Car Talk 6: Best of times and Worst of Times

[max225]

Neighbor has his hood up on his rivian….

It's not a hood it's a t(f)runk

[MrH42]

I like that they're coming out with 150 mile electric range PHEV. I don't understand why they're insisting on a solid rear axle? My Lightning can tow 10k lbs with an independent suspension...

Just seems like a trade that most would prefer IRS if given the choice.

[Johnny_P]

The Jetta seems like it’s back at the top of its game of affordability and drive. But nobody wants sedans. The CVT plus NA 2.slow that actually went down in power again from the Civic sounds pretty terrible to me. I’d rather have the Jetta at that level. But on the upper trims yeah it seems the Civic is the better option.

Yep, the 2.0 CVT is pretty terrible, wouldn't rent again. It also got worse FE than a Jetta which is pathetic.

The annoying part of car reviewers is they’re given the top trim to assess. On the Hondas the top trims get a ton of stuff that even one rung lower doesn’t get. The civic Sport with the 2.slow is the volume seller. And at that level I’d take a Jetta every day.

[max225]

I like that they're coming out with 150 mile electric range PHEV. I don't understand why they're insisting on a solid rear axle? My Lightning can tow 10k lbs with an independent suspension...

Just seems like a trade that most would prefer IRS if given the choice.

How's your infotainment holding up? My buddies screen went blank/black and had to be restarted with the entire truck.

[MrH42]

I like that they're coming out with 150 mile electric range PHEV. I don't understand why they're insisting on a solid rear axle? My Lightning can tow 10k lbs with an independent suspension...

Just seems like a trade that most would prefer IRS if given the choice.

How's your infotainment holding up? My buddies screen went blank/black and had to be restarted with the entire truck.

Had to be restarted as in, just cycle the car on and off once?

Mine has been pretty rock solid. Few annoying issues on trying to get all the trucks updated, but now most are running the latest version on most modules. Only thing I'm kind of unhappy with is there have been zero BlueCruise updates so far. I think now they've got the updating mostly fixed, ideally I'll get some upgrades on Bluecruise.

[max225]

How's your infotainment holding up? My buddies screen went blank/black and had to be restarted with the entire truck.

Had to be restarted as in, just cycle the car on and off once?

Mine has been pretty rock solid. Few annoying issues on trying to get all the trucks updated, but now most are running the latest version on most modules. Only thing I'm kind of unhappy with is there have been zero BlueCruise updates so far. I think now they've got the updating mostly fixed, ideally I'll get some upgrades on Bluecruise.

Had to restart the whole . He’s still mostly moving his thing also. I drove it a few times and it’s a great vehicle imo. Just built kinda shoddy

[D Griff]

Neighbor has his hood up on his rivian….

He's probably just stashing some suitcases in there

[Desertbreh]

I like that they're coming out with 150 mile electric range PHEV. I don't understand why they're insisting on a solid rear axle? My Lightning can tow 10k lbs with an independent suspension...

Just seems like a trade that most would prefer IRS if given the choice.

That IRS in the Lightning is BEEFY AF.

[D Griff]

I am with you, I think it could've if they'd done a $45K hybrid. It brings back the charm of VW from the 60s-90s that is all but lost today. I think VW filled a really special niche - basically appealing to people who wanted something a bit outside the status quo but maybe weren't committed to full enthusiast vehicles. I think Subaru has taken this over really well - they are a statement vehicle that says 'I love the outdoors, adventure, dogs, blah' and it really sells, even to people who give no shits about any of that stuff.

Yeah but I think Subaru is going to be in some trouble soon as well. Their cars appeal to greenies but they have no hybrids or PHEV that is worth a damn. Supposedly changing soon I guess.

I don’t think the new beetle saved VW as much as them fully leaning into and owning the Euro trash stigma and turning out cars with personality. I mean the VeeDub commercials with the German scientist and techno music were hilarious but they added personality to every car at the time. The GTI got plaid seats. The Passat and Jetta were downright nice ass vehicles. 5 cylinder motors. Etc. It was the fact that they were doing stuff different that saved them.

Agreed, it's kind of funny they're really dying on the green hill... the whole concept of every vehicle being AWD kind of goes against the green initiative.

[Desertbreh]

Yeah but I think Subaru is going to be in some trouble soon as well. Their cars appeal to greenies but they have no hybrids or PHEV that is worth a damn. Supposedly changing soon I guess.

I don’t think the new beetle saved VW as much as them fully leaning into and owning the Euro trash stigma and turning out cars with personality. I mean the VeeDub commercials with the German scientist and techno music were hilarious but they added personality to every car at the time. The GTI got plaid seats. The Passat and Jetta were downright nice ass vehicles. 5 cylinder motors. Etc. It was the fact that they were doing stuff different that saved them.

Agreed, it's kind of funny they're really dying on the green hill... the whole concept of every vehicle being AWD kind of goes against the green initiative.

Love doesn't get stuck in the snow.

[Johnny_P]

Yeah but I think Subaru is going to be in some trouble soon as well. Their cars appeal to greenies but they have no hybrids or PHEV that is worth a damn. Supposedly changing soon I guess.

I don’t think the new beetle saved VW as much as them fully leaning into and owning the Euro trash stigma and turning out cars with personality. I mean the VeeDub commercials with the German scientist and techno music were hilarious but they added personality to every car at the time. The GTI got plaid seats. The Passat and Jetta were downright nice ass vehicles. 5 cylinder motors. Etc. It was the fact that they were doing stuff different that saved them.

Agreed, it's kind of funny they're really dying on the green hill... the whole concept of every vehicle being AWD kind of goes against the green initiative.

Yeah it is a little counter intuitive. I guess they were really targeting outdoor lifestyle people which for a while meant AWD. But now it means more than just throwing on some hiking boots and stopping to buy clif bars at REI before you park in a gravel lot and walk your 1/4 mile hike on a crushed gravel path to the waterfall. There’s a lot of crossover with outdoor types and people that want less of a carbon footprint.

[Johnny_P]

Agreed, it's kind of funny they're really dying on the green hill... the whole concept of every vehicle being AWD kind of goes against the green initiative.

Love doesn't get stuck in the snow.

To be fair my STI was a fucking animal in the snow. Even on summer tires that thing was unstoppable.

[MexicanYarisTK]

I guess it’s a great “luxury” around town mobile.

I still can’t stand plug in hybrids they are trash and the Betamax of car tech

No one outside of CA wants EVs, they're rotting on lots. Plug-ins make sense for a lot more people.

i keep seeing alarming number of tesla sitting in preowned lots of various makes.

[MexicanYarisTK]

Love doesn't get stuck in the snow.

To be fair my STI was a fucking animal in the snow. Even on summer tires that thing was unstoppable.

Same goes for parents cucktrek. There is a main hilly road for the last snow with last minute warnings of it. Bus, bunch of econoboxes and cuvs are stuck. It was just a tesla and me that managed to make it uphill without any hiccups. Loved it.

[MexicanYarisTK]

I absolutely love the Buzz. The price, and EV only situation, is going to destroy it. If this thing was a hybrid at $45k they'd already be sold out for the next year.

sadly i think you are right. VW might be toast in the US at least.

Vw in europe vs us, literally the only car they have in common anymore is the GTI/R, id4 perhaps Arteon which has been doing extremely poorly in the US.

They created their own models, i feel like Taos kinda reminds me of skoda or seat cuv's and vw snatched it and sell it to us to make it affordable