These Are The Most Reliable Car Brands
For today's podcast, we sat down with Tyson Jominy, Vice President, data and analytics for J.D. Power, to discuss what the most reliable car brands are.
Have We Reached Peak EV (Part Two)?
Last week we were discussing electric vehicles with BJ Birtwell, who likely would consider himself and EV evangelist, and Alex Knizek from Consumer Reports, who noted that seven of this year's top 10 vehicles were electrified.
This week we dig deeper into what is happening with the EV market.
Have We Reached Peak EV? (Part 1)
Electric vehicles are dominating the industry conversation, so we had a chat with someone who is a bit of an EV evangelist...as well as with a journalist who noted that his outlet elected seven electrified vehicles to its latest Top 10 list.
Are Plug-In Hybrids the Future?
On today's podcast, we ponder if plug-in hybrids are the future, talk Tesla and Ram, and ruminate on our first races attended as fans.
This State Might Ban Gasoline Cars. Here’s Who’s Fighting Back
This week we speak with Mike Spagnola, president and CEO of the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA), about a proposed ban on internal-combustion engine (ICE) vehicles in Connecticut.
Are Auto Shows Dying?
The question I posed in the headline is an interesting one. There's been a lot of consternation that auto shows are dying, set to be killed by a changing world.
TTAC Podcast: What's the Best Used Car for the Money?
Welcome back to the TTAC podcast! Today we have Karl Brauer, executive analyst for iSeeCars.com, on to talk about best and worst used cars for the money. TTAC car reviewer Chris Tonn also sits in.
TTAC Podcast: The Best and Worst Cars with Jake Fisher of Consumer Reports
We're doubling up this week after the tech issues we faced last week.
Housekeeping: The TTAC Podcast Returns!
Hey there! Remember the podcast we did until early last year? It was put on hiatus for a variety of reasons we'll keep in house -- and now, it's back!
Shameless Self Promotion: TTAC Joins The Consumer Guide Podcast
Just a quick note of self-promotion here. You've heard our podcasts. Now you can check out my guest spot on Consumer Guide's podcast.
TTAC Podcast: 2023 Chicago Auto Show
As February ends, we look back a couple of weeks to the 2023 Chicago Auto Show on our latest podcast.
TTAC Podcast: Talking Mazda and More
Time for yet more shameless self-promotion! The latest episode of our podcast is now live. On it, we discuss the Mazda CX-90, EV pricing, and Honda's fuel-cell strategy.
TTAC Podcast Episode 8 Has Dropped
In our final podcast episode of the year, I chat about the new Toyota Prius and Kia EV6 GT with automotive industry analyst Robby DeGraff, who works for AutoPacific.
TTAC's Next Podcast: Chatting Cars With Robby DeGraff
The TTAC podcast is back, and we were aggressively Midwest this time around.
Talking Gas Prices and More on the Second TTAC Podcast
Hi there! Remember that podcast we did a few weeks back? Well, we’re back with more.
There’s also more to come.
Housekeeping: We Have a Podcast Now
One of my hopes as editor of this august site has been to get a podcast off the ground. It was a back-burner idea for years, then Matt and Steph and I recorded a trial run in 2020.
The Case For Better Place: Shai Agassi Addresses The APEC Transport/Energy Ministerial Conference
TTAC’s Twitter followers already know that I’m at the 2011 APEC Transport/Energy Ministerial Meeting in San Francisco, rubbing elbows with key decision-makers from the world of energy and transportation across the Asia-Pacific region. Earlier today I had the opportunity to sit down with Better Place CEO Shai Agassi, the intense, formidable CEO of Project Better Place. I’ll be writing about that conversation shortly, but many of the major points are covered in the speech Agassi gave shortly afterwards to assembled ministers, media and businesspeople. The speech boils down Better Place’s hugely ambitious plan to tackle one of the most complex challenges the world faces: transportation’s dependence on oil. If you’re looking for an Al Gore-style “green” speech, keep looking. Agassi tackles the problem from an economic and technological approach, and he makes a case that is well worth about 17 minutes of your time.
If you’re not familiar with Better Place, you can read some of TTAC’s coverage of the battery-swapping, network-managing, mileage-leasing project at our Project Better Place tag here (much of it on-the-ground reporting from Tal Bronfer, who has been following its rollout in the Israeli market). A comparison of battery swap to other EV business models can be found here, and a study of EV grid management issues can be found here.
Daily Podcast: CAFE Culture
The list of CAFE violators ( in PDF form) reads like a valet’s to-do list: Mercedes, Porsche, Ferrari, Maserati. These firms pay CAFE fines because, well, they can. CAFE fines are calculated by multiplying each tenth of a mile per gallon of average non-compliance by $5.50, then multiplying that dollar amount by the number of vehicles sold. As a result, luxury firms pay the highest fines when they try to go mass market: Merecedes paid about $30 million for 2007. But if CAFE is already weighted to let small companies off the hook, why are we hearing about new rules which seem to relax standards for firms selling fewer than 400k vehicles per term? Aren’t the regular loopholes enough?
Daily Podcast: A8 Misbehavin'
As promised in today’s podcast, here’s a teaser image of the forthcoming Audi A8 (courtesy of Top Gear‘s blog).
Daily Podcast: The Great Kuga Hunt
No, we’re not talking about stalking women of a certain age. To my summer flu-addled mind, this Focus-based softroader should be on the US market already, cashing in on one of the few successful segments left here. We hear it’s going to be built in Kentucky, but when?
Daily Podcast: Weeklong Testing
As Robert posted below, TTAC is redoubling its efforts to get timely road tests by reaching out to the very manufacturers we lay into on a daily basis. But why, you might ask, would these giant firms feed the mouth that bites them?
Daily Podcast: Death To The Car Mag
Like most people under the age of 40, I never read car magazines. Actually that’s not true. I’ve been stealing copies of Auto Motor und Sport from my dad for years. Even after its long trip across the Atlantic, the anal-retentive German’s anal-retentive car magazine still manages to scoop the American mags on many of the most compelling industry developments. But the real draw is the mag’s road testing, which really confirms every stereotype of Teutonic attention to detail. No metric is too mundane to be measured, graphed and scored… think Consumer Reports for people who actually like cars and think OCD medication is for the weak. On the other side of the equation is evo magazine, which is hands-down the best enthusiast-oriented car magazine.
Daily Podcast: Doom, Unaverted
GM claims to be calibrated to break even at a Seasonally Adjusted Annual sales Rate (SAAR) of 10m sales. Which assumes that GM’s portion of those sales will remain steady. As we’ve learned today, that’s not likely. GM’s market share is being pummelled by bad news, bailout backlash, and (according to the Merrill Lynch report) poor product replacement rates. While GM talks up the Volt, discusses a Prius fighter and touts an American-made compact, its major product push has been centered around a single dying brand (Buick) and its single new product, the LaCrosse. Yes there’s a new Equinox, but has anyone noticed? Camaro may be the choice of bold, audacious lemmings everywhere, but for how long? It’s gut check time . . .
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