Sony-Honda JV Dead, Mercedes Crossover Impresses, New Mazda CX-5 Tech

Summary

Car Stuff Podcast – Episode Summary

Episode Title: Sony-Honda JV Dead, Mercedes Crossover Impresses, New Mazda CX-5 Tech
Date: March 30, 2026
Hosts: Tom Appel (Publisher, Consumer Guide Automotive), Jill Ciminillo (Contributing Editor, Consumer Guide, NACTOY Juror)
Special Guest: Matthew Valbuena (Project Manager for In-Vehicle Technology, Mazda)

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Episode Overview

In this episode, Tom and Jill discuss major headlines and reviews in the auto industry, including the dissolution of the Sony-Honda Afila joint venture, a first drive impression of the redesigned Mercedes-Benz GLE450, the impacts of increased ethanol blending in gasoline, some GM autonomous vehicle intrigue, updates from the New York Auto Show, and a deep dive into the new Mazda CX-5’s tech, featuring a detailed interview with Mazda’s Matthew Valbuena. The show wraps with a listener quiz and a discussion of vehicles currently being tested.

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Key Topics & Discussion Points

1. Hyundai/Kia Recall: Power Seat Safety Concerns

• [02:35–04:05]
  • Issue: Recall on Hyundai Palisade and Kia Telluride due to a fatal incident where a third-row seat failed to detect a child, leading to a stop sale and quick (though incomplete) over-the-air software update.
  • Quote – Tom (03:13): “A young girl was crushed in the seat and the seat did not. The sensors in the seat did not detect her presence…A software update…and further word of a complete and total fix.”

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2. Land Cruiser 2024 First Drive (Redesign Review)

• [04:05–05:59]
  • Redesign details: New architecture, downsized, lighter, turbocharged IForce Max hybrid engine, lower price point.
  • Highlights: Commanding driving position, excellent outward visibility, active stop/start system, improved fuel economy (23 mpg).
  • Quote – Tom (05:09): “Outward visibility is excellent. The commanding drive position is great. Everything about this is fun. I love driving this vehicle.”
  • Drawback: Interior finish downgraded to hard plastics.
  • Price comment (05:41): “I wish it wasn’t 65K. And I wish I’d have a chance to drive it off road.”

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3. Sony-Honda Afila JV Canceled: Honda EV Strategy Unravels

• [06:06–07:44]
  • News: Sony-Honda Mobility cancels the Afila EV joint venture. The sedan and SUV that were planned are off.
  • Wider context: Honda has also recently dropped several other EVs (e.g., Prologue, Acura ZDX, Honda Zero series), leaving its future electric strategy unclear.
  • Quote – Tom (06:53): “So that leaves Honda...This is. What is it? 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. There's another car in there…”

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4. Subaru & Toyota: New EV Three-Row SUVs Collaboration

• [07:44–08:36]
  • Info: At the upcoming New York Auto Show, Subaru is rumored to reveal a three-row companion to the Toyota Highlander EV, likely a replacement for Subaru Ascent.
  • Sales Reflection: Subaru Ascent is not a “disaster” but is underperforming.
  • Quote – Jill (08:29): “You know, I’m having dinner with Subaru Wednesday night, so I will ask questions.”

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5. Fuel News: E15 Ethanol Blend Temporarily Approved

• [08:45–11:52]
  • Federal Policy: Short-term approval for E15 (15% ethanol in gasoline) to offset fuel prices due to summer gas demand.
  • Drawbacks: Less energy per gallon, fuel economy drops (~0.5 mpg), concerns about increased smog, and potential for increased wear on older fuel systems (but less concern today).
  • Quip – Tom (09:44): “Alcohol is not a panacea as a fuel. It is cleaner burning overall, but actually contributes to evaporative emissions.”
  • Story – Jill (11:02): “Over the weekend, I drove down to Indianapolis and gas there for premium was $5 a gallon...thankfully I have a Kroger card and I got 30 cents off a gallon.”

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6. EV Fuel and Tech Tangents: E85, Brine Shrimp, and Sea Monkeys

• [11:55–13:03]
  • Historical anecdotes on biofuels and the scalability of experimental energy sources, sprinkled with humor about brine shrimp ("sea monkeys") fads.

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7. GM’s Ongoing Autonomous Efforts Post-Cruise Shutdown

• [13:30–14:39]
  • Observation: Despite Cruise Automation’s shutdown, GM may still be testing lidar-equipped Chevy Bolts.
  • Quote – Tom (14:01): “Maybe they promised to have like a fully autonomous capable like Escalade Cadillac in like 2028… Full level three.”

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8. Mercedes-Benz GLE450 Review: Midsize Luxury Road Tripper

• [14:39–22:10]
  • Tested by Jill: Midsize two-row SUV, 3L inline-six with mild hybrid, ample cargo/people space, firm suspension (potholes aren’t good), comfortable on highways.
  • Impressions: Smooth, fast, luxury interior, high-tech mono screen (merged gauge cluster and infotainment, 12.3”), customizable digital themes, some physical controls, $72–79K as tested.
  • Quote – Jill (19:26): “Seats are a little firm, but mostly comfortable. That’s German. That’s Mercedes.”
  • Technology trends: Rise of mono-screens traced to Hyundai/Kia, Cadillac, and Lincoln.
  • Final impression (21:25): “If you’re looking for something that is sporty, that could operate as a family vehicle for smaller families...this is certainly worth considering if you have $80,000.”

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9. Mazda CX-5 Technology Deep Dive (with Matthew Valbuena, Mazda)

• [24:59–41:46]

Key Takeaways:

• CX-5 Redesign: Wheelbase and interior space increased (better second row, easier car seat access, more cargo).
• Biggest News: Introduction of full Google Built-In infotainment system.
  • Standard on all trims (12.9” or 15.6” touchscreen depending on trim).
  • Car-native Google Maps, Assistant, Play Store—over 300 compatible downloadable apps.
  • No more rotary knob: All touch and voice, with familiar smartphone-like operation.
  • OTA Updates: The system evolves throughout ownership, staying on par with current phone tech.
• Climate Controls: Most functions on-screen (persistent dock), physical buttons only for front/rear defrost; all can be controlled by voice (“Hey Google, set temp to 72 degrees”).
• Future-Ready: Upcoming integration with Google Gemini for more advanced, AI-powered voice support and contextual queries—example: asking for “a gluten-free Indian restaurant that’s child-friendly by the beach.”
• Strategic Rationale: This is Mazda’s best-seller, chosen as the debut for advanced infotainment to meet expectations of Gen Z/Alpha drivers.
• Availability: New CX-5 is at dealerships now.

Memorable Quotes:

• Matthew Valbuena (27:57): “With Google built in, you have all that capability built into the vehicle so you can move on with your day, even if you happen to leave your phone at home.”
• Valbuena (32:59): “We were trying to reduce the cognitive load required. …It’s much more familiar experience.”
• Jill (37:38): “One of the features that I love on Google built in vehicles is the ability to initiate changes without taking your eyes off the road, just through voice commands and really good natural language.”
• Valbuena (39:54): “If you have very particular taste or very exact requirements, Gemini will help you find those results.”

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10. Auto Show Preview & Industry News

• [44:12–44:50]
  • New York Auto Show expectations: New models from Subaru, VW, Hyundai, Kia, Genesis.
  • Teasing of coverage for next week.

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11. Quiz: CVTs vs. Automatics + Car Banter & Bonus Round

• [45:25–55:04]
  • Jill and Tom compete in a fun quiz about which vehicles have CVT transmissions.
  • Banter includes cinnamon donuts, test car mishaps, and debate over the best compact crossovers.
  • Bonus question: Which “radish” name is not real? (Answer: Polish Wonder)

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12. Current/Future Test Cars & Final Thoughts

• [55:04–60:05]
  • Mazda CX-5 vs. CX-50: CX-5 more upright/urban, CX-50 more “rugged.”
  • Test Drives:
    • Tom: Lexus RZ550e (electric) – improved interior, quick acceleration, 226-mile range.
    • Jill: Mercedes GLE450 (ending soon), Genesis GV80 Coupe – “beautiful,” with a mono display and interesting gauge cluster mapping.
  • Farewell and acknowledgement to staff, producer, and guest.

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Notable Quotes / Moments (with Timestamps)

• Land Cruiser Redesign (05:09, Tom):
  “Outward visibility is excellent…the commanding drive position is great…Everything about this is fun. I love driving this vehicle.”

• End of Afila (06:53, Tom):
  “That leaves Honda…so this is—what is it? 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. There's another car in there…”

• Ethanol Drawbacks (09:44, Tom):
  “Alcohol is not a panacea as a fuel. It is cleaner burning overall, but actually contributes to evaporative emissions…”

• Cognitive Load (32:59, Valbuena):
  “We were trying to reduce the cognitive load required. …It’s much more familiar experience…”

• Google Built-In (27:57, Valbuena):
  “With Google built in, you have all that capability built into the vehicle so you can move on with your day, even if you happen to leave your phone at home.”

• Mercedes GLE450 Price/Value (21:25, Jill):
  “If you’re looking for something that is sporty, that could operate as a family vehicle...this is certainly worth considering if you have $80,000.”

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• [04:05] Land Cruiser Redesign
• [06:06] Sony-Honda Afila Cancellation
• [07:44] Subaru/Toyota EV Collaboration
• [08:54] E15 Fuel Discussion
• [13:30] GM’s Autonomous Testing
• [14:39] Mercedes GLE450 Road Trip Impression
• [24:59] Mazda CX-5 Tech Interview (Valbuena)
• [44:12] Auto Show News Preview
• [45:25] Quiz: CVT or Automatic Transmission
• [55:04] Test Car Recap and Final Thoughts

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Episode Tone & Style

Conversational, knowledgeable, sometimes playful. Mix of hard news, expert insight, product impressions, and good-natured banter—especially evident in the quiz and test car segments.

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Summary for Non-Listeners

This episode is packed with value for car enthusiasts and shoppers: substantial news about the future (and frequent multi-brand rethinks) of electric vehicles, concrete impressions of two high-profile new SUVs, deep insight into in-cabin technology trends for mainstream drivers, and a lively, relatable rundown of industry quirks—plus, a little fun along the way. If you want to quickly get up to speed on the latest vehicle tech, industry shakeups, and which crossovers deserve your attention, this episode delivers.

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For more, visit consumerguide.com and check out next week’s episode for New York Auto Show coverage and more test drive reviews.

Transcript

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[Podcast Host/Producer]

Whether you drive a car, need a car, or just occasionally bum a ride with friends, you've come to the right place. Join Joe and Tom as they break down everything that's going on in the auto world.

[Sponsor/Ad Voice]

New car reviews, shopping tips, driving green

[Podcast Host/Producer]

electric cars, classic cars and plenty of great guests. This is the Consumer Guide Car Stuff Podcast.

[Tom Appel]

All right. This is the Consumer Guide Car Stuff podcast. I'm Tom Appel, publisher of Consumer Guide Automotive. Thanks for visiting with us today. When you have a moment, check us out@consumer guide.com lots of cool stuff there. I won't get into it today. With me in studio is Jill Simonello, contributing editor here at Consumer Guide freelancer.

[Jill Simonello]

Yes.

[Tom Appel]

And North American Car of the Year juror. How are you?

[Jill Simonello]

I'm doing well. It's lovely outside today.

[Tom Appel]

Little humid. If I was going to complain, there

[Jill Simonello]

is no humidity there.

[Tom Appel]

Yeah, a little.

[Jill Simonello]

Not even.

[Tom Appel]

I'm going to check it during the break. I bet there is. I'm sensitive to humidity.

[Jill Simonello]

I love humidity. So I don't.

[Tom Appel]

Yeah, I don't. But it is darn nice here in Chicago again. Those days when we were like, why do we live here? This is why we live here.

[Jill Simonello]

This is the day I Mean, on Wednesday, not so much, but because it's going to drop back down to the 40s. But today's the day.

[Tom Appel]

Is it?

[Jill Simonello]

Yeah, yeah.

[Tom Appel]

We get the crazy temperature swings, like 30, 40 degree temperature swings. Last week we talked a little bit about the Hyundai Palisade and that recall. And I suggested that perhaps a Telluride. Telluride. The Kia Telluride would get caught up

[Jill Simonello]

that reverse it, start over.

[Tom Appel]

Yeah, the Kia Telluride would get caught up in that swirling mass. And it has. Yeah, they haven't delivered many of them, but about 600 of them. And I think it's 600 that have this software. And what we're talking about is that there was unfortunately a death in a Hyundai Palisade in which the rear seat, the third row seat.

[Jill Simonello]

Was it the third row or the second row?

[Home Depot/Taco Bell Announcer]

Third row.

[Tom Appel]

They're both power. There's power sliding second row and then power folding third row. And a young girl was crushed in the seat and the seat did not. The sensors in the seat did not detect her presence. So immediate stop sail on the two trim levels of that vehicle. It's the Limited and the Calligraphy on the Hyundai side and the SX Prestige and SX Prestige X Pro on the Kia side stop sales on those, a software update and over the air software update is coming quickly. That is not the fix, but it probably fixes everything. There's going to be further word of a complete and total fix to make sure that everything's gotten done. So that's the thing. You can still go buy one if it doesn't have this. If you have one, you're told not to move that stuff. If there's a child in the car. Yes, that's that story. Okay, all right, that's that. That's the bad news. I just drove the Land Cruiser.

[Jill Simonello]

It has been a minute since I've driven that.

[Tom Appel]

The big news about the Land Cruiser redesigned for 2024 is that it became a very different vehicle. The old Land Cruiser was a very large, very expensive, very luxurious vehicle. And it was based on the Lexus LX570 or the Lexus LX570 was based on this. I don't care how you want to put it, but it was far more expensive. The vehicle would crack $100,000. It had a big V8 engine. For 2024, the vehicle was redesigned, new architecture, weighs less, a little bit smaller, a little bit tidier. Now uses the I Force turbocharged hybridized engine. I Force max.

[Jill Simonello]

Yeah, it was like iForce. I Force Max.

[Tom Appel]

IForce Max. Anyway, I shouldn't love this vehicle for a bunch of reasons.

[Jill Simonello]

Okay.

[Tom Appel]

Including the fact that in making it a less expensive car, the interior got, frankly, cheap. It's hard plastic everywhere.

[Jill Simonello]

Okay.

[Tom Appel]

They don't even pretend it's not. But what a joy to drive. This engine just squirts from the line. It makes a wonderful exhaust burble. It handles so well for a vehicle of this size with an off road mission.

[Jill Simonello]

Okay.

[Tom Appel]

Outward visibility is excellent. The commanding drive position is great. Everything about this is fun. I love driving this vehicle. There's one thing that you will hate about this vehicle or would have hated about this vehicle that I kind of found entertaining.

[Jill Simonello]

Okay.

[Tom Appel]

Very, very, very active stop start system. The funny thing about that is that the exhaust burble is very pronounced. So you'll come to a stop, nothing's going on. You hit the gas. The minute you hit the gas, you just hear this crazy burble.

[Jill Simonello]

Okay.

[Tom Appel]

And then it squirts away from the line. I love this vehicle. I Wish it wasn't 65K.

[Jill Simonello]

Yeah.

[Tom Appel]

And I wish I'd have a chance to drive it off road, but it. It feels fantastic. So I'm just saying, this newly positioned vehicle that cost 35k less than it used to, kind of cool.

[Jill Simonello]

Okay.

[Tom Appel]

Also great mileage, given the size, given the mass, given the power. I'm getting 23. I got 23 miles per gallon.

[Jill Simonello]

Okay. Yeah. Iforce Max.

[Tom Appel]

If Force Max. All right. I'm just crossing things off my list. Are you ready?

[Jill Simonello]

Okay. Crossed off. What's next?

[Tom Appel]

We predicted this one, and it happened. Afila.

[Jill Simonello]

Yep.

[Tom Appel]

Afila. Afila was a project from Sony, Honda Mobility. It was a joint venture between the two companies. They were going to build premium electric vehicles with Honda drive technology and Sony. Whatever technology. I'm not entirely sure what it was Sony was going to bring to the table. They were going to build these vehicles. One was coming out later this year in Honda's East Liberty factory. Anyway, they've canceled it. And who knows what comes of the of this joint venture? Probably nothing. There were two vehicles that were going to come out of this. A sedan, because the world needs more premium electric sedans, and an suv, which probably would have sold better, but it's gone.

[Jill Simonello]

Yes.

[Tom Appel]

So that leaves Honda, having recently killed the prologue. The Acura zdx, the Honda Zero series car, which included a sedan, a saloon, and a SUV. And now these. So this is. What is it? 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. There's another car in there. Oh, there was An Acura electric compact SUV that got killed as well.

[Jill Simonello]

You said zdx. That's the Acura.

[Tom Appel]

Well, that already. But there was another vehicle coming.

[Jill Simonello]

Oh, okay. Coming, coming. Yeah. I really. I only had a brief opportunity to drive the ZDX on a different, like, they like, kind of snuck it into, I think, the MDX program. And then I had. I had the prologue for a full week test, and I loved it. I thought it was great.

[Tom Appel]

Yeah. And that was. That was GM bones.

[Jill Simonello]

Yep. And it had apple carplay.

[Tom Appel]

There you go.

[Jill Simonello]

Yeah.

[Tom Appel]

But they're afila. Not gonna happen.

[Jill Simonello]

Nope.

[Tom Appel]

So there you go. Strangely, strangely. New York auto show coming up. New York auto show. We're gonna see a new electric vehicle from Subaru. It turns out. I don't know if this is actually out there or if it's official, but the. The Toyota Highlander, which is going all ev, is going to have a Subaru companion.

[Jill Simonello]

Yeah. So think Ascent. Subaru Ascent. So I wonder if that means they're going to replace the Ascent with this three row vehicle.

[Tom Appel]

Oh, I don't know.

[Jill Simonello]

Because they're replacing the Highlander.

[Tom Appel]

The Ascent has been a sales dog.

[Jill Simonello]

Yeah.

[Tom Appel]

It's not doing a lot for Subaru there.

[Jill Simonello]

So therefore they could.

[Tom Appel]

They could replace it. They could still sell. It sells about 50,000 units a year. It's not. It's not a disaster.

[Jill Simonello]

Wasn't that about what the Highlander was

[Tom Appel]

selling at the end? Yeah, at the end. I think it's 56,000.

[Jill Simonello]

So.

[Tom Appel]

So maybe.

[Jill Simonello]

We'll see. You know, I'm having dinner with Subaru Wednesday night, so I will ask questions.

[Tom Appel]

Is there an event?

[Jill Simonello]

So I'm going to the New York Auto Show.

[Tom Appel]

Oh, okay.

[Jill Simonello]

Tomorrow you're going to be there. And they are hosting a dinner. So I will. I will ask questions.

[Tom Appel]

Get us a guest.

[Jill Simonello]

I will. You know what? I will make that happen.

[Tom Appel]

All right. Here's a little story I just saw. And I think it will confuse people.

[Jill Simonello]

Okay?

[Tom Appel]

But because of gas prices, the government, our federal government is considering, actually has approved the use of E15. Now, most gas that we buy now, and I think all gas we buy in Illinois is E10, which means it's 10% ethanol.

[Jill Simonello]

Okay?

[Tom Appel]

They're talking about expanding this now to 15% ethanol, a thing which works better in the summer for a bunch of reasons. But here's the deal. This goes way, way back to 1977 in the Clean Air Act, E10 was approved for use in 78. The wide adaptation, wide adoption was not until much later.

[Jill Simonello]

Okay.

[Tom Appel]

But now we're all using it. A couple of problems with it. Now, if 5% of our gasoline is suddenly replaced with alcohol, maybe that will reduce prices. But the bad news is the alcohol has less energy.

[Jill Simonello]

I know. It's like fuel economy.

[Tom Appel]

Your fuel economy will drop, and it'll drop about half a mile per gallon.

[Jill Simonello]

Yeah.

[Tom Appel]

As a result of that. Also, alcohol is not a panacea as a fuel. It is cleaner burning overall, but actually contributes to evaporative emissions, which means that in places like maybe Chicago, but definitely la. More smog.

[Jill Simonello]

Yeah.

[Tom Appel]

So there's a downside to this. We'll see that. Right now, this is very strange. It's approved for use for about a month.

[Jill Simonello]

Okay.

[Tom Appel]

Which isn't going to have the world's biggest impact on the supply of fuel. And then further approval awaits. How well that goes. So we'll see what happens. And if anyone listening has ever driven through, like, Iowa, I don't even know how this is legal. They sell E30. It just. You go to a pump and there are like seven different.

[Jill Simonello]

Yeah. Like Iowa, Nebraska, and, you know, some of the plain states have different weird blends.

[Tom Appel]

And I don't know how they're legal and they're very strange. But the thing is, it's. It's the kind of thing that will. It's 10% less, so it looks cheap, but your fuel economy is going to drop by 20%.

[Jill Simonello]

Yeah.

[Tom Appel]

Not worth it.

[Jill Simonello]

You're going to be paying more. Yeah. Well, so I have to say, over the weekend, I drove down to Indianapolis and gas there for premium was $5 a gallon for premium. And because I was driving a Mercedes,

[Tom Appel]

I've seen five bucks for diesel.

[Jill Simonello]

Yeah. No premium around here in Indiana, though. I mean, Indiana usually has significantly lower gas prices than we do up here in Chicago, but thankfully I have a Kroger card and I got 30 cents off a gallon.

[Tom Appel]

That's good.

[Jill Simonello]

Yeah.

[Tom Appel]

One thing I wanted to say about this, too. One of the concerns when E10 was adopted was that alcohol, ethanol is bad for your fuel system.

[Jill Simonello]

Yeah.

[Tom Appel]

And there was some evidence to suggest that the alcohol would in fact advance or. Or accelerate the corrosion of rubber gaskets and rubber parts and nylon tubing and things like that. I reached out to a couple of mechanics. None of them got back to me. I'm not aware that this became a broader issue and cars are now built for that anyway. So I'm thinking that just going from E10 to E15 won't be an issue, but heck, if you could avoid it. Avoid it.

[Jill Simonello]

Yeah.

[Tom Appel]

Why? Why tempt fate?

[Jill Simonello]

Well, you remember many moons ago when they did the E85, you know, GM had that partnership with. What was the name of that? Cascada or something.

[Tom Appel]

I don't know if that was a GM partnership. It was a project with Mobile Oil. Yeah. And it was Cascada.

[Jill Simonello]

Yeah. Because I remember taking a plant tour, but it was the GM who had the E85K.

[Tom Appel]

Oh, you went to the plant vehicles.

[Jill Simonello]

Yeah.

[Tom Appel]

They were going to make alcohol out of algae.

[Jill Simonello]

Yeah. And sugar cane in Brazil.

[Tom Appel]

And that didn't happen.

[Jill Simonello]

No.

[Tom Appel]

The funny thing is anything you're going to make fuel out of will immediately become expensive. So you have to allow for that. It's not the. Like you can get pond scum anywhere right now. But if you're going to start using pond scum to make fuel. Fuel, you're going to run out of pond scum.

[Jill Simonello]

Yep.

[Tom Appel]

Famously. Famously. Do you remember sea monkeys?

[Jill Simonello]

Yes.

[Tom Appel]

They were advertising the back of comic books in the 60s and 70s and they were just brine shrimp. They were just. And the eggs were very, were very sturdy and could be mailed. So that was the whole scam here. Right. And kids were buying these things believing from the ad that you could train brine shrimp. Anyway, let's get past that scam.

[Jill Simonello]

Okay?

[Tom Appel]

The minute they were popular, they ran out of brine shrimp eggs. It was just self defeating, the easily accessed brine shrimp eggs. By the way, brine shrimp really aren't fun pets. My daughter got some, some sea monkeys at some point and they live for a little while, then they die. They can't be trained. They can't be trained. They don't recite poetry. They're just boring, not fun. Okay, all right, Interesting story. You ready Autoline?

[Jill Simonello]

Yes.

[Tom Appel]

Now hosted by Sean McElroy, son of John McElroy. John's been our guest. Sean recently spotted two years after cruise Automation, Cruise was shut down by General Motors. A Chevy bolt running around with equipment on the top of it, including what he thought were lidar pods. So he did some checking, good journalism, called General Motors and got sort of a half answer that yeah, they're still working on this stuff. So General Motors may have shut down Cruise.

[Jill Simonello]

Right.

[Tom Appel]

And its big expensive office in San Francisco and the programs that were highly visible but they're still working on it. Maybe.

[Jill Simonello]

Well, I mean, in some ways that makes sense because didn't they promise to have like a fully autonomous capable like Escalade Cadillac in like 2028 or something like that?

[Tom Appel]

A full level three? Yeah, full level three. Which means that you don't have to pay attention.

[Jill Simonello]

Right.

[Tom Appel]

That's the big bump from level two plus plus plus and level three is that the driver doesn't have to pay attention. So Waymo Zoox and Tesla still out there, very public. People are watching them. General Motors kind of operating in the dark here.

[Jill Simonello]

They're on the qt.

[Tom Appel]

Yes, it's very interesting. You had mentioned driving a Mercedes to Indianapolis. Do tell.

[Jill Simonello]

Yeah, you know, so I had the Mercedes GLE450 and that is a really, really comfortable road trip vehicle. I mean the ride and handling is certainly a little bit firm. So once you're on the highway, it's usually pretty good.

[Tom Appel]

Well, tell us what that is.

[Jill Simonello]

What, what the GLE is. Yeah, it's kind of like their midsize two row suv. Plenty of cargo space for luggage. So you fit five passengers and their things, which is really nice. But yeah, firm ride. Potholes not good. But sporty, fun to drive, gets the EPA recommended fuel economy. I was at least combined. I think they're combined is like 20, 23, 24. And I was right. Right in that range.

[Tom Appel]

And you said this was the 450. So that's the 3 liter inline six with 48 volt mild hybrid assist at

[Jill Simonello]

what, 375 horsepower, I think.

[Tom Appel]

I don't know.

[Jill Simonello]

I am, I'm pretty sure. Okay, pretty 99.9% sure. I'm not googling it, but it was smooth, fast, fun. You know, my husband fell asleep, so I'm going to assume it was also comfortable for him. Like the technology, you have like one of those big screens, it's like 12.3 inches and 12.3 inches, but it like it's a mono screen that goes from the gauge cluster to the infotainment system.

[Tom Appel]

What did we just see that didn't have that? What did you and I meet for lunch?

[Jill Simonello]

Oh, the Jeep Cherokee. Right.

[Tom Appel]

The Jeep Cherokee does not make use of that. I think that's the only new vehicle

[Jill Simonello]

I've seen does not have a mono screen.

[Tom Appel]

Not using the giant mono screen. It's so trendy, but it's a great look and it packages so easily in a dashboard.

[Jill Simonello]

I do think it's a great look. There are a lot of people who are against it, but I like it.

[Tom Appel]

What have you heard that people dislike about it?

[Jill Simonello]

They prefer like the little screen built into the infotainment system. I don't know.

[Tom Appel]

What's interesting about this is that it does bring the face of the gauges on the instrument panel, you know, between the steering wheel closer to you.

[Jill Simonello]

Yeah.

[Tom Appel]

And they can be made much more bright because they don't have to be backlit or anything. I like it a lot. And credit, I think, Hyundai, Kia for starting this.

[Jill Simonello]

Yeah.

[Tom Appel]

Very trendy, but incredibly effective.

[Jill Simonello]

Yeah. And I mean, Cadillac, I think, was an early bringer of the mono screen as well.

[Tom Appel]

Yes. Because the Escalade did that crazy wall to wall thing first and then Lincoln. Rip that off.

[Jill Simonello]

But very effectively and differently.

[Tom Appel]

Yes. Because it's set further back and it's more. It follows the arc of the.

[Jill Simonello]

Yeah.

[Tom Appel]

Of the windshield.

[Jill Simonello]

Yeah. But no. So this is good. And you have like adjustable gauge cluster so you can do like sport, you can do classic, you can do efficiency assistance. So you have like.

[Tom Appel]

Oh, these are themes.

[Jill Simonello]

Yeah, themes that you can adjust. And so I always get really irked when you have a digital display and it just essentially replicates analog gauges. And I'm like, why? Why are you doing this to me? Give me the analog gau.

[Tom Appel]

There are more of those than I think people know. I've driven a lot of vehicles that have a digital. And it just looks exactly like an analog screen.

[Jill Simonello]

Yes. Why?

[Tom Appel]

Also, I have to bring it in and show it to you. I have a watch. It rips it off. But it's a Mercedes Benz classic themed watch. I wonder if it looks like what you were looking at.

[Jill Simonello]

Maybe, maybe.

[Tom Appel]

But the face of it is basically a dial from an old Mercedes.

[Jill Simonello]

Yeah. But, you know, and the fit and finish is really well done.

[Tom Appel]

As it should be. Because you haven't gotten to the price yet.

[Jill Simonello]

No, no. And I will say I'm going to be writing this story for U.S. news World Report and they require that you take like 100 photos of the car. And they. I know, right. And the interior shots, they don't want any dust to show. And there are some also.

[Tom Appel]

Dear God.

[Jill Simonello]

Yeah. Like there's lots of shiny bits on this. As I was realizing this morning when I was taking the interior shots of the car. And I'm just like, holy. You know, really? And so I was, I was like out with the little cloth, trying to wipe all that down, get the fingerprints with the winde, you know, off of the gauge cluster and stuff. Yeah.

[Tom Appel]

I need to create a photography bag that I bring with me when I go to take pictures of cars. My wife always helps me with that, which is nice. But I need to bring a feather duster. What's amazing is I'll take a picture of the shifter, the gear selector usually on the center console, and it always looks like I don't see it when I'm taking a picture. And then I get home and I blow it up and I'm doing Photoshop and it looks like I sneezed all over it. I'm like, what is this crap? Yeah, yeah, it's hard.

[Jill Simonello]

It's crazy. So like I have like one of the disposable Windex wipe things. So I keep those in the car. And then I have the soft cloths that you can kind of wipe stuff down. But yeah, I mean, so there are some shiny bits which are kind of annoying. But I like the screen, I like the technology. The fit and finish is good. Seats are a little firm, but mostly comfortable.

[Tom Appel]

That's German.

[Jill Simonello]

It's German.

[Tom Appel]

That's Mercedes.

[Jill Simonello]

And I mean, like, I was trying to think about some of the things that I didn't like about it and I like.

[Tom Appel]

I bet it's the price.

[Jill Simonello]

Yeah, I mean, $79,000 is a little bit ouchy.

[Tom Appel]

Oh, and now you drove the standard version, right? Because there was a coupe.

[Jill Simonello]

Yeah, no, no, no. I had the regular version. And this did have some options. So 72,000 is the base without destination. And then it added what, the manufacture edition. I can't even say that. M A N U F A K

[Tom Appel]

T U R Maybe don't say it.

[Jill Simonello]

Yeah, you who are German could probably say that. In the black fabric headliner, Randy has

[Tom Appel]

his hand on the red button.

[Jill Simonello]

I know, right? But the black fabric headliner was like $4,000. And then the DX1 exclusive trim was like, am I getting these right? I don't know. But at any rate, there were some expensive. Maybe it wasn't the black fabric headliner, I don't know. But was a $4,000 option, $1,600 option. And I mean, so the as tested price was 79.

[Tom Appel]

So the point here is that domestic vehicles. Because I just wrote, I just finished my review of the Lincoln Aviator black label. And that's with the black label package, which adds 20 grand to the price, is hardly more money than this.

[Jill Simonello]

Yeah.

[Tom Appel]

And that's what the black label services. We should talk about black label someday because there's a lot of really weird stuff involved in that.

[Jill Simonello]

We could probably get somebody from Lincoln on.

[Tom Appel]

Yeah, we should, because I would like someone to justify. Well, the non mechanical bits that are included in the option, a lot of it is service.

[Jill Simonello]

Right.

[Tom Appel]

They'll pick you up, they'll wash your car, they detail your car. Free service. There's a lot of interesting stuff there.

[Jill Simonello]

That's included.

[Tom Appel]

And I wonder who that matters to.

[Jill Simonello]

Right.

[Tom Appel]

I don't see that working very well in my life. But I can't afford, you know, an $85,000 Lincoln. But anyway, all right, so you drove this car. It came to 80 grand. You drove it on the highway. Long trip. Final thoughts.

[Jill Simonello]

You know, if you're looking for something that is sporty, that could operate as like a family vehic for smaller families, so you don't need a third row, but you like to drive. You like the connection with the road. You like the firm suspension. This is certainly worth considering if you have $80,000.

[Tom Appel]

Yeah, it's expensive, but it's very good.

[Jill Simonello]

It's very good. I mean, the acceleration is amazing. You know, I did, you know, you do get a little bit of turbo lag because it has the auto stop start engine. So the engine shuts down when you're at a start, a stop. And so there's like a little bit of lag when the engine comes back on if you're doing like a hard acceleration out of a. But you know, I didn't, I didn't find it egregious like I found other ones that are worse. And I, I liked it.

[Tom Appel]

All right. Your review is going to go where

[Jill Simonello]

I in US News. It'll end up in US News.

[Tom Appel]

Remind us when that posts.

[Jill Simonello]

I shall do that.

[Tom Appel]

All right. We're going to take a break. When we come back, we're going to talk some Mazda tech and the all new Mazda 5.

[Jill Simonello]

Yes.

[Tom Appel]

Still around.

[Jill Simonello]

Still around.

[Tom Appel]

Still their best selling car. Well, yeah, it's a great car. We'll be right back.

[Podcast Host/Producer]

Questions or comments? Drop us a [e-mail] that's carstuffinsumerguide.com

[Jill Simonello]

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[Podcast Host/Producer]

welcome back to the Car Stuff podcast.

[Tom Appel]

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

[Jill Simonello]

Hey Tom, are you on social media?

[Tom Appel]

I am, thanks for asking. Yeah. People can check me out on Facebook. Just use my name. I'm on X. I'm car guy Tom there. And I am on Bluesky where the car conversation has turned Blue sky is fun.

[Jill Simonello]

Okay. I was going to say turn negative.

[Tom Appel]

Turn negative. No, no. Okay. It just seems like all the people I used to know from X have gone to Blue sky and it's very car oriented.

[Jill Simonello]

Okay.

[Tom Appel]

So it's a lot of fun. All right. We're going to talk a little bit actually a lot bit about the Mazda CX5. This is an interesting vehicle for a bunch of reasons. Mazda updated its whole lineup going from single digits to two digits. Cx3 became Cx30. That was discontinued. Cx50, Cx60, Cx30, well Cx70, not 6070 and then 90 at the top of the lineup. And these vehicles all got better, longer and part of Mazda's move to go slightly upscale with its lineup. And I think they did that successfully. But the Mazda CX5 still by a lot. The best selling vehicle in the vehicle lineup just redesigned. It got bigger.

[Jill Simonello]

Yep.

[Tom Appel]

And it got a lot of tech inside.

[Jill Simonello]

Yeah.

[Tom Appel]

Here to talk to us about that is Matthew Valbuena. He is the project manager for in vehicle technology at Mazda. Matthew, how are you? Not too good.

[Matthew Valbuena]

How you guys doing?

[Tom Appel]

Doing really well. Thank you for Joining us today, you'd feel bad about being stuck inside if you were here in Chicago. It's very nice outside.

[Matthew Valbuena]

No, I'm in SoCal, so it's never really not nice here.

[Tom Appel]

Oh, okay.

[Matthew Valbuena]

I'm okay.

[Tom Appel]

Well then the heck with you, dude.

[Jill Simonello]

We're sad to be inside because we're missing the goodness.

[Tom Appel]

We just survived a brutal winter.

[Jill Simonello]

Yes.

[Tom Appel]

But you guys have an all new vehicle in your hands. Can you tell us a little bit about the new CX5, how it, what's different and what we should be watching for?

[Matthew Valbuena]

Yeah. So the new CX5 has had a couple of big changes to it. One of them has to do a lot with interior passenger space. We've increased the wheelbase, so there's additional leg room for the second row.

[Tom Appel]

Excellent.

[Matthew Valbuena]

Much more spacious second row. And then there's also a larger cargo area. So, you know, a lot of the improvements were made around addressing how the vehicle is used and the idea of family and being able to easily load kids in car seats or child safety seats in the rear of the vehicle. The rear doors open almost at a 90 degree angle, so it's a lot easier to get those car seats in and out.

[Tom Appel]

I noticed that about the 70, that is super handy. Right.

[Matthew Valbuena]

And with the additional wheelbase, you can easily, with both hands on either side of the car seat, get it docked into the base. Much easier. But my area of expertise with the vehicle is really around the in vehicle technology, the, the tech that's in the car. And the biggest advancement with the new CX5 is the fact that we are now utilizing Google built in as part of the infotainment system. So Google Maps is now the native navigation solution, Google Assistant is now the native voice solution. And then the infotainment system has the Google Play store built in so that users can download their favorite apps directly to the vehicle and utilize them natively in the car. So if you leave your phone at home, you don't have that despair of oh my, you know, oh my gosh, I feel naked. I don't have my playlist, I don't have my calendar, I don't my schedule. Well, with Google built in, you have all that capability built into the vehicle so you can move on with your day, even if you happen to leave your phone at home.

[Tom Appel]

Is this the first Mazda with Google built in?

[Matthew Valbuena]

It is, it is. And you know, obviously as you mentioned earlier, the CX5 is Mazda's best selling vehicle and we knew it. You know, in order to kind of keep that momentum up, we needed to address the technology expectations of our consumers. And the challenge with the in vehicle space is so much of what you expect to be able to do inside the car is influenced on what you can do outside of the car. Years ago, before cars had connected voice recognition systems, the built in voice recognition was really quite limited, but it was seemingly acceptable until the advent of Alexa or Google Assistant or Siri on a smartphone. And once you got really familiar with conversing with your phone or your smart speaker, you started to realize that your car couldn't keep up. And so a lot of what people are doing outside of the car is kind of shaping those expectations. So those swipes, those taps, those flicks, those gestures that you're familiar with on the phone, instead of trying to reinvent the wheel and teach or force the user to adopt a different way of interacting, we wanted to kind of bring those familiar interactions to the vehicle. And with Google built in, we're really able to leverage that familiar user interface.

[Jill Simonello]

Now, is Google built in standard on all trims or is it when you get to a certain trim you will get it?

[Matthew Valbuena]

No, it's standard on all trim levels. So if you get the entry trim or if you go all the way for the premium plus, you'll have Google built in. The differences that you'll see in the trim level is basically the size of the center display screen. There's a 12.9 inch screen standard and then a 15.6 inch screen on the top trim.

[Tom Appel]

And both are considerably larger than the old screen.

[Matthew Valbuena]

Correct.

[Jill Simonello]

And is it full touchscreen now?

[Matthew Valbuena]

Yes. Yes. So it's full touchscreen. Touchscreen in motion. The only thing that you can't do when the vehicle's in motion are some of the more detailed settings and of course keyboard entry. So if you want to enter a destination, just say, hey Google, find the nearest in n out being in SoCal. That would be something you could say, and this is going to respond and show you the nearest in n out burger and route you there all by voice. So the flexibility of the system is one of the key driving points. And because of the ability to download over 300 apps to the system, the touchscreen interface was best suited to handle that because of all the variety of user interface designs and elements that could be shown on screen with these various apps.

[Jill Simonello]

So full touchscreen. But do you still have the rotary dial?

[Matthew Valbuena]

No, the rotary dial went away in the new CX5 mainly as I was mentioning, for that compatibility with apps reason, trying to map a commander knob that had rotating left, rotating right, tilting up, down, left, right and enter. So basically, seven directions of input to a interface that was designed around touch was kind of a challenge. When we introduced the 2019 Mazda 3, that system was entirely operated around the Commander Knob. And we heard a large number of comments from consumers that were saying that using CarPlay and using Android Auto, those two interfaces being distinctly or designed around touch screen input, trying to use the Commander Knob for those interfaces was actually more challenging. And so when we introduced the CX50, we brought back touchscreen functionality specifically for CarPlay and Android Auto and that helped address some of the concerns. But again, with this system supporting native Google applications and in the ever changing app landscape and being able to guarantee compatibility with a variety of apps with that Commander Knob, that Commander Knob became a limitation. It became a challenge. And because the system supports over there updates and will evolve with the ownership experience, we didn't want the hardware to be a limiting factor. The average customer in North America keeps their smartphone for 33 months. In that 33 month span with their smartphone, they will see two to three major OS updates. So even if their phone is one or two years old, they still have that fresh, latest and greatest operating system experience. The Google built in system in the Mazda CX5 is going to behave the same way. The customer is going to see over their updates and they're going to see fresh user interface updates over their lifetime with that vehicle. Because of that, we wanted to be able to adapt and change and keep the user experience fresh without having the constraint of a hardware controller to consider.

[Tom Appel]

I gotta tell you what, Matthew, I'm a little bit hurt personally. I have defended deeply and profoundly the rotary knob, which I really liked and I found really easy to use while moving. But I guess I understand that time moves on. I do want to say my daughter just bought a CX30 and she likes the knob.

[Jill Simonello]

Yeah, she's.

[Tom Appel]

About the knob.

[Jill Simonello]

Yeah, yeah, well, you know, and there are some serious defenders of the knob. I've been posting content the past couple of days about the, the CX knobbies, we call them knobbies and they like. I had some comments about the knob and they were just like, we love the knob. So I just, I just have to say, like, what do you say to people who are going to miss the knob like me?

[Matthew Valbuena]

Yeah, the knob has its, has its benefits, but it also had its challenges in the fact that there's, there's always a learning curve when there's something new and the knob required you to kind of adapt. Okay, I want to use carplay how do I rotate this knob to then highlight this icon? Or I want to do this in Android Automotive. How do I do that? So there's always that cognitive load in trying to figure out how to do something when interacting with something that was really designed for that touch first interface, we were trying to reduce the cognitive load required. So because these interfaces are really designed around the use of touch, it's much more familiar experience. So when we were doing user testing with the systems, that initial ease of discovery and the ability to figure out the system without any sort of instruction was much greater, much better with the new CX5 than it is with the existing systems. But the existing rotary commander knob based systems are still available. So if you are a die hard Knob loyalist, the CX60, the CX50 or knob enthusiast, those vehicles still have it. So it's a lot like the Apple iPod versus the iPod Touch.

[Jill Simonello]

Right?

[Matthew Valbuena]

Right. So they were sold alongside each other in stores for I think a seven year overlap. So for the current time being, the user has a choice of deciding do they want to stick with the the existing experience or do they want to go with the touchscreen experience. But our belief in the system is so strong that we were willing to do this on our best selling vehicle. We saw the upside, we saw the benefits and the flexibility that this new system has, I think outweighs any of that initial concern that. Okay, I love the knob, I hate to see it go.

[Tom Appel]

Matthew, correct me if I'm wrong, but one of the things that you guys chose to do when redesigning the the CX5 interface was to move some of the physical controls to the touchscreen. Right. And I believe you've moved climate functions to the touchscreen. Interesting decision, I think at this point because there are some manufacturers who are coming back the other direction. But you guys have committed to this. Talk about that.

[Matthew Valbuena]

Yeah. So when we, when we designed the user interface layout, we wanted to make sure that certain elements were always surfaced or always shown on screen. So the climate controls, most of the functions are on the touchscreen. There are still physical buttons for the front and rear defrosters.

[Tom Appel]

Oh good.

[Matthew Valbuena]

Those are still tactile switches, but the rest of the climate control experience, so the temperature, the fan speed, the heated seats, or the ventilated seats, those are on the touchscreen, but those controls are docked along the home navigation bar that's at the bottom of the screen.

[Tom Appel]

Okay.

[Matthew Valbuena]

So it's not like you have to pull up a secondary screen to access those things. So even if you're in carplay even if you're in full screen navigation, you still have access to the climate control. And of course, those functions are also supported by Google Assistant. So you can say things like, hey, turn up the temperature, or set the temperature to 72 degrees, or turn the passenger seat heater to maximum. And conversationally, the system will understand and adjust the climate control settings based on your. Your voice feedback.

[Jill Simonello]

Yeah, that's exactly what I was going to ask about. One of the features that I love on Google built in vehicles is the ability to initiate changes without taking your eyes off the road, just through voice commands and really good natural language listening. And I don't know if your vehicles have this, but I know in some I'll just say, hey, Google, I'm cold. And it'll turn on my heated seat, my heated steering wheel and turn up my heat. So I don't know what level of command you guys have, but like, even just being able to say, hey, Google, set my temperature to 72 degrees is just really a nice option.

[Tom Appel]

It would be funny actually if the car responded, you're always cold, you know what? And then did nothing.

[Jill Simonello]

I feel like, I feel like it has done that to me before. You're always cold.

[Tom Appel]

Matthew, can you tell us a little bit about what Gemini is and how that works in the interior environment?

[Matthew Valbuena]

So Google Gemini is a more advanced voice assistant that leverages artificial intelligence to deliver more contextually aware results for the user. So it's kind of like Google Assistant, but maybe on steroids. It's more advanced and it is rolling out soon to the automotive space. So when Google Gemini becomes available in vehicles, it will also be available in the new CX5. And when that comes out, the user will be able to do more by voice than what they can currently do with Google Assistant. If users out there already have Gemini on their smartphone, they'll kind of understand the differences that you could do with Gemini on the phone that you weren't able to do with just Google Assistant. And so when that comes out, the user will be able to download assistant to the car and then interact with it the same way they would on their phone, but in the vehicle. It allows them to string their requests in a little bit more of a detailed way. Because like right now I can say, hey, find the nearest in and out, or hey, can you find me a Japanese restaurant near the beach? Like those types of queries are supported with Google Assistant. But with Google Gemini, you're able to take things to a deeper level and you can say, hey, can you find me a Gluten free Indian restaurant that's also child friendly and it'll take.

[Tom Appel]

That's a big ask, sir.

[Matthew Valbuena]

Right. But what it's doing is Gemini is doing a deeper dive on all of the points of interest data that Google has in Google Maps. So when you look at a destination it tells you like parking tells you about food, hours, accessibility and all those things. All that criteria is now accessed by Gemini. So it's doing a deeper dive into the existing data that Google already has and makes it available for query by the user. If you have very particular taste or very exact requirements. Gemini will help you find those results.

[Jill Simonello]

When you ask Gemini a question. I've used Gemini on my computer and on my phone, but I haven't used it in a car yet. Will it put something on the screen? Does it speak to you? How does it interact with you?

[Matthew Valbuena]

It'll speak back to you. If you're looking for navigation destinations, it'll show you options. So it'll show you the name of three places that may meet your criteria and you can just either touch or say, I want to go to place A, place B or place C. It's not much different in terms of how it presents the information than Google Assistant does. It's just the ability for it to grab greater granularity or finer details in those queries.

[Tom Appel]

Cool. So this is basically the foundation for all infotainment systems in Mazdas moving forward.

[Matthew Valbuena]

It's the basis for the infotainment system in the CX5? Apparently, yes. You know, we don't know how it'll go. We don't typically talk about future product development or anything like that.

[Tom Appel]

Wow. But I didn't think I was pushing my luck.

[Jill Simonello]

I knew you were pushing your luck,

[Matthew Valbuena]

but obviously, you know, looking at the trend of technology and looking at how user expectations have shaped things and you're looking at the Gen Z and the Gen Alpha customer base that's entering the marketplace. This is that type of user experience that's being expected these days. And so we're trying to address that demand as well as adapt to the ever changing flexibility that people are looking for and the capability they're looking for. So that's why again, we started with our best selling vehicle with this platform.

[Tom Appel]

Well, I'm looking forward to driving the vehicle. Matthew, when does the CX5 go on sale?

[Matthew Valbuena]

The new the CX5, it's, it's at dealerships nationwide now. So it's on sale as we speak.

[Tom Appel]

Sounds good. Matthew, we run out of time. Thank you so much for joining us today.

[Matthew Valbuena]

Thank you guys for having me.

[Tom Appel]

All right, that was Matthew Valboyna. We're going to take a break and when we come back.

[Jill Simonello]

Quiz time.

[Tom Appel]

Quiz time.

[Podcast Host/Producer]

Questions or comments?

[Sponsor/Ad Voice]

Drop us a line at [e-mail] that's

[Podcast Host/Producer]

[e-mail]

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[Jill Simonello]

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[Podcast Host/Producer]

Welcome back to the Car Stuff podcast.

[Tom Appel]

And we're back. This is the consumer guide Car Stuff Podcast. I'm Tom. She is. Jill. We were just talking about the New York auto show this week. News from Subaru, news from Volkswagen.

[Jill Simonello]

There's going to be news from Hyundai as well, I think. I'm trying to think. I haven't looked at the press conference schedule yet, but I feel like maybe Kia might have something and maybe Genesis.

[Tom Appel]

Oh, wow. Genesis.

[Jill Simonello]

Yeah.

[Tom Appel]

All right, well, that's some news.

[Jill Simonello]

So we'll see. I mean, I'll obviously have more information for you next week, but this is a show that something is happening at.

[Tom Appel]

Yeah, there's some stuff.

[Jill Simonello]

There's some stuff.

[Tom Appel]

All right, real quick, your social media ing.

[Jill Simonello]

Yes, my social media ing. You can find me on TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn and threads. What? Bluesky. I'm on Twitter. All the things Ilsiminello. And I use the hashtag card Azure because Simonello can be hard to spell. It's not with an S. And so car du jour. All one word, like soup du jour and. But. Yeah, so you can. You can find me there on all the things.

[Tom Appel]

Sounds good. It is quiz time.

[Jill Simonello]

All right.

[Tom Appel]

It is quiz time. Today's quiz involves the cvt.

[Jill Simonello]

Oh, lovely.

[Tom Appel]

The continuously variable transmission for people who

[Jill Simonello]

don't know which Everybody loves.

[Tom Appel]

The CVT does not have stepped gears. There isn't a 6 speed, 8 speed, 7 speed, 9 speed, 3 speed if you go back far enough, 2 speed if you go back really far. Yeah, it's. It's a continuously very variable thing. It's very efficient, it's very lightweight, and often it doesn't perform in the smoothest possible way and people don't like it. However, Subaru, a bunch of manufacturers. Subaru, for example.

[Jill Simonello]

Nissan. Yeah.

[Tom Appel]

So today's quiz I'm gonna. Is CVT or automatic? I'm going to give you a car model. You just have to tell me. Or a car whole. Yeah, car model.

[Jill Simonello]

Okay.

[Tom Appel]

Are we ready?

[Jill Simonello]

Yep. And I just want to say thank you for the. The cinnamon donut today.

[Tom Appel]

Yeah.

[Jill Simonello]

Powdered cinnamon.

[Tom Appel]

Yeah.

[Jill Simonello]

Although I think I'm gonna have, like, powder all over the place. I already have powder all over the place.

[Tom Appel]

They should. When you order that donut, you should get a free mini vac.

[Jill Simonello]

Yeah, a mini vac. And like, hand wipes because, like. Yeah, I need to go do video after this. I'm gonna have powdered her all over the place.

[Tom Appel]

Or a dog would lick up the cinnamon and sugar.

[Jill Simonello]

Yeah.

[Tom Appel]

All right, are you ready?

[Jill Simonello]

As ready as I can be.

[Tom Appel]

Five questions, plus the bonus question. You need three. Three for a victory.

[Jill Simonello]

Okay.

[Tom Appel]

Bonus question, of course, always related to the topic of the day.

[Jill Simonello]

All right, Always.

[Tom Appel]

Honda Accord CVT or automatic. Honda Accord, a vehicle that is no longer beloved by the public. And it should be. It's a fantastic car. But sales have fallen as people have moved to the crv, the very popular compact crossover.

[Jill Simonello]

I'm gonna say automatic, conventional, Automatic.

[Tom Appel]

No. Every Honda Accord is now a cvt.

[Jill Simonello]

Oh, that breaks my heart. I knew they did away with the manual transmission. They used to have a manual transmission in the sport model, which was amazing.

[Tom Appel]

Yeah, they did a coupe for a while. It was a V6, 3.5 liter V6, 6 speed manual coupe. Oh, that was a cool car. All right, you have no points. The Nissan Altima CVT or automatic. That is Nissan's midsize sedan.

[Jill Simonello]

I'm gonna say CVT.

[Tom Appel]

Yes. Yeah. Only CVT made it to a 2.5 liter conventional four speed, four cylinder engine. All right, you've got one point. You're on the board. The Mitsubishi Outlander Sport. Oh, that is Mitsubishi's most affordable and it ties for smallest with the Eclipse Cross. Small crossover.

[Jill Simonello]

I'm gonna say cvt.

[Tom Appel]

Yes. You have two points. I read a review of this vehicle today before I put together this quiz. Yeah.

[Jill Simonello]

You know, here's the thing. When the Outlander Sport first came out, I loved it.

[Tom Appel]

Really?

[Jill Simonello]

I loved it. I thought it was cute. Small, perfectly, you know, perfectly done for a city situation.

[Tom Appel]

It's a good size and it's good looking.

[Jill Simonello]

It was affordable. I mean, the interior has always been a little bit plasticky. I'm not going to fudge that there. But I mean, for what it was and the price point that it came in at when it first came out, I thought it was amazing, but I just realized, like what it came out in 1911. Yeah, it feels that. Like that. And. But it has, I think it only has one single generation.

[Tom Appel]

Yeah. They've never done a Series update.

[Jill Simonello]

Never. They've never. It's built on the same platform. Was it 2011?

[Tom Appel]

I don't know. It goes way back.

[Jill Simonello]

Back. Yeah.

[Tom Appel]

And part of the deal is they sell the, the Eclipse Cross, which is sort of a fastback. It's a different crossover. I think it's probably mechanically very similar, different drivetrain, but it's kind of a fastbacky thing. So they have two vehicles roughly the same size. Hard to differentiate them for any meaningful re reason. And then they have the Outlander, which is compact, and it, it's, it's in the market that it's against the CRV. And the RAV4. So there's the, there's the volume there. So they get some sales from that. But.

[Jill Simonello]

Right.

[Tom Appel]

Oh man. Mitsubishi needs some help.

[Jill Simonello]

Well, you know, fingers crossed. Fingers crossed. It's coming.

[Tom Appel]

Well. They needed all new compact crossover.

[Jill Simonello]

Yeah. I mean they really need to.

[Tom Appel]

It's not dependent on Nissan. They use Nissan.

[Jill Simonello]

Yeah. They really need to redo the outlander sport.

[Tom Appel]

Alrighty. You've got two points. Alfa Romeo Tonale. That is the smallest and most affordable Alfa Romeo. We've been talking a lot about that vehicle lately. It was related to the Dodge Hornet which has been discontinued.

[Jill Simonello]

Right. And it had. It was phev or phev. I think that's what the kids are saying is phev.

[Tom Appel]

The phev. The plug in hybrid is gone.

[Jill Simonello]

Yes.

[Tom Appel]

For 2026 and thank God because it sucked.

[Jill Simonello]

Alfa Romeo with a cvt. I'm gonna say no.

[Tom Appel]

No. It uses Chrysler's Stellantis's popular nine speed auto.

[Jill Simonello]

Yeah.

[Tom Appel]

And the vehicle without the plug in hybrid situation. A lot of fun.

[Jill Simonello]

Yes.

[Tom Appel]

All right. Finally, the Hyundai Palisade Hybrid.

[Jill Simonello]

By the way, I won. I've got three points.

[Tom Appel]

You've got three. Yes. Whatever. Big deal. Whoa.

[Jill Simonello]

Yeah. Yay me.

[Tom Appel]

Confetti.

[Jill Simonello]

Yeah.

[Tom Appel]

You're using cinnamon.

[Jill Simonello]

I'm using this. I could like sprinkle some on you if you like. Wait, so you said which the Palisade.

[Tom Appel]

I don't remember and I didn't write it down. The Hyundai Palisade Hybrid. 20 new for 2026.

[Jill Simonello]

I'm gonna say yes.

[Tom Appel]

No.

[Jill Simonello]

Ah.

[Tom Appel]

Interestingly that uses a six speed automatic.

[Jill Simonello]

Interesting.

[Tom Appel]

Yeah. Hybrids that use automatics are interesting and that's because they use a different system and typically they use more than one electric motor. Then I probably need to know a little bit more about this before I start gabbing about it. But it's interesting.

[Jill Simonello]

You know what was even more interesting? A hybrid that had a manual transmission.

[Tom Appel]

I can only think of 1. 2.

[Jill Simonello]

I can only think of one.

[Tom Appel]

There was that rebirth of the Honda Insight, that two seater that wasn't it?

[Jill Simonello]

The crz.

[Tom Appel]

That's what I'm thinking of.

[Jill Simonello]

Yep.

[Tom Appel]

I'm sorry. That is what I'm thinking.

[Jill Simonello]

Okay. Yeah. The CRZ had the briefly available with

[Tom Appel]

a manual and I would have been weird to drive that. It because you could be like between shifts and then it could decide to

[Jill Simonello]

kick in, the engine shuts down and you think you're stalling.

[Tom Appel]

I don't think that.

[Jill Simonello]

I feel like. I feel like I drove it and I had like, oh, I never drove

[Tom Appel]

crap moments unbelievably available for that vehicle. So we're already talking about a low volume vehicle with a low volume option. The manual. There was an aftermarket supercharger available for that. And I'm sure that no one bought one ever.

[Jill Simonello]

I. Maybe one. Maybe one person. I don't know. I don't know who that person would be, but maybe one. So what was the other one that you were thinking of with the manual?

[Tom Appel]

The original. I thought the original insight, going Back to like 2000, I thought was briefly available, maybe not in the US I would need to check on that.

[Jill Simonello]

Okay.

[Tom Appel]

In fact, that's my homework. Okay, I'll check on that. So you have three points.

[Jill Simonello]

Yes.

[Tom Appel]

That's bonus question time.

[Jill Simonello]

Okay.

[Tom Appel]

Are you ready?

[Jill Simonello]

Always.

[Tom Appel]

Today's topic is radishes.

[Jill Simonello]

Oh, I like radishes.

[Tom Appel]

Yes. This is from Healthy Lifestyle Farm and Food online. There are 144 varieties of radishes. I have four here, by the way. Jacques Pepin.

[Jill Simonello]

I like Jacques Pepin.

[Tom Appel]

The legendary Jacques Pepin makes a radish sandwich.

[Jill Simonello]

Interesting.

[Tom Appel]

It is based on the James Beard onion sandwich. And it looks so delicate. He doesn't do anything to, like, take the sting or the bitterness out of the radish. He just uses a very thin layer of it on bread and butter and chives. That's the whole thing. And apparently it's fantastic. It sounds simple. It sounds too easy. It sounds like it'd be weird. But he's Jacques Pepin.

[Jill Simonello]

He is.

[Tom Appel]

Who questions Jacques?

[Jill Simonello]

I do not.

[Tom Appel]

I don't. All right, I'm going to give you four varieties of radish radishes. One of them is fake.

[Jill Simonello]

Okay.

[Tom Appel]

Are you ready?

[Jill Simonello]

Yeah. I'm not super familiar with the radish variants.

[Tom Appel]

Well, there's 144.

[Jill Simonello]

I know.

[Tom Appel]

Who is.

[Jill Simonello]

I think I know one radish variant.

[Tom Appel]

I wish there was, like, a North American Radish Institute and we'd get someone from there on to talk about all 144 varieties.

[Jill Simonello]

Yep. And you're asking me for the fake.

[Tom Appel]

Yep.

[Jill Simonello]

Okay.

[Tom Appel]

The fake. Are you ready?

[Jill Simonello]

Yep.

[Tom Appel]

Speaking of Jacques, French breakfast.

[Jill Simonello]

Okay.

[Tom Appel]

Cherry bell, rat tail or Polish wonder?

[Jill Simonello]

Rat tail.

[Tom Appel]

Rat tail. Rat. Like the rodent tail. Like the rodent's tail.

[Jill Simonello]

Oddly, I almost feel like that could be real because the. The radish tails look like a rat, but yeah.

[Tom Appel]

Yeah. So French breakfast. Cherry bell, rattail, or Polish wonder. My buddy Dave, he's the Polish wonder.

[Jill Simonello]

Mm.

[Tom Appel]

Hey, Dave.

[Jill Simonello]

French breakfast. What was the second one?

[Tom Appel]

Cherry bell. B E, L, L, E. Okay. As in belle of the radish ball or bell shaped? Sure. Rat tail, polish wonder.

[Jill Simonello]

I think it's either gonna be French breakfast or Polish wonder is my guess.

[Tom Appel]

French breakfast is weird. Just. Just grate some radish on your pancakes.

[Jill Simonello]

Well, I mean, why not? You could have a breakfast salad.

[Tom Appel]

There's a restaurant in Arlington Heights. It's very good. It's a Mexican restaurant, a little bit edgy, called Mago. It's very good. We should meet there one day. Okay. But they do a lot with radishes as garnish. It's very artistic. But it's funny because when the radish is really thin, really light, and adds some crunch, it's kind of fun.

[Jill Simonello]

I agree.

[Tom Appel]

Like eating raw radishes. I don't want to.

[Jill Simonello]

I like raw radishes. Okay. I'm gonna. I'm gonna. With Polish wonder.

[Tom Appel]

You're correct.

[Jill Simonello]

All right.

[Tom Appel]

You did good today. You got four.

[Jill Simonello]

Yeah, but no, I. Like I said I can logic myself out of some of these, but like the. The tail of a radish does look a little bit ratty.

[Tom Appel]

It does. Yeah, it does. Alrighty, I'm gonna sign this and hand this over to you. There was something else I wanted to get back to really quickly. What was it? What was it? Oh, the Mazda CX5. I just wanted to talk about the most popular products there in 2025. So the CX5, 136,000 units.

[Jill Simonello]

Okay.

[Tom Appel]

That's a big number for Mazda. But the CX50 is catching up. And the CX50, for people who don't know, is this sort of longer, more SUV looking version, like off roady, more cladding? Yeah, it's about the same price. It's like within 500 or 1,000 bucks. It's not significantly more expensive.

[Jill Simonello]

Yeah. And I feel like when they first came out with that, I was like, how are you coexisting these vehicles? And they said, well, the CX5 is more sophisticated, urban, and then the CX50 is more rugged every day. And I was like, is it? I don't know.

[Tom Appel]

The thing about the CX5 is that it's a little upright, it's a little more bubbly. Yeah, it's probably better for getting people in and out of. Especially you have like, old relatives.

[Jill Simonello]

I have a lot of friends who actually have the CX5 and love it.

[Tom Appel]

Do they?

[Jill Simonello]

Yeah, yeah.

[Tom Appel]

The CX30 is next. That's the subcompact crossover. That's the car my daughter bought. And then the CX90 is the big three row so again, we talked about this. The 5 is the only single digit Mazda. The 30 replaced the 3, the 90 replaced the 9. There wasn't a 7 before that. There was way back.

[Jill Simonello]

Once upon a time there was a

[Podcast Host/Producer]

seven way back when.

[Jill Simonello]

Yeah.

[Tom Appel]

And that was a weird vehicle.

[Jill Simonello]

Yeah.

[Tom Appel]

Also it was ugly. It was really strange looking. There's a weird kick up in the side of it. All right, guess what, I just got in. Oh, you know this. You had to get my phone out of my car.

[Jill Simonello]

Yeah. And by the way, who puts their phone in the sun visor?

[Tom Appel]

Me.

[Jill Simonello]

Yeah. I get this call from our producer saying, hey, could you get Tom's phone out of his car?

[Tom Appel]

What's amazing is I inconvenience two people.

[Jill Simonello]

Yeah. So I, I'm like in there looking for your phone and I'm, I'm like calling your phone and something is vibrating and I can't figure out what's vibrating. I'm pulling stuff out of the console. I can't figure out. It's on your visor. You have a very funny voicemail message from me.

[Tom Appel]

Oh, good. I'm looking forward to that. That car, the Lexus RZ550E, which is a bunch of name, is Lexus's electric vehicle. The only electric Vexus at the moment. But the ES is coming.

[Jill Simonello]

Yes.

[Tom Appel]

The EOS sedans. Really nice car inside.

[Jill Simonello]

Yeah.

[Tom Appel]

This is a, this is a nice car. I'm looking forward to spending some more time with this and I do have to do some driving.

[Jill Simonello]

Yes.

[Tom Appel]

So I will put some miles on that.

[Jill Simonello]

Yeah. I haven't driven it since the launch a couple years ago and I just remember really liking it. But it has more range now, right?

[Tom Appel]

Yeah. Because the old one was the 450E and maybe that was one engine that wasn't all wheel drive. This is all motor. This is all wheel drive. So two motor.

[Jill Simonello]

But because I know the BZ Woodland got an increase, a boost in, in range, so I would assume that the RZ did as well.

[Tom Appel]

No, it's not good. It's like 226 miles.

[Jill Simonello]

Really?

[Tom Appel]

Yeah.

[Jill Simonello]

Because it's always been about that then. Because I know that well.

[Tom Appel]

But the easy went up dual motor and a lot of stuff because I think the 450. Do they still sell the 450? I need to check now.

[Jill Simonello]

Yeah.

[Tom Appel]

This is why you get test cars.

[Jill Simonello]

Yes.

[Tom Appel]

I could do another deep dive into this vehicle. Very quick, very nicely put together, squirts away from a light, very roomy up front. There's a lot here to like. I like the digital interface also. They may have changed the instrument panel a little bit. I'm not sure. I thought it was that kind of look over the wheel thing before, was it not?

[Jill Simonello]

It was. And I even drove a version of the RZ with a yoke.

[Tom Appel]

Okay, this is not that.

[Jill Simonello]

No, like, this is not that.

[Tom Appel]

This is far more traditional.

[Jill Simonello]

Okay.

[Tom Appel]

So I'm digging that. What are you driving?

[Jill Simonello]

So I actually have two vehicles right now, the Mercedes, which I will turn in tomorrow, and I have the Genesis GV80 also, which I drove here, and it's the GV80 coupe.

[Tom Appel]

Oh, I've got that coming.

[Jill Simonello]

Yeah, I. That is a beautiful. I love. You know, I didn't like the egg shape on some of it, like the BMWs and the Mercedes, but I like it on this GV80. I think they did a good job.

[Tom Appel]

I've got that coming. Steve and Johnny, our good friend Steve and Johnny, who do our intro and our bumpers, they have a GV80 old school, so I think the coupe would interest them.

[Jill Simonello]

Yeah, no, it's. It's very comfortable. And again, the mono display. And I like in the GV80 how the map kind of pulls from the infotainment screen and you can pull it all the way through into the gauge cluster.

[Tom Appel]

That's something people need to see.

[Jill Simonello]

That's interesting. Yeah. I mean, I'll take a picture of it and we'll have to post it on the Facebook page because it looks really cool.

[Tom Appel]

Cool. All right. Guess what? We did.

[Jill Simonello]

We had a great show.

[Tom Appel]

We did.

[Matthew Valbuena]

Yeah.

[Tom Appel]

Big thanks to our guest. Who, Matthew Valboyna.

[Jill Simonello]

Yes.

[Tom Appel]

Of Mazda.

[Jill Simonello]

Of Mazda.

[Tom Appel]

Thank you, Jill. Thank you, producer Randy and the good folks here at talkzone. Let's talk more about cars again next week. Next week.

[Podcast Host/Producer]

Remember to check us [e-mail] the car stuff podcast is produced by J Turn Media.

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To advertise on the show, please drop us a [e-mail].

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[Podcast Host/Producer]

Ryan Reynolds here from Mint Mobile with a message for everyone paying Big wireless way too much. Please, for the love of everything good in this world, stop with Mint. You can get premium wireless for just $15 a month. Of course, if you enjoy overpaying, no judgments. But that's weird. Okay, one judgment anyway, give it a [e-mail] Switch upfront payment of $45 for

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[Jill Simonello]

month required intro rate first three months only, then full price plan options available, taxes and fees extra. See full [e-mail] if you like the

[Tom Appel]

show, please take a moment to rate, review and subscribe. It really does help the show to grow. Thank you for listening.