$30,000 Ford EV Gets a Name, Honda Accord Turns 50, Durango R/T Review

Summary

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Car Stuff Podcast Summary

Episode Title: $30,000 Ford EV Gets a Name, Honda Accord Turns 50, Durango R/T Review
Podcast: Consumer Guide Car Stuff Podcast
Hosts: Tom Appel, Jill Ciminillo
Special Guest: John Vincent (U.S. News & World Report)
Release Date: August 11, 2026

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Episode Overview

This episode of the Car Stuff Podcast dives deep into three main topics shaping the current automotive landscape:

• The much-anticipated and now officially named $30,000 Ford EV, the Ford “Fathom”
• The 50th anniversary of the Honda Accord, tracing its seismic impact on the U.S. auto market
• A detailed test drive and review of the 2026 Dodge Durango R/T 392 Blacktop Launch Edition

Additional discussion covers notable auto industry news and rumors, the ongoing evolution of classic model lines, and a thoroughly enjoyable car-trivia quiz segment.

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1. Ford Fathom: The $30,000 Electric Vehicle Gets a Name

[03:54–07:56]

Key Points:

• Ford’s new entry-level EV is called the “Fathom,” priced just under $30,000 (with the smallest battery).
• Jill and Tom debate the significance and accuracy of the “mid-size” classification, since the Fathom is said to have RAV4-like interior space (typically considered compact).
• No images or full specifications have been released yet.
• Tom expresses skepticism about the sub-$30k price, suggesting most buyers will want to pay for a larger battery, raising the real cost.
• Jill makes the point that Ford’s earlier Maverick truck, priced similarly, saw high demand—so the Fathom could surprise skeptics.
• The Fathom was revealed only recently, but Tom believes it's been in development much longer, saying the launch timing is “just good marketing.”

Notable Quotes:

• Tom Appel [04:14]: "Ford Fathom. Yeah. What the hell?"
• Jill Ciminillo [07:14]: "At first when I heard what they named it... I thought it was Phantom. And I was like, well that that's kind of cool. And I was like, fathom. Well, that's a little less cool. I couldn't fathom the reason why they did that."
• Tom Appel [06:01]: "Here's a tip. This vehicle isn't going to be in such hot demand that you need to order one. Don't worry about it."
• Jill Ciminillo [06:01]: "Never say never. The Maverick was in really hot demand when it came out."

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2. Rumor Mill: Upcoming GMC Jimmy

[08:39–11:05]

Key Points:

• Tom shares a solid rumor that GMC will revive the “Jimmy” as a rugged, body-on-frame SUV to compete with the Toyota 4Runner, Ford Bronco, and Jeep Wrangler.
• Built in Wentzville, Missouri, the new Jimmy will ride on the midsize Colorado/Canyon pickup platform and may launch around 2029–2030.
• Notably, there’s apparently no Chevy equivalent planned.
• The discussion pivots to the nuanced and often confusing branding at GM, with the Blazer and Trailblazer names not always matching customer expectations.

Notable Quotes:

• Tom Appel [09:19]: "This is going to happen. It’s going to be built in Wentzville, Missouri... coming like for 2029 or 2030."
• Jill Ciminillo [10:36]: "To be clear, the Blazer is not a bad vehicle... it’s another one of those vehicles that the name doesn’t quite match the history."

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3. Test Drive: 2026 Dodge Durango R/T 392 Blacktop Launch Edition

[11:05–21:41]

Key Points:

• Jill reviews the freshly "re-hemified" 2026 Durango R/T 392 Blacktop Launch Edition—a 15-year-old platform revived with V8 power after relaxed EPA fuel economy enforcement.
• The Durango offers up to 13 trims, most V8-powered; the test model featured a 6.4L Hemi V8 with 475 hp.
• Despite its age, the Durango impresses with comfort, reliability, and surprisingly good fuel economy thanks to cylinder deactivation (Jill averaged 22 mpg highway).
• The fully loaded test model came to $66,000, but base R/T V8 pricing is about $50,000—all with a host of high-end features.

Pros & Cons:

Pros:

• Old-school architecture means resolved reliability
• Fun to drive, impressive balance for a three-row SUV
• Comfortable for road trips, strong towing, decent fuel economy (for its class)
• Loads of features for the price

Cons:

• Manual seat operation for third-row access
• Wireless charger doesn’t work well
• Still an old platform, lacks some modern conveniences

Notable Quotes:

• Jill Ciminillo [14:51]: "This is a very, very old architecture... But one of the bonuses of being an older model is I feel like they've worked out most of the kinks at this point... this is a really good bet."
• Jill Ciminillo [17:53]: "I was really impressed with just everything with this vehicle. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and I don't care that it's 15 years old."
• Tom Appel [18:54]: "So you're getting a bunch of vehicle there."
• Jill Ciminillo [21:28]: "The Dodge Durango RT392 Blacktop All Wheel Drive Launch Edition."

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4. Main Interview: 50 Years of the Honda Accord (with John Vincent)

[24:00–42:52]

This segment offers a rich, nostalgia-filled look at how the Honda Accord revolutionized U.S. car buying:

• Tom recalls the automotive doldrums of the early ‘80s, contrasting them with the dependability and innovation of the first Accord models.
• Guest John Vincent, an Accord superfan who owned seven Accords, supplies firsthand stories about buying and living with these iconic cars.
• Discussion covers the U.S. assembly shift at the Marysville, Ohio plant, unique dealership experience, and the impact of limited option lists (simplifying both buying and inventory).
• The Accord’s unique combination of reliability, affordability, and smart design ("ergonomics") forced Detroit and other automakers to up their game, though rivals like GM struggled to match Honda's enduring quality.
• The Camry eventually became a near-equal in sales—though the Accord established and dominated the midsize import category first.

Notable Quotes & Moments:

• Tom Appel [24:40]: "American cars of the late ‘70s and early ‘80s sucked... It was exactly at this time that Honda set the world on a tear with the Honda Accord."
• John Vincent [25:22]: "I was an Accord guy for a long time. I had seven of them."
• John Vincent [31:12]: "The Accord, there were very few [options]... everything was a dealer-installed accessory... you just got the next one off the boat."
• John Vincent [37:54]: "It was bulletproof. I had never done anything other than routine maintenance. And I had a fantastic dealer that really took care of me..."
• John Vincent [41:03]: "My Accord had 75 horsepower... and with 75 horsepower, that car did not feel slow. It was fine. It was what cars did then."

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5. Car Trivia Quiz & Odds and Ends

[44:00–65:00]

Key Points:

• Jill takes Tom’s “30 mpg?” quiz, guessing whether various new vehicles meet or exceed a 30 mpg EPA combined rating. Examples: Chevrolet Equinox, Toyota Corolla Cross, Mercedes CLA 250, Buick Envista, Subaru Impreza.
• A bonus question identifies a fake German pretzel name—Jill nails it with “Dunkel Kaza Freitag” (Dark Cheese Friday Pretzel).
• Conversation detours into hybrid system terminology (serial vs. parallel) and the impending arrival of Nissan’s E Power serial hybrid setup.
• Brief reviews and banter about the Audi Q3 S line, Ford Explorer Tremor, and GM’s naming conventions.

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6. Closing and Looking Ahead

• Jill promotes her social media channels (@jillsimonello, #cardujour), Tom plugs his own (CarGuyTom), and notes his regular guest spot on WGN radio.
• Next week’s episode will feature Harvey Briggs discussing IndyCar.

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Memorable Moments

• Jill [07:14]: "I couldn't fathom the reason why they did that."
• Tom [33:11]: "People would go to their Honda dealer to get their Accord and they would look at the VIN and if it started with a J, some people would not buy a J car."

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Important Segment Timestamps

• Ford Fathom EV discussion: [03:54–07:56]
• GMC Jimmy rumor: [08:39–11:05]
• Dodge Durango review: [11:05–21:41]
• Honda Accord 50th anniversary (w/ John Vincent): [24:00–42:52]
• Car Trivia Quiz: [47:19–53:55]
• Hybrid systems/clarifications: [56:29–60:16]

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For more news, reviews, and recommendations, visit consumerguide.com or connect on Facebook.

Transcript

[CDW/Capella University Announcer]

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[Tom Appel]

You know, recommendations can be great. Maybe someone recommended this podcast and here you are. But home projects are different. If a podcast isn't your thing, you lose a few minutes. If you hire your cousin's neighbor to mount your tv, you might end up with a lopsided screen and wall damage. Maybe I know a guy just isn't enough for your home. That's why thumbtack works. It matches you with top rated local pros with photos, reviews and credentials all in one place. For your next home project, try thumbtack. Hire the Right Pro Today Whether you drive a car, need a car, or just occasionally bum a ride with friends, you've come to the right place.

[John Vincent]

Join J and Tom as they break

[Tom Appel]

down everything that's going on in the auto world.

[CDW/Capella University Announcer]

New car reviews, shopping tips, driving green

[John Vincent]

electric cars, classic cars, and plenty of great guests.

[CDW/Capella University Announcer]

This is the Consumer Guide Car Stuff Podcast.

[Tom Appel]

All right. This is the Consumer Guide Car Stuff Podcast. I am Tom Appel, publisher of Consumer Guide Automotive. Thank you for joining us today. When you have a moment, do me a favor. Do me a solid. Check us [e-mail] if you're shopping for a car, check out our 2026 Best Buys Big Secret. I'm working on the 2027s right now. You can also listen to back episodes of the podcast right there on our homepage with me, as relatively normally Jill Simonello, contributing editor [e-mail] North American Car of the Year juror and freelance automotive author. How are you, Jill?

[Jill Simonello]

I am good. I am good. How are you doing today?

[Tom Appel]

I am doing well. It's suddenly warm in my office. This happens in the late afternoon, but I'll get by Bodie. Yes, I visited with Bodie. I don't know, some time ago. That episode is live now. We'll share it on our Facebook page. So people should be checking us out. You can Keep track of everything we do here on the podcast, on Facebook, plus see pictures of our guests.

[Jill Simonello]

Yes.

[Tom Appel]

And we link to articles. There's a lot going on there, so people should do that.

[Jill Simonello]

Yeah. And the podcast that you were speaking of is Kilowatt by Bodhi Grimm.

[Tom Appel]

Yeah. It's very good. Very informative.

[Jill Simonello]

It is.

[Tom Appel]

Bodie knows this stuff.

[Jill Simonello]

I'm a little bit behind on listening, but I did capture your episode and put it in my queue.

[Tom Appel]

Oh, good. Yeah. Let me know how I did.

[Jill Simonello]

Oh, I will.

[Tom Appel]

Later in the show, John Vincent of U.S. news World Report joins us to talk about an anniversary that should not go unrecognized. And that is the 50th anniversary of the Honda Accord. And if you think the Honda Accord is important, you have no idea. It was hugely important to shaping the American automotive landscape. It was a fantastic car from the start and it changed the way people think about cars, and it changed people's expectation of cars. Suddenly, cars were supposed to be affordable, efficient, and. Oh, Reliable.

[Jill Simonello]

What? Reliable.

[Tom Appel]

Oh. So thank you, Honda. Oh, big news. I'm going to say one word. I want you to say the second word. Ready?

[Jill Simonello]

Okay. Word association game.

[Tom Appel]

Ford Fathom. Yeah. What the hell?

[Jill Simonello]

Yeah. You know, I. I don't. I don't know. I don't know why they didn't pull a name out of their, you know, previous hat of vehicles that they already,

[Tom Appel]

you know, which they did with Maverick.

[Jill Simonello]

They did. They did.

[Tom Appel]

So there it is. The vehicle has a name. We're talking about the Model T moment.

[Jill Simonello]

Yes.

[Tom Appel]

Ford ev. We're being scammed here, by the way. And I'll get to that in a moment. But, but this vehicle, that is an electric vehicle, supposed to come to market at $30,000. They've announced a price. It's just under $30,000 with destination, but that's with the standard battery. That's not the scam I'm talking about. But given that slate, the startup Jeff Bezos Electric, you customize a truck has a very small standard battery. I suspect that people are going to want to upgrade the battery, making this more expensive than it sounds like it is. But. But the news here is it's coming to market very soon, and this is where we're being scammed.

[Jill Simonello]

Okay?

[Tom Appel]

I swear to God. We heard about this vehicle one year ago. We already know a lot about it, and it comes to market in a year. This didn't happen in 24 months. This has been under for a long, long time. They just told us about it last year.

[Jill Simonello]

Right.

[Tom Appel]

So that's not a scam exactly. It's, it's just good marketing, I guess. But we didn't see pictures of the car. We just know it's coming out soon. Starting in January or February. You can place, place an order for the vehicle. Here's a, here's a tip. This vehicle isn't going to be in such hot demand that you need to order one. Don't worry about it.

[Jill Simonello]

I don't know, maybe it will be, maybe it'll be limited production. The Maverick was in really hot demand when it came out. So I would say never say never. And I think that they have right sized the electric vehicle. I think doing a full size pickup truck as an electric vehicle was a bad idea from the get go. But I think midsize will hit a more targeted lifestyle type customer. So I don't know, I think you could be surprised.

[Tom Appel]

Could be. I don't think so. I think it'll be, it could be well liked and in strong demand. But I don't think you're going to have a hard time getting one. Here's the thing about it being mid size. It wasn't going to be mid size. It was going to be Maverick size. And that's really compact. All of a sudden with this announcement that they made last week, they started using the words mid size. But they're talking about having roughly the size, interior size, interior space of a RAV4. That's, that's compact, that's small. So I don't know, I don't know what to make of any of this. We don't know too much else about the vehicle except that it's coming. It's called the Fathom. There's all sorts of marketing words about why they called it fathom. But no pictures. We have no pictures.

[Jill Simonello]

No, no. And you know, it's funny because at first when I heard that what they named it, you know, and I was just listening, I thought it was Phantom. And I was like, well that that's kind of cool. And I was like, fathom. Well, that's a little less cool. I couldn't fathom the reason why they did that.

[Tom Appel]

Well, exactly. Very strange. But, but they made news and they made news pretty quickly about this. So yeah, we'll see where it goes. They are promising a number of vehicles off this architecture. And just to reiterate, this vehicle exists because the folks at Ford claimed to be freaked out by how quickly Chinese China was developing. Chinese carmakers were developing affordable, affordable electric

[Jill Simonello]

vehic and they should be freaked out by that.

[Tom Appel]

So yeah, if they are, and I'm not, I'm not saying that the Chinese aren't a threat. They absolutely are to, to the US Auto industry and the European auto industry. But that said, there's an awful lot of reasons, there's a number of reasons to believe that the Chinese car companies aren't really making any money and there's going to be an implosion there because they have too much capacity. So it's bad and you want to be ready for it. But they're not all powerful. There's a reckoning to be had. All right. Wanted to ask you a little bit about the gmc, Jimmy.

[Jill Simonello]

Okay.

[Tom Appel]

Have you heard about this?

[Jill Simonello]

I have not.

[Tom Appel]

So this is in the rumor mill and it seems to be pretty solid stuff. But gmc, the General Motors division, gmc, Chevy's more or less companion brand, but premium stuff. GMC is looking to bring out vehicle a little bit like the 4Runner. It's a body on frame, more rugged, off road ready kind of truck that might more or less take on the Bronco or the Wrangler. But I think it's even more at the Forerunner, which is a very popular vehicle for Toyota. So it will be based on. That's what this is. A rumor with like a lot of specific elements to it.

[Jill Simonello]

Which means it's not really a rumor.

[Tom Appel]

It's not. This is going to happen. It's going to be built in Wentzville, Missouri, which is where they built the Colorado and Canyon. On the Colorado and Canyon. That's a midsize pickup truck architecture coming like for 2029 or 2030. One of the beautiful, beautiful things about artificial intelligence and search engines is that you can now just like filter through the rumors and get to the stuff.

[Jill Simonello]

Yeah, yeah.

[Tom Appel]

There's a shocking amount of news about this vehicle out there already. But I see this as interesting for one reason, because it would be exclusive to gmc. No talk of a Chevy.

[Jill Simonello]

Well, I mean, they, they, they had their opportunity to do something like that with the Blazer and killed it.

[Tom Appel]

Yeah. It's interesting. They were, they. Why can't I think of her name? GM's CEO Mary Barra.

[Jill Simonello]

Yeah.

[Tom Appel]

Actually turned out to be pretty frustrated by the fact that they wasted the Blazer name.

[Jill Simonello]

Yeah.

[Tom Appel]

On a just a regular midsize crossover. Now this was back when the Bronco was actually selling pretty well.

[John Vincent]

Yeah.

[Tom Appel]

So I don't know what GMC's expectations are, but this won't be a huge seller, but it could be a huge profit center.

[Jill Simonello]

Yeah. And to Be clear, the Blazer is not a bad vehicle as it is. It just, it's another one of those vehicles that the name doesn't quite match the history.

[Tom Appel]

Yeah, it's a good name. And then there's Blazer and Trailblazer, which is confusing.

[Jill Simonello]

Right.

[Tom Appel]

So. And then there's Trax, which is a very similar vehicle. Trax and Trailblazer probably shouldn't be different vehicles, but they are.

[Jill Simonello]

Yeah, I, I will, I will concur with that statement.

[Tom Appel]

So anyway, later in the show we're going to talk about the, the Honda Accord. I'm excited about that. But you just test drove an interesting vehicle and here's the most interesting thing about it. The, the Dodge Durango, which has been around forever and never fully and ever and never fully redesigned, was getting close to death. Yeah, it was going to be V6 only this year, but then the current administration decided to de pants the EPA, taking away the EPA's ability to, to tax or fine or in any way punish people for, for breaking fuel economy standard rules. So all of a sudden Dodge was free to just start stuffing massive V8s under the hoods of the Durango again, which they did.

[Jill Simonello]

I know they've put V8s and all. I feel like they've hemified all the things. Rehemified.

[Tom Appel]

I did a thing here and I forgot how many. There's a ridiculous number of trim levels listed on the Dodge website, the Dodge consumer facing website, which does not include the vehicle you drove, by the way, which is weird. But I think there's 13 models, only three of which are available with the V6. All the rest are somehow hemified.

[Jill Simonello]

Yeah.

[Tom Appel]

So what did you drove? Something interesting because it has a bunch of words for a name.

[Jill Simonello]

Yeah, yeah. So I will tell you exactly. Like I'm looking at the sticker sheet right now and it says Dodge Durango RT392 black blacktop, all wheel drive launch edition. And you know, it does come with the Hemi engine and best in class, towing 8, 700 pounds. And I mean as you alluded to this, this is an old vehicle. This was last completely redesigned in 2011 and I believe that was the third generation of this vehicle. So I mean we're talking 15 years old. And previously I think the vehicle that I would have said was really, really old was the Toyota 4Runner, which they did a redesign of that last year

[Tom Appel]

and they wouldn't have done it. Toyota wouldn't have done it if they didn't have to.

[Jill Simonello]

Right.

[Tom Appel]

It was still selling like crazy.

[Jill Simonello]

It was and so this is a very, very old architecture, very old vehicle refreshed. In 2021, they added like a bigger infotainment screen and changed the dash a little bit and, you know, did some design tweaks to the nose. But for the most part, like this, this, this is the same vehicle you could have bought in 2011. And there, there are some pros and cons to that because, I mean, it is a little bit heavy, it is a little bit old school. Like to flip the back seats to get into the third row, you have to like tilt them forward and then flip the bottom up and it's all manual. Whereas today a vehicle you'd have a button to push and it would just do all that automatically. And so it's definitely a lot more old school in ways like that, you know, including the Hemi engine. But I will say that one of the bonuses of being an older model is I feel like they've worked out most of the kinks at this point in the vehicle. And even though Consumer Reports doesn't give it a super high reliability rating, J.D. power and like Repair Pal actually give it better than average reliability rating. So, you know, when you look at Stellantis, a lot of times people are like, ooh, you know, reliability, reliability, reliability. But I mean, this has had 15 years to solidify. And so I think in terms of reliability, this is, this is a really good bet. But, but none of that speaks to how I feel about this vehicle and how I, how it drove. And I, I had a lot of fun in this vehicle. So the first time I drove this specific vehicle was at the Midwest Automotive Media Association Spring Rally. And they put it on the racetrack at Road America. And so if you're not familiar with that track, it's a road course with lots of inclines, declines, cur, you know, curves. And you would think that like a vehicle as heavy as the Durango would do poorly.

[Tom Appel]

And did the vehicle you drove on the track, was that the same vehicle?

[Jill Simonello]

Same vehicle. Okay. And so, but it does not. And it is very well balanced for a three row suv. And the Hemi engine is so well powered. And it was just, it was, it was a joy. I mean, when you get your weight balance, you know, down and how you need to brake and accelerate to accentuate the, the agility of the vehicle. Um, it was so much fun on the racetrack and you know, then to take that and bring it into my everyday life in Chicago, you know, parking it in my garage, you know, you know, maneuvering it around tight city spaces. And then taking a road trip, and I had two sets of golf clubs, two roller boards in the back. We did put the third rows down and a couple of backpacks and, and things like that. But, you know, it. It became a very comfortable road trip vehicle as well. The seats were comfortable. And here was my biggest surprise, the fuel economy. So EPA rates this vehicle at, what is it, like 19 miles per gallon on the highway, 13 miles per gallon in the city. And when I got. So I went from Chicago to Indianapolis, and when I got to Indianapolis and I hadn't reset the trip, it was at 17.3 miles per gallon for combined driving. And so that's better than the 15 miles per gallon in combined driving that it says it should get. And then when I went back, I actually reset the trip. And for 200 miles, driving between 70 and 75 miles per hour. What do you think I got in terms of fuel economy?

[Tom Appel]

No idea.

[Jill Simonello]

Throw me a guess. 1922.

[Tom Appel]

Wow. That is pretty good.

[Jill Simonello]

And that's because this, you know, the, these Hemi engines. Again, another bonus of being kind of an old school vehicle. It has cylinder deactivation. So when you're at highway speeds, instead of operating like a V8, it operates like a four cylinder. And as long as you're just going a consistent speed, which, like when you don't have a lot of traffic, which I didn't, and you're driving in a straight line over, you know, flat land, which I did, you can get really good fuel economy. So I was, I was really impressed with just everything with this vehicle. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and I don't care that it's 15 years old.

[Tom Appel]

We should talk about the V8 lineup here real quick. The lineup for 2026 includes vehicles called GT and if it doesn't say GT Hemi, that's the V6. 295 horsepower. GT Hemi gets you the original 5.7 liter V8, 360 horsepower. You drove the 392. 6.4 liter V8, 475 horsepower. That's a bunch of horsepower. And then you can spend a lot of money and get the Hellcat. 710 horsepower. And there's a couple of versions of that seems unnecessary to me. And you're not going to get 22 miles per gallon. But the price of your vehicle, your test car, doesn't seem crazy to me, all things considered.

[Jill Simonello]

No. No. So base price for this vehicle is about $50,000. I think the. Without destination, it's 49,995 and that is with the V8. And that is with the V8.

[Tom Appel]

So you're getting a bunch of vehicle there.

[Jill Simonello]

Yeah. And it includes like the Uconnect 5 system with a 10.1-inch screen, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. You've got a heated steering wheel, you heated and ventilated front seats, dual automatic climate controls features I like to call marriage saving features. And then you have heated second row seats as well. Which you know to me that was a little bit of a surprise. That is all included in that $50,000 price tag. Now this specific vehicle added the premium package and the blacktop package and it added sterling silver dual stripes by Mopar and it had special Pirelli tires and it had. Oh and if you buy this vehicle you can get one day at the Dodge High performance driving school. So you know the all in as Tested price was $66,000.

[Tom Appel]

What makes it blacktop.

[Jill Simonello]

So it gloss black exterior mirrors, black Dodge grill badge, Eclipse badge or Eclipse black exhaust tips. And then the lights out aluminum wheels with gloss black badges.

[Tom Appel]

So I, I know they call this a launch edition, but I can't imagine they'll keep this particular trim level around. They didn't, they didn't start the model year with it. This is just a mid year come and check it out kind of thing. But it seems like a decent value. So cool. I assume this is a 2026 so they're filtered into dealers now the model year is ending. It's so weird that this isn't on Dodge websites yet or maybe it was

[Jill Simonello]

on the website and it's just no longer available because again, I drove this in May.

[Tom Appel]

Oh, I didn't think of that.

[Jill Simonello]

Yeah, I drove this in May at the Mama Spring rally.

[Tom Appel]

So that is what happened. I would bet money that that's what happened. This started so much for launch edition. It's already gone edition.

[Jill Simonello]

Well, it was so popular.

[Tom Appel]

All right, well cool. You like the vehicle? I know it's been around for a very long time. If we had the time. We talk about the fact that this is actually based on an old school Mercedes Benz platform. But we don't have that kind of time.

[Jill Simonello]

We don't have that time. But yes, I did like the vehicle and I mean there were very few things that I didn't like on it and you know, I mean if you follow me at all on social media you can guess what the number one thing is and that would be the wireless charger doesn't work. But otherwise like I, I did not have a lot of complaints about this vehicle.

[Tom Appel]

Cool. All right, tell us the full name of that vehicle again.

[Jill Simonello]

All right, one more time. You've got The Dodge Durango RT392 blacktop all wheel drive launch edition.

[Tom Appel]

Dang.

[Jill Simonello]

Dang.

[Tom Appel]

Which you may not be able to get, but there are 13 other trim levels.

[Jill Simonello]

Yes.

[Tom Appel]

You could probably find something you want. Okay, cool. All right, we're going to take a break. When we come back, we talk to John Vincent of U.S. news World Report about the 50th anniversary of the Honda Accord. This is going to be a great conversation. Stick around.

[CDW/Capella University Announcer]

Questions or comments, drop us a [e-mail]

[Tom Appel]

that's carstuffinsumerguide.com

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[Jill Simonello]

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agents to deliver results. Because when your data is ready, AI stops being an experiment and becomes an advantage. We configure, optimize and deliver the tech that runs business. CDW make amazing happen. You've never been one to settle, stand down or stand still. You're a lifelong learner, energized by excellence. There's a fire inside you you can't ignore. You've got competition to outrun, momentum to build on, and your own high standards to meet. Stop now. Not a chance. At Capella University, we help you catch what you're chasing because you've always had the drive. Now go earn the degree. Capella University. What can't you do? Visit Capella. Edu to learn more.

[Tom Appel]

What's up everybody? It's Bretzky. And America is turning 250. And I can't think of a better way to celebrate that than playing on an American owned social casino. Spin quest.com with all of your favorite games. Live craps, bubble craps, live blackjack. There's no better place to play for free and win real cash prizes. Spin quest.com Spin quest is a free to play social casino void where prohibited. Visit spin quest.com for more details.

[John Vincent]

Foreign.

[Tom Appel]

Stuff podcast and we're back. This is the consumer guide Car stuff podcast. I'm Tom. She is Jill. Jill, I've asked you how you were a lot. Yeah.

[Jill Simonello]

So still good, by the way.

[Tom Appel]

Here, here. Here's the thing. I was pumping gas for for whatever amounts to a living when you're in high school, but started in 1982 through about 1986, 1987. I worked at a Gas station. And it was a service station, really. And I did light mechanical work and I pumped gas and I wore a uniform. And I was like. I was like spongebob at the Kushy Crab. Right? I love this job. I love the gas station. It was like one of the greatest experiences of my life. But I learned a lot there. And one of the things that I learned was that American cars of the late 70s and early 80s sucked. They weren't well put together. They started to rust. The reliability was terrible, and they were a little bit expensive and the fuel economy was dismal.

[Jill Simonello]

Okay, that does sound pretty stinky.

[Tom Appel]

It was exactly at this time that Honda set the world on a tear with the Honda Accord. And it is difficult now to describe how important and how good and how shockingly disruptive the Accord was then. So on the phone with us, actually online with us, is John Vincent of U.S. news World Report. John, you just wrote about the Accord and I think you appreciate exactly what I'm saying.

[John Vincent]

I did just write about the Accord, which passed its 50th anniversary. That should make us all feel pretty old.

[Tom Appel]

Yes, it does. Thank you. Yes.

[John Vincent]

And I was an Accord guy for a long time. I had seven of them. Wow.

[Tom Appel]

Wow, wow. We were a Honda family, but we never owned an Accord. We've had Civics and CRXs. My wife had a CRX when I met her. Nice car. That was fun.

[John Vincent]

Why she's your wife? Because she had the right car.

[Tom Appel]

It helped. That was such a fun car to drive. But for people who don't remember, I think the CRV would now be called crx. Had there not been a CRX but this delightful little two seater that just. Oh, my God. It couldn't have been more fun or more affordable. Although you may remember this, Honda didn't put air conditioning in them. You had to have it installed at the dealer.

[John Vincent]

That's right.

[Tom Appel]

So you would buy a car that was seven grand and then pay a grand to a dealer to add air conditioning. It seemed prohibitively expensive.

[John Vincent]

It was all about fuel economy.

[Tom Appel]

Yeah. So talk about the Accord, your first Accord, and how you fell in love with these cars.

[John Vincent]

So the Accord, the model itself started in 1976, America's bicentennial year. My first one was an 83 and red with a red velour interior. And I was walking through the Honda Museum in Torrance. If you haven't been there, it's really cool. And I just stopped in my tracks because my first car was sitting on the floor of the museum. Exactly like My car, except this one had a manual instead of a. I had the automatic.

[Jill Simonello]

Okay, well, you can't. You can't do everything right, John.

[John Vincent]

Well, there's a story here. My father co signed on the loan. He was sure he was going to get the car back for himself and he wanted an automatic, so I couldn't get the five speed.

[Jill Simonello]

Got it. Okay, we'll blame your dad then.

[Tom Appel]

My dad, who co signed on my first loan had way too much say over what I was going to buy. I was seriously considering an Alfa Romeo Spider and some other cars. Oh, oh. I found an old Mercedes 190D or 240D. And he wasn't like, I know that wasn't going to work. So ultimately I had to buy a Volkswagen. But, yeah, dads will do that.

[John Vincent]

Buy a Corolla. Because so many fathers have made their kids buy Corollas.

[Tom Appel]

Yes, I've talked about that. It's the car. Dads buy their daughters. Yeah, they worry about their sons less.

[Jill Simonello]

Yeah, go buy a Volkswagen.

[Tom Appel]

So we should talk. Talk about that. How long did you have that car and how well did it treat you?

[John Vincent]

I had that car for about four years. It was great. Swapped it for the next generation and the next generation and the next generation and the next generation. But that 83 was great. I was covering news at the time and I beat the heck out of that car flying across Portland. It was. It was great.

[Tom Appel]

So the car depicted behind you, is that Honda's car or was that your car?

[John Vincent]

That is Honda's car.

[Tom Appel]

Okay. Oh, it's in beautiful condition.

[John Vincent]

They've kept it great. They believe that cars are meant to be driven and the cars in their museum are, for the most part, all drivers.

[Tom Appel]

That's wonderful. Yeah. The interesting thing about these cars too, I think, is that they came from an era of truly dreadful American cars. And I was sort of telling Jill this story before we started recording today, but I dated a girl in the 80s in high school, and then later when I was working at the service station I was talking about, and she had nine older brothers and sisters, and they started buying cars right around the time I started dating her. And then come 1986, the accord gets a refresh. Not a refresh, a redesign. They didn't refresh in those days every three years. They just redesigned a car. It got the hidden headlights and it got a little bit bigger. And I don't know what happened, but auto reviewers went bonkers for this car. People bought them, they talked to their neighbors, and everyone wanted an Accord and it Just suddenly was the most in demand vehicle you could get in the US and it changed expectations. And one of the funny things was you couldn't get one for less than sticker price. The demand was so crazy. And there was a dealership here in Lyle, Illinois, Castle Honda, that just advertised accords at 500 over sticker. That was the deal. They did goof around. They wouldn't rip you off. You just went there, you paid the price plus 500 bucks, and you walked away with an Accord. And people were just lining up to do that. You just got on a list and they just called you when they had your Accord. And I remember too, around this time, or maybe it was later. Bob Rorman, if you're familiar with Bob Rorman, but he owns dealers hereman, you

[Jill Simonello]

got to do that.

[Tom Appel]

That's why people know him from the crazy commercials. He was charging extra for red accords. It was 200 bucks extra for a red one. But yeah, the Accord was insane.

[John Vincent]

That's one of the things about the Accord and one of the ways it changed the market is that there were like three different versions of the Accord. We could get a dx, an lx, and later an se. And there were no options. Right. You went to buy a Malibu and the option list was a catalog. The Accord, there were very few of them. Everything was a dealer installed accessory. Like the right side mirror was a dealer installed accessory. And when you ordered one, you just got the next one off the boat?

[Tom Appel]

Pretty much, yeah. There was no supply. No one talked about day supply of Accords?

[Jill Simonello]

No. Well, and I will say, like, even moving forward in the Honda lineup, they still do a really good job of not having a lot of options. You know, it's just like as you level up, then you get more things. And like Hyundai and Kia tend to do that as well. And I always appreciate, you know, that approach to buying a vehicle. If you want more things, just buy the next level rather than having to, like piecemeal all this stuff together.

[Tom Appel]

It is actually strange that manufacturers haven't learned that lesson because if you drive past a Honda dealer, they tend to be huge dealers with huge lots. They probably have exactly what you're looking for on the lot because there aren't that many different build permutations.

[John Vincent]

If they don't, they can find another dealer in town and do a dealer swap.

[Tom Appel]

Yeah, straight across.

[John Vincent]

Because the other dealer has the same car just in a different color.

[Tom Appel]

John, changing topics a little bit. The, the 83, that was the first model year of that generation.

[John Vincent]

Yep.

[Tom Appel]

Yeah, that was Built. And I think it was one of the first products in Marysville, Ohio.

[John Vincent]

It started being built in Japan and then it was their first car off the line in Marysville. Okay.

[Tom Appel]

So it was sold.

[John Vincent]

It was built in both places for a while, but it was the first truly American Honda.

[Tom Appel]

People were getting scared at the time in the US of Japan taking over the US more so in a couple of years than in 83. But it was starting to happen. And in fact, Japanese investors were buying real estate New York. And it was freaking people out. But interestingly, the Marysville, Ohio plant freaked people out because it was a big factory. It was here in the US and it was not union. I don't know if you remember any of the politics at the time or just kind of the social feedback, but people were kind of freaked out by this.

[John Vincent]

They were. And people would go to their Honda dealer to get their Accord and they would look at the vin and if it started with a J, some people would not buy a J car.

[Tom Appel]

Interesting.

[John Vincent]

And some people would not buy a car that didn't have a J because they are afraid that they buying a car built in America, they'd get American quality, which wasn't the case. They were identical.

[Tom Appel]

You know, it's funny you mentioned that. And then there was the. I can't remember the city it was in, but there was the Volkswagen factory that preceded the Honda factory by a few years. I think it was like 1977 or 78.

[John Vincent]

Pennsylvania.

[Tom Appel]

Yep, in Pennsylvania. And that factory had quality issues.

[John Vincent]

Yes, it did.

[Tom Appel]

I recall the point where it closed. Yes. Like that's how bad that shouldn't happen. But somehow the Japanese never let that happen. And just absolutely crazy. But I remember so much pushback about Marysville not being union at the time. But they. That's a huge factory, like 300,000 units. Something like that.

[John Vincent]

And it's. And it's only one of two. They also have the East Liberty plant there.

[Tom Appel]

Okay.

[John Vincent]

Just down the road. That's massive as well now. So

[Tom Appel]

if you can just sort of compare and contrast this with the Camry. Like the Camry matters so much now, but it seems like the Camry didn't matter as much when it was new.

[John Vincent]

Yeah, the Camry came later than the Accord. The Accord in 76, the Camry in 83. So when the Camry came out, it was competing with the second generation Accord.

[Tom Appel]

Okay.

[John Vincent]

And the Accord already had a lot of inertia behind it. Right. The Camry was just another Toyota. And the Camry took a while to lift off it finally did, I'd say early 90s. But the accord was pretty well entrenched by then and the Accord was the Most popular non F150 basically in the US for years and years.

[Tom Appel]

I'm interested too in your take on how much the Accord mattered in designing other vehicles. Now the Ford Taurus, which was revolutionary, sort of happened independent of this influence and in fact might have almost been more modern to some degree in certain ways. But General Motors came out with a line of new cars. I think for 1989 it's W10 or I think they were called the. Yeah, just the W bodies but it was the, the Regal, the. Not the Celebrity. What was that called? The vehicle after Celebrity and. And then the Cutlass supreme and the Grand Prix. And those vehicles seem to have been seriously impacted I think by the Accord and kind of match them in a lot of ways except for quality.

[John Vincent]

Yeah, they got better because they had to, but they still struggled in the 90s with quality issues.

[Tom Appel]

It was strange. And those vehicles were interesting because they made such a big deal about launching them and they were new mid sized cars and they were very modern looking. But ultimately people didn't really flock from the Accord. Like I think Accord sales just kept, kept chugging along.

[John Vincent]

They just kept chugging along in, you know, hundreds and hundreds of thousands per year of Accords to the point where I remember with one of my Accords I was at Costco and I walked up to my car, hit the alarm and the doors unlocked and got in and realized this isn't my Accord.

[Jill Simonello]

Oops.

[John Vincent]

It was exactly like my Accord. My key fob unlocked it.

[Jill Simonello]

Oops.

[John Vincent]

And it wasn't my car.

[Jill Simonello]

You put your key in the ignition.

[John Vincent]

I did not. I'll go back to that point.

[Tom Appel]

It would be interesting to know my

[John Vincent]

go ahead and smoked. So I immediately knew it wasn't my car.

[Jill Simonello]

Right, right.

[Tom Appel]

Well, so I know in 83. I'm sorry, I just. Real quick, it'd be interesting to know in 83 how many different permutations of the Accord there were. It probably wasn't a whole lot than a dozen.

[John Vincent]

No, yeah, no, it was, it was like, like a second or third generation Accord where that happened.

[Tom Appel]

Oh, okay.

[John Vincent]

They were still super popular, you know, back when in 83 I had a key. There was no key fob.

[Jill Simonello]

Right, right.

[John Vincent]

My obnoxious alarm had its own remote that didn't actually unlock the doors.

[Jill Simonello]

Well, so I want to know like what kept you going back to the Honda Accord. Like it used to had like seven you said.

[John Vincent]

Yep.

[Jill Simonello]

So why did you keep going back generation after generation?

[John Vincent]

It was bulletproof. I had never done anything other than routine maintenance. And I had a fantastic dealer that really took care of me, took care of everybody in the family. They made it easy and they made it easy to buy the next one and the next one.

[Jill Simonello]

So why don't you have a Honda Accord right now?

[John Vincent]

Part of it is that dealer group changed hands and they, their, their service went, you know, went from a 10 to a 2. Oh. And we actually had. That's when we had one of our odysseys. And I decided, you know what, I think I'll look, look at some other things. And I bought a Kia to replace the Aussie.

[Jill Simonello]

Well, I was going to say the other reason why you no longer have a sedan and you have minivans is because your wife has the job that she has.

[John Vincent]

Yes, that is true.

[Jill Simonello]

Trains dogs.

[John Vincent]

Yes. My wife has the cool job in the house. She's director of training for guide dogs for the blind.

[Tom Appel]

Oh, very cool. You know, an interesting thing, John and I didn't think about this until we started having this conversation, but you had mentioned that the Honda dealer was very good. One of the interesting things I think about Honda, Toyota, Datsun, Nissan, you know, and this is probably true of all the Japanese makers, is that they came along later. And a lot of that sort of plaid jacket hucksterism that we associate with car dealers and especially used car dealers is a thing from the 60s and the 70s. But when you went in and Honda dealers quickly, dealerships quickly became very valuable. And they were, a lot of them weren't privately owned. They were corporate owned by, you know, groups of people. And everything was just a little bit more serious and a little bit more above board. You didn't have these families that have been ripping people off for decades running these.

[John Vincent]

Ironically, this was a very old school family that owned this dealership.

[Tom Appel]

Oh, was it? Okay.

[John Vincent]

It was the Tonkin Group out of Portland. Honda dealer number one.

[Jill Simonello]

Wow.

[John Vincent]

And there's an interesting story about how they got the dealership, because across town there was a Honda motorcycle dealer and a Honda motorcycle racer who had been doing it forever. And Tompkins swooped in and tried to get the rights to sell Hondas everywhere in the US And Honda said, no, we're going to start our own thing, but we'll make you Dealer 1. It set up a family rivalry across town with this former Honda motorcycle dealer that goes on until this day.

[Tom Appel]

So that's interesting. Motorcycle dealers were given the option to sell the cars later, but they were

[John Vincent]

automatically given the dealerships.

[Tom Appel]

Oh, that's really interesting. A lot of Honda motorcycle dealers around here. I live in Palatine, Illinois. I don't know why. And it's funny to see them because they have an entirely different logo and obviously much, much, much smaller facilities. What aren't we thinking about when we talk about the Accord? That we should know.

[John Vincent]

Well, just how much it's changed. I mean, my Accord had 75 horsepower. I think my current van has 75 horsepower per cylinder.

[Jill Simonello]

Yeah.

[John Vincent]

And with 75 horsepower, that car did not feel slow. It was fine. It was what cars did then. But I hopped in this car down at the museum in Torrance, and my hands went to all the right places because things haven't changed. Honda still puts the switchgear in the same places.

[Tom Appel]

You know, it's funny, too. We used to have conversations. If you read Car and Driver at the time, you learned the term ergonomics. And it wasn't used a lot in the rest of the industry. I think we use it more now. But it literally meant just things are where they should be. And Honda just kind of nailed that. Like, everything was just a very natural location. Easy to reach, easy to find turn signals, you know, the wiper stock, even the radio was nicely located.

[John Vincent]

The one thing that was very different was the cruise control button. And in that 83, the cruise control button looked like something out of a missile silo that could have launched the misses. There's this big guarded switch that you have that, like, press with meaning to turn the cruise control off.

[Tom Appel]

I gotta look for that. I don't remember that. That's interesting. John, where can we find both your articles on this?

[John Vincent]

Just go to the auto [e-mail] and you'll find both of these articles and a whole lot more.

[Tom Appel]

Sounds good. Happy anniversary, Honda Accord. John, thank you so much for your time.

[John Vincent]

Thanks for the opportunity.

[Tom Appel]

All right, that was John Vincent with U.S. news World Report. We're going to take a break, and when we come back.

[Jill Simonello]

Quiz time.

[Tom Appel]

Quiz time. Stick around.

[John Vincent]

Questions or comments?

[CDW/Capella University Announcer]

Drop us a line@car stuffonsumerguide.com that's car

[Tom Appel]

[e-mail]

[CDW/Capella University Announcer]

There's a fire inside you you can't ignore. Stand still. Not a chance. You're a lifelong learner who's come this far. Now we are here to help you keep going further. Capella University. What can't you do? Visit Capella. Edu to learn more.

[Tom Appel]

Forget whatever plans you have this weekend because you're staying at home and playing on Spin Quests. And there's never been a better time to sign up than right now. New users get $30 coin packs for just $10. All the table games you love with hundreds of slot games and real cash Prizes. That's at spinquest.com S P I N Q U-E-T.com Spin Quest is a free to play social casino void where prohibited. Visit spinquest.com for more details.

[Jill Simonello]

Foreign

[Tom Appel]

welcome back to the Car Stuff podcast. And we're back. This is the consumer guide Car Stuff podcast. I'm Tom. She is Jill. Who are you?

[Jill Simonello]

For the second or third or maybe fourth time? I'm okay. How are you?

[Tom Appel]

I'm good, I'm good. I enjoyed talking about the Accord.

[Jill Simonello]

Yes.

[Tom Appel]

Yeah, it played a big part of my history as I mentioned. But anyway, we'll move from a core to your social media stuff. I'm going to step out of the room. You go ahead and talk.

[Jill Simonello]

Take a bathroom break. Yeah, no, I'm on social media. TikTok and YouTube are my primaries. I upload new videos every day. I call it your daily dose of drive. And I also on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn threads, blue sky, all the things you can find me at. Jill Simonello. So just my name and I use the hashtag card Azure if you can't spell Simonella, which I wouldn't blame you if you can't spell it.

[Tom Appel]

All right. I am car guy Tom on Twitter X and bluesky. Oh, before I forget to self promote. If you hear this in time, and you probably won't, but if you hear this in time, I joined John Records Landecker on WGN radio tonight at 8pm Chicago. Time to talk about cars. Define tonight, tonight, Monday. Thank you.

[Jill Simonello]

I'm like defined tonight because could be tonight, tonight, any night when somebody is listening. So. So Monday, August 10th.

[Tom Appel]

Yes. So here's. Here's a little secret. The actual show goes live pretty soon after we record. Not. Not soon soon, but it is actually still on Monday. But I don't get the actual show notes and everything on which you can stream the show up until very early in the morning on Tuesday.

[Jill Simonello]

Got it.

[Tom Appel]

So if you're listening, then it's too late.

[Jill Simonello]

It's too late. But if you're listening like early. Yeah, you got a chance.

[Tom Appel]

Yeah. I'm just going to talk about this real quick. Audi Q3.

[Jill Simonello]

Okay.

[Tom Appel]

I don't know if you remember this, but Audi has been caveching a little bit about tariffs and the Q3 lineup got pared down to one single trim level.

[Jill Simonello]

Yep.

[Tom Appel]

The S line, I just drove it. There might just be one trim level, but it's very, very good.

[Jill Simonello]

I liked that vehicle. I. I was at the. The media launch and I. I really liked it. How do you feel about the gear shift?

[Tom Appel]

Meh.

[Jill Simonello]

Okay.

[Tom Appel]

For people who don't know, it's one of those nudge affairs off of the, off of the column. I don't like it. I don't hate it. And I would get used to it pretty quick. I think I got used to it and forgot about it. So that was fine. The audio system, and I'm not familiar with this brand. Sonos S O N O S. Very good. The price as equipped I think I drove was 50 grand. Not crazy these days.

[Jill Simonello]

Yeah.

[Tom Appel]

So a lot here to like. It's a single trim level. A little bit of weird hard plastic hidden lower on the doors. But you don't see that when the doors close. Otherwise it seems like an Audi interior. But anyway. Okay. I just wanted to get that out there. A little Audi A3 talk.

[Jill Simonello]

Okay.

[Tom Appel]

All right, let's talk about the quiz. Are you ready?

[Jill Simonello]

Yes. Always. Always ready.

[Tom Appel]

Today's topic is 30 mpg.

[Jill Simonello]

Okay.

[Tom Appel]

Question mark.

[Jill Simonello]

It's not going to be the Dodge Durango.

[Tom Appel]

No. I'm going to give you a car and you just have to tell me if it's combined. EPA combined estimate is 30 mpg or not. Can be higher.

[Jill Simonello]

It can be higher. So at least 30. Okay.

[Tom Appel]

Yep. At least 35 questions total, plus the bonus question. Bonus question always related to the topic of the day. You need three for a win.

[Jill Simonello]

Okay. And I've not been doing so well lately.

[Tom Appel]

No. All right, are you ready? 2026?

[Jill Simonello]

I'm ready.

[Tom Appel]

2026 Chevrolet Equinox front wheel drive.

[Jill Simonello]

I'm gonna say yes.

[Tom Appel]

No.

[Jill Simonello]

Awesome. Off to a great start. Okay.

[Tom Appel]

That is a 27 mpg with its standard and only engine, a 1.5 liter turbo.

[Jill Simonello]

Okay. All right, Jill, your favorite phrase.

[Tom Appel]

You have no points.

[Jill Simonello]

I have no points.

[Tom Appel]

All right. The 2026 Toyota Corolla Cross all wheel drive, not hybrid.

[Jill Simonello]

Smaller than the Equinox. Yes, Toyota is very efficient. Not the hybrid. And we're talking combined, not highway.

[Tom Appel]

Wait, did I say not all wheel drive? This is all wheel drive. 2026 Corolla Cross all wheel drive with the standard and only transmission is cvt.

[Jill Simonello]

Okay. Not. Not hybrid, but all wheel drive. I'm tempted to say no, but. Oh, I feel like this is gonna be a yes. I mean, I think it's like, logically, I think it should be a no. But I think you're gonna trick me. And it's gonna be a yes. I'm gonna say yes.

[Tom Appel]

Yes. Just barely 30 mpg. This transmission is interesting, and we don't talk about it enough, but this is a cvt. But it's a stepped cvt. There's a real first gear.

[Jill Simonello]

Okay.

[Tom Appel]

And then it goes to variable.

[John Vincent]

And.

[Tom Appel]

And the thing about that is just. It feels good. It's. It doesn't feel like a cvt. All right, you have one point. Nice job. The car we don't talk about ever. The 2026 Mercedes Benz CLA 250. That is the most affordable version of the most affordable Mercedes Benz that you can get in the US that is a subcompact sedan. Handsome looking thing. 2L H speed, automatic.

[Jill Simonello]

I feel like I have this coming in a couple of weeks.

[Tom Appel]

Oh, really?

[Jill Simonello]

Huh.

[Tom Appel]

I would like to drive this.

[Jill Simonello]

Oh, sedan. Did you say front wheel drive? All wheel drive.

[Tom Appel]

This is not all wheel drive.

[Jill Simonello]

Okay.

[Tom Appel]

Makes it front wheel drive in this case.

[Jill Simonello]

Okay. Sedan. Small. What engine?

[Tom Appel]

Two. Literally eight speed automatic.

[Jill Simonello]

I'm gonna say no.

[Tom Appel]

Yes. Yeah. It's a CLA 250. There's also a CLA 35 and 45 with ridiculous horsepower. So you need to go with this vehicle. You have one point. You're getting into trouble here.

[Jill Simonello]

I know, I know.

[Tom Appel]

I'm writing this down. One, one. So I don't forget. All right. The 2026 Buick and Vista, Which is only available with front wheel drive.

[Jill Simonello]

And this is smaller than the Equinox.

[Tom Appel]

Yes.

[Jill Simonello]

Based on kind of like the tracks.

[Tom Appel]

It is a very close analog to the tracks. Built at the same factory in South Korea. That's all the trivia I have.

[Jill Simonello]

I want to say yes, but then, like, I feel like the last two answers were yeses. And would you do that? Another yes. Combined.

[Tom Appel]

Combined.

[Jill Simonello]

I'm gonna say yes.

[Tom Appel]

Yes. That saved your butt there. Yeah. 30 mpg even.

[Jill Simonello]

Okay.

[Tom Appel]

30 mpg combined seems to be an interesting line in the sand. It seems to be difficult for manufacturers to get pretty far over that. But the 1.2 liter, three cylinder engine should be efficient because. Three cylinders.

[Jill Simonello]

Yeah.

[Tom Appel]

All right, you have two points, and you have two questions. You get one more point. You're in better shape than you were slightly. Yep.

[John Vincent]

Yep.

[Tom Appel]

The 2026 Subaru Impreza. Oh, we never talk about the Impreza. We talk about the wrx. We talk about the Crosstrek, but mechanically very similar.

[Jill Simonello]

Yeah.

[Tom Appel]

This would be the lightest of those vehicles.

[Jill Simonello]

Yeah. Standard all wheel drive.

[Tom Appel]

Also this is the standard base, which is a 2 liter. There's also an available 2.5 on upper trim levels.

[Jill Simonello]

And the 2.5 liter would be turbo, right?

[Tom Appel]

Not in the impression.

[Jill Simonello]

Not in the Impreza,

[John Vincent]

Actually.

[Tom Appel]

The turbo shrank to 2.4 at some point.

[Jill Simonello]

Got it, man. I'm gonna. I'm gonna say no.

[Tom Appel]

No. 29. So if it didn't have that standard Subaru all wheel drive, it would probably get there. You have three points. You've won.

[Jill Simonello]

Pulled it out of the nose.

[Tom Appel]

All right, today's question, our bonus question, takes us to Germany.

[Jill Simonello]

Okay.

[Tom Appel]

I hope your passport is updated. It is, according to the website world epicurean.com. okay, that's world Epicurean. Com. The items I'm about to list are among the 10 best pretzels that you can buy in Germany.

[Jill Simonello]

10 best pretzels.

[Tom Appel]

Okay, I need you to tell me which one of these is not on that list and is indeed fake.

[Jill Simonello]

Okay.

[Tom Appel]

Are you ready? How's your German?

[Jill Simonello]

Muy MAU. That's very bad.

[Tom Appel]

Number one, the Schwabian Lagenbressel. Okay, that's Brazil with a B. Number two, the Hamburg Lagen. Brazil. Number three, the Munich Weisswurst Pretzel. For some reason, they spelled that with a P. And then finally, the Dunkel Kaza Freitag. Brazil. I think I've given you all the information you need.

[Jill Simonello]

Yeah, I got nothing. I feel like I need to, like, cut up, like, A, B, C, D and just draw it out of a hat. Because none of these. So are. Which ones are associated with a place? Hamburg is associated with a place. Are all of them associated with places?

[Tom Appel]

Well, three of them. Schwabian means more or less southern Germany. So Schwabian, Hamburg, and Munich are all places. Dunkel means dark.

[Jill Simonello]

Got it.

[Tom Appel]

That's the fourth pretzel. Okay, you're doing the Columbo thing here.

[Jill Simonello]

I know. Since I'm trying.

[Tom Appel]

Do you know how many Colombo clips I watch a week?

[Jill Simonello]

Probably a lot.

[Tom Appel]

Like, 20.

[Jill Simonello]

Okay.

[Tom Appel]

Peter Fall more than me. Peter Falk more than more.

[Jill Simonello]

More than me. I liked him in the Princess Bride.

[Tom Appel]

Yep, sure.

[Jill Simonello]

I. Because it's the outlier. I'm gonna go with the last one.

[Tom Appel]

The Dunkelkese Freitag Pretzel. Yeah, that's the fake. Nice job. That literally means dark cheese. Friday Pretzel. I just strung together German words.

[Jill Simonello]

I mean, it sounds dark fried cheese. I mean, how bad can that be exactly?

[Tom Appel]

Speaking of which, you know who speaks German?

[Jill Simonello]

Who?

[Tom Appel]

Producer Margaret.

[Jill Simonello]

Oh, yes.

[Tom Appel]

Some. Some German.

[Jill Simonello]

Some German. She was taking German classes. Yeah, no, I've been. I've been trying to brush up on my Spanish.

[Tom Appel]

I have not been trying to brush up on any language at all, including English.

[Jill Simonello]

Okay. I chose.

[Tom Appel]

I'm trying to take some steps backward if possible, which I think I've demonstrated today.

[Jill Simonello]

Yes. Yes.

[Tom Appel]

Okay. I wanted to. It's time to take out your thinking cap, a chalkboard and some chalk.

[Jill Simonello]

Okay.

[Tom Appel]

Because I am remiss in having been very lazy last week about something.

[Jill Simonello]

Okay.

[Tom Appel]

And I feel bad about it. But when we were talking about the Prelude.

[Jill Simonello]

Okay.

[Tom Appel]

And you were describing the hybrid system. Just fine, by the way. I don't know why I let this lapse, but way back when, when hybrids were new, 20 years ago, we used to talk about serial and parallel hybrids.

[Jill Simonello]

Right.

[Tom Appel]

And they were different things. And a serial hybrid is more or less what you described. A serial hybrid is where a gasoline or diesel engine drives a generator which drives the wheels. And train locomotives, for example, are serial hybrids. There's no interruption. Parallel hybrids are pretty much what every other hybrid is car that you can buy in the US So Toyota's excellent system, which is in everything they build now, is a parallel system. And all that means is that the gasoline engine and the electric motor can work in tandem at the same time. So that we really should have made that distinction. I feel bad because it's the thing that I used to hammer home and then I kind of forgot about because I was drinking last week. But I'm sober this week.

[Jill Simonello]

But you're sober this week. Well, but so the interesting thing about the Honda hybrid is it's kind of both.

[Tom Appel]

Well, that's what I wanted to get to. That system is actually both. Yeah, it's a very weird hybrid hybrid system, as weird as that sounds. But it will default to old school parallel hybrid in, I think, routine city driving. And then to save you bunches of energy on the highway, it will go serial.

[Jill Simonello]

It's. I think you have that backwards. So it. The gas powers the wheels at highway speeds, but it's. It powers the generator at city speeds.

[Tom Appel]

Let me, let me rephrase that. When necessary, it will do the thing it thinks is best. Yes, but it could be. And it's funny because when we used to talk about the Chevrolet Volt with a V, Chevy's plug in hybrid extended range electric vehicle, that was really a serial system that would go parallel on the highway, only there was actually a direct mechanical connection. And that, that freaked people out because then they were. They were mad that it wasn't serial. But whatever. But also interesting is that Honda doesn't talk that much about this system, but the fuel economy is good and it's basically what's available in all Hondas at the moment. Now they've got another hybrid system coming soon that will make use of a V6 engine and that's going to show up in things like the Passport and the Pilot and the MDX from Acura. So that's that story. I feel bad about it just because I let it slip. But they're clarification.

[Jill Simonello]

Okay, we like clarifications. At least it wasn't a correction.

[Tom Appel]

No, no, no, no, no, no, no. Speaking of which, CVT's like you had mentioned that that's mechanically not a CVT as we know it, but it is theoretically one. It is simply a continuously variable rate. So I'm lazy when I describe that transmission. I'm just going to call it a cvt even though it doesn't work like Nissan's or Subarus or Honda cvt. And then Nissan's got its E Power hybrid coming. That's a serial system. That's just serial. And the thing about E Power, it's been around for years in other markets. So we're going to see it for the first time in the next Rogue.

[Jill Simonello]

Yeah, we should see it before the end of this year.

[Tom Appel]

Do you know that? Are we gonna. We should because I think it's coming as a 2027. So like we should be seeing it soon. Soon. Yeah, we should be seeing the all new rogue.

[Jill Simonello]

99.9% certain.

[Tom Appel]

All right, so that's good. What else you got going on? What are you driving?

[Jill Simonello]

I just today swapped into the Ford Explorer Tremor. Okay, so yeah, so that, that's new trim from Ford. I, I got to see it at the Explorer. When they did the refresh of the Explorer, they revealed it at the, the media launch and. But this is my first time getting to drive it and unfortunately not getting to drive it in the conditions that it should be driven in, which is off road. But yeah, I, I do have a 22 degree ramp in my garage. So we'll, we'll, we'll play around with that and I will say I back up the ramp into my garage and when I was putting it into the garage today, this probably was the most seamless. It was like very smooth with like the low end torque and like it didn't go and like slide forward and then go back up. So already liking that and I've, I've literally just taken it from the street and Put it in my garage. I haven't driven it.

[Tom Appel]

Just to clarify, it didn't do what,

[Jill Simonello]

like slide down and go.

[Tom Appel]

Do a lot of your test cars do that?

[Jill Simonello]

They do actually. Like, I'll. I'll be in reverse and I'm like. I take my foot off of the gas pedal and they like, go back forward.

[Tom Appel]

Interesting. You mentioned that. It's a tremor.

[Jill Simonello]

Yeah.

[Tom Appel]

Which is their off road package. Do you remember what they were calling the Tremor before they decided on Tremor?

[Jill Simonello]

Off package.

[Tom Appel]

This one is lost to history. Timberline.

[Jill Simonello]

Oh, right, right, right, right. Yes, yes.

[Tom Appel]

Yeah. Ford has decided to universally go with Tremor now for its off road package.

[Jill Simonello]

Yeah.

[Tom Appel]

Which is good. Now, tremor had been other things at different times. You might remember a long time ago, 12 years ago or so, there was an F150 tremor, which was a short wheelbase, I think, regular cab stuff, full of the 3.5 liter V6 Hemi. And it was this kind of weird performance car.

[Jill Simonello]

Wait, wait, wait, wait. Ford doesn't have a Hemi.

[Tom Appel]

Oh, not hemi. I'm sorry. EcoBoost.

[Jill Simonello]

I'm like, Ford doesn't. Ford doesn't have Hemi.

[Tom Appel]

I'm sorry. I've got Dodge on the brain. Yeah, it was the EcoBoost V6. So you had this kind of small, relatively light F150 stuff full of V6 turbocharged. Goodness. That car didn't stick around very long. I don't even know how many they made. I've never seen one. I just get one as a test car. So I don't know what came of that. But they had used Tremor before, but they finally decided on a final use. Yeah, so I had mentioned I drove that, that Audi Q3. Weird thing, right? Subcompact cars, not great for me because I'm a big guy and relatively tall, but subcomp had crossovers for some reason. Super easy for me to get in and out of. You got the ride height, you got the big door opening. I don't know why, but that works really well. But that. That is a classy ride.

[Jill Simonello]

Yeah, I. I liked the Q3. I. I had very few bad things to say about it. And actually I was on the media drive with John Vincent, who was our guest in the last segment. So.

[Tom Appel]

Yeah.

[Jill Simonello]

Yeah.

[Tom Appel]

All right. So there you have it.

[Jill Simonello]

Yes.

[Tom Appel]

Another show down the. I was gonna say down the drain, but that sounds so negative.

[Jill Simonello]

Yeah. Don't seem negative.

[Tom Appel]

Another show wrapped up. I don't know why, but this goes very fast.

[Jill Simonello]

It does.

[Tom Appel]

It's. It's interesting when I do Steve and Johnny show. Especially if I do it in studio and there's clocks everywhere. Like, have you, have you been. Ever, ever been up in that studio on the 17th floor? Dang. It's like being on the, on the deck of a battleship. There's just stuff. There's lights flashing, windows everywhere, cam clocks everywhere. But it seems like somehow when you're fixated on the clocks and you're watching them do live reads for commercials that the hour dissolves like it just happens fast. But this show seems to go by very quickly.

[Jill Simonello]

It does. Well, I mean, that's what happens when you have good conversations.

[Tom Appel]

Do you happen to know who we're talking to next week?

[Jill Simonello]

I could pull that up really quickly for you if you like. Let's see.

[Tom Appel]

I do like.

[Jill Simonello]

You do like. So we have, ah, I'm like, I have the spreadsheet in front of me. It's doing wonky things. We have Harvey Briggs on next week and we are going to be talking a little bit about some IndyCar.

[Tom Appel]

Wow. You're going to have to help me with this because I know nothing about IndyCar.

[Jill Simonello]

I know, I mean, grew up in Indy, but I've got like this much knowledge of IndyCar.

[Tom Appel]

So a lot of people think I'm not a legitimate car guy because I know nothing about motorsports. But I don't care about IndyCar. I don't care about NASCAR. And people kept calling me to ask me about NASCAR when it was in Chicago. And it's like, I don't know. Yeah, I don't know. They're really loud.

[Jill Simonello]

They are loud.

[Tom Appel]

Yeah. All right. Big thanks to John Vincent for joining us today. Thank you, Jill. Thank you to producer Margaret. Let's talk more about cars again next week. Next week.

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[Tom Appel]

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[CDW/Capella University Announcer]

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