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Joining Alan on this episode of The Drive, is BJ Killeen – Automotive Journalist and Voice of Reason, bringing on tales from the crypt with spooky car tales. The evilest car in America was in 1964, a Dodge 330.  Allegedly it has killed more than a dozen people. It took church members to cut it up in pieces and disperse it across many junk yards so it can never hurt someone again. Next, James Dean’s Porsche 550 Spyder, in which he passed away in after a crash, was purchased by George Barish, King of Customs, who got the car and began to sell parts of the vehicle to other drivers.  More deaths, fires, and injuries followed the car until it mysteriously disappeared. Lastly, the Lincoln Continental, in which JFK was assassinated in, is displayed at the Henry Ford museum. People have reported that they have seen a man dressed in gray standing by the vehicle, which is often seen in late November, the same month the assassination took place. Eerie! Up next is George Kennedy III – Co-founder of Cartender and Freelance Automotive Journalist for CarGurus, Boston Globe, and U.S. News & World Report.   They discuss EVs and how the real growth in the market should be smaller vehicles, like the Chevrolet Leaf and the Bolt, Kia’s Ioniq 5, and EV6. America can have whatever they want says Alan, however, GMs and Fords of the world are killing off their affordable cars.  The duo switch topics as Alan inquires as to what car George has been test-driving. The luxury flagship sedan, Genesis G90.  Smooth, easy to drive, fabulous car, says George.  Genesis makes good cars, but not affordable for most though. Closing the show with Alan today is friend and contributor, Karl Brauer – Automotive Industry Analyst, Forbes Autos Contributor, North American Car and Truck of the Year juror, and board member and Executive Analyst for ISeeCars.com.  The duo discusses the dynamics of speed vs. handling. If you wanna go super fast and not hear anything, with instant torque, go electric. However there is another dimension, that goes beyond performance and going fast, it’s the stopping and turning capability. Next, Karl shares he has been test-driving a lot of vehicles for the NACTOY event coming up. He says most of the cars he test drove are in the utility category and are EVs.  The Audi Q4, Genesis G80 EV, BMW iXD50, and the Cadillac Lyriq, Karl also shared that he went to Sicily and drove a Maserati MC20 Chielo. the convertible version of the MC20 coupe.  Fabulous!! The technology…is fantastic. It drives and sounds fabulously with its got twin-turbocharged 3 Liter V6. Price is a whopping $300k. As they close the show they discuss the loss of affordability in both new and used cars. The average income of a consumer that should be spent on a car, is around 10%. Not anymore! Here are the top cars that fell out of affordability.  Toyota Avalon, Chevrolet Traverse, Volvo S60,  Ford Mustang, Acura TLX, Toyota Prius, Toyota Rav4, Subaru Outback, Subaru Forrester, Honda Accord, Honda CRV. To view the full report, visit ISeeCars.com,

[00:00:00] – Contributor BJ Killeen
[00:06:56] – James Dean Car
[00:13:01] – JF Kennedy Last Ride
[00:20:52] – Contributor George Kennedy III
[00:29:03] – Real Growth in Electric Vehicles
[00:37:25] – Genesis G90 Luxury Sedan
[00:42:45] – Contributor Karl Brauer
[00:50:57] – Utility Category all EV
[00:56:48] – Very Vanilla
[01:04:38] – Don’t Abandon Me!
[01:15:10] – Dire Straights!
[01:21:10] – Affordability Left the Building!

CREDITS

Host: Alan Taylor
Producer: Dave Milligan
Copy Editor: Colleen Mahi
Contributor: BJ Killeen
Contributor: George Kennedy III
Contributor: Karl Brauer
 

EXPLORE MORE WITH HELPFUL LINKS:

• Contributor: George Kennedy III | Co-founder of Cartender and Freelance Automotive Journalist for CarGurus, Boston Globe, and U.S. News & World Report
• Contributor: BJ Killeen |  Automotive Journalist and Voice of Reason
• Special Guest: Karl Brauer | Automotive Industry Analyst, Forbes Autos Contributor, North American Car and Truck of the Year juror and board member and Executive Analyst for ISeeCars.com.

Vehicles Discussed:

 Dodge 330, Porsche 550 Spyder, Chevy Leaf, Chevy Bolt, 2023 Hummer EV, Toyota Corolla, Kia Rio, Grand Cherokee SRT8, 2032 Genesis G90, Audi Q4, Genesis G80, BMW iXD50, 2022 Cadillac Lyriq, 2023 Lordstown Endurance, 2023 Maserati MC20 Cielo, Toyota Avalon, Chevrolet Traverse, Volvo S60,  Ford Mustang, Acura TLX, Toyota Prius, Toyota Rav4, Subaru Outback, Subaru Forrester, Honda Accord, Honda CRV, Dodge Demon

OUR SPONSORS & SUPPORTED CHARITIES:

• Austin Hatcher Foundation
• AutoTempest.com
• Brembo
• Dodge
• Foundation of Human Understanding
• Shell
• Subaru