Car Stuff Podcast

Host Tom Appel and co-host Damon Bell start the show by discussing their recent test drives of the sportiest model in Toyota's midsize car lineup: the Camry TRD. (Co-host Jill Ciminillo is out on assignment this week.)  Sam Fiorani, Vice President of Global Vehicle Forecasting for AutoForecast Solutions, joins us to give his insight on the current state of the Chinese auto industry. Tom has an eng...

Host Tom Appel and co-hosts Jill Ciminillo and Damon Bell start the show with a lighthearted discussion of the most-tattooed American brands, according to a study of Instagram hashtags. Chad Kirchner, VP of Content for the electric-vehicle-focused website EV Pulse, joins us to talk about the things auto shoppers should be considering if they're thinking of buying an electric vehicle. Tom has a "Fo...

Host Tom Appel and co-hosts Jill Ciminillo and Damon Bell start the show by discussing Ford Motor Company's recently announced corporate-structure changes--electric vehicles will now be under the Ford Model e division, and gas-engine vehicles will be under the Ford Blue division. Collectible Automobile magazine Editor-in-Chief John Biel joins us to chat about the great features in the April 2022 i...

Host Tom Appel and co-hosts Jill Ciminillo and Damon Bell start the show by discussing the 2022 edition of the J.D. Power Vehicle Dependability Study. Sheryl Connelly, Chief Futurist with Ford Motor Company, joins us for a talk about the Looking Further with Ford Trend Report, an annual study of future social, environmental, and economic trends. Tom has a quiz on the Opel brand for Damon and Jill,...

Host Tom Appel and co-hosts Jill Ciminillo and Damon Bell start the show by discussing Damon's recent blog post on the interesting colors of the 2022 Chicago Auto Show. Hollie Heiser, VP of Marketing and Operations and Lead Driving Instructor for CGI Motorsports, joins us for a talk about driving your car on a race track. Tom has a quiz on Brad Pitt and the Subaru Forester for Damon and Jill, and...

Host Tom Appel and co-hosts Jill Ciminillo and Damon Bell start the show by discussing the recent global debut of the 2023 Alfa Romeo Tonale compact SUV. Larry Nutson, Executive Producer and Chicago Bureau Chief at The Auto Channel, joins us for a talk about driving pure-electric vehicles in the winter. Tom has a quiz on the 1953 Chevrolet Corvette vs. the 2022 Chevrolet Corvette for Damon and Jil...

Host Tom Appel and co-hosts Jill Ciminillo and Damon Bell kick off the show by discussing NHTSA's recent recall of Tesla vehicles to remove a software feature in the Full Self-Driving system that enables the vehicles to not come to a complete stop at some stop signs. Trevor Scott, Maverick and Ranger Marketing Manager with Ford Motor Company, joins us for a talk about Ford's incredibly popular new...

Host Tom Appel and co-hosts Jill Ciminillo and Damon Bell kick off the show by discussing the recently unveiled 2023 Toyota Sequoia full-size SUV. Consumer Reports investigative journalist Ryan Felton joins us for a talk about bad car loans and how you can avoid them. Tom has a quiz on the second -best-selling vehicles for Damon and Jill, and Damon runs down the latest articles on the Consumer Gui...

Host Tom Appel and co-host Damon Bell kick off the show by discussing how Cadillac is paring down its nationwide dealership count as it prepares to become a pure-EV brand. (Co-host Jill is out on vacation this week.) Paul Strauss, publisher of the popular websites The Awesomer, Technabob, and the auto-themed 95octane, joins us to talk about the forthcoming wave of pure-electric pickup trucks--incl...

Host Tom Appel and co-hosts Jill Ciminillo and Damon Bell kick off the show by chatting with Chicago Auto Show General Manager Dave Sloan about the 2022 edition of the show, which will be held at Chicago's McCormick Place from February 12-20. Next, we welcome Ed Gliss, Senior Subjective Test Driver with Michelin, for a talk about the importance of winter tires. Tom has a tricky quiz on Mexican-mar...

Host Tom Appel and co-hosts Jill Ciminillo and Damon Bell start the show by discussing  the new-vehicle reveals of the CES 2022 show in Las Vegas--particularly the 2024 Chevrolet Silverado EV pure-electric full-size pickup and the Chrysler Airflow Concept compact crossover EV. Collectible Automobile magazine Editor-in-Chief John Biel joins us to chat about the great features in the February 2022 i...

Host Tom Appel and co-hosts Jill Ciminillo and Damon Bell open the show with a chat about their test vehicles for their respective holiday road trips: the Audi Q5 Sportback, Subaru Outback Wilderness, and the new-for-2022 Lexus NX 450h+ plug-in hybrid. John Voelcker, former Editor-in-Chief of greencarreports.com and current contributing editor to Car and Driver, joins the show to give us his take...

Host Tom Appel and co-hosts Jill Ciminillo and Damon Bell kick off the show by discussing the redesigned-for-2022 Subaru WRX. Sam Fiorani, Vice President of Global Vehicle Forecasting for AutoForecast Solutions, joins us to give his insight on the auto-industry trends of 2021 and discuss the most significant vehicle introductions of the year. Tom has a "which came first?" quiz for Damon and Jill,...

Host Tom Appel and co-hosts Jill Ciminillo and Damon Bell start the show by discussing the new-for-2022 Hyundai Ioniq 5. Mike DesMarais, Field Operations Specialist for Midas, joins us to talk about the recent rise in catalytic-converter thefts and how you can protect yourself. Tom has a "Hyundai Venue or Rolls-Royce Phantom?" quiz for Damon and Jill, and Damon runs down the latest articles on the...

Host Tom Appel and co-host Damon Bell start off the show by discussing  the Biden administration's recently announced executive order to end gasoline-powered vehicle purchases for the federal fleet by 2035. (Co-host Jill Ciminillo is out on assignment this week.) James Shelton, Technical Field Support Manager for Jiffy Lube, joins us to talk about how consumers should prep their vehicle for winter...

It's a special episode this week: the "sneak peek" announcement of our annual Consumer Guide Best Buy awards. Jill Ciminillo has the week off, as Tom and Damon run down the entire list of 2022 Best Buy award winners in each of our 20 vehicle categories. We discuss the winners in each category, from subcompact cars to premium large SUVs--and everything in between.  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz...

Host Tom Appel and co-host Jill Ciminillo start the show by discussing Hyundai’s new-for-2022 "N" performance versions of the Elantra compact sedan and Kona subcompact crossover SUV. Jill also shares her test-drive impressions of the hydrogen/fuel-cell Toyota Mirai sedan. Jake Fisher, Senior Director of Auto Testing at Consumer Reports, joins us to talk about Consumer Reports' latest new-vehicle r...

Host Tom Appel and co-host Damon Bell start the show by discussing a few of the new vehicles revealed in conjunction with the L.A. Auto Show this week, including the 2023 Mazda CX-50 and Toyota bZ4X. (Co-host Jill Ciminillo is out on assignment this week.) Brendan Appel, Director of Operations at Sons of Speed, joins us for a roundtable styling-critique session on a handful of current vehicles. To...

Host Tom Appel and co-hosts Jill Ciminillo and Damon Bell start the show by discussing their test-drive experiences with Mazda's first pure-electric vehicle--the new-for-2022 MX-30. Cars.com Executive Editor Joe Wiesenfelder joins us to talk about Cars.com's "Guide for the EV Curious"--an excellent primer on electric vehicles. Tom has a tricky quiz for Damon and Jill on the debut model years of se...

Host Tom Appel and co-hosts Jill Ciminillo and Damon Bell start off the show by discussing  the trends on display at the 2021 SEMA Show, the premiere trade show for the automotive aftermarket industry. Lefty Tsironis, Senior Director of Strategy and Business Development for the Los Angeles Auto Show, joins us to talk about the upcoming 2021 edition of the show. Tom has a quiz for Damon and Jill on...

Host Tom Appel and co-hosts Jill Ciminillo and Damon Bell start off the show by discussing  the recently unveiled 2023 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 and the 2022 Subaru Forester Wilderness. Patrick Olsen, Executive Editor at Carfax, joins us to talk about ways consumers can avoid buying a flood-damaged vehicle. Tom has a quiz for Damon and Jill on 18-wheeler trucks, and Damon runs down the latest article...

Host Tom Appel and co-hosts Jill Ciminillo and Damon Bell start the show by discussing  their favorite new vehicles from a recent automotive-media test-drive event--particularly the new-for-2022 Ford Maverick compact pickup and Genesis GV70 premium compact SUV. Collectible Automobile magazine Editor-in-Chief John Biel joins us to chat about the great features in the December 2021 issue, including...

Host Tom Appel and co-hosts Jill Ciminillo and Damon Bell kick off the show by discussing the redesigned-for-2022 Lexus NX compact luxury SUV. Robby DeGraff, Industry Analyst with AutoPacific, joins us to talk about promising EV startups, in light of the fact that the Lucid Air luxury sedan and Rivian R1T full-size pickup have recently reached production. Tom has a quiz on China's automotive marke...

Host Tom Appel and co-hosts Jill Ciminillo and Damon Bell kick off the show by discussing the latest wave of off-road-focused SUVs and sub-brands such as Ford's Timberline, Honda's Trailsport, and Subaru's Wilderness. John McElroy, host and editorial director of the Autoline family of automotive-industry newscasts, joins us to talk about his prediction/prescription for the forthcoming "sunset" of...

Host Tom Appel and co-hosts Jill Ciminillo and Damon Bell kick off the show by discussing the recently unveiled 2022 Toyota Tundra full-size pickup and 2022 Ford Expedition large SUV. James Bell, Head of Corporate Communications for Kia America, joins us to talk about Kia's forthcoming EV6 electric vehicle. Tom has a true-or-false quiz for Damon and Jill on the Toyota Highlander and actor Tony Ran...