Automotive

The Drivecast

The Drivecast gives you an inside, behind-the-scenes look at the biggest stories, controversies, and people shaping the car industry from one of the top automotive news sites in the country.

Each week, The Drive’s editor-in-chief Kyle Cheromcha, director of content Joel Feder, and a rotating cast of expert staffers will break down how automakers are navigating a transformative time. Massive shifts in technology, manufacturing, and consumer demands are changing the ways cars are built and sold quicker than ever, and the way car companies are navigating this moment will shape the way our roads look for the next century.

It doesn’t matter if you’re an enthusiast since birth or just curious about why cars are the way they are today—we’ll give you the inside line with our exclusive reporting and break it all down for you.

If you like what we’re doing, check out The Drive for the latest news, analysis, and in-depth car reviews, sign up for one of our newsletters, and subscribe to us on YouTube. We’re also posting all the time on Instagram and Facebook.

Latest Episodes:

Nissan's going all in: Inside the plan Apr 22, 2026

Show notes

Nissan's in trouble, but the automaker's not going down without a fight. After laying out a massive turnaround plan it's clear Nissan's not just on the ropes, but about to swing for the fences and really try and cater to both the masses and enthusiasts, again, as it refocuses.

This week, The Drive's Director of Content and Product, Joel Feder, is joined by Senior Vice President and Chief Planning Officer for Nissan North America, Ponz Pandikuthira, in an exclusive one-on-one chat taking place in Japan discussing what's coming from both Nissan and Infiniti. From a family of U.S.-made body-on-frame vehicles to special edition Zs, the timeline for the next GT-R, backdate kits, restomod and classic parts, to a 600-plus-horsepower QX80, Pandikuthira spills the goods about how Nissan and Infiniti intends to win back the hearts, and wallets, of buyers ranging from millionaires to enthusiasts on a budget and everyone in-between.

So, today, it’s behind-the-scenes on Nissan’s turnaround plan and what comes next.

Stories mentioned in today's episode:

Nissan Announces Huge Turnaround Plan To Cut Models and Keep the Good Stuff

Nissan’s Next GT-R Will Be a Hybrid, Keep the VR38 Block, and Arrive by 2030

The Nissan Z Is Thriving Thanks to an Unlikely Hero: Your Parents

The Next-Gen Nissan Xterra Is Real, and Here’s Your First Look

Nissan Confirms New Xterra Will Offer Hybrid and Non-Hybrid V6 Options

Nissan Is Looking at Doing a Sports Car Lineup Again, Exec Says

00:00 Intro

03:27 Next-gen GT-R

07:46 What's next for the Z?

09:44 Summarization of the upcoming products

10:39 Infiniti's "high-horsepower" sedan (the Skyline)

11:26 The future of Infiniti

15:37 A performance version of the Infiniti QX80

16:43 A Skyline JDM kit for Q50?

19:17 Bringing back and providing heritage parts

22:44 Hotter QX80s and what could come next

25:20 Special projects?

26:44 Xterra is coming

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hyundai and Kia are coming to crash the truck party Apr 15, 2026

Show notes

In a shocking turn of events: Both Hyundai and Kia are preparing body-on-frame pickup trucks. Sounds far-fetched, but it’s true, and it’s quite the development as these two juggernauts continue to blaze a trail forward challenging the rest of the industry on multiple fronts.

It doesn’t sound like we’ll have long to wait. Now Hyundai announced it will kick off a family of body-on-frame vehicles in the U.S. before 2030 and teased them with an SUV that looked like a Bronco competitor. A week later, Kia confirmed it too will be bringing a body-on-frame truck to the U.S. by 2030, and it even talked powertrains.

Senior Editor Caleb Jacobs and Director of Content and Product Joel Feder dive behind-the-scenes on Hyundai and Kia preparing to sell you a pickup truck, and what comes next.

Stories mentioned in today's episode:

Hyundai Targets Bronco, Wrangler with Body-on-Frame Boulder SUV Concept

Hyundai Learned the Hard Way What Truck Buyers Do and Don’t Want

Midsize Trucks Have All the Same Problems. Hyundai Thinks It Can Fix Them

Kia’s Launching a Body-on-Frame Truck by 2030: TDS

00:00 Intro

06:55 Hyundai and Kia have body-on-frame trucks coming

13:26 What Hyundai has told The Drive its truck needs to be

16:55 Which powertrains will these trucks have?

21:21 Kia and Hyundai dealers are a risk

25:45 What do these trucks need to be to win?

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Toyota Prius is losing the hybrid war it started Apr 08, 2026

Show notes

The Toyota Prius is an icon, a statement, and possibly a moment in time as the nameplate approaches its 30th anniversary. Sales of what was once a cultural icon are spiraling. The Prius arguably hasn't been the "it car" that it was once upon a time with EVs taking the mantle for an eco-friendly statement, countless hybrid entries now flooding the market in every conceivable shape and size, and time itself marching on. Even Toyota's own showroom is filled with hybrids.

The latest Prius is a winner in terms of eye-catching design, but its a loser in terms of sales. It's not a new issue, but it's a continuing one with the numbers becoming grimmer as the months and years go by. The Prius has had a rough decade. It's likely not one single issue at hand, but multiple factors all colliding at once.

Senior Editor Adam Ismail and Director of Content and Product Joel Feder dive into what Toyota said in terms of Prius sales plunging, take a look at all the outside factors, and discuss whether the outlook is dire for the Prius or if the icon will live on.

Stories mentioned in today's episode:

Prius Sales Are Tanking So Far in 2026. We Asked Toyota Why

2026 Toyota Prius Nightshade Review: The Practical Car Goes Peacocking

I Drove a Yellow Toyota Prius and My Whole Town Fell in Love

00:00 Intro

04:38 Prius sales are tanking

09:30 The Prius vs the Camry

11:53 Sedan sales can still be healthy

13:11 Various factors affecting Prius sales

14:04 The Prius was a household name

16:22 Does the Prius matter anymore?

23:33 Do we need a sporty Prius?

24:14 Will Toyota kill the Prius in the U.S.? Will the nameplate live on?

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The government's plan to dilute your gasoline, explained Apr 01, 2026

Show notes

With gas topping $4 a gallon this week amid the war with Iran, the EPA announced a plan to lower prices and stretch America's fuel supply by cutting more of it with ethanol. Will it work? Probably not. And as Joel, Kyle, and Andrew explain, it could actually ruin your car's engine.

Ethanol is an alcohol made from corn, and it's commonly added to gasoline as an oxygenator that helps it burn more cleanly and raises the octane rating. We used to use lead, but... that didn't work out. But there are downsides: it's less energy dense than uncut gasoline, so the more ethanol you add, the less efficient your car's engine runs. It's also a solvent, so it will eat away at rubber seals, hoses, and plastics in engines not designed for it. And it degrades quicker in higher temperatures, creating more smog during the summer.

Normally, a gallon of gas is about 10% ethanol, 90% gasoline by liquid volume. E15 gas, which is 15% ethanol, is sold in a number of states during the cooler months as "88 octane", and it's a bit cheaper—because you're literally buying less gas and more ethanol per gallon. Oil companies are typically banned from selling it from June to September because of the smog issue, but the EPA is now waiving the rule to encourage refineries to make more E15.

But if your car was made before 2001, even that 5% bump in ethanol content can really screw up your engine. E15 gas will also damage smaller two-stroke engines in motorcycles, lawn mowers, and boats. And even if you have a newer car, there's still a risk that comes with opting for cheaper 88 octane—especially if your car requires premium fuel.

Stories mentioned in today's episode:

The Feds Plan To Start Diluting Gasoline This May: Explained

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Can Toyota take down Ford as the king of off-road pickups? Mar 26, 2026

Show notes

The secret is out: Toyota is planning to build a crazy Baja-blasting version of the Tundra pickup. Does it stand a chance against the Ford F-150 Raptor? And why are we so obsessed with uber off-road trucks in America anyways?

We've been on top of this story since 2022, when a source tipped us off that the model was in development. Things went quiet for a while, but earlier this month we uncovered a trademark filing from Toyota for the name "TRD Hammer," and another source confirmed the name would be used for a high-speed, desert-runner pickup to compete with the Ford Raptor and the Ram TRX, plus a few more key specs.

This week, Kyle and Joel are spilling the details our reporting uncovered, explaining how we tracked the story over four years, and breaking down the complex reasons why factory off-road pickups and SUVs have become more outrageous—and more popular—than ever before. Plus, what it means for the multibillion-dollar aftermarket industry that's seeing automakers take a bite out of their business.

Stories mentioned in today's episode:

00:00 Intro

02:10 The battle heats up

05:19 How Ford made the market

08:23 Toyota's secret revealed

25:55 Why GM is MIA

30:25 Why the off-road business is booming

45:17 Outro

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Inside the shady world of the Montana license plate loophole Mar 18, 2026

Show notes

Ah, Montana. Big Sky Country, the Last Best Place, and... Land of Tax Evasion?

This week, we're diving into the controversy around the Montana license plate loophole. A quirk of Montana law allows non-residents to buy and register cars there without ever setting foot in the state, and it's been heavily used by wealthy people around the country to avoid paying their own state's sales taxes and registration fees on expensive cars—saving tens of thousands of dollars in the process.

As a result, Montana has twice as many registered cars as actual people living in the state. And those other states are getting sick of losing millions of dollars in revenue to Montana. This month, California charged 14 people with tax evasion, money laundering, and conspiracy over using the loophole, pushing an open secret into the national spotlight, with the promise of more enforcement to come.

It's turning into a real mess. The Drive's editor-in-chief Kyle Cheromcha and executive editor Andrew Collins are breaking down how exactly the Montana trick works, what happened in California, and why this loophole is so hard to close for the rest of the country.

Thanks to the National Corvette Museum for sponsoring today's episode! Enter here (https://bit.ly/4uBefxU) for your chance to win a '65 Corvette. Entries close April 26, 2026 at 2:00 PM CT. This is your shot – don’t let it pass.

Link to the California case charging document: https://oag.ca.gov/system/files/attachments/press-docs/Complaint_Redacted_1.pdf

Stories mentioned in today's episode:

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Why does GM keep killing America's cheapest EV? Mar 11, 2026

Show notes

General Motors just did something unprecedented. It brought a car back from the dead—with the promise of killing it again. Today, we're diving into the life, death, and temporary revival of the $29,000 Chevrolet Bolt—the cheapest EV you can buy in America—and how its saga represents a lot that's gone wrong in the new car market is today.

The Bolt was GM's first modern electric car when it was launched in 2017, beating the Tesla Model 3 to production. For a time was the only EV under $50,000 with over 200 miles of range, and owners adored their little oddball hatchbacks. But in 2023, GM announced it was killing the Bolt to focus on building full-size electric pickups and SUVs, part of a massive plan to make an all-EV lineup by 2035.

People were furious . The media (hi) was incredulous. Why would GM just kill a popular, affordable EV with sales at an all-time high? After a few months of heavy criticism, GM reversed course and promised it would find a way to put the Bolt back into production. It was an unprecedented move, but three years and a lot of work later, the car is back, basically the same price, better than ever.

Trouble is, it's a completely different world now. EV sales have plateaued, no one is buying those expensive electric pickups, the federal tax credit is gone, and the Bolt is now the cheapest electric car you can buy in this country. Other automakers are prepping their own affordable EVs to compete. And yet, GM is getting ready to kill the Bolt again in just 18 months.

What is going on here? Joel and Kyle get into it all after Kyle spent a day test-driving the new-old Chevy Bolt and pressing the car's engineering team for answers.

[Thanks to the National Corvette Museum for sponsoring today's episode! Enter here (https://bit.ly/4uBefxU) for your chance to win a '65 Corvette. Entries close April 26, 2026 at 2:00 PM CT. This is your shot – don’t let it pass.]

Stories mentioned in today's episode:

2027 Chevrolet Bolt First Drive Review: Back from the Dead and Better Than Ever

00:00 Intro

04:07 Bolt's rise and fall

12:11 Who killed the Bolt?

24:30 The resurrection

30:16 The new Bolt's promise

43:44 Uncertain future

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How Rivian Got RAD Mar 04, 2026

Show notes

Rivian just green lit its own internal performance division, dubbed the Rivian Adventure Department or RAD for short, to move from skunkworks to something larger than one-off passion projects and software development. The usage of the word "yes" landed Rivian here, but now that we have RAD there's a laundry list of questions.

This week, Kyle and Joel break down the history of events that formed RAD as a skunkworks operation to where we are today, what it means, what's to come, and what's realistic. The startup automaker is burning through cash as it inches towards launching the smaller, less expensive, more mainstream R2 electric SUV in the coming months. Will it arrive on time and as promised? And what's Rivian doing to tackle its low its reliability score from Consumer Reports and long service wait times?

Joel spent time with various executives ranging from founder and CEO RJ Scaringe to VP of Engineering and Quality, Brian Gase, along with R1 Chief Engineer Luke Lynch to get answers to burning questions and decipher the past, present, and future.

Stories mentioned in today's episode:

00:00 Intro

7:10 How RAD went from skunkworks to official division

11:13 RAD Tuner

25:43 Liveries, paint colors, and limited edition drops

30:11 The R2

36:56 Will Rivian give us buttons and knobs?

41:05 Rivian's service times, quality, and customer satisfaction

50:10 One more thing!

51:22 Outro

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How Jeep got lost in the wilderness Feb 25, 2026

Show notes

Jeep is in trouble. The rugged American icon finds itself struggling to dig out from mountain of problems: plummeting quality, skyrocketing prices, and confusing strategic shifts that alienated its most loyal fans. Now, with a new CEO in town, Jeep is trying to smash the reset button.

This week, Kyle and Joel are joined by The Drive’s senior editor and resident truck expert Caleb Jacobs to explain how a company known for trail-rated trucks got lost in the wilderness, whether it can recapture its old-school magic in today’s challenging environment, and if its move to bring back the Jeep Cherokee SUV as Toyota-fighting hybrid crossover is a step in the right direction, or too little too late.

Building and selling new cars at a price that makes sense for consumers is hard enough right now, but Jeep faces an even bigger obstacle: its parent company Stellantis, the multinational conglomerate with 14 brands across multiple continents under its umbrella. Many of Jeep’s biggest stumbles—spending billions to launch a half-finished electric SUV, an ambitious plug-in hybrid push that ended in a rash of battery fires and recalls, raising MSRPs to reposition itself as a luxury brand, and relentless cost cutting to pay for all of that—came from Stellantis’ European focus and top-down decision-making structure.

To get back on track, Jeep needs to get back to basics, and new CEO Bob Broderdorf is promising a new golden era for the brand that starts with listening to what American buyers actually want from it. Jeep knows mistakes were made. The big question is whether it’s actually capable of doing what’s necessary to correct them.

Stories mentioned in today's episode:

00:00 Intro

3:08 How Jeep lost the trail

17:48 New look Cherokee?

26:18 Grand plans

39:50 Lineup cleanup

57:49 Outro

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How a Tesla Actually Drove Itself from LA to NYC Feb 18, 2026

Show notes

No, really. A Tesla Model S just drove itself 3,081 miles from Los Angeles to New York City with zero accidents and zero human intervention for the first time. Was it just another stunt, or a watershed moment for self-driving tech?

Today we're taking you inside the Tesla FSD Cannonball Run, as its organizer and wheelman Alex Roy named it after the famous cross-country speed record challenge. Joel is joined by Alex and The Drive editor Byron Hurd, who broke the news of the run in an exclusive story late last month, to dive into the planning, the challenges, the surprises, and the significance of a car actually driving itself across the US. In the middle of a brutal winter, no less.

Tesla's Full Self-Driving technology has been a flash point since it launched in limited public beta tests in 2020. Its capabilities on surface streets and highways have since reached incredible heights through successive software updates—but it's also been plagued by unpredictable errors, dangerous glitches, its involvement in multiple fatal crashes, and an ongoing federal probe. Adding to the controversy is Tesla's reliance on cheaper cameras to help the car "see" instead of the lidar-based systems used by other major automakers. Also, despite the name it still requires the driver to look at the road ahead and be ready to take over.

But as Alex and his co-pilots Warren Ahner and Paul Pham showed, for all its faults Tesla FSD is still the most advanced semi-autonomous driving technology on the market today. And while it's taking longer than predicted, the leap from here to an actual self-driving car might be smaller than we think.