America on the Road

America on the Road’s Co-Host Chris Teague finally went and did it — he bought himself a brand-new 2024 Toyota GR Corolla. Not only that, but he took delivery of his hot, new ride right in the midst of a miserable Maine winter. Now the question is, does the 300-horsepower, all-wheel-drive car live up to his high expectations for it? And how is it standing up to the difficult weather conditions January in Maine is throwing at it? We’ll have the answers to those questions and more in this episode.

While Teague was putting his new ride through its paces, Host Jack Nerad had the opportunity to wring out the 2024 Mazda CX-50 Turbo Meridian Edition. The Meridian Edition is the most off-road-oriented of the CX-5- crossover models. It offers a blown engine that belts out in excess of 250 horsepower, and it’s equipped with a very trick all-wheel-drive system. Mazda is well-known for its excellent on-road suspensions and top-notch handling. But what kind of capabilities does the CX-50 have off the pavement? We’ll offer our opinions.

Beyond the road tests, there is plenty of fascinating automotive news this week. According to an exclusive report from Reuters, Tesla is planning an all-new $25,000 car to be introduced in the middle of next year. The Texas-based carmaker is lining up suppliers for what promises to be its lowest-priced offering ever. We’ll have details on that startling development and our thoughts as well.

In other news this week, that electric vehicle thing isn’t going as well at Ford Motor Company. Its conventionally powered SUVs and trucks are selling so well that the carmaker is bringing in a third crew to meet the demand for the Bronco and Ranger. But at the same time, it is cutting production of its F-150 Lightning electric pickup truck in light of slower-than-expected sales.

And finally, an auto executive has the guts to say what so many are thinking these days. Despite all the hype and buzz around the inevitability of electrification, Toyota Chairman Akio Toyoda predicts EVs will only reach 30% market share and level off there. We’ll have more of his comments and our reaction coming up.

We also have additional thoughts from Toyota for you this week. Our special guest is Cody Wilhide, Toyota truck marketing manager and an expert on the all-new Toyota Tacoma midsize pickup. We’ll chat with him about the details of that very popular truck a little later in the show.

All that and more are coming up on America on the Road.

America on the Road is brought to you by Driving Today.com, Mercury Insurance, YourTestDriver.com, and EMLandsea.com , the publisher of Nerad’s latest book, Dance in the Dark, which is available HERE on Amazon.com

It’s not every car company that also builds light tanks and a variety of aircraft, but Praga, the Prague-based company founded in 1907, is one such automaker. Having survived the perils of two world wars, Communist occupation, and the topsy-turvy market of the late 20th Century, Praga is poised to enter a new era with the initial production of the company’s Praga Bohema road-legal hypercar in a dedicated facility in the Czech Republic.

The stunning Bohema will be hand-built in very low numbers over the next four years. One of its calling cards is its incredible lightness of being. At less than 2,200 pounds, it offers one horsepower for every 3.14 pounds. Its 700 horsepower is impressive enough, even in this age of 1,000-horsepower electric cars, but that weight-to-power should result in a startlingly fast road car with remarkable handling. Praga says it “could well be the last all-new petrol-powered hypercar.” The $1.5 million all-carbon aero-driven two-seater built by Czech craftsmen is bound to pique hypercar collectors’ interest.

In other news this week, Volkswagen is celebrating 75 years in the American market, and we’ll give you some of the highlights along the way and talk about the prospects for Volkswagen in the United States going forward. The Beetle first landed here for sale in 1949, and that began an incredible saga that continued in roller-coaster fashion to the present day.

In other news, the Dubai Police have taken delivery of a very unlikely new police cruiser and added it to their fleet this week. We’ll tell you what it is and how it all happened coming up.

In the road test segment, guest Co-Host Matt DeLorenzo will tell us all about the exciting Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray. If a hybrid Corvette sounds just too weird to you, be assured that it isn’t. This super-powerful supercar competitor is a steal at its $100K+ price, and we’ll tell you why.

Also in the road test segment, Host Jack Nerad evaluated the 2024 Hyundai Santa Cruz small pickup on one of his frequent trips to the Palm Springs area. While a small pickup might not seem like the best choice for travel with his youngest daughter and wonderful wife, the Santa Cruz turned out to be more like a sports sedan with a huge trunk than a truck. Its 281-horsepower turbomotor got the party started, but it wasn’t the whole story. We’ll have the details.

Finally, you probably heard that the Toyota Prius was named North American Car of the Year, but you probably don’t know the inside story of how and why it won. DeLorenzo and Nerad, both members of the jury, will tell you in this episode.

All that and more are coming up on America on the Road.

America on the Road is brought to you by Driving Today.com, Mercury Insurance, YourTestDriver.com, and EMLandsea.com , the publisher of Nerad’s latest book, Dance in the Dark, which is available HERE on Amazon.com

This week, our special guest on America on the Road is Marques McCammon, President of Karma Automotive. Karma is a California-based builder of high-performance electric vehicles whose very interesting plans include the imminent launch of the 1,100-horsepower Kaveya super coupe. Host Jack Nerad conducted an exclusive interview with the company’s energetic chief exec, and they discussed the details of the Kaveya plus McCammon’s plans to differentiate the American supercar brand from others in the space.

The Karma Kaveya certainly appears to be worthy of further scrutiny. Its luscious super-coupe body equipped with butterfly doors is stuffed with four electric motors enabling four-wheel-drive. A 536-horsepower, rear-drive version of the car will be available by the end of 2025. The full-on 1,200-horsepower AWD version will arrive by the conclusion of 2026.

As we first reported last week, Hyundai has announced a bold plan to remake virtually everything and change life as we know it during its press turn at CES. While that might seem like an exaggeration, it’s really not. And we’ll give you the startling details later in this segment.

In somewhat less Earth-shattering news, Dodge has announced a new limited edition of its Durango SUV as it begins the phase-out of the HEMI V8. (Say it ain’t so, Joe.) Honda wowed CES with some all-new electric vehicle concepts, as we’ll have details on those. And not to be outdone, Hyundai also introduced a flying car at CES. We’ll bring you the details and our reactions.

In our road tests this week, Nerad had the opportunity to put the Ford Bronco Raptor to the test in blizzard conditions in the Midwest. Venturing far from his more weather-friendly home base, AOTR’s host reacquainted himself with winter driving techniques at the wheel of the 418-horsepower twin-turbo V-6-equipped Bronco Raptor.

At the same time, Co-host Chris Teague put the 2024 Mazda Mazda3 Turbo to the test, battling his own challenging weather conditions in New England. He discovered the 250-horsepower version of Mazda’s compact car is a surprisingly good match for well-regarded hot hatches like the Volkswagen GTI.

All that and more are coming up in this episode of America on the Road.

America on the Road is brought to you by Driving Today.com, Mercury Insurance, YourTestDriver.com, and EMLandsea.com , the publisher of Nerad’s latest book, Dance in the Dark, which is available HERE on Amazon.com

Our two test vehicles this week couldn’t be more different. The 2024 Honda Passport TrailSport is the brand’s latest effort to cash in on the current off-road craze that continues to sweep the nation. With all-terrain tires, a trick torque-vectoring all-wheel-drive system and some appearance mods, the Passport TrailSport isn’t just fun to say; it is also fun to drive. But will it do the job off-road? That is a question we raise in this episode of America on the Road.

Co-Host Chris Teague had the opportunity to test the TrailSport in some of the wettest weather ever to hit the state of Maine. Was the Honda off-roader up to the challenge? He’ll have the answer to that and more details as well.

On the other side of the automotive coin is the 2024 Lexus LC 500 Convertible. It is hard to imagine a more on-road-oriented vehicle than this six-figure specialty car from Toyota’s luxury brand. In its tech and driver assistance features, the LC 500 ragtop is as new as tomorrow, but under the hood, its 5.0-liter normally aspirated V8 engine is a definite throwback. Happily, we like throwbacks, especially when they offer more than 400 horsepower. The overall result is a car that is both fun to drive and fun to be seen in. Host Jack Nerad will tell you more about his week with the car in the road test segment.

In the news this week, official word has come in that an iconic performance vehicle is going to come to market as a battery electric in 2026. We’ll tell you the model and give you more details in this episode.

As we have reported in the past several weeks, EVs are piling up on dealers’ lots and used EV values are plummeting. We’ll tell you why this is happening and what it means to you, even if you don’t plan to buy an electric car.

While many carmakers are still touting a battery-electric future, Hyundai is about to announce a giant new initiative too create a hydrogen ecosystem. We’ll have details and our reactions a bit later.

This week, our special guest is Sam Fiorani, vice president of global vehicle forecasting at AutoForecast Solutions. Fiorani is a much-quoted expert on the world’s automotive industry from the inside, and he’ll give us his perspective on 2023 and on what we can expect in 2024.

All that and more are coming up in this episode of America on the Road.

America on the Road is brought to you by Driving Today.com, Mercury Insurance, YourTestDriver.com, and EMLandsea.com , the publisher of Nerad’s latest book, Dance in the Dark, which is available HERE on Amazon.com

Editor’s Note: This is the repeat of one of our most popular episodes in 2023. It originally aired on Saturday, November 25, 2023. Jack and Chris will be back with an all-new episode on January 6, 2024. Happy New Year to you!

In this era of crossover vehicles and electric-powered appliance cars, fewer and fewer models on the road get an enthusiast’s blood boiling. But one vehicle that does just that is the 2023 Toyota GR Corolla Morizo edition. First off, it serves up 300 horsepower from its highly sophisticated turbocharged three-cylinder engine. In a vehicle the size and weight of a Corolla, that is a heady way to begin. But that’s just the start of what the Morizo edition provides. As Host Jack Nerad discovered during his week test driving the GR Corolla, the Morizo Edition’s close gear ratio transmission, shorter differential gears, forged wheels, stiffened chassis, front brake ducts, mono-tube shock absorbers, and Ultrasuede seats make a great car even greater. While turning the GR Corolla into a two-seater takes the edge off versatility, it does show Gazoo Racing is serious about lightweighting the car. Torque is a stout 295 pound-feet, giving the Morizo Edition gratifying acceleration.

In this episode of America on the Road, Nerad will give more detail on the GR Corolla and describe his experiences in the car. Happily, its straightline acceleration is matched by its ability to corner, an ability that has been enhanced by a stiffer body, upgraded suspension, and stickier Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires.

In our other road test this week, Co-Host Chris Teague gets in the driver’s seat of the 2024 Toyota Prius. While it is hardly the equal of the GR Corolla, it is now a fun-to-drive small car in its own right. With nearly 200 horsepower on tap and the added benefits of electric-motor torque, the current Prius is the most fun-to-drive version ever. If that sounds like the automotive version of the world’s tallest midget, you’ll just have to listen to Teague’s report to hear how good the new generation Prius really is.

Topping the news segment this week, the Los Angeles Auto Show is finishing its run, and we will bring you the most important news from that international show. Hyundai, Honda, Kia, and Lucid showed very interesting vehicles in Los Angeles, and we’ll give you details. Hyundai unmasked an all-new Santa Fe SUV and announced that it would begin selling cars through Amazon next year. Honda previewed an old performance coupe favorite, and Kia displayed a couple of battery-electric concept cars. Meanwhile, Lucid Motors might have stolen the show with its impressive three-row Gravity SUV.

And there is drama at General Motors as the two top executives of the company’s Cruise self-driving effort exit the company in the wake of safety issues that are dogging it. We’ll have details and commentary on that Byzantine tale in this show.

Our very special guest this week is Steve Center, Chief Operating Officer of Kia America. We had the opportunity to sit down with him to discuss the many challenges and opportunities the brand faces as the market landscape shifts. Center is one of the smartest guys in the car industry, and we’re certain you’ll enjoy what he has to say.

America on the Road is brought to you by Driving Today.com, Mercury Insurance, YourTestDriver.com, and EMLandsea.com , the publisher of Nerad’s latest book, Dance in the Dark, which is available HERE on Amazon.com