In this week's Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by West Coast Editor James Riswick and Associate Editor Joel Stocksdale. To begin, Greg takes a moment to remember the fastest woman on four wheels and former host of Autoblog's "The List," Jessi Combs, who died this week. Then our editors turn their attention to the cars they've been driving, including the Lincoln Aviator, Ford Ranger and Nissan Frontier, as well as Joel's recent stint in the Fiat 500 Abarth and Fiat 124 Spider Abarth, including track time at Laguna Seca. Finally, they turn their attention to a listener in Germany who is looking to replace an aging Volkswagen Eos with a newer convertible in this week's "Spend My Money" segment.

Transcript

GREG MIGLIORE: Hello, everyone. I'm Autoblog editor in chief Greg Migliore. I want to begin this week on a sad note. Former Autoblog host Jesse Combs died this week in a jet car crash in Oregon, where she was attempting to beat her own land speed record. She was the co-host for all 70 episodes of The List, which ran on AOL Autos and then Autoblog from 2011 to 2017. From her family here at Autoblog, we send our deepest condolences to all of her family and friends.

[THEME MUSIC]

Hello, everyone. Welcome to another episode of the Autoblog Podcast. I'm Greg Migliore. Joining me today in studio is associate editor Joel Stocksdale, and on the phones, James Riswick, our West Coast editor. James, let's start with you How's it going, man?

JAMES RISWICK: Excellent. It's very hot-- very hot here in Oregon. So I'm sitting in a dark, air conditioned room.

GREG MIGLIORE: That sounds good. Summer is continuing. It's been a fall-like here, actually. We've hit some temps in the 50s overnight. So it's dropping down here. Michigan, you know, hey, late August, apparently that's fall. Maybe that's global warming-- I don't know. Joel, how are you?

JOEL STOCKSDALE: I'm doing all right. Glad to be back in Michigan.

GREG MIGLIORE: OK. Sounds good. You've been driving some interesting things. I'm excited to hear about the Nissan Frontier that you drove. That's a truck we haven't been behind the wheel of in quite some time. So pretty excited to hear your thoughts there. Today, we're going to talk about, though, the cars we've been driving-- the Lincoln Aviator, which James has been driving, the Ford Ranger, which I've been spending some time in-- that's one of our long termers-- and the Nissan Frontier, of course, which we just mentioned. Lastly, we'll talk about the Fiat Abarth. You drove both of them-- the 500 and the 124-- the 1-2-4. Couple of fun ones.

Lastly, we'll spend your money. Joel, we'll rely on you for this one. I know you're good at that. This is a long one, and it's actually a European one. We're going to tap in to our overseas flair here. OK, but let's lead things off with the Lincoln Aviator. This is a much-anticipated vehicle. It's a critical vehicle for Lincoln, of course. I think it's great they're bringing back the actual names as opposed to MKX, MKC, MKZ, all that alphabet soup. James, you spent a good deal of time behind the wheel of this and the hybrid version of it. Break it down for us.

JAMES RISWICK: Well, it's really very difficult not to be just immediately taken with the interior-- just like we did with the Lincoln Navigator, chip off the old giant block-like SUV. It is just exquisite inside in terms of its design, the materials. Of the black label model, I will say, though-- because that's, like, the upper crust approaching the $90,000 version if you've got the Grand Touring plug-in hybrid-- but even the lesser versions, you get distinctive color schemes, and it looks just distinctive. Nothing else in the segment looks anything like it. It looks-- it looks special. And it definitely looks like it deserves the price tag that it carries.

And at the same time, if you look at it on paper, the Aviator is really impressive. I mean, it has 400 horsepower standard-- 415 pound feet of torque. The Cadillac XT6-- Joel, I believe you drove that-- starts at basically the same price as the Aviator, but it has 310 horsepower, 271 pound feet of torque. It's estimated 0 to 60 time is about a second and a half slower.

You know, the difference to the Volvo XC90 T6 isn't quite as stark, but that's even more expensive. And then when you look at its dimensions, it's one of the biggest, most spacious vehicles in its segment. So it'll deliver as a family vehicle. And so just on paper, it really delivers. And then driving it, it's really sophisticated.

I've driven the new Explorer and the Aviator. They share the same new rear drive platform. However, Lincoln was involved in developing that platform. It was pretty obvious to me talking to the engineers. And it does drive quite differently. It's far more-- the Explorer's very springy, I'd say, around corners and, you know, big bumps. The Aviator's quite planted, and it feels considerably different.

It does have different suspension designs as well as dampers-- standard adaptive dampers as well as optional air springs, which, like a BMW 7-series or Mercedes S class, scans the road ahead and will adjust the suspension accordingly. That's the version I drove. It's very impressive.

You know, I think for a long time, not a lot of people outside the United States would consider Lincoln. It was very old school, literally and figuratively. But this really is kind of a world class vehicle. I mean, is some of the interior materials not quite as high end as a Mercedes or a BMW? Probably not. But again, that design really picks it up. And there is a sophistication here that really comes through. So I was impressed by just on paper and in person. It really is quite an impressive new entry.

GREG MIGLIORE: I think what's interesting too is the fairly wide range of prices this vehicle, you know, has. You tested one that was a little over $81,000, looks like. But you can basically get one for just under about $53. That's kind of the base starting price, which is-- I mean, you're starting to play on a bunch of different segments there. And I think that's interesting what Lincoln's trying to do.

JAMES RISWICK: Yeah. And the thing is, for that $53,000, it's not a stripper. It has a lot of standard equipment there. So there's no shame in just getting the base one. Sure, you don't get 30-way seats and fancy red interior, but you still get that 400 horsepower engine. You still get all the space. It really is impressive.

And the thing is, the hybrid starts-- called the Grand Touring-- starts at $70 grand, and it can go into the $90s, which initially seems pretty shocking. But when you consider the hybrid has 494 horsepower and 630 pound feet of torque, that's not even close to anything else in its segment. And to get that, you'd be talking about an X7 top of the line thing or GLS AMG.

It's not a performance-oriented thing. That's certainly not Lincoln's goal here. But just to make the point that if you look at it an X7 or something like that-- or even a Navigator-- yeah, it costs $90 grand, but it's actually considerably cheaper than those when you put a similar equipment, and it's size. So it's not quite as initially shocking as you'd think.

And again, as you point out, you know, the black label will get a lot of attention for its fancy interior, its special colors, and its giant price tag. But you don't have to get that. The other ones are perhaps not as compelling, but they're still pretty compelling.

GREG MIGLIORE: What I think is interesting about Lincoln, and I'd be interested to hear your thoughts, Joel, is, you know, we all know the Navigator is very solid. I think since the most recent redesign, it's arguably maybe the best in that segment. The interior is just amazing. You know, it's gorgeous in there. But now what we're seeing is, you know, there's other segments where Lincoln is getting increasingly competitive. It was almost like with Cadillac, we're like, well, the Escalade's good, but they don't have anything else until you drop all the way down to their smaller crossovers.

Lincoln has sort of gotten ahead of the curve there, and they've filled in those different buckets with some pretty viable offerings in each segment, which I think is good. I'm actually going to drive the Navigator this weekend, which I'm pretty excited about. But I mean, what do you think, Joel? Think we're seeing Lincoln starting to evolve into a more just well-rounded and, dare I say, formidable competitor?

JOEL STOCKSDALE: Yeah. And I mean, from what James has been saying, Aviator is probably the segment leader at this point. Before that, it was probably Volvo XC90. And maybe Cadillac XT6. When I drove the XT6, I found it to be actually pretty darn good considering its very mundane bones. It's basically just a front drive family crossover underneath. But it's very refined, it handles pretty well.

But the thing is, the power train definitely doesn't cut it against the Aviator, and the interior definitely doesn't cut it. And the Aviator also offers a hybrid option if you want it. It's just hard to see how anything can top it. And it seems like the Aviator has the goods to compete with even kind of the next level up of luxury vehicles-- the BMWs and Mercedes of the group.

GREG MIGLIORE: I think the hybrid option is very intriguing. Even though we knew about it, it still-- like, reading more about it, reading the first drive, yeah, I'm intrigued by that. I think that's actually really smart play for Lincoln. I think it's, you know, a way they can sort of maybe attract some new customers. So I think that's interesting too.

JAMES RISWICK: I think it also really speaks to the fact that Lincoln now has a very clear brand. They have-- visually, it's there. Their marketing stuff's very consistent with that. They've brought the names back, and they all kind of speak to classic luxury travel, that sort of thing. They also know that, OK, classic American luxury-- we are not going around the Nurburgring. Yes, it has 400 horsepower, but that's not the point here. It's to be effortless, as they kept saying, but it really was appropriate.

So it's very capable. It's very composed to drive. But it doesn't overwhelm you with that power. It's not trying to be sporty. Where you contrast that to Cadillac, it doesn't know. Cadillac, it's very confused. Are they classic American luxury? Do they want to be BMW? Are they, just as Joel pointed out, kind of just taking a bunch of stuff from elsewhere in GM to create the XT6? Like, what is it? And Lincoln definitely seems to be on a track now that's far more coherent, and which will probably result in stronger results.

GREG MIGLIORE: I think that talking point there about effortless acceleration and power, that's something that when you first hear it as a journalist, you're like, well, that's kind of a line of baloney. You know, what do they mean by that-- you know, when Lincoln rolls that stuff out. But you know, I think the way their engines are set up with Lincoln is that does ring true. They're powerful. They're as powerful as they need to be. They have some impressive specs.

But they're not-- like Cadillac, it's like, what is Cadillac trying to do? Are they trying to be a race car? There's a lot of identity crises that we've talked about with Cadillac. But I think this harks back to what Lincoln historically has been. When you drive a Lincoln, they generally have a strong, compelling motor. If you look at, like, you know, the Lincoln Y-block V8 that was in the '56-'57 Continental. You know, you're talking about 285 horsepower, 300 horsepower-- I'm kind of looking at Wikipedia here.

But I mean, that's not a crazy figure even for back then. It's powerful, but you know, it's somewhat reasonable. And I think that's actually a smart play for Lincoln. I know, you know, Lincoln executives have tried to, like, braise it, frame it, kind of cage it this way, and I think they're being successful.

Like, you walk into a Lincoln dealership, you know, say you're into, like, cars, you read these specs, maybe you read these specs on Autoblog.com, and you're like oh, hey, that's a really interesting motor. I'm not going to feel like, oh, well, it's going to be totally-- you know, totally overshadowed by other things in the class. So I think that's smart. I think it's a good place to leave it.

Why don't we move along, staying in the Ford family, to the Ford Ranger. This is sort of like a quasi-long termer that we have right now. We have it for another month or two. This is-- you know, basically what we're doing is really getting, you know, a good feel for the Ranger. Usually, we keep cars for six months or a year even, or we have our really short term loans to kind of give you a peek behind the curtain here at Autoblog. And those only last about a week or two.

So to have one sort of in this kind of tweener, like, area I think is actually kind of cool. We definitely-- it's not going to get to be old hat. For one thing, it's the new Ranger, which people, I think, in general are kind of, you know, intrigued by. But you know, it's important-- an important truck. It marks the return of an iconic nameplate.

We named it our best in our mid-sized truck comparison back earlier this summer. It won out just barely, ahead of the Jeep Gladiator. The novelty for the Ranger has not worn off for me. I'll be interested to hear you guys think. To me, it is still this like, oh, hey, it's the Ranger. That's kind of cool. We're excited to get in that.

So you know, I've enjoyed my time in it. I think-- even though we have metrically tested this thing, I still think I want a little more time to wrap my head around it to fully kind of, I'd say, you know, really analyze its strengths and weaknesses. The Turbo 4 is very strong. You know, you hook it up to that 10-speed, you know, get on the gas, and pretty good. There's some pickup there, to put it in layman's terms. It's pretty simple.

I think it looks pretty good. The looks at first I thought, boy, that's pretty, you know, milquetoast. That's not what I'm looking for. But in real life, I think it looks really cool, especially with the FX4 suspension, and some of those, like, different packages you could get. This one's bright kind of orangeish red with, like, sort of those grayish wheels. So it looks pretty good. I mean, it looks like the shots you see in the press shots.

So right now, I'm liking it. The interior, just OK, not great. Ford infotainment is fine. It's usable. Not my favorite, that's for sure, but it's OK. Really like the steering in this thing. It's really, I would say, light. You know, you really-- you put a lot of input into it, but it also is kind of how I would expect a Ford Ranger to feel. You know, I don't expect this thing to be a 3-series, which isn't how I even think a 3-series is anymore in my mind's eye, if you will. But overall, I'm liking it. James, I know you've had one. Jump in.

JAMES RISWICK: Well, I would say when I had the Ranger, pretty similar to what you guys had. I think it might have even been the same color. I really found that, you know, I live in the middle of Portland, and it sure is a lot easier to drive that thing around here than an F-150 or a full-sized truck. I don't have to worry about smacking an unsuspecting cyclist upside the head with a giant toe-mirror. It's just-- it just makes it easier. And it proves-- it goes to show why someone might want a mid-sized truck.

Yes, you need a truck, but you don't need the full-on capital letters TRUCK. Even if the prices aren't really that different between an F-150 and a Ranger, given their size difference, you can definitely see why someone would find it. That's all they need. There's still plenty of capability there. And I agree with you guys. I think, really, it's quite well-rounded.

I do like the way it looks. You know, it's not a Jeep Gladiator, but I mean, like, does a Chevy Colorado look overtly tough and interesting? I don't think so. And so yeah, I think it's really well-rounded. And the only thing is, it's not selling that well, and I do wonder why, because I think it's pretty compelling.

But who knows if it's a-- they just don't have enough in stock or they're not making enough of them or some other factor. They're just-- the discounts of the F-150 are just too insane. Who knows? But I would be curious to know that.

JOEL STOCKSDALE: Yeah, I think-- so I'm going to play a little bit of devil's advocate here and say that I think maybe some of the reason is that, like, if you're not-- if you're not working with major space constraints, it's a little bit hard to see the value in the Ranger when you can buy an F-150. Because with the F-150, you can get, like, the 2.7-liter turbo V6. You don't take much of a hit in fuel economy, but you get a whole lot more power, you get a much bigger truck, and you get a truck that, I think, rides better and is more comfortable than the Ranger. And if it's not a huge price difference, I can see why someone would go with the F-150 over the Ranger.

GREG MIGLIORE: Yeah, me too. I mean, the funny thing is, like, I really like the Ranger-- the more I keep driving it and the more I even get involved in that sort of mid-sized truck segment. To me, it is a different and compelling thing, although I think I'm looking at it from the view of almost like the car journalist, the product expert, if you will-- so-called.

And like, I get what the mission of this truck is. If you're just, you know, a random truck-buyer, I think you look at this, you're like, well, I don't really know if I need this. Or maybe you don't even-- like, I think there's definitely the mentality that you buy as much as you might need or can afford versus what you actually need.

And I know I probably wouldn't need a full F-150. I wouldn't need one. I know that. But a Ranger-- hey, I want a truck, this fits my lifestyle, OK, yeah. That would work for me. You know, so it's-- I think there's some mental gymnastics going on here in the marketplace, and that could be why we're seeing some, you know, maybe underwhelming sales figures.

JAMES RISWICK: Maybe it's just not different enough. Maybe-- like, because the Tacoma is a totally different type of truck. The Gladiator-- duh, it's unique. The Colorado sells OK. The Canyon does not. The GMC version really doesn't. It's kind of odd that those two are so different. So maybe to be successful in the mid-sized segment, it really does need to be kind of visually different and capability character different. And I wouldn't say the Ranger is that. So you know, maybe that is the case-- to fully create a point of comparison between the full-sizes and the mid-sizes, it can't just be a miniature full-size, so to speak it. Needs to be-- maybe eventually down the road, the next generation Ranger will be, in fact, more Bronco looking, and maybe that will provide the differentiation that would be needed to make it that much more successful.

JOEL STOCKSDALE: I'm imagining that in my head right now, and I really like it-- I really like that image.

GREG MIGLIORE: Well, we've heard all sorts of scuttlebutt about what they're going to do with the Bronco. Like, maybe there will be sort of, like, a-- you know, an offroad truck style thing. It might be as simple as a Bronco with a bed, maybe be a mid-sized thing. I mean, the rumors about all the different weird little Ford trucks that we've seen out there and think might be in spy shots, I mean, it's kind of crazy right now.

But that's an interesting observation, Joel. And, James, I think you're on to something there too with the Ranger probably isn't different enough from the 150 as far as, like, what it is, its ethos, its mission. I think, like I said, in my head, I can understand it. I get it. And I just kind of like the Ranger. I think it's a cool name.

There's a lot of, like, you know, kind of intangible reasons I like this truck. But I mean, I'll give you a good example. So we're based here in metro Detroit. There is a ton of F-150s on the road, as you would imagine. I was walking my dog the other day, and I saw a Ranger, and I thought to myself, oh it's an older F-150. Then I walked up closer and thought, no, that's the Ranger.

And it just literally-- you know, maybe as being a native Michigander-- the silhouette of a slightly smaller truck that was blue and was obviously a Ford just went to F-150. It didn't go to Ranger. And you know, hey, I like to think I know a thing or two about cars and trucks. So I think that's kind of a problem. I wouldn't have had that issue with the Gladiator, even though the Gladiator looks like a Wrangler from the A-pillar forward exactly, you know?

They've differentiated that one successfully. People wanted it. Granted, the Jeep fan base is, you know, it's own thing. And then you've got the Tacoma, which is entirely different from the Tundra, and it's its own thing. And arguably, it's a stronger, more compelling product than the Tundra. But yeah, the Ranger-- I'll be interested to see what they do with the redesign.

I know John Snyder has kind of waxed poetic on the podcast about how he likes the Ranger. But yeah, no, maybe the redesign, when they bring it here and they sort of engineer it here, and don't bring us this, like, several years old, you know, Australian kind of redesign, that might actually be the more compelling truck. So you know, hey, we'll leave it there.

Let's talk quickly about the Nissan Frontier-- speaking of old trucks. You drove one, which is almost amazing, because we haven't had one in the press fleet since Rover was a pup. I don't know. It's been a long time. What is this thing like? I don't even know what to say. Literally the last time I drove a Frontier was two jobs ago for me. So take us through this.

JOEL STOCKSDALE: Well, so it hasn't changed much. Oh, and actually, it gets better-- not only did I get to drive the Nissan Frontier, I also got to drive the unbelievably rare stripped-out, base model, manual transmission, four-cylinder version.

JAMES RISWICK: Whoa. Whoa.

GREG MIGLIORE: How was that?

JAMES RISWICK: Was it packed with, like, lawn equipment?

JOEL STOCKSDALE: No.

JAMES RISWICK: Different car.

JOEL STOCKSDALE: Yeah, they may have been doing a little bit of moving afterward. But yeah, so it really hasn't changed much since it came out in-- I think 2006 was the first model year for this thing.

GREG MIGLIORE: So yeah, this was the official vehicle of Grover Cleveland's administration. Yeah. What else?

JAMES RISWICK: '06? Oh my goodness.

JOEL STOCKSDALE: Yeah, this thing is over a decade old.

GREG MIGLIORE: Oh yeah. Yeah.

JOEL STOCKSDALE: And what's shocking is that it's actually not bad still. Somehow, it still kind of holds up. Don't get me wrong, there are some flaws. We'll go over that. But I was genuinely surprised, it's actually quite-- it's very quiet. It rides quite well. The steering feels great. It's very accurate, feels tight. It's a long steering ratio, so you're going to be working your hands a bit when you're trying to make a sharper turn.

It actually doesn't lean too much in corners. It handles decently. But where it really shows its age is in its power trains and its interior. Whether you get the naturally aspirated four cylinder, which you can get in the base model with a manual, it only makes 150 horsepower and about 170 pound feet of torque, and it's very, very slow.

But the manual transmission helps make it feel a little bit quicker, just because you're engaged with it. I think it would actually be a good truck to learn manual on, because the clutch has a lot of good feel. It's very progressive. It's not an on-off switch kind of thing. It's very easy to get used to.

GREG MIGLIORE: You're speaking to me, like, from a different time-- like, from the past. Like, I can't remember the last time I drove a truck that was like that.

JOEL STOCKSDALE: Oh, and it's only a five-speed on the four-cylinder

GREG MIGLIORE: Wow. OK.

JOEL STOCKSDALE: But that's very slow. The V6 is better. It has, I would call, adequate acceleration. So it's the difference between very slow to, I can deal with it kind of slow. They're not very efficient engines either. And the transmissions-- so the manual-- the manual version-- it's what you would expect from a truck.

It's notchy, the throws are a bit long. And the automatic transmission with the V6 version that I drove was actually fairly smooth, but it does-- it does take its time with its gear selections. Thankfully, it's still pretty smart about what gears it chooses, so it's not shifting a whole bunch, which is good because you'd be waiting quite a while.

And then the interior is so cheap. And it really shows-- like, lots of very scratchy plastics. And, like, you can forget all about like fancy trip computer displays. This has a digital odometer with a digital trip computer-- that's it. You can forget about instant MPG or miles to empty or any other kind of information that you can find on any new car. There's no car player Android auto. You get a little bitty screen with very old-looking graphics. Yeah, it's-- it's an old truck.

JAMES RISWICK: So I just Googled the 2006 Nissan Frontier, and yep-- the interior is pretty much the same. The climate controls, a little different. Touch screen really wasn't a thing back then. But it still has that-- it has the exact same steering wheel-- like, that Nissan 370Z steering wheel.

JOEL STOCKSDALE: Oh yeah. Yeah.

JAMES RISWICK: Like, it kind of-- actually, the hub kind of looks like Kenny from "South Park," and then there's spokes coming off of it. That's the one. It's the same. It is astonishing. This thing's a time capsule.

JOEL STOCKSDALE: I never thought of that description before, but that does fit.

GREG MIGLIORE: That is pretty amazing. I think, you know, that's-- you know, so did Nissan get into why they still sell this? And I kind of know the answer here, but did they articulate that at all? I mean, what's the play here?

JOEL STOCKSDALE: They didn't say too much, but I'm sure it's just a case of it cost them basically nothing to keep selling it, and they do still sell a decent chunk of them. And there's also the advantage that, because it doesn't cost anything to make, like, they can offer it for very cheap. The stripped-out version that they offer, it starts at right about $20,000.

You get basically nothing for that. I mean, you do get Bluetooth and cruise control and air conditioning. That's about it. You get manual locks, you get manual windows, and you get manual mirrors.

GREG MIGLIORE: Wow. OK.

JOEL STOCKSDALE: Cloth seats and-- yeah, that's about it. Well, you do get a touch screen.

JAMES RISWICK: So here's a question-- so if they're still trotting out the old Frontier, the Nissan Xterra is the same thing. It was just the SUV version of it. Why don't they sell the Xterra anymore? There's nothing out there-- the FJ Cruiser's long gone. They should still sell that by the way, too. But like, they can still sell the Xterra if the Frontier is good enough.

I think in today's market, when the 4Runner is selling extremely well, given that it's almost as old and arthritic as the Frontier, they could have kept going on the Xterra, I think. It had the same interior and everything. What do you guys think?

JOEL STOCKSDALE: No, I think you're right. I think it was one of those things where I think they pulled out just at that lull before offroad SUVs started becoming a thing again.

JAMES RISWICK: Yeah.

JOEL STOCKSDALE: And they just weren't-- I don't know, I guess they weren't expecting it. So maybe they're trying to make it up-- make up for it with keeping this Frontier around.

JAMES RISWICK: Bring it back, man. Just you know, put a new grill on it and say, hey, we unearthed it. It's back from vacation.

GREG MIGLIORE: I agree. I think that's totally one that they got rid of a little too early. I mean, it had a cool name, it had some identity. I don't know-- 2015, that was a long time ago, but yeah, that would be a good one to bring back. I mean, I think the other thing, though, is car companies, I think, are going to get a little reticent about diving too deeply into, like, really SUV things, because, you know, we keep hearing the economy's about to collapse and, you know, inevitably probably gas prices will go up.

So you know, I mean, I don't think they're going to bring back, like, Hummer or something, but, you know, they've got to hedge their bets, I guess. Anything else about the Frontier? I'm just so curious about this. Why are-- you're going to write something, I would assume, on this?

JOEL STOCKSDALE: Oh yeah, yeah, I'm going to write a review on it.

JAMES RISWICK: It is often the last vehicle sitting at a rental car lot. So you should be able to go to any Hertz or Avis and just, you know, if you're curious-- if, you know, Nissan doesn't have one in the press fleet, there's always that.

JOEL STOCKSDALE: And now having driven one, it's not a bad way to go. It's actually still a pretty solid truck. And actually, that's one of the things that I was kind of surprised at, I was like, if they gave this, like, a really thorough refresh-- like, update the power trains, maybe give them, like, a slightly more advanced transmission or something, and, like, give the interior a through overhaul, it would probably still be a reasonably competitive truck.

GREG MIGLIORE: I agree with you completely. I actually think what they're doing just by leaving it out there is actually entirely reasonable, because they have nothing to lose. They're not trying to put it out there as a segment leader or anything like that. It's just-- admittedly, it's a place holder. You could get a value oriented truck.

There's people-- you know, like, Nissan fans-- who, like, you know, would be interested in this type of thing. There's Frontier loyalists, if you will. There is some like, you know, just cachet built up in the Frontier name. Yeah, it makes total sense. And like I said, I agree with you, Joel-- if they sink some money into it, give it a thorough rework, I mean, yeah, this is a segment right now where you could win at.

The only downside to that, I would say, is the segment is now getting so full, including a potential Ram mid-sizer, that, like, they're sort of missing their chance. The time to do this was back when GM launched the Colorado and the Canyon. They could've got right in there, maybe conquested some things from Tacoma. Hey, suddenly you're in there. You're back on the ground floor. As it is now, they could be the newest truck in a segment that suddenly might go back on the downturn.

JOEL STOCKSDALE: Yeah. It'll be interesting, because Nissan has said-- I think Zach Palmer got it out of Nissan earliest, and they reiterated--

GREG MIGLIORE: Nice scoop, yeah.

JOEL STOCKSDALE: This time around that there is a successor to Frontier coming. But yeah, it'll be interesting to see what they do with that-- if it's going to be the Navarro, if it's going to be something all its own for the US. And I guess the question will be if it ends up being better than this, because current Frontier is OK. I mean, like, I wouldn't say it's the best in its class, but for as ancient as it is, it's still pretty solid.

GREG MIGLIORE: And that's actually, I think, a nuanced, reasonable approach. Like, what you're saying-- you're not ragging on it. You're saying this truck, you know, dates back to George W Bush's, like, the middle of his second term. You know, this is a very old vehicle.

JOEL STOCKSDALE: That really puts it in perspective.

GREG MIGLIORE: You know, I mean, I was looking up things that happened in 2006, like, that's a really long time ago. So anyways, James, any thoughts on the Frontier?

JAMES RISWICK: No.

GREG MIGLIORE: Throw this at you-- I'm curious.

JAMES RISWICK: No. No. I think-- I think it's good to know that both drivers in 2006 as well as 2019 will enjoy basically the same thing. It's nice to have some continuity.

GREG MIGLIORE: I agree. I agree. So speaking of random things, you were out driving some Fiats, some Abarths. You were in the 500, and it's the 1-2-4 or the 124.

JAMES RISWICK: Yeah.

GREG MIGLIORE: I really like the 124. I think that's a fun car. The Fiata is what we sort of called it for a bit, because it's a little bit of a longer Mazda Miata. Why don't we start with that, because, you know, you're a Miata guy. What did you think of the Fiat version in Abarth trim?

JOEL STOCKSDALE: So I am, indeed, very much a Miata fan. It's one of my favorite cars. And the current Miata is, I would say, the best Miata yet. And with that being said, the Fiat makes a really good case for itself in Abarth trim. One of the critical factors in that is the way it sounds. That turbo Fiat engine-- and the Abarth trim gets a much-- you get a much louder exhaust.

And it's fantastic. It's so much fun. You drop the top. You listen to that thing howl and growl and pop. And oh, it's so much fun. I'm not saying that the regular Miata sounds bad-- by no means, it sounds quite good. But this is an extra level of excitement. And when you're driving something that's small and light-- and like, it's not-- you're not going to set any lap records with this or anything-- the experience is really important and making it as fun as possible.

And that's something that the Abarth does really well with its really loud exhaust. The turbo engine also has great midrange torque, so it's really easy to drive around town and have fun with it. And it's actually pretty forgiving on the track. If you're not quite in the right gear, you've got a little bit of torque you can play with, so you're not going to be punished too hard for being in too high of a gear.

It also looks really good in Abarth trim. I think it looks a lot more aggressive and a lot more kind of glued to the road with the Abarth body kit. I think the regular one looks, I don't know, maybe a little bit too retroey. The Abarth version is that nice blend of current design and retro.

And then other than that, it's basically a Miata, which is great. So it's a fun car. It's like, if you want something that's a little bit more dailyable and--

GREG MIGLIORE: Nice word. Nice word.

JOEL STOCKSDALE: Has, like, a ridiculous-- and has, like, a ridiculous sound that makes you smile every time you floor it, it makes a really good case for itself.

GREG MIGLIORE: That's a good-- good analysis, I think. I like the 124. I-- you know, I don't know, blasphemy-- for a bit after I drove it, I think I was just kind of, like, maybe infatuated with the car, but I liked it a little better than the Miata. I think then I get a little more perspective, and I'd probably would rate the Miata ahead, as I think most people would do. But that's a fun car to drive.

And you got to drive it at Laguna Seca, which is-- I mean, that was on your bucket list, which is a really cool thing to do. Yeah, I mean, that's-- what'd you think of the track, actually? I mean, that's just-- I know beforehand, you were mentioning to me like, hey, I really want to do this trip.

JOEL STOCKSDALE: Yeah.

GREG MIGLIORE: This is something I've always wanted to get to Laguna Seca. So yeah.

JOEL STOCKSDALE: Laguna Seca is a great track. It's really fast and flowing, which is something that makes it really fun. It's not overly complex. You can really carry a lot of speed. And it just feels really good. And something that I was really excited was to finally experience what it's like to drive-through the corkscrew, which is, like, a five-story elevation change in, like, two sharp corners. And everybody that I'd heard said that it was, like, really scary, like, because it is a big drop. And like, and I've been to Laguna Seca and watched cars there.

GREG MIGLIORE: That's an awesome track to do that at.

JOEL STOCKSDALE: Yeah, it's fantastic. And it looks crazy steep when you're looking at those corners. But it's actually not that-- it's not that scary. It actually feels like just very normal corners. I think I've been on scarier corners on mountain roads before. So yeah, if you ever get the chance to try it, don't be afraid of the corkscrew. It's not bad.

GREG MIGLIORE: That's-- you know, I've been to the Monterrey Historics several times-- it's an awesome place to watch a race. And I actually-- we did a virtual reality shoot at Laguna Seca-- Mazda raceway Laguna Seca or whatever its firmly called these days.

JAMES RISWICK: WeatherTech. WeatherTech.

GREG MIGLIORE: WeatherTech raceway.

JAMES RISWICK: It's entirely covered in waterproof material now.

GREG MIGLIORE: OK. So there will be no, like, you know, red-- you know, no intermissions or anything for weather. We're just-- we're good.

JAMES RISWICK: Dome of--

[INTERPOSING VOICES]

JOEL STOCKSDALE: They did a laser scan of the track to ensure perfect fit.

GREG MIGLIORE: Of course. Yeah, anyways, but it's a cool track. I mean, the corkscrew is iconic. Real quick, like, 30 seconds-- 500 Abarth, what do you think?

JOEL STOCKSDALE: That's another car-- and that's in keeping with the theme of me driving really old cars-- the 500 and the 500 Abarth have been around for ages.

GREG MIGLIORE: I first drove 500 two jobs go as well, so this is, like, Greg's historical podcast here.

JOEL STOCKSDALE: And again, it's still a lot of fun. It also shows its age. The interior is awful. The plastics are really bad. It's pretty tight. The seats need a lot more bolstering.

GREG MIGLIORE: The seats are atrocious. I cannot stand the seats in any version of the 500.

JOEL STOCKSDALE: Yeah, but it actually sounds better than the 124 Abarth, because it has the full, like, straight pipe exhaust out the back. And it sounds fantastic. Going up the front straight, like, flooring it, all the way up to red line, and then doing a shift, you get this loud crack. It's like, oh-- it just felt so good. And like, it's so small that when I took it out on public roads afterward, you feel like you can drive it really fast, because it's small. It grips well. And, like, you can hustle it down tight roads really quickly.

And it's not so fast that you're going to be doing, like, extra legal speeds or anything. It's just-- it's a really fun little hatchback. It's noisy it's got kind of a crummy interior. And so I mean, it's not practical either. But it is a really fun little car.

GREG MIGLIORE: Good place to leave it. Let's spend some money. This week, we've got a great one. This is from Kevin in Berlin. That's Berlin, Germany, not Ohio or any other random Berlins of the US-- truly international flair. So I need you both to really be up on this one. Looking to replace his-- wow, I can't make this up-- 2006 Volkswagen Eos. It's a 2.0-liter TFSI. So hey, that's kind of a fun little car.

Aging-- he's getting some rainwater in from his leaking roof, which I mean, yeah. Funny sub note-- the leaking roof destroyed one of his door speakers. So if there was ever a time to get a new car, this is it. Maybe you should try a Frontier if you're into cars from '06. That's kind of some bad dad joke right there, but.

All right, so here's what he's looking for-- room for four, needs to have some foldable rear seat so he can put his surfboard in there when the roof is closed. Looking at used, E-classes-- and there's some European nomenclatures here, but essentially used E-Class 350, 400s, the BMW 435, 440, Audi A5-- Audi A5. That's what he's looking for. His budget is, get this, the 20 to 28,000 euros range. So that's what, like--

JAMES RISWICK: I don't know. Yeah.

JOEL STOCKSDALE: Right now--

JAMES RISWICK: Prices don't really translate.

GREG MIGLIORE: Yeah, right, with Brexit, it is-- yeah, all that stuff going on.

JAMES RISWICK: We'll do our best.

GREG MIGLIORE: All right, so shortlisted just for the Audi part of this, 11 to 15 A5s. Yeah, that's the long and short of it-- some more details here. But what are we thinking here, guys? Question a little bit about the S5 as well.

JAMES RISWICK: I did look up that back seat question, and I couldn't find E-class-- couldn't find a picture of that time. So I'm not sure if the E-Class convertible of that era has flip-down seats. I think it does, but the 4-series and A5 do. At least you got that covered-- the back seats do fold down. I don't know about if one's bigger than the other, but at least you have that covered for you. For your surfboard-- you're surfing in Germany. Wow, that just dawned on me. Good-- that's interesting.

GREG MIGLIORE: What's he surfing? Like, the Rhine or something? Like, that's awesome.

JAMES RISWICK: Don't have a lot of coastline there.

JOEL STOCKSDALE: Germany has a little bit of coast up in the north I think, right?

JAMES RISWICK: A bit. Cool. OK. And he lives in Berlin. That's not on-- OK, great.

GREG MIGLIORE: I mean, that's really-- yeah. Sure, OK.

JAMES RISWICK: Cool. Yeah, I would say the E-Class, I love that car. That's always been one of-- that thing's really classy. I kind of liked the blocky era that Mercedes was in at that time. I'm a fan of that car, personally.

GREG MIGLIORE: OK. Reasonable approach. Joel, over to you.

JOEL STOCKSDALE: So I think I may be leaning toward Audi. The A5 has always been a real looker-- just very muscular. I mean, you could almost put an American badge on it, and it would look at home. And Audi has had a really good reliability track record the last few years. So that would be a big plus. So it looks good. It's reliable. If you could spring for an S5, it's-- it'd be a lot of fun.

I don't think-- I don't think you would really-- I don't know if you'd be missing all that much if you got just the regular V6 A5, though. And if you ever felt like you needed more power, there's a very robust tuning segment out there that could get you a little bit more power. I think probably the Mercedes would be my second choice. I guess it would kind of depend on if it's got the folding seats or not, and if you like the E-class better.

GREG MIGLIORE: Based purely on just my preference, I'd go with the 4-series. I just like how that car drives. It does have some shortcomings, but I think it looks good, it steers pretty well. You know, the motors are interesting. That's what I would go with. I mean, you live in Berlin. Get a BMW-- makes sense to me.

So we'll leave it there. Joel and James, it's been fun this week. To you guys listening out there, thanks for spending time with us. Send us your "Spend My Moneys." Be safe out there, and we'll see you next week.

[THEME MUSIC]

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