Auto Buyers Guide Podcast

Chinese EVs that charge 10-80% in under nine minutes, a 1,400-horsepower plug-in hybrid SUV, and a Tesla Roadster that sucks itself to the road. Alex and Travis break down what we saw and drove at the Paris Auto Show: the Geely EX5 and Starray, the Zeekr 7GT, and the Zeekr 9X, plus why Canada is opening its doors to Chinese EVs and why that should matter to every American car buyer. We also dig into the Tesla Roadster's cold-gas thrusters and fan-suction mode, the new BMW X5 lineup, Mazda dropping the CX-70, and the Fiat Grizzly that becomes Chrysler's under-$30K Arrow.
Then it gets personal. The Grenadier, a.k.a. the family dog, has to find a new home now that two rear-facing car seats won't fit, so we measure up the Genesis G90, BMW i7, Chevy Suburban and Hyundai Palisade (spoiler: the Palisade beats the Suburban for second-row space). Plus: why tongue weight eats your payload, how Chinese automakers really keep prices low, and why we bought a road roller instead of paying $110,000 to fix our gravel road. 
 
 
00:00 Intro00:57 Mazda drops the CX-70: why not just bring the CX-60?03:01 Tesla Roadster: thrusters, suction mode and the real $200K car09:14 Our new toy: a road roller vs. a $110K paving quote12:11 Family hauler search: G90, i7, Suburban vs. Palisade, and towing payload16:55 Selling the family dog: goodbye Ineos Grenadier?20:35 New BMW X5: gas, PHEV, EV, pricing and that HUD27:58 Paris Auto Show: Fiat Grizzly and the Chrysler Arrow29:39 Canada lets Chinese EVs in, and who Geely really is34:41 Geely EX5 and Starray: LFP batteries and 9-minute charging52:48 Why are Chinese cars so cheap? Subsidies, speed and margins1:01:48 Zeekr 7GT driven: the Polestar that should have been1:11:18 Zeekr 9X: is this the three-row Volvo America needs?1:23:27 Will Chinese cars ever reach the US?
 
 

Nissan just showed up to the hybrid party — only about fifteen years late. But here’s the thing: the new Rogue Hybrid might actually be worth the wait. Three big electric motors, rear torque that would make a RAV4 blush, and a three-cylinder engine that exists purely to keep the electrons flowing. Is Nissan’s serial hybrid system genuinely clever engineering or an elaborate workaround? Meanwhile, Volvo quietly transformed the EX90 into a fire-breathing 670-horsepower rocket that does 0-60 in 3.5 seconds and adds 100 miles of range in five minutes — and almost nobody noticed, because Volvo tells nobody anything. GM unveiled two brand-new V8s big enough to make Ram nervous, and Tesla wants you to buy a Cybercab, deploy it as a robot taxi, and somehow turn a profit. Spoiler: the math doesn’t math.
Then it gets personal. Alex is car shopping — again — and the requirements are ruthlessly specific: CarPlay (non-negotiable, household law), a back seat that actually fits a rear-facing car seat designed for a seven-year-old, and preferably something that plugs in. What sounds like a reasonable list turns out to eliminate approximately everything good on the market. Along the way, the show falls down a genuinely fascinating rabbit hole: only 3% of new car buyers have young children at home, which explains — with uncomfortable precision — why modern cars are designed as if children don’t exist. More Subaru buyers have pet chickens.
 
 
Key Topics
Nissan Rogue Hybrid e-POWER — 40 city/36 highway MPG, three motors, 66% rear torque capability, no parallel mode
Why three-cylinder engines excel in serial hybrids — exhaust scavenging, turbo efficiency, the German “half-liter per cylinder” philosophy
Honda’s deliberate sacrifice of efficiency to preserve engine-feel continuity in their hybrids
Nissan’s 2 million e-POWER global sales and what that means for the US rollout
Volvo EX90 updated — 800V, 670hp, 0-60 in 3.5 seconds, 350kW peak charging, ~100 miles added in 5 minutes
EX90 Supercharger problem — drops to 112kW on 400V stations, 45-minute charge sessions
Volvo’s baffling product strategy — launching half-baked, fixing quietly, same model year with two drivetrains
EX90 vs. Lucid Gravity — charging speed, interior quality, plastic sun visors at $97K
GM’s new 5.7L and 6.6L V8 engines for Silverado/Sierra — cylinder deactivation, competing with Ram’s 6.4L
Tesla Cybercab business model holes — ROI, insurance, cleaning, platform cut, range management, fleet logistics
Cybercab format problem — two seats, no luggage space, no consumer version with a steering wheel
Alex’s new car hunt — CarPlay required, big rear seat, plug-in or EV, Super Cruise/autonomy trade-offs
Why Silverado EV almost made the list but no CarPlay killed it — and the aftermarket hack question
Wired vs. wireless CarPlay — lossless audio and Dolby Atmos need the wire; GM wants your data instead
Car seat statistics — only 3% of new car buyers have toddlers; more Subaru owners have chickens than babies
Car seat regulation history — California rear-facing mandate not until 2017, only half of US states require it
Axkid rear-facing car seat — works to 65 lbs/49 inches, fitting a 7-year-old rear-facing
Why pickup trucks may be winning with young families — rear seat room that crossovers and full-size SUVs don’t actually provide
Palisade vs. Tahoe for child seat practicality — why the midsize crossover wins
 
 
00:00:00 - Intro & What's On the Docket00:00:59 - Nissan Rogue Hybrid: America's First Real Nissan Hybrid00:04:11 - 3-Cylinder Serial Hybrid Engineering: Why It Actually Makes Sense00:17:39 - Volvo EX90: 670hp, 800V & a 5-Minute Charge to LA00:28:14 - Charging Reality Check: 350kW vs. 112kW on a Supercharger00:32:49 - GM's New 5.7 & 6.6L V8s: Big Power for Silverado & Sierra00:38:08 - Tesla Cybercab: Great Concept, Broken Business Model00:49:39 - Alex's New Car Hunt: CarPlay, EVs & the Silverado Problem00:51:49 - The Statistic That Explains Why Cars Hate Kids00:57:45 - Car Seat Reality: Why Nothing Fits & Why Trucks Might Win

Nissan just showed up to the hybrid party — only about fifteen years late. But here's the thing: the new Rogue Hybrid might actually be worth the wait. Three big electric motors, rear torque that would make a RAV4 blush, and a three-cylinder engine that exists purely to keep the electrons flowing. Is Nissan's serial hybrid system genuinely clever engineering or an elaborate workaround? Meanwhile, Volvo quietly transformed the EX90 into a fire-breathing 670-horsepower rocket that does 0-60 in 3.5 seconds and adds 100 miles of range in five minutes — and almost nobody noticed, because Volvo tells nobody anything. GM unveiled two brand-new V8s big enough to make Ram nervous, and Tesla wants you to buy a Cybercab, deploy it as a robot taxi, and somehow turn a profit. Spoiler: the math doesn't math. Then it gets personal. Alex is car shopping — again — and the requirements are ruthlessly specific: CarPlay (non-negotiable, household law), a back seat that actually fits a rear-facing car seat designed for a seven-year-old, and preferably something that plugs in. What sounds like a reasonable list turns out to eliminate approximately everything good on the market. Along the way, the show falls down a genuinely fascinating rabbit hole: only 3% of new car buyers have young children at home, which explains — with uncomfortable precision — why modern cars are designed as if children don't exist. More Subaru buyers have pet chickens. 00:00:00 - Intro & What's On the Docket 00:00:59 - Nissan Rogue Hybrid: America's First Real Nissan Hybrid 00:04:11 - 3-Cylinder Serial Hybrid Engineering: Why It Actually Makes Sense 00:17:39 - Volvo EX90: 670hp, 800V & a 5-Minute Charge to LA 00:28:14 - Charging Reality Check: 350kW vs. 112kW on a Supercharger 00:32:49 - GM's New 5.7 & 6.6L V8s: Big Power for Silverado & Sierra 00:38:08 - Tesla Cybercab: Great Concept, Broken Business Model 00:49:39 - Alex's New Car Hunt: CarPlay, EVs & the Silverado Problem 00:51:49 - The Statistic That Explains Why Cars Hate Kids 00:57:45 - Car Seat Reality: Why Nothing Fits & Why Trucks Might Win #NissanRogueHybrid #ePower #SerialHybrid #VolvoEX90 #800VCharging #LucidGravity #GMV8 #SilveradoEV #TeslaCybercab #RobotTaxi #CarPlay #SuperCruise #CarShopping #RearFacingCarSeat #ChildSafety #HybridCars #ElectricVehicle #FastCharging #AutoBuyersGuide #CarPodcast #AutoNews #NewCars2026 #FamilyCar #CarReview #NissanHybrid

Sorry about what will be yet another dupe for some of our listeners on other platforms, but we're hoping third time's the charm to fix a bug in the podcast RSS feed....

After a brief hiatus for a new baby and some globe-trotting, the Auto Buyer's Guide crew is back with a deep listener Q&A session. Things kick off with a surprisingly entertaining look at repo car auctions — what actually ends up there, why the demographics of default make those lots rough, and the unexpected plot twist that the show's own old Blazer EV turned up at a Subaru dealer in Tacoma for $29K after originally stickering at $54K. From there the hosts run through their most and least favorite vehicles reviewed and owned, delivering genuinely candid takes on the Honda Prelude's pleasant surprise, the Fiat 500E's disappointment, Mercedes' infotainment frustrations, Honda's slow decline from packaging innovator to average, Hyundai's styling direction, and GM's baffling CarPlay-free EVs — a manufacturer-by-manufacturer tour that holds nothing back. The second half is both technical and personal. A listener's question about the Kia Telluride's dual 12-volt battery setup opens a thorough explanation of why every hybrid and EV still needs a 12-volt system, how DC-DC converters work, and a real-world comparison of vampire drain across a Rivian, Ford Lightning, and Kia EV6 left parked for two weeks. Then the show gets personal: Alex is car shopping for a growing family with very specific requirements — CarPlay, big rear seats for extended rear-facing, and plug-in or full EV power — leading to a four-way shootout between the Volvo EX60, Acura ZDX, Hyundai Ioniq 9, and the intriguing wild card of the Grand Wagoneer EREV, which could potentially replace both the family Durango and the beloved Grenadier in one shot. A full breakdown of Volvo's overseas delivery program rounds out a wide-ranging, genuinely useful episode. #RepoCars #UsedCarBuying #BMWiX #MercedesEQS #CadillacLyriq #AcuraZDX #GrandWagoneerEREV #VolvoEX60 #HyundaiIoniq9 #Polestar3 #KiaTelluride #12VoltBattery #EVVampireDrain #FordLightning #Rivian #VolvoOverseasDelivery #FamilyCar #CarShopping #AutoBuyersGuide #CarPodcast #AutoNews #EVCharging #HondaPrelude #RamREVE #ExtendedRearFacing 00:00:00 - Welcome Back: New Baby & Life Updates 00:00:38 - Q&A: Are Repo Car Auctions Worth It? 00:07:29 - Our Old Blazer EV Spotted at a Subaru Dealer! 00:10:21 - Best & Worst Cars We've Reviewed: Brand by Brand 00:33:21 - Q&A: BMW iX vs. Mercedes EQS SUV for a Family 00:40:24 - Kia Telluride's Dual Battery & Why EVs Still Need 12V 00:48:26 - Vampire Drain Test: Rivian vs. Lightning vs. EV6 00:50:27 - Alex's Family Car Search: EX60, ZDX, Ioniq 9 & More 00:56:07 - Grand Wagoneer EREV: The Wild Card That Replaces Two Cars 01:13:39 - Volvo Overseas Delivery: How the Process Actually Works

This week's Auto Buyer's Guide comes to you from Bogotá, Colombia, but the questions are as grounded and practical as ever. The episode is driven almost entirely by listener Q&A, covering everything from the perennial "when do you stop throwing money at a used car" debate — anchored by a real Ford Focus DCT horror story and a fleet-management philosophy that reframes how you think about repair economics — to whether buying an EV actually saves you money versus a comparable gas vehicle. The surprising answer: almost never, with one notable exception being the Subaru Trailseeker versus the Outback. Along the way, the hosts debunk the persistent myth that back seats drive up your insurance premiums, walk through the real factors that determine your rate, and weigh in on whether keeping a spare vehicle around is actually worth the carrying cost. The back half gets into listener SUV recommendations for a small family with a large dog — where the Chevy Traverse earns a strong nod for its Super Cruise availability and real-world practicality — plus a look at rust risk when buying a used car from a salt-belt state. From there it's on to the news: Ford's Fathom EV truck arriving for under $30,000 with Blue Cruise standard and Apple Maps baked into the hardware, the Kia EV3 coming to the US in 2027 to undercut the Leaf and Bolt, a heated Apple Maps vs. Google Maps vs. Waze debate, and a broader conversation about the slow, inevitable death of the manual transmission — and why fake EV gear shifts are mostly a parlor trick. 00:00:00 - Intro: Broadcasting from Bogotá, Colombia 00:00:38 - Q&A: When Should You Stop Repairing a Used Car? 00:06:38 - EV vs ICE: What's the Real Financial Break-Even? 00:11:02 - Insurance Myth-Bust: Do Back Seats Raise Your Rate? 00:14:46 - Is Keeping a Spare Vehicle Worth It? 00:20:54 - SUV Help: Best Pick for a Small Family & Large Dog 00:27:00 - Should You Buy a Used Car from a Salty State? 00:30:13 - Ford Fathom EV: Under $30K with Blue Cruise Standard 00:39:29 - Apple Maps vs Google Maps vs Waze: Which Wins? 00:52:54 - Manual Transmissions Are Dying & Fake Shifts Are Dumb #CarRepairAdvice #UsedCarBuying #EVvsGas #FordFathom #FordMaverick #KiaEV3 #SubaruTrailseeker #ManualTransmission #EVCharging #SilveradoEV #AppleMaps #GoogleMaps #Waze #CarInsurance #SaltyStateCar #ChevyTraverse #DodgeDurango #OutlanderPHEV #RAV4Prime #AutoBuyersGuide #CarPodcast #AutoNews #NewCars2027 #EVTruck #BlueCruise

This week the guys dig into why used EV prices are climbing back up now that federal tax credits are gone, why the Dodge Durango just posted its best sales in two decades, and whether crash test scores actually move the needle for shoppers. They also break down Polestar's decision to walk away from the US market instead of appealing its sales ban, GM's plan to bring the XT5 and XT6 back to Cadillac from China, and the wave of battery recalls hitting the Volvo EX30 and VW ID.4. From there it's a deep dive into car features that quietly became essential (smartphone projection, ventilated seats) versus the ones that aged like milk (giant glass roofs, CD-based nav), plus why car theft rates keep falling despite hacker-level Bluetooth exploits. They close out with a full breakdown of the "almost-luxury" brand wars — Genesis, Lincoln, Infiniti, and Acura — and where each one is headed next.
 
0:00 Intro – what's on deck1:18 EV resale values rebound as tax credits vanish5:43 Dodge Durango's record-breaking sales year13:27 Do crash test scores actually matter?19:09 Polestar quits the US market29:27 GM revives the XT5 and XT6 for Cadillac34:09 Battery recall fears: Volvo EX30 and VW ID.440:44 Honda's new US factory and EV strategy47:19 Why car thefts are plunging49:51 Car features: essential now vs. aged like milk1:14:15 Quirky luxury market: Genesis, Lincoln, Infiniti, Acura1:29:27 Listener mail and sign-off
 
 

Travis returns from a sweaty Kia Seltos first drive — bigger, bolder, and available with a 1.6-liter turbo that makes it genuinely fun through the hills — but the story isn't the car itself, it's the incoming hybrid everyone's actually waiting for. The guys dig into Kia's curious trim-level decision (1.6T only at the very top of the X-Line), what the Seltos hybrid might actually deliver in fuel economy versus a Corolla Cross, and the bigger strategic question it raises: if the Seltos gets a great hybrid system, what exactly is the Kia Niro for anymore? The comparison to the Trax/Trailblazer split is floated — different shapes, different buyers — but the Niro's remarkable fuel economy might be the only thing that saves it.
From there the conversation covers the serial vs. parallel hybrid debate (Honda's system as the test case, Nissan's incoming serial system as the punchline), what the Honda Prelude should've been if they'd just added a PHEV battery and a bigger electric motor, whether the Honda Element is really coming back or just generating SEMA concept buzz, and how integrated Honda and Nissan should actually get before the partnership stops making sense for customers. The episode closes with the Mitsubishi Eclipse Sportback EV arriving on a Leaf platform (more differentiated than the Rogue Hybrid, at least), a breakdown of the Toyota-Subaru partnership and who's really steering it, a listener's fully electrified Volvo household singing the praises of the XC90 Recharge PHEV system, a viewer's first-ever new car purchase (a Mini Countryman S All4), and the story of a colleague who found themselves surrounded by police at a grocery store because a FLOCK camera flagged their press car as stolen.

A listener wants a fun weekend car with supervised self-driving that is not a Tesla, which sends us down a rabbit hole on when Ford, GM and Rivian might actually ship level three autonomy, and whether Tesla has quietly turned into a legacy car company. We dig into Tesla's R&D spending per vehicle versus GM, why the charging and range crown has slipped to Hyundai, Kia and Lucid, and what we would actually do to fix Tesla's product lineup and priorities.
From there we cover GM's Ultium charging push, the strange story behind Volvo getting a connected-car waiver while Polestar did not, and whether EV road trips make sense with young kids in the car. We also talk through GM's heavy but practical EV trucks, why a hybrid or gas Silverado EV would be a game changer, and settle the debate between the Ram 1500 TRX, Rumble Bee and Ford Raptor R.
 
0:00 Intro: winging it this week0:22 Listener question: a fun, self-driving car that isn't a Tesla4:16 Has Tesla become a legacy car company?11:07 Tesla's R&D spending compared to GM20:56 How we'd fix Tesla29:31 GM's Ultium push for faster charging32:15 Volvo's connected-car waiver and Polestar's problem37:27 Road tripping in EVs with young kids43:08 GM's EV trucks, the mid-gate, and wanting a hybrid Silverado EV47:48 Ram TRX vs Ford Raptor R showdown

This week we diagnose Toyota's identity crisis — after the CEO admitted the lineup is "out of control," we go model by model through what should stay, what should die (Crown, Land Cruiser, Supra, GR86, the plug-in hybrid), and where Toyota needs more options in the middle of its SUV range. Plus, first impressions from spending real time with the new Slate electric truck, including configurator surprises and who it might actually make sense for.
 
Toyota lineup, Toyota CEO comments, Land Cruiser, 4Runner, Crown Signia, Lexus, GR86, Supra, Prius, Corolla, Camry Hybrid, RAV4 Hybrid, Slate electric truck, Slate truck review, hybrid explainer, Atkinson cycle, regenerative braking, hybrid transmission, hybrid reliability, hybrid battery replacement cost, used car vs new car, car buying advice
#Toyota #HybridCars #SlateTruck #CarNews #AutoBuyersGuide #CarBuyingAdvice #ElectricTruck #ToyotaHybrid #CarPodcast #4Runner #LandCruiser
 
0:00 Intro: the laryngitis edition0:20 Shameless plugs: the new novel and Kiva microlending7:23 Slate electric truck: first impressions17:34 Diagnosing what's wrong with Toyota's lineup29:12 What we'd cut from Toyota's lineup34:38 Listener Q&A: best hybrid SUV pick46:33 How hybrids actually save fuel (Atkinson cycle)55:19 Hybrid transmission changes explained59:34 Hybrid reliability and battery replacement costs1:04:22 Why your current car is the cheapest car you own