PREPARING YOUR TEEN TO DRIVE w/ JESSICA JERMAKIAN from the IIHS

Summary

The Carpool with Kelly and Lizz

Episode: PREPARING YOUR TEEN TO DRIVE w/ JESSICA JERMAKIAN from the IIHS
Date: August 26, 2025

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Episode Overview

In this episode, Kelly Stumpe and Lizz St. John dive deep into preparing teens to drive, featuring expert guest Jessica Jermakian, Senior Vice President of Vehicle Research at IIHS (Insurance Institute for Highway Safety). The hosts discuss the anxiety and logistics around teen driving, safe and practical car choices, and how to best equip young drivers for life on the road—covering both family experience and industry insights. Before the interview, Kelly and Liz riff on lighthearted topics like “micro hobbies,” family photos, and auto-industry news.

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Segments & Discussion Points

1. Micro Hobbies: The Mom Life Hack

(00:24–16:15)

• Definition & Benefits:

  • Kelly and Lizz introduce the concept of “micro hobbies” — quick, small-scale interests or projects that add joy without demanding long-term commitment.
  • Examples: Making a signature potato salad, planning a one-off fish fry, or coordinating annual Christmas cards.

• “Hosting is my macro hobby, but potato salad? That’s my micro hobby.” - Kelly (03:15)

• Micro Hobby Aspirations:

  • Lizz wants to start with an easy-to-care-for plant and considers paint-by-number art kits, inspired by seeing a relaxing example in her sister’s home.
  • Kelly encourages starting with one low-maintenance plant (snake plant, a.k.a. “the ice cube waterer”).

• Practical Tip:

  • “Go check your saved Instagram Reels—that’s where your secret micro hobbies are hiding.” – Lizz (14:01)
  • Kelly shares she’s saved peach crostini recipes despite knowing her family will never eat them: “Just something for me.” (14:55)

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2. Car News Roundup

(16:15–25:37)

• 2026 Hyundai Palisade Redesign Review:

  • Both hosts, especially Kelly, express disappointment with the new Palisade interior and practicality, despite being long-time fans of the earlier model.
  • Complaints about downgraded storage solutions, awkward placement of the shifter, and concerns over impractical power seats for families.
  • “It’s Missville, USA. I’m very anxious to see the Kia Telluride.” – Kelly (21:35)

• Nissan Xterra Returns:

  • Excitement for the relaunch; Kelly likens the Xterra’s cultural cachet circa 2010 to today’s Ford Bronco.

• Chrysler Pacifica Grizzly Peak:

  • Amusement at a concept off-roading minivan; after initial skepticism, hosts see its potential for versatility and adventure.

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3. Interview: Jessica Jermakian (IIHS) on Preparing Your Teen to Drive

(25:37–53:46)

Who is Jessica Jermakian?

• Senior VP of Vehicle Research at IIHS.
• Mom to twin 15-year-old boys, soon-to-be teen drivers.

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Key Discussion Points

A. What Makes a Good Teen Car?

(29:48–37:27)

• The IIHS, in collaboration with Consumer Reports, annually releases a list of best used and new cars for teens, prioritizing safety, reliability, and affordability—especially for the $20,000-and-under market.
  • Criteria Include:
    • Safe in crash and crash-prevention tests
    • Not “mini” (avoid smallest, lightest vehicles)
    • Not “maxi” (avoid largest, heaviest SUVs/trucks)
    • “We want vehicles right in the middle: not too small, not too big, and not high-horsepower.” —Jessica (31:13)
    • Lower horsepower vehicles discouraged for new drivers

B. Why Teens Are High-Risk Drivers

(32:37–36:09)

• Teens are 4x more likely to crash (per mile) than drivers 20 and older, and 3x more likely to die in a crash.
• Dual issues: Immaturity (undeveloped rational brain until ~25) and inexperience.
• Jessica stresses the power of crash-prevention tech for young drivers:
  • “That technology is so effective in preventing crashes. … The types of crashes teens get in, they're more likely to need that safety backup.” (35:10)

C. Should Teens “Rely On” Safety Tech?

(34:18–36:28)

• Kelly voices disagreement with parents who avoid safety tech so kids “don’t rely on it,” arguing it should be seen as a fail-safe.
• Jessica: “We want to bridge that time when they're able to get the experience and mature … so they can make it to the other side of being an experienced, safe driver.” (36:09)

D. Practical Guidance for Parents

(41:15–47:43)

• Set a Positive Example:

  • Model safe, attentive driving habits; talk through tricky driving scenarios aloud so kids absorb “thinking behind the wheel.”
  • “Modeling good behavior is something we’ve been doing—limit distractions, follow the rules of the road.” —Jessica (43:11)

• Teaching Opportunities:

  • Start prepping before they drive, not just behind the wheel:
    • Practice emergency braking in a safe space so teens experience ABS for themselves (45:29).
    • Walk through procedures in advance (e.g., what to do if pulled over, navigating the car wash, pumping gas).

• Driving Lessons Checklist:

  • IIHS offers a parent/teen driving skills checklist, encouraging practice in various conditions (rain, night, highways).

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4. Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Selecting Teen Cars:

  • “A good teen car is a safe car and a reliable car. … The IIHS list is so comprehensive—there’s something for every price point and preference.” – Kelly (29:48, 37:27)

• On Setting Expectations:

  • “You want them to be as prepared as possible and get as much experience as possible … the supervised period is the safest for your teen!” —Jessica (47:45)

• On Teen Independence:

  • “Give them the list and let them do the research, maybe some negotiation—what a good learning experience for buying a car.” – Kelly (40:23)

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5. Guest “Ditch the Drive-Thru” Meal: Shakshuka

(49:30–53:25)

• Jessica’s Go-To Quick, “Ditch the Drive-Thru” Dinner:
  • Shakshuka: eggs poached in a spicy tomato sauce, served with bread (e.g., pita).
    • “It’s basically onion, maybe a red pepper, some garlic, crushed tomatoes, paprika, cumin, chili powder … then you crack eggs right into it and let them poach. Serve with bread.” – Jessica (50:30)
    • Jessica mentions improvising with a can of pumpkin when she was short on tomatoes.

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6. Resources

• IIHS/Consumer Reports teen car recommendations:
  • Free and publicly available on the IIHS website.
• IIHS parent/teen driving skills checklist:
  • Available online for guided practice sessions.

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Micro hobbies & family photos: 00:24–16:15
• Car news (Palisade, Xterra, minivan): 16:15–25:37
• Interview: Intro & IIHS projects: 25:37–29:48
• Teen car recommendations & safety: 29:48–41:15
• Parenting advice, driving lessons: 41:15–47:43
• “Ditch the Drive Thru” (Shakshuka): 49:30–53:25

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Takeaways

This episode arms parents (and interested teens) with actionable, expert advice on picking a safe, sensible first car and establishes the importance of modeling good habits and thorough, real-world driving preparation. Along the way, Kelly and Lizz mix in humor, practical mom hacks, and their trademark relatable commentary—making even the daunting topic of teen drivers feel manageable.

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For more, visit the IIHS teen car list or check out The Car Mom’s YouTube for detailed car reviews and advice.

Transcript

[A]

Welcome to the carpool podcast with Kelly. But I wanted to get, you know, because the last photos we got as a family were, like, Libby's newborn, and, like, Libby looks nothing like that. And I look way skinnier. So, like, we need to take new photos, obviously.

[B]

And Liz, this is why I kind of hate the podcast, because, like, you can go and find me. Just be hypocrite and never follow through on anything. Like, literally composting. I was like, I want to do composting.

[A]

Your mom time off starts now. Welcome back to the carpool podcast with Kelly and Liz. And, guys, this is your last week of only one episode a week.

[B]

Thank goodness.

[A]

And then we're back. We're back to two full episodes. We'll get more into, like, you know, we'll get more into our segments again. It just won't be so, like, two girls riffing on a mic with a guest at the end, you know, it'll be a little bit more like, what.

[B]

You know what you know, but you know, what, you know today is it's two girls ripping on a mic or the guest at the end.

[A]

But it's a good guest. It's our girl. It's our girl.

[B]

Jessica Jamaican, the name I will never forget.

[A]

Yeah. And so Jessica Jamaican is on the podcast today from the IHS and we are diving into Teen Driver. And how did it was. I mean, she always. One thing about her, she always brings meat and potatoes. And she did that plus a ditch the drive thru. That kind of had me quaking.

[B]

See, what. What was I doing? Why couldn't I be on this? I don't know. I could. I was unavailable. Maybe I had a sick kid. I don't know. I could not be on this recording. And I kind of love it when I'm not on the recordings because then I just get to, like, listen.

[A]

Yeah. And so that was. This was Jessica's third time on the podcast. And I'm so embarrassed because I'm like, oh, it's her third time on the podcast. Like, I'm not going to make her do a ditch the drive thru again. Right. So we ended the recording, and then she goes, why do you never ask me to do a dish the drive thru? And I was like, I feel like I have always asked you. She goes, no. Like, I've never done one.

[B]

Oh.

[A]

And I'm like. So we started recording again, and she had one locked and loaded.

[B]

Oh, okay.

[A]

So she's just like, huge oversight me. I thought I was like, I'm not gonna bother her for a third Recipe. Like, she has permission to go through the drive thru, but no, she raw one. Oh, and she's got. I forgot. I didn't realize it was her. She has two twin boys who are 15. So, like, if there's anyone who's ready to talk about Teen Driver, wow, it's Jessica making it from the ihs.

[B]

Jessica Jamaican from the ihs.

[A]

So anyway, that's at the end of the episode. Before that, though, Elizabeth and I have. We want to coin a new trend. And I really feel like if you're a mom hearing this, like, this is going to be like for you. Because that's like the majority of our audience. It's the concept of a micro hobby.

[B]

This was, this was kind of spun off from our last episode where I just. We were talking about your birthday gifts and how you just are. You talk about things and you have hobbies and you find little interests and hosting is your big one right now. And like, that was what surrounded one of your birthday presents. And it's just nice to have something to think about, to look forward to, to look, look up hacks about.

[A]

But I would even say, like, hosting is like a macro hobby.

[B]

Yeah, that's kind of.

[A]

And I would say, like a micro hobby is my potato salad. Because I've still brought. Had multiple conversations post potato salad about people, you know, switching recipes. I'm bringing it up to anyone who will listen. I did make my broccoli salad round two with some additions. I did some Greek yogurt instead of mayo. Make it a little lower Cal. See, I could just go on and on. Yeah. So a micro hobby is something that doesn't take up a lot of time at all, doesn't take up a whole year, doesn't take up more than a day. It's just like something that you really enjoy. So, like, when I was really into frying fish, which I still am, I'm planning to fish fry for the lake next weekend. Like, frying fish is a micro hobby of mine. Because I'm just like, what do I do? Another huge micro hobbyist. Christmas cards.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

Because there's no one who loves a family Christmas card more than me. Getting them, receiving them, hanging them up, framing my one from the year, coordinating.

[B]

The outfit, talking about it 85 times on the podcast, telling everyone about, I found my frame. I'm looking for my. No, I'm looking for a frame. I can't find my frame. I finally found my frame. Like, oh, my gosh, you're making your entire personality and it's my micro hobby.

[A]

And I'm really micro hobbying today because we are taking photos for our Christmas.

[B]

Card and which like think good you. Have you ever done that? Like taken photos, family photos that weren't newborn photos or like our greater.

[A]

Well, I've just like always had a baby coming.

[B]

Like the family photo.

[A]

Yeah. But I wanted to get, you know, because the last photos we got as a family were like Libby's newborn and like Libby looks nothing like that and I look way skinnier. So like we need to take new photos obviously.

[B]

Yeah. I would like to take yearly photos.

[A]

So we have that tonight. But it's like the pressure of don't even get me. I'm not even. I'm not gonna go on the soapbox about like how hard it is to coordinate outfits. Like, I'm just not doing that. But a soapbox I will go on is these retailers need to chill with putting away their, their clothes so early. It's like I'm trying to go find Fred. Fred is the only child I couldn't find something for. All I needed was a white, navy or denim collared shirt. Like collared shirt. I would have preferred a button down. Would have taken a polo. No. Went to Kohl's Target, TJ Maxx. I live in a small town, so those are my options. Not a single short sleeve collared shirt to be found for this child.

[B]

Find something in the, the back to school section.

[A]

He's not in that size yet, Elizabeth.

[B]

Oh, shoot. You're right. Yeah.

[A]

So no, I couldn't. And I'm just like, I'm in the toddler section at Target and I'm just like, it's not sweater weather. Like you guys need to chill and it's in same thing with Libby. Like I can't. I. Libby is just hit 18 months like or 18 months size. So like I need that size. And you've put it all away. And I was. It's just, it's exhausting.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Like I can't buy heads. I don't know what size they're going to be. And they just need to chill.

[B]

They need, they need to chill. It's August. It's hot.

[A]

But anyway, I say that because. So anyway, I figured out our outfits. We're going blue and white. Spoiler. Spoiler alert. We're going blue and white. Which actually I've never done in a Christmas photo before. So I'm very excited. But I wanted to verify on minted that I could like find a stunning like art to go. So I'm not only my coordinated, my Outfits. I'm coordinating my Christmas card already.

[B]

No, but you for sure can mint. It always has really, really good options.

[A]

Minted had such.

[B]

Do they already have Christmas?

[A]

They already have them out and they're well sunny.

[B]

And I will say that's a business. That we're not upset that they're putting their Christmas stuff out early.

[A]

No, I will say quick note to Minted, though. There's too many options for three photos and not enough for four. Oh, okay. What's a girl to do? And I like what's a girl to do with a three photo option who has four kids? Yeah, but I get that that's a little harder to do. I'm also trying to decide, like, Tyler and I aren't in every Christmas card. Like, that's not important to me. It's really just, like, who has the best shot. So I would like it to be a family photo, but if it's not, I'm going to pivot to the kids. So anyway, stay tuned.

[B]

You know, at the end of the day, you always have your family photos and you can still frame that family photo to be up year round. I love what I love about a Christmas card. And if, like, if you don't get it, you don't get it. I don't know if I'm going to get it on my Christmas card, but I like it when it. When we can see the kids. Because that's why you're looking back. That's why you're displaying them. So in five years, your kids are like, oh, look at how little I was. Like, like, that's why they're doing that.

[A]

That's the magic. So. And if you don't know if you're, like, newer to the podcast, a huge family tradition that, that our mom started was she frames all of our Christmas cards. So now she's got 20 plus frames or whatever. So they're scattered all over the house. Like you go to, you know, it's during the holidays, you go to the bathroom, there's a, there's a Christmas card. You go over here, there's a Christmas card. But it's so fun to look back at all of our photos. So I started doing it when we got married, and I've done one every year. And now I'm gonna have. I think I'm gonna have seven this year. Like, it's giving.

[B]

Like, it's giving. It's like two rooms. It's like, time to scatter.

[A]

I see. I thought about this already. I do think I have one more year on My mantle, and then I think I'll have to scatter.

[B]

It's really fun. And if you're like, oh, that's cute, I would love to do that. It can potentially not be too late. Like, if you can go back. If you order through minted or whatever. Zazzle or whatever you order keeps them.

[A]

Yeah, you.

[B]

They will keep them. So, like, just go to your account and you can reorder, like, just one or maybe like, a small bulk amount. Anyway, it's worth doing. It's super cute, and it's Christmas decor worth holding on to. Anyway, I want to pivot back to micro hobbies, because I was totally thinking about this, and I actually have a couple of micro hobbies that I would like to start. And I think what you do so much better than me is micro hobbies, because I think I bite off way more than I can chew, and I try to shoot for macro hobbies before I micro anything. Perfect example. And this is why I kind of hate the podcast, because, like, you can go and find me. Just be hypocrite and never follow through on anything. Like, literally composting. I was like, I want to do composting. And I DMS was like, liz, don't do composting. Like, you're gonna get mice. Like, it's disgusting. It's.

[C]

It's.

[B]

Don't. Do not do that. Or start small. Anyway, I just never did it. And then I went on this whole rant and all this research about composting. I never did anything with it. So I need to start smaller and work my way up.

[A]

So, yeah, here are.

[B]

Here's one micro hobby that I would like to do. And I could really see this becoming my. A pillar of my personality, and that is. I want a spider plant.

[A]

Mm.

[B]

I want. I want real plants in my house. I've heard spider plants are supposed to be very good for purifying air.

[A]

I'm not familiar with the spider plant genre.

[B]

Spider plants are. Are really good household plants.

[A]

Oh, I think they're ugly as heck.

[B]

Well, they're good household plants because they.

[A]

Okay, can I. Go ahead, you finish.

[B]

They purify hair, and also they are hard to kill.

[A]

So Tyler's grandma was really into plants. She was like that. She just had plants all over the place. And when we moved into our first house, when we got married, she gave us a snake plant. Look up snake plant. Okay. It's a better looking spider plant is what it is. Okay. And my snake plant is. I literally forget to water it. I. Whenever I drop an ice Cube on the ground. I put it in the snake plant. Like, that's my attempt at watering it. Mm. And I can split it because, like, they split off. So I can give you some of my snake plant from grandma.

[B]

Okay. Okay. I'll take some snake plant. I'll take some spider plant. I just want to have plants. And I'm gonna scatter the plants as well, because I think I need the AR purification.

[A]

Reel it back in. Let's start with one.

[B]

Okay. Yeah, let me start with one. I'll start with the snake plant I'm gonna have. Because you already have it. And it's free.

[A]

Because I already have it. It's free. I think I even have, like, a darling blue and white dish I can put it in for you. Excellent. You know, it'll be your. You know what? I will do it as your re. Moving home housewarming present.

[B]

Thank you.

[A]

Your remodeled housewarming present. A snake plant from grandma.

[B]

Thank you.

[A]

That's a. I think that is a good micro hobby. And then you can tell us about your plan and.

[B]

Yeah, yeah. And then, like, what I'm learning and whatever. Okay. So plants. My second is plant. One plant. My micro hobby is one plant. I'll let you know how it goes. Second micro hobby. I did this while we were living in mom and dad's or recently, and I actually saw this one through. You know, you can just, like, buy paint by number sets. Have I talked about this on the podcast?

[A]

You haven't. You haven't.

[B]

Okay. So I went up to Grayson's room one night, and she was on her. In her clean room, a candle lit re watching episodes of the Office on her floor painting a paint by numbers set. It's called. It's. It's by this brand. It's Paint by Frida. You can get them on Etsy. Like, you can look all over. But Paint by Frida has very aesthetically, very cute, beautiful ones. And I was like, grayson, this looks so relaxing. I would do anything for this to be my life right now. But it wasn't. Back to the basement I go with my. With my messy kitchen and children running all over. Anyway, I was so inspired that I ordered a paint by Frida, and I bought one that wasn't too complicated and that I could actually see myself hanging up in my house. And I got it, and I got so obsessed with it. I finished it in, like, two weeks.

[A]

It does look really good. It was like a blue hydrangea. Like, I agree. Like, it's totally something you could hang.

[B]

It's in my bathroom. And mom goes, that's. Look, that looks amazing there.

[A]

It's in your bathroom.

[B]

It's in my. It's in my powder room. So if you ever combine, they're like, oh, my God, where's that something piece of art? I'll feel like I have something to say. Oh, it's my Paint by number. Sad. It's Paint by Free. Like there's a conversation. It's not just, oh, home goods, what a good gift.

[A]

But I'll be, I'm Etsy and Paint by Frida. And only that Frida girl with the eyebrows is coming up. So.

[B]

No, no, no, no, no, no, no. Etsy. You can look on Etsy for paint by numbers kits or go back to Google and type in Paint by Frida. I'm saying, if I didn't know that.

[A]

Someone else might have done the same thing.

[B]

We're hashing it.

[A]

It's. First of all, it's paint like Frida, not by fried.

[B]

Sorry. Paint like Frida.

[A]

These are so cute.

[B]

Okay, you know what?

[A]

I want a. These are so fun.

[B]

You can apparently too, on Etsy or other websites, upload a photo and some they will.

[A]

That's too much.

[B]

I'm just saying that's. I don't know. I haven't done it. I'm not saying I'm gonna do it, but I'm saying it exists if you really want to get into it.

[A]

Okay, so you have the beginner friendly. Oh, like, look at this lemon one. Like, what if I just hung a lemon on the wall, Cal?

[B]

That's what I'm saying. Like, those are the paint. Like, Frida ones are actually worth hanging up in your home. So paint by numbers is a micro. Is a micro hobby.

[A]

Okay, that's really exciting. So anyway, just like, it's okay. Like, normalize your micro hobbies. Like, if there's something that you enjoy, it's a micro hobby.

[B]

I also think a good place to find micro hobbies, maybe this is just me. Go on your Instagram and go to your saved reels, because first of all, probably something in there that you would like to revisit.

[A]

Elizabeth, that is excellent advice. Let me do that right now. Because I'm always saving things. Like, I'm gonna come back to them. Huh?

[B]

And this is just everyone's reminder to go look at your saved Instagram. Don't go and look at new stuff. We don't need to see new stuff. Go look at what you've saved.

[A]

This is a perfect example, because I saved something about this girl who Got new school lunch boxes and I said I should be doing lunch boxes and I can make school lunches. My micro hobby. Oh, kids hair. Girl hair tutorials. Micro hobby.

[B]

Micro hobby.

[A]

Making flatbreads. Micro hobby.

[B]

Yeah. Okay, so your Insta. If you don't know where to start with your micro hobby, start in your saved Instagram.

[A]

See, here's what I want to make. This is a micro hobby of me for sure. Peach ricotta crostini. I added these to my saved. I will never make. No one in my family will enjoy these. So it's like just something for me. Like, I want to make a big plate of these peach crostinis and sit down and eat them by myself.

[B]

I'll come. I'll come over.

[A]

I mean, those peaches will be out of season by then. Like, when will we ever get that on the books?

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

You know what I mean?

[B]

Yeah. So anyway, you can bring them over when you bring over my snake plant.

[A]

Maybe I can bring them over and.

[B]

We can enjoy them in my new kitchen.

[A]

There we go.

[B]

There we go. It's never gonna happen. But.

[A]

No, you never know. But you know what also is happening is we are almost done with Thogus, so hopefully everyone's been getting the emails. Sorry, we were a little bad at promoting that on the podcast, but we are going into September and then following October, November, December. So follows upon us. We've had some great weather here in the Midwest. Do you think it'll go Back to like 95 perhaps? Yeah, I know I have a long sleeve shirt on today.

[B]

I know I'm like, on a sweatshirt. Like, I'm just so cozy. Wozy. It's just such fall girl energy.

[A]

Let's talk about one more thing before. Oh, you go ahead.

[B]

No, no, it's okay.

[A]

Well, are you gonna move into the podcast or the interview or. No?

[C]

No.

[A]

Okay, well, I'll say my thing then. You say your thing. Okay. The new Palisade.

[B]

Yeah, No, I wanted to talk about this.

[A]

I don't think it was a secret that, like, the Palisade was one of my favorite mid sized SUVs. Like, I always said if I was done with two kids, I would buy a Palisade. Like, I live, breathe and die by the Hyundai Palisade. And I was very excited about the redesign because they were adding these things. And I've liked Hyundai's exteriors. I know they're a little different, but they're also like, they're fresh and they're fun and they're. And they're updated. Whereas, like, Some manufacturers just don't update anything. So even the exterior, like, I could get behind. I know some people are like, it's too boxy. It looks like this. I don't like the grill. I actually like the exterior. I think it looks very luxurious. Like, holy airball. On the interior, though. I am so disappointed.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

In it feels. And some people were commenting, like, you need to see other trim levels. No, I don't, actually. I'm. I'm pretty much an experienced eye on this. I think I would like other trims and other color combinations better. I don't like it as much as the outgoing one. And I cannot believe how much they changed it. I cannot believe how much they changed it. Yeah. So it's a different car on the. It's a totally different car.

[B]

We were really excited because it had a lot of good upgrades that they did make behind the driver's seat to include a car seat tilt and some additional car seat hardware. So that was exciting. Where they really, really screwed up, in our opinion, is from the driver's perspective. My previous car I drove, like a month ago was a Hyundai Palisade, and I loved it. I had no. I really had no notes. Easy to use. Functionality was amazing. Great storage. Just I truly, truly. No night. No notes would buy. That car would drive. I texted my friend who is looking at a Hyundai Palisade, and I said, do not consider the 26. Look for a used one or buy a twin or buy a 25.

[A]

Well, and here's something.

[B]

Advice I gave my best friend.

[A]

And we're not saying that's. That's not the. That's not the advice necessarily from the car mom team, but that's the advice we give you here. Our best friend.

[B]

So let's hold on.

[A]

The 25s. The 25s are often 0% APR for 60 months right now. So make haste. So here's.

[B]

Here's the problem with it. From the driver's seat, it's pretty. It looks really good. But some of the. Really. I think. I don't. I. Okay, you're right. It's not that pretty. The outgoing one was prettier. Kelly said she felt like she was in a padded. A padded room, like pad safe room. A padded safe room, which I see that. Which normally we compliment Hyundai on their use of mixed materials and wood trim and contrast stitching. And it was just like flat leather.

[A]

And then that will also scratch. It's like this plushy Napa leather. And like, they're like. It's so soft. And I'm like, you know what soft leather does? It scratches. Soft leather scratches. It is not durable for a car.

[B]

Yeah, it. They took away like the main bridge. There's like, there's no storage. There's. There is a different type of storage. It's worse storage. That's just what I'll say. A really big miss is the shifter. They move the shifter from the main cat like storage bridge area. It was in the bridge.

[A]

Yeah, it was in the bridge.

[B]

In the main bridge area to the, to this behind the steering wheel.

[A]

Like my knee was hitting it. It's like, did no one, did no one over like five, seven sit in the driver's seat? Like, it's bizarre. Like, I need to see the R D on this. I want to see the R D reports. And I'm, I'm, I. It's shocking because I really thought like this was going to be a really big potential for car car of the year because I mean, the two big ones that are going to come out for 25 are the Palisade in the Expedition. And you know, seeing the Expedition, like the Expedition, the only good upgrade they made was the split tailgate. And like they did some. So it was already, they're already working with a really good car. Obviously I love that vehicle. But then they did that thing with the back end. I don't know. That's hard to look past. And I was like, it might be the Palisade because, like, the Palisade has always been such a good, luxe car. Like, I love it, love it, love it. And then they just like messed it up. And I'm also taking Umbridge with them because, like, they added the car seat tilt. But the higher trims, actually I can't, and I can't really find a good breakdown on when it's not power. I don't know exactly what trim. It's not power. But a power car seat tilt does no one any good. Also, a car seat tilt is only good if you have a bench seat. If you don't have the bench seat, like, what are you would you use it for? And they haven't even started producing the benches. So it's kind of like to me, just a little clickbait. Like, look, we did the car seat tilt, but like, you didn't actually apply it to real world scenarios in the slightest because, like, it's not with the bench seat, it's power. And the power seats in the second row are bad because then like any power seat, I don't like power seats in the second and the third row when you have younger kids because, like, they hit those buttons now their car seat isn't installed correctly. Yeah. It's like, great. Like, how fun is that? You want to check that every single time you get in the car. It's not. It's. Honestly, it's a. It's. It's. It's Missville usa. And I'm very anxious to see the Kia Telluride.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Are you laughing because I'm laughing because.

[B]

You said Ms. Phil USA. I've never heard you say that. It didn't really make any Pittsville USA over being misspell usa.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

So anyway, full blown tour where Kelly airs out all of her grievances on the Car Mom YouTube channel. If you are in the market for.

[A]

An new Palisade and just remember, and I know you guys know this, but, like, one thing about us is we're always going to give our opinion. And, like, we will net. We have. We never will. We never have let a manufacturer sway us, let our family's dealership sway us. Because I. We. I'm literally sitting there trashing that car at my dad's Hyundai dealership because I don't give up. Because it's just, like, it's not right.

[B]

Yeah, it's not right.

[A]

And I'm sassy about it. Well, it's not that it's not right. It's just. It's their decision. It's just not a good one. Oh, and how about the other hot piece of industry news? Nissan's bringing the Xterra back. Now, that is something. And here's the thing with the exterior, you don't have to. I don't care what you are. We're gonna like it.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Like, I just know. And here's what the Xterra is. And I want you to lock in on this. Ready? How do I say it? How do I say, like, something isn't something? Was like, the Nissan Xterra. Like, everyone wanted a Nissan xterra in, like, 2010. Like, that was the hot car to have. And, like, it is today's Ford Bronco.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Don't you think?

[B]

Which good for Nissan for, like, having an icon.

[A]

Well, here's the thing about Nissan. Nissan has. Nissan has a horse in every race. And that's, I think, their problem because Nissan's not doing very well. Like, their stock continues to tank because they have a horse in every race except for the minivan. But they used to. But, like, Nissan just needs to chill. It's like they need to just find. Find a lane and kind of stick to it.

[B]

No, I'm so excited.

[A]

But I think the Xterra is actually a good lane to stick in Nissan.

[B]

No, I do think the Xterra is a good lane. I just hope they don't screw it up because they could.

[A]

Nissan just needs to be like the more techie Subaru. Like that's who Nissan should be. Yeah.

[B]

You know, I agree, I agree. Did you see the Chrysler Pacifica Grizzly Peak?

[A]

I did. Literally, I got that as a press release in my emails and I'm like, okay, I thought, like, I would have thought it was April Fool's joke. I'm being dead. I'm being 100. Dead serious.

[B]

Okay, so it is. The Grizzly Peak is a concept vehicle by Chrysler and it's essentially a off roading minivan.

[A]

Which is fine.

[B]

Which is, which is actually not a bad idea, believe it or not.

[A]

But is it an off roading, like. But does it actually. What does a minivan offer? They have six inches of ground clearance. Like, I just don't really know what I'm missing there. Is it raised?

[B]

Like what I think? Okay, so has been raised two and a quarter, two and three fourths inches in the front and two and a half inches in the rear. So maybe it was just, you know, a matter of almost three inches to.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

To be raised. But it may, I mean, a minivan, this, the shell of a minivan makes sense to be an off roading vehicle because you can lay the seats down, it can be totally flat, you can totally bend it. There's, there's a lot of. Actually, I'm not mad. I'm actually not mad at this.

[A]

Okay, you're right. I might have been a little hateful in the beginning. I'm kind of still riding my Hyundai sass. But I just think I'm happy to see them doing.

[B]

I'm happy to see some minivan news, maybe.

[A]

Well, especially from Chrysler.

[B]

I'm just happy to see a minivan make the headlines.

[A]

Headline.

[B]

Headline.

[A]

Liz, are you ready to get into our episode? Because we've been talking 25 minutes and you know, I had to keep Scissor Jessica on for a while too, so we better just kind of get to it.

[B]

Let's do it.

[A]

Jessica Jamaician, welcome back to the carpool podcast.

[C]

Thank you.

[A]

Is this your second?

[C]

This is my third or third time. This is my third time.

[A]

We just can't get enough of the iihs and. Sorry, I didn't say that.

[C]

That's music to my ear.

[A]

What? Remind me of your Official title.

[C]

I'm the Senior Vice President of Vehicle Research at iihs.

[A]

Hear that. You guys hear that? So excited. We love the iihs. You guys are doing huge work. Tell us before we. So anyway, let me back up. I brought her on to talk about teen cars in August. We always like to cover teen drivers and the IHS and Consumer Reports collab. Such an iconic list of what, not only what makes a good teen car, but they also give those recommendations. So we're going to get to that. But before we do that, Jessica, tell us what's new at the ihs. What's something fun you guys are working on right now?

[C]

So one of the things that we're working on, actually this is a little bit outside of your, maybe your viewership or your listenership or whatever, but one of the things we're trying to do that's super exciting is accelerating commercial vehicle safety. So moving beyond, you know, passenger vehicles and people to think about commercial vehicles and you know, hopefully ultimately preventing those commercial vehicles from, say, impacting your passenger vehicle.

[A]

So like what, like an Amazon truck?

[C]

Exactly.

[A]

Because that. Would you be by a commercial? Exactly.

[C]

Yep.

[A]

Okay. That is kind of interesting.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

Because like, those probably haven't been crash tested much.

[C]

They have not. And importantly, they haven't been gone through a battery of tests related to crash avoidance in any kind of public sort of way. And so when we're thinking about protecting people on the road and protecting people in your communities and you see all those Amazon delivery trucks that everybody's getting deliveries like every day and there's, you know, other vehicles, but also pedestrians, kids playing in, in and around those vehicles. So thinking about what we can do to make those vehicles safer in terms of preventing crashes with other road users and of course also protecting the people that are in those vehicles, mostly looking outward from those vehicles.

[A]

That is, that is so interesting. Yeah, I, that. Are you guys going to release it or will it be.

[C]

Yep, yep. So we, we are. All the delivery vans are coming into the shop. You know, right now we've started to take delivery and we're going to be testing them out on our track later, you know, in, starting in a few weeks. So ultimately we will release the results and, and hopefully, you know, get. Have some influence.

[A]

Do you guys place internal bets at the IHS before the things start? Like, is there any friendly competition at the office on, like, who you think is going to do?

[C]

Well, we, we do certainly talk about who we think the ringer will be. Who will, you know, who will ace the test, who might not Ace the tests.

[A]

Okay. Like could I put 100 bucks on the Rivian Amazon truck or is that how it works? That's so interesting. Okay, so let's dive into all things teen driver. Okay. Teen driver. I feel like there's two kind of like facets of this type of content. It's how do we prepare teens for the road, whether that be driving car care and then also what makes a good teen car. And I feel like this topic can be really difficult to cover because just like every family has different needs and budgets. I mean the same thing applies to a teen car. And everyone has a different opinion on what they think makes a good team car, how much you should spend on a teen's car. You should make your team buy their own car. Like everyone's gonna parent a little differently. But what I think you guys did a good job of is I think we can all kind of agree like a good team car is a safe car and a reliable car. Like those are just two things that are important. And you guys know that most people aren't buying their teen a new car. They're, they're looking at the pre owned market. So if you're going to be in the pre owned market, if you want to be like in that twenty thousand dollar and under price range for your teen's car, what should you look for? So you guys put out this list every year, right?

[C]

Yep, so we put out the list every year. We, as you said, we, we partner with Consumer Reports and by partnering with them then we can identify vehicles that do well in both of our, our testing programs. But specifically what we're looking for is of course a vehicle that will be safe in the event of a crash. And for our best choices on the list, we're also looking for vehicles that will help prevent the crash in the first place, but just kind of overall, in addition to being, you know, doing well in crash testing, in handling and braking tests, and in crash avoidance tests, we're also looking for vehicles that are not the smallest, lightest ones because those won't provide the best protection in a crash with another larger vehicle. But we also don't want teens to be in the largest, heaviest vehicles either. Those can be difficult to handle. They have longer braking distances. So those also aren't a good choice. So what we're looking for is those ones kind of in the middle. So avoid the smallest, lightest, avoid the biggest, heaviest. And then we're also looking for ones that have lower horsepower, aren't marketed for speed. We, it's too tempting for teens to, you know, to hit the accelerator and, and speed or, or getting conditions that they're, they're not prepared to be in.

[A]

And so I'm curious when we say, because I'm, I'm, I'm reviewing the list right now and you do have, you do have every type of car on the list. And this list is open to anybody. Right. You don't have to be a Consumer Reports member to get this list correct.

[C]

This is available on our website.

[A]

Yeah, awesome. But you don't have the small cars like, like, like a Chevy Bolt or like a Nissan Versa, like the really smaller cars.

[C]

So what we're looking for is for vehicles that are at least like about 2, 700 pounds. And that basically excludes the whole mini car category and then some of the small cars and then we're also exclude large SUVs and large pickups. Those fall in that other category of.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

Difficult to, to handle. Yeah.

[A]

So I think something that I, that I think is really interesting that you said is about, you know, it's, it's the balance of the crash worthiness, how could it perform to the crash testing, but also the importance of, you know, trying if you can, to prioritize getting some of that crash prevention technology. I want to talk about why that's so important. Is there any statistics that you can share with my audience on how teens drive maybe not so well or how learning to drive can be, can be objectively like some of the most dangerous times they have on the road?

[C]

It is absolutely true that it is, it is the most dangerous time for them on the road is when they, not when they're learning to drive, but actually after they've been, you know, they no longer are in supervised driving, but they have their, you know, their provisional license and they're out navigating the, the world on their own. And we know that teens are four times as likely to get in a crash as, as drivers 20 and older, like per mile, driven four times as likely to get in a crash. So that's, that's huge. But also.

[A]

Yeah, that is huge.

[C]

Yeah. They're also three times as likely to die in a crash.

[A]

Yeah, yeah.

[C]

And the problems stem from two different things. It's both immaturity and also inexperience. And so of course they haven't driven before. This is all new to them. They don't have the experience that older drivers have through their years of driving on the road in different conditions. So there is that inexperience problem, but there's also an immaturity problem. We know that teens do not. The rational part of their brain doesn't fully form until they're about 25. And so when they're making judgments out on the road, they're more likely to be making them, you know, with their emotional brain rather than their rational brain. And it just, it leads to decisions that, you know, it's best if we can help protect our teens while they're getting that experience and getting more mature.

[A]

Yeah. And some, one, one hurdle that I feel like I'm always trying to, to justify with parents selecting a car for their teens is they have, they, they carry the sentiment that they don't want their teens to learn to rely on technology.

[C]

Yes, we hear that.

[A]

I disagree. I disagree with that. I think that anyone's super familiar with the crash prevention technology. Like, let me be clear, I am not waiting for my automatic emergency braking to turn on because I don't want to put my foot on the brake. Like, I'm by no means relying on that technology.

[C]

But it's nice backup.

[A]

But it's nice backup. And I think what's really exciting about being a mom of a new driver now is even in the used car market, you can get that technology. Like, I kind of feel, and I'm curious on your opinion on this too. I kind of feel like ever since 2017, when, like, a lot of this stuff really became standard or, you know, vastly available on the cars, things have kind of plateaued. Like, you can't get a ton more crash prevention tech on a new car than you could on a 2017. Like, they have the blind spot, they have the automatic braking, they have the backup cameras. And I think that's really exciting.

[C]

It is, it's hugely excited. And, and what's great about it is that technology is so effective in preventing crashes. We see it in the real world data. We see it for, for older adults, but it's particularly important for teens who, you know, are more likely to make mistakes, they're more likely to lose focus. And so the types of crashes that teens get in, they're more likely to need that safety backup. And like you said, you know, people aren't waiting for their automatic emergency braking to kick in. You know, if they're paying attention. The problem comes in is if you're not paying attention, if you're distracted or you make a judgment error, which is common with teens, you have that safety backup.

[A]

Yeah, it's, I, it's, I think it's so key. And I feel, and like into your point, we know they're most likely to get an accident when they first are learning to drive. So at some point it's okay. They relied on it and it saved their lives. Okay, I'll take, yeah, I'll take that.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

You know, what I want to do is we want to bridge that time when they're able to get the experience and they're able to mature. We want to, you know, make it so that they are safe during that period so they can make it to the other side of being an experienced, you know, and still, you know, safe driver.

[A]

Yeah, I mean, I just think, I think it's just so crucial.

[C]

And so on our list, on our list we have, we have two different tiers that we've separated out. So we have ones that are at, that we call good choices that are, make sure that they have good crash test ratings. Good handling and braking ratings from Consumer Reports meet the criteria we already talked about. They're not the smallest, they're not the biggest. They're, they're not high horsepower vehicles. So all of those are on a list that is caps at $10,000. So our $10,000 are below. And then we have the next tier is best choices. And those are the ones that focus on that crash avoidance technology, making sure that they have standard automatic emergency braking that performs well in our vehicle to vehicle testing and in our pedestrian testing and also have headlights that perform well in our headlight testing.

[A]

Yeah, I think what's what I love about. So I'm looking at the list of the good for safety under 10,000 and it is such, I mean it's such a comprehensive list which I think is so crucial for families who are going to have all different type of price points and size that they're after. But what's so crazy is, you know, there's cars that are on this list that go back to, you know, 2014, 2015. So we're talking about 10, 11 year old cars. And I'm just sitting here being like, you know, my son, my oldest is six.

[C]

Yes.

[A]

And I'm like, so the cars, so the new cars that are being sold right now, like those are going to be the same cars that are going to be on, you know, this list, hopefully. So I, I told my husband this the other day. I'm like, isn't it crazy that like a brand new car right now could be George's first car? Like we're already there and.

[C]

Yeah, and I hope it, I don't know, I know that you guys don't, don't buy all your Cars and you guys, you know, swap out cars a lot. But for parents who are buying car, think about that, like, if are your teams going to be in the vehicles? And, and you can use these same guidelines to kind of guide those we did in the, in the release that we put out on the recommended list for teams. We do have new vehicles that are on there that are at a higher price point. Those, you know, parents likely aren't going out and buying those for their. For their teen drivers. But if parents are looking for a new car and will ultimately get passed down to their teen drivers, then those would be good ch. Choices for them to look at.

[A]

I think that's. And it goes this. It's something that I talk about a lot on the Carmine, where it's like you kind of have to forecast how the car is going to work for your family. And yes, the teens are the same way. I did a consultation the other day. Mom had a 10 year old, wanted to keep the car six, six, seven years. I said, oh, you're gonna pass it down? And like she had, she hadn't even considered it. So I do think if you're in that space. Yeah. Verifying and just kind of hitting these same marks, I think are really important, like prioritizing a car that has the good reliability, that has the good crash prevention tech, that is a little heavier, that doesn't have the crazy horsepower to make it just a really. Because those are also, you could argue, all of the good makings of just a good family car in general.

[C]

Absolutely.

[A]

So I love that. Yeah, I know. I do. I do actually think the way that our world will work, I do think we'll end up probably buying our kids cars. I think I see George in like a little truck. Like, I'm gonna have to wait to see what happens, but I'd love to get George something like a Chevy Colorado or a Ford Ranger. Like, I just kind of see that for him. I think he'll need that. That's the only one I can conceptualize right now.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

You know, so.

[C]

So again, going with like the same criteria we've been talking about today, like what we're looking for ones that are not too small, not too big, not too high horsepower. But otherwise, you know, parents want to have choices, they want to have flexibility for, for what makes a teen car. And we tried to make the list as expans this year. So, I mean, there are, you know, 100 and something.

[A]

There's a lot. That's what I'm saying. There, there's a Lot. And I almost think there's, there would be a level of, it'd be fun where you know, you, you, whatever you decide you're in your teens budget are whether they're paying for a portion of it, you're paying for it. Like you give them this list and you say okay, like here, here's the list that I would recommend choosing from based on. Yep. You know, IHS and Consumer Reports. Why don't you go do some research on and you decide what car you want and then what a good, what a good learning experience for them to do the research, maybe do some of the negotiation on the car when they're buying it, like teaching them about, you know, how to buy a car. I can't tell you also how many times I sold cars to someone who had never bought one before. And I mean they knew nothing, like they knew nothing about, you know, kind of, myself included like paying sales tax on a car and insurance and property tax. I mean there's so much that goes around car ownership which I do think is really important. Okay, so Jessica, you have soon to be drivers?

[C]

Yes, yes I do. Two, two of them.

[A]

15 year old, two 15 year old twin boys.

[C]

Yes.

[A]

What are some things that you're doing maybe just mentally to prepare yourself or them for the road?

[C]

Yeah. So one of the things that we've tried to do for years is for sure set a good example in the car.

[A]

Love that.

[C]

You know, parent kids look to the parents, you know, from the time they're infants, look to learn from their parents about, you know, how to communicate, how to, and at some point they start paying real close attention to when you're driving. And I don't know if you've ever had one of those kids who's like, mommy, you're going over the speed limit kind of, you know, lots of, we had some of that in our, in our house growing up. But now that they're 15 and they'll be driving, they'll be getting their permits within the next year. We're doing more vocal like talking about it in the car. And like I was in the car a couple days ago with my kid and you know, we approached a kind of a tricky intersection situation. And he's like, hey mom, who has the right of way here? Which I, I, I perked up and I was like, huh? He's, he's watching, he's watching how we behave and he's asking questions. So he's thinking about, you know, who's supposed to go when what. And so I think I Love that.

[A]

I love that.

[C]

Yeah. And I think we, we sometimes talk about the importance of, of teaching kids to be good passengers. You know, so you as a parent, be a good role model, good driver. You know, limit distractions, limit cell phone distractions, other distractions. You know, follow the, the rules of the road, Keep your hands on the wheel. You know, with vehicle automation moving in, I see lots of bad behavior now with, with people who.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

Who didn't necessarily have bad behavior before because their vehicle will let them do it.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

But modeling good behavior is something for sure we've been doing. But we have been. My husband and I have been talking about, you know, what we're going to do about a car. We neither of us really have an appropriate teen car. I think they'll be fine in the, in the learner period when they have supervised driving, when. But when it's time for them to do unsupervised driving. Yeah, we're gonna have some. We're gonna be looking at this list and seeing if there is another option if we. And if we need to trade in one of our cars or, or something like that to, to help get a more appropriate one for, for teens.

[A]

Yeah, I, I love the idea of. I hadn't thought about that. Of talking them through those difficult situations and just what that looks like. Because if I'm thinking about even where I live, we live on, like, a. Close to our house, we have one of those, like, divided highways. So, like, you have to cross and then stop. And I mean. And that. It uses a lot of my brain power. So as soon as you can start and you can do that with a kid who's super young being like, hey, just, you know, this is how this kind of road works. I think that's a really tangible. A really tangible tip.

[C]

Well, and even saying things like. Like you don't even have to maybe lecture about it, but you could say, oh, you could just verbally say what you're already thinking about, like, oh, that car's going too fast. I can't, you know, jump out in front of him.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

You know, just talking through your own mental process for how you're making the driving decisions.

[A]

Yeah, I love that. I think if I think back to when I was learning how to drive, one thing that my parents did for me, which I really appreciated, was we did get driving lessons, which I don't think you need driving lessons. I think that, like, you could also. I mean, whatever. I think I, I don't think it hurt. I think you could probably do it Yourself, if you wanted. But what. One thing that the instructor did that I'll never forget is he took me to, I don't know, I guess it was like a semi abandoned road. And. But it was like, it was a big road. And he goes, okay, once you get to 45 miles per hour, and then once you slam brakes as hard as you can and just like to. To have a good understanding of, like, how quickly or not quickly my car could stop was something that, that I'll never forget. And I'm really grateful that I just had those.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

Those experiences. Because you don't want the first time your teen slams on the brake to be.

[C]

Yes. A surprise.

[A]

A surprise. So I just, I knew what it felt like. And then, you know how. What's it called? You'll know better than me when the brake starts to pulse a little bit.

[C]

Oh, with the abs.

[A]

Abs. Thank you. He's like, that's totally normal. That's what it's supposed to feel like. So it was just. That was a really good exercise.

[C]

Well, and it's funny because even now, like, if we. If we head out on the road and it's winter time and there's, you know, snow and potentially ice on the road, sometimes I do a little brake check right at the beginning just to. To get a gauge of how, you know, how slippery the roads are.

[A]

Good. Yeah, that's a good tip. That's a really good tip. I also think it's important when you're thinking about, you know, not just the drive, but, like, all things that, you know, maybe a teen needs to be prepared for when they hit the road. Another very helpful thing my parents did is they walked me through and we kind of like role played, mock played. What would happen if you got pulled over? Okay.

[C]

Yeah. Interesting.

[A]

If you get pulled over, like, you go here and then like, here's who you call. Here's what they'll ask for. And like, they. We had everything in the glove box. And when I got pulled over, don't get me wrong, I was super, super scared, but at least I. I knew what to expect. And I wasn't, you know, scrambling or crying thinking, you know, I just, I had a good understanding. So I think just preparing for all those situations. Another one going through the car wash, that can be really. That can be a very intimidating thing that my parents did not do. Yes. And I think the first time I went through a car wash, it was, you know, it was stressful. Yes, yes. And pumping gas. I can't wait. I don't know When I'm gonna let my kids pump my gas, but I can't wait till I have a child old enough, probably like 13, 14, they can start pumping gas. You think?

[C]

Yeah, I think so.

[A]

Yeah. I'm excited for that. I think that's also a really important tip for them to learn how to do.

[C]

Yes, for sure.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

So, but on the. On the, like, the breaking that you mentioned, and one of the things that's really important, like once teens start driving when they're in that supervised driving period, to make sure that they have all the experiences, you know, all try all the different things while they're in that.

[A]

Night driving the rain.

[C]

Yes, yes, that it's. You want. That supervised driving period is the safest period for teens because once you get out of the car as the supervisor, then is when that, you know, it gets into that really risky, risky time. So you want them to be as prepared as possible and get as much experience as possible. And so on our website, we have a guide for parents of teen drivers. And one of the things that we have is like a driving skills checklist for parents to do with. With teens before they get out of that supervised driving period. It's things like driving in rain, driving at night, driving on, you know, busy roads, highway driving, of course, things like that.

[A]

Oh, yeah, I'm looking at the list right now. That is really good. Yeah. Backing out safely. Right. Turn onto a moderately busy, busy street. Yeah, this is really good. Well, Jessica, this has been so helpful. The list, you guys, is 100 worth checking out. I mean, there's. There's something for everybody, which I really appreciate that you guys have such a comprehensive list. And if I'm looking at. I mean, yeah, I mean, I don't think you can really go wrong. I mean, they're. I mean, it's. I would say almost every manufacturers. Almost every manufacturer is represented here, which feels good.

[C]

Yes.

[A]

Feels really good.

[C]

Yes.

[A]

Well, Jessica, thank you so much for joining the Carvel podcast yet again.

[C]

Thank you for having me.

[A]

When you get the results for the delivery drivers, maybe you'll have to come back and share, because I feel like that's a pretty interesting. Yeah. Okay, Jessica, before we let you go, after a long day of, you know, crash testing, you've got two hungry teen boys to feed. What are you ditching the drive thru with? With?

[C]

Well, so when I think of ditching the drive thru, I'm, like, rolling in from work and I need to just deal with what's already in my kitchen, you know, and inevitably, like, some meat is still frozen in the freezer or something like that. So one of my go tos is things that involve just eggs because I always have eggs. And I will say that, you know, I had to ditch the drive thru in mind and somebody recently did it. It on your. Which was. Which was making basically fancy ramen. We do that all the time. But so then I had to think of another one after that, but another one we did just right after I heard that episode is one we do pretty regularly, which is shakshuka, which is. Yeah. Which is basically. I think it's like a. The origin is maybe North African, but it's used a lot in lots of Middle Eastern countries eat it. But it's basically like a spiced tomato sauce with eggs poached in it. And then you eat it with bread, like pita bread or something like that. So yum. Yeah. So it's basically like onion, maybe a red pepper, some garlic, some crushed tomatoes, some spices like paprika, cumin, something spicy like chili powder or cayenne or something like that. And then you get all that going, which takes no time at all. And then you, you put eggs in it and poach them and then serve it just like that. It's. So it's basically eggs and spicy tomato sauce that you eat with.

[A]

So you're saying you just crack an egg in this hot sauce and it cooks like that?

[C]

Yes. Yep.

[A]

That sounds. And then. Yes. Or with some yummy bread.

[C]

Exactly.

[A]

Or you could even do, if you.

[B]

Wanted to do noodles.

[A]

Do noodles.

[C]

Exactly. And when we made it the other day, I, of course, again, like, I walk in, I'm looking like, what do I have in my. In my house that I can make? I only had one can of crushed tomatoes. I needed two. So I actually put a can of pumpkin in too. So it was, it was like pumpkin. It was a pumpkin tomato sauce. It's like just super flexible.

[A]

Yum. I'll tell you, I have been. If you need help substituting lately. Are you on. Are you a Chat GPT girl? I feel like you might be.

[C]

I sometimes play with it.

[A]

So the other day I was trying to make like oatmeal cookies or whatever. Oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. And I didn't have one of the ingredients, So I asked ChatGPT. I'm like. So I asked Chad GPT for a recipe and I'm like, oh, I don't have that. And they're like, oh, we'll use this instead. And I'm like, okay, well could I use that? And they're like, yeah, sure. It's just gonna do this to the recipe. I'm like, okay, I'll go for it. Yeah. And it was very helpful. It was. So if anyone is cooking, it made me think of that. Like, when you're. If you're cooking a recipe and you don't know what to substitute for, ask Chat. Chat for sure. For sure.

[C]

Yeah. When you open up the cabinet and you're like, okay, what can I make with these? You know, five cans. Then I'm sure Chat GPT would be helpful.

[A]

I wonder, have you asked, have you guys done any research about what, like, Chat says about your cars?

[C]

No. Maybe our communications department has, but.

[A]

Or a teen. Let's see if. Should they quote you? Sometimes I like to see when they quote. Oh, are you kidding? Here's what it says. The best car for his teen usually means finding something that checks. Four big boxes. Safe, affordable, easy to drive, and not too powerful. Here's what experts, like the IIHS and Consumer Reports tend to recommend.

[C]

Excellent.

[A]

Nice.

[C]

Just what I want to see.

[A]

Good to see. Chat's not plagiarizing, because you got to watch her. Sometimes she'll plagiarize, and sometimes I'll have to ask her. I'll, like, test it a lot. I'll be like, you know, how do you fit three car seats in a Volkswagen Atlas? And if she doesn't give me credit, I'll say, where'd you get that info? And then they'll say, the car, mom. But you got to watch her.

[C]

Yes. She could be tricky.

[A]

Yes. Okay, well, that is a good dish to drive through. I'm gonna have to try that. I can't believe you just crack an egg in tomato sauce. I guess I don't really know what a poached egg is, but that's more my personal problem. I'll work on that.

[C]

ChatGPT can help.

[A]

ChatGPT can help. All right, Jessica, thanks so much. Thank you. Bye. Thank you for listening to the carpool.

[B]

Podcast with Kelly and Liz.

[A]

Make sure you're subscribed so you never miss an episode. And if you enjoyed riding with us.

[B]

Tell everybody you know there's room in.

[A]

The car for everyone. Sam.