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News in the automotive industry abound, and first up to help us decipher it all is Executive Publisher for Autotrader, Kelley Blue Book, Dealer.com, Karl Brauer. Did you know that, according to a study, one in five US adults feel pressured into spending more than they should on vehicles? Well, neither did we, but apparently it’s true. Karl also reviews the 2020 Lamborghini Huracan EVO Spyder, chats about Alan’s decision to sell his Dodge Demon in favor of a Toyota Supra, praises the new $60,000 Chevrolet C8 Corvette, discusses the horrendous profit drop facing Nissan, and gives an industry report card. Changing lanes, Automotive Journalist for Autoweek, Automobile Magazine, Grassroots Motorsports, Steven Cole Smith, fills us in on his trip to Rome, what he learned about the pooping habits of Colosseum goers, and gives us an update on the world of motorsports. Next up, Manager of Long Range Strategy and Planning at Kia Motors America, Steve Kosowski, explains the three different powertrains of the new Kia Niro and all of its amazing features. Closing out the show, Co-founder of Cartender, and Freelance Automotive Journalist for CarGurus, Boston Globe, U.S. News & World Report, George Kennedy III, reviews the 2020 Acura RDX and the 2020 Dodge Challenger Hellcat Red Eye. Tune in for the latest auto news and car reviews.

·[00:00:00] Social Pressure of Owning Awesome Cars
·[00:05:16] 2020 Lamborghini Huracan Evo Spyder
·[00:12:30] Trading Dodge Demon for Toyota Supra
·[00:19:51] Corvette: An Exotic Killer to the Core
·[00:27:14] Nissan Faces 99 Percent Profit Drop!
·[00:35:53] Karl Brauer’s Auto Industry Report Card
·[00:42:13] Steven Cole Smith’s Colosseum Tour
·[00:49:27] Taking Care of Business at the Colosseum
·[00:54:44] Motorsports Update: Rallycross, Indy Car
·[01:02:04] Kia Niro Comes In Three Amazing Versions
·[01:10:51] 2020 Acura RDX’s Non Intuitive Console
·[01:18:06] Challenger Hellcat Red Eye Test Drive

[00:00:00] Social Pressure of Owning Awesome Cars
Have you ever felt pressured by society to buy a super awesome car? Well, don’t use this excuse on your wife/husband, but a new study says that one in five US adults feel pressured to spend more than they are comfortable with on a new car in order to appear more successful in the eyes of others. Or do people really like to stretch their expenditures to get a ‘sweet ride’? Executive Publisher for Autotrader, Kelley Blue Book, and Dealer.com, Karl Brauer, gives us the stats on this study.

[00:05:16] 2020 Lamborghini Huracan Evo Spyder
If you ever have felt pressured to spend way more on a car than you should, then we have the perfect car for you. Executive Publisher for Autotrader, Kelley Blue Book, and Dealer.com, Karl Brauer, reviews the 2020 Lamborghini Huracan Evo Spyder in all of its V10 glory. 640HP, all-wheel drive, all-wheel steering, and capabilities we’ve come to expect from a Lamborghini make this car well worth its $287,000 price tag. Find out more about this beast of a machine.

[00:12:30] Trading Dodge Demon for Toyota Supra
You don’t have to spend multiple hundreds of thousands of dollars to get a supercar. Take the Dodge Demon, for example. This car does 0-60 in 2.3 seconds, pumps out huge horsepower, and still gets 22mpg on the highway and only set Alan back $90,000. Executive Publisher for Autotrader, Kelley Blue Book, and Dealer.com, Karl Brauer, chats about the sheer volume of amazing sports cars that Dodge has been able to squeeze out of the 20 year old platform the Challenger is built on. All of that said, it’s time for Alan to part ways with the Demon, in favor of a Toyota Supra. Tune in to find out why!

[00:19:51] Corvette: An Exotic Killer to the Core
If you want to put on a huge, over the top reveal party, what better place to do it than a gigantic blimp hanger in California? Executive Publisher for Autotrader, Kelley Blue Book, and Dealer.com, Karl Brauer, recently attended such an event for the unveiling of Chevrolet’s new C8 Corvette in Orange County, California. This epic, iconic car is set to revolutionize the supercar industry. The Corvette has always been an exotic car killer, by pricing themselves much lower but not sacrificing on performance. Tune in to learn more about this exotic-killer.

[00:27:14] Nissan Faces 99 Percent Profit Drop!
For reasons we can only speculate about, Nissan is facing a massive profit drop – a 99% profit drop to be exact! Wow, that’s not good. Executive Publisher for Autotrader, Kelley Blue Book, and Dealer.com, Karl Brauer, wonders if it has to do with the public perception surrounding the jailing of Carlos Ghosn, or if Carlos Ghosn management up to this point is to blame. It definitely isn’t the fault of the quality of their vehicles, as Nissan makes fantastic automobiles, like the Nissan Titan, GTR, Altima, and Maxima. Listen in as we explore the possible reasons for Nissan’s tough year, and where we see the company going from here.

[00:35:53] Karl Brauer’s Auto Industry Report Card
We are a little over half way through the year, so it’s time for the Karl Brauer industry report card! Executive Publisher for Autotrader, Kelley Blue Book, and Dealer.com, Karl Brauer, fills us in on a slight dip in sales for the industry overall – 16.7-16.9 million sales projected as compared to last year’s 17 million sales. This is not as big of a deal as people are making it out to be. If the industry maintains course and sells 16.8 million cars this year it still lands within the top 10 years of the past 100 years in terms of sales. So while that IS a decline from last year, it’s still a very respectable year. Karl’s final verdict for the industry as a whole for this year is a solid B plus. Do you agree with Karl’s judgement?

[00:42:13] Steven Cole Smith’s Colosseum Tour
It doesn’t happen often, but every once in a while an automotive journalist gets to take a vacation with no ulterior motive. No car shows to attend, no test drive events; just good old fashioned relaxing. But is it as relaxing as we might think? Autoweek, Automobile Magazine, Grassroots Motorsports, Steven Cole Smith, explains why having to plan your own trip is more stressful than getting chauffeured around by media organizations. Then, we discuss Steve’s trip to Rome, where he visited the Colosseum and was blown away by its rich history. Tune in to learn more about the bloody past of the Colosseum.

[00:49:27] Taking Care of Business at the Colosseum
We’re taking a break from automotive commentary to learn about something even more interesting: the pooping habits of Colosseum goers in the Roman Empire. Autoweek, Automobile Magazine, Grassroots Motorsports, Steven Cole Smith, recently took a tour of the Colosseum in Rome and was very intrigued by the juxtaposition of advanced their technology and backwards societal norms. The Colosseum was a gigantic structure which water was pumped to by an advanced system of aqueducts, but it was used for the glorification of killing as a form of entertainment and had a disturbing latrine system. Tune in to share in the knowledge Steve gained while on vacation in Rome.

[00:54:44] Motorsports Update: Rallycross, Indy Car
After a brief departure to Rome, we get back on topic with Autoweek, Automobile Magazine, Grassroots Motorsports, Steven Cole Smith, and discuss the world of motorsports. We get an update on the world of motorsports, including the 3rd race in the Amercias Rallycross Championship series, and the state of the NASCAR and IndyCar worlds. Tune in to find out why Steve thinks 2022 is going to be a big year for NASCAR.

[01:02:04] Kia Niro Comes In Three Amazing Versions
Are you looking for the perfect compact, energy efficient SUV for your garage? Well look no further than the full lineup of Kia Niro. Manager of Long Range Strategy and Planning at Kia Motors America, Steve Kosowski, describes the three drive trains available on the Kia Niro that can fit your lifestyle while keeping a low emissions footprint. Get up to 50mpg with the SE version with no range anxiety due to its hybrid electric/1.6L 4 cylinder gas engine, or go full electric and get up to 239 miles of range. Anything is possible with the full lineup of Kia Niro. Tune in to learn more!

[01:10:51] 2020 Acura RDX’s Non Intuitive Console
Co-founder of Cartender, and Freelance Automotive Journalist for CarGurus, Boston Globe, U.S. News & World Report, George Kennedy III, recently got to test the 2020 Acura RDX and says it’s quite a lot of SUV for your buck, with one catch. The Acura RDX has an awful center console. For some reason, the engineers decided to abandon the touchscreen and went for a joystick navigation system. Listen in as we try to figure out why this decision was made and why the phrase “keep it simple, stupid” was seemingly thrown out of the window.

[01:18:06] Challenger Hellcat Red Eye Test Drive
Dodge has been iterating on their Challenger for quite some time, and by now everybody should be familiar with the 707HP variant dubbed the Hellcat. If you’re a long-time listener of the show you should also know about the Dodge Demon, the limited run 840HP, 0-60 in 2.3 seconds beast; but what you may not know is they released a slightly less powerful 797 Red Eye version. Co-founder of Cartender, and Freelance Automotive Journalist for CarGurus, Boston Globe, U.S. News & World Report, George Kennedy III, found himself in a Dodge Challenger Red Eye recently and was floored by the power and control thanks to its engine and widebody kit. Listen in to learn more about this amazing vehicle.

Explore More with Helpful Links:

·Contributor: Karl Brauer | Executive Publisher, Autotrader/ Kelley Blue Book/ Dealer.com

·Contributor: Steven Cole Smith | Automotive Journalist, Autoweek/ Automobile Magazine/ Grassroots Motorsports

·Contributor: George Kennedy III | Co-founder, Cartender | Freelance Automotive Journalist, CarGurus/ Boston Globe/ U.S. News & World Report

·Special Guest: Steve Kosowski | Manager of Long Range Strategy and Planning, Kia Motors 

·Vehicle Mention: 2020 Chevrolet C8 Corvette

·Vehicle Mention: 2020 Toyota Supra

·Vehicle Mention: 2020 Lamborghini Huracan EVO Spyder

·Vehicle Mention: Kia Niro

·Vehicle Mention: 2020 Acura RDX

·Vehicle Mention: 2020 Dodge Challenger

·Website: Ford

·Website: Dodge

Credits

Host: Alan Taylor
Producer: Dave Milligan
Audio Engineer: Dave Milligan
Copy Editor: Cody Castleberry
Contributor: Karl Brauer
Contributor: Steven Cole Smith
Contributor: George Kennedy III
Special Guest: Steve Kowoski

Our Sponsors & Supported Charities:

·Austin Hatcher Foundation

·Barrett-Jackson

·Brembo

·Bridgestone

·Dodge

·Foundation of Human Understanding

·Go RVing

·Patriot Outreach

·Shell

·Subaru

·The Little Rock Foundation

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This episode was produced by Entertainment Right Now (ERN). If you found value in this episode, and you’d like to hear more, please consider leaving us a review on iTunes and be sure to subscribe to our podcast so you don’t miss a beat. Your feedback helps us to reach more enthusiasts around the world! If you have a question you’d like us to answer, please leave a comment below or e-mail us at info@ernlive.com.