S3 Magazine PodcastJul 10, 2024
00:00
32:41
Wooley eats some EV crow - EP 106If you DON'T like electric vehicles, you should drive the Genesis GV60. Because here’s the thing: I don’t like EVs either. At least I was pretty convinced I didn’t. But the driving experience of the Genesis GV60 is good enough to make me realize, it’s actually not 'the concept' of an electric vehicle that I don’t like. Rather, it’s 'what they’ve come to represent' over the last few years. And as astute & honest car enthusiasts, we have to be able to separate 'the car' from its stigma and/or its politics.Politics & preconceived notions aside…The Genesis GV60 is a great option, IF it fits your lifestyle requirements. Maybe it does;Nissan Z has alarmingly low production Numbers. Is the Z digging its own grave?The Nissan Z is a genuinely exciting new sports car, but that doesn’t matter if the car is not accessible. Nissan Z sales are alarmingly low. The Z has been out for a year now, and total US sales in the first quarter of 2023 were just 466. The Z is not supposed to be an ultra-exclusive sports car. It’s supposed to be a fun & viable alternative to that. Nissan is, of course, still blaming Corona & chip/parts shortages. But Nissan also sighted a couple of other reasons. Coming as no shock to me at this point, they have to do with 1) Automation. And 2) Sustainability.THE PLANT THAT MAKES THE NISSAN Z… Is located in Tochigi, Japan. And at that plant, Nissan has implemented some new automated manufacturing techniques with less human interference. But more on that in a minute. Because additionally…IN ATTEMPTS TO KISS THE WORLD’S ENLIGHTENED A$$… Nissan has implemented a more sustainable paint process on the Nissan Z. The new process uses a lower temperature to cure the paint, in theory saving precious energy (all while they transition to energy-sucking EVs). The paint process also uses more environmentally-friendly chemicals in the paint itself. Which is a nice touch… IF the paint doesn’t come out looking like sh¡t.SO CIRCLING BACK TO THE AUTOMATION…The non-human machines on the assembly & quality-control lines can read paint to down to a third of a millimeter. Impressive. But since the paint is not great, the machines keep rejecting it. IT SEEMS THAT NISSAN HAS IMPLEMENTED PRODUCTION METHODS…That are in fact 'restricting production'. And that has yielded very low inventory on new Nissan Zs. Therefore… the prices on new Zs are gouged. Additionally, kinks in production no doubt wastes energy… so arguably on that front, the world is no better off. It’s the literal opposite of sustainable. The only measurable difference is – you don’t have a Z yet. And if you do… you probably spent $20,000-$30,000 more than its worth. While probably not getting the color you wanted. But have faith, because you’ll likely be repainting it in 7 years when the clear coat lifts from the roof, spoiler, and hood. Because having to paint it twice saves energy & the environment for sure. WE’RE BEING MISLED, MISMANAGED, & MISGOVERNED… And completely tangled in a web of sustainability delusions. The result is: A higher price on a lesser product with more delays (let that sink in). And they’re urging you to accept this nonsense for the sake of “the environment”?! At a point, that narrative starts to get exhausting & hypocritical. Of course it goes without saying, we all want clean air for our future. But we need the world economy to be able to function within those margins. And we need common sense to step in. Stop moving the damn goalposts around based on virtue signaling. •Get the FREE S3 MAGAZINE APP... with no dealer markups• ;)Jul 07, 202330:21Integra Type S Pricing Announced Pricing for the new Acura Integra Type S ('DE5' ITS) came out at $51,995. And though we're not surprised... that does hurt our feelings a little bit. Plus - the dealership markups are already in full effect... •Download the free S3 MAGAZINE app• ...and stay up-to-date on car culture news.May 19, 202332:06Riverside 8 // Chattanooga, TNYeah yeah - Riverside is 'just another car show', so what's all the fuss about??? Well... we talk about that. The guest is Ben Battles, and you'll be able to see his photos/coverage on s3mag.com tonight (we'll link you here when it drops).Apr 19, 202345:30Rally making a comeback in USA - get amped!The WRC (World Rally Championship) is set to make a potential return to the US as soon as 2024. This would mark the 1st time the WRC has been involved in the US in 35 years. And Rally USA’s recent demonstration event in Chattanooga was aimed squarely at the WRC to show them – WE WANT THIS! See the full article on S3 Magazine here: https://s3mag.com/rally-usa-brings-ra... •And please check out S3 Magazine's FREE app•Apr 16, 202332:52What makes a car feature worthy?We did a throwback on S3 (•check out our free app• S3 MAGAZINE), to a feature we ran on cover 12 years ago. It stirred-up a bunch of nostalgia for the car scene circa 2011, so we decided to talk about how we picked those feature/cover cars back in the day... and 'what it takes' to get your car featured in general.Feb 10, 202326:56Tesla aggressively drops prices. What's that mean for the auto industry as a whole? 2 Views Jan 25 2023 Tesla has aggressively dropped prices since the first of the year. We talk about the ripple effects it will have on the auto industry. •CHECK OUT OUR FREE APP• (S3 MAGAZINE)Jan 25, 202334:42The auto industry has lost their marbles This podcast didn't have one specific topic. But rather, everyday it seems we hear about more absolutely dumb & ridiculous news coming from the automotive industry... and it's just hard to watch lol. Here are a couple abbreviated stories from this past week. If you want the full articles, just check out our site (s3mag.com) or download our free app (S3 Magazine). 1) A brand new Hummer EV broke down in the middle of a highway during rush hour. It was wet outside, and GM’s all-terrain EV went totally dead. And unfortunately for GM, the brand new Hummer EV belongs to some well-known YouTubers in the truck world – The Fast Lane Truck. The Hummer threw a steering code & I believe a TPMS code. Basically things started acting glitchy. And when the concerned owner, Roman Mica, tried to restart it at a traffic light (as you restart your computer when it starts acting dumb)… it totally shut down. Makes you wonder....•EVs are more software than machine;“H2Oi” Turns FatalLooking at what happened during this bootleg-version of H2Oi in Wildwood, it's glaringly obvious that we have a severe culture problem in this country... and now it's spilling over into car culture. What we saw in Wildwood was not ‘a little disruptive,’ it was totally destructive. There’s a difference.Historically, hot-rodding culture has always been a bit disruptive, right?But... there's always been some level of charm to the disobedience. Meaning, there was always enough morality, good judgement, and overall intelligence to respectfully ride-that-line between bad boy & good guy. That’s the sweet spot. What we’re seeing now though, is truly ugly. It’s not car culture anymore. It’s… trash people in trash cars doing trash things. In these cases, 'the car' is just an excuse for destruction. See - this is gonna sting a little bit, but let’s look at where we’re at. Automotive culture already has a target on its back. The current administration wants to push an EV agenda - hard. And the kind of ignorance we saw at Wildwood gives them the silver platter to wake-the-woke & vilify car culture as a whole. People... died.Let’s look at how this scenario always plays out: When a criminal commits a crime these days… we blame law enforcement. When a psychopath shoots up a school, we blame guns. Americans never stand up anymore, take accountability, and blame our diseased modern American culture that's at the root of all of this. And when I say 'modern American culture', I'm talking about the one that glamorizes ignorance, violence, sin, & the breakdown of family. So WHAT DO YOU THINK is gonna happen when these takeover events turn into riots & start getting innocent people killed? They're gonna blame car culture. And they're going to do it loudly with a broad brush. An undeniable part of this infection that is 'the new generation of car culture' - is fallout from the automotive industry abandoning its own traditional/established media.When I say 'traditional media'... I mean MAGAZINES and CAR SHOWS/EVENTS. Traditional media had the integrity to INSPIRE the culture in a positive, inspirational way. Anyone over 35 knows… that’s what magazines did. Car shows & events used to be hosted by responsible, professional, well-staffed organizers. These types of things built-up the culture;Ford Introduces the S650 MustangOur opinion - Ford nailed it. The S650 Mustang seems to be everything it needs to be. Enough to offset the 'soft side of Ford' that we've been seeing too much of lately with all the EV stuff. It's given the Ford-loyal enthusiasts something to be proud of.One argument - is that Ford already ruined the Mustang by using the name on that sad 4-door electric crossover... the Mach E. But the other side of the coin is... they could have just ruined the coupe & convertible TOO... but they didn't. They could have axed the Mustang like Chevy is axing the Camaro & Dodge is axing the Charger/Challenger... but they didn't. And that has restored some of my faith in Ford. This was the right move.I've always said that when Ford gets out of their own way... they can really do badass exciting things. I'd like to see more of that... and less brown-nosing shareholders & administrations. ENGINE..The base model Mustang is still a 2.3 Ecoboost. Which really is a fun car to drive in its own right, But the Ecoboost will always live in the shadow of the GT. So let talk about the GT: The 4th-gen Coyote V8 now has twin intakes & throttle bodies! Badass. Ford says it's the most powerful Coyote yet, but they did not release horsepower numbers on there GT to my knowledge.But what we should really be celebrating here - is the fact that we can still get the next generation Mustang with a ground-pounding V8 and a bonerific 6-speed transmission!Dark Horse: The Dark Horse will make 500... normally aspirated... horsepower! Just saying the name silences the room and causes a bead of sweat run down your butt cheek. This is what America does;Trends in Youth Car Culture There's no official 'news topic' here. Just a regular conversation. It hit me the other day... what happened to all the golden era-Hondas?! For like 20+ years, those things ran the streets pretty commonly. But they've really vanished over the last few years or so. I guess they finally aged out. And that got me thinking... this current 'bags/fitment/camber' trend in youth car-culture has been around for a looooong time now. It's long in the tooth. And how much longer, until that trend (and the people who defined it) really starts to age out as well? And what/who will replace it? Car culture is in a weird place with the youth these days. Car prices are high, and cars have become less interesting. What, if anything, will be next?Sep 15, 202245:13Buick Buys Out Dealers Part 2We try to keep the podcasts to about 30 minutes or so. This one ran long, so we broke it up into 2 parts. This is Part 2, and Part 1 was release a day prior. We also kinda went down different rabbit holes... but it's all part of the broader topic of the 'rapidly changing automotive industry'.Sep 08, 202223:60More Insane Markups By Car Dealerships A new Corvette Z06 for $90,000 over MSRP?! The new Nissan Z selling for $130,000?! What the hell is happening with these dealerships?Aug 25, 202228:55Dodge E-Muscle Released!Dodge has officially unveiled their first EV Muscle Car, the Charger Daytona SRT concept. Let’s talk about it!Aug 19, 202242:37Tesla on AUTOPILOT Kills MotorcyclistWe discuss a very sad and serious topic today. A motorcyclist was killed by a Tesla on Autopilot. Who is to blame and how do we avoid this kind of tragedy in the future?Aug 09, 202220:18What Ford and GM are doing to Fight these Crazy New Car Markups It looks like Ford and GM are finally getting fed up with the dealership and re-seller shenanigans, and are making some changes. Let’s dive into what they are going here.Aug 08, 202231:34NASCAR goes EV : Civic Type R and Raptor R Intros : Teslas in TexasToday we cover a host of topics including the power grid in Texas, Tesla issues, NASCAR going to EV’s, and the introduction of the new Raptor R and Civic Type R.Jul 28, 202201:13:17
