America on the Road

Are you ready for the all-new 2024 Ford Mustang? Ford has unveiled exciting details about the new Mustang lineup for 2024, and we have more Ford Mustang news than you can shake a bridle at. In this episode of America on the Road we’ll present comprehensive details on the complete 2024 lineup. It includes both a turbocharged four-cylinder-powered Mustang and a V-8-powered version. No, the V-8 isn’t dead.

But there’s even more. Ford is doubling down on V-8 power by announcing a completely new variant, the first in more than two decades. The 2024 Ford Mustang Dark Horse features sinister yet sophisticated exterior and interior styling — styling that broadly hints at the high performance expected from its well-sorted suspension and 500-horsepower V-8 engine. Ford claims the Dark Horse with its available handling package will be the most track-capable, 5.0-liter V8 street-legal Mustang ever. It boasts upgrades in aerodynamics, hardware, software, and tuning. For those who love throwbacks, it will offer a six-speed manual transmission.

In the road test segment, we will have two high-performance vehicles for you to drool over. Co-host Chris Teague was at the wheel of the 2022 Mercedes-AMG GLB 35. While the crossover SUV might look mundane its performance is anything but.

Also in the road test segment Host Jack Nerad took control of the very limited-edition 2022 Lexus RC F Fuji. Just 50 of these luxury sports cars will be forthcoming from Lexus. And the car adds to the performance of the already impressive RC F by subtracting weight.

In this week’s interview, we will be covering an important but under-reported story — electric-vehicle fires and emergency response. Joe McClaine is a General Motors Electric Vehicle safety engineer, and he will tell us about a special effort GM is making to ensure first responders know how to deal with electric vehicle fires. It’s a fascinating look at a story you’ll find nowhere else.

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

Ferrari is showing well-heeled customers its soon-to-go-on-sale $400,000 SUV, and in this episode, we have to ask, “is Enzo Ferrari rolling over in his grave?” Ferrari unveiled its first four-door, and many are calling it a sport-utility vehicle. With nearly 700 horsepower from its V-12 engine, one thing everyone will call it is fast. According to Ferrari (the company not the deceased founder), the market is buzzing at the chance to lay their hands on the car. Will it diminish the Ferrari mystique? We’ll discuss that, too.

Also this week Toyota pulled the wraps off its racy GR Corolla, and we’ll give you all the details. The hot new sports sedan will offer 300 horsepower from its three-cylinder (yes you read that right) engine and offer smart manual transmission as well. Will it make Co-host Chris Teague give second thoughts to his recent purchase of a Volkswagen Golf GTI? He will fess up in this week’s show.

Our interview guest this week will offer the lowdown on the most important vehicle in the extensive Lexus stable. Carley Bly is a Lexus College expert on the all-new 2023 Lexus RX. At a recent driving event on the central coast of California Host Jack Nerad sat down with her for an in-depth look at the new RX. Among the topics we’ll cover is the exciting new performance-hybrid version of the crossover SUV.

In the road test segment, we will take a long look at two of the bestselling vehicles in America’s biggest segment — compact crossover utilities. Co-host Chris Teague was at the wheel of the 2022 Nissan Rogue all week while Host Jack Nerad spent extensive time in the new-for-2022 TRD Off Road version of the Toyota RAV4. Which of these worthy opponents comes out on top? We’ll tell you in this episode of America on the Road.

Lexus executives readily acknowledge that the Lexus RX “is the franchise.” Both Guest Co-Host Matt DeLorenzo and Hot Jack Nerad were among the first journalists to test the all-new 2023 Lexus RX. The model comes in a variety of versions including gasoline, hybrid, and “performance hybrid.” If the last of those seems like an oxymoron to you, we can assure you after our drives that it isn’t. And we’ll have a lively discussion about all the new RX models in this episode of “America on the Road.”

But that isn’t the only important crossover SUV we examine this week. Host Jack Nerad recently traveled to North Carolina for a first drive of the heavily revised 2023 Hyundai Palisade, and he came back with an interview with an expert on the vehicle — Hyundai product planner Melvyn Bautista. The interview will provide rare insight into the changes the Palisade has for 2023.

In the news, the state of California gathered big-time headlines by banning the sale of gasoline cars after 2035. But while that was the headline, the state’s action has more immediate effects that are even more concerning. Matt Delorenzo, who is the author of How To Buy An Affordable Electric Car: A Tightwad's Guide to EV Ownership, and Jack Nerad, who is the author of The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Hybrids and Alternative Fuel Vehicles, will offer their analysis of the California’s move. Will the edict actually go into effect? They’ll offer their thoughts on that, too.

Also in the news, a major carmaker has just started to build electric vehicles at an American factory. We’ll tell you all about that and how it fits — or doesn’t fit — into the new green vehicle push contained in the recent Inflation Act. Does the new legislation damage chances for the adoption of EVs?

In the road test segment, Jack Nerad will review the 2022 Lincoln Navigator, the full-size luxury SUV that competes with the Cadillac Escalade. The Navigator is so stuffed with tech that it is hard to discuss anything else about it, but Nerad will offer his well-rounded look at the big Lincoln.

All that and more is coming up in this episode of “America on the Road.”

The most powerful Ford F-150 pickup truck ever built has just gone on sale poised to go head-to-head with the current hottest truck on the planet — the Ram 1500 TRX. So how does the newest member of the Ford F-150 Raptor lineup compare to the vehicle that claims to be the apex predator of all trucks? The duel between these two incredibly capable trucks promises to be one of the most intense in history. Who will win bragging rights?  And how will they keep them? This episode was so popular that we are repeating it now over Labor Day weekend. We’ll have some answers for you about the two killer trucks in this edition of “America on the Road.” And we'll have an all-new episode for you next week when we take a first look at the all-new 2023 Lexus RX luxury crossover.

In the road test segment, Co-host Chris Teague will draw on his inner billionaire as he puts the Mercedes-Benz S 580 sedan through its paces. Many reviewers think the Mercedes-Benz S-Class is the best sedan in the world. Others opine that the new electric cars like the Lucid Air, Porsche Taycan, and Mercedes-Benz EQS make the S-Class feel old-fashioned. Are they right? We’ll find out what Chris Teague and Host Jack Nerad think about M-B's traditional take on the full-size luxury sedan in this installment.

Across the United States, Jack Nerad road tested a vehicle that puts an EV within reach of millions of car buyers. The battery-electric Chevrolet Bolt EV has been heavily revised for the model year and Nerad will offer his reaction. One big piece of news revolving around the car is a giant price drop. The question is, does the lower price make the Bolt EV a great value? And how does it compare to the closely related Chevrolet Bolt EUV small crossover? Nerad and Teague will deliver their thoughts on that and much more.

Buying a new car continues to be a struggle as we roll toward Labor Day. Our special guest might be able to help. Host Jack Nerad will sit down for a lengthy interview with Mike Darrow, CEO and President of TrueCar. His company is in the process of launching a new initiative that is designed to make car buying much easier, and we’ll have details. So stick around for that.

In the news, an iconic car model has just celebrated its fiftieth birthday. The Honda Civic was introduced five decades ago and it is now in its eleventh generation. More than 12.3 million Civics have been sold in the U.S. since its debut here in 1973. So we stroll down memory lane, reminiscing about Civics of old and talk about the all-new 2023 Honda Civic Type R in this episode.

What happens when you take the latest version of the legendary Land Rover Defender 90 and add a 518-horsepower V-8? Well, one thing that happens is you have the subject of one of our road tests for this week. Co-Host Chris Teague took command of a 2022 Defender 90 V8 at his home in Maine, and he put it through the acid test. The big question: has the gentrified Defender lost its gritty edge? We’ll have the answer for you and a lot more details as well. But that's not our only exciting road test this week.

In our second road test in this episode, Host Jack Nerad slipped behind the wheel of the luxurious and sporty 2022 Volvo S90 B6 R-Design. The B6 configuration is new to the S90 this year, and horsepower has been shaved versus the previous T6 high-performance version. So an important question to be answered is: Is this an advance or a retreat? We’ll have our conclusions for you coming up.

Are you ready to take your hands off the wheel and drive? That’s an opportunity General Motors’ Super Cruise offers you. And now Super Cruise has been expanded to almost double the miles of roads. Can you feel comfortable while a GMC Hummer EV SUV or Cadillac Lyric electric crossover drives itself? We’ll find out from a key member of GM’s Super Cruise team, Dave Craig.

In the news, the switch to electric vehicles might be in trouble. While California says it will ban sales of gasoline-powered vehicles in 2035, a new study asks the question will infrastructure problems like poor public charging doom the growth of EVs? We’ll have the details of what J.D. Power experts have to say about that in this week’s show.

Also in the news, two luxury brands just introduced fascinating new concept vehicles that promise to change the way you think about them. We’ll give you the details and our reactions coming up.

The 2024 Chevrolet Blazer EV promises to be one of the most exciting vehicles to hit the road next year. In SS trim it will offer 557 horsepower and 648 lb-ft of torque. That’s exciting enough, but it will also be offered in a number of much more accessible versions, leveraging the General Motors Ultium platform, in a vehicle that could challenge the Tesla Model Y.

To learn more about this amazing new model we went behind the scenes to interview one of the key members of the Chevy Blazer EV team, Our special guest is Bret Dick, the lead development engineer for the innovative vehicle. He’ll reveal how the Ultium platform enabled Chevrolet to offer so many intriguing versions of the vehicle.

There is sad news to report as well. A legendary American brand is saying goodbye to a pair of its signature models, and we’ll give you the details in this episode of America on the Road. The brand is Dodge, and its executives have just announced that it will cease producing the Dodge Charger and the Dodge Challenger at the conclusion of the 2023 model year. In the meantime, Dodge plans to celebrate (mourn?) the passing of the two iconic performance cars by offering a plethora of special editions. We’ll tell you about them.

Also in the news, recently enacted federal legislation signed by the White House ends the longstanding $7,500 tax credit for the purchase of an electric vehicle. In its place is a much more complicated series of credits and incentives for consumers and global automakers. The big question is will it hurt the sales of electric vehicles? We’ll try to sort it out for you coming up.

This week Co-Host Chris Teague is back with us after a home disaster that prevented him from being on the show last week. The good news is he got plenty of additional time to drive the exciting 2022 Hyundai Elantra N. He’ll let us know whether the road test vehicle is the match for his recently purchased Volkswagen Golf GTI.

Also in the road test segment, Host Jack Nerad traveled across the country to Asheville, North Carolina, to drive the significantly revised 2023 Hyundai Palisade. The Palisade has the daunting task of competing against stalwart vehicles like the Ford Explorer, Toyota Highlander, Honda Pilot and Jeep Grand Cherokee. We’ll tell you how we think it measures up.

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

Ford has increased the price of its F-150 Lightning electric pickup truck right after we gave it a strong review in last week’s show. Is there a connection? We’ll have details on that coming up. Also in the auto news this week, there is more intrigue in the Board room at Volkswagen, and Congress has just passed the Inflation Act with the promise it will promote green energy. But some experts insist it will hurt the sale of electric cars not help them. We’ll have commentary on that from the Chairman of the American International Automobile Dealers Association. He doesn't hold back.

In the road test segment Guest Co-Host Matt DeLorenzo will tell about his recent road trip in a 2022 Ford Expedition Stealth Edition. How did the massive vehicle fare in the tight confines of Chicago traffic? Matt will give us the lowdown as he speaks with us from Asheville, North Carolina.

Also in the road test segment Host Jack Nerad will put the 2022 Toyota 4Runner TRD Sport under the microscope. The TRD Sport is one of the latest variants of the venerable 4Runner, which has become a legend in off-road circles. For. The on-road-oriented TRD Sport, Nerad had a different test in mind. And he’ll share it with you in this episode.

Our special guest this week is Laura Thornton, Director of OnStar Marketing at General Motors. OnStar has a new initiative that will extend its reach far beyond General Motors vehicles, and we’ll get the details from her about that exciting new development.

Matt DeLorenzo has a new book — How To Buy An Affordable Electric Car: A Tightwad's Guide to EV Ownership — now available from Amazon. We’ll tap into his expert advice in our listener question segment.

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

What cars do their drivers like the most? We’ll have the answers for you in our in-depth look at the JD Power 2022 APEAL Study. The JD Power U.S. Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout Study measures owners' emotional attachment and level of excitement with their new vehicle.

This year the recently launched Kia EV6 compact SUV and Mercedes-Benz EQS large premium car were two battery-electric vehicles that topped their respective segments. But the vast majority of segment leaders in emotional appeal are conventional gasoline-powered cars, trucks, vans, and SUVs.

The Jeep Wagoneer UV, Jeep Grand Wagoneer premium SUV, Kia Carnival minivan, and Hyundai Santa Cruz midsize pickup were newcomers to the market that top their segments. Consumer excitement with their vehicles actually fell this year, breaking a streak of increases that dates back to 2014. It is only the fifth time in the 27-year history of the study that consumer excitement with their vehicles declined year over year. And we’ll have more, including information on how Tesla owners feel about their cars.

In this week’s road test segment, host Jack Nerad will give his take on the new, cutting-edge 2023 Genesis GV60. It’s the first dedicated electric vehicle from the Genesis brand. The GV60’s new-as-tomorrow features include facial and fingerprint recognition. Plus the vehicle actually has a crystal ball.

Also in the road test segment, Co-Host Chris Teague went truckin’ crazy in the substantially new 2022 GMC Sierra 1500 AT4X. The full-size pickup truck is designed to slug it out off-road, and Teague and Nerad will offer their opinions of it in this episode.

Our special guests this week are Brian Kursar, group vice president, Digital Technology at Toyota Motor North America, and Simon Roberts, Managing Engineer - Cabin Awareness at Toyota Connected North America. Toyota has been improving its infotainment systems by leaps and bounds recently, and we’ll discuss how they’ve been able to accomplish that with them.

In the news, Chevrolet just introduced an all-new Blazer EV that promises to be blazing fast. We were there for the unveiling and will tell you all about it. And Honda has unleashed the newest Civic Type R, so we’ll tell you all about that too.

All this and more in this episode of America on the Road.

Ford has just put the most powerful F-150 pickup truck ever built on sale, and it is poised to do battle with the current hottest truck on the planet — the Ram 1500 TRX. So how does the newest member of the Ford F-150 Raptor R lineup compare to the vehicle that claims to be the apex predator of all trucks? The duel between these two incredibly capable trucks promises to be one of the most intense in history. Who will win bragging rights?  And how will they keep them? We’ll have some answers for you in this edition of “America on the Road.”

In the road test segment, Co-host Chris Teague will draw on his inner billionaire as he puts the Mercedes-Benz S 580 sedan through its paces. Many reviewers think the Mercedes-Benz S-Class is the best sedan in the world. And we’ll find out what Teague thinks from his home base in Maine.

Across the United States, Host Jack Nerad road tested a vehicle with a California sensibility. The battery-electric Chevrolet Bolt EV has been heavily revised and Nerad will offer his reaction. One big piece of news revolving around the car is a giant price drop. The question is, does the lower price make the Bolt EV a great value? And how does it compare to the closely related Chevrolet Bolt EUV small crossover? Nerad and Teague will deliver their thoughts on that and much more.

For those seeking to buy a new car, our interview guest this week has some good news. Our special guest is Mike Darrow, CEO and President of TrueCar. His company is in the process of launching a new initiative that is designed to make car buying much easier, and we’ll have details. So stick around for that.

In the news this week, an iconic car model is just about to celebrate its fiftieth birthday. The Honda Civic was introduced five decades ago and it is now in its eleventh generation. More than 12.3 million Civics have been sold in the U.S. since its debut here in 1973. We reminisce about Civics of old and talk about the all-new 2023 Honda Civic Type R in this episode.

2023 Ford F-150 Raptor R comes to showrooms this fall.

Toyota is charting its own course as the industry moves into a new, electrified era, and no one is more in touch with those plans than Cooper Ericksen, the company’s Senior Vice President, Product, BEV and Mobility Planning and Strategy. Ericksen is our special guest this week. And Host Jack Nerad will question him about Toyota’s introduction of battery-electric vehicles as many of its competitors go all in. We'll also road test the 2022 Toyota Camry.

Chastized by some for being too slow to adopt BEVs, Ericksen will describe Toyota’s philosophy on net-zero carbon emissions that defies the critics. As he told us, the Toyota bZ4X is just the first of a long string of BEVs that Toyota and Lexus will launch in the next several years. At the same time reaching net-zero isn’t as simple as shutting the door on internal combustion engine vehicles, Ericksen said.

In the road test segment, Host Jack Nerad discusses the 2022 Kia Seltos small crossover SUV. Little crossovers don’t get much respect from auto critics, but Nerad found the Turbo Nightfall Edition to be far more involving than most have a right to expect. With 175-horsepower on tap and black trim all around, the Seltos Turbo Nightfall packs a lot of fun into a small but useful package.

Also in the road test segment, Co-Host Chris Teague shares his opinions on the 2022 Toyota Camry. Once regarded as the automotive equivalent of mayonnaise, the Camry has gotten much more tart and tasty lately. Teague will tell us how.

In the news this week we ask the question: Will limited availability of raw materials sink battery electric vehicle sales in the future? Experts say that the current oil shortage might be child’s play compared to a possible shortage of lithium and other key minerals involved in the production of vehicle batteries. We’ll have the details and our reactions to that.

Also in the news, fresh details have surfaced on the proposed Apple car. After lying low for years, Apple seems to have rejuvenated its effort to create a self-driving electric vehicle. We’ll give you the details on that and our thoughts as well.