Two Dead Models, Chrysler's Uncertain Future, Cadillac's "Air Bridge"

Summary

Car Stuff Podcast Summary

Episode: Two Dead Models, Chrysler's Uncertain Future, Cadillac's “Air Bridge”
Date: March 9, 2026
Hosts: Tom Appel & Jill Ciminillo
Special Guest: Gary Witzenberg

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Episode Overview

In this lively and information-packed episode, Tom Appel and Jill Ciminillo, editors at Consumer Guide Automotive, discuss breaking news and trends in the car industry, including the shaky future of the Chrysler brand, the end of several well-loved car models, and a historical deep dive into the Cadillac Allanté’s unique “Air Bridge” logistics. They also test and review the Mazda CX-70, and welcome Gary Witzenberg to share stories from his new book, Legends in Motion. The tone is energetic, conversational, and sprinkled with nostalgia and sharp industry insight.

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Major Discussion Points & Insights

1. News Roundup: The Chrysler Brand at Risk

• Chrysler CEO Resigns: Chris Feuell, CEO of Chrysler (the brand, not Stellantis as a whole), recently stepped down, raising questions about Chrysler’s future (03:10).
• Chrysler’s Slim Lineup: With only one product (Pacifica minivan), Chrysler’s survival under Stellantis is uncertain.
  • Tom: “The odds of Stellantis dropping Chrysler, I think, are very high right now.” ([04:20])
• Rumored Brand Elimination: Both Chrysler and Dodge face potential phase-out due to cost-cutting and brand realignment.
  • Tom: “Remember, this is a company that just wrote down $26 billion. They don’t really need to support two extra brands that don’t really make money.” ([08:51])
  • Jill: “I would hate to see that happen... but they just didn’t feed it [the brand].” ([04:28])
• Market White Space for Dodge: Debate over whether Dodge could reinvent itself as a performance-only brand.
  • Jill: “If you create this Charger that has an EV powertrain, a six cylinder and a Hemi, you are now appealing to everybody.” ([06:14])
• Strategic Ram-Jeep Focus: Tom suggests Stellantis might make all Chrysler/Dodge dealers into Jeep/Ram franchises for efficiency.

2. Farewells: The Death of Two Car Models

• Kia Soul Discontinued (after 2026):
  • Praised for crossing generational divides, versatile packaging, and memorable marketing (“the hamsters!”).
  • Tom, on total US sales: “They sold 1.5 million Souls.” ([14:19])
• Audi A8 Discontinued (Globally):
  • Tom lists shrinking large luxury sedan sales, noting the flagship sedan era’s end.
  • Tom: “BMW sold 11,000 7 Series last year...Audi sold just 1,400 A8s in the US.” ([14:36])
• Hyundai Ioniq 6 Discontinued:
  • Surprising due to recent launch, cutting-edge design, and strong specs, but weak sales (10,000 units in 2025).
  • Jill: “That was a shocker to me.” ([15:29])

3. New Car Review: Mazda CX-70 Turbo S Premium Plus

• Driving Impressions:
  • Tom and Jill drove this new midsize, five-passenger crossover (no 3rd row; sibling to CX-90).
  • Standout European driving feel, quiet cabin, and refined inline-six turbo engine. Comparable to luxury SUVs at a lower price.
• Performance & Tech:
  • 3.3L inline-six turbo available in 280hp and 340hp trims.
  • Plug-in hybrid (PHEV) version panned for being “unpleasant to drive,” with clunky engine/electric handoff ([20:36]).
• Interior & Comfort:
  • Jill notes seat comfort is stiff; otherwise, upscale interior with Bose audio and distinct color (Rhodium White).
  • Top trims priced near $60,000, consistent with current midsize crossover market.
  • Tom: “This is the one I probably want most—feels like a BMW X5 for less money.” ([18:54])
• Price Example: Jill’s tested vehicle: $51,945; Tom’s: $59,825.

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Guest Segment: Gary Witzenberg & Cadillac’s “Air Bridge”

[24:40–41:12]

About the Book: Legends in Motion

• Witzenberg discusses his new self-published book, which compiles car adventure stories, historical insights, and personal anecdotes.
  • Gary: “Unlike a lot of books ... it’s a self published effort. ... I shelled out the money myself to a publisher. ... There’s that many stories and that I had to leave out, frankly.” ([27:19])

Cadillac Allanté’s “Air Bridge”

• Backstory: In the ‘80s, Cadillac wanted a “halo car,” outsourcing the body to legendary Italian designer Pininfarina.
• Unique Production:
  • Bodies built in Italy, air-shipped on 747s to Detroit for assembly (hence, “air bridge”).
  • Problems: Eye-watering cost, quality control issues, and a convoluted supply chain.
  • “Seven years, it never made money, and as soon as they perfected it, they killed it.” ([31:46])
• Design Impact:
  • “I think that one of the things that was not wrong with it was the way it looked...it wasn’t flamboyant. But that’s not what they were going for.” ([33:01])
  • Launched at ~$54,700, directly targeting the Mercedes SL but lacking the brand equity.
  • “They failed to take into account ... Mercedes earned that price ... and Cadillac couldn’t just jump to that price level immediately without earning it.” ([34:26])

Notable Quote

• Tom, on the Allanté’s “air bridge”: “For people who don’t know about the air bridge, they need to know this…” ([28:02])

More from the Book: Cannonball Express

• Witzenberg recalls the grueling ‘80s Cannonball Express rally (not the movie!), circling the US in 9 days, fraught with weather, mechanical failures, and police crackdowns.

  • Gary: “We had cops there in just about every state just harassing us to death...because [Ralph Nader] told them it was a race and we should arrest all these people.” ([39:19])

• Book available in eBook and print from Amazon and Barnes & Noble ([40:11])

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Fun, Memorable Moments & Quotes

• Tom (on Chrysler): “If you’re going to kill one, kill them both at the same time. Use one bandage.” ([10:19])
• Jill (on Dodge Avenger): “Dodge Avenger, remember?” ([09:38])
• Jill (on seat comfort in Mazda CX-70): “They feel like I’m sitting on cardboard. ... Maybe I’ve got a bony butt.” ([22:55])
• On the Kia Soul’s marketing: “The hamsters. People still remember that from 2015.” ([14:05])
• On the Nissan Cube: “There was an option to get a little piece of Velcro rug on the dashboard...called the toupee.” ([13:30])
• Gary (on the Allanté): “They thought at the time it gave it enough cachet...the Italian touch, the reputation.” ([28:35])

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Important Timestamps

• [03:10] – Chrysler CEO resigns; speculation on Chrysler’s future
• [04:20] – Debate over Chrysler’s fate and Stellantis brand strategy
• [11:18] – Goodbye Kia Soul and other box-shaped youth/elder-friendly vehicles
• [14:36] – Audi A8 and the death of the flagship sedan
• [15:27] – Hyundai Ioniq 6 discontinued
• [18:40] – Mazda CX-70 test drive and review
• [24:40] – Interview with Gary Witzenberg begins
• [28:35] – The Cadillac Allanté’s “Air Bridge” story
• [35:29] – Cannonball Express rally tale
• [40:11] – Where to buy Legends in Motion

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Segment: Podcast Games & Quizzes

• Jill and Tom play a rapid-fire car quiz. (Lighthearted banter, car knowledge, and playful competitiveness)
  • Highlights: Jill’s struggle to name models starting with “F,” and the turbocharged car challenge ([46:18] onward)

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Recommendations

• Book: Legends in Motion by Gary Witzenberg—a recommended read for car lovers and general readers alike.
• Podcast: Kilowatt—for listeners interested in EV news, hosted by Bodhi.

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Closing Thoughts

Throughout the episode, Tom and Jill balance sharp analysis of industry trends (particularly Stellantis brand shakeups and the death knells of major models) with humor and respect for automotive history and culture. The guest segment with Gary Witzenberg delivers engaging, lesser-known tales from inside the industry, especially the wild logistics of the Allanté and the drama of the Cannonball Express.

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For listeners who missed the episode:
This summary covers all major news, fun asides, the nostalgia of leaving popular car models behind, and delivers the story behind one of Cadillac’s most infamous halo cars. If you want automotive insight, news, and a bit of laughter, this is an episode not to skip.

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. And I am Tom Appel, publisher of Consumer Guide Automotive. Thank you for dropping by today. When you have a moment, check us [e-mail] lots of fun stuff there, lots of informative stuff. If you are looking for a new car or truck, do check out our new car Reviews and our 2026 Best Buy list. Hey, Jill.

[C]

Hey.

[B]

That is Jill Simonello. She is the contributing editor [e-mail] a North American Car of the Year juror and a freelancer. Yes, today is one of those days. We remember why we live in Chicago.

[C]

You know, it totally is.

[B]

Oh. Oh, my God. What a day. This is absolutely the nicest day so far this year.

[C]

100%.

[B]

It's like 60. It's not humid, it's sunny.

[C]

It's 70.

[B]

All my cats are lined up around the windows, just looking longingly outside.

[C]

Yeah. You don't look weird wearing shorts today.

[B]

Right?

[C]

You actually look like you fit in.

[B]

I have returned into my element.

[C]

I went for a walk before the podcast today. Cause today's not my running day. That would be tomorrow. But I went for a walk and there were a lot of people out in tank tops and shorts running on the path today.

[B]

Chicago people do that. Like the minute the weather breaks, everyone's running around naked.

[C]

Yeah, they are.

[B]

Which makes this a great city.

[C]

Yes, yes.

[B]

Maybe not. Palatine.

[C]

I saw like. So I like to go through, like, by the high school campus. Over by Lane Tech.

[B]

Over by Dare.

[C]

Over by Dare.

[B]

The largest freaking high school on the planet.

[C]

It's certainly in Chicago.

[B]

I think it's huge.

[C]

And there was actually a woman, and I don't think it was a high school kid, but a woman in a bikini on the lawn next to the school.

[B]

I don't get that here. Yeah, I didn't see any bikinis today.

[C]

Yeah, I saw a bikini.

[B]

In fact, I have to come down from that high note for a moment. I made a mistake. I don't know if it was last week or two weeks ago, but I talked about the Model T moment pickup truck that Ford is building. The $30,000 electric pickup.

[C]

Yes.

[B]

And I had noted that it's going to make use of 48 volt architecture. No one is going to care. But I was sort of wrong. The 48 volt is just the low voltage side.

[C]

Okay.

[B]

So it's going to use a 48 volt system, not a 12 volt system, blah, blah, blah. It's not the same thing as using 48 on the high voltage side, which didn't make a whole lot of sense.

[C]

Okay.

[B]

But anyway, thank you to Marty Dench for pointing that out.

[C]

Okay.

[B]

Marty wants to get on the show. We should talk to Marty. Yeah. About having him on. He's a longtime journalist.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

Respected in his field. And he's a good guy. So we should have him on. So that's the mistake I made.

[C]

Thank you, Marty. Reach out to me. I. I'll get you scheduled.

[B]

And then bigger news that could be. Which could precede huge news.

[C]

Okay.

[B]

But Chris Fewell, recently our guest on the podcast, has stepped down as CEO of Chrysler.

[C]

Yes.

[B]

And for people who aren't keeping the whole thing clear, that's Chrysler, the brand. Not Stellantis.

[C]

Yes, the company.

[B]

Cause Chrysler used to be the whole.

[C]

Right, right. I still have shirts with the Chrysler logo on it.

[B]

Yeah, yeah. Because it was Chrysler and then it was Daimler Chrysler and then it was

[C]

Chrysler and then it was Cerberus and then it was Fiat Chrysler and then it was Stellantis. Yeah. Stellantis. Was PSA in there somewhere. I don't know.

[B]

They merged with psa.

[C]

Right.

[B]

And through the really weird, really weird, tumultuous world of business, Opal, which used to be a General Motors division in Europe, is now part of Stellantis.

[C]

Yes.

[B]

The world's a weird place.

[C]

The world is a weird place. But that's not the news.

[B]

The news, no, is that Chris stepped down from a brand that has one product.

[C]

Right.

[B]

Now that product is probably safe.

[C]

Right.

[B]

Because it sells in volume, it makes money, and it's being freshened as we speak. However, I'm just going to throw this out there. We can talk about it now. We'll talk about it more later as evidence builds up, or does not. The odds of Chrysler dropping Chrysler. I'm sorry, of Stellantis dropping Chrysler, I think are very high right now.

[C]

Well, so I would hate to see that happen. Because Chrysler.

[B]

It was the brand.

[C]

It was the brand, but they just didn't feed it. And remember, they were supposed to have that airflow. There was going to be an electric suv.

[B]

Yeah, right. We looked at the Halcyon concept. I remember the airflow concept that preceded the Halcyon. And Airflow is a Historic name in the Chrysler.

[C]

But that was where they introduced new badging that it appears is going to be on the updated Pacifica. Have you seen those spy shots?

[B]

I have.

[C]

That front end does not look good.

[B]

It looks modern. I didn't think there was anything wrong with the old van. I thought the old van looked remarkably fresh.

[C]

Well, so here's the thing. I'm gonna call this the Kia Carnival effect. Because you had the Kia Carnival come out a couple years ago and that's the newest minivan on the market. And it was hot. Like as a minivan, like it was, it was really hot.

[B]

It's also three and a half grand cheaper than the cheapest Pacifica.

[C]

But it like looked like an suv. It was muscular and it had really forward thinking design. And you're like, that's a minivan.

[B]

The bachelor dad party pad.

[C]

I mean, way better than the Swagger wagon.

[B]

But it is good looking and I think there's no shame in driving it even if you don't like minivans for some reason. And there's nothing wrong with minivans. So here's the thing. Chrysler could be gone. Chrysler and Dodge could be gone.

[C]

I don't think Dodge is going anywhere. I mean, if I were gonna pull out my crystal ball, which is a little bit murky today, cause it's 78 degrees in Chicago, so that murky's up the crystal ball. But I would say Dodge is gonna go back to being a performance brand. We've already started seeing there's no business

[B]

there in the performance brand business.

[C]

But I think that they're gonna so

[B]

like take successful performance brand on sale

[C]

in the U.S. nope. But that's just it. There is none Porsche. But, but so here you have something that nobody else has. White space, so to speak. And if you create this charger that has an EV powertrain, a six cylinder powertrain and a Hemi powertrain, you are now appealing to everybody. And if you can flexibly and easily interchange those powertrains, I think that that could be very successful and they could build out a brand with other vehicles.

[B]

How many chargers do you think Dodge sold last year?

[C]

3,000?

[B]

10,000. Okay, but still a drop in the bucket compared to things, compared to Wranglers. And if they brought, if they bring it back, is that going to boost sales 50%? Maybe it takes you to 15,000.

[C]

I know.

[B]

I don't think it's there anymore.

[C]

I'm not. I'm holding out hope. I'm holding out hope that it is not dead. And I mean, what I would like to see happen and I mean, and again, murky, crystal ball. What I would like to see happen is Chrysler becoming more of the passenger car brand, you know, with a sedan, with a compact suv, you know, a real mainstream brand in addition to the minivan. Then you have Dodge being the performance brand.

[B]

The Chrysler 200, they killed the Chrysler 300 and didn't replace it. I mean they're not really thinking about that or like that. I don't even know what you add to the Chrysler lineup now. They were going to add a midsize crossover that I believe was supposed to be electric. So we know that's dead.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

So I don't know what's left for Chrysler and, and to move to make the, the, the minivan a Dodge is easy. And frankly to make it a Ram is not.

[C]

I don't know that making the minivan a Dodge is easy anymore because of Dodge having had the focus of performance. I, in some ways I think it would be easier to take Dodge and make it Chrysler.

[B]

Well, the thing that, yeah, I suppose the real thing here to do is just make the minivan a Ram and turn all the dealerships into Jeep Ram dealerships. Then all of a sudden you have two franchises that make big money, do big volume and sell just things that are popular. All of a sudden your lot is less cluttered, cluttered with things like hornets or Chargers. I don't know. I give high odds to the likelihood that Chrysler is dead and relatively middling odds that Chrysler and Dodge are both dead. Remember, this is a company that just wrote down $26 billion.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

They don't really need to support two extra brands that don't really make money.

[C]

No, but I again, I go back to the fact that I think the previous leadership was leading the company a little bit astray. And I firmly believe that the Wagoneer S and the Charger Daytona, the electric version should have been under the Chrysler brand. I firmly believe that and I feel like that.

[B]

Yeah, I don't even know what Wagoneer S is. It's a fun vehicle to drive and it's really good looking.

[C]

I don't think it should have been a Jeep.

[B]

No, it probably shouldn't. And we talked about this, I think a couple of weeks ago. There's a product called the Jeep Avenger sold in Europe that is a front wheel drive ev. Weird, weird use of the Jeep name.

[C]

Well, because Dodge Avenger, remember?

[B]

Yeah, I do.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

So, so here's the deal. Something maybe, maybe percolating, percolating, percolating. There And. And there may be changes. Crispy. Well, stick standing down. Stepping down feels like precursor to news. And then Dodge leader. What is his name here?

[C]

Matt McAleer.

[B]

That guy took over Chrysler and she was also running Alpha.

[C]

Right.

[B]

So he's got those under his.

[C]

Was it Alpha or was it Fiat Alpha. Okay.

[B]

Yeah. So, all right, that's that story. We'll get back to it. There will be more news.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

And there'll be news if there isn't news.

[C]

Yeah. I hope I'm not wrong, but I could be wrong.

[B]

Yeah. I think we should be open to the idea that Chrysler and Dodge go away. If you're going to kill one, kill them both at the same time. You know, use one bandage. Yeah, I don't feel good about it. Dodge is a historic brand. Chrysler is a historic brand. Bums me out.

[C]

But I mean, I feel like that's, you know, I mean, General Motors didn't get rid of Chevrolet, they got rid of Saturn. So I just don't know how.

[B]

Yes, but Chevrolet was selling a million units a year.

[C]

I know, but I just. I don't know. I just don't know how they could, they could do it. I think they need a complete reorg and rethink of what they're doing with their brand.

[B]

Is Chevy the highest volume brand in the US or is it Toyota? I don't know, but they're not gonna get rid of shit.

[C]

You know who would know that? I bet Sam Fiorani would know that.

[B]

Well, he would know it. I should know.

[C]

If you're listening, you should text us.

[B]

Anyway, anyway, so that's that story. It's going to be a story. We'll be talking about it more. We have some goodbyes to say and I'm bummed about all of them. The Kia Soul.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

Discontinued after 2026.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

Delightful vehicle.

[C]

Yes.

[B]

A vehicle I sort of been forgetting lately. But it's a really good entry level vehicle. It plays the role of crossover, though. It's not available with all wheel drive. Good packaging, great looks.

[C]

It was one of those vehicles that just crossed the generational divide. It was a great entry level vehicle for somebody who was just starting to drive. But because of the high hit point of, you know, entry and exit to the vehicle. It was also really great for people who were on the older side of the spectrum and couldn't like get down or into like a sportier car or get up into a large suv.

[B]

Hilariously. Hilariously. I think that's part of what did in the whole boxy vehicle because there Was the soul. There was the Scion xb. The Nissan Cube.

[C]

Yes.

[B]

Which was way too eccentric looking. And the Honda Element.

[C]

Right, right.

[B]

All these were. Obviously, they tell you they're aimed at youth. No one tells you that a car is aimed at old people with bad hips. But all of them were purchased by old people with bad hips.

[C]

Right. Well, you know, I mean, the Element, I think, would probably be the exception to that because that was such a functional vehicle. Like you could. It had holes in the floorboard that you could drain water out of.

[B]

Yeah. And that wasn't exactly playing against these vehicles. It had sort of a different mission. You remember, had composite fenders in case you were going off road with it. It was available with all wheel drive.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

And. And the, the dual. What was it? The suicide doors on the side.

[C]

Yeah. And I feel like it had the flip up seats, didn't it, in the back, so you could put a bike in the back seat.

[B]

Yeah. So it was super functional, super useful, and it sold in some volume.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

The Scion xb, when it first launched, was tiny, fun to drive, unbelievably functional. It's super easy to customize, had some fun. Then they redid it and it got bigger and heavier and more expensive and the fuel economy fell and the Cube was just too darn weird.

[C]

It was. You know what? Oddly, my dad wanted the Cube and I was like, who are you? What have you done with my dad?

[B]

We had a long term cube at Consumer Guide that we had for a year and it was a fine vehicle. We didn't have any complaints about. No, I mean, Kirk complained about it

[C]

being slow, Kurt complains about everything.

[B]

But. But no, there are really no complaints there. But the interesting thing about the Cube, I think, and the single most important thing is that there was an option to get a little piece of Velcro rug on the dashboard. No, my dad wanted to call the toupee.

[C]

Yeah, my dad wanted that. And I'm like, what? And he's like, I just think it's weird. And I was like, he's right. Okay.

[B]

He's right. It was weird. What was weird too, is that once you were in it, it didn't feel that weird.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

Very conventional.

[C]

Yeah. I feel like he had it as a rental car or something. He was like, this is amazing. And I was like, oh, you're right.

[B]

But of the little boxy things, man. The soul took it. It just. It ran with it. And I think that the extra warranty was good, the low price was good, the fuel economy was Good.

[C]

The hamsters.

[B]

The hamsters. A lot of people.

[C]

People still remember that from 2015, I think it was.

[B]

I mean, you claim to not remember things from last week and.

[C]

No, that would be you. You're the one who texts me and asks me what car we're reviewing every week.

[B]

I didn't do that.

[C]

This week you did. Well, we talked.

[B]

I might be wrong, though. I might be wrong, though. They sold 1.5 million souls.

[C]

That's amazing.

[B]

In the U.S. yeah. So that's crazy talk. All right. Another car going away. And we just talked about this. We just talked about this. The Audi A8.

[C]

Yes.

[B]

And that's not the US that's global going away. And we talked about these numbers. I wrote them down again just because they. These used to be the flagships of these brands, But BMW sold 11,007 series last year. Mercedes Benz sold just 6400s classes. Genesis sold 1700 G90s. That is a car not getting the love it deserves.

[C]

No.

[B]

And then audi sold just 1400 A8s in the US so going away, the large sedan, not there anymore.

[C]

No.

[B]

Interestingly, BMW still sells an awful lot of 3 and 4 series cars. And, like, they're the last maker that really has a handle on sedans. And they're cool sedans. They're good sedans.

[C]

They are driver sedans.

[B]

All right, I got another one here.

[C]

Okay.

[B]

The Hyundai Ioniq 6. Gone.

[C]

Yes.

[B]

That's.

[C]

That was a shocker to me.

[B]

Yeah. Because it's such a cool car. That came out just a couple of years ago. It is a midsize sedan, about the size of a. Of a Hyundai Sonata. Except that it is electric. It is extremely aerodynamic. Styling is extremely avant garde. It has fantastic range. 361 miles from the right trim level. Everything about this car is pretty likable. But. But it only did 10,000 units of sales last year. Without the incentives, I'm sure they're expecting that to slip to more like five.

[C]

Right.

[B]

So that's going to be a tough sell. Hyundai's going to focus the. The Ionic 5 compact crossover and the new 9.

[C]

Yes.

[B]

It's really nice.

[C]

Oh, it's super nice. They're.

[B]

They're big ev, so. All right, I mentioned that. I was wrong. All right, I think we can start talking about our test drive.

[C]

Yeah, you mentioned that was like a weird transition because I put it down

[B]

here but then addressed it first.

[C]

Okay.

[B]

See, so that's a feeling of my notes.

[C]

Got it.

[B]

Not my fault.

[C]

My notes. I'm blaming you anyway because you were the one who did the notes.

[B]

Yep, yep, I did do the notes.

[C]

You did do the notes.

[B]

All right. You and I had a chance to drive the same vehicle. Actually, it was a different vehicle. I think they were different colors.

[C]

Yeah, mine's white.

[B]

But we drove the 20.26Mazda CX 33.3 Turbo S premium plus.

[C]

70.

[B]

70? Did I say 30?

[C]

You said 30. You've got 30 on the brain failing of my notes. 3.3 liter turbo. That's, that's where you got the three from.

[B]

33.7, 3.3 Turbo S premium plus. Anyway, this is Mazda's relatively new midsize crossover. They launched the 90 first. The CX90 replaced the CX9 three row crossover. Very nice. And it was a big change. This was 100, a new vehicle. They went to a rear drive architecture. They went to an inline six cylinder engine, which is usually the purview of luxury brands. It's turbocharged. And, and then they made more space in back, like the whole thing here was the CX90. Very nice family vehicle. Not selling as well as it should. I think it's an excellent vehicle.

[C]

I agree.

[B]

But then they decided that the CX70, which came later would be the anti 90. And if you don't want to haul around the soccer team, you can't because there's no third row.

[C]

Correct.

[B]

So they have two midsize cars, 90 and 70, 97 passenger or eight passenger. But the 70 is just a five passenger vehicle.

[C]

Well, I mean they had the CX7 many moons ago, so this is many moons ago. This isn't like a deviation. This isn't like, this is something they've never done before. So they had the CX5, CX7, CX9 and now they have the CX5, CX50. That to me is a little bit weird. And then the CX70 and CX90.

[B]

Volkswagen also does this with the Atlas and Atlas Cross Sport.

[C]

Yeah, yeah.

[B]

I can never keep track of these weird sport cross, cross.

[C]

I'm pretty sure it's crossboard.

[B]

Anything that means they took a hatchet to the back end is complicated and hard to remember.

[C]

Yes.

[B]

But the CX70 is a heck of a nice car. Let me just start there. Yes, I drove it for a week. I really enjoyed this vehicle. And, and I've driven a lot of midsize crossovers lately. Tx, the Lexus, tx, the Hyundai Palisade, the Chevy Traverse. And they all have, they're all good frankly. But this vehicle to me is the one I probably want most because it feels the most European.

[C]

Well, it feels very European. It's super sporty. It handles the road really well. It's very quiet. You know, it's the kind of SUV you would get if you like to drive, I think.

[B]

Yeah, yeah. Of these, it's the one. I think the Lexus is probably the one least tuned for driver excitement. The Chevy was pretty good. The Hyundai might have been pretty sporty, but. But this, this is actually sporty. It feels European. It feels like a BMW X5 for less money. Very nice interior, very quiet, very great on the highway. There's nothing, there's nothing here not to like. Also the. Was this a Bose sound system? I wrote this down somewhere. Great audio.

[C]

I'm pretty, I'm pretty sure it is Bose. And so it was really funny because on one of my TikTok videos that I put out there, somebody said that they would be curious to see if I felt that the transmission had improved. And I'll be honest, I don't remember the transmission particularly being bad when it launched. But I will say that the transmission feels like it has nice smooth shifts

[B]

to the ME I don't remember transmission issues either. What I do remember is that there's a hybrid version of this. Well, we should talk about the engines.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

So there's the 3.3 inline six. It's, it's a turbocharged engine. It either puts out 200 and is it 280 horsepower and base trim or 340? Yeah, a big 340 in your S versions of the vehicle. And it's very quick and a lot of power. That engine's silky smooth and I didn't have any problems with that transmission at all. Now if you're looking for transmission sprout problems, the phev, there's a plug in hybrid version of this and it's, it's not worth it.

[C]

It's a little bit glitchy.

[B]

So it also, it doesn't use the six cylinder engine. It uses a four cylinder engine.

[C]

Are you sure about that?

[B]

Yeah, 2.54 and it's a plug in hybrid and it, it gets you the range, but it is unpleasant to drive around town. Just weird shifts, weird power delivery. The handoffs between gasoline and electric, they're not good. So I would recommend avoiding the PHEV unless you really, really want to test drive it. But if you test drive it, drive it in slow traffic, I don't think you're going to like it. My vehicle was polymetal gray, which sounds like a tragically boring color. But it was actually had these wonderful blue tones that sort of shifted in light.

[C]

Yeah. Mine's just a boring white. I feel like every other car on the road is white.

[B]

So this is a little bit more expensive. There is no base model of this, so it gets a little bit more expensive than the stock CX90. You have to start a trim level higher, but I think most people are going for those middle trim levels anyway, so it doesn't matter. We drove a top trim level. Mine was started at 56, 670/1530. Destination came to 59, 825. All of these very, very nice top line mid, mid mid sized crossovers are coming to 60 now.

[C]

Yeah. I feel like everything is. Everything is expensive. Well, we.

[B]

What?

[C]

What? I was in the TX 350 last week and it was like $74,000. And it's just like what?

[B]

It's a nice car. Funny thing, when Zach Prattle was on the show a couple of weeks ago, Zach had noted that he was not a big fan of the TX simply because he thought the Grand Highlander got the job done for much less money. He's not wrong. And the Grand Highlander's interior is nice, but the Lexus interior is nicer. But I thought I'd throw that out there. Just an opposing view.

[C]

Just an opposing view. Well. And so, you know, I was in the turbo premium plus Rhodium white premium, and then it had the red nappa leather interior.

[B]

Slapping the word rhodium in front of the word white. Rhodium white is a waste of a perfectly good adjective.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Rhodium sounds like fun.

[C]

Yeah. Rhodium. So my.

[B]

Your hands would be made numb by touching that color.

[C]

So don't do that.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

So the assessed price for My vehicle is 51945.

[B]

All right.

[C]

Yeah. But I liked it. I would say the only thing that I would. I'm a little bit ish on is the seat comfort. They feel like I'm sitting on cardboard.

[B]

Hmm.

[C]

Yeah. And I don't know if that's just because I've got a bony butt or what is going on there, but they are just a little bit.

[B]

As a rule, I do not comment on your butt on the show.

[C]

I appreciate that. I appreciate that. Yeah. Well, you know.

[B]

All right, we should take a break here. After the break, we talked to Gary Witzenberg.

[C]

Yes.

[B]

Our friend who has just written a new book.

[C]

Yes.

[B]

So stick around.

[A]

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

[B]

And we're back. This is the Consumer Guide Car Stuff podcast. I'm Todd. Tom. She is Jill.

[C]

Hi.

[B]

And. And we're chatting here on a very, very, very nice day in Chicago.

[C]

I know I'd much rather be outside.

[B]

Real quick, throw me a bone.

[C]

Hey, Tom, are you on social media?

[B]

Hey, Jill, thanks for asking. I'm on Twitter X. I'm on Blue Sky. I am Car Guy Tom on both. Good conversation right now on Blue sky about an ad Dustin Hoffman did, I think, in 1966 for the Volkswagen Fastback sedan.

[C]

Okay.

[B]

Really interesting ad because it's making the point that if you thought Volkswagens were too small, check out the Fastback sedan. And there's some funny stuff there about there being a trunk at both ends of the vehicle.

[C]

Okay.

[B]

So. But that chat is pretty lively.

[C]

Okay.

[B]

All right. You know what guests of ours have done?

[C]

Written books.

[B]

Written books. Stephen Johnny wrote a book about Les Paul. Nick Dijilio wrote a book about movies, and he's writing another one right away about horror movies.

[C]

Okay.

[B]

And our good friend Gary Witzenberg has just written a book, it's out now, called Legends in Motion Inside Stories and Drive It Adventures from the Wonderful World of Cars. Gary, how are you today?

[D]

I'm doing fine. Tom and Jill, glad to be here.

[B]

Well, we have your book right here in front of us. Thank you for getting us a copy of this. It looks great. It is. It is huge. This is a big book of good car stories. Why, why did you put this together and tell us what the point was?

[D]

Well, if you think about it, I heard, Jill, just while I was still trying to get on the audio, talk about how I've been doing this. It's been over four decades. I've driven obviously thousands of cars. I've. I've written about lots of vehicles. But also I've had lots of great stories and lots of great adventures beginning even before I was had a license. And soon after, I was very fortunate to have a father who kind of liked cars. And he didn't have a lot of money, but he had a good job. So if you look at some of the earlier chapters, I had some kind of cool cars in high school and some adventures with them that a couple of them could have killed me, but they didn't. And then as time went along, I got my first new car, which was a Triumph TR4A. Drove it around Europe on some Formula One tracks.

[B]

Wow.

[D]

There's a good series of stories on that. Car and my adventures with that. It became my first race car. The point is, throughout my career I've been able to have a lot of. I've been fortunate, blessed to have a lot of great adventures with cars. And much of this book is those stories personal behind the wheel driving Nurburgring 24hour 1979 with Lynn St James and Jim Downing and we won our class and there's a lot of other racing stuff, but also stories behind the creations of some of the really more interesting cars, some of many of which I've owned through the years. So if you look at the middle chapters, it's how this car was created and why this car was created and they may not have been successful but they were all interesting. And you know, the point is, I think if you write a story and it's published somewhere, be it in a print magazine or online somewhere, some people read it, some people enjoy it and it's here today and it's gone tomorrow. You can still find it maybe, but it's, it's something that's very temporary. And I thought why not take some of these great stories and put them all together in, in a tone that would be, you know, kind of a legacy thing of that would cover some of the great fun stuff I've done in my whole career. And the more I thought about it, a couple of authors whom I know and respect recommended that I do this after reading some of my stuff on Hagerty, for example and why don't you make a book out of this stuff? There's a lot of good stories. So I finally decided yes, let's do that. And unlike a lot of books, it's not, it's not something that motor books or somebody I think would have been interested in. I didn't even try to sell it. It's a self published effort. So I, you know, I shelled out the money myself to a publisher. They did a beautiful job on the COVID They did. They helped me put together the whole thing. It turned out as big as it did because there's that many stories and that I had to leave out, frankly. If you've read any of it, you'll agree I think it's, it's pretty fun stuff.

[B]

No, it is fun stuff. And for people who don't know if they haven't come across your stuff, you're a great writer.

[D]

Thank you.

[B]

And you put this stuff together so well and there's a bunch of great stories here and Jill and I just put together a short list of stuff here that I Don't think people know about that. You have great insight about. And one of my favorite cars in history, not because I want to drive it, but because it was just so weird and it landed so oddly. When it landed and there was so much effort put into it, was the Cadillac Elante. And, and, and for people who don't know about the air bridge, they need to know this and they need to read your story about that. But just if you would please indulge me and tell us a little bit about the Alante and what the air bridge was.

[D]

Yeah, that happened because back in the mid-80s, really, Cadillac, well, GM was basically suffering in terms of. Their cars weren't very good, frankly. All the brands, they were suffering, they were losing sales to overseas makers and even other domestics. And the people running Cadillac at the time, I think Bob Berger was the general manager, he decided we need a real halo car. We need something really cool, really special. Let's go up against the Mercedes sports car. And they ended up going to Pininfarina, the famous design house in Italy, and said, will you guys not only design the car for us but also build the bodies? Which they did. They built, they built a factory just to build the bodies for these cars and hired a bunch of young people to do it. But the rest of the car, the chassis, the engine, everything else except the body, exterior and interior was still done in the US So once Penn and Farina got these bodies pushed out of the factory, they were loaded into trucks, truck to the airport in Mil, it was Italy. Loaded on seven 47s and then flown across the Atlantic to Detroit, basically, where they then were loaded on trucks again, sent to the plant and made it with the chassis and the powertrains and that's how the vehicle went together. And that was, that was a pretty crazy and God awful expensive way to do a vehicle. But they thought at the time it gave it enough of a cachet, if you will, that people interested in luxury cars, cars who would otherwise not be interested in a Cadillac brand because they would want a Mercedes or a BMW or something, this might make them interested and it might give them the quality, not only the look of the car, but the quality, the Italian touch, the reputation. I will say as a side note that this didn't make the design studios at Cadillac in Detroit very happy when they farmed off the design to Cadillac. You know, I knew the guy at the time, Wayne Katie was a design student, studio chief. And he said, basically he said, you know, we've done your bread and butter stuff. Through the years. And now we get something really sexy and cool and you give it to somebody else and we don't get to do it. And he was really upset. But that's the way it worked, the way it played out over seven years. And I think, correct me if I'm wrong, but I think it was 87 to 94. Were the model years okay, it, the car, the, the quality of the body assembly was not that great at first. And it was criticized for not only that, but also I remember driving the first one from a press event. The seats were very hard, like sitting on rocks. The top was a terrible design that was very hard to put up and take down. And it had one of the first applications of digital instruments, video game instruments we call them. Then people didn't like that. And then over the next six years or so it got better. Every year, as GM tended to do, they would launch something and then they would improve it year after year after year, right up until the point where it was really good. And then they would cancel it. And that's, that's what happened.

[B]

And for people who don't know, that car was basically a Cadillac El Dorado. Front wheel drive. Cadillac El Dorado.

[D]

Under the skin, it was more or less. It was derived from that elder. It was front drive indeed. And in fact, I remember one of the features it had that was unique in the industry at the time was traction control.

[B]

Oh, okay.

[D]

Front wheel drive cars did not have traction control in those days, but it handled well. Most people thought it looked great. The quality got much better, the top got better. One year or another, it was a very good car. John Grettenberger, I started to say who I knew. Well, he was a neighbor of mine up until he passed away a few years ago. He took over management of Cadillac and he still had one of those. When I did a story on it, I just walked down the street to his house and photographed him with it. And he said it was really sad when they had to cancel it, but they needed the money for other cars. The thing was supposed to maybe not make money, but at least, at least break even. Was supposed to pay its own way. And it didn't. It was always a loser. So they finally, very reluctantly had to cancel it.

[B]

So looking back, I sort of think that time has been very kind to that design and I think it's a great looking car. I almost wonder, and I'd love to get your opinion on this, if at the time it was, was the design was almost too subtle.

[D]

I think so. But how else Would you do it? I mean, if you look at what else was out there in 1987 through early 90s, I don't know if it would, if would have been more rounded, would have been better. You know, pin and farina does really, really great work in those days. And it was distinctive, it was different. Yes, it was subtle, it wasn't flamboyant. But that's not what they were going for. Obviously they wanted something very upscale looking distinctive. Something that, well, distinctive sums it up. But they didn't want it to look like anything else out there. They wanted it to be just definitely Cadillac, but also have its own character. And I think that one of the things that was not wrong with it was the way it looked. I think it, it looked fine and it handled great. The drove pretty well.

[B]

Interesting. The, the other thing I think that was a ding against it at the time is that was very expensive.

[D]

It was, it was a couple. Off the top of my head, it was something like $20,000 over the top of the otherwise most expensive Cadillac. You know, Sedan deville or whatever was. Was their top of the line car at the time. Toronto, it was way up there. But it competed directly price wise with that Mercedes sl. It didn't compete with the Mercedes in most other ways, but they went right for that price, which I think was around 50,000 bucks at the time, right?

[C]

Yeah, that's the number that's sticking in my head too. I was trying to look through the book. Yeah, it looks like $54,700.

[B]

Okay. Yeah, 55 grand. A lot of money at the time.

[C]

Yeah.

[D]

Up against it in price. But what they failed to take into account is that Mercedes earned that price through a lot of years of excellence and reputation. And Cadillac couldn't just jump up to that price level immediately without earning it first through a period of time to get there to. For people to see it perceive it as a good value.

[B]

Yeah, it does. You're right. It does feel like they shortcut it a little bit.

[C]

I'm switching gears because I want to make sure we get to another one of your stories and you know, we are going to be running out of time pretty quickly, but I want to talk about the Cannonball Express. Oh yeah, I thoroughly enjoyed reading about that. And I mean just from how it came together to. I mean, and if anybody's seen the movie Cannonball Run, this is not that. But I couldn't help thinking of that while I was reading your story. And so I was just wondering if you could talk a little bit about what The Cannonball Express was. And your experience and you know, is it still going today?

[D]

I think it is. I just saw something online that they're doing it but in a much toned down kind of around the middle of the country in a few days. I haven't really kept up with it or studied up with what's, what's going on now. But there is still something called that I think happening that happened. As you know, Jill, it was done, it was put on by Brock Yates. It was the same mad genius who did the original illegal Cannonball runs was behind those. And he decided that this would be a kind of a cool thing to do, to do all the way circumnavigate the US and it was 9,000 miles in nine days or something like that. And there were transit zones where you just were on your own to get there on time and your route and your speeds and so on were up to you. And then there were specific stops at racetracks where they would give you a lap time or something. That was part of the competition. But if you read the story, Joe, you know, parts of it were fun. But for our team at Loop it was a total nightmare. And we were in. There were four factory Audis, turbo Quattro Audi sedans. And that was a really cool car at the time. Yeah, 86 I think I'm, I remember that correctly. And you know, all wheel drive and anti lock brakes and turbo power. And there were four of those in the thing entered by the factory. One of them won. But ours was a late entry. We were supposed to, I was supposed to co drive with the actor James Brolin.

[B]

Oh cool.

[D]

And the B.F. goodrich PR guy. James Brolin is one of our co drivers at Nurburgring, by the way, in that story. And then they both canceled out and I ended up with a rally team, Bruno Kreiberk and Clark Bond, a really good rally team. But they entered the Volkswagen Porsche Audi of America had withdrawn the car. Then they re entered it. It was a late entry and we ended up I think something like 76th in a rally out of 78 cars

[B]

or something like that.

[D]

If you ever driven a rally or you know anything about it, they. The cars start at one minute intervals.

[B]

Yeah, right.

[D]

That means we started an hour and 60 minutes behind the first car.

[C]

Yep.

[D]

And that always meant that we would get into someplace late. If we were delayed, we would get into a checkpoint. We were supposed to maybe get a meal and a little rest. But it was already closed. We had terrible weather. We had storm in the north going across the northern route. And a lot of people were, you know, put off the road or told not to do that. Link. We did it, but we had a failure in the air conditioning system that turned on the. It didn't just fail, it failed full blast air conditioning. So we're driving through a snowstorm in the mountains and it's below zero out and it's below zero in the car because we got full air conditioning in our face. Almost froze to death. There were many other stories that of things gone wrong. And it seemed like the rules kept flexing to make sure that the right guy won, which was John Buffalo in one of the factory cars. And people would, they would just ignore some checkpoints but not be penalized for them. But we would miss others through no fault of our own like the storm and get penalized. And it was just the whole thing. It's a fun story to read. I'd ended up, I did it for the Rob Report and it's a very long story, but it's a fun read as you just saw. Bill and maybe a little rebel rally in there.

[C]

Yeah, yeah. No, I, as I was reading it because we do time speed endurance portions. And so I kept, I kept thinking, oh, I know exactly what you're talking about here. And like getting like in last year, we ended up being like 65 out of 67 teams a lot. And just the whole idea of being like an hour behind everybody else, it's so hard.

[D]

Real quickly, the other thing that made it a nightmare was that Ralph Nader at the time, oh yeah, he got it into his head it was an illegal race, not a legal rally and would be done mostly at legal speeds. He thought it was an illegal race and he notified all the states it would go through. And so we had cops there in just about every state just harassing us to death and ticketing people for no good reason because he told them it was a race and we should arrest all these people. And that went on state after state after state after state, right to the last one. Ohio was the last state before we got back to Michigan. And it looked like a scene out of the original movie with a thousand cops and nobody speeding. They were going the speed limit and still getting pulled over.

[B]

That is why no one invited Nader to parties.

[C]

Yeah, yeah. Not a fun guy.

[B]

Gary, we're flat out of time, but do tell us how we can get the book.

[D]

What's available right now is an ebook for Kindle or reading on your computer or phone from Amazon and Barnes and Noble also In print editions, both hardcover and softcover or paperback editions from those two outlets. I'm hoping it will be in stores around the country or maybe in some places soon.

[B]

Awesome.

[D]

But that deal is still going together. But anybody can go online to Amazon, Barnes and Noble and find it in those ebook, paper or hardcover editions. And I would encourage them to do so because I get a few bucks out of it if they do.

[B]

That's awesome. Yeah. If you love cars or if you know someone who loves cars, this is the book to buy.

[C]

It is a good read. I can attest to that.

[B]

Gary, thank you so much. Oh, go ahead.

[D]

I will just add that you don't even have to love cars to enjoy the stories. It's not just for car people.

[B]

Good point.

[D]

In a light hearted tone that you don't have to be a car nut to enjoy.

[B]

Excellent. Gary, thank you so much for your time today.

[D]

Thank you for having me on. I really appreciate it.

[B]

Absolutely. All right, that was Gary Witzenberg. We're going to take a break and when we come back.

[C]

Quiz time.

[B]

Quiz time.

[A]

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

[E]

episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Do you ever think about switching insurance companies to see if you could save some cash? Progressive makes it easy. Just drop in some details about yourself and see if you're eligible to save money when you bundle your home and auto policies. The process only takes minutes and it could mean hundreds more in your pocket. Visit progressive.com after this episode to see if you could save Progressive Casualty Insurance company and affiliates. Potential savings will vary. Not available in all states.

[A]

Welcome back to the Car Stuff podcast.

[B]

And we're. We are back. This is the consumer guide Car Stuff podcast. I'm Tom. She is Jill.

[C]

Hi.

[B]

I'm a little bummed. I'm never gonna write like a nice book. Maybe I am. I don't think so.

[C]

Well, you know, I mean, I have, I think at least two books in me and I've already started one of them.

[B]

I would like to write a book about 80s car culture.

[C]

Okay.

[B]

It was a weird time and the car sucked and yet there were still people out there bravely doing fun things with cars. Okay, what two books would you write?

[C]

Well, my first book, I know you will be the first person to buy it, is about running and I know that it's.

[B]

Yes, I can add that to all my other running books.

[C]

Near and dear to your heart, but just about they're next to my cross stitch books, the things I learned anecdotally while training runners for marathons for 15 years.

[B]

Oh.

[C]

So that. Which I've started, but I need to really put my nose to the grindstone. I'd like to get it done this year. And then my second book, A Little More Serious, is about my journey with my dad and his fight with Lewy Body Dementia. I kept a diary while we were going through it.

[B]

These aren't car books.

[C]

I know. Not car books. But I have things other than cars in my life, so I figure I don't. Those are the two books that I have. And then I actually have an idea for a third that would be an anthology with a couple of different writers in it.

[B]

I think Gary's dad was a little bit like mine in that I did a lot of driving long before I should have been driving. And my dad encouraged it, frankly. Not the stealing the car at night part.

[C]

Right.

[B]

But we used to drive around, like, from my grandmother's house to our house or something like that, and his old crappy yellow Valiant, and he just let me drive.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

And Palatine was rural then. You know it. No, there were no cops. There were no stoplights.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

No one cared. And even if you saw somebody, you just wave and they're like, yeah, it looks normal.

[C]

That's totally fine. Yeah. My dad would take me out before I had a permit in his company car, so.

[B]

Yeah, that's cool.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

Real quick. We're actually running a little on low on time social media stuff, so I

[C]

will be very quick. Jill Simonello. Card, Azure. And you can find me on TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, LinkedIn, Threads, Blue sky, all the things. And if I'm not on something that you think I should be on, reach out to me and tell me where I should be.

[B]

All right, Are you ready?

[C]

Yes.

[B]

This is one of your favorite quiz formats.

[C]

Are you going to. Oh, is it the 62nd thing?

[B]

It is.

[C]

Okay, so these two. There you go. It fits into the fact that we. We're running low on time.

[B]

Today's topic is just a gosh darn minute.

[C]

Okay. Just a gosh darn minute.

[B]

All right. I'm gonna give you 60 seconds, and you're gonna have to fulfill your charter, your charge during the. Yeah. You ready?

[C]

Yep.

[B]

That's that easy. You have one minute. The hand on the clock in the studio is white. It's silver, and it's on a white face.

[C]

Okay. Do you. Do you want, like, my.

[B]

No. Because I have a watch with a Blue face and orange.

[C]

Is that orange or is it red?

[B]

Whatever it is, it pops.

[C]

Okay.

[B]

All right. I'm wasting precious time.

[C]

You are.

[B]

You have one minute to give me five answers for each of these questions. Are you ready?

[C]

Yes.

[B]

Number one, name five car models that begin with F. Go. You have one minute.

[C]

Models.

[B]

Models.

[C]

Okay. F150.

[B]

Okay.

[C]

F250.

[B]

No. Just giving you F Series.

[C]

F Series, F Sport. F Pace.

[B]

Wait, F Sports, not a model.

[C]

Well, F Pace.

[B]

F Pace is. It's a Jaguar.

[C]

Oh, my gosh.

[B]

Wow.

[C]

500.

[B]

Okay, good one. You need two more.

[C]

And they also had the Ford 500. So there's the Fiat and then the Ford.

[B]

I'll give you that. You need one more in 10 seconds.

[C]

Yeah, that's not gonna happen. I'm blinking.

[B]

Four seconds.

[C]

Three, two, one. Oh. Oh.

[B]

You didn't get it.

[C]

Didn't get it.

[B]

No. Fairmont Fusion, F Series. Fiesta Falcon Flex 500. I didn't do the other 500, but there you go. You have no points.

[C]

Yeah. I love that.

[B]

Number two, you have one minute to give me five three cylinder car models.

[D]

And.

[B]

Go.

[C]

I hate you right now. There's like, the Mini Cooper.

[B]

All right.

[C]

Oh. The Rogue. Nissan Rogue.

[B]

Okay. I didn't even have that on here. Good. I feel like.

[C]

Did the Chevrolet Cruz have a three cylinder?

[B]

The Cruze?

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

No.

[C]

Huh?

[B]

No. 1.44 cylinder turbo.

[C]

I'm like. I feel like.

[B]

But I would walk around that Chevy lot near.

[C]

I know. I'm like. I feel like one of the Chevys did. So, like the Cruise. The Cobalt, the.

[B]

No, no, no.

[C]

Ao. The Spark, the.

[B]

No.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

Ooh.

[C]

Yeah. I got nothing.

[B]

Out of time. You got two of them. Some examples are the Escape, the Bronco Sport, the Tracks, the Trailblazer, the Invista, the Encore gx, the Geometro, Going back in time. And the Mini Cooper. Okay, you're in trouble now.

[C]

I know.

[B]

I need you in one minute to give me five turbocharged models. Go.

[C]

Okay. The CX30.

[B]

Okay.

[C]

CX70 that I'm driving right now.

[B]

Okay.

[C]

I mean, I could keep going down the Mazda lineup.

[B]

You need a point, so why not the.

[C]

I. I Believe the C.CX50 is turbocharged.

[B]

Yes. Available with a turbocharged.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

I think all the 50s are.

[C]

Yeah. And CX90.

[B]

Oh, that's four.

[C]

And then. Oh, God, now I'm gonna blank on the last one.

[B]

Oh, you got 10 seconds. Just a turbocharged car.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

What's the last car you drove?

[C]

The. I can't even remember because you're putting Me on the spot in 60 seconds. The TX. I don't. Lexus TX.

[B]

Yes. All right, you got it. There you go. For my answer, I just put kinda everything.

[C]

Kinda everything.

[B]

All right.

[C]

Okay, I need.

[B]

You have 1.3 questions left, 5 questions total, plus the bonus question. Bonus question, always related to the topic of the day, always. Number four, name five non line luxury sedans currently on sale in the U.S. go.

[C]

Honda Civic, Honda Accord, Toyota Camry, Toyota Corolla. And I mean, I wouldn't. The Hyundai Sonata.

[B]

That is the order I wrote these down in.

[C]

Oh, gosh, that's funny.

[B]

You have two points. All right, and last of the regular questions. I need you to give me five current models available with engines of a displacement of five liters or over.

[C]

Oh, I hate you. Okay.

[B]

I used to write for a truck site, so you should be able to get this. Oh, yeah, you should go now.

[C]

Okay.

[B]

You have one minute. That's 60 seconds.

[C]

Well, Mustang.

[B]

All right.

[C]

I feel like there's a version of the F150, the F series, that should have more.

[B]

The Coyote, same engine as the most.

[C]

The. No.

[B]

35 seconds.

[C]

And it's. Is it current cars?

[B]

No. Doesn't have to be.

[C]

I mean, did the Camaro ever have five?

[B]

I'm gonna need some certainty.

[C]

Camaro, yes.

[B]

That's three. You need two more in 20 seconds.

[C]

The Silverado.

[B]

That's four. You need one more.

[C]

The Sierra.

[B]

Oh, there you go. Yeah. I just wrote down Chevy 5362, Ford 5 liter Ram 5.7, Jeep 392. That's the 6.4. All right. You won.

[C]

Okay.

[B]

You pulled that one out. All right, are you ready? In honor of International Women's Day.

[C]

Which was yesterday.

[B]

Which was yesterday.

[C]

Yes.

[B]

But we didn't record yesterday.

[C]

We did not.

[B]

I'm doing a tribute to Nancy Drew.

[C]

Okay.

[B]

600 different book titles, 80 million copies sold in 45 languages since 1930.

[C]

Okay.

[B]

And, and, and really a role model. Young women back when there were no role models for young women.

[C]

Yes.

[B]

Anyway, not. Not for me to not take this entirely seriously.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

I have four Nancy Drew titles here.

[C]

Okay.

[B]

One of them is real.

[C]

Only one is real.

[B]

Yes.

[C]

Okay.

[B]

I really felt like writing titles today.

[C]

Clearly.

[B]

I need you to tell me which of the following is the real title.

[C]

Okay.

[B]

Of a Nancy Drew mystery.

[C]

Okay. Which, by the way, I never read any of hers. I did not.

[B]

I didn't read Hardy Boys.

[C]

I did not read them.

[B]

I got to them too late. And by the time I read it, I was like.

[C]

I was like a Mrs. Piglet, wiggle reader. And then moved right into Madeleine Lengle.

[B]

No, you know, I didn't read books. I read magazines. My dad was an avid magazine subscriber. Okay, so National Geographic, Popular Science, Popular Mechanics. He didn't get car books because. Whatever. But we got the Tribune, too. All right, are you ready?

[C]

Yep.

[B]

One of these titles is real.

[C]

Okay.

[B]

The Mystery of the Snippy Lunch Lady.

[C]

No.

[B]

The Clue of the Dancing Puppet. The Mystery of the Missing Potato Salad. The Clue of the Misshapen Parrot.

[C]

I'm gonna say no to the first one and the last one.

[B]

Can I read them again?

[C]

Yes, you can totally do that.

[B]

Yeah. The Mystery of the Snippy Lunch Lady. The Clue of the Dancing Puppet. The Mystery of the Missing Potato Salad. Or the Clue of. I don't know why I'm laughing Now. The Clue of the Misshapen Parrot.

[C]

I think it has to be either the second or the third one. Can you read both of those again?

[B]

I can. The Clue of the Dancing Puppet or the Mystery of the Missing Potato Salad?

[C]

I think it's gonna be the puppet.

[B]

You do?

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

Not the Potato salad.

[C]

Not the potato salad.

[B]

Oh, you got that right.

[C]

Ah.

[B]

Alrighty. I'm gonna sign this. I'm gonna hand it over to you. Nice job.

[C]

So I got four out of six off to a bad start.

[B]

It was a terrible start.

[C]

Terrible start.

[B]

It was a tragic.

[C]

Tragic.

[B]

We have a relationship now on Believe.

[C]

Yes.

[B]

Believe. It's spelled Believe.

[C]

Believe.

[B]

But it's Believe.

[C]

Believe.

[B]

And I've chatted with this gentleman. Gentleman named Bodhi. Hosts his own podcast called Kilowatt.

[C]

Yes.

[B]

And it's very much electric oriented. Well, it is electric oriented, but he's really into the current stuff and. And new stuff and coming stuff in technology. I've listened to the show. It's very good. Okay, so one of the things that we're doing now that we have this relationship on Believe is. Is cross promoting. So a couple of things happen. One of us is going to end up on his show at some point.

[C]

Yes.

[B]

He's going to join us for a show and we're running ads on each other's podcast. But do check out Kilowatt.

[C]

Yes. I've actually literally just downloaded it to my podcast list today.

[B]

You can find it any place.

[C]

Yep. Especially Apple podcasts. That's where I got it.

[B]

Yeah. And if you like it, leave a review on Apple Podcasts. That would help a lot. All right. Guess what we did.

[C]

We had another great show.

[B]

This was a fun show. Yeah. It's always good to talk to Gary. Gary's history is fascinating. We didn't even talk about this, but he's a mechanical engineer. He was a Navy officer. Like, he's got a fantastic history.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

And he just happens to be a really good writer.

[C]

Yeah. Journalist. Worked for General Motors for a period of time and then went back to being a journalist.

[D]

Yeah.

[B]

It's kind of, you know, Renaissance guys like this don't come along all that often. No, he's done all the stuff.

[C]

He's. Yeah, he knows all the things.

[B]

Yeah. So cool. But do check out this book. Father's Day is coming up.

[C]

Yes.

[B]

Good present for Father's Day.

[C]

I think that would be a great present.

[B]

All right. Big thanks to Gary Witzenberg, author of Legends in Motion. Thank you, Jill. Thanks 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 [e-mail] the car stuff podcast is produced by J Turn Media. To advertise on the show, please drop us a line at carstuffinsumerguide.com.

[B]

If you like the show, please take a moment to rate, review and subscribe. It really does help the show to grow.

[D]

Thank you for listening.