Car Stuff Podcast

Jill and Tom opened the show with a brief acknowledgement of Ford’s plan to add 4-door and off-road “Baja” variants to the Mustang lineup. The hosts also discussed the trimmed-down model lineup and reduced prices of the 2025 Jeep Compass. Compass prices have been slashed by up to $2000 for '25.  Also in the first segment, Jill reviewed the Honda Ridgeline TrailSport midsize pickup truck. Though th...

Tom opened the show complaining about people who spend too much time considering their selections at donut shops, specifically at Spunky Dunkers in Palatine, IL, when Tom is trying to pick up a 6-pack on his way to the studio.  In a follow up to last week’s Ford Explorer review, Jill and Tom turned their attention to cars, and the news that GMC will be reducing the number of Terrain compact crosso...

Jill and Tom opened the show noting that Chinese electric-car maker BYD is exploring developing a retail network in Canada. Tom explained why the Canadian market would be friendlier to Chinese imports than the U.S. The hosts went on to discuss recent U.S.-market sales growth for Mazda. The Japanese maker had recently made public it’s intention to take the Mazda brand upmarket, and early sales of i...

 Jill and Tom opened the show talking about the new ZR1 Corvette model. That new king-of-the-hill ‘Vette boasts a reported 1064 horsepower, and should hit showrooms later next year. The hosts each made base-price predictions. Tom read a listener letter, and chatted briefly about the wool seats in his test Volvo XC60 Recharge small crossover.  Tom also shared his impressions of the all-new 2025 Inf...

Jill and Tom are both in studio this week. The show opened with Tom reading an email from a listener. Apparently Tom’s Studebaker history is a little shaky. The conversation turned to a number of topics, including too-long model names, the sale of 3000 Fisker crossovers to a ride-hailing-vehicle lessor, and a surprisingly hot-selling Jeep model.  Still in the first segment, Jill shared her impress...

Jill and Tom are both in studio this week. The conversation opened with a summary of cars being dropped by Jaguar and Nissan in the near future. Effective almost immediately, Jaguar is dropping all but one model from its lineup. Listen in for the full list. Likewise, Nissan is dropping two of its three remaining U.S.-market sedans beginning next year.  In other news, the hosts discussed IONNA--the...

Jill and Tom opened the episode discussing the “Velocity Package” available for the Cadillac Lyriq. Available as an over-the-air software update (no dealer visit required), the package increases power and performance for $1200. Is it worth the money? Listen in.  The hosts discussed the new, lower, price of a Fisker Ocean—just approved by a bankruptcy court. Second-quarter sales figures are coming...

Jill and Tom are in-studio this week for a far-reaching number of topics. Tom quickly updated everyone on the CDk Global/dealership-hacking crisis, which will reportedly be resolved later this week. The hosts briefly discussed Tesla’s second quarter of disappointing sales, this while overall EV sales are projected to rise.  Still in the first segment, Jill and Tom chatted about the Rivian/Volkswag...

Jill and Tom are both in studio today. The hosts began the program discussing the week’s big news, a malicious attack on the network of CDK Global, a dealership-services company which provides critical software support for roughly half of the nation’s 30,000 new-car dealers. Down since last week, CDK has not, as of this recording, made public an estimated restoration time/date for the network.  Ji...

Jill is back in studio this week, and recounted for Tom her recent travels and product evaluations. Tom went on to share what he has learned from a series of brief conversations with Amazon delivery drivers who have spent time with the Rivian EDV electric van; the feedback is interesting.  Still in the first segment, the hosts discussed Jeep’s recently announced $25,000 electric vehicle. To be cal...

Larry Nutson of The Auto Channel sits in for Jill this week. Larry and Tom opened the show discussing one of Tom’s random X/Twitter polls, which included the option of owning a Fisker ocean. Listen in for details.  Among the many first-segment topics covered by the hosts, Larry talked about renting an electric vehicle, a process he found generally pleasant and uneventful. Larry and Tom also discus...

In for Jill this week is long-time friend of the Show Damon Bell of Cars.com. Damon and Tom opened the show talking about Car.com's long-term Tesla Model Y, and its replacement in the Cars fleet, the all-new 3-row Kia EV9 electric crossover. While the Model Y was generally reliable, small glitches compromised its overall appeal to the Cars staff; listen in for more details. As for the Kia, Damon i...

Jill and Tom are both in studio this week. The conversation started with a brief acknowledgment of the IRS-approved federal mileage reimbursement rate. Is it still the same as the cost of a first-class stamp?  The hosts went on to discuss the hyper-affordable Chinese-built BYD Seagull, a $10,000 electric car that could be on a journey to the American market. Jill and Tom also went on to discuss th...

Jill is out this week driving electric Chevys. In her place are both Sons of Speed, Paul Herrold and Brendan Appel. The conversation opened with Tom noting Jill’s dismay regarding Chevy’s decision to drop Apple CarPlay connectivity from coming EV products. Brendan echoed Jill's sentiment, noting that the move would likely alienate a certain number of consumers.  Paul shared his take on the recent...

Jill and Tom opened this week’s show by bidding farewell to the Chevrolet Malibu. The long-running midsize model, available only as a sedan in recent years, is being discontinued by General Motors to make production space for an all-new Chevrolet Bolt EV.  The hosts also expressed their confusion regarding Tesla’s recent dismissal of the company’s charging-network staff. Tom commented on a rumor t...

Paul Herrold of the Sons of Speed sits in for Jill this week. The hosts opened the show talking about the Genesis G70 small sedan which Paul is currently evaluating. He is generally pleased with the vehicle, which is popularly considered an alternative to the BMW 3-Series.  The hosts went on to discuss new—and needed—federal guidelines for Emergency Automatic Braking systems, which all vehicles wi...

In this special crossover episode of the Car Stuff Podcast, Tom rides along with Robert Colangelo of the Green Sense Show to experience Tesla's much-discussed and controversially marketed Full Self Driving (FSD) hands-free driving system.  Robert and Tom drive through occasionally heavy traffic on the ground streets near Chicago's Midway Airport. Listen in for Robert's and Tom's impressions of the...

Jill and Tom are in studio together this week. The hosts opened the show discussing a couple of polls Tom conducted on “X.” One poll asked folks to pick their favorite album for a long evening drive, while the other tested respondent’s willingness to pay for extra EV range. Still in the first segment, Jill shared her impressions of the very-affordable Nissan Versa small sedan.  In the second segme...

Jill is back in studio this week. The hosts opened the show discussing hands-free driving systems, with Tom sharing impressions of both the Lincoln Blue Cruise 1.2 system found in the Nautilus he is evaluating this week, and the Tesla Full Self Driving (FSD) system as found in the Model Y small crossover.  Tom also briefly reviewed the Tesla Model Y, which he was generally very impressed with. Tha...

Brendan Appel of the Sons of Speed sits in for Jill this week. The hosts covered a number of topics in the first segment, including the news that General Motors will be moving out of the Renaissance Center—which it has occupied since 1996—for a new building in Downtown Detroit. Brendan and Tom also discussed the origin of Alfa Romeo’s Verde Montreal color, which turns out to be an homage to an his...

Jill and Tom talked briefly about the eclipse that was taking place during the recording of this week’s episode. The conversation turned to the news that Tesla will not be producing the long-promised Model 2, a small electric vehicle with a base price of around $25,000. In other news, the hosts discussed the sudden decline in large pickup-truck sales, a thing which Jill believes is temporary, and...

Jill and Tom opened the show discussing the Fisker Ocean fire sale designed to raise quick capital for the fledgling EV carmaker. Fisker has cut the price on most Ocean models by as much as 40 percent, in a desperate bid to raise cash. Listen in for more details. Tom let Jill know that—despite not having driven stick in more than a year—he has not stalled his test 2024 Ford Mustang GT, unless you...

Jill and Tom opened a topic-packed show by acknowledging carmaker Fisker’s grim fiscal situation. The once-promising EV start-up has broken off collaboration talks with Nissan, and seems doomed to enter bankruptcy. The hosts then chatted briefly about Cupra, a spin-off of Volkswagen’s Spanish brand Seat. Talk is that the Cupra brand will come to the U.S. before the end of the decade with a duo of...

Jill and Tom opened the episode by acknowledging that EV-startup Fisker is in dire financial straits, having recent halted production. In related EV news, the hosts discussed the announcement that Honda and Nissan are seeking avenues of cooperation to develop electric-vehicle technology, including platforms and software, but not final retail products.  Tom quickly shared his thoughts on a pair of...

Tom and guest host Paul Herrold of the Sons of Speed covered a number of topics this week. First, the hosts addressed the surprise Rivian reveal of not one, but two, small crossovers last week, both of which are scheduled to be built at the maker’s existing Illinois facility. Both will be much more affordable than Rivian’s current offerings.  Also, the Chevrolet Blazer EV is back in production, th...