
Loading summary
Doug DeMuro
This episode is brought to you by LifeLock. Between two factor authentication, strong passwords and a VPN, you try to be in control of how your info is protected. But many other places also have it, and they might not be as careful. That's why LifeLock monitors hundreds of millions of data points a second for threats. If your identity is stolen, they'll fix it, guaranteed, or your money back. Save up to 40% your first year. They visit lifelock.com podcast for 40% off. Terms apply. Hello, and welcome to this car pod.
Kenneth
I'm Kenneth.
Filippo
I'm Filippo.
Doug DeMuro
And it's time to start with the news. The most important news story of the week is the Grand Tour. Filippo, tell us about this.
Filippo
It's back. It's back. Amazon announced, leaked, whatever today that there's three new hosts of the Grand Tour. We knew that the original trio had stopped for production. They weren't going to continue it, but they're bringing it back with two of our favorite youtubers in Todd Holland and James Engelsman. That's.
Doug DeMuro
That's an indictment of the third, but.
Filippo
Okay, I don't know the third. I know Thomas and I know James. They're great. They've been here in the office. They're the. I love the. I Love Throttle House. They're their channel. I have no idea who the third person is.
Kenneth
He does. Document. Tell him who he is.
Doug DeMuro
Well, you've read the stories, right? You know who he is now.
Filippo
Yeah. Thank you.
Doug DeMuro
But you don't know anything about him. Okay.
Kenneth
All right. I'm a follower.
Doug DeMuro
They're rebooting Grand Tour. Grand Tour, Amazon show with. With, you know, Clarkson, Hammond and May from the. From the great Top Gear cast. They're gone. They're retired. They're off doing their own thing. Clarkson's got a farm and a pub. He's done. So they got Grand Tour and they got new people. We got Thomas and James from Throttle House, who apparently Filippo loves.
Filippo
I do love them. Who doesn't love them? Everybody loves it.
Doug DeMuro
And then also, they got this fellow who looks for trains on TikTok.
Filippo
Oh.
Doug DeMuro
And his name, he goes by Francis Bourgeois. Is that right? Do I have that right? Yes.
Kenneth
That's not his actual name.
Doug DeMuro
His name is something different. Obviously. I know nothing about him either, because I don't watch train content on TikTok. I know, Ken, and I know that's big for you and Emily to do.
Kenneth
Before bed Instagram, but yes, like trains.
Filippo
Are they crossbows? Nice. Good.
Kenneth
They do Crossfest.
Doug DeMuro
So, anyway, this is going to be the reboot of the Grand Tour. Now, I think that everybody, everybody I've talked to has been pumped about Thomas and James because Throttle House is absolutely beloved and because they have such wonderful on screen chemistry. These guys are from the gta, as Filippo calls it, and indeed the greater.
Filippo
Toronto area for the rest of our viewers.
Doug DeMuro
Yeah, yeah, yeah. And, and they're great. And we're. And I couldn't be more excited for them, truly. And I truly mean that. Three years ago I would have been jealous of them, but now I'm just excited for them. And you can take that how you want. And then the third guy, we're not so sure. So I'm curious how this works. I think it'll be an interesting thing because first off, there's a lot of excitement around this show and there's. But there's also a lot of pressure on this show. And if you're into cars, I mean, this is essentially the continuation of Top Gear, which truly got a whole generation of people either into cars or more into cars. And so, you know, there's a lot of pressure on, like getting this right and doing a big thing. And it's. Especially to me, it's especially pressureful if you are the trains. For spotter fellow to come into an existing duo, it's tough. And so Sean, who's our producer somewhere, he's not here, God knows. Unless.
Filippo
No, no, he's not an elephant.
Doug DeMuro
Elephant. He thinks they might not do a three person show. It might be two. And then the train spotter guy has his own. I don't know. But it'll. It'll be interesting to see what they do with the format of this.
Filippo
Things that I. Oh, sorry. Go ahead, Ken.
Kenneth
It will be. I, I do have to say it's like the thing with the original trio, the Top Gear trio of Richard and Jeremy and James, was that their chemistry worked great, regardless of whether or not they were doing that one gardening show they did or they were doing Top Gear itself or then they went and did the Grand Tour. People watch for those things. Now, I'm not saying that this won't be a success. I really like Thomas and James and I think their chemistry is they're one of the most compelling duos in the automotive space, full stop, and have been for a long time now.
Doug DeMuro
But, yeah, I mean, I think probably the most compelling.
Kenneth
Probably the most compelling. Yeah. I'm, I'm really curious to see how the show evolves. But to your point, anytime you have three people on screen, they get compared to Top Gear, including us. We get compared to the news segment quite a bit and there is a. There is a tremendous amount of pressure and I hope that. I don't know, we'll certainly see. I will absolutely watch it and check it out and definitely give it a chance. But I am curious the approach they take. I'm a little bit worried about how Amazon phrase things that they're like, they're much better because they get social media and it's like, well, the trio was great because of the chemistry people to watch them anywhere. And so like, I think that I worry that Amazon has kind of ignored that because they want to keep this going.
Doug DeMuro
That is actually a pretty good point because, you know, it was the chemistry between those guys that was so great. Like you said, you don't want to get people just because they're younger. They appeal to YouTube or TikTok. I hope they've done a lot of screen testing with these guys to prove that they have some of that chemistry. And again, it's especially difficult, I think, for that third person to come into like an existing duo and, and maybe be so accepted, which is one of the reasons why maybe they're going to change up the format. I have no idea.
Kenneth
And let's be honest, don't forget like Top Gear did that themselves originally. Like James was brought in later to replace another guy. So it's not to say like this hasn't happened in the history of that world, but nonetheless, I wish them nothing but success. I'm, I'm very excited to have another car show to watch, to be honest with you.
Doug DeMuro
So, like, let me ask you a question. They got three people. How come they didn't call us? Why didn't we get this phone call?
Filippo
As you said, you're not jealous anymore. They know you don't want it enough. Just don't you want to drive it on your countach and your career gt.
Doug DeMuro
What are you talking about? I'm. I'm ready to make good content. Look at this, look at this.
Filippo
It's the best content.
Kenneth
But you could also just make. You could just like post pictures of Noodle on Instagram. That's great content. Just do that.
Doug DeMuro
Look at the high quality content. I'm filming this from my production studio. It's a beautiful production studio with jackets.
Kenneth
And an elephant stuff.
Doug DeMuro
Okay. I'm excited for Thomas James Grant Tour. Do we know when this is starting?
Filippo
No, they haven't announced that many details, just who the host will be. We also don't know if they're going to change format. Right. The Grand Tour has could not copy directly Top Gear format for legal reasons. They changed a bunch of times. Is it just going to be grand adventures? Is it going to be car reviews? It could be a lot of different things.
Doug DeMuro
And we'll see the train kids content.
Kenneth
Filippo, he, you know, he did a video. He did a video with Chris Harris and a COK DTM Cabriolet and they went train spotting.
Filippo
Oh, they went train spotting in the clk.
Doug DeMuro
What did you think? Did you watch that video, Kenneth?
Kenneth
I did.
Doug DeMuro
What'd you think of it?
Kenneth
Insane. I can't believe Chris Harris did that. It was wild. I mean, the choice of a COK DTM Cabriolet. Insane. The Chris Harris. It was just a. It was like a fever dream that it all came together, to be honest.
Doug DeMuro
Yeah, a lot of interesting things about that video. Anyway. Okay, give us our next news story. Oh, yes, the Toyota Celica. Filippo, this must be you.
Filippo
You know, it is. So we've known for a while that Toyota was thinking about creating a new version of the Celica, their famed sporty ish vehicle. That's how I'm going to define it. We sporty ish. We learned last week that they've shown it to dealers, so they've kind of shown some early design option. Similarly prototypes to dealer groups, which is interesting. It means that they're like, this is actually going to happen. They said a long time ago that they wanted to go back to having kind of the three core sports cars, the Celica, the A86, which we'll call the Corolla and the Supra. They have the Supra, they have the Corolla and GR and GR Yaris. And don't forget the GR2 and RAV4 now. And maybe they will have a third.
Doug DeMuro
One, the fourth one, but they also have the 86.
Filippo
They do, that's right. I forgot about that car.
Doug DeMuro
So how does the Celica fit into this lineup?
Kenneth
It doesn't.
Filippo
It's unclear and they haven't announced that much about it. So they've said that kind of all different powertrain options, electric, gas, hybrid, are still on the table, still kind of early. Although if they're at the point where they're showing dealers, it's probably pretty serious.
Doug DeMuro
I find the whole thing to be a little bit surprising because we were told that the only way they could justify the existence of the 86 was by partnering with Subaru. They both won same deal with the Subra. It only exists because there's a Z4 version of it and they build it in Graz. And so it's interesting that they would even think about the concept of another sports car following up to the two they already have, which they already kind of implied they can't financially justify on their own.
Kenneth
And sports cars in general selling great right now.
Doug DeMuro
And that's the other thing. Yes. It's not even a really a great sport sports car climate, so that's, that's surprising.
Filippo
Surprising. I. We also don't know exactly what it will be. How sporty are they going or do they just want to go for like style and coupe, like styling instead of it being truly a sporty car? We don't know. I will say BRZ sales up 44 last month.
Doug DeMuro
BRZ is such a compelling car, which honestly is another reason why I don't understand.
Kenneth
I happen to know this. He's misleading you. 44. Take a wild stab at how. What numerical number, how many units did they actually shift that they're up 44%. Take a while.
Doug DeMuro
612.
Kenneth
612.
Filippo
384.
Doug DeMuro
Well, what do you expect? I mean.
Filippo
No, that is what I'd expect but I take your point. Like why? We don't know, but cool, they're doing it.
Doug DeMuro
I guess it is. Hey Filippo, do you remember the Celica action package?
Filippo
No.
Doug DeMuro
Kennen, pull up the Celica action package. Filippo, I'm about to blow your mind. I don't think we've sold one. So you have to type in Celica action package. This was on the very last Celica they gave it this.
Kenneth
Oh yeah, I do remember this.
Doug DeMuro
Yeah, they gave it this ridiculous body kit. It was just absurd. It made it look a lot sportier than the front wheel drive naturally aspirated 1.8 liter four cylinder vehicle that it was.
Filippo
Hey, it was a good 1.8 liter.
Doug DeMuro
Yeah, they had the best ad for this car though. There was one parked on a street like in a neighborhood and an old man with a walker walks by the car and he sees it and you remember this ad and he yells slow down at the car even though it's just parked because they were implying that it looks so sporty. Great ad.
Kenneth
That's a great ad.
Doug DeMuro
All right, give us our next news story.
Filippo
Oh, sporty.
Doug DeMuro
This was the most interesting news story of the week by far.
Filippo
Yeah. So Subaru has teased that they may have a high performance vehicle coming out. Baseline assumption is that it's a WRX STI or something similar because they've only had the WRX since 2022. Hasn't had an STI version.
Kenneth
Well, in fact, they told us there wasn't going to be.
Filippo
Well, maybe they lied.
Doug DeMuro
Well, I have a question about that. We've all been under the impression that there wasn't going to be a new sti. Where did we hear that from? I mean, it's been now, we're now into the fifth model year of the new wrx.
Kenneth
I'm pretty confident they came out and said it when the car was released and they said, this is the wrx, there will be no SDI vers version of it.
Filippo
And that was that.
Kenneth
And that's where we all got that from.
Doug DeMuro
So look at that picture. Does that not look like an STI of a record?
Filippo
And it looks like a hashbag.
Kenneth
And it looks like it's either falling, this picture. I can't tell. I can't tell what's happening.
Doug DeMuro
If it looks like a hatchback.
Filippo
Yeah, it does.
Kenneth
It does.
Filippo
Look at the trunk.
Doug DeMuro
Maybe it'll be. Maybe we'll finally get the Levorg wagon. Dude, if we did. I have to tell you, I am a massive fan of the new wrx. I've said it on the POD before. I've said it. Everyone who will listen to me, which is not that many people, about how much I love that car. And Filippo likes it too.
Filippo
I do.
Doug DeMuro
And the wagon, if they did, if they brought us even a regular new WRX wagon, Non sti, just a regular new WRX wagon. That would be a very compelling.
Filippo
The GTI might have to go away.
Doug DeMuro
Oh, wow.
Filippo
Yeah.
Kenneth
Well, I mean, don't forget he's already over the gti. It's already happened.
Filippo
No, no, no.
Doug DeMuro
Pull up the Levorg. Pull up the Levor.
Kenneth
I need some spelling here.
Filippo
L, E, V, R, G for.
Doug DeMuro
Yeah, like Lev. Org. Yeah, Filippo, that's what it is, right? Yeah. There it is. Upper left. Okay, that. Yeah. Isn't that the WRX wagon that they sell overseas?
Kenneth
Yeah, but it's good looking.
Doug DeMuro
If they brought that here. Oh man, I wouldn't buy it and neither would Filippo. But we'd sell them on.
Filippo
I would consider it. I. I will say what they said when they teased us is that it's going to be at the Tokyo Auto show equivalent in October. So we'll see in like three or four months.
Doug DeMuro
I gotta wait four months for this?
Filippo
Oh, I mean, I don't know. Maybe they'll.
Doug DeMuro
They'll.
Filippo
They'll reveal it accidentally first or.
Doug DeMuro
What do you wish it was lifted? WRX wagon with 500 horse.
Filippo
That's a Crosstrek.
Doug DeMuro
500. 500 horse Crosstrek. Where do I, where do I get.
Filippo
One local tuning here? I don't know, I, I think that that would do well legitimately. Like a slightly lifted crosstrek based, sporty one would.
Doug DeMuro
I think that's actually a pretty good idea. Yeah, it would work. Crosstrek. Why? Yeah, it work. Okay, give us our next news.
Filippo
First track FCI here at this car pod. We're friends on and off camera. One of the best parts of our week, every week, is our group car dinner. It's a tradition we never miss. And this week's sponsor, Cash app has made the one awkward part of the night splitting the bill so much easier. Because let's be honest, splitting the bill used to suck. Everyone pulling out their wallets, trying to do the math while the waiter hovers arguing over who's going to pay. It was always weirdly stressful. But once we all got on Cash app, everything changed. Now one of us just picks up the tab, sends out the requests and boom, everyone pays before we hit the road. No awkward IOUs. No, I'll get you next time. Just clean, quick and done. And you can send payments down to the penny. We're always making dumb little challenges like Kennen. I'll pay you $3.17 if you parallel park in one try with cash app you I can, I haven't, but I can literally send exactly $3.17 on the spot. It's instant, it's specific, and honestly, it just makes stuff more fun. They've also got built in protections. If something looks off, like you're about to send money to the wrong person, the wrong Ken and Rolson. Cash app will give you a heads up. It's like your money's got a personal bodyguard. If for whatever reason you don't already have Cash app, go download it now. Sign up. Enter our code carpod C A R P O D. In your profile. Send $5 to a friend and you'll get 10 dol just for getting started for a limited time only new Cash app users can use our exclusive code to earn some additional cash. For real? There's no catch. Just download Cash app and sign up. Use our exclusive referral code carpod. Carpod in your profile. Send $5 to a friend within 14 days and you'll get $10 dropped right into your account. Terms apply. That's money. That's Cash app. Have you been watching this?
Doug DeMuro
Yeah. I don't find it to be a news story worthy of discussion.
Filippo
Well, we're gonna discuss it anyways.
Doug DeMuro
You see the YouTube video they're like, they're like the Dodge Charger EV is accelerating without us accelerating it. And I'm watching the speedometer and it's accelerating like 47.
Filippo
Yeah, it, it is a 48. A mile per hour. A second. A mile per hour. A second is what they said. So okay, here's, here's what's happen.
Kenneth
That's, that's pretty.
Doug DeMuro
You could do that.
Filippo
Here's what's happening. This is a Dodge Charger.
Doug DeMuro
Car's on a hill.
Filippo
This is a Dodge Charger ev, a gradual one. This is a Dodge Charger ev. There have been reports from Edmund's own long term testing as well as now we see it across a bunch of forums and complaints to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Doug DeMuro
Wait, wait, hang on. Forums? What do you mean? What like forums for who?
Filippo
For Charger EV enthusiast.
Doug DeMuro
But, but nobody, they don't have. Nobody owns one.
Filippo
I know, I think it's all speculation, really small page.
Doug DeMuro
I don't know.
Filippo
I'm not saying it's active. Somebody created it just to report.
Doug DeMuro
Of the seven people on the forums, three of them have had this problem.
Filippo
Here's what's happening. Apparently, apparently sometimes what Edmund's experience is that the car gave a bunch of warnings, you know, like traffic collision avoidance, inoperative, whatever, whatever. And then it started accelerating despite their foot not being on the gas. EV pedal. It was accelerate about a mile every second, which if you think about it, in 30 seconds you're going up 30 miles per hour. That's notable.
Doug DeMuro
Are the brakes, do the brakes function?
Filippo
Okay, so the brakes do function. Edmund said that, said that in their experience it's a less well than usual. And you're used to in the EV there being the regenerative braking when you're off the gas. That obviously was not happening.
Doug DeMuro
But in 30 seconds I would, if you do nothing right now, I'm not.
Kenneth
A smart man, but I think at 30 seconds I would notice that I was moving at 30 miles an hour, you know.
Filippo
Okay, I. So what Dodge had, by the way, according to the forum, somebody did not notice in time went across the street, across the median and got T bound. But because. Okay, what, what Dodge has responded is that this is actually a built in feature in all of their models, including gas models where if the brake. No, no, because you're already moving at speed, it's accelerating from speed. If the accelerator pedal stops working, it will, you can control it via the brake, but it will otherwise just continuously accelerate about a mile per hour a second. And that, that's the designed optimal behavior if your accelerator pedal stops working. By the way, there's no reference to this in any other materials, in any owner's manual and any support documentation. But that's what they say is true. And they're gas vehicles as well.
Doug DeMuro
It's odd. I can't believe we're discussing this. This seems like such a non issue. It's a car that's not selling. Doing a big it's conservative question though. Is that a four door version of it?
Filippo
Yeah. Which exists.
Doug DeMuro
Can I have, can I drive one of those?
Filippo
It depends on what you say about Dodge and X.
Doug DeMuro
They sent me a two door and I liked it. Except I didn't like the fact that it was three times as expensive as it should have been. And now I want to drive a four door.
Filippo
All right, we don't need to talk about this for long because I agree that it's controllable. But like, think about if your mother called you and said, hey, I'm driving my car and just started accelerating. Think about like the fear that would produce in somebody that doesn't care about it.
Kenneth
Well, that's how my mom told me it was a mile an hour, a second. And it's like, all right, mom, there's a brake pedal. My mom would know to hit it.
Filippo
But that was also true in the unintended acceleration cases that played.
Kenneth
No, it wasn't. That just like kept in that case.
Doug DeMuro
The brakes did nothing and the cars, the cars kept accelerating and accelerating. Crazy speeds they could be going because.
Filippo
The brake pedal, the accelerator was pressed down. First of all, no, Celica went 150 miles an hour, but it was based on the floor mat.
Doug DeMuro
That's what you say. That's what you say. But Toyota eventually admitted that it was. That not all those cars had format issues. That was a whole big thing. And remember, it started in San Diego. There was that poor, that sad case, that family died in that Lexus. Yes. That was literally going like 125 miles an hour.
Filippo
Yep.
Doug DeMuro
And I think that's very different from this because in the Lexus Yes. Situation it would take like three minutes to get.
Filippo
Kenneth's response to that would be, well, I'll just put the. I'll just put the car in neutral, push it from driving to neutral. I'll put the press on the brake. It is weird if a car accelerates when you're not telling it to.
Kenneth
I don't know.
Filippo
That's my take.
Doug DeMuro
If the brake is still working. That happens when you're at idle in A regular gas powered car, they start.
Filippo
To go, yeah, but it doesn't happen when you're going 30 miles per hour and accelerates to 40 in 10 seconds.
Doug DeMuro
This is a nothing burger. Give us the next story.
Kenneth
Ah, the great state of California. So this is an interesting one and I promise it's not all just focused on us in California. It is a relatively local story, but this happened a couple of weeks ago. But the Senate revoked California's waiver with the EPA to have an exemption to sell. They were going to stop selling gasoline powered cars in the state of California in 2035. That was one thing that they set out to do in order to encourage people to buy EV cars. Focused on reducing emissions in the state of California. Well, normally the state of California is kind of operated as its own thing. We have the California Air and Resources Board, which does a lot of good work, admittedly to help cut down on smog. Because of the top 25 most populated cities in the country, four of them are in this state. There are a lot of people here, There's a lot of pollution. It was a real problem. But this is the first time that the federal government has been like, no, California, you can't do what you want to do. And we're going to slap this down, which is a really big deal. Now, of course, Governor Newsom has said that they're going to repeal this and that is they're going to start that process. They're going to continue to fight this. But it is the first time that there has been such an active disagreement between the federal government and kind of rolling back 55 years of California being able to control its own environmental policy regarding automobiles.
Filippo
So it's all a little bit odd. So during the first Trump administration, the EPA said, no, you cannot have a waiver from our regular rules to apply more stringent emissions requirements. At the time too. This is different in that the U.S. senate has said, no, California do not have the authority. Before it was a very like administrative EPA level.
Kenneth
This one's a decision.
Filippo
This is like an actual, a little bit more serious old one. Ball.
Doug DeMuro
Do we agree that it's nice that somebody rational entered this discussion and put a stop to the ridiculous concept that all cars in California would be elect?
Kenneth
I don't.
Doug DeMuro
Look, you realize 2035 is like tomorrow.
Filippo
This is the stance you're taking on this? This is fascinating. So I, I would have expected a states rights pro. States choosing what?
Doug DeMuro
Oh, you're like hardcore Republican on this.
Filippo
Well, no, I mean, apparently it's different.
Doug DeMuro
I think that. I think it's weird that the federal government stepped in but I think the whole rule was weird in the first place. I'm not opposed to the concept of eventually the cars all going electric and I think there should be subsidies along the way to help grow our electric car industry so we can remain competitive with other countries. But the concept that its state would just dictate this kind of thing.
Kenneth
I agree.
Doug DeMuro
Silly to begin with. It's silly on its face.
Kenneth
I think the way to drive that change is to have economic incentives for people to consumers to make the decision to go with evolution. A dictation of. And also what does that do? It means that people are going to buy gasoline powered cars in other states and register them in other states is likely what people would.
Doug DeMuro
And there's other issues with it too. I mean I think that kind of rules like that are also kind of anti poor which California is in a lot of ways. Right. Like those cars are all more expensive and the whole thing was silly. We all knew it was going to get pushed back anyway. It's interesting that it happened to the federal government. I suspect this isn't the end of us hearing about this. No.
Filippo
There is a big difference between getting pushed back which we all know would happen. It's going to happen pretty in every European country that I set similar rules. It will. This kind of changes that. This is the US Senate saying actually no, you as a state don't have the authority to enforce those in any way. It also, for what it's worth gives California legislators a lot of reasons to not push it back. If they were to win in court and say that they can, it creates weird incentives.
Doug DeMuro
Now this is an enthusiast car podcast. Can I ask the question on all of our minds?
Filippo
Sure.
Doug DeMuro
If California is not able to set its own emissions rules based upon this sort of thing with carb, the Air Resources Board, California's epa. Does that mean that they can no longer ban imported cars from.
Filippo
There's an argument to be made.
Kenneth
There's an argument. It does open the avenue for discussions along that line of things. That is true. I don't know. We'll see. The Leno law certainly seems to be progressing pretty well and we'll see how that can continues to evolve. And so I think that there are. That case could be made for cars made before. Was it 1990? Is that the 35 years? Whatever it was.
Doug DeMuro
35, yeah. So the Leno's law cutoff is when it goes into effect in 27. The cutoff would be 92 but this would be unrelated because remember, you can't bring any imported car into California right now, regardless of. And unless you go through that shop in Orange county, those fellas.
Filippo
Do you guys remember when cars used to be 49 state legal? Like manufacturers would sell vehicles that were not.
Doug DeMuro
People ask me about this all the time. There were like four cars ever that were 49 state legal. It's so insane.
Filippo
There were cars that had trims that were not 50 state legal.
Kenneth
Was they have 40, the F50.
Filippo
There were cars that had trims that were not where that powertrain was not 50 state legal. It was the thing.
Doug DeMuro
The F40 and F50 were 50 state cars. What company are you talking about? Volkswagen did it a couple times late, like later than they should have if they were good engineers. Yeah, well, they did it into like the two 2000s and then there was a 49 state Camaro at one point. Like that's what I think, like 2000 and tens. But it basically doesn't happen. And keep in mind, by the way, California's emissions laws, this is this what we're talking about Here is the 2035 mandate. California's emissions laws are different and are shared now by almost 20 other US states. So the concept of a 49 state car now would obviously it's no longer nine state, 37 state cars.
Kenneth
And there were other, there were other states that were going to mimic California's 2035 cutoff and also dictate that you had to then buy electric cars. But I think this puts a stop to all of that. For depending on how things go from.
Doug DeMuro
Here, we'll certainly, I mean politically, who knows what will change in the next few years. Trump goes the Senate changes, this all could be back on the table. And then we got to buy electric cars tomorrow. You never know, they might force Filippo into an electric car.
Filippo
I never bought a new car. That doesn't impact me.
Kenneth
All right, guys, real talk. Brunt Workwear is back as a sponsor. And while I've not always been a boots guy, I have to say that these boots blew me away. I got the Marin boots and the second I put them on, I was like, wait, wait, wait, wait, am I even wearing boots? How are they this comfortable? Most work boots feel like concrete blocks for the first week, but not these. No break in needed, just straight up comfort and durability. They're made for more than just walking. Instead of wearing them around for the uncomfortable break in period, I was walking around my house wearing them like sneakers. Just good looking real boots with actual Comfort Brunt was founded by a guy named Eric Girard and he grew up as a salt of the earth, blue collar guy and built this brand for real workers. That's why these boots are named after guys he grew up with. It's personal and it shows whether you need waterproof safety, toe pull on, lace up. Brunt's got you covered. And they've got more than just boots. Heavy duty workwear that is built to last. Brunt didn't just make a durable work boot. They reinvented comfort for the hardest workers out there. And for limited time, our listeners get $10 off Brunt by using code cars at checkout. Just head to bruntworkware.com and use the code cars, that's C A R S and you're all set. After purchase, they will ask you where you heard about them. Please support our show by telling them that you heard about them from us and enjoy your pair of Brunt work boots.
Doug DeMuro
Okay, move on to the last news story, which is the most important. Kenan, you want to hear it?
Kenneth
Yes.
Doug DeMuro
Tell us five years of cars and bids, folks. We launched this business. It was June 8th of 2020. We launched on my back patio. The wi fi was spotty at best, but we weren't. My wife didn't want us in the house because it was Covid. God, you don't know. Filippo's there. He might infect us.
Kenneth
He wasn't there. I was there. Yes, we sat socially distanced. It was you, Myself and Blake are the co founder of Cars and Bids. All socially distanced. And we had been preparing for months because we planned to launch much earlier than that. And then Covid happened and we all. We had cars that were prepped to go on the site. We'd written all the stuff. I had moved from Ohio during COVID which is another crazy story. And then we hit the go button. That video went live and my God, we were overwhelmed.
Doug DeMuro
It was a crazy thing. That was five years ago this week. Absolutely hard to believe that that was the situation. And since then we sold a Toyota Mega Cruiser and a couple of other cars.
Filippo
We sure have.
Doug DeMuro
How many auctions have we run? 27,000.
Filippo
We run over 28,000 as of today.
Doug DeMuro
$28,000.
Filippo
We have 865,000 users. Actually. 866 something. $625 million in cars sold. More or less.
Doug DeMuro
$625 million in cars sold now. Now when people hear that number, they think, I personally made 625 million. Is that what happened?
Filippo
Yeah.
Doug DeMuro
Okay.
Kenneth
You'Re Doing well, I'll tell you, if you made $625 million, he wouldn't be talking to us right now.
Doug DeMuro
I would never. If I. If once I. I have a rule in my head and my wife knows it and everyone. Once I cross the hundred million line, I'm never speaking to Filippo again. It's. It's. That's the we're all million Filippo rule.
Filippo
We're doing everything we can to get to that point quickly.
Doug DeMuro
We will never get to that point. Okay, I want to move on. There's a lot of other things to talk about today, folks. There's, like, a lot. This is a big week. But the most important thing we got to talk about. Filippo, you're not going to like this line of discussion, although you've already preview. I've already given you a preview of it. Is the new Massachusetts license plate. Kenan, can you pull up the new Massachusetts blue license? Massachusetts 250th license plate.
Filippo
250Th in real time. Learning that Kennan does not know how to flow. Massachusetts.
Doug DeMuro
Yeah, yeah. You don't. You don't really need to know. New Mass. 250th license plate. I don't know. Just type some of that stuff in, and I promise Google's pretty good about this. Google's. Google knows what it's doing, right? Okay, so click on images there. Yeah, yeah, it's this one. All right, so it's blue. Yeah. I don't know. It looks black in that picture, but the rest is blue. You chose the black one. No, I got the blackest thing.
Filippo
It's blue. It's blue.
Doug DeMuro
Okay, here's why this is the most important thing we're gonna talk about today. Kennan, Massachusetts, came out with this license plate, announcing 250 years of independence. To be honest, I'm not really sure what the hell it means.
Filippo
I think what you just said.
Doug DeMuro
Well, but who's been independent? Massachusetts has not been independent for 250 years. I don't know what's going on. Okay, but they said two interesting things. Number one, it's blue. It's the only license plate in Massachusetts that hasn't got a white background. And the other important thing, they're only going to offer it for two years this year, and then also next year.
Filippo
Well, that wouldn't be 250 years. 251.
Doug DeMuro
No, next year will be 250.
Filippo
I know, but they won't pass that.
Doug DeMuro
Right. Okay. Now, I have experience in the license plate world, and I know what happens when These limited run plates come out, which is. They become massive status symbols once they're discontinued. The Pennsylvania DARE license plate, the Oregon golden blue one. There's a lot of these. And once they're gone, it's like super cool if you have one. And I only. I don't have a car right now that I obviously I live part of the year in Massachusetts. I don't have a car right now that I could register this license plate on. The reason I'm bringing this up is because I think I might have to end my I'm off cars pact just so I can get the blue Massachusetts license plate.
Filippo
It's only fair.
Kenneth
God, what an irritating.
Doug DeMuro
And I want to make a point. I want to make a point here. I don't want to do this. I don't want a car. God knows I'm off cars. I've said it a hundred times.
Kenneth
He says it in our group friend group text. He says it every single day before he goes to bed. And then he calls us. Some obscure car movement. He says, good night. My. I don't know.
Doug DeMuro
Some obscure. I'm off cars, but I'm not off the Massachusetts blue license plate. Filippo, do you have any thoughts?
Filippo
Yeah. You own multiple vehicles that are registered in the state of Massachusetts?
Doug DeMuro
No, I do not.
Filippo
You don't. Don't own any anymore.
Doug DeMuro
Did you move to car registered in Massachusetts? But I have a different special plate on that. So it's over. So I got to get something else.
Kenneth
And.
Doug DeMuro
And I don't want to give up that plate. So I gotta get. I. What am I gonna do? I have to get another. Do you agree with me, Flip? I'm out of choice. So I'm still off to ours, people.
Filippo
I think you need a Fiat 500 Abarth Cabriolet. Specifically my Fiat 500 Cabriolet. I'll sell it to you for a good deal tomorrow. Good deal.
Kenneth
My M5 is currently getting some stuff done at Elite Finish. Just some cosmetic stuff. And I'm borrowing flippables 500 Abarth. It. I drove it like a month ago. It's worse. Like the suspension.
Filippo
It is. I agree.
Kenneth
And the door panel is vibrating all of a sudden.
Filippo
I gotta change the window regulator.
Doug DeMuro
Two things, Filippo. Number one, you need to sell that car. And on the side. Number two. No, no. You know what I want? Truly, what I think I want is a VIN and a title. I don't really.
Kenneth
You know what? You can buy that Ferrari that was on a noxious.
Filippo
Remember?
Kenneth
It was just like a pile of scrap. It was just A VIN was all it was.
Doug DeMuro
I don't even want that. I just want a VIN and a title. I don't need it to be valuable. I just want to give it a title. Because they don't make you show them the vin, the car when you registered here in Massachusetts. I just want to VIN and a title. Can we. So I can get the blue plate? Can we do that?
Filippo
Yeah. Yeah. I'm going to just look for all the cars we have live that are closest to you because, like, what's the.
Doug DeMuro
Proximity on the site? That's the car I want.
Filippo
Oh, There's a nice V60 pull.
Doug DeMuro
Start by Kenneth. Kenneth, do you agree with me that I need to get this blue license plate?
Kenneth
Absolutely.
Doug DeMuro
Okay, well.
Kenneth
And I've said that you always say you're off cars. You're never off cars.
Doug DeMuro
I don't want a car.
Kenneth
You like to talk yourself into being, but some circumstance presents itself, and then all of a sudden I get to hear about the gazillion cars you want to buy. And you're relentless in sending us, and I don't think you buy any of them. You're the boy who cries wolf constantly. The Countach is the only.
Doug DeMuro
I've been saying on this podcast for a year that I never want to buy another car again as long as I live. You every week are like, I want a Viper. I want an Evora. I want a GT4. I want a boxer.
Kenneth
I never said GT4.
Doug DeMuro
I don't know.
Kenneth
I object to the GT4 or the three way GT4. No.
Doug DeMuro
But it gets confusing. 308 GT4, that's another one. It gets confused. What I'm saying is I don't have any interest in a car. I don't want a car. I want the license plate. And I'm forced. The state of Massachusetts, the commonwealth has forced my hand. Filippo understands.
Filippo
I understand. And I. I will help you. I'll ponder what you should buy. I'll find I'm really good at finding the cheapest car for sale places. So, like, I'm on it.
Doug DeMuro
Doesn't need a run.
Filippo
Yep.
Doug DeMuro
Just. Just need the title. Dude. And then later on when I get more cars or less cars, I will eventually transfer the plate to another car. I just want to keep it active. Do you understand what I'm saying?
Filippo
I do. I do.
Doug DeMuro
Okay, I'll start looking.
Kenneth
It's a cool license plate. I'll give you.
Doug DeMuro
Thank you. I appreciate that. Filippo, can you tell us about your Mercedes Benz station wagon?
Filippo
Yeah, I have a Mercedes Benz station wagon. I'VE owned it for four years this week. Wow. Bought it on June 1st on cards and bids on June 1st of 2021. It's been four years. Four years of Mercedes wagon. It's been wonderful. We've done 57,000 miles, something like that. We've driven across the country, driven it up everywhere around the United States, up to the Northeast.
Doug DeMuro
One of my favorite things about that car is that gradually it has driven from the very tip of the northeast of the country to the very tip of the southwest of the country. But it took about three years to do that.
Filippo
I bought that car in Maine a little longer than I bought that card. Maine, from a guy named Sam, whose food's wonderful. I was then back in Maine two months later with. With some friends with that car. Drove to the West Coast a year later. Been here since.
Doug DeMuro
Initially, though, it was in North Carolina for a year, wasn't it?
Filippo
It was a quarter for a year and then moved, kid Then came out to California with us.
Doug DeMuro
When you moved to California, you spent like a month in Texas or something.
Filippo
Yeah, we saw all the time in Texas and in Arizona and Utah and back and forth. And it's driven across America's highway, but only from Cal, like between California and Texas and then between North Carolina and Maine. That's it. Like, connected once.
Doug DeMuro
A piecemeal journey across. Anyway. So you like the car still, even though, are you thinking about a 213? Is that kind of why you're thinking?
Filippo
Okay, I realized two things. First is now that it has 120,000 miles thereabouts, and it's been in two accidents, and.
Kenneth
And you put customer into service, and.
Filippo
We spent $6,000 servicing it because it had some rust issues that were impacting the brake lines. But now that that is all resolved, this car is worth very little, and I may as well keep it forever.
Doug DeMuro
Yeah. What does forever look like? I mean, I want you to get into a 213.
Filippo
No, I love this car, truly. It's such a good car. We drove it to the desert a month ago for a little family camping trip, and it reminded me of just. Just how good it is. That car sits on my street the rest of the time because we drive the GTI and we drive the Fiat around town. But it's so good. I drove it here today because Kenan has my Fiat, and it's just so good. Best car I've ever owned.
Doug DeMuro
You know what I fear, Filippo, is that you'll never be able to get into at 2:13 because I'm never going to get into 214 and you always buy a car after I've had.
Filippo
Right, right.
Doug DeMuro
Like you got the E Wagon. I got the E Wagon. You got the like older one, I got the newer one. Like you got a gti. I had a gti.
Filippo
You turned a Fiat, you had a Spectra. Right.
Doug DeMuro
You know, that sort of thing.
Filippo
Yeah, yeah.
Doug DeMuro
And so I'm worried because I don't plan to upgrade to a 214 now that the third row is gone. And so are you stuck in 212 ownership forever?
Filippo
I hope so.
Doug DeMuro
I love the car.
Filippo
Is so good.
Doug DeMuro
Good.
Filippo
It's so good. Also, like, it's very well equipped. It has distronic and all like the safety stuff. And distronic is still competitive with modern systems from this car being 11 years old at this point. Just so good.
Doug DeMuro
Yeah.
Filippo
And you know, and, and the zigzagno interior, a color that the Mercedes Benz people love in mocha espresso or whatever it's called. Something that you scroll down, I don't remember what it's called. Mocha black. So good.
Doug DeMuro
I agree.
Filippo
Safe forever.
Doug DeMuro
I agree. Filippo. A good Mercedes station wagon will change your life. A bad Mercedes station wagon will ruin your career. That's what they say in Germany.
Kenneth
The age old, time honored tradition.
Doug DeMuro
Luckily it's actually a Belgian saying, but.
Filippo
I did realize that I have to give it a little bit of love. It's time to invest in making sure that it works for a long time. It's not mechanically perfect, by the way.
Doug DeMuro
Canon, can you tell us about the sweatshirt?
Kenneth
Yes. We have a present from a viewer for you. Now, unfortunately you're not here, but there was a viewer had sent us a sweatshirt for you. It is the Ford Fusion. It's a T shirt. Now this is a real T shirt that Ford made in like when they redesigned the car in 2012, 2013. That Aston Martin looking version of the Fusion.
Doug DeMuro
Now pull up this camera. Okay, he's turning. He's no idea how to turn it. There we go.
Kenneth
It just says for those of you who can't see, it just says Fusion on the back. A Ford logo. That's it.
Doug DeMuro
You know, although this shirt has come to us purportedly for the Aston Martin looking Fusion, I would like to think of it as the shirt for the launch of the original European Ford Fusion in the late 90s, which actually was a minivan hatchback thing.
Filippo
It was a tall hatch, tall hatchback Ford Fusion Europe.
Doug DeMuro
Pull up the original Ford Fusion, which I think I'm gonna tell people that that's where the shirt came from. This is the little known Ford Fusion.
Kenneth
Let's do this one.
Doug DeMuro
And when I walk around wearing the shirt. Filippo, do you agree with me? I'm telling people this was the European tall Hatchback Ford Fusion.
Filippo
100% agreed.
Kenneth
But thank you for sending that in, Mike. Mike is the person that says that he wrote you a letter too, which I'll retain for you so you can read it later.
Doug DeMuro
Where's Mike?
Kenneth
Mike doesn't say where Mike is from. But thank you, Mike. It's very kind of you. And I'm sure Doug will wear it with tremendous pride.
Doug DeMuro
I will wear that with pride. Or maybe Felipe will. It looks like it's put it on.
Kenneth
Yeah, there's a tag on it. Oh, don't pull that off.
Doug DeMuro
Philippa.
Filippo
Eau Claire Vintage.
Doug DeMuro
Don't pull off the tag. It's oe, dude.
Filippo
But perhaps they're from Wisconsin because they haven't. They bought it from a place called Eau Claire Vintage.
Doug DeMuro
Okay, we have to move on to the market.
Filippo
Ford.
Doug DeMuro
I thank Mike for the Ford Fusion T shirt and I truly will wear it with pride. And think about the original European Fusion, but not the American ones. Although I think they were good cars. Okay.
Filippo
Also available with the stick every generation.
Doug DeMuro
What?
Kenneth
What?
Doug DeMuro
The last infusion.
Filippo
Yeah.
Kenneth
Is that.
Filippo
No, it's factually accurate.
Doug DeMuro
Yeah, those re that really trashy base model version with like 14 inch hubcaps was offered with a stick.
Filippo
Yeah.
Doug DeMuro
Front wheel drive. Really?
Filippo
Yep.
Kenneth
I learned. Thank you for that tidbit about it. I will carry that one with pride.
Doug DeMuro
You're still the good ones. Okay, I Want to Talk 2 market reports and then we got questions, which are amazing. Best questions we ever had.
Filippo
Wow.
Doug DeMuro
Two market reports, Filippo. You can either talk NSX or V60 Polestar. You have to choose.
Filippo
All right, I want to talk about the nsx. Can you pull up the NSX we sold last week? I'm going to break tradition. All right. We sold earlier this week a 9800 mile NA2 pre facelift NSX, as these are known. There's only one caveat, and that's that it has an automatic transmission. As far as I can tell, this is the single highest sale of an automatic Transmission this generation. NSX.
Doug DeMuro
Yeah.
Filippo
Now NSXs are like up. NSX are still really hot generally, and it shows that that's true of all of them.
Doug DeMuro
Okay, question for you about this. What do you do with this car?
Kenneth
Let me do the math. Three pedals, 6pm you manual swap it? I don't know.
Filippo
Manual swap I don't think you do. You don't buy a 10th a sub 10,000 mile one to manual swap it.
Doug DeMuro
Yeah.
Filippo
Now the owner in the seller in the comments talked a lot about the fact that he can no longer drive a manual due to like an injury he can't use his left foot for that purpose but to your point you're.
Kenneth
Not going to drive it at all because it doesn't have any miles on it anyway.
Filippo
Right. He had looked into manual swapping it and like connected people in the comments to this is the shop that I talked to about it this is what they said it would take etc so clearly there's interest in that but I don't think you do that with this car. I think you hope that the collection market I guess you know I get.
Kenneth
The argument.
Doug DeMuro
I bet I bet you.
Kenneth
Manual I bet you may like it's.
Doug DeMuro
Just a really clean yellow which is rare and a two unmodified mostly it's delightful low mileage clean someone's get a.
Filippo
Manual it's a delightful vehicle.
Doug DeMuro
It's no longer original but they'll do it with the right parts and it'll be like a really clean car which honestly with the swap will probably still be worth a little more than an auto. Agreed.
Filippo
Yeah. Although still with real money.
Kenneth
Yeah. I mean serious money. Yeah I mean it makes sense someone.
Doug DeMuro
Is paying for the ability to buy a really clean NSX that then they have to do the conversion did you notice it's been number eight for the year. You know NSX VINs restarted every year. Really this is number 000008 it's also the last year of the NSX prior to the face headlight facelift which I can imagine is probably pretty hard to find it but there's not a lot.
Filippo
Of oh 1s no not not a lot of NA2 preface it looks great in spotless so good. What a cool car. I I obviously everybody wishes that it were manual. Had it been a manual it would have been 60 grand more 50 more.
Doug DeMuro
I got to get a NSX get one of those I get an NSX to put my mass blue plate on. Yeah you could I do need a Japanese V6 it completes my.
Kenneth
You need a Ferrari. Nobody needs a Ferrari but like it's.
Filippo
Missing no NSX 550.
Kenneth
This episode of this Car Pod is brought to you by Acre Gold. Now you all know that I'm all about finding value whether It's a pristine 964911 or an immaculate E46 M3. But let's talk about a different kind of asset. Acre Gold. Inflation's hitting harder than a V12 at Redline. Gas, car parts, even car washes are through the roof. Acre gold lets you invest in real 24 karat gold bars for just a few bucks a day. It's like buying a classic, a car that never rusts. No finance degree needed, just pure shiny gold delivered to you. Go to getacregold.com protect your money, keep it golden.
Doug DeMuro
That's getacregold.com give us these C63 Black Series situation.
Kenneth
Yes, we had another very high result recently. So we sold a Mercedes W204 generation C63AMG black series. Now these cars are incredibly desirable to begin with. But this one was interesting because was it's red, which is very rare on these cars. But it also had miles for one of these 38, 100 miles. And it had some modifications if memory serves me. So like it has but it sold for $111,000 which is like I there, there are ones. I was doing a little bit of research on this with low mileage, kind of boring ish colors that sold for more than this. But like with this many miles on it, like for one of these, relative to how many. Most of these don't have this kind of mileage on it. It was a strong result. I think the color had a lot to do with that. Yeah, it did for sure.
Doug DeMuro
Don't you think it's interesting that the C63 black is worth more than the CLK?
Filippo
How much does the CLK black? Like 100ish.
Doug DeMuro
Yeah. Not 111. I mean a really nice one would be 111, but you can get pretty average CLK blacks for 80s.
Kenneth
I might be wrong on this, but I believe one of the benefits of the C63 Black Series is that it didn't have the head bolt problem that the CLK63 Black series has to deal with. Those later engines didn't have the same issue. But this is the M1 because like.
Doug DeMuro
The CLK is this touring car, you know, fender looking thing and they're both really rare. It's almost amazing how few of these black series models they made. There's only 800 of these C63 blacks on the planet, not for the US on the planet. That's pretty cool. So there's probably only about 250, 300 in the States. That's a very special car.
Kenneth
It is. And we've sold a number of 507 edition. Yeah, we have never sold A black series before.
Doug DeMuro
So this is.
Kenneth
This is a. It's a special car. And I think that like I. I do wonder if like the black series cars become more appreciated. Appreciated in that they are just insane.
Doug DeMuro
I mean, let me Look.
Filippo
A regular C63AMG with this miles is a $35,000 car, right?
Doug DeMuro
Yeah.
Filippo
So there's already some appreciation here for 60 extra horsepower.
Doug DeMuro
60 horsepower, but also just the all that. There's a lot of.
Filippo
I'm diminishing it.
Doug DeMuro
Black series cars.
Filippo
Yeah.
Doug DeMuro
And like the SL65, I mean an 09 SL65, non black series is a 35 car and a black series is like a 350 car. So there's. The market definitely likes the.
Filippo
Yeah, for good reason. It's so cool. I. I'm making fun of it a little bit. But 60 horsepower is a lot. That's 15%.
Doug DeMuro
And the body kit, you're just counting the canards. Felipe.
Filippo
I'm stunned you know what that means.
Doug DeMuro
I'm stunned you know what that means. In fact, I'm not even sure that you do.
Kenneth
I'm surprised, but I do. Yeah. You don't even know what a write off is. I think both of you. I'm surprised either one of you know.
Doug DeMuro
What they did one track day. He's like, canards. Yeah, I got them on. I put them on all my cars.
Kenneth
He's going to start talking about setup and corner balancing and all that.
Filippo
That's why you need the spoiler.
Doug DeMuro
Okay, one other market report topic we gotta cover. An unbelievable car has listed on cars and bids. Is it the RWB911? No, it is this Rolls Royce Cullinan. Click on this. This is a Rolls Royce Cullinan that we are listing on cars and bits. One owner car. Rolls Royce Cullinan. Not that rare. Unusual. Except this one has 115,000 miles on the odometer.
Filippo
That's insane. Insane.
Kenneth
That is nuts. One dude.
Doug DeMuro
This is a 2020. So in five years they're driving at 20,000 miles a year. That which is high mileage for any car in a Rolls Royce color.
Filippo
In the first six months they drove 18,000 miles. In the subsequent year they year and three months they drove an additional 33,000 miles. This is wild.
Doug DeMuro
That is a comfortable 120,000 miles. Seller of this car who's a buddy of mine, he's one of our best sellers. He told me he got this car and he's like, would you put it on the site? I was like, I would be so thrilled because it is Such an insane thing. He's like, how do I, what do I. Where is the value? I was like, I have no idea. And he asked me, he said, do you think it'll hit this number? And I was like, dude, I looked at comps and there isn't another Cullinan listed with even half the mileage of this Cullinan it.
Kenneth
And look, you got to say it looks amazing.
Doug DeMuro
It's held up. It's held up.
Kenneth
Isn't that, I mean, look at, look at the seats.
Doug DeMuro
Crazy.
Filippo
You know, RollsRoyce quality, it turns out.
Kenneth
Well, there's no question about this. The mechanical components. The question I think this car, it's, I mean it did it. Look at that. It's pretty incredible.
Doug DeMuro
If you told me this was a 20,000 mile car, I believe you. I mean, I don't know what it's like mechanically. I don't know the service record, I don't know all that stuff. But like, like just from going through the pictures, it's absolutely shocking. It makes you think that, that maybe Rolls Royce A really was serious about making this more of a daily drivable type of car.
Filippo
Yeah.
Doug DeMuro
And B, like maybe wear is more about time and mileage than just mileage alone. Obviously it's a lot of these must have been highway miles without really wearing the car. But still pretty crazy.
Kenneth
The V12 is ticking over pretty low in the RPM range.
Filippo
I really wish that there was more history on the carfax. There's some service history that the seller knows. But like, like I wish there was way more in the carfax because I want to know where ping pong to.
Kenneth
And from what Rolls Royce dealers have had to go to.
Doug DeMuro
Probably the Rolls Royce dealer in Philly. Right. Kirbach, you would imagine, I mean I.
Filippo
I could imagine somebody commuting to this to New York City. That's 200 miles round trip a day you get there.
Kenneth
That's not to say it's also not the first time I've seen something like this. I remember at the exotic car dealership I worked at, we had, I mean they were two years old and someone came in with, with a Bentayga that they had put about 105,000 miles on and same thing.
Doug DeMuro
Bentayga though is more of a daily driver car. Like it's way cheaper to buy new than a car. Like to me, when he told me about this David, who was selling it, I was astonished that such a vehicle even existed. Think about just the fuel bills are significant, not to mention depreciation, which is Also significant. It's a pretty serious thing to do.
Kenneth
This in my view, that's real wealth. That is someone who just drove it, used it and doesn't care.
Doug DeMuro
There.
Kenneth
That doesn't have to. That's real.
Doug DeMuro
Wouldn't you do that? Drive around in the comfiest daily driver.
Filippo
Depreciation per mile is not. Is less than it would be if they hadn't driven it.
Doug DeMuro
Well, yeah, but the total amount, which is kind of the thing that really matters the most.
Filippo
Well, you know, but you drove it. I mean, MSRP was 438.
Doug DeMuro
438. Wow. Holy.
Filippo
We are at a couple days into the auction when we're looking at this, and we're 300 grand shy of the original MSRP. All right.
Doug DeMuro
Truly hard to know where it's going to finish. There are no comps. There's no comps on Mannheim. There's no comps on autotrader Cargurus. There is nothing to give guidance about what this car is worth. So we will find out. Anyway, on to the next segment. All right, I want to move on to questions. I want to move on to questions. Filippo, it's time. Questions are sponsored this week. I haven't done any sponsors. Questions are sponsored by cars and bids.
Filippo
In honor of our five year anniversary.
Doug DeMuro
Or will hurt you. How's that?
Filippo
Love it.
Doug DeMuro
Do you think any company has ever tried that before? For marketing?
Filippo
Yes.
Doug DeMuro
Threats?
Filippo
Yes. I think that there's a whole industry centered on this.
Doug DeMuro
You're talking about the mafia.
Filippo
Yep.
Doug DeMuro
Well, I'm not gonna make you. Filippo's saying it. I don't know anything about it. He's.
Kenneth
I heard he paints houses, though. Anyways, okay.
Doug DeMuro
Questions. These are all good. And we're going to get to all of them. That's our goal. Filippo's looking at the questions, formulating responses.
Kenneth
Better known as cheating.
Doug DeMuro
From Pylon Powell, Pal from Pylonpal. By what percentage do you believe the alliteration of your name propelled your growth on YouTube? I presume that's to me.
Filippo
Yeah, I think so.
Doug DeMuro
It's a great question. I actually think zero. But I do think very sincerely, and I'm being as sincere as I can be to the two of you. I think that my unusual name was very beneficial. I think if your name is Mike Smith. Was it last week that I made fun of the speaker of the House for being named Mike Johnson?
Filippo
Yeah.
Doug DeMuro
Like, imagine if that was your name and you were trying to be a content creator. Like, it's hard to remember. And then you tell your buddies, like, oh, Mike Johnson makes these videos and people are like, what? What is that? And I think that. But like, I've just like in the car world, if you say Doug, you're referring to me. Like, having a weird name I think was beneficial and memorable and helpful, and I legitimately do think that helped.
Filippo
Your name is the perfect balance of easy to spell, fun to say. Doug Demir. Alliterative, easy like, rolls off the tongue, fun to say, easy to spell so you can put in Google. And memorable. It's like the perfect balance.
Kenneth
It's unique enough.
Doug DeMuro
It's unique enough. Whereas Filippo and Kenan, people have so much trouble. It's almost a little bit too difficult.
Kenneth
Yeah, it is.
Filippo
And it's not.
Kenneth
Yes, but no.
Doug DeMuro
I had fun saying Filippo.
Kenneth
The spelling is great.
Filippo
Full name, though. It's hard.
Kenneth
It is fun to see people try to spell our names despite the fact they're on the screen every single time we do a video. They're right there. But that's the way it goes. That's fine. But no, I think you're right. But I will say people do. Your last name does kind of mess people up a little bit. I ever heard Demirio a lot.
Doug DeMuro
But yeah, people have trouble with my last name for various different. In various different ways, which has always been very beneficial to me. You know, as I've said in previous things, when people don't capitalize the M in my last name, I can tell that they're not going to be careful with details. But which. Which has various benefits if you're trying to people or if you're just trying to know them. But regardless, I think having kind of an unusual name, not necessarily because it's alertive, but because it's unusual, I do legitimately think that benefited me. And looking back, you know, should I have used my real name making Neldi's content? I actually think it was really beneficial as opposed to creating like, you know, like Sporty Garage or. So many of these YouTube channels have names that are just kind of hard to remember because they don't necessarily have a person behind them or whatever.
Kenneth
I think the best. You and Harry Metcalf, Harry's Garage is like, yeah.
Doug DeMuro
And Harry is so well known generally that I think he was never gonna have trouble. But like, coming up with a name like, you know, the Fast Garage or whatever, like, it's hard to the Speed Channel. It's just hard to kind of take those in mind sometimes. Next question from E. Miston 4757. Not to be convinced. Confused with E. Miston for 75 6. Which Filippo is. Don't, don't go there with the whole thing of Elon and Tesla. Do you think people will start buying Tesla's if he stepped down or do you think the whole stigma of it being Elon's brand is stuck with Tesla forever? Filippo, you're a raging liberal one.
Filippo
I think that people's memory is short and therefore the current era of Elon fades quickly in memory.
Doug DeMuro
You know, that's interesting. What do you think? Let me ask you this because Elon came out yesterday was incredibly critical of the bill. The budget tax bill. Yeah. Are pushing through right now. Incredibly critical despite the fact that Trump has, has, you know, still said. Saying positive things about Elon. And President Trump is also still saying, oh, Elon's still here, he's still with us. Even though he's gone back away from Elon is now. What if Elon makes an about face and in three years time is suddenly.
Kenneth
Don't you feel like he's this. I mean him kind of becoming more conservative was kind of an about face like before. I mean he was pretty like what.
Doug DeMuro
If he realizes after spending six months in this government that the in his mind the conservatives are just as bad as the liberals and now he wants back like do do people. Will people re embrace him? Do do the. Do the Tesla sell again?
Filippo
I legitimately think that, yes. I think people would re embrace it. By the way, Ron Johnson said today that Elon Musk has recently, yesterday had promised him that he supported the bill. So we're in a good spot. I think that that about face would help him maybe reintegrate with the community that that has bought Teslas. I legitimately also think that people will forget and it won't matter truly. Now will it matter that Tesla doesn't have a great lineup and has two products that haven't been updated in a decade? Yes.
Kenneth
That will matter more.
Filippo
Yeah.
Doug DeMuro
Let me ask you this. What if they pull Elon like they're not going to. Especially now that he's like going to refocus, whatever. But what if it had kept getting bad? He kept doing salutes that were of Nazi ish origins. Like what if that, that he kept. Kept going down that road? Do you think pulling Elon would have been enough for, generally speaking, liberals and Democrats who are buying electric cars to re embrace that brand?
Filippo
I. It's a good question. Yeah, partially. I mean a lot of people ignore who the CEO is of any other manufacturer, but so much of Tesla's growth has Been driven by Elon.
Doug DeMuro
Yeah.
Filippo
And so it's tied. And in Europe especially, where sales are massively down of Tesla, much more so than they are in the US I don't know what the impact is.
Doug DeMuro
Yeah, sorry. No, it's an interesting question. It'll be interesting to see what happens next. If Elon goes back to a mild manner normal CEO and maybe is critical of the, of some of the Republican policies like the bill, do people start to re embrace him a little bit? What is his legacy? The whole thing will be kind of an interesting thing. He can also just go play with spaceship to succeed. He cannot continue probably to be as outspokenly pro Trump as he has been.
Filippo
In my, my estimation also, like legitimately there is some EVs are not that popular. There was a poll this week that showed that interest in EVs was the lowest it's been in four or five years. Tesla's does. Tesla does not have the most modern lineup of vehicles. There's other competitive players in the space. A lot of things have also changed that have been timed at the same time as Elon political activities.
Doug DeMuro
Yeah, it's an interesting, that's an interesting point. I mean it's not just a question of Elon and it's politics. It's also a question of like, you got to make kind of more competitive.
Filippo
Here's an example of. Ken sent us a picture earlier this week of a brand new post facelift model Y that had a I bought this before I knew Elon was crazy sticker. And like you bought that last week.
Kenneth
It's like you bought it literally yesterday afternoon. You knew.
Doug DeMuro
He didn't know yet. He hadn't known.
Kenneth
He had just gotten out from underneath the rock recently gotten cell reception. His Tesla show was like, damn it.
Filippo
Right? I has it actually stopped purchases to that extent? I don't know.
Kenneth
I don't know.
Doug DeMuro
Next question from Aidan Wiesel. What would you guys rank the Holy Trinity. Now to me, the Holy Trinity is the Courier GT the Enzo and the slr. However, this question asker's name is Aiden and so he is asking us, don't you agree? The 918, the P1 and the LaFerrari. How do we rank those three?
Filippo
Filippo LaFerrari, 918 P1.
Doug DeMuro
Okay. He doesn't know what he's talking about. I mean that might be right. I didn't even realize what he said. But Ken, and I don't know why I didn't give it to you first.
Filippo
I agree.
Kenneth
Yeah, I think it's LaFerrari P1 918.
Doug DeMuro
Wow. You ranked the LaFerrari first in that group.
Kenneth
I mean, has a fee. Yeah, it's the only one with a V12. The other two have V8. Now, the 918 is naturally aspirated with hybrid assists. And the, the. The P1s is turbocharged.
Filippo
The P1 above the 918?
Kenneth
Yeah, I think so. I think it's just more. It is more special. And like the 918 is the most usable by far. It's the best of them all. It's the most drivable. And La Ferraris. Every Ferrari dealer in the country has a la Ferrari in there for a battery change. Every single service center. I think last time I checked it was 260 is what I heard.
Doug DeMuro
It should be noted that. So this is also happening to all the McLaren P1.
Kenneth
Yes, that's true. Although there seem to be more support from that. And Ferrari is kind of like, you're going to wait. But I think that I. Yeah, but genuinely, every Ferrari dealer I've walked into, every service department has one. And the 918s, of course, seem pretty robust. It's a Porsche.
Doug DeMuro
So surprising to me. I don't love any of the three.
Kenneth
I also agree with that, like, none.
Doug DeMuro
Of the three are cars that. If I had a. A 50 car garage, I don't know that I would have any of the three, to be honest. Except the P1 GTR, which I consider to be one of the great cars I've driven. And if I had real money, like, don't talk to Filippo any more money, I would get a P1 GTR by Lanzante. Yeah, the road one. I drove a road one in Newport beach for God knows what reason. It's probably incredibly illegal, but it was amazing.
Kenneth
All right, so I'll get an fxxk. I mean, what do you want to say here? You're choosing the race car version of it.
Doug DeMuro
Like, is it an FXXK based on the Enzo?
Kenneth
There's the. Well, no, there is the. They did an FXX based on the. The LaFerrari as well.
Doug DeMuro
Really?
Kenneth
Yes.
Doug DeMuro
I don't know. I don't really like any of them. Do I have to pick?
Filippo
Yeah. What's your ranking?
Doug DeMuro
I don't know. Probably the Porsche first, because you can actually use it, and then the P1, the LaFerrari's last. But honestly, it could switch completely around in an hour.
Filippo
I.
Doug DeMuro
It's so far below any of the other cars. And by the way, I love seeing these Cars on the road. When I see an i18 on the road, I freak out like a. Like a small child. Like that. Like that Francis Bourgeois guy who just saw the M274 steam kettle.
Kenneth
I mean, trains are kind of giant steam kettles when you think about it. Steam engines.
Doug DeMuro
You should be on Grand Tour. Me?
Kenneth
No, I mean, I like. I like Thomas and James Kenan.
Doug DeMuro
Filippo, why didn't they call Kenan to be on Grand Tour? It's a good question.
Filippo
They couldn't spell his name.
Kenneth
They definitely couldn't spell my name.
Doug DeMuro
They tried to send him an email, but it bounced back.
Filippo
Yeah.
Doug DeMuro
And on that subject, the next question is from real Emily Rolson, but Rolson is misspelled. And the question is, what is one car that didn't work at the time when it came out, but it would be hugely successful today? I only put this question in because I want to say Pontiac Aztec. But, Filippo, if you have other ones.
Filippo
You welcome to put them in the Toyota FJ Cruiser.
Doug DeMuro
Yeah, that's a great one. Kenan, you got any Exterra?
Kenneth
Big Stera?
Doug DeMuro
FJ is the best one of all, by the way.
Filippo
People are gonna say that the FJ worked. It didn't. Nobody wanted it at the time. It's become desirable now, but nobody cared when it was for sale.
Doug DeMuro
It was. It was somewhat desirable at the time, and it lasted for like, nine model years.
Kenneth
I'm just gonna think of cars that were ahead of the time. I think the Lincoln Blackwood was a little bit of ahead of its time in terms of luxury trucks, as in Cadillac, like the luxury truck thing. And that was kind of successful.
Doug DeMuro
Yeah, but that failed, too. You know what Lincoln discovered with those luxury trucks? I agree with you. It was ahead of its time with luxury trucks. But what all those trucks proved was that people want luxury trucks, but they want to get them from the brand that has the mainstream. Like you want. You don't. You want a luxury truck, but you want a Ford. You don't want to be driving around. Lincoln pickup.
Filippo
Yeah. You want to fit in on the construction site.
Doug DeMuro
You want to fit in on the construction site. Exactly right.
Kenneth
This is the one you take to pound.
Doug DeMuro
Those are all good ones, honestly, off the cuff good ones. Next question from tla. Kenan. This is for Kenan. Kenneth. You've brought up different cars you've thought about buying from a Cayenne to a Viper and beyond. Boy, has he, I tell you, have you thought about buying another Maybe less used E39M5? My question would actually be, have you thought about buying a more used E39M.
Filippo
That's impossible.
Kenneth
Well, all right. So I, I, you know, I've had a number of people send me E39M5s recently.
Filippo
Really?
Kenneth
And it's like, do you want to own another one? Are you bidding on this one? It's like, no, I have one. I don't want two. If I wanted another E395, I'd buy a Z8. But, like, I don't. But I don't. Like, I. I don't want one with lower mileage because I use my car all the time. I don't want to feel guilty about putting miles on it. And to be honest with you, a lot of these cars are so old stuff is aged out. Like rubber seals of parish need to be replaced. Ryan, just like, he's like a. He's like a 30,000 mile one in the cost to bring it back up to spec because stuff is worn out is the same as one that had been driven. So, like, all right, that kind of negates that. I don't want one that's worse than mine because I will bake it nice again. That's just what I do. And so, no, I'm happy with the one I have.
Doug DeMuro
But I think the thrust you. You gloss over that point. But I think the thrust of at least my interpretation of the question, or my version of the question, is I.
Kenneth
Love the car so much, that's the only car I should ever have, is.
Doug DeMuro
That what if you've got a bad one and then could just, like, really use it how you want and not care and kind of preserve your pristine one, which was pristine until the mirror started bubbling. Although I don't think we should discuss it.
Kenneth
I've already looked into replacements.
Filippo
Touchy moment.
Doug DeMuro
You're replacing them.
Kenneth
Just the one. I think at some point I will do just one. Not now. I'm gonna wait for it to get a little worse. By the way, I'm gonna do it while they're available because, again, the mirror only came on that car, and at some point, they're gonna disappear.
Filippo
I looked for minutes, dozens of minutes, trying to find the bubble.
Kenneth
Because you're not a detailed person when it comes to aesthetics. I'm looking.
Doug DeMuro
That's a good thing. Maybe. Maybe he's on to something.
Kenneth
Kenan, eventually it'll affect functionality.
Doug DeMuro
No, no. It is the others who are idiots.
Kenneth
Yes, you are idiots.
Doug DeMuro
Okay, here's a good question from New bid noise. New bid noise. You are condemned to drive a thousand hours as an Uber driver. You can choose any. Any eligible car ever listed on Cars and Bids, but you have to pay for gas and maintenance. What do you choose? So basically, question is, what enthusiast car? I'm going to summarize. The question is, what enthusiast car would be good to drive Uber in? And that's an interesting one. The correct answer is that black Prius that's in the office right now, but it hasn't been listed yet.
Kenneth
40,000 miles. It will need nothing for the next 210,000 miles.
Filippo
Yeah, my mind went to a Model 3.
Doug DeMuro
You know what my answer is? I got a great one. I gotta find it. I got a great one. Wait, you know what? Toyota Century. Toyota Century.
Filippo
But you have to pay for gas as a V12.
Doug DeMuro
Yeah, but it's like a smooth V12, dude. It can't use that much gas to be so smooth.
Kenneth
Imagine Uber black. You get picked up in that.
Filippo
That legit. I've got mistake with a Model 3.
Doug DeMuro
Oh, Model 3.
Kenneth
Yeah. Model 3 is probably the right choice.
Doug DeMuro
But imagine you have to spend a thousand hours in a Model 3. You know what my answer is? You know what my answer is, Ken? And type in progress, but only spell it with 1s. This is actually going to lead to a car. That one. Yeah. Click on that. Here's the answer. It's this. And I'll tell you why. It's a reliable car. It's a Toyota. This is The Toyota Progress NC250. I don't know. Filippo probably doesn't know this car, but Kenan and I obviously are enthusiasts.
Filippo
I just almost pronounced it progress. I think there's, like, there's an accident.
Doug DeMuro
On the E. Do you agree? If you look at photo number eight, you agree it's an LS430 that's just been sized down. Like it has the same front end, it has the same rear end, it has the same window line. But they were like, you know what? Anyway, I think this is it.
Kenneth
The big body Lexus is actually, now that you say it, are also good choices.
Doug DeMuro
Yeah, but you. But you got to pay for fuel. Dude. Dude. Hey, look at picture number 56. Look at 56. Is that. Am I nuts or is that wood on the end of the turn signal? And wiper stalks appear to be correct.
Filippo
Are you not familiar with this?
Doug DeMuro
Tell me I'm wrong. This is the car.
Filippo
You are wrong. But that is cool. Also. It's not. Doesn't quite match the rest of the wood.
Doug DeMuro
No, I don't even. Where did this car fit in in the lineup? Toyota Has.
Filippo
I don't understand. And Toyota's JDM lineup. Never have.
Doug DeMuro
Anyway, this car is probably the one I would choose. Okay, two more questions. We are going to get through all the. All the questions. I'm so excited. Two more questions. This one is from a craft. 3. Which cars are the most? Doug, Filippo and Kennen. What cars do you think match who you are as people the most? I think we should answer for each other. Like you can't answer for yourself. I think we should answer for each.
Filippo
Other, just, like, globally. A car.
Doug DeMuro
We. Me and Kenan. No, no, no. Me and Kenan choose for Filippo then.
Filippo
Yeah. Okay.
Doug DeMuro
So, Kenan, what car is the most Filippo? It might be that Toyota. Progress.
Filippo
Honestly, progress.
Kenneth
I don't know. I picture some very base trim European Golf. It's kind of you. It's very practical. It doesn't like to draw attention to itself.
Filippo
What about a boring color scheme?
Kenneth
It's very European.
Filippo
Cayenne.
Doug DeMuro
Mano.
Kenneth
You know what a US A base US Golf. Because you're European in America and you like to hold that over others. What about a Lupo? Yeah, a Lupo for Lupo.
Doug DeMuro
Oh, yeah.
Kenneth
It's like, practically there, I think.
Doug DeMuro
A Lupo, but one of those, like, special Lupos that was like, Lupo Olympics edition. And, like, the seats are, like, a portion of them is red. Right.
Kenneth
So it has.
Doug DeMuro
He's got a little personality.
Kenneth
Right. Interesting fabric, like his giraffe shirt that he wears occasionally. Yeah, yeah, I think we found it. Did you agree? How do you feel about that?
Filippo
I'm unhappy, so therefore it must be a good fit.
Doug DeMuro
Okay, perfect. Filippo, let's come up with one.
Filippo
I have an answer. XJ6.
Kenneth
Jag XJ6.
Filippo
Okay. It's, like, slightly old school, slightly uninspired. He would defend it to the death as the best card humanity's ever made.
Kenneth
You're just saying this because. Do we have one?
Doug DeMuro
I don't think you're that wrong.
Filippo
I don't think so.
Kenneth
And it's not because we have an xj.
Filippo
No, no, that's all right. This is too cool. Go back.
Doug DeMuro
No, no. Yeah. He's talking about a regular sedan one.
Filippo
Yeah, like that.
Kenneth
I don't even get a Vanden Pla.
Filippo
Wow. This is a manual.
Kenneth
Well, it's gotta be.
Filippo
What?
Doug DeMuro
Not that one. You're thinking about a U. S Market, like regular hole.
Filippo
Yeah, sure. Like that one that was previously owned by NFL coach Tom Landry.
Doug DeMuro
Sure. Yeah, yeah, the Landry one. That. That's exactly. That. That's exactly what you're thinking about. And you know what? I think that's right. Old school. Slow. Probably doesn't do things in the best optimal way, you know, does them right.
Filippo
It's comfortable. There's a lot of wood and leather.
Doug DeMuro
Yeah, that's a great one. What's mine? Hit me.
Filippo
Ken, what do you think?
Kenneth
I'm just trying to think of the most chaotic.
Doug DeMuro
What is chaotic about me?
Kenneth
About you? What isn't.
Doug DeMuro
You know, it's funny you guys all think that, but look around.
Kenneth
I'll tell you what we've been. You've been away. I miss you dearly. The office, very quiet, peaceful place to be.
Doug DeMuro
And I.
Filippo
What about a Ford Contour?
Kenneth
I do miss it. Ford Contour.
Doug DeMuro
Contour. That doesn't make any sense. Come on.
Kenneth
No, he's kind. I mean, it has to be quirky.
Filippo
But it has to be the. The non svt. It's a European market. It's a US market for Bondo.
Kenneth
No, he's not too boring.
Doug DeMuro
All right, you guys can have a second to think it over. I'm going to go to the last question, okay. Because it's related to some of the Canon situation. Last question from JP Fellner. Some car enthusiasts only go to XYZ gas station because they claim the gas is better. Do any of you do that or know people who do? I personally think it is the most insane thing that a human being could ever do in the history of humanity. Like, no joke. I think it's like, top three insane things someone will say to me. Hey, do you go to the chevron? I have no clue what the brand of gas station I go to is. People say this to me, oh, yeah, I go to the chevron. Literally. Don't look. However, it will not surprise those of you who are listening and or watching to know that one of us does go to the same brand of gas station. Kenneth, would you like to explain why? Look.
Kenneth
I. Yes, I do. I go to Shell exclusively. I have forever. They end part of it. And Sean, who our producer is over there grinning to himself because he does the same thing, because they sponsored Ferrari for a long time and it was on the car. It's always been. You remember the Ferrari V Power ad from back in the day?
Doug DeMuro
Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. What do you mean they sponsored Ferrari? They don't anymore. But you still go there. Are you kidding?
Kenneth
They still do. They still.
Doug DeMuro
Filippo. Filippo. He's nuts.
Filippo
Look, here's what happens. Kenan goes to the Shell exclusively. You go to whatever is most convenient. And I Go to the gas station. That's cheapest. That's just how this works.
Doug DeMuro
That is exactly right. I go to whatever is the most convenient. Kenan goes to Shell, and Filippo will drive 45 minutes out of his way to save 14 seconds.
Filippo
I won't. I do the math for how much I'll save, including cost math.
Doug DeMuro
He's got a calculator in his car, and it's one of those old kids ones that's like big yellow with blue buttons and stuff.
Filippo
Mental math, man. My wife's a middle school teacher. I know this.
Kenneth
You remember this commercial? The Ferrari show commercial, The Formula one.
Doug DeMuro
They do remember the commercial, but I'm telling you right now, Ken, and that commercial could. Could come out of the TV and give me a warm embrace, and I still wouldn't go to Shell gas station.
Kenneth
Well, I also. I have the rewards card and all that stuff too, so. Like, there are other reasons why I go there. Well, I shop at Rob's together, but I. Yeah, I've always used Shell in my car.
Doug DeMuro
Does this brand loyalty extend beyond gas stations? Kenan, is there other stuff that you're like this about? I bet there is.
Filippo
I mean, I'll find out. Current Ferrari F1 sponsors.
Kenneth
I don't use HP.
Doug DeMuro
Like, do you only go to the same, you know, grocery store and the same shoes? Who is the same?
Filippo
Do you only do Pirelli tires?
Kenneth
I do wear a lot of the same sneakers. That's true.
Filippo
Pirelli tires. What about Puma sneakers? Puma sneakers? Puma as the sponsor of Ferrari F1.
Kenneth
No, I only have one pair of Pumas.
Filippo
How do you feel about Ray Ban sunglasses?
Kenneth
I do like Ray Bans, but I wear prescriptions now and I. I switch them on blonde.
Filippo
How do you feel about Bit Defender or. Or armani or Mall GmbH right here.
Doug DeMuro
Before we get too far down this line, have you guys come up with the car yet?
Filippo
How do you feel about a base 997.1 cab?
Kenneth
Oh, not. Yeah, I mean, good, but not quirky enough for him. I was thinking Audi A2 was a long one. Getting closer. It's fun, but I'm also like Audi Aus or something.
Doug DeMuro
Convertible.
Filippo
What?
Doug DeMuro
The Audi Aus? You don't know the Aus, dude?
Filippo
No, that's way too. No.
Kenneth
It's insane.
Filippo
No, no, no, no, no. We're not going to give into this. No, no, no.
Doug DeMuro
Give in to one. I'm not advocating for this car. I think it's insane.
Filippo
You're secretly enjoying it, and therefore I think it has.
Doug DeMuro
I'm enjoying this. I did have a scale model of this car for years when I was a kid.
Kenneth
I really need to think more about this because it has to be a blend of a quirky, chaotic.
Filippo
What about, what about a first gen Cayenne Turbo? S looking up what's on the side?
Doug DeMuro
It's sitting there. Yeah, it's sitting right there on the screen.
Filippo
Yeah. Sheer proximity, convenience.
Kenneth
That's the most question. I need to think more about it. I'll come back to that.
Doug DeMuro
You guys can't handle the question. You got to confer with Sean. We'll talk about on our next podcast. For now, I must say this has been the greatest podcast we've ever done. Kenan, do you have any parting thoughts for the audience?
Kenneth
Yes. Happy late birthday to Noodle, your dog. It was recently his sixth birthday and we miss you dearly and can't wait for you to come back. But I hope you're having fun on the east coast.
Filippo
To be clear, that was all directed at Noodle.
Doug DeMuro
Noodle. All right, bye, everyone. Thank you for watching me.
Kenneth
Goodbye.
Filippo
Goodbye.
THIS CAR POD! with Doug DeMuro & Friends!
Episode: JDM Legends Return? Huge STI & Celica News! Is Doug Finally Buying a New Car!
Release Date: June 6, 2025
Doug DeMuro, alongside his co-hosts Kenneth and Filippo, dives into an action-packed episode filled with major automotive news, business milestones, and engaging audience interactions. Here's a detailed summary capturing all the key points, discussions, insights, and conclusions from the episode.
The episode kicks off with thrilling news about the revival of "The Grand Tour." Doug introduces the topic:
[00:37] Doug DeMuro: "It's time to start with the news. The most important news story of the week is the Grand Tour. Filippo, tell us about this."
Filippo shares the exciting developments:
[00:47] Filippo: "It's back. It's back. Amazon announced, leaked, whatever today that there's three new hosts of the Grand Tour. We knew that the original trio had stopped for production. They weren't going to continue it, but they're bringing it back with two of our favorite YouTubers in Todd Holland and James Engelsman."
The trio discusses the transition from the original hosts (Clarkson, Hammond, and May) to the new lineup, including the addition of Francis Bourgeois, a train enthusiast from TikTok. Doug expresses enthusiasm for Thomas and James from Throttle House:
[02:33] Doug DeMuro: "Everyone I've talked to has been pumped about Thomas and James because Throttle House is absolutely beloved and because they have such wonderful on-screen chemistry."
However, there’s uncertainty regarding the integration of the third host, Francis, and how the show’s format might evolve to maintain its legacy.
Next, the hosts delve into Toyota's plans to revive the Celica, a beloved sporty model:
[07:03] Filippo: "We've known for a while that Toyota was thinking about creating a new version of the Celica, their famed sporty-ish vehicle. We learned last week that they've shown it to dealers, so they've kind of shown some early design options, similar prototypes to dealer groups, which is interesting."
They discuss potential powertrain options, including electric, gas, and hybrid variants, and ponder how the Celica will fit into Toyota’s current lineup, which already includes models like the Supra and GR Yaris.
The conversation shifts to Subaru, highlighting rumors about a potential high-performance STI version:
[10:31] Filippo: "Subaru has teased that they may have a high-performance vehicle coming out. Baseline assumption is that it's a WRX STI or something similar because they've only had the WRX since 2022. Hasn't had an STI version."
The hosts express interest but remain skeptical, noting that Subaru had previously indicated there would be no STI version. They consider the possibility of a WRX wagon as an alternative high-performance model.
A peculiar issue with the Dodge Charger EV is brought to light, involving unintended acceleration:
[15:04] Filippo: "This is a Dodge Charger EV. There have been reports that the car gave a bunch of warnings and then it started accelerating despite their foot not being on the gas."
The hosts debate the legitimacy and implications of these reports, comparing them to past unintended acceleration incidents and discussing potential safety concerns.
A significant policy update is discussed regarding California’s ability to set its own emissions standards:
[19:36] Filippo: "This is the first time that the federal government has been like, no, California, you can't do what you want to do."
The revocation of California's waiver by the U.S. Senate impacts the state's plan to stop selling gasoline-powered cars by 2035. The group debates the consequences for the automotive industry and the broader push towards electric vehicles.
Celebrating five years since its inception on June 8, 2020, Cars & Bids has become a prominent platform in the online car auction space. Doug reflects on their journey:
[27:53] Filippo: "We have 865,000 users... $625 million in cars sold."
From humble beginnings during the COVID-19 pandemic, the platform has grown exponentially, conducting over 28,000 auctions and building a robust community of car enthusiasts.
Doug introduces an intriguing topic about Massachusetts' new blue license plate commemorating 250 years of independence:
[29:55] Filippo: "It's blue. It's the only license plate in Massachusetts that hasn't got a white background. And they're only going to offer it for two years this year, and then also next year."
Doug expresses a strong desire to obtain this limited-edition plate, highlighting its potential as a status symbol once it's no longer available:
[30:00] Filippo: "I know, but they won't pass that."
The discussion underscores the exclusivity and appeal of special edition license plates among car enthusiasts.
One of the standout market reports is the sale of a low-mileage NA2 pre-facelift NSX equipped with an automatic transmission:
[40:30] Filippo: "We sold earlier this week a 9800 mile NA2 pre-facelift NSX, as these are known. There's only one caveat, and that's that it has an automatic transmission."
This sale is notable as it's possibly the highest for an automatic NSX of its generation, sparking discussions about the value and desirability of automatic variants among collectors.
The sale of a rare red Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG Black Series garners attention:
[43:49] Kenneth: "It sold for $111,000 which... the color had a lot to do with that."
With only around 800 units produced globally, this particular model stands out due to its unique color and low mileage, making it a highly sought-after collector's item.
An unusual listing catches the hosts' attention—a 2020 Rolls Royce Cullinan with 115,000 miles:
[47:03] Filippo: "That's insane. 2020... 115,000 miles on the odometer."
They discuss the rarity of such high mileage in a luxury vehicle, contemplating its value and the implications for Rolls Royce's reputation for durability and exclusivity.
In an interactive segment, the hosts engage with questions from their audience, covering a range of topics from personal branding to the future of Tesla.
A listener asks about the impact of Doug's alliterative name on his YouTube growth:
[51:30] Doug DeMuro: "I think that my unusual name was very beneficial... If your name is Mike Smith... it's hard to remember."
Filippo adds:
[52:17] Filippo: "Your name is the perfect balance of easy to spell, fun to say... memorable."
This discussion highlights the importance of a memorable personal brand in the digital content landscape.
Another question probes whether Tesla would continue to thrive if Elon Musk stepped down:
[54:30] Filippo: "I think that people's memory is short and therefore the current era of Elon fades quickly in memory."
The hosts debate the inseparability of Elon Musk's personal brand from Tesla's success and speculate on the company's resilience amidst changing leadership dynamics.
A listener inquires about ranking the Porsche 918, McLaren P1, and LaFerrari:
[58:28] Filippo: "I think it's LaFerrari, P1, 918."
Doug expresses his preference:
[60:48] Filippo: "I really wish there was more history on the Carfax... but I don't love any of the three."
This exchange underscores the subjective nature of supercar evaluation among enthusiasts.
Listeners also ask which cars best represent the hosts' personalities:
[67:26] Filippo: "XJ6."
[68:09] Doug DeMuro: "The first gen Cayenne Turbo."
Keneth adds humorously:
[73:15] Doug DeMuro: "If I had a... I need a car that matches this blue license plate, maybe the Toyota Progress."
The playful banter reveals personal preferences and how individual traits influence car choices.
A creative question challenges the hosts to choose an enthusiast car for a thousand-hour stint as an Uber driver:
[65:14] Filippo: "My mind went to a Model 3."
Doug jokes about unconventional choices:
[65:26] Doug DeMuro: "Toyota Century..."
This segment blends practicality with automotive passion, showcasing the hosts' diverse perspectives.
The final question explores whether the hosts prefer specific gas station brands:
[71:00] Doug DeMuro: "I go to whatever is the most convenient."
[71:27] Kenneth: "I go to Shell exclusively."
Filippo contends:
[73:12] Kenneth: "I wear a lot of the same sneakers... Puma sneakers."
This discussion highlights brand loyalty and personal preferences beyond just car choices.
As the episode wraps up, the hosts share personal anecdotes and heartfelt messages, maintaining their characteristic camaraderie:
[74:35] Kenneth: "Happy late birthday to Noodle, your dog. It was recently his sixth birthday and we miss you dearly and can't wait for you to come back."
Doug humorously contemplates balancing his "off cars" pact with his desire for the special Massachusetts license plate, adding a light-hearted closure to the episode.
[02:33] Doug DeMuro: "Everyone I've talked to has been pumped about Thomas and James because Throttle House is absolutely beloved and because they have such wonderful on-screen chemistry."
[07:03] Filippo: "We've known for a while that Toyota was thinking about creating a new version of the Celica, their famed sporty-ish vehicle."
[10:31] Filippo: "Subaru has teased that they may have a high-performance vehicle coming out. Baseline assumption is that it's a WRX STI or something similar."
[19:36] Filippo: "This is the first time that the federal government has been like, no, California, you can't do what you want to do."
[27:53] Filippo: "We have 865,000 users... $625 million in cars sold."
[29:55] Filippo: "It's blue... they're only going to offer it for two years this year, and then also next year."
[40:30] Filippo: "We sold earlier this week a 9800 mile NA2 pre-facelift NSX, as these are known."
[43:49] Kenneth: "It sold for $111,000 which... the color had a lot to do with that."
[58:28] Filippo: "I think it's LaFerrari, P1, 918."
This episode of "THIS CAR POD!" offers a rich blend of automotive news, personal milestones, and interactive discussions that cater to both casual listeners and die-hard car enthusiasts. Doug DeMuro and his friends provide insightful commentary, humorous exchanges, and heartfelt moments, making it a must-listen for anyone passionate about cars.