New Lexus ES, Toyota Crown Signia Review, War and the Auto Industry

Summary

Car Stuff Podcast – Episode Summary Episode: New Lexus ES, Toyota Crown Signia Review, War and the Auto Industry
Date: March 23, 2026
Hosts: Tom Appel & Jill Ciminillo
Guest: Jamie Butters, The Butters Bureau

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Overview

In this episode, Tom and Jill dive deep into the latest Toyota and Lexus news, review the Toyota Crown Signia, discuss recent test drives, and welcome industry expert Jamie Butters for a timely conversation about how global conflict – notably war in the Middle East – is affecting the automotive industry. The episode maintains the show’s characteristic friendly banter but is rich with expert analysis, shopping tips, and candid car talk.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Lexus ES Redesign – Electrification & Toyota “Crown-ification” (03:13)

• Lexus is rolling out a redesigned ES, now available only as a hybrid or full EV; gas-only is discontinued.
• "The Toyota Vacation is happening," notes Jill, referencing Toyota’s hybrid and EV push across its lineup (03:30).
• The new ES now shares its platform and styling DNA with the Toyota Crown, which both hosts consider a positive: “If you were to do the Lexus thing to a Crown, you’d end up with a very nice car.” (03:33)

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2. 2026 Toyota Corolla Hybrid SE AWD – Test Drive Impressions (04:39)

• Tom reviews the Corolla Hybrid SE AWD, highlighting its value, reputation for safety, available AWD, and strong efficiency.
• “I did not get the killer hybrid mileage I should have just because it was intensely cold... but I still got almost 39 miles per gallon.” (05:22)
• Top trim SE with premium package comes to $32,000 – “a strong deal” for AWD and efficiency. (05:37)

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3. Compact Car Segment – AWD Options (06:07)

• Jill and Tom review rare AWD choices in compact and midsize cars, noting the Corolla, Subaru Impreza, Mazda3 (in some configurations). (06:24–07:38)
• “Not a lot of all-wheel drive options in the compact sedans…” (06:55)

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4. First Impressions – 2026 Toyota Land Cruiser 1958 Edition (07:40)

• Tom shares brief first impressions: hybrid Max turbocharged engine, rugged styling, practical yet upscale interior.
• “Shockingly solid. This vehicle feels good... interior is this neoprene fiber. Looks really stout and healthy and still kind of upscale…” (08:11)

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5. Main Review: Toyota Crown Signia (08:48–18:41)

Jill’s In-Depth Review

• Model Context: The Crown Signia is positioned as a more luxurious, “lexified” wagon/crossover alternative to the Crown Sedan – “Toyota’s calling it a wagon or an SUV. I call it a wagon because it looks more like a hatchbacky wagon to me.” (09:35)
• Drivetrain: Standard AWD, standard hybrid; top Limited trim tested was $53,000 (12:23)
• Driving Experience:
  • “Phenomenally smooth, felt like it was already broken in… hybrid powertrain is phenomenal… you can barely feel when the engine is shutting on and off… overall quietness and just comfort.” (10:41–11:54)
  • Strong real-world MPG: EPA-rated 38 combined, achieved 38 on highway. (10:41)
• Interior Impressions:
  • “Fit and finish is fine…but...it just wasn’t special. …For $53,000, I wanted it to be a little more special than it was.” (12:42–14:01)
  • Compared to Genesis for interior execution: “Look at any Genesis…the dials and controls have beveled edges... no real plasticky interior trim… on the Crown, it was like plastic.” (13:05)
• Ideal Use: “Great vacation car…amazing cargo space…a great road trip vehicle for the spaciousness and overall comfort.” (14:55–15:40)
• Downsides: Not offered with the more powerful Hybrid Max drivetrain.
• Pricing & Positioning: Awkward placement in Toyota lineup – more expensive than Grand Highlander and 4Runner, but less than Highlander (16:51). Closest competitor: Mazda CX-70 (16:54).
• Colors: Discusses Finish Line Red color option ($475 upcharge).

Memorable Quote:

“My primary pain point with the vehicle is essentially that I don’t think the interior is worth as much as the price tag.” – Jill (14:41)

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6. Classic Car Spotting Fun (19:37)

• Tom shares his “car spotter” hobby, hunting for rare, cranky old Cadillacs around Chicago: “I was able to put together a collection of four cranky old white Cadillacs...” (19:41)

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7. Feature Interview: Jamie Butters on War & Automotive Industry (20:20–41:17)

Jamie’s Professional Update

• Jamie introduces his new venture, The Butters Bureau: newsletters, public speaking, soon-to-launch show (22:06).

War’s Impact on the Automotive Industry (From 23:01)

• Market Volatility:
  • Price of new vehicles surged post-tariff, up to an average of $50,323 – the highest since September 2024 (24:26).
  • “Prices have gone up and up and up... concerns about availability, concerns about manufacturing, especially out of Asia.” (24:25)
• Resource Disruption:
  • Surprising automotive supply chain dependencies in the Middle East (25:23):
    • “A lot of the base stock, chemicals, and material for automotive plastics come out of the region and those are constrained now too… And helium! …Turns out to be really necessary and most of it’s created right around there.” (25:39)
• EV Market & Automaker Strategies:
  • Automakers, spurred by past rapid EV investments, are now realizing the cost and consumer appetite may not match.
  • “[Wall Street] would bid up the stock” when automakers announced more EVs—”there was just a mania about it.” (26:28)
  • “It gets boring to always say Toyota is right, but Toyota was right.” (27:30) – Toyota focused on hybrids and fuel cells, investing in mainstream segments they know will sell worldwide and profitably.
• Toyota’s EV Moves:
  • Despite market cooling, Toyota launching several high-volume EVs this year (29:18–31:16).
  • Loyalty and latent demand: “There are a lot of Toyota buyers…environmentally minded, value minded…and a lot have been wanting an EV from Toyota. Now they’re going to start to get them.” (29:18, 31:16; notable quote)
  • Highlander transitions to EV-only for 2027: “It’ll be interesting to see how they play it out…Toyota’s investing in solid-state batteries, timing might luck out to being perfect where they have an economical EV to offer about the time that we have a new administration that might be more interested in environmental causes.” (33:15–34:17)
• Other Automakers – Cadillac & GM:
  • GM (esp. Cadillac) is going back to the “original Tesla playbook” – focus on high-margin luxury EVs (34:40).
  • Chevy Bolt’s brief “comeback” reflects nimbleness – “If the war goes on and gas prices go up, GM may decide to keep that vehicle around.” (36:21)
  • “It’s inconceivable for General Motors, but there they are” – Jamie on GM’s surprising agility (37:44).
• On Regulatory Whiplash:
  • Automaker volatility from shifting regulations (Trump, Obama, Biden changes): “The cost of these regulatory swings… $35 billion in tariff costs, $70 billion in EV write-downs.” (40:34)
  • Praise for GM managing profit despite turbulence (41:12)

Memorable Quotes:

“There are a lot of Toyota buyers… and a lot have been wanting an EV from Toyota. Now they’re going to start to get them.” – Jamie Butters (31:16)
“It gets boring to always say Toyota is right, but Toyota was right.” – Jamie Butters (27:30)
“It’s inconceivable for General Motors, but there they are… they have proven to be nimble.” – Jamie Butters (37:44)

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8. Lighter Segment: Quiz & Banter (41:39–55:50)

• Fun fact quiz focusing on automotive trivia.
• Jill wrangles over questions like rear suspension setups, Ram’s eTorque, fuel requirements, and Buick color names.
• Banter over donut flavors and inside jokes about podcast quirks.

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9. Porsche: Evolution Without Losing the Brand (55:02)

• Tom discusses Porsche’s record US sales in 2025—with SUVs and EVs far outpacing the classic 911 and sports cars.
• “Porsche has done such a good job of managing this move to crossovers without compromising their identity.” (55:35)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “I incorrected you.” (02:32) – Playful reference to correcting mistakes from last episode
• “If you were to do the Lexus thing to a Crown, you’d end up with a very nice car.” – Tom (03:33)
• “My primary pain point with the vehicle is essentially that I don’t think the interior is worth as much as the price tag.” – Jill (14:41)
• “There are a lot of Toyota buyers… and a lot have been wanting an EV from Toyota. Now they’re going to start to get them.” – Jamie (31:16)
• “[Toyota] have a plan, they stick to the plan, they execute the plan…” – Jill (31:32)
• “It’s inconceivable for General Motors, but there they are… they have proven to be nimble.” – Jamie (37:44)
• “Porsche has done such a good job of managing this move to crossovers without compromising their identity.” – Tom (55:35)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• Lexus ES redesign & Toyota Crown similarities: 03:13–04:21
• 2026 Corolla Hybrid SE AWD Review: 04:39–06:05
• AWD options in compact cars: 06:07–07:38
• Toyota Land Cruiser (brief first impressions): 07:40–08:42
• Toyota Crown Signia review (in-depth): 08:48–18:41
• Jamie Butters interview starts: 20:20
• War & the auto industry: 23:01–34:17
• Cadillac & GM EV strategies: 34:17–41:17
• Fun Fact Quiz: 41:39–55:50
• Porsche segment: 55:02–55:50

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Summary

This episode is a blend of in-depth new car reviews (Lexus ES, Toyota Corolla SE AWD, and especially the Toyota Crown Signia), expert context on Toyota’s electrification strategy, and penetrating analysis of how global events (war, tariffs, regulation) are affecting the auto industry. Jamie Butters’ insights anchor the second half, exposing industry trends, supply chain risks, and how automakers are adapting their EV rollouts in a turbulent market.

The banter and friendly tone keep it lively, while the hosts deliver substantive, timely, and accessible expertise that’s valuable for auto shoppers, industry followers, and casual car fans alike.

Transcript

[A]

Whether you drive a car, need a car, or just occasionally bum a ride with friends, you've come to the right place. Join Jill and Tom as they break down everything that's going on in the auto world. New car reviews, shopping tips, driving green electric cars, classic cars, and plenty of great guests. This is the Consumer Guide Car Stuff podcast.

[B]

All right. This is the Consumer Guide Car Stuff podcast. I am Tom Appel, publisher of Consumer Guide Automotive. Thanks for joining us this week. If you have a chance, when you get a chance, check us out@consumer guide.com I got word that the button, the tab, the dropdown for our best buys wasn't working. It's working now. Got it fixed. Thanks for letting me know. Check us [e-mail] New Car Reviews, our best buy picks, and you can stream the podcast right there on our homepage. Though you should just subscribe. It's easier also, if you have a moment, especially our new friends. We had a lot of new listeners this past month. Do leave us a review, especially on Apple. It helps a lot. That voice you haven't heard yet. That's Jill Simonello.

[C]

Hi.

[B]

Checking out the donuts.

[C]

I know they're all cinnamon.

[B]

This week, contributing editor [e-mail], north American Car of the Year juror, and a prolific freelancer. How are you?

[C]

I am doing okay. The weather's a little bit colder than I want.

[B]

It's been weird, but it's very nice today.

[C]

But today is not as bad as yesterday. Yesterday was abysmal and windy. It was incredibly windy again. I ran the Shamrock Shuffle yesterday, which is like the Chicago, um, green Irish St Patrick's Day race kicks off the running season. And the wind. The wind.

[B]

I didn't realize. I didn't realize that the Shamrock Shuffle kicked off the running season.

[C]

Yeah, yeah. It's kind of like the first, like, major race of the year.

[B]

It's funny, I always associate Chicago with our Irish friends, but it's really Boston. Right? That's the really big Irish community in America.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

As a percent of total population, I think.

[C]

Yeah, I would agree with that.

[B]

All right. Hey, you've got a mea culpa.

[C]

Yeah, I can't remember what it is. What was it?

[B]

The art class.

[C]

Right. Oh, yes. I had my phone on do not disturb last week, and Sam Fiorani was furiously texting us to let me know that the art class did not have the sliding doors. They have open doors.

[B]

Yes. We have a new term now, a new vocabulary word. It's incorrect. Incorrecting. You Incorrected me.

[C]

I incorrected you. Okay.

[B]

Yeah. I had it down. Everything was good. And then you incorrected me. I incorrected you, so I'll accept your apology now.

[C]

I'm not Sorry.

[B]

The Audi A8. We said that was going away. It's. It's going away. But Audi claims it's coming back. Huh.

[C]

I wonder if it's coming back electric.

[B]

I don't know. I would like to point out that Jaguar said that the XJ sedan was coming back. That did not happen.

[C]

Right.

[B]

So piece of news that kind of got past me, and I guess I knew this and forgot about it. But it's a really big deal. And it's a very, very late in the season in the model year introduction, but Lexus is rolling out a redesigned es.

[C]

Yes.

[B]

They're popular, midsize sedan. They're very good. Very luxurious, very quiet, no fun to drive. Lexus ES sedan. It's coming back as an ev and a hybrid. There won't be a gasoline version of it.

[C]

Okay.

[B]

A regular gas version, Obviously, the hybrid is gas.

[C]

So the Toyota Vacation is happening.

[B]

Yeah. Yep. Big deal. Because virtually every Lexus is now also available as a hybrid. But this is interesting to me, and what's really interesting to me is if you look at these cars, they look like Lexuses, but they also look very much like the Toyota Crown, which they are basically how the ES used to be a Camry. Now the ES is more or less a crown, and that's a very good thing. If you were to do the Lexus thing to a crown, you'd end up with a very nice car. We'll be talking about the crown a little bit more in a moment. All right, what did I get? Yes, that's. I have a lot of little sub notes here. Like, you know, when you. When you index your things, you get the dots, and then if you tough them in, you get the hollow dots on word. All right, that's just my notes, but here. See, that's what I'm talking about.

[C]

Okay.

[B]

I didn't know I covered all the hollow dots.

[C]

I do. I do dashes instead of hollow dots.

[B]

Oh.

[C]

Oh.

[B]

Okay. I just finished my review of an interesting car, and I requested this because I hadn't seen one in a long, long time. And I don't usually request test cars. I just like them to come as they do.

[C]

Okay.

[B]

But I needed to drive a Corolla. It's one of the most popular cars in the US That I have not driven in a long time. My review is up now. It's the 2026 Corolla Hybrid SE, all wheel drive. A lot going on here. And one of the interesting things about the Corolla was it was every dad's safety car. When their kids were looking for a car, they would like steer them into Corollas because they had this reputation for reliability. They also had a reputation for not being fast or dangerous.

[C]

Right.

[B]

And then they got good mileage and they were easy to, you know, they were cheaper to insure and things like that. But one of the things it didn't have and one of the things that the market sort of moved people towards was all wheel drive. But for a few years now, you've been able to get all wheel drive on the Corolla. Yes, it's really good.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

I actually drove it in snow, I drove it in the cold. I did not get the killer hybrid mileage I should have just because it was intensely cold when I drove it. But I still got almost 39 miles per gallon.

[C]

Okay.

[B]

It's EPA rated for like mid-40s.

[C]

Okay.

[B]

But nice car. My review of that is up now. There's a lot there to like. And the most important thing was I drove an se, which is the top trim level available with hybrid all wheel drive with something called the premium package. It came to $32,000. Now that seems like a lot to me for a Corolla, but maybe not because you got all wheel drive and a hybrid that's going to get you 40 miles per gallon all the time. I think, I think this is actually a strong deal.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

So that's that story. This is all Toyota today.

[C]

You know, it really is. But so before we, before we go to all Toyota all the time, like when you look at the compact car segment and you think all wheel drive, you know, you've got the Corolla, you had the Altima, which had all wheel drive.

[B]

Well, that's not compact.

[C]

Well, but I mean, okay, the Sentra does not have all wheel drive.

[B]

Nope.

[C]

Would you.

[B]

You've got the Mazda 3.

[C]

Yep.

[B]

And you've got the Subaru Impreza.

[C]

Impreza. And so Impreza has all wheel drive. Does Mazda 3 in the sedan have all wheel drive? I can't remember. I don't want to incorrect you.

[B]

I don't remember which version, but I think it's the sedan only actually, I don't think it's the hatchback.

[C]

Okay. Because I don't want to incorrect it.

[B]

That's a good looking hatchback, by the way. I like the Mazda 3.

[C]

Oh yeah.

[B]

But A lot of people move from that to the CX30. It's like five grand more, but you get a little more space. You get the standard all wheel drive. But yeah, there's not a lot of all wheel drive options in the compact sedans. In midsize sedans, you've got the Camry. What else have you got? Well, the legacy is gone.

[C]

Yeah. And the. I mean, I think the Altima is going away.

[B]

I don't know what's the deal there? Yeah, their interest in maintaining that is.

[C]

I know it's around for another year, but don't know how much longer.

[D]

So.

[C]

Yeah. Accord. Oh, and Civic doesn't have all wheel drive.

[B]

Does not.

[C]

Correct. So an Accord I don't think has all wheel drive. Yeah.

[B]

So that's it.

[C]

Okay. So now we can go back to Toyota if you like.

[B]

Well, I have, I just, I haven't dug into this for. I just drove here. I put 1.8 miles on the Toyota Land Cruiser 1958 edition. And my initial impressives are shocked. My initial impressions are shockingly solid. This vehicle feels good. It looks good. The interior is, is not leather. It's this like neoprene fiber. It looks really stout and healthy and still kind of upscale for what it is, which is durable, but ultimately the power is good. This is the hybrid Max turbo hybrid four cylinder engine.

[C]

Okay.

[B]

That's what differentiates it basically from the 4Runner, because the 4Runner downstream a little bit in terms of price, but less stuff. So. But that's the thing. I drove it here. It's a nice silver color that I normally don't say nice silver color because I'm so tired of silver color with what I think is a very expensive aftermarket roof rack. That looks cool. So that's that stuff. But you. Yes, you did drive this thing because I didn't check with you.

[C]

I did drive it.

[B]

You spent some time with the Toyota Crown Signia.

[C]

Yes.

[B]

A vehicle that I secretly love.

[C]

Yeah. You know, it's an interesting vehicle. So I was in Dallas last week. I think I can tell you that I was asked to be a new video host for Capital One Auto Navigator. So coming soon, you'll be seeing some reviews from me on their channel. So my prolific freelance career expands to video.

[B]

Unless you couldn't share that, in which case you're in trouble.

[C]

Yeah. Here's to hoping. Here's to hoping I'm not in trouble. But. So while I was there, I had the opportunity to drive the Toyota Crown Signia. And it was the limited trim, so top Tier, they only have like the XLE and the Limited.

[B]

Yeah. Talk about what that is relative to the regular crown.

[C]

Yeah, so it's more of. Okay, so Toyota's calling it a wagon or an suv. I call it a wagon because it looks more like a hatchbacky wagon to me. But standard all wheel drive, standard hybrid powertrain. And it is. The Crown is the sedan version, the lifted sedan. And then you have this Crown Signia, which is the wagon. And crown nameplate is supposed to be more of a luxury version of Toyota. So in many ways more of a lexified version of the Toyota.

[B]

And it very much replaces the Avalon in the Toyota lineup as an upscale sedanish vehicle. Sedanus from the Camry.

[C]

Yes.

[B]

Basically it was a step up from the Camry.

[C]

Correct. And so I have mixed feelings about the Crown Signia because I really like it as a vehicle. It's comfortable. And it was really funny because when I picked this vehicle up at the airport, it had 59 miles on it total.

[B]

Yeah. Which is actually weird. People don't know this, but most vehicles are broken in before we drive them.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

So 59 miles to look for obvious problems.

[C]

Yeah, but it was, it was phenomenally smooth. It felt like it was already broken in. EPA estimates you should get 39 miles per gallon in the city, 37 miles per gallon on the highway, and then 38 miles combined driving. And I was with mostly highway driving, I was at about 38 miles per gallon already. And usually before the break in period happens, like your fuel economy to me seems a little bit lower than what you're going to get.

[B]

In actual fact, that has traditionally been true. I think it's less and less true, especially as motor oil has gotten lighter.

[C]

Yeah, it's been true for me, like up until this moment, years and years

[B]

ago, there used to actually be a heavier grade of oil that was installed in cars from the factory that you were supposed to drain at like 500 or 1,000 miles. Those days are long gone. But fuel economy was bad during that break in period.

[C]

Yeah, but that was not the case with the Crown Signia. I thought the seats were comfortable. Visibility is really good. The hybrid powertrain in the Crown Signia is phenomenal. It is smooth. You know, you can barely feel when the engine is shutting on and off. You know, it is everything that you want a hybrid powertrain to be and including the fuel economy and, you know, the. Just the overall quietness and just comfort of it.

[B]

Interesting thing about that engine. It's a 2.5 liter engine, Atkinson Cycle made specifically to be mated to electric motors for hybrid use. And it's the same basic setup that's in the Sienna. And it said the Highlander, the grand Highlander. I'm trying to think what else. But it's in everything. And they tune it differently for every single application and it works so well in every one of those. And it's amazing how they feel quicker than their horsepower numbers suggest. And the fuel economy is almost always outstanding.

[C]

Yeah. So, I mean, powertrain amazing. But here's where I get into a little bit more of the mixed bag is with the interior fit and finish and materials like the fit and finish is fine and. But the vehicle I drove was a $53,000 vehicle, and to me it just wasn't special.

[B]

Funny you would mention that. I was looking around today at other people's reviews of that vehicle and people seem to rather easily be categorizing it as sort of like a Lexus Lite.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

I don't know that I agree. I think I agree with you that the interior is actually a little bit average.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

In terms of materials, it looks fine. It's functional. There's nothing wrong with it. And it's not a deal breaker in any way. But it's not as upscale as I think some people are suggesting.

[C]

No. And you know, and for me it's like, look at the Genesis, for example, and you look at the dials and controls on any Genesis vehicle and you've got beveled edges, you have really hard touch. You know, things that are solid and they just feel good. You know, there's no real plasticky, like interior accent trim pieces. And on the crown, like I would run my fingernails over the dash and it was like, you know, it was like plastic and the dials were rubber and. Or plastic. And it just. To me it was fine. It wasn't unattractive. It had that beautiful leather, like tan, like a saddle, tan interior leather. It was very attractive, but it just, it wasn't special. And at $53,000, I wanted it to be a little bit more special than it was.

[B]

So I have a confession. My wife is unofficially not really sort of looking for, for a car.

[C]

Okay.

[B]

I really want a crown signia.

[C]

Okay.

[B]

Especially because she, she and my daughter ride horses, so they throw a lot of crap in the back.

[C]

Yeah. So it's good for that amazing cargo space.

[B]

So what I'm trying to figure out is if these vehicles are going to have typical Toyota resale value, which would bum me out. I need, I need 1 year olds to be really cheap.

[C]

Right.

[B]

I don't think that's going to happen.

[C]

No.

[B]

But this is what I wrote in my review of the vehicle. The great roomy and refined, easy on gas. The good, good power, quiet cabin, comfortable ride. The not so good Signia not offered with the more powerful hybrid max drivetrain.

[C]

Correct.

[B]

But that said, if you didn't know that that existed, I think you'd be fine with this vehicle.

[C]

You would totally be fine. The powertrain is good. The powertrain is really, really good. And you know, like I said, my primary pain point with the vehicle is essentially that I don't think the interior is worth as much as the price tag.

[B]

No, this is a good. Also, this is one of those cars, and we've talked about this before, where no one ever tells you that they're aiming a car at old people. But in fact, the Avalon really found a lot of a very mature audience. And this vehicle more or less does that with the better hit point because it's slightly elevated, it's slightly crossover ish. And you've got the fear factor, too. All wheel drive. And if you live in Chicago, that matters to you. Yeah, a lot of good stuff here, but I wouldn't let that stop a family from buying one of these. This is a really good vacation car.

[C]

Yeah. I mean, the seats are comfortable. You've got plenty of space for luggage in the back. I think it would be a great road trip vehicle for the spaciousness and overall comfort.

[B]

So I've got a good question for you. You ready?

[C]

I may or may not have an answer, but go.

[B]

You may not. You can think on this. I'll hum some music while you're thinking. What is the competition for the Crown Signia?

[C]

Yeah, see, that's just it. That's the problem. And I thought a lot about this during my three days with this vehicle is what exactly would I compare this to? And I mean, you could kind of say, okay, maybe RAV4, maybe RAV4, CR V4. But here's the thing. It's priced more than the Highlander, right? No, it's priced higher than the Grand Highlander and priced higher than the Toyota 4Runner. And it costs less than the Highlander because the Highlander doesn't have the base trim anymore. So it's awkwardly priced in the Toyota lineup. And it's not quite an suv. Like I said at the very beginning, it's more of a wagon. So in my mind, and it's more on the luxury side of the spectrum. So not necessarily RAV4CR, V caliber, so in my mind, if I were going to compare it to one vehicle, I would say it's probably in my brain more closely linked to the Mazda CX70 than anything else.

[B]

Okay. Two row crossover. That makes some sense.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

Yeah. It's hard to categorize and I think the Toyota is having a little bit of difficulty finding buyers for this thing. Yeah, it's great looking.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

There's a blue color. Oh my God. Yeah, that's a nice color.

[C]

The one I had was that beautiful red that we've talked about before. And I think before it was previously called like a soul red or something like that, but they're now they've changed the name of it.

[B]

Well, the, the soul red is very specifically on Toyota's. It's very specifically on the Corolla cross because that's built at a Mazda factory.

[C]

Well, this is very similar to that red, but it's called Finish line.

[B]

Finish line red. Yeah. It's a $475 option. It's a good color. Yeah, 475 bucks if you like a color. Why not? And that's about what I think Mazda was selling Crystal Soul Red for as an upgrade. Also Mazda, it's now become a spiritual thing at Mazda. Like every Miata is that color.

[C]

Yep. And I very famously, I occasionally dye my hair random colors. And I had dyed it.

[B]

I don't.

[C]

You don't? You don't. But I dyed it red, like a very bright red. And it was like that same. I was on a Mazda launch and I was like, oh look, my hair is so red. Crystal metallic. It was like the same color as the car. Yeah.

[B]

So Cigna, you mentioned this two trim levels, XLE Unlimited, 46 grand. About. Or about 50 grand. Not a lot of options, but you can get it up to about 55 grand is on. Which is the car you were driving.

[C]

Well, so there was one very expensive package on my test vehicle. It's the advanced technology package. Like the panoramic monitor.

[B]

People probably want that.

[C]

Yeah. And traffic jam assist, which subscription required and just some other like techie features. And so the ass tested price of my vehicle was just under $54,000.

[B]

Okay. So that package is expensive. Might be worth it just for the value you get out of it at retail time.

[C]

Yeah. Around your camera.

[B]

All right, we're going to take a break. When we come back, we talked to Jamie Butters of the Butters Bureau llc.

[C]

Yes.

[B]

Excited to have Jamie back on the show.

[C]

Yes.

[B]

We'll be right back.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

Questions or comments? Drop us a line@car stuffonsumerguide.com that's car stuffonsumerguide.com. Welcome back to the Car Stuff podcast.

[B]

And we're back. This is the consumer guide Car Stuff podcast. I'm Tom. She is Jill. Jill, throw me a bone here real quick.

[C]

Hey, Tom, are you on social media?

[B]

I am Jill. Thanks for asking. I'm just tomapel on Facebook and that tends to not be automatic.

[C]

And that's not Apple, it's Appel.

[B]

It is appellated.

[C]

Right?

[B]

Yes. Episode 319. We clarify that.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

I am car guy Tom on X Twitter and blue sky.

[C]

Yes.

[B]

All right. Very active. I found a lot of cars this weekend for my car spotter.

[C]

For your car spotter.

[B]

Hashtag activity. I was able to put together a collection of four cranky old white Cadillacs. Three of them. Three of them were Escalades. One was an Escalade ext, if you remember the pickup truck.

[C]

What makes a car cranky?

[B]

Replaced fenders, dirty wheels, three wheels, one design, one wheel, another design.

[C]

I mean, I would probably go more along the lines of discombobulated, but okay, cranky. But all these.

[B]

All these a little bit rare.

[C]

Okay.

[B]

Also, I found a Cadillac Seville with a vinyl roof, which is kind of like the gold standard for kind of car spotter. Fun.

[C]

Okay.

[B]

Yeah. Cheap. Cheap aftermarket landau tops.

[C]

Okay.

[B]

That's the way to go. All right. On our phone, on the consumer guide hotline, Jamie Butters, founder of the Butters Bureau. Jamie, how are you today?

[D]

Hey, I'm doing well. Tom, I'm so touched that you are excited to find an ext. You know, when I was at the Detroit Free Press, that was one of the only vehicles that Lawrence Ulrich gave a one star review. Because if. If you wanted that quirky design, you should just buy the Chevy Avalanche and get it for, you know, $20,000 less, $30,000 less. But, you know, rock on with your bad self. The thing is fully depreciated. Good for you. Proud of you, my friend.

[B]

Here's. Here's the problem. Here's the problem with that. The first generation of the Avalanche was really ugly. Now, I'm not saying that the escalators, you're not wrong that, that they referred to it as body armor later when they removed it from the Avalanche. But that lower body cladding was nasty. And it was. It was a different. Right. Wasn't always gray, I think always gray.

[D]

Charcoal.

[B]

Oh, man, that's.

[D]

And they put. And it was. That was the thing they were doing at the time. Right. Too Much cladding. It was like, let's take one of the least popular elements of the Aztec design and carry it forward.

[B]

Oh, man. Well, that was like the first page of the Pontiac Playbook. Just a lot of cladding. If it was called Grand Am, it had a lot of cladding that was. That probably drove up insurance costs. You have to replace all the cladding. Jamie. How are you, sir?

[D]

Hey. I'm hanging in there. It's interesting times in the world, but I'm doing good enough.

[B]

Well, tell us a little bit about what you've been up to. When last we spoke, you were with Automotive News. Now you are the founder of the Butters Bureau. Tell us about what that is and what you're doing.

[D]

Yeah, it's. It's kind of what we. We call a modern media company. It's doing some public speaking. I'm doing a newsletter that's kind of aimed. Aimed at the auto retail space, you know, dealers and such, and looking to spin up a show of my own. But a lot of things cooking and it's a lot of fun, you know, Smart guy for hire.

[B]

Indeed. And speaking of the smart car smart guy part, I deeply miss you on the Automotive News Daily News. Daily.

[D]

Thank you.

[B]

Daily Drive.

[D]

Daily Drive.

[B]

Yeah. So worth my time. And your insights were always just spot on. I was always impressed by the things that you brought up that I had not considered. So you're kind of a hero to me in this industry and I'm glad you're going to be doing another podcast.

[D]

Thanks.

[B]

Yeah, yeah. So that's cool. Do we want to talk about this war?

[D]

You know, do it.

[C]

Do we want to or do we have to?

[D]

Maybe we have to, whether we want to or not. You know, interesting developments right today with the President announcing that, no, he's not going to blow up the energy system just yet. That brought the price of oil down considerably. I guess the markets were taking that threat pretty seriously. So we'll see where it goes from here over the next five days. But I have come across some interesting data. See if I can open this up here on the old iPad. So when I was at Automotive News, we started this partnership with Cloud Theory, now part of Catalyst iq, where we would post the price every day of the average marketed price of vehicles on dealers lots, technically on their websites. Right. So they might be able to advertise some stuff that's in ship, in transit, whatever. But this is what's available for sale at dealerships. The. Basically the MSRP minus advertised discounts. So, you know, big run up after the tariffs were announced, a little bit of drawback as they were pulled back. And of course, we saw through the last year, automakers eating like $35 billion worth of tariff costs.

[B]

Yeah.

[D]

And not a whole lot of price inflation. But late that started to change. We had the model year changeover that where was a good opportunity for automakers to raise prices. And now since the war started, prices have gone up and up and up, and they're now at $50,000. 323. That is the highest since 2024. Before the election, I think it was September 24th was the last time the prices were that high. And I think it shows concerns about availability, concerns about manufacturing, especially out of Asia. Hyundai, Korea and Japan are both going to be under a lot of pressure. We've seen already Japan rationing airline fuel. This closure of the Strait of Hormuz is very problematic for the global economy, including, if not directly, the auto industry.

[B]

One of the things I learned, and I didn't realize this before, I was more or less aware that a lot of aluminum came out of the Middle East. What I was not aware is that a lot of the base stock, chemicals, and material for automotive plastics come out of the region and that those are constrained now too.

[D]

Yeah. And helium, I was not aware. These are the things that crises teach us. Right.

[B]

I guess.

[D]

What are the parts of the industrial economy that we weren't paying attention to, that we didn't know about? Oh, helium turns out to be really necessary. And most of it's created right around there.

[C]

Yeah. It's not just the. The thing that you suck in and make your voice really funny at parties. It's. It's actually useful.

[B]

But that got more expensive, too.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

Going to parties just got more expensive.

[C]

More expensive.

[B]

Yeah. So the interesting thing here, we've got gas prices surging. Might be strong language, but they're certainly going up very quickly. And hopefully this is temporary. But do you think that automakers in any way think they may have rushed to start writing off EV costs?

[D]

Yeah. I mean. Well, no. I mean, the lost value of those investments is probably legit. Okay, but where did they move too fast? Absolutely. This has been the story of the. Of the evidence, Right. Is overreaction by maybe by regulators, but especially by markets. The Wall street got super excited when Tesla became the most valuable company. And so every time automakers would announce another EV project that was certain to add to their losses, add to their net losses, Wall street would bid up the stock. Right. And it was just. There was just a mania about it, that. And so look, I, it gets boring to always say Toyota's right, you know, but, but Toyota was right. They didn't want to make promises about EVs that were going to cost them billions and billions. Tens of could have cost them tens of billions of dollars with no certain payback in sight. And they wanted to kind of look, I mean Toyota's still investing in EVs. They're the ones coming out with the most this year, right. Because they invested in them and well, they've the work like you might as well offer them, right. While others are pulling out of the market. But they've continued to invest in hybrids, in fuel cells. Like you know, they, of course, yes, they make a lot of money and they can afford to invest in everything. Not all the automakers are in that position. But having that approach and focusing on what sells affordably and profitably, which for them is hybrids. You know, Prius, Corolla, Hybrid, Camry, Hybrid, RAV4, Sienna, now Highlander, I mean on, on and on and on, like that's valuable not just in America and in Japan, but in China and in Indonesia and in Thailand. I mean Toyota is historically dominant in Southeast Asia, but that is not a place where you can sell a bunch of sixty or eighty thousand dollar evs.

[B]

Which is interesting. I was just talking before you came on the show about the Camry, I'm sorry, the Corolla hybrid, which is such an interesting vehicle to me right now because it hits an interesting price point. It's available with all wheel drive and it's still right around 30 grand. Little expensive maybe for a compact car, but it's really loaded with stuff. And Toyota seems to just sort of secretly carefully plot out spaces in the market that it wants to be at. And it's always in the right place at the right time. But you've noted that Toyota now is going to be loading out, dropping on dealers a bunch of EVs this year, even as other manufacturers are recoiling from the EV segment. What exactly is it that they're doing here? Is it, does this seem counterintuitive?

[D]

It definitely seems counterintuitive. But of course, for those of, you know, those of us who are, you know, intimately, painfully aware of the long cycle times of the auto industry, right. They started these things, you know, look, the Lexus Es as an ev, the Highlander as an ev, you know, they're coming out with these products that are, you know, mainstream, a little, a little above mainstream, but sure, you know, but high volume segments where they're Offering evs. I don't know what their economics are like. You know, if they're money losing vehicles, they will only offer them in limited quantities while they try to learn the market and learn the technology and as they work towards solid state and other potential breakthroughs that really make EVs economical. But you know, there are a lot of Toyota buyers, right? You think about these loyalists who've been buying Camrys since the 80s and there are a lot of. And then they bought Priuses and they're environmentally minded, they're economically minded, they're value minded and they trust this brand, right? They're the easiest customers to sell to are Toyota loyalists. That's why Toyota dealers have such great volume. They just come in ready to buy. And a lot of them have been wanting an ev, wanting an EV from Toyota, right? And now they're going to start to get them. We'll see how the business works out about it. But there's there they have some pent up demand and, and they invested in the technology so they're going to play it out and see how it goes.

[B]

Interesting you should say that. And it's something I hadn't considered and this is why I'm a fan of yours, sir. I had not considered EV buyers waiting for Toyota specifically to do an ev. But that makes all sorts of sense

[D]

and I'd imagine there's at least a million of them.

[B]

Wow. Yeah.

[D]

If you think about California, right, where Toyota has a really huge market share, they have such a share of hybrid buyers who are EV open, Right. They're at least open to something like an EV if it works for them.

[C]

Right. And you and I will absolutely 100% agree on the fact that Toyota is probably the least reactive automaker out there. They have a plan, they stick to the plan, they execute the plan and they move forward and then they create a new plan. And I have to admit to you I was really surprised when they revealed the 2027 Toyota Highlander as an EV only. I've had so many people being like, well so it's also going to be. And I'm like, nope, nope. It is only.

[D]

So not even a plug in hybrid?

[C]

No. So I'm just wondering what your thoughts on that are and what do you think the play is there? What do you think the plan is like? I don't know. I mean I'm confounded a little bit, but intrigued.

[D]

Yeah, I mean we'll see, we'll see if they offer more than 20 year old, 50,000 of them, you know, for sale you know, really shows the evolution of the Highlander brand over the decades. Right. I mean I, I covered, I'm sorry to play the old man card here. I covered the opening of that, you know, Princeton, Indiana plant back in 1998 and you know, the Highlander was on the rise, right. It was Toyota's challenger to the Explorer, which was at the time the best selling non full size pickup in the market. Toyota is more of a crossover than the Explorer but it still hit at kind of the same demographic, solving the same problems for customers. And it just gained so much momentum, became a juggernaut, a multi hundred thousand selling vehicle. And then they offered the Grand Highlander. And what do Americans always want?

[C]

Bigger.

[D]

They want something bigger. They want something bigger. So the Grand Highlander drew away most of the volume. Volume. The Highlanders dwindled and dwindled. I think it's under 50, 000 sales last year. So look, it's, it's a, it's a revered name. But you know, in a new format, I mean maybe it's Toyota's, Toyota's version of Scout or sort of or the, you know, bringing back an old name, you know, with a, with a strong base but in an, in a new powertrain format. And it'll be interesting to see how they play it out. I think the big, the big picture with Toyota and the other Japanese is they're really investing in solid state. They're trying to get to, you know, thousands or a few tens of thousands. Within a few years their timing might luck out to being perfect where they have an economical EV to offer about the time that we have a new administration that might be more interested in environmental causes.

[B]

So speaking of Toyota and EVs and new EVs, Toyota may actually single handedly be keeping the EV market active this year. But I did want to ask you, Yeah, I did want to ask you about one brand that's hyper committed to EVs and that's Cadillac. Are you surprised by how much Cadillac is committed to EV at this point? I think they have five EV models in their lineup.

[D]

Am I surprised? I think if you think about, if you put on your GM hat, think about their strategy. They're almost going back to the original Tesla Playbook which is hey, the vehicles that can afford the batteries, the customers that can afford to pay for these batteries are the luxury customers. Let's start there, you know, minimize the losses, give yourself an opportunity to break even or you know, I mean GM, right. They were going to be break even on EVs when they were building out more scale. They've dialed things back and they've kind of said we'll be profitable when we're profitable. But your best chance at that or your best chance at minimizing your losses is to sell luxury vehicles, you know, to people who can afford them, people who can afford the batteries. People can afford margin and they can. Whether it's the Lyriq or it's a handful of Celestics, these are going to be really cool cars that are going to speak to the best of GM's technology and hopefully not lose money while they continue to learn how to make batteries and make battery electric vehicles.

[B]

So a little bit we did two steps forward and maybe two steps back in that we're back to premium vehicles with EVs and trying to move those while the, the tax incentive and other things that might encourage EV buyers to buy evs are during this administration are put to the wayside. What do you think of the fact that the Chevrolet.

[C]

Bolt.

[B]

Bolt. Thank you.

[C]

Bolt with a B.

[B]

My memory's bad. I am under caffeinated that the Bolt's just coming back for a single model year. It's such a nice little car.

[D]

Yeah, I mean, we'll see how it does. We'll see how it goes. But yes, that is, that's the kind of car that America wants Chevy to be making, especially with this. We'll see. I mean, we'll see how long. I hate to hate to try to find business upside in, you know, violence and, and destruction, but if the war goes on and gas prices go to unprecedented highs, GM may decide to keep that vehicle around. I don't think that's their plan. I'm not reporting this. Don't aggregate me. This is not reported. This is just.

[C]

We're quoting you and we're putting it in big headlines.

[D]

Okay, good. But you know, they're, they're keeping their options open. They're trying to keep learning. You know, I think they, they saw a path that looked like gas was going to be cheap and Americans were going to buy big cars and maybe don't overextend on the Bolt. If the environment changes, I wouldn't be surprised to see GM change. They have proven to be. It's hard to say this. I can't believe I'm going to use the N word. Not that word, the good N word about General Motors, that they are nimble, but they have proven to be nimble in their somewhat nimble. And it's inconceivable for General Motors, but there they Are.

[C]

Yeah. And that was literally just what I was going to ask you about is do you. Because like I said, we were talking about Toyota and they have a plan. They stick to the plan, they execute the plan, they move on to the next plan. But in my brain, I feel like General Motors has been like, you say nimble, I say running around like a chicken with its head cut off because they're like, oh, what EVs are in. We got to go with the EVs.

[A]

What?

[C]

EVs are not in anymore, okay? Bring back the big cars, build a new engine plant. So I just, I don't know. I mean, do you really think that General Motors is nimble?

[D]

Well, okay, I just disparaged the stock markets assessment of news. But I mean, I do think, you know, you, you see what's happened with their stock price. They've generally been rewarded by shareholders. They responded. Look, I, okay, two things. The planning, right? Toyota makes 50 year plans and adjusts incrementally in the short term. And that is absolutely the best way to operate in this industry, in this world. GM has had so much turbulence in American government. Right. I mean, not to be obvious about it, but. Right. Trump being elected, losing the election, coming back into power, the, the policies from Obama trying to push for 50 mile per gallon plus average vehicles, you know, wind dated, right? Regulatory aided, but you know, a really significant boost in cafe to Trump wanting to get rid of them entirely. And then, you know, being talked into just flatlining him, basically.

[B]

Basically.

[D]

Then Biden comes in and you know, the automakers say we might be able to do 40% EVs. And he says, okay, I'm going to announce 50 to 40% because he wanted to say 50 and probably to get the environmental benefits, it probably needed to be 50 by 2030. But we're not going to get there. We don't have the infrastructure, we don't have the mining and refining. All those things are missing. So here we are. Now then we have Trump and it's maybe an overreaction to the other way where everyone seems to be stopping investments in EVs. Now we know GM is still investing in future EVs. We know Ford has the Skunk Works project for $30,000 electric truck. You know, Stellantis has the Leap Motor Partnership. You know, I, I don't think the doom and gloom is 100. Right on. But the cost of these regulatory swings, right? We've seen $35 billion in tariff costs, $70 billion in EV write downs.

[B]

Right.

[D]

You know, maybe some of that Those investments that are being written down now will find value again in 2029 or 2030. But, geez, that's a. That's a lot of turbulence. And GM stock has basically continued to go up. Their profits have held on pretty well, and that seems to speak to something like a nimble General Motors. They planned ahead, they saw where the tariffs might be coming. They made a few tweaks here and there to minimize the damage. Really better than most. And I. I don't know that we all would have expected that.

[C]

You've won me over with your argument.

[D]

Thank you, Joe.

[B]

Jamie, we're out of time. Please tell us how people can keep track of what you're working on.

[D]

Oh, hey, you know, follow me on LinkedIn. That's probably the best place. All the announcements will be there. You know, might be on a few other platforms, but LinkedIn is probably the best place to find me.

[B]

Sounds good. We have to have you back on soon, sir.

[D]

Absolutely. Can't wait.

[B]

All right, that's Jamie Butters. We're going to take a break and when we come back.

[C]

Quiz time.

[B]

Quiz time. Stick around.

[A]

Questions or comments? Drop us a line at car [e-mail] that's car stuffonsumerguide.com. Welcome back to the Car Stuff podcast.

[B]

And we're back. This is the Consumer Guy. Car Stuff podcast. I'm Tom. She is Jill. Good to talk to Jamie.

[C]

It is always good to talk to Jamie.

[B]

Yeah, he always picks up on stuff. He's great, just great to get his side of the story.

[C]

Yeah, I got to see him at CES and then again at the Detroit Auto show this year. So that's when I was like hitting him up to come on the show. So we've had this planned for a while.

[B]

Well, that's good. Yeah, yeah, I like the guy. I've never met the guy.

[C]

Yeah, no, he's. I've met him several times, but we

[B]

are dear, dear friends.

[C]

And you know what? He's also a runner.

[B]

Well, his stock just fell. You have social media stuff.

[C]

I do, I do, yes. So TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn. Yeah, you can. You can hit me and Jamie up at the same time on LinkedIn. The what? Twitter, X threads, all of the things. You can find me at Jill Simonello and use the hashtag card Azure. I've been trying to post a new video to YouTube and to TikTok every day so you can get my daily dose of drive on those two venues.

[B]

I try not to watch anything on TikTok every day.

[C]

Yeah. Which is why I also post to YouTube. I've got a double. Double. Hit it.

[B]

But my daughter constantly sends me links to Zach on snacks.

[C]

Zach on snacks.

[B]

Fabulous.

[C]

Okay.

[B]

Fabulous.

[C]

Okay.

[B]

Yeah, a lot of Little Debbie activities.

[C]

Got. Got it.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

I'm like, my husband's sending me workout videos. I'm like, are you trying to tell me something? I don't know what he's trying to

[B]

tell me, but are they workout videos of hot chicks?

[C]

They are, actually.

[B]

Oh, well, send those to me too.

[C]

Yeah, I can. I can totally do that.

[B]

Yeah. All right, today's quiz is. Are you ready?

[C]

I am never ready, but it can't be worse than last week.

[B]

Fun Facts. Oh, yeah. You got.

[C]

I had, like, big goose egg last week.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

Except for the. The. The bonus question.

[B]

Yeah. Sucks to be you. Okay. Today's quiz is Fun Facts. I'm simply gonna read a statement, and you have to tell me if it's true or false.

[C]

Oh, okay.

[B]

Are you ready?

[C]

Okay. I'm biting into my cinnamon roll.

[B]

Yeah, you're all cinnamon. You can't whine about the dough.

[C]

No, there is no whining.

[B]

For people who don't know we post a picture of the donuts on our Facebook page. The Car Stuff podcast Facebook page every week where Jill generally whines about the selection of the donuts and for some reason seems to have public support for her whininess.

[C]

Yeah. So a huge thumbs up. I got, like, a trio of cinnamon options today.

[B]

Yep.

[C]

So thank you for that.

[B]

Yep. All right, I'm just going to read you a fact.

[C]

Okay.

[B]

An alleged fact.

[C]

An alleged fact.

[B]

You have to tell me if it's true or false.

[C]

Got it.

[B]

It's that simple.

[C]

Okay.

[B]

The 2026 Kia Seltos is offered with two completely different rear suspension setups.

[C]

Ooh,

[B]

a thing. Well, I'll elaborate after the. Mm.

[C]

You know, I don't think I've driven a Seltos since pre pandemic.

[B]

My daughter and I test drove one when she was looking for a car. Very nice car. Absolutely belongs on people's test drive lists.

[C]

And Seltos has all wheel drive available.

[B]

All wheel drive?

[C]

I'm going to say yes.

[B]

Yes. And in fact, it does involve the all wheel drive.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

Front drive versions employ a simple torsion beam arrangement. Kind of. Kind of cheaper, less expensive, while all wheel drive variants are treated to a more sophisticated multi link design. This is true, by the way, of the mechanically similar Hyundai Kona. All right, you have one point. You're already doing better than last week.

[C]

I know. I'm already ahead of the game.

[B]

All right. Fact or not, all 2026 Ram 1500 pickup trucks feature mild hybrid assist, known to the company as Etorque.

[C]

I know. The Hemi has it.

[B]

The 5.7 liter, 5.7 liter V8, which is now back in the lineup.

[C]

Yeah, but does the Hurricane also have it? That's my question. You know what I'm gonna say? True.

[B]

No. The 3.6 liter Pentastar base engine has it. The Hemi has it. The Hurricane does not. You have one point.

[C]

Okay.

[B]

True or false. The Subaru WRX WRX requires premium grade gas.

[C]

Oh.

[B]

The silence is endearing.

[C]

I know. Well, you know, I'm letting the song play out in the background. I figure people want to hear the music just a little bit, so I'm trying not to.

[B]

Do people want to hear that music?

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

You think so?

[C]

Yeah. It's kind of like when you're on an elevator. You want to hear that music. Just kidding. So, WRX, premium fuel. I'm gonna say no.

[B]

Yes. Yeah. The 2.4 liter boxer engine churns out a healthy 271 horsepower, more than 100 horsepower per liter. And it needs premium to get there.

[C]

You know what doesn't require premium fuel? The new Audi Q3.

[B]

I know. That's interesting. That's actually interesting. There was a time where I believe premium manufacturers, especially Europeans, just want required premium because it made them.

[C]

Just because. Yeah.

[B]

All right. You've only got the one point. You went from good to not so good.

[C]

I know. Okay.

[B]

All right. Calling back to your previous career, the 2027 Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra will be made available with an all new 5.7 liter V8. True or false? 5.7 being a heritage displacement. The old Chevy 350 around for decades.

[C]

Yeah. Have to admit, since I have not really driven any pickup trucks since I left. Pickup truck plus SUV talk. So. Huh. I've been focused on catching up on cars and SUVs.

[B]

Excuses.

[C]

I know. Excuses. I'm gonna. I'm gonna say no.

[B]

Yes. Yeah.

[C]

All right.

[B]

The old 5.3 pushrod engine. Really nice engine. Very fuel efficient for its size. On torque output. Being replaced by a 5. 7. The 62 is probably being replaced by a 6. 6, which already. That 66 already exists in medium duty trucks.

[C]

Okay.

[B]

Those are all V8s. They're all push rod. They're all direct injection. Kind of cool engines. You need to win all the way out.

[C]

Yeah. Signs. The Magic 8 Ball is saying signs don't look good.

[B]

Okay. Cranberry Seltzer metallic is a real color available on the 2026 Buick Vista. Cranberry Seltzer metallic. Buick and Vista being Buick's mid sized car. The one. Our compact crossover which is imported from China.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

At great expense these days I'm gonna say. No, it is not.

[C]

Okay.

[B]

All right. It is available in brilliant red, which doesn't sound very cranberry to me. You have two points. You need the bonus question.

[C]

Yeah, I mean, Buick has not been very creative with their names. So I was just like. That sounds like a no to me. Yeah.

[B]

And Vista's sort of creative. It's mostly irritating.

[C]

But not their color names.

[B]

No. All right. Burger King. You know all about Burger King because

[C]

I eat there frequently.

[B]

Right. Burger King in Taiwan. I don't think we've ever done Taiwan before.

[C]

Okay.

[B]

We're gonna be talking about the menu here. But first, how many Burger Kings are there on the planet?

[C]

You asked me this.

[B]

Yeah, I think I've actually asked that.

[C]

You've asked me this and I always get it wrong. 15,000.

[B]

Closest. 20,000.

[C]

Okay.

[B]

How many in the US? 5, 7.

[C]

Okay.

[B]

Ballpark. How many in Taiwan?

[C]

10.

[B]

Ballpark. 98. They're not kicking ass in Taiwan yet. Maybe they'll be moving in there. I need you to tell me which of the following sandwiches is not on the Taiwan Burger King menu. Are you ready?

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

The Spicy Raw Tuna Whopper. The Double Fish and Crisp Burger. The Double Crispy Chicken with Peanut Butter Sandwich. The Crispy Beef Burger, or the case of the Lib of the Shape. I can't even do it. The case of the Shapely Librarian Burger.

[C]

You had to make that one easy for me, didn't you?

[B]

That's not actually part of the thing. I just wanted to say it. Okay.

[C]

I was like. Yeah, I was gonna say it's gonna be that one and it's. Which one is not on the menu. Right.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

And that last one is not a part of the question.

[B]

No, I just wanted to read it.

[C]

Yeah. Because.

[B]

Case of the Shapely Librarian Burger.

[C]

Yeah. In case. In case you missed it, you'll have to go back and listen to the quiz last week.

[B]

Speaking of which, lots of new listeners we haven't said hello to.

[C]

Okay.

[B]

So. Hello.

[C]

Hi.

[B]

Last month, we, like, we were really up in Download. So thank you.

[C]

Thank you.

[B]

We appreciate your attention and your time and your commutes.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

Where I assume most people listen.

[C]

I. I listen while I run.

[B]

Do you?

[C]

I do. I listen. I listen to podcasts while I run

[B]

or walk Because I work from home now. I need to go out and test drive. And that's when I listen to podcasts, and that's when I used to listen to Jamie, who's awesome.

[C]

He is. He is very awesome. Jake near, your good friend Jamie.

[B]

Jake near has replaced him more or less at Automotive News. He's great.

[C]

He is. Yep.

[B]

He's really good.

[C]

Yep.

[B]

All right. The spicy raw tuna burger. The double fish and crisp burger. The double crispy chicken burger with peanut butter, or the crispy crispy beef burger. Crispy beef sounds weird.

[C]

It really does. And I was making a face at the chicken and peanut butter thing, but I know, like, I feel like peanut butter and chicken is a thing in Thai food.

[B]

I think it is.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

There's Thai peanut stuff, sure.

[C]

Yeah. Okay, so you said. Read them one more time.

[B]

Spicy raw tuna whopper. The double fish and crisp burger. The double crispy chicken with peanut butter sandwich or the crispy beef burger.

[C]

Totally a guess here. But you said raw tuna.

[B]

Spicy raw tuna whopper.

[C]

I'm gonna. I'm gonna say no to that.

[B]

Wow. That's right.

[C]

It was raw. Like tuna. Yeah, Raw.

[B]

I was thinking sushi. Ish.

[C]

Yeah. No, no. Fast food sushi. Bad idea.

[B]

Also, sushi, I realize, is not a Chinese, Taiwanese thing. It's a Japanese thing. But they do the raw fish thing. The whole basin. The whole Pacific basin.

[C]

Putting raw food in a fast food restaurant, Bad, bad idea.

[B]

All the nations where Mitsubishi is popular, that's where they like the raw tuna.

[C]

I like raw tuna.

[B]

All right.

[C]

Just not from a fast food place.

[B]

We're almost out of time here. But there's something I wanted to get back to because we talked about it.

[C]

Okay.

[B]

Oh, no, I didn't do that with the numbers. Didn't I? I was sure I did.

[C]

I bet it's in one of your little bullet points that has an open hole.

[B]

Yes, it was. We talked about the Mercedes Benz R Class, and we have to congratulate Mercedes for taking a chance and trying to sell that vehicle here. But it never really caught on. What's interesting is they built them for a long time at the retired Hummer plant in northwest Indiana for sale to other countries. Just a weird little fun fact. It was new for 2020. I'm sorry? For 2006, they sold 18,000 of them. It was discontinued for 2012. They sold 1600 then. So there you have it.

[C]

Yeah. So, you know, I mean, speaking of the Mercedes lineup, they were going to create a whole new, like, eqe, like, EQ lineup of Electric cars.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

And it looks like I just heard this today. The new strategy moving forward is to essentially, and I'm going to call it, do a toyotification where they're essentially offering all powertrain options with their different. So they'll have like a hybrid plug in hybrid.

[B]

One of the funny things that came out of this and to try to make it look like no one got caught off guard, is to develop vehicles that are now called multi fuel or multi powertrain. So it's not gasoline only, it's gasoline powered vehicle that can be hybrid plug in, hybrid and, or electric. And the thing is, that's actually not a good strategy because the things that are required to host a gasoline engine are different from the things required to host an ev. And it does add weight if you combine the needs of the two.

[C]

Right.

[B]

So it's not an ideal strategy.

[C]

No, but that, that seems to be there. So like the E class multi powertrain options.

[B]

Yeah, we'll see what happens over there at Mercedes. There's one more thing I wanted to talk about real quick. Are you ready?

[C]

Okay.

[B]

If I said Porsche, tell me what Porsche is.

[C]

Okay.

[B]

It's a company.

[C]

Yeah. What do you mean?

[B]

What do they do?

[C]

They make cars. This is somehow a trick question.

[B]

It is, it is. But you didn't fall for the trick. I thought you were gonna say they make sports cars.

[C]

Okay.

[B]

Which they really don't.

[C]

No, I mean you've got the Cayenne and you've got the. Yeah, they make cars.

[B]

So I've got this here. Last year, record year for them in the US or near record year. 76,000 vehicles. A lot of vehicles. Most average at over 100 grand. Only 13,911s. The classic Porsche, the enduring legend, that is the modern sports car, the Cayman and the Boxster, which have been discontinued for 2026. Just 4,000 cars. Meanwhile, the Taycan, the electric car. Bummer four grand. But meanwhile the Cayenne, the Panamera and the Macan. Crushing it.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

So it's funny. Porsche has done such a good job of managing this move to crossovers without compromising their identity.

[C]

Well, and I had the opportunity last year to drive the Macan ev. Thumbs up like that was. That was amazing.

[B]

Yeah, we talked about that on the show.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

All right. Guess what? We did.

[C]

We had another excellent episode.

[B]

Was good to talk to Jamie Butters. Big thanks to Jamie. Check him out. Jamie Butters at LinkedIn. All right, big thanks to Jill and to producer Randy and the good folks here at Talkzone. Let's talk more about cars again next week. Next week.

[A]

Remember to check us out at Consumer God. The Car Stuff podcast is produced by JTurn Media. To advertise on the show, please drop us a line at [e-mail].