:21.594
Yeah, I know. My problem might probably be a, mine would be a Nash Metropolitan
00:36:21.594 --> 00:36:25.054
or something, you know, four cylinder, 40 horsepower, you know,
00:36:25.154 --> 00:36:26.474
I mean, but there, it's just,
00:36:26.994 --> 00:36:31.094
there's so many things we could do with EVs and, you know, and I was up in East
00:36:31.094 --> 00:36:34.574
Texas, there are people just, they don't, they don't like them.
00:36:35.334 --> 00:36:39.354
And I'm thinking of where can I charge it? Where can I do this? I carry the charger.
00:36:39.614 --> 00:36:44.114
The only thing about that Accurate came with a level two charger and I could plug it in anywhere.
00:36:44.234 --> 00:36:48.394
I stopped at an RV place, a RV campground and said, Hey, can I plug in here?
00:36:48.494 --> 00:36:51.554
Yeah, what much you charge me? Okay, it would charge me five bucks and I could
00:36:51.554 --> 00:36:54.174
charge it, plug it in for a couple of hours.
00:36:54.534 --> 00:36:58.494
Okay, I mean, what's wrong with that? I mean, as long as you got the charger
00:36:58.494 --> 00:37:00.994
with you and the 50 amp plug, you're golden.
00:37:01.354 --> 00:37:05.214
Yeah, you know, you gotta have a little bit of wits on you to kind of figure
00:37:05.214 --> 00:37:06.574
this stuff out, you know?
00:37:06.774 --> 00:37:10.754
But I keep imploring people that say, no, no, no.
00:37:10.954 --> 00:37:15.434
All I say is go try it, rent it for a week, see how it works in your lifestyle.
00:37:15.554 --> 00:37:18.894
They are pretty cool, I must admit, but I haven't had any problems with them.
00:37:19.034 --> 00:37:20.214
And that's the difference.
00:37:20.714 --> 00:37:24.734
Folks, let us know what you think about this. I really am interested in how
00:37:24.734 --> 00:37:28.394
everybody feels about EVs, makes them to rain EVs. Would you buy one?
00:37:28.594 --> 00:37:32.594
Go to our Facebook page, look at Let's Talk Wheels, and let us know if you would buy it.
00:37:32.794 --> 00:37:35.734
Send us a message. I would love to know. Or drop me an email.
00:37:35.914 --> 00:37:39.254
We're going to give you an email in just a second. And if you enjoyed our show,
00:37:39.394 --> 00:37:42.714
tune in to the same station next week for the next episode of Let's Talk Wheels.
00:37:42.814 --> 00:37:46.954
And if you missed part of the show, heaven forbid, You can catch the podcast
00:37:46.954 --> 00:37:50.354
on all major podcast platforms. Just look for Let's Talk Wheels.
00:37:50.654 --> 00:37:54.594
The podcast contains this show in a bonus segment with an extra car review.
00:37:54.794 --> 00:37:58.474
So be sure to subscribe so you don't miss out. And it's free.
00:37:58.854 --> 00:38:01.934
And if you have any topics you want us to cover or questions you need us to
00:38:01.934 --> 00:38:06.874
answer, like we did today, email mike at letstalkwheels.com while all of us
00:38:06.874 --> 00:38:09.334
respond. We love to hear your car questions.
00:38:09.954 --> 00:38:13.094
As always, folks, on behalf of Jeremy Berenbaum, Matt Peralta,
00:38:13.134 --> 00:38:16.754
and myself, thank you for joining us today. on the Talk Media Radio Network.
00:38:16.994 --> 00:38:20.694
I'm Mike Herzing. Stay tuned for a car review from our reporter, Matt Peralt.
00:38:20.894 --> 00:38:25.494
Have a great week and thank you for tuning in and we hope you do it again. See you next week.
00:38:29.360 --> 00:38:50.320
Music.
00:38:50.852 --> 00:38:54.292
Thanks, Mike. This week, I had the pleasure, and I mean pleasure,
00:38:54.512 --> 00:38:58.892
of driving a 2022 Hyundai Elantra N.
00:38:59.112 --> 00:39:03.392
Now, you might go, Matt, it's an Elantra. What are you talking about? Oh, my gosh.
00:39:03.572 --> 00:39:09.652
This thing was so much fun, and I mean so much fun to drive.
00:39:09.872 --> 00:39:14.932
It came in a cyber gray with a black-on-black interior.
00:39:15.152 --> 00:39:20.272
However, that's not the cool part of this vehicle when it comes to the interior.
00:39:21.032 --> 00:39:27.492
There are LED lights built in to the actual seats.
00:39:27.752 --> 00:39:33.652
When you turn on the car, when you click on the key fob, these ends come up
00:39:33.652 --> 00:39:37.852
in the passenger side and the driver side. It is so cool.
00:39:38.152 --> 00:39:44.172
It's one of the coolest things I've seen. I mean, it's absolutely phenomenal when you have it.
00:39:44.332 --> 00:39:49.972
The N shifting paddles, they have a shift and power shift, a grin and power shift.
00:39:49.972 --> 00:39:53.112
The control system is unbelievable
00:39:53.112 --> 00:39:56.092
this thing is a sports sedan I
00:39:56.092 --> 00:39:59.132
mean it's a sports car I mean it's got everything you need to
00:39:59.132 --> 00:40:04.932
have it be I mean it has a twin scroll turbocharged GDI engine with 276 horsepower
00:40:04.932 --> 00:40:10.572
and it has a turbo button it's the first car I've been in it has a legit turbo
00:40:10.572 --> 00:40:15.092
button it's a red button in the dash or in the steering wheel rather you hit
00:40:15.092 --> 00:40:17.892
it and it changes the gear shifting and it lets you pass.
00:40:18.692 --> 00:40:23.252
It's so neat It has a chassis brace in the back, which causes the vehicle to
00:40:23.252 --> 00:40:26.732
be a little stiff, but it holds really well when you're going around tight turns.
00:40:27.492 --> 00:40:31.772
I mean, I did not realize when they dropped this thing off to be reviewed,
00:40:31.932 --> 00:40:34.932
and I did some research on this. I was like, what exactly is this?
00:40:35.552 --> 00:40:38.652
I mean, a $34,000 vehicle for an Elantra, man.
00:40:38.772 --> 00:40:41.752
Okay, I like the Elantra. It does some cool things to it. And obviously,
00:40:41.892 --> 00:40:45.152
with Hyundai, you get a lot of the cool stuff, all the safety features that
00:40:45.152 --> 00:40:46.512
come standard, which are awesome.
00:40:46.512 --> 00:40:49.452
The forward collision avoidance assist and the blind spot
00:40:49.452 --> 00:40:52.512
collision we know about all this stuff because it's hyundai we know
00:40:52.512 --> 00:40:55.212
the interior is going to be great because well it's
00:40:55.212 --> 00:40:58.192
hyundai they've got phenomenal interior their tech packages are always
00:40:58.192 --> 00:41:03.672
awesome i'm huge 10.25 inch navigation system with an n specific menu by the
00:41:03.672 --> 00:41:08.872
way which is really cool yet n mode displays that come up on the dash digital
00:41:08.872 --> 00:41:12.732
lcd instrument cluster kind of showing what the vehicle's doing but you got
00:41:12.732 --> 00:41:15.212
apple car car play, excuse me,
00:41:15.712 --> 00:41:21.252
the Bose premium auto speaker with eight speakers and a subwoofer. That thing bumped, man.
00:41:21.852 --> 00:41:26.532
The exhaust is wild. I mean, the exhaust, you don't have to do anything in this
00:41:26.532 --> 00:41:29.272
vehicle. If you like loud cars, you want people to know you're coming.
00:41:30.237 --> 00:41:33.117
Go ahead and put this thing in sport mode and wow, you just go.
00:41:33.417 --> 00:41:38.537
And it's got everything you would want in terms of being loud and really fun.
00:41:38.957 --> 00:41:43.397
I had, I didn't want to give this thing back. Like when the sport exhaust system
00:41:43.397 --> 00:41:48.077
with the variable valve positions, really cool, really, really fun.
00:41:48.877 --> 00:41:52.817
I thought this was going to be just a typical sport sedan. What Hyundai is doing
00:41:52.817 --> 00:41:57.397
with this, with the N exclusive, the leather wrap seats and the shifter knobs
00:41:57.397 --> 00:42:01.497
and the sport buckle seats with the illuminated N logo in the seats,
00:42:01.777 --> 00:42:07.337
all these USB ports that are everywhere all over this vehicle, it's really fun.
00:42:07.517 --> 00:42:11.577
I mean, it's a really, really cool ride. If you want something unique,
00:42:11.577 --> 00:42:14.617
I've talked about this a lot over the years here on Let's Talk Wheels.
00:42:14.797 --> 00:42:18.657
I like vehicles that are unique. I like vehicles that stand out.
00:42:18.657 --> 00:42:22.697
I like vehicles that have different types of paint jobs that make you go, what is that?
00:42:22.877 --> 00:42:26.077
Or designs on the vehicle that stop you and make you pay attention.
00:42:26.337 --> 00:42:29.517
This thing absolutely does that.
00:42:29.737 --> 00:42:34.437
If you're looking for a vehicle that's a ton of fun, that maybe isn't your,
00:42:34.617 --> 00:42:38.797
you know, I would say like a 50 year old businessman should be rolling up with this vehicle.
00:42:38.917 --> 00:42:42.577
But if you're somebody, you know, who's looking for a really fun sports sedan.
00:42:42.977 --> 00:42:44.717
Something that's got a lot of pop to it.
00:42:44.837 --> 00:42:49.717
It has some very unique features, some very cool things that you can add as
00:42:49.717 --> 00:42:51.677
you're driving to help you.
00:42:51.837 --> 00:42:56.897
The suspension, the chassis, the overall sport exhaust, the engine itself.
00:42:57.297 --> 00:43:01.237
Again, it has a turbo button. It has a turbo button. I mean,
00:43:01.337 --> 00:43:03.677
are you kidding me? The vehicle's got a darn turbo button.
00:43:03.857 --> 00:43:08.417
It's so, so fun. You got the sunroof, which is really, really nice.
00:43:08.717 --> 00:43:15.837
The rear diffuser, the body styling, the trim, the spoiler, dual exhaust coming out of the back.
00:43:16.137 --> 00:43:21.277
I mean, my goodness gracious, what a fun car. This is absolutely awesome.
00:43:21.737 --> 00:43:28.097
Wireless charging. Again, why aren't every single car company producing a wireless
00:43:28.097 --> 00:43:29.457
charging vehicle standard?
00:43:29.737 --> 00:43:31.577
Hyundai does it. Kia does it.
00:43:31.997 --> 00:43:34.657
Everyone should do it. They do it in this vehicle.
00:43:37.357 --> 00:43:42.577
It's the market for a fun, cool sports sedan. This thing, Hondre Elantra,
00:43:42.737 --> 00:43:44.537
you got to get the N, okay?
00:43:44.897 --> 00:43:49.817
That changes literally everything. When you go and get this vehicle in the N
00:43:49.817 --> 00:43:52.337
package, it is well, well worth it.
00:43:53.193 --> 00:44:01.313
Okay, Mike, this week I was driving a 2022 Hyundai Tucson, the PHEV Limited all-wheel drive.
00:44:01.313 --> 00:44:05.973
That's a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle that we're talking about here with
00:44:05.973 --> 00:44:09.473
a price tag of about $44,000.
00:44:09.993 --> 00:44:12.773
Now, obviously, when we're talking about an electric vehicle,
00:44:12.953 --> 00:44:14.973
we're talking about incredible gas mileage, right?
00:44:15.073 --> 00:44:20.133
We're talking 80, 90 miles per gallon here with this plug-in hybrid.
00:44:20.393 --> 00:44:22.113
This vehicle is sharp looking.
00:44:22.493 --> 00:44:27.053
I mean, like the angles are really sharp. The grille is aggressive.
00:44:27.373 --> 00:44:31.173
The doors have a lot of these angles and cuts inside of them.
00:44:31.433 --> 00:44:37.353
It's a pretty nice looking vehicle. I do really like what Hyundai and Kia has
00:44:37.353 --> 00:44:39.133
done with the SUV market.
00:44:39.313 --> 00:44:42.053
And this is sort of the next iteration, right? I mean, Hyundai,
00:44:42.393 --> 00:44:45.553
all car companies are doing this where they're starting to come really heavily
00:44:45.553 --> 00:44:47.073
into the electric vehicle world.
00:44:47.133 --> 00:44:52.553
This Tucson, I think will be a very good, very will sell well. How about that here?
00:44:52.733 --> 00:44:55.973
People think people like the Tucson a lot. They like the size of the vehicle.
00:44:56.133 --> 00:44:59.193
They like the price tag of the vehicle. And then you come in with an electric
00:44:59.193 --> 00:45:02.873
hybrid, a plug in, and you've got even more people who are going to be looking
00:45:02.873 --> 00:45:06.073
at it and interested to see if this vehicle fits their needs.
00:45:06.213 --> 00:45:11.713
Now you get a lot with this vehicle. You get a lot of standard features with this vehicle.
00:45:12.373 --> 00:45:16.793
I really found this thing to be a little bit lacking in the engine department,
00:45:16.793 --> 00:45:19.573
but that's just where we are here with the engines for these electrics.
00:45:19.673 --> 00:45:23.273
They're quick off the line, but there's not a ton of pop to the vehicle.
00:45:23.473 --> 00:45:25.333
All-wheel drive, I liked a lot, though.
00:45:25.553 --> 00:45:28.973
That definitely rides smooth. You get a lot of really cool features.
00:45:29.133 --> 00:45:33.353
The drive mode, I mean, you pop it into sport. I had to drive this thing in sport mode.
00:45:33.513 --> 00:45:37.813
Now, I drive in sport mode anyway, but I mean, I really, if this wasn't.
00:45:38.159 --> 00:45:42.739
Offered. If a sport mode wasn't available, I would have probably more of a larger
00:45:42.739 --> 00:45:48.719
issue with the engine and overall pop for the engine as to what it did, how it performed.
00:45:48.919 --> 00:45:52.319
But I mean, it gets the job done, okay? I mean, this vehicle is not going to
00:45:52.319 --> 00:45:55.739
be a sports car. You're not looking to fly around here with this vehicle.
00:45:55.979 --> 00:45:58.879
It gets the job done. It's a people mover, right?
00:45:59.139 --> 00:46:01.659
I wouldn't necessarily think you're taking this vehicle off roads,
00:46:01.679 --> 00:46:04.679
but you want the size, you want the cargo space in the back,
00:46:04.819 --> 00:46:09.739
you want the ability to put five adults in this vehicle, and you absolutely can do all of that.
00:46:10.039 --> 00:46:15.079
I thought the inside was really comfortable. The seats I felt were really nice
00:46:15.079 --> 00:46:17.879
and I had no problems with the sight lines.
00:46:18.179 --> 00:46:21.919
Hyundai has done a really nice job with their interiors, just making it very
00:46:21.919 --> 00:46:24.159
convenient and comfortable for everybody.
00:46:24.399 --> 00:46:30.919
Now, some people like the fact that you have the push button reverse drive neutral.
00:46:31.099 --> 00:46:34.019
Some people rather have a stick on it and pull it down.
00:46:34.239 --> 00:46:37.399
I don't really have too big of an issue either way with it.
00:46:37.679 --> 00:46:42.719
I like it when you have the buttons, but it takes a little bit to get used to
00:46:42.719 --> 00:46:45.679
with the vehicle when it comes to, okay, I'm pushing drive, pushing reverse
00:46:45.679 --> 00:46:47.599
versus pulling it down with a shifter.
00:46:48.079 --> 00:46:53.439
Hyundai does have these cameras on both sides for the mirrors.
00:46:53.499 --> 00:46:57.619
So you hit left arrow, the right arrow, it pops up. You can see what's in your
00:46:57.619 --> 00:46:58.999
blind spot really clearly.
00:46:59.179 --> 00:47:01.499
I really like that a lot. That was initially in the Genesis.
00:47:01.859 --> 00:47:04.279
It's now been come down to the Hyundais and Kias.
00:47:04.919 --> 00:47:08.639
Really, really nice. I think a lot of people find that to be a super convenient
00:47:08.639 --> 00:47:11.959
feature, especially if you're driving on the highway or you're driving in weather
00:47:11.959 --> 00:47:14.579
and you can't see somebody, you have a blind spot.
00:47:14.879 --> 00:47:17.479
Those definitely gives you a chance to see what's around you.
00:47:17.659 --> 00:47:20.039
It's a great safety feature that they offer.
00:47:20.379 --> 00:47:23.699
Panoramic sunroof is huge and really, really nice.
00:47:23.999 --> 00:47:27.479
You've got the LED taillights. You got the roof rails on top,
00:47:27.639 --> 00:47:31.379
which are really cool. Give it sort of a nice sporty feature with it.
00:47:31.839 --> 00:47:37.319
There are a lot of USB charging points, as you'd expect for a vehicle that's a hybrid.
00:47:37.639 --> 00:47:41.039
It definitely is great to have that available. If you're a vehicle,
00:47:41.159 --> 00:47:44.399
if you're a family that has a lot of iPads and iPhones and whatnot to be charged,
00:47:44.599 --> 00:47:46.279
you're really going to like that a lot.
00:47:46.459 --> 00:47:51.619
You've got a 10.25 inch navigation with Android, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.
00:47:51.959 --> 00:47:55.759
Really, really cool to have those two things. You've got a 10.2 inch digital
00:47:55.759 --> 00:47:57.779
instrument cluster, which is right in front of you.
00:47:57.879 --> 00:48:00.419
That's where you see those blind spots when you hit the left or right.
00:48:00.647 --> 00:48:04.127
Turn arrow, which is really nice. It tells you when the battery is charging.
00:48:04.427 --> 00:48:07.507
A lot of information coming through there, which I liked a lot.
00:48:07.707 --> 00:48:09.927
Heated and ventilated front seats.
00:48:10.247 --> 00:48:14.907
Heated rear seats is something that this is a little bit of a convenience package.
00:48:15.447 --> 00:48:20.447
Really nice if you can afford it because it does, if you're in the wintertime, it does really nice.
00:48:20.487 --> 00:48:24.667
You can have those rear seats to be heated for you.
00:48:24.867 --> 00:48:29.267
You've got a pretty good stereo system, not outstanding, but good enough,
00:48:29.267 --> 00:48:31.427
but it has wireless charging.
00:48:31.607 --> 00:48:35.767
This is something that I really do think that Hyundai and Kia doing a phenomenal
00:48:35.767 --> 00:48:39.247
job with making this pretty much standard where there's wireless charging.
00:48:39.487 --> 00:48:43.387
We wireless charge so many things already. So now to have that available in
00:48:43.387 --> 00:48:47.867
these vehicles, I get in, I look at Apple CarPlay, I look at USB ports and I
00:48:47.867 --> 00:48:51.087
look at wireless charging and I see, okay, where are they? How many do you have?
00:48:51.647 --> 00:48:56.327
Luxury vehicles haven't really caught onto this. This is what consumers want. This is what I want.
00:48:56.507 --> 00:48:59.847
Really like that a lot. your hands-free power
00:48:59.847 --> 00:49:02.767
lift gate in the back is great to have that
00:49:02.767 --> 00:49:05.667
as well overall look i think if you're looking at
00:49:05.667 --> 00:49:08.907
hybrids if you're looking at a plug-in hybrid you
00:49:08.907 --> 00:49:12.807
want the gas mileage obviously you want the convenience if you're looking for
00:49:12.807 --> 00:49:16.047
a vehicle that's going to get the job done in those two factors this vehicle
00:49:16.047 --> 00:49:21.007
is really nice it can get you you know really the range obviously is still up
00:49:21.007 --> 00:49:27.067
in the air as to how far these vehicles will go range wise you know they're telling you 250, 300.
00:49:27.087 --> 00:49:31.687
I mean, it depends on atmospheric conditions, weather, your driving patterns, it's all there.
00:49:31.827 --> 00:49:35.927
But from a just driving around town or a short commuter vehicle,
00:49:36.167 --> 00:49:38.087
I think this vehicle is definitely worth checking out.
00:49:38.127 --> 00:49:41.667
In particular, if you like the Tucson and you like Hyundai SUVs,
00:49:41.787 --> 00:49:45.787
I would definitely get behind the wheel of a plug-in hybrid to see what this does.
00:49:46.027 --> 00:49:48.667
All-wheel drive model, I loved it a lot from a ride perspective.