Wheel Bearings

While we were in Ojai California last week to drive the 2026 Toyota bZ Woodland and C-HR, friend of the show Tanya Gazdik and Sam sat down for a chat with chief engineer Masaya Uchiyama. 

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This week Nicole white knuckled it through a tunnel at Boston Logan Airport with a Ford F-250 Platinum diesel and Robbie and Sam had almost identical Toyota Corolla Cross XSE hybrids.
Sam and Robbie go deep on the 3D printed pistons that F1 teams might be using to "cheat" on the new power unit rules. The Vinfast VF8 has so much creep torque, it could be a safety issue. Ferrari announced its new EV will be called the Luce and it has an interior designed by former Apple design chief Jonny Ive and his pal Marc Newson. Toyota revealed its next-generation Highlander and its all electric. VW is previewing the 2027 Atlas on the snow and ice in Quebec, and the Trump adminstration has effectively killed the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure program. China is continuing to introduce regulations to address some of the worst design decisions of recent years, including banning steering yokes and requiring physical controls for the most commonly used functions.
Sam had a conversation with Mazda North America CEO Tom Donnelly about where the brand is going and we have a couple of tangents about corgis and furniture dollies.
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Links
How 3D-Printed Pistons Let F1 Engines Bend the Rules on Compression - Autoblog
VinFast VF8 Creep Torque Insane Problem! I've Never Seen Anything Like This
Why ‘Luce’ Is the Perfect Name for the First Electric Ferrari
New Ferrari Luce: 1000HP Electric Supercar - INTERIOR Reveal
2027 Toyota Highlander EV Reveal | GreenCars
Trump’s Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy Updates EV Charger Program to Include Buy America Requirements
Here's The ALL-NEW Volkswagen Atlas Before You're Supposed To See It!
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/zvvz9h7u4m7brdndeskoe/China-takes-aim-at-screen-heavy-dashboards-in-new-safety-push-Automotive-News.pdf?rlkey=l05zgpen0kwvzh9z2l1px9w74&st=1d2th28d&dl=0
China Just Banned Steering Yokes, But Not For The Reason You Think - The Autopian
Westminster Kennel Club Pembroke Corgis

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Robbie, his wife and the dogs are taking a weekend off at a cabin in Sonoma so it's just Nicole and Sam. After a intro discussion of winter driving, Nicole discusses driving the Hyundai Ioniq 9 in frigid weather while Sam reviews the Mazda CX-70.
Hyundai unveiled a camper version of its new electric Staria van in Stuttgart. We have more detail on China's new rules banning retracting door handles. Autocar got to drive the new Jaguar Type 00 prototype in Northern Sweden. Stellantis is doing a major reset under CEO Antonio Filosa and taking a $26 billion dollar charge including selling it stake in a battery joint venture to LG for just $100. Some cars need to be hatchbacks and Jim Farley teases the upcoming $30,000 electric truck and Ford promises its dealers 5 vehicles under $40K. You might soon be able to use other chatbots with Apple Carplay and Nicole discusses a new SAE/NACTOY scholarship for aspiring automotive journalists.
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Links
A New Vision of Travel Freedom: Hyundai Unveils STARIA Camper Concept at the CMT in Stuttgart
New China Door Handle Regulations
NEW JAGUAR DRIVEN | First review of prototype electric Jaguar 'Type 00' | Autocar
Stellantis Resets its Business to Meet Customer Preferences and to Support Profitable Growth | Corporate Communications
LG Energy Solution to Acquire Full Ownership of NextStar Energy in Joint Strategic Decision with Stellantis | Corporate Communications
These Cars Would Be Better If They Had A Hatchback Or Liftback, According To Our Readers - Jalopnik
https://x.com/jimfarley98/status/2019388693866271070?s=42
Ford Promises 5 New Cars Under $40K by 2030, Including Midsize Electric Truck
Apple might let you use ChatGPT from CarPlay | The Verge
SAE/NACTOY Scholarship

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This week both Sam and Nicole had the 2026 Hyundai Palisade Calligraphy although in different colors.
Nicole has had several first drives to report on including the Kia K4 hatchback, refreshed Honda Pilot and Honda Prelude. Congress voted not to kill the mandate for a drunk driving disable system while Tesla has decided to kill the Model S and Model X and Hyundai is ditching the Santa Cruz. Rolls Royce is working on an electric Cullinan and Mercedes-Benz has unveiled a next-generation S-Class. Ineos tweaked the steering on the Grenadier and Genesis has a high-performance off-road concept the X Skorpio.
Chery is launching an electric mid-size pickup in China for just $18,300 and Mary Barra isn't sure why Canada is going to let people buy cheap Chinese EVs. Use of hands-free Super Cruise and BlueCruise is growing and people are willing to pay for it while Tesla robotaxis are crashing more often than human drivers. Finally we answer some listener e-mails and Nicole talks with Honda sales chief Lance Woelfer.
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Links
2026 Kia K4 Hatchback Road Test and Review | Autoweb
2026 Honda Pilot first drive: The family hauler gets even better
Car ‘kill switch’ rule divides GOP
Tesla is killing off the Model S and Model X | TechCrunch
Rolls-Royce priming electric Cullinan with dramatic new look | Autocar
The 2026 Ineos Grenadier’s Steering Sucks A Bit Less And Its Electronics Suck A Bit More - The Autopian
GENESIS UNVEILS OFF-ROAD X SKORPIO CONCEPT; NEW CONCEPT CAR STRATEGY
China Just Got an $18,300 Electric Pickup That Puts the U.S. Market to Shame
GM CEO 'Can't Explain Why' Canada Would Welcome Chinese EVs - Jalopnik
Ford Drivers Logged 264 Million BlueCruise Miles as Comfort With Autonomy Grows - Autoblog
Hyundai Santa Cruz faces early end with larger pickup planned - Automotive News
Tesla's own Robotaxi data confirms crash rate 3x worse than humans even with monitor | Electrek
The new Mercedes-Benz S-Class: Refined in every detail.
Robbie rides the Honda Motocompacto

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At CES 2026 Sam and friend of the show John Voelker sat down for a conversation with Giovanni Lanfranchi, CEO of Zeekr Technology Europe to learn more about the Geely Group's approach to product development

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