The all-new 2023 Honda CR-V is one of the most important vehicles to be launched in the United States this year, and we’ll have a special report. The CR-V compact SUV was one of the industry’s original “crossover vehicles.” And for the past quarter century, it has consistently built sales momentum to become one of the most popular vehicles in the Honda lineup. In fact, Honda claims the CR-V has been the bestselling of all SUVs of any size since it was introduced in the 1990s.

The 2023 CR-V marks the beginning of the vehicle’s sixth generation. It’s available in front-drive and all-wheel-drive configurations and powered by either a turbocharged four-cylinder engine or a hybrid drivetrain. In comparison to the previous-generation CR-V, the 2023 is longer and wider than before and 15 percent torsionally stiffer as well. This gives it a good basis for the tuning of its heavily revised suspension. Host Jack Nerad had the chance to drive both the conventional and hybrid versions of the CR-V during North American Car of the Year testing this past week in Michigan. He’ll have a detailed driving report and guest co-host Geno Effler, Director of Corporate Communications at J.D. Power, will give his consumer-based perspective on Honda and the CR-V.

This week’s interview segment features a discussion with Mark Savino, who is the Product Strategy Manager for SUVs and Trucks at Kia. He and Jack Nerad will take a very detailed look at the all-new 2023 Kia Niro. Available as an EV, a plug-in hybrid, and a hybrid, the Niro seems poised to graduate from specialty-car status to become a more mainstream offering. In this era of high gasoline prices and runaway inflation, the Niro seems right on target for the times.

In the wake of Hurricane Ian, thousands of flood-damaged cars and trucks will enter the new and used car markets in the next several weeks. And they can become nightmares for those who buy them without suspecting that they could experience big problems. We’ll tell you how you can avoid being burned by one of those vehicles coming up.

Also in the news, Toyota is considering a big increase in its production of battery-electric vehicles, but if it happens it won’t come right away. Instead, Toyota has a future date in mind. We’ll tell you what that date is and why Toyota thinks that’s a good place to start.

And formal talks have begun between representatives of the European Union and the United States as the result of the passage of the Inflation Act, which could have a devastating effect on the sales of electric vehicles in the United States. Ironically, that’s directly opposite to the goals of the new law. We’ll tell you what it could mean to you going forward in this episode.