In this episode of the Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Senior Editor, Autoblog Green, John Beltz Snyder. John is fresh off the 2022 Ford Maverick first drive, and Greg got behind the wheel of the GMC Hummer EV at GM's Milford Proving Grounds. John also just spent a week living the fast life in the Audi RS E-Tron GT. They muse about thee Lamborghini Countach, both old and new, particularly a reboot of the 1971 Lamborghini Countach LP prototype 500. Finally, they reach into the mailbag to help a listener decide whether or not to replace a 2002 Mercedes-Benz E 320 wagon with an all-wheel drive electric crossover.
Send us your questions for the Mailbag and Spend My Money at: Podcast@Autoblog.com.
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GREG MIGLIORE: Welcome back to "The Autoblog Podcast." I'm Greg Migliore. Joining me today on the phones is Senior Editor for All Things Green, Jon Schneider. We have an awesome show for you today.
We drove the Maverick. We drove the Hummer. We drove one of the e-trons. And we're going to talk about the Countach. We'll also spend your money. It's a pretty good show, so no need to really, I'd say, belabor the intro.
Jon was talking off camera. We were talking about some vodka. Just realized I'm wearing my Jameson shirt that I got at the bar probably 10 years ago when they were giving out random just Jameson samples.
So I don't really have much more than that. Happy Wednesday. How are you, Jon?
JON SCHNEIDER: I'm pretty good. It's been kind of a crazy week, but things are starting to fall back into place.
Quick note is the Palisade. We bought a Palisade, and it saved my wife and daughter from grievous injury in a highway accident. So it's out of commission for the time being, but we're figuring out our car situation this week. But very pleased that it happened in that car and not something else, because both my wife and my infant daughter are A-OK.
And got that part of the week in the rearview mirror, and I'm looking forward to the rest of the week.
GREG MIGLIORE: Thus the celebratory cocktails that we mentioned. So that's great news. That's all that really matters.
So like I said, it's Wednesday. Got a great fall week ahead of us. Leaves are really starting to turn here.
JON SCHNEIDER: It's beautiful.
GREG MIGLIORE: On TV. So it's a good time to be in Michigan. You drove the Ford Maverick in, I want to say, Nashville.
JON SCHNEIDER: Yes. That's correct.
GREG MIGLIORE: Super psyched about that. How was that?
JON SCHNEIDER: It was really good. I'm really impressed that they can offer such a good package at such a low price. Such a low starting price.
Yeah, I drove the hybrid and the ecoboost. I drove front wheel drive and all wheel drive. I drove the FX4. I drove on road, a little bit off road, nothing too heavy. And yeah, every single version I got in was great.
You can tell that Ford did a lot to not cut costs but save costs in terms of materials and things like that. But instead of just putting in plastic that looks really cheap, they put in hard plastics, but they gave it interesting grains or interesting colors and textures.
And have some cool shapes and a cantilevered door armrest to make room for water bottles. You can put tons and tons of water bottles in this thing.
But yeah, you can tell that they really used a lot of brainpower to make this super useful, without making it super expensive. And they really succeeded at that. Ford kept saying that this is sort of geared toward a younger audience.
And man, you know, I could see this being a great vehicle for empty nesters who maybe have been driving an F-150 to work every day. Maybe they're retired, don't need that much car, don't need that much storage. But still like the utility of a pickup, but want something a little easier to drive, a little easier on the wallet in terms of efficiency.
The Maverick would be a great option for people like that. It's super smart. The bed has 12 volt pre wired circuits for the customers who would normally tie into the tail light assembly to run bed lights or other electronics in the rear. People just sort of DIY their trucks. And so they made this really easy for them to do that sort of stuff.
They have little QR codes throughout the vehicle that give you ideas for how to spend less than $100 at Home Depot to make your own bike rack that fits perfectly in the back of the Maverick.
Or ideas for 3D printing cup holders or other accessories that fit in these little dovetail slots that they have throughout the rear of the truck.
The rear bench seat lifts up, and there's tons of room under there. And you can put dividers and stuff in there. it's just a really impressive use of space and material.
And it drives well, too. I started off in the hybrid, heading up and out of town, basically uphill the entire way. And was easily getting 39 miles per gallon on these two-lane rural highways.
They're targeting 40 miles per gallon in the city, and I forget how much in the-- 33 or something on the highway. I think that will be easily achievable.
The one thing that was a little weird with the hybrid is the brakes. It's hard to get brakes right in some hybrids. And they were sort of grabby at first, but then a little mushy as you dug deeper into the pedal.
After driving it for about 10 minutes, I completely forgot about it and was used to it. And if that's a no go for you, the ecoboost offers more power. The brakes feel perfect.
But yeah, it was a great little truck. I was really impressed with it.
GREG MIGLIORE: For me, what sort of gives the Maverick kind of a unique selling proposition is the hybrid option.
JON SCHNEIDER: Yeah.
GREG MIGLIORE: I drove the Santa Cruz a couple of times now. And from a design standpoint and some of the utility things on it, it's a little bit of a different thing. Those are the two natural competitors, just in size and sort of overall mission. Santa Cruz is a little bit more of a crossover kind of replacement, whereas the Maverick is, like, Ford truck.
But also, I mean, the hybrid, if you just want a hybrid, a good, efficient hybrid, you should look at this, because it's not a big vehicle. It's a good size, but you know what I mean? It's not this hulking truck. It's a legitimate hey, if you're looking at a hybrid, just check this thing out.
So I think that was a really smart move on their part, on Ford's part, to say, hey, we're going to offer a hybrid right here. And it gets you what? 40 miles per gallon? It's very impressive.
JON SCHNEIDER: Yeah. And the size of it really appeals to me. The big trucks, harder to drive, harder to maneuver, harder to park, harder to get in and out of.
This Maverick from the outside looks pretty small. When you walk up to it, I was looking over the roof easily by a couple of inches. And so I was like, man, is it going to be cramped inside?
But inside it feels nice and open and roomy. Sat in the back seat. I'd be perfectly happy back there. Plenty of room. I wouldn't have a problem stuffing car seats back there, although that would mean I couldn't get to the under the seat storage. But yeah, other than that, really good use of space.
The bed is small. It's a 4 and 1/2 foot bed. But it's got built in tie downs and available racks where you can screw in your own eye bolts and make your own tie down spots.
And the bed is big enough to fit a full pallet of whatever. I drove a short loop in a hybrid with 1,000 pounds of mulch in it, and made me think of you. And it drove just fine. It was great.
And then yeah. I also drove the FX4, which has underbody protection, has shock absorbers that are better at dissipating heat, things like that. I think it's only an $800 package, which doesn't seem like a lot. So if you do have to get a little off road into rocks and ruts.
It also has a couple more modes it's got a rut and mud driving mode, and it's got a sand driving mode. But if you do need to go a little bit further off road and worry about digging something underneath your truck, you know, $800 and you've got that decently capable package.
GREG MIGLIORE: I am a big fan of the FX4 option, especially in the Ranger. I think that's really gives that truck a little bit of life.
So without having driven it, I'm going to say right now, I would get the FX4 and the Maverick. $800 sounds like a good deal to me.
JON SCHNEIDER: I think you do get that with the all wheel drive, though.
GREG MIGLIORE: Yeah, I think I could work with that
JON SCHNEIDER: So it would to be ecoboost.
GREG MIGLIORE: Yeah. That's true. So there's some compromises here, which would make me, maybe. That would be a tough trade-off. Because I would like to get that, but I would also probably lean hybrid, you know?
That being said, ecoboost is almost like a hot rod kind of engine for a vehicle this small, so. You know, there's some trade offs there.
JON SCHNEIDER: Yeah, the hybrid is plenty powerful for getting around. It doesn't feel slow at all. The motor doesn't drone there. And with the ecoboost, yeah, it's quicker.
You don't have the option to shift your own gears that I noticed, which is fine. I don't usually use that that often anyways, unless I'm in a sports car, or, I suppose, towing. There might be some mode or something that I missed for the towing mode or something where you can find a button or I don't know.
But I didn't. There was no gear selector. It was just a rotary dial, you know. And there was no paddles.
But yeah, if I were getting it, I would get the base hybrid. I would add the driver assistance stuff, maybe. And I would spring for a set of snow tires for the winter and call it good. I think that'd be, you know. At least here in Michigan, where it's flat and plenty snow worthy.
GREG MIGLIORE: Looking at the pictures, the interior to me looks like a pretty big step up from some of the other more basic Fords out there. Like, this interior looks better to me than the Ranger interior, which, to be fair, that's an older, essentially Australian truck.
But to me, I mean, doesn't look like much of a comparison. The Maverick interior looks better than the Ranger, and it looks, just in general, quite good. So I'm curious for your take on that?
JON SCHNEIDER: Definitely didn't feel-- you know, some of the other Fords, like the Escape or whatever, that shares the same platform. Those interiors can feel a little dreary and dreadful, just the plastic and the fitment.
This is all, I don't know, it's really nice shape. So if there is hard plastic, it's got either a nice texture, a nice color. Or sometimes it'll be like a sort of curved space. So it looks interesting, and it looks utilitarian without looking like a cheap swath of uncomfortable, hard plastic.
There are little touches, like the exposed fasteners, the exposed nuts in the door armrests and along the dash. I think if you look really closely at it, may even say Ford on the head of the nut.
And it's just kind of a neat little touch, and it makes it feel special. But you know that didn't cost a ton for them to do that. I mean, that's not an upgrade. It's just a different way of doing the interior, and it works in making it feel less dreary and drab.
GREG MIGLIORE: I would say the Maverick is one of the vehicles, just because of all of the things that we've discussed here, why I'm super excited to drive it. I think I'm going to get in one of the next couple of weeks, actually. It's now a semifinalist for North American Truck of the Year. I'm on the jury this year, which I'm pretty psyched about.
And there's just so many good trucks on it. I'm looking at the list, just because I'm trying to remember, what made the cut? What didn't?
You know, you've got the Frontier, you've got the Rivian R1T, you've got the Santa Cruz, Hummer EV, and then the Tundra.
JON SCHNEIDER: Wow.
GREG MIGLIORE: And of course, the Maverick. Like, literally any one of these trucks in a year might be on there. But--
JON SCHNEIDER: Who would have thought 2021 would be such a good year for trucks?
GREG MIGLIORE: The year of the truck, right?
JON SCHNEIDER: It's great. You know, I used to like trucks, and then I got sort of sick of them for a while. And now I'm getting excited about trucks again. There's some really nice offerings out there. And with the electric ones coming out, it's even better.
GREG MIGLIORE: That's a good segue way to probably the Hummer truck that I drove. So we'll just literally let you shift gears over to that.
I drove the Hummer EV. This is the edition one. I drove it literally a week ago out of the Milford Proving Grounds. That's General Motors' sort of hiding in plain sight secret test track testing grounds that they've had for about 60 years.
I always like going out there. There's just something about seeing the prototypes of all the different cars and camo. When I got off the expressway at the Milford exit, I'm like, OK, yeah, it's been a few years since I've been here. It's a straight shot. The road ends, so you can't really miss it. But the vehicle in front of me was a Hummer.
So I'm like, you know what? Think I'm going to the right place, here. Just going to follow this guy. It wasn't even camo. It was just, like, a white Hummer.
Which, side note. I have no idea why companies put as much camo on some of these things as they do. Like, literally, my first thought was, is that a Ridgeline? Because I was far back, and just like the silhouette. I'm sure, like, GMC people would cringe that I was thinking it was a Ridgeline. But they have somewhat of a similar--
JON SCHNEIDER: Yeah, it's got the sail panels.
GREG MIGLIORE: Yes. And it didn't-- like, my brain didn't go to the place that, oh, wait, there's a Hummer on the public roads.
JON SCHNEIDER: Yeah.
GREG MIGLIORE: OK. Hey, there it is. It's got GMC on it, so.
Anyways, I did all of the things you would expect. I crab walked, which the best way I would compare that to is like pontoon boating. You know, you kind of turn the wheel, and the vehicle goes diagonal, and it's like you're putting all this steering input.
And the vehicle isn't really turning, and the nose is staying straight, so it's almost like pontooning upstream? I don't know. It's cool. It's fun.
I put it sort of in the bucket-- it's like with the Mercedes. Remember the GLS with the kind of bouncing thing?
JON SCHNEIDER: Yeah.
GREG MIGLIORE: Like, kind of cool. I don't really know how you would use this. Like, I'm sure there's some use cases off road, or even parking, where it could work.
But you've really got to, like, learn how to use it. So you're skilled, and then you can use it to its full effect. It's sort of like, I don't know, it's a little bit unnecessary, but--
JON SCHNEIDER: Yeah, it doesn't seem like it would come naturally, you know, to move like that in a vehicle. But yeah, if you sort of mastered it, you could probably do some pretty cool stuff.
GREG MIGLIORE: What I wrote in my story, my prototype drive-- it's almost like a preview of the vehicle-- was, it's a cool party trick, you know? If you're going to pay $112,500 and some, yeah, I think you should be able to drive your Hummer diagonally. You know, I mean, for that kind of money, why not?
So check out the story, by the way. Check out Jon's story, of course. Both these pieces are up.
Mine has-- I was going to say body cam-- dash cam video of. It's not that intrusive. It's dash cam video of me and Al Oppenheiser driving the Hummer. He's the chief engineer for electric vehicles and for the Hummer. You probably know him as the chief engineer, the Legend of the Camaro.
So it was cool to kind of hang out with him. He did the Watts to Freedom, which is WTF. That is intentional. He's like-- I'm like, so the abbreviation is this. He's like, yeah, we know. We thought it'd be fun.
JON SCHNEIDER: Yeah.
GREG MIGLIORE: OK. More power to you, GMC.
Yeah, I'd say three seconds for a vehicle that's, like, 9,000 pounds is pretty tremendous.
JON SCHNEIDER: Yeah.
GREG MIGLIORE: And it feels like three seconds. Like, I laid on the gas-- not the gas, the accelerator-- on kind of like a dirt area. And I got up. Literally, if you watch the video, I think I hit 45.
And then I lift because the thing starts to go sideways. Now I'm not crab walking. So I'm like, all right, I've got, like, PR person in the back seat. Al, I'm sure, is cool. 45 is nothing to him. And I'm like, no, I got to get this thing under control. We're not going to fish tail here in this prototype.
But then when he did it on, like, they have this kind of racetrack, which been on it a few times. This isn't the Lutz Ring. You know the legendary one, where they test out more like sports sedans and Camaros, Cadillacs, things like that?
This is more like a straightaway. I've actually done, like, semi-autonomous driving on it at different points. So it's a different one than the Lutz Ring, if you will, as they call it.
Which, for those of you wondering what I'm talking about, there's a very twisty road course designed at the Proving Grounds, where General Motors tests. It's like very smartly handling cars. And it's designed like a European road course. And that's called the Lutz Ring, after former Vice Chairman Bob Lutz.
JON SCHNEIDER: Maximum Bob.
GREG MIGLIORE: Maximum Bob. Former fighter pilot in Korea. He's still doing stuff every now and then.
JON SCHNEIDER: He's I think he's still doing stuff with Henrik Fisker at VLF.
GREG MIGLIORE: Good for him. Good for them. That random Frankenstein car of, like, an echo tech, whatever they had in it. Then they had, like, a V8 or something in it. So it was the beautiful karma, with a couple of different power trains. Boy, that cars had, like, nine lives, right?
Anyways, Oppenheiser put down a time on the not Lutz Ring that was about three seconds. That was, yeah, no, that's quick. This is pretty fast.
Yeah, I mean, we drove pre-production ones. Mine had, like, over 7,000 miles on it. I want to say, like, 7,700 miles on it. So it's doing its sea trials, let's put it that way.
JON SCHNEIDER: Yeah. Zac and, I think it was Byron or Joel. When we were at Motor Bell, and we were talking about it. And they've been seeing the prototypes going up and down Woodward and whatnot. They've been out there.
GREG MIGLIORE: I'm kind of curious. Do you have a preference, truck or SUV? If you were going to, like, just aesthetically, which one do you think? Or which would you have a better use case if you were in the market for a six figure vehicle?
JON SCHNEIDER: Oh, man. The truck is just so huge. You know, I mean, it's so long. I don't know. They both look neat. And they're both, like, way more than I need.
GREG MIGLIORE: Yeah. Same.
JON SCHNEIDER: By a lot. And one thing that concerns me about the Hummers is their weight. You know if there's a case to be made for an EV road use tax in lieu of a gas tax, these cars are the ones to make that case. Because they're going to-- 9,000 pounds. And if you're ripping away from stoplights, you know, with launch control or whatever, 9,000 pounds with big tires. You're going to do some damage to those roads. I mean, obviously not as much as semis or whatever.
But the people who want to implement an EV road tax are going to point directly at the Hummers and be like, this is why it needs to happen.
But I do really like that GM's coming in hot with something. They're making a statement, and the statement is, EVs are cool. Look at what they can do.
And yeah, if I had to pick, I would probably pick the SUV. Just specifically because dogs. I'd feel more comfortable putting my dog in the back of an enclosed vehicle than either trying to cram it in the admittedly very spacious cabin of the truck, than have to figure out something for the bed and leave it exposed to the elements.
But I mean, they both look cool. I also really like the look of the spare tire on the back of the SUV, as well. That's really a neat statement, too.
GREG MIGLIORE: I make a lot of decisions in my life based on what will benefit my dog, so I will freely admit that. I think I would probably, just in this rare case, go with the truck, based purely on looks.
And the interior is quite expansive. Like, my 65 pound golden retriever would have some room in the back seat. I think she'd be OK.
JON SCHNEIDER: Yeah.
GREG MIGLIORE: Like, it's pretty wide. Like, it's as wide as, like, a Raptor, just some of the comparisons I've read. So it's a very, like, long but also kind of square. Like, it's a wide footprint. Like, until you're in it you can't really fathom just how big it is.
And it just, there's something about like that bed trailing behind you. You know, can pull off the roof panels. It's just kind of cool.
I would get a tonneau cover if I were going to do this, though. I think it might be an option. Just because, because. I think I'd get one of those regardless if I had a truck, just because that's how I would use it.
I really, from a truck perspective, from a use case, it's why I like the Wrangler over the Gladiator. I think the Gladiator looks cool, but I would always get the Wrangler or the 4Runner, because just for like family life, it's your little rolling fortress. That's perfect, you know. And that's how I would roll. So this is, like, the one example where I'd probably take aesthetics over practicality.
But 1,000 horsepower, 1,200 pound feet of torque. This is one of the first times I think they've actually confirmed that it's not, like. Remember they were throwing that ridiculous 11,000 or whatever it was?
JON SCHNEIDER: Which is, like, wheel torque, which is a whole equation that doesn't really mean anything to consumers.
GREG MIGLIORE: Come on. What are you, Tesla? Don't do that.
JON SCHNEIDER: Yeah.
GREG MIGLIORE: But yeah, some numbers there. The interior look pretty good, too. It's a little minimalistic, but I would say it's in the same vein as almost, like, the Defender, where it's expensive, but it's not, like, rich and decadent. It's kind of like a-- it looks cool. Everything felt and looked nice, but it's simplistic.
Which is fine. You know, it works in a variety of applications and price points. You know, like, a Volvo doesn't have decadent interiors, but they look really good.
I was in the Grand Wagoneer a couple of weeks ago. I just wrote a column on that.
JON SCHNEIDER: Yeah.
GREG MIGLIORE: So check that out, too. That interior is pretty decadent. You know, the one I drove started at $104,000. I mean, multi screens for the second row. The leather, you could, like, chew it up. I've had steaks that weren't that good, that looked as good as that leather.
You know, that's more of a decadent interior.
JON SCHNEIDER: Yeah.
GREG MIGLIORE: Even from a Jeep, you know. And Jeep certainly is rough and tough, too. So yeah. You know, I think there's a lot of ways to approach it.
But long story short, the interior looked pretty good, even in a prototype. I think that's a good sign for what they're going to do here.
I remember I drove the Camaro prototype back in 2008 out at Milford. And some of the parts of it were not great. Let's put it that way. And you expected that. You're like, OK, they're bringing this car back.
Interiors in 2008 were-- like, that might as well have been 1998, right? So you know, it was what you would expect a 2008 Camaro prototype to look like.
And then later on, we would actually see that Camaro interiors weren't so great. You know, it kind of portended what was to come. But I mean, that's a long winded way of saying the Hummer interior is pretty solid, I think. I think the shapes, the materials, it's going to be OK.
Yeah. Crab walked, drove fast. Looks good. Went off roading.
The trail cams are pretty great, too. They have this, like, ultra vision system, where, when you're coming down like a rock pile, it's a lot like in the Bronco and some of the Jeep lineup. Can really help you where you're going.
I was pretty proud that I didn't really scrape. Like hey, OK. This thing's twice as big as a Bronco. Whereas the first thing I did when I drove the Bronco a couple of months ago is I literally crashed up this rock. And I'm like, Oh God.
Then when I got out, it's like, the skid plates on that thing are good enough. Like, there's enough body armor on that thing that, like, I didn't even need to be nervous, you know. But it's just like, oh, you're that guy who, like, immediately scrapes up the hill.
But with this thing, I did a pretty good job, if I do say so myself, with the cameras. So that was cool.
I don't know. Looks cool. For me though, just kind of bring this all together, this is like a G Class. It's like--
JON SCHNEIDER: Right.
GREG MIGLIORE: Expensive. It's over the top. It's more than you need. Things like-- there's some areas you can tell they focused on, we're going to make this a luxury item. We're not going to care about the weight. We want it to go 3 seconds to 60, so that means we're going to have enough batteries in there and they're going to be powerful enough to make it happen. Oh, it weighs 9,000 pounds? Oh well. You know?
So there's some of that. So in that sense, it's a little decadent, but I mean, they're not going to sell a gazillion of these, but I actually think, just from, like, continuing the EV conversation, I think this is a good thing. I really do.
JON SCHNEIDER: I do, too. Yeah.
GREG MIGLIORE: I think it's the aggressive play. And if you don't want that, well, OK, they're going to figure out how to have the Chevy Bolts stop catching on fire.
JON SCHNEIDER: Yeah.
GREG MIGLIORE: Buy that small car, if that's what you want. Or buy the Cadillac LYRIQ, which is another EV I'm super excited about.
JON SCHNEIDER: Yeah, and there's going to be a Buick, the sort of size of a Bolt. There's going to be a Buick and a Chevy sort of the size of the LYRIQ, all electric. They've got a lot of stuff coming. We got to see it all at the EV day right before the pandemic.
And yeah, they're all production intent vehicles that are in the works. And yeah, they're coming. There's going to be a lot of options.
GREG MIGLIORE: GM just announced this week some plans for investing in EVs and batteries as part of their investor day here in Detroit. So obviously, we're following that news closely.
But let's shift, maybe, single planetary gears over to the Audi RS e-tron?
JON SCHNEIDER: I believe it has two gears.
GREG MIGLIORE: It has two gears? OK. All right. Well, I forgot you had this thing, which is, this is pretty cool. It's got a solid range. What's the range? Like, 300 something? Yeah.
JON SCHNEIDER: And when it shows. You know, I've been driving it so aggressively. And yeah.
GREG MIGLIORE: So your range is, like, 60 miles or something.
JON SCHNEIDER: I was still able to-- you know, I didn't have to take it to a DC charger at all. I charged it at home on the 120 volt mobile charger. And I had it at a level 2 charger for, maybe, two, two and 1/2 hours. That's really all the charging I did with it. And I'm still able to go to Lansing and back and all over town.
You know, I had to do a lot of extra driving this week because, you know, down a car in the household. So this thing has been serving as, you know, my way to get around and get around quickly. And it's also served as the thing that we put a stroller and a bag full of soccer balls into the trunk for Wally's soccer practice. Because we took over coaching, because the coach's kid was sick, and all this stuff.
So we had to put a lot of stuff. I mean, two car seats. But yeah, it's such a great vehicle. I mean, this is the RS. And according to Audi's nomenclature, it's the Audi RS e-tron GT.
And it is wicked fast. It is one of the faster vehicles I've driven. You know, and I've driven the Demon.
But this thing, it's just, you know, you blink and you're going 60 miles per hour, and you're doing it quietly. It is very smooth, very fun. Lots of lateral grip. Yeah, I really enjoyed it.
You know, it's basically the same platform as the Porsche Taycan. So you can argue whether you like the looks of the Taycan or the Audi better. I personally think the Audi looks better, just based on personal preference. And the interior is a little more normal and appointed than the Taycan. Little less digitized, too.
But yeah. I went and saw my sister up in Lansing, and I was having to give everyone rides around, just to show them how quick and how cool this car was. People were really into it.
And it wasn't just, you know, people I knew. I was getting looks from people on the street. Today, dropping Wally off at school, I'm waiting in line for the drop off, and a Polestar 2 comes into the parking lot. And we saw each other and both gave each other thumbs up.
And it was another dad from Wally's school. And got to talking, and he's like, I read on Autoblog every day. Which if you're listening, Jacob, thank you. Appreciate it.
GREG MIGLIORE: Yeah. Please keep reading. Tweet share. Download the podcast.
JON SCHNEIDER: Yeah.
GREG MIGLIORE: Said let's just spend my money.
JON SCHNEIDER: And then I took it to pick up dinner the other night, and the owner of Banditos, the restaurant down the road, who's a car guy, you know. Whenever I place my order, like, the first thing he asks is, what are you driving?
And I showed up, and he was just, you know, jaw was on the floor. It's a really nice looking car, especially in that sort of flat gray with the carbon fiber roof, and little red styling elements here and there. It's a very aggressive looking vehicle, and it lives up in every way to its looks in its performance.
It's a blast. I was sad to see it go.
GREG MIGLIORE: It is-- I'm a little torn. I kind of think I'd come down on Taycan. Just whenever I see one of those in real life, I really am taken by just how beautiful the car is. I think it's a little bit-- you know, maybe the RS or the e-tron, to me, is a little bit much. Whereas the Taycan's slightly understated, if you could say that about an electric--
JON SCHNEIDER: Yeah.
GREG MIGLIORE: Porsche sedan that's usually in the six figures. But it's close. Just looking at some of these pictures here, the e-tron has very much a Tron, like, Transformers kind of vibe.
But it's cool, too. Like I mean, it is really a cool looking car. So I could go either way.
JON SCHNEIDER: Yeah, we should, I should probably give some figures while we're-- I think 637 horsepower. 0 to 60, I think, is right around three seconds flat. Maybe, let's see, yeah, 3.1, according to Audi. And man, yeah.
You know, I wrote a column a few weeks back about how too many cars are too fast. And then after I did that, I got in the E53 AMG and was like, you know, this is one of the things where it's OK. And it's not the full blown, it's not the 63 [INAUDIBLE]
And then I got in this, and it's like, it's just incredibly quick. And it almost feels like cheating. It feels like, you know, there's no effort to going fast. Which some people love. Some people just want to go really, they want that feeling of straight line acceleration. They want to feel the forward G-Forces. And that's fine. This offers that completely.
But you know, I would probably-- I drove the base Taycan, the rear wheel drive one over the winter. And I really liked that in terms of a balance of performance and handling.
I mean, this thing handled great. Don't get me wrong. But you know, it just, I feel like some of it's wasted on me when I have to drive on public roads and adhere, at least, some semblance of the speed limit.
But it is cool to. I mean, it's flashy. It's fun to show off to people. Look how fast this goes. And it really does blow minds. But again, like the Hummer, probably unnecessary. But glad it exists. It's good for the movement. Good for the cause.
And yeah, I'll always remember driving it. That's for sure.
GREG MIGLIORE: Yeah. That's kind of cool. I could have been the guy pulling up at drop off today in the Polestar 2, because I have one of those in my driveway. But I just had like half a cup of coffee, and I could not get the car seat in the back row.
The seat belts are a little weird, so there's that. But then I realized, oh, I'm putting it in the wrong slot of the car seat. It was driving me crazy.
Because I'm also testing a Honda Civic, which is also on the NACTOY short list this time. So I'm kind of juggling cars, my personal scooteria here.
And I'm like, I give up. I'm just going to put it in the Civic. I'm too tired. This isn't making sense. And then I'm like, oh, geez. I just put it, threaded the car seat wrong, using the rear seatbelt. Polestar 2 is interesting.
JON SCHNEIDER: It's a great car. I told the other gentleman in the parking lot, I told him that that was the best car I drove last year.
GREG MIGLIORE: Wow.
JON SCHNEIDER: I think we even had a post where we each listed our favorite cars from the year, and that was mine.
I remember the first drive was, you know, they were doing it regionally, and the first one was right down the street in Ypsi. And so I drove it home. Yeah, they just sort of said, just be back by a certain time. So I actually drove it home. Got out the car seat. Put it in there.
This is a front facing, high back booster seat, and that works just fine. I didn't try putting in a convertible or infant car seat, or any sort of rear facing thing.
But yeah, the high-back booster, Wally would have had-- I had him just sit in it. I didn't take him for a drive because I was short on time. But it looked like he would have been perfectly comfortable back there.
I feel like sitting in front of a rear facing car seat in that car, as with most cars, would be difficult. But I don't know. I love the Polestar 2. That's a car I would definitely consider owning. And I'm looking forward to trying the single motor version.
Again, I don't need to go 0 to 60 in 4.5 seconds, even. Just give me a good electric car that's efficient and handles well and that cooperates with some spirited driving.
GREG MIGLIORE: I'm excited to drive this. Today or tomorrow, I'm just going to take it out in the middle of the day, get a feel for it. We're actually testing parts of this for our Technology of the Year. I'll just leave it at that because we're starting to do that. We'll be voting on that this fall. So it's award season here in the car business.
JON SCHNEIDER: Yes, it is.
GREG MIGLIORE: We should probably talk about something from the deep past. That is the 1971 Lamborghini Countach. This is a prototype. We thought it was lost to history. Check out the story. It was on our site last week by Jonathan Ramsey. He does a nice job of breaking it down, all of the history, what happened, where history kind of got murky.
And you know, the upshot, why we're talking about this, is Lambo decided, hey, a very important collector, who they did not name, wanted them to build this. So obviously, he or she paid plenty of money, or somehow had something on them.
And they did it. And they put, like, all these man hours into getting it done. They used some archival documents, some, like, original spare parts still left around. They did some modern techniques to try to get the lines right. I believe Pirelli just custom built some new tires based on the old ones.
It's awesome if you look at it. Like, if you're a fan of the Countach, maybe this was the car on your wall as a kid.
JON SCHNEIDER: It was.
GREG MIGLIORE: Yeah.
JON SCHNEIDER: Absolutely was.
GREG MIGLIORE: I love this car, you know. The original one, too. This is the one that was at the Geneva Motor Show, back in '71. It's awesome. So I'm psyched they redid it.
And to kind of bring it back together, they took the prototype and crash tested it back in '74, and then the trail kind of runs cold. So this is sort of like it's back from the dead, if you will.
I'm very curious what happened to that crash tested prototype. Back in the '60s and '70s, they did stuff like this. Because it's like, well, hey, we need to crash test this. We only have one. Run that thing down. Especially for a company the size of Lamborghini.
JON SCHNEIDER: It's got to be heart-breaking.
GREG MIGLIORE: But you even hear about this with like some of the Ford GTs and things from that era. Like, a famous race car would crash. Then they'd, like, bolt it back together and use it for, like, just like a track car or something.
And then it'd turn up in somebody's barn. And it's like, well, actually, according to the chassis number, this is the thing, you know, something, something, Ken Miles did. Or you know, it's amazing how these things come back.
So I'm very curious what actually happened to that. Maybe they just totally scrapped it. Who knows. I don't know, I think this is a cool footnote to history. I love stuff like this.
JON SCHNEIDER: Yeah, I absolutely had a poster of the Countach on my wall. I bought it at book fair at school.
GREG MIGLIORE: Nice.
JON SCHNEIDER: Scholastic Book Fair. Those were the days.
GREG MIGLIORE: Classic book fair.
JON SCHNEIDER: I got to ask you, what are your thoughts on the new Countach? The LPI 104.
GREG MIGLIORE: Yeah, I like that.
JON SCHNEIDER: Because
GREG MIGLIORE: It's-- go ahead.
JON SCHNEIDER: I saw lots of different opinions on it. And some people just hated it. I actually thought it looked really cool.
GREG MIGLIORE: I would agree with you. I think generally you either like the Countach or you don't. Maybe you're, like, a Diablo fan or something. And I always fall into the Countach camp, just because it's that wedge shaped design. It really strikes a lot of notes for me.
I was able to drive one a few years back down in Miami. That was wild. So I like it. I like it they essentially brought the name back. And it's not going to be a huge production run. It's essentially, like, a restyled [? Cyan, ?] if I'm saying that right, you know.
JON SCHNEIDER: I think it's [? Shion. ?]
GREG MIGLIORE: OK.
JON SCHNEIDER: I'm not 100% sure with a lot of those Italian name plates.
GREG MIGLIORE: I should probably know that, but I don't. But I'm good with it. You know. I think, hey, they're bringing it back.
I could see where, you know, maybe someday they would bring it back as, like, one of-- Lamborghini always has a very small portfolio. Bring it back, put it in the lineup. Make it continuously part of the lineup, rather than, like, hey, the Countach is back, but it's really not, exactly.
Like, it's almost like that eight see that Alfa Romeo did and sold in small numbers in the United States. It was like, yeah, it's here, but are you ever going to get one? No. I mean, are you ever going to really get an Aventador? Probably not. You know.
So I think it's cool. Glad they're doing it. It's also a little weird, though. Like if you're not going to pull. Like if you're going to use that name, it seems like you really, really want to step into it.
JON SCHNEIDER: Yeah.
GREG MIGLIORE: Like, don't make it this limited run thing that's based on this other car. And it's essentially, like, a restyled thing. You know?
JON SCHNEIDER: Yeah.
GREG MIGLIORE: So that's where I do feel a little dissonance. You know, like, redo it. Bring it back. Sell it for, like, five years. You know? The last one they sold for, like, geez, 15 years. Well into the late '80s. And it was like the same car, too.
JON SCHNEIDER: Yeah.
GREG MIGLIORE: So you know, that's where I get a little bit of heartburn. Because it's almost kind of like, hey, we're going to bring back the Chevelle, but it's based on an Equinox chassis. We're only going to sell it for a year, and I don't know. I mean, that's an exaggeration, but you see where I'm going. You know, like, maybe really step into it.
JON SCHNEIDER: Yeah. I agree. I would like to see more. Give me more Countach.
GREG MIGLIORE: It does look cool, though. I mean, I'll give them credit. Like, they really made it look right. I think they could have gone a little more retro with this modern one, if you will. But I mean, it all seems to be there.
JON SCHNEIDER: Yeah. I agree. I agree.
GREG MIGLIORE: Do you think the original '71 prototype is still in resistance anywhere?
JON SCHNEIDER: Oh.
GREG MIGLIORE: Like, the scrapped parts of it, the crumpled up piece of it. I'm just curious.
JON SCHNEIDER: Yeah. There's probably something in some designer studio or the back of some shop or something. Who knows.
GREG MIGLIORE: It's a little bit like that-- what was that red Mustang that was lost to history or something?
JON SCHNEIDER: Oh, right.
GREG MIGLIORE: Stuff like that.
JON SCHNEIDER: Yeah.
GREG MIGLIORE: Yeah, we'll see. It's-- the dream lives up to today. Interesting.
They had-- almost 2,000 Countaches were produced. I'm reading just straight from the Lambo website now at this point. From '74 to 1990. So that's actually a little less than I thought. But yeah. I mean, it's definitely a car that is as much myth as reality, you know?
JON SCHNEIDER: It Was the Countach and the Ferrari Testarossa, was the other poster I had.
GREG MIGLIORE: Testarossa was a good one. Yeah. Subsequently scrapped, is what the official Lambo party line is.
JON SCHNEIDER: Yeah. There's like a fender or something hanging on someone's wall or something.
GREG MIGLIORE: Should we spend some money?
JON SCHNEIDER: Yeah. Let's do it.
GREG MIGLIORE: All right. Let's do it. This is from Chaz, North of Boston. Go Bruins. You guys beat the Yankees last night with the Red Sox. So I don't know. Right now, your baseball and hockey teams are probably better than the Red Wings and the Tigers right now. But hey, Tigers had a good end of the year. We're coming for you next year, maybe.
Currently driving an O2 E320 wagon with 190,000 on the clock. Debating how to keep up with maintenance or go electric. 40 miles north of Boston, commute into the city twice a week, as well as to New Hampshire in the summers.
I've been to New Hampshire in the winter, actually. It's probably a little bit nicer in the summer. Let me put it that way.
We have a medium sized dog, as well. I have a dog that I would say is medium sized, but she's trending towards probably a little bit larger now. She's full grown, and she had a big piece of pizza the other night, which was very annoying to me, because I was going to eat that piece of pizza. I digress.
Looking at the Model Y over the Mustang Mach-E and the ID.4 with the long range all wheel drive options. Not yet on the market. Hold out for another year or just lease? Anything else coming to mind? It's a single car house. Chaz in Boston. What do you think there, Jon?
JON SCHNEIDER: Well, you know, as much as the E320 wagon is really sweet, 190,000 miles is a really good one for that. You know, it's probably given you everything that's got to give, for the most part. I mean, sometimes they go for a long time.
But you know, you're asking the green editor. I'm all for going with an EV. Let's see, 40 miles north of Boston, commuting twice a week, and New Hampshire in the summers. I'm hesitant to recommend the Model Y, myself, as it's not one that I would purchase myself.
I would absolutely purchase a Mach-E or an ID.4. And the all wheel drive ID.4 is coming out fairly soon.
GREG MIGLIORE: You're going to have one in your driveway in, like, two weeks, I believe, right? As part of the press fleet?
JON SCHNEIDER: Yeah. Yep, absolutely. And yeah. I'm looking at the order site for it. The all wheel drive pro is expected in February of '22, and the Pro-S is starting this month. So you don't really have to wait if you're OK with spending a little bit more.
But you know, all wheel drive, about 250 miles of range. should be good for what you need to do. And in New England, you've got a better charging infrastructure than we have here in the Midwest. Tesla's charging infrastructure is good everywhere, but for what you need to do, you can probably get where you need to go as a single car household with the ID.4 all wheel drive. And that might be what I'd do.
It's actually a great car to drive. It's not as quick as the Mustang Mach-E, and some of the tech weirdness is-- you know, there's lots of slider, touch control sort of things. And the infotainment's not even Volkswagen's best. But it's completely serviceable.
The interior is really roomy. Lot of space inside. So I don't think that would be an issue. And yeah, all wheel drive would be good in the winter there. And with that range, you'd be good. Especially in the summer, it'd be good going sort of longer distances, and you'd definitely be good going to Boston twice a week.
Especially if you've got a place to charge in the city, or if you have a level 2 charger at your house, you're going to be good to go, as well. So that's probably what I would do.
Whether you want to do the Volkswagen or the Mach-E is completely personal preference. I think I like the Mach-E a little better, but I don't know. There are definitely things I like about the Volkswagen better, one of which was handling. And I think it's a little more spacious. But yeah, check those out. The all wheel drive will be here very soon, and might just be what you need.
But you know, I also-- as someone who regrets getting rid of every car they've ever sold-- it's hard for me to tell someone to give up on an E Class wagon.
GREG MIGLIORE: I am wondering if there's, like, a secret third option here or fourth option, I guess, depending on how you count this. Just keep the wagon. Just keep it. Like, you live in New England. You have a wagon. You've probably got, maybe, like, a Labrador or a Golden retriever. Like he's got to ride around in something.
You know, you put the Bean boots in it. Like, this is a Christmas car. Like, just keep the wagon. It's going to be OK. Find the money somewhere else, you know.
And you know, I think your analysis of ID.4 versus Mach-E is very similar to how I would come down. I would come down with, if you can get it, I would get the Mach-E with all wheel drive.
JON SCHNEIDER: Yeah.
GREG MIGLIORE: I was just on the Ford site trying to, like, actually fake order one, and I didn't quite get far enough to see what the availability is that. Like, precisely when that's available. So I think that does factor into it. Like, if you want a car, like, now, and you could get the ID.4 with all wheel drive. It's, like, your personal preference. It's a toss up. I would go ahead and get the one that you can get. You know, I wouldn't necessarily wait.
That being said, maybe you're a Mustang person. I don't know. You love the Mustang. You love the Mach-E. I do like it a little bit better than the Volkswagen. You know, just from the looks. From the fact that it's a Mustang. To the infotainment I think is better.
JON SCHNEIDER: Yeah, the technology in it's really good.
GREG MIGLIORE: Yeah. Like if it's even somewhat close, I would hold out for the Mach-E, is what I would say. But I would also say this. Like, you know, New England winters, probably about the same as Michigan winters, which is to say not good. I would definitely try to go with all wheel drive.
JON SCHNEIDER: Yeah.
GREG MIGLIORE: I think you're going to-- this is a situation where you're going to want to do that.
JON SCHNEIDER: Yeah, especially when the alternative is rear wheel drive, not front wheel drive. Yeah.
GREG MIGLIORE: And they are crossovers. So I mean, to me, this is where all wheel drive is sort of like table stakes. If you want to play, you know, you want to be safe.
JON SCHNEIDER: Yeah.
GREG MIGLIORE: Cool. Well, thanks for writing, Chaz. Let us how it turns out.
We can leave it there. Send us your Spend My Moneys. If you enjoy the podcast, please leave us a good rating on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, wherever you get the show. Podcast at autoblog.com for the mailbag for Spend My Money. Be safe out there. We'll see you next week.
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