2021 Jeep Grand Cherokee L and 2022 VW Tiguan | Autoblog Podcast #695
In this episode of the Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Senior Editor, Autoblog Green, John Beltz Snyder. Greg has been driving the three-row 2021 Jeep Grand Cherokee L, and John is fresh off a first drive of the updated 2022 Volkswagen Tiguan. Greg poses the question, if you could add one model to an automaker’s lineup what would it be? After going off on some tangents, they reach into the mailbag for "Spend My Money" double header to end the show.
Send us your questions for the Mailbag and Spend My Money at: Podcast@Autoblog.com.
Video Transcript
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[CAR ENGINE REVVING]
GREG MIGLIORE: Welcome back to The Autoblog Podcast. I'm Greg Migliore. Joining me on this cool, early September day is John Snyder, our senior editor for all things green. How are you, man?
JOHN BELTZ SNYDER: I'm pretty good. How about yourself?
GREG MIGLIORE: Doing awesome.
JOHN BELTZ SNYDER: Love to hear it.
GREG MIGLIORE: It's going to get a little hot soon. But, hey, that's September. It's always kind of up and down and, you know, jackets and hoodies and then shorts. But we have a great show for you today. We're going to talk about the 2022 Jeep Grand Cherokee L. This is the three-row version of the Grand Cherokee. I have been driving it all week. I haven't driven it super far, but I've been driving it super frequently. And I know you went to the launch. So we'll get into that. That'll be good.
We're gonna talk about the Volkswagen Tiguan which, if you're listening to this, probably over the weekend, story went up on Thursday. Check it out. That's our first drive of the 2022 model, so come back to our site to check that out. And also, we're gonna have a hypothetical segment where we suggest one car for an automaker. We're going to be like a prescription here. Like, if you could add one car to any OEM's lineup, what would that car be, and what would the automaker be? So we'll give that a try. Almost like a drinking game or something, I don't know.
Remember to spend your money twice. Thanks to everybody who wrote in. We put up a post this week, just to try to get some more comments, questions, engagements. Keep sending them in. You have Spend My Money, so that's podcast at autoblog.com. If you have some questions, you know, we're always happy to do kind of like a mailbag or something, too. Cars or even non-car stuff. Hey, we'll see if we can solve your problems as they relate to, like, beer and-- I don't know, other things. I'm not sure we can get too far afield in our expertise, so. Yeah, let's jump right in.
Grand Cherokee L. Excited to drive this. It's a big-deal launch for Jeep. Let's put it that way. I think they took a look at this segment of SUV and said, hey, we don't have a three-row Grand Cherokee. We need to get one. Now, you don't have to get a Grand Cherokee with three rows-- and the third row folds down in this one, obviously. But now they could truly fight, like, the GMC Acadia, for example. Like just all those three-row SUVs out there, head-to-head. If you want to get a larger three-row Jeep, hey, the Grand Wagoneer and the Wagoneer are a thing. But--
JOHN BELTZ SNYDER: Those are huge.
GREG MIGLIORE: And they're monster trucks.
JOHN BELTZ SNYDER: [LAUGHS]
GREG MIGLIORE: But now, if you're like a Grand Cherokee buyer, you can get a very large Grand Cherokee with three rows. So, to me, it's like talk about, you know, vehicles that automakers should be adding to fill out their lineup. I mean, this is right. Part and parcel, what Jeep needed to do, just to kind of stretch out their buyers a little bit. And, frankly, now they have-- like, depending on how you count this, two or three three-row SUVs. Whereas before-- what was it, the Commander was the last three-row Jeep we sold domestically?
So I think it's interesting play. I'll toss it back to you real quick, though. I mean, you did the first drive of this a few months back. I mean, how are you feeling about it?
JOHN BELTZ SNYDER: Um, I came into it with a little bit of skepticism. Um. But, uh, then I drove it. I drove it on the road and off-road. And I came away really impressed with especially, like, the higher-level trims. The materials in there are really, really nice. That Macintosh sound system's pretty cool. Yeah, it's-- it's nice and spacious.
I was a little worried. We took it to the Chelsea Proving Grounds and did some of the off-road trails that they evaluate Wranglers on. And, um, I definitely thought I was going to get stuck on the breakover angle on this thing, just because it's so long. But, you know, depending on the trim you get, you can get that air suspension that raises up quite a bit.
And I was able to get right over stuff. I was actually quite impressed with how well this handled off road. And then I didn't drive it for this part-- one of the engineers was driving-- but they have those sort of offset moguls. So you're driving over and, like, rocking back and forth. Three wheels, pretty much, you know-- you go from three wheels to two wheels as you're transitioning, and then you land down on one of the front wheels, then back wheel's in the air.
And [LAUGHS] it was really impressive. And it handled it confidently and calmly, and I was pretty comfortable the whole time. Yeah, we went through some pretty hairy stuff. But then, on the road, it was pretty good, too. Super comfortable, got a little bit of that truck-like off-roading bounciness to it, but it's not harsh. It's not, you know, too truck-like.
It feels like a Jeep. It feels like a real Jeep, which was my main concern. Is this still going to feel like a real Jeep? And it certainly does.
GREG MIGLIORE: You know, it's interesting. To me, this feels like a real Jeep Grand Cherokee-- is how I would put it-- which is a very capable off-road vehicle, if you want it to be. Most people, I don't think do. The one I drove, that I've been driving this week, is the Summit Reserve. So you're talking, like, 64 grand. It's nice.
JOHN BELTZ SNYDER: That's the-- yeah, very line-topper. And yeah, it's real nice inside. That quilted leather
GREG MIGLIORE: Oh, man.
JOHN BELTZ SNYDER: And they've got some neat colors. They've got some really nice wood in there. Yeah. It's-- it's a beautiful interior. And, you know, I-- I actually crawled back into the third row and sat back there for a while, and it's-- it's pretty comfortable.
You know, you can move the-- the second row captain's chairs forward-- forward and back, so you can give yourself more room if you need. If it was two adults back there, you'd be sitting shoulder to shoulder. But you'd have plenty of headroom and leg room. And, you know, there's cupholders and USB-- USB ports back there.
And then, if you-- if you sit back and you look out the little windows, the little black tinting around the edges, you see there's some Easter eggs. There's the silhouette of a Wrangler on one, and the silhouette of a Grand Cherokee and Grand Cherokee L on the other. So it's, like, a little treat for the people who get relegated to the back seat. They get to discover something like that.
GREG MIGLIORE: I think, you know, when I look at the Grand Cherokee L, it does trend-- like, start to tread into, like, it's a premium, you know, family hauling SUV at this point, especially the one that I'm driving. And it's got some things that I think work really well, as far as, you know, obviously making it. Like, to me, for $64 grand it is a luxury SUV. Obviously, the finishings, the quilting looks great. But also it's got some things that, like, frankly for, like, family duty make it easier.
You know, like, the second row captain's chairs can slide forward and push forward. So, like, my little guy got into the third row and he just pulled the chair out and I was, like, hey, man. You got to go to school. I don't want to crawl back there. I'm just going to pull this chair out, and he easily walked out.
For Mom and Dad in the front row, there is the comfort settings where you could call up a couple of different massages, which I have long advocated for the massage sort of option to just be proliferated across the industry. You want to get one in your Ford Ecosport? Sure, why not? Of course, they'll never do that.
JOHN BELTZ SNYDER: Right.
GREG MIGLIORE: But it's like-- I think it's-- it's a great feature. And, like, driving home from, like, drop off, give myself, like, a massage, turn the seat heaters up. It was about 60 degrees. I'm like, hey, this is-- this is a family car I could get on board with.
And we've been, like, looking at minivans. And I'm thinking to myself, OK, I know I'm in the, like, basically the most expensive Grand Cherokee L. But, you know, I mean drop down a few trims, get something that's a little more budget conscious, and it's like, hey, wait a minute. I could see myself in here. It seems like a very legit, like, I'd say Palisade fighter, which I think is a good option against, like, a traditional minivan. You know?
JOHN BELTZ SNYDER: Mm-hmm.
GREG MIGLIORE: So, you know, kind of looking at it from a parenting side of things.
JOHN BELTZ SNYDER: Yeah. I-- and you said you don't think people will-- a lot of people will take it off road. You know what? You'd be surprised. When I had my Jeep, I had a Cherokee, a '99 Cherokee, and took it to a Jeep jamboree, took it to some, you know, off roading spots in Wisconsin. Most of the cars out there were Grand Cherokees. They were--
GREG MIGLIORE: Wow.
JOHN BELTZ SNYDER: There were a--
GREG MIGLIORE: OK.
JOHN BELTZ SNYDER: There were a lot of new owners, you know, it's their first Jeep, and they're in the Grand Cherokee, and they just want to see what it can do. They want to see what it's capable of. And-- and, of course, once you do that once, you're hooked. But, yeah, I think-- I think a lot of Jeep owners, especially-- if you're-- if you're going to the Jeep brand, you might be more inclined to see what your car can do off road. And once-- once you do it, you're gonna keep doing it, hopefully, as long as you don't break something. [LAUGHS]
But-- but, yeah, I think this is gonna be a good-- a good car for-- for a-- you know, a family, especially if you can only have one vehicle in the household, you only have room for-- to park one car, let's say, but you have the money to-- to get a nice Grand Cherokee. And you want to do everything-- you want to drop the kids off at school, you want to take it off road, you want to go camping, you want to do stuff like that. It's a good all around vehicle for all-- all those things. And it's comfortable on the highway, pretty good driving assist technology. And, yeah, all around it's pretty good. Yeah. It sort of does it all, which I kind of like about it.
GREG MIGLIORE: I didn't mess with the-- the settings. But my son, actually, when he was crawling around the front seat, adjusted the ride height. So it was actually rolling down, like, just random suburban road at, like, the highest, like, rock crawling setting. And it was flashing the messages, like, to maintain this ride height please slow down. You know, I'm like, Rubiconing here on, like, you know, in suburbia.
But, you know, I would agree with you that, especially with Jeep, there is like a sense of-- a state of mind. You know? And I think when I was, you know, looking at the Bronco, I was even thinking to myself, like, you know, it's just like, yeah, the Bronco is-- totally could go head to head with the Wrangler and is better in some ways, actually.
JOHN BELTZ SNYDER: Mm-hmm.
GREG MIGLIORE: But Jeep owners are always going to be a Jeep owner. You could always say you own a Jeep. A Bronco, for good or bad, is a Ford. You know?
JOHN BELTZ SNYDER: Mm-hmm.
GREG MIGLIORE: And that's a different-- like, it's just different. Let me put it that way. Like, you-- nothing is a Jeep. With a-- if you buy a Jeep, whether you get a Cherokee, a Grand Cherokee, a Wrangler, a Grand Wagoneer, you're driving a Jeep. For some people, that's very, very cool. And I do think that comes through in the-- the Grand Cherokee L, if you will. I think it looks pretty good, too. Like, it really has a presence.
JOHN BELTZ SNYDER: Yes.
GREG MIGLIORE: Like, pulling up different places, you know, Grand Cherokees are very ubiquitous in metro Detroit. Like, you see 'em everywhere. But the new one, it's like well, wait a minute. What do you got there? You know, the grille is kind of like, you know, canted forward.
JOHN BELTZ SNYDER: Yeah.
GREG MIGLIORE: It's got really long hood. I think it looks great in person. Pictures, I don't think did it justice. But it's-- you really have some presence, especially in the higher trims when you roll up in one of these things.
JOHN BELTZ SNYDER: Yeah. I agree with you. And, yes, that-- that grill is definitely eye catching. You know, I've been with people who aren't car people and, you know, once or twice have seen one of these real by. And they're like, what is that, you know? And I'm like, oh, that's the-- that's the Grand Cherokee L. They're like, what's the Grand Cherokee L?
GREG MIGLIORE: Yeah.
JOHN BELTZ SNYDER: So I explain to 'em. But, yeah, especially it's the grill that's the first thing that people notice, 'cause it's different. You know? It's not quite what we're used to. Eventually, we'll get used to it, but for now it's a really fresh looking appearance. And, yeah, it really-- it really makes its presence known.
GREG MIGLIORE: I think, too, it-- it gives a fresh take on Jeep SUV design. Like, I could see them-- some of the other-- like, the Cherokee and just other-- maybe even the Compass starting to kind of affect this look a little bit, which I think could be good.
JOHN BELTZ SNYDER: Mm-hmm.
GREG MIGLIORE: Jeep design, by necessity, is generally pretty static. But, I mean, to me the look here is-- is strong. I actually think sort of somewhat of a similar vibe on the Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer. Like, I think the Grand Cherokee looks better. It's just, to me, it's like, very much like the right proportions.
JOHN BELTZ SNYDER: Yeah.
GREG MIGLIORE: Whereas I think when you start to look at Wagoneer, it gets a little more hulking, if you will.
JOHN BELTZ SNYDER: Yeah. [LAUGHS]
GREG MIGLIORE: But that's OK, too. I mean, if you're going to buy that, you're already cross shopping Tahoe and Suburban and--
JOHN BELTZ SNYDER: Right.
GREG MIGLIORE: --Navigator, maybe. I don't know. You know, you're really in, like, kind of a different space even, you know? So, you know, it's-- it's interesting.
JOHN BELTZ SNYDER: I haven't seen one of those in person yet. But-- but, yeah, in photos and candid photos, it looks even bigger than it does in-- you know, in staged press shots. But I'm going to withhold my take on what I think of how it looks, other than it looks huge, until I see one in person.
GREG MIGLIORE: Yeah. One of my neighbors has one that's, like, some sort of prototype, it looks like.
JOHN BELTZ SNYDER: Mm-hmm.
GREG MIGLIORE: And it's big. And I believe it's just the regular Wagoneer. It's a big SUV, that's for sure.
JOHN BELTZ SNYDER: Yeah.
GREG MIGLIORE: And it's a cool name. I think they did a-- you know, they're Jeep. They've got this great name and--
JOHN BELTZ SNYDER: Yeah.
GREG MIGLIORE: You know, they put it on a credible thing that people like. It would be like, oh, hey you have the Wagoneer. That's cool, you know? I mean, a lot of people I've talked to-- you know, and to me, Jeep is like, a really good, like, crossover brand. You know, it just-- nobody even cares that they're owned by Stellantis, you know? West Coast, East Coast, flyover country--
JOHN BELTZ SNYDER: Right.
GREG MIGLIORE: --Canada-- everybody knows what a Jeep is. You know, the Wagoneer, I think, has a lot of, like, cachet with almost, like-- and with everybody. You know? So it's-- I really think they're doing a good job of, like, kind of manifesting who they are across their lineup. So it's a nice car.
JOHN BELTZ SNYDER: Yeah. It brings back memories. Some of my first car memories, my dad had a Wagoneer when I was--
GREG MIGLIORE: Wow.
JOHN BELTZ SNYDER: --very, very young, you know, up until we moved to Oregon when I was four years old. And I remember going on Sunday drives in that thing. I think they should offer it with wood on the side, though.
GREG MIGLIORE: I think that's inevitable. I mean, will Jeep do it? Maybe, maybe not. But somebody's going to.
JOHN BELTZ SNYDER: Yeah. It'll be after market. [LAUGHS]
GREG MIGLIORE: Other Grand Cherokee L thoughts-- you know, anything you took away from that first drive? I know it's been a few months, actually, but-- you know, I mean, I think it's going to be pretty competitive based on the execution. You know.
JOHN BELTZ SNYDER: I-- the-- my other memory of that, from getting into the back, was stepping up into the second row from outside. It was a big step up. It's a-- it's-- it's a little hard. I think, you know, if I were, you know, a few years older, I could see, you know, getting into the backseat, you know, even the second row as sort of a no go for me. But once you're up there, it's really easy to navigate your way into the third row, which was nice.
But those second row seats are awesome. You've got tons of space. They're very comfortable. And you're just surrounded by really nice materials. I liked it quite a bit.
GREG MIGLIORE: I think they're doing a really good job of taking the Grand Cherokee L, and taking it to, like, an even higher space. And you could get a pretty loaded Grand Cherokee, like, right now. But, I mean, they're-- they're, like, really making this if you want it to be a true luxury vehicle. So I think that's smart.
JOHN BELTZ SNYDER: It definitely feels like a luxury vehicle, 100%.
GREG MIGLIORE: So I've been very impressed overall, though, with the Grand Cherokee L. I think it's-- it's definitely the right move for Jeep. It looks great, drives pretty good. It definitely drives large. It's a big vehicle. I've definitely been doing, like, sort of the family stuff this week with a car seat in there. Love the bucket seats for the second row. Third row is pretty good. I actually looked forward to climbing back there and just kind of really getting a feel for it.
You're a little bit of a taller guy than I am. So the fact that you could fit back there and feel reasonably comfortable, I think is a good sign for them. You know, and the seats in the rear hatch are obviously-- you know, most-- that's-- this is nothing special, but you can control it all different ways, like with a key fob, with you know, every button, you know, can do things. You can even, like, put the third row headrests down with a push of a button in-- like, through the infotainment, which I think is kind of neat.
So, I mean, yeah, I mean, I'm looking forward to my waterfall massage and rock climbing massage. There's, like, three different extension massages. I don't even know which one I'm going to pick, but there's three of them. So looking forward to those on the way, you know, in my future drives.
JOHN BELTZ SNYDER: Yeah. You know, those-- those third row headrest buttons are-- or second-- second or third row. It doesn't matter what row. Those are my favorite. [LAUGHS] If-- if I've got someone back there, I like to press it so it clunks down on their head. They never know what's going on.
GREG MIGLIORE: Oh, jeez.
JOHN BELTZ SNYDER: [LAUGHS]
GREG MIGLIORE: It's definitely fun to, like, create just-- just as a diversion. Like, when I was with my son in the car and he was, like, starting to get into things, I'm like-- the third row headsets go-- or head rests go down. He's like, wait! What's that? You know, so that was kind of cool.
JOHN BELTZ SNYDER: Yeah.
GREG MIGLIORE: So, yeah, check out John's review, Jeep Grand Cherokee L. I'm excited to drive it. It's actually on the long list of North American Car and Truck of the Year--
JOHN BELTZ SNYDER: Ah, yes.
GREG MIGLIORE: --awards, which is one of the reasons it's in my driveway. So, you know, I've been driving a lot of those, like, you know, vehicles that are on the long list. Because I get to be a juror this year, so I'm super excited about that.
JOHN BELTZ SNYDER: That's awesome.
GREG MIGLIORE: I'm trying to figure out, you know, how I'm gonna put all my voting. So, you know, good times.
JOHN BELTZ SNYDER: Good times, indeed.
GREG MIGLIORE: Volkswagen Tiguan-- was it good times?
JOHN BELTZ SNYDER: Pretty good.
GREG MIGLIORE: Yeah?
JOHN BELTZ SNYDER: So-- so for 2022, it gets a, you know, mid-cycle refresh. They updated the front and rear look a little bit, classed it up a little bit. It looks nicer. Then they added some new tech. They get-- now they all have the digital cockpit, you know, the digital instrument cluster. Still the same powertrain-- the turbo two liter, still available in front wheel drive and all wheel drive.
They condensed the trim line up a little bit. They raised the prices on the three lower trims, but dropped the price on the top trim and, you know, added more stuff to all these. So there's new-- there's some new tech. There's better driver assistance. But, yeah, it's-- it's-- and it's crazy to me that they're able to stuff a third row into those. They-- they're only in the-- in the front wheel drive versions now. But-- but, yeah, there's a third row in those. And it's so, so small. [LAUGHS] I can't imagine it ever being used.
But it drives-- it drives well. They didn't do any changes to the suspension or anything. They did a little bit of tuning to the engine. Mostly they got one more MPG out of it sort of across the board.
But, yeah, so I drove the very top trim level in all wheel drive and I drove the very bottom trim level in front wheel drive. I started in the all wheel drive, and it's really nice. You know, nice materials. none of that, you know, clutter that you get in, you know, like, American vehicles. Volkswagen, Audi-- feel like they're very good at maintaining sort of a neat and tidy interior. Nothing's too over the top.
I was a little concerned because they mentioned that they added some touch controls, some sliders, for-- in this case, thankfully, it was only for the climate control. But I don't know if you recall the-- all the touch sensitive sliders in the Volkswagen ID.4, and how fidgety and tough to use those were, tough to figure out.
And there-- basically, everything in the ID.4 was touch capacitive like that. This, it's just the-- the two sliders for the-- for the climate control, and it works pretty well. And then, in the higher trim, there's also touch sensitive buttons on the steering wheel. And there's a little bit of haptic feedback, a little vibe-- it'll give a little tap back. So it actually feels like you're pressing a button, and so that was pretty-- pretty normal.
The lower trims are still, you know, very-- very sparse. It doesn't get any of that. Normal buttons on the-- on the-- on the steering wheel, and then, you know, those little dials that just have-- don't have temperature in degrees. It just has red or blue for the climate control, so you're kind of guessing and fidgeting with it until you find what's right.
But, yeah, I-- I thought it was a-- it drives pretty well. It's pretty confident on the roads, pretty good. You know, I took it down some of the-- the twisty roads out by Dexter, Chelsea, Hell, Michigan, which there's this one road called Hankered Road. Giving away my secret spot, but for anyone who's around here, they already know of it. And, yeah, it's really well sorted out.
The steering is a little on the artificial light side, and then sort of numb on center. But it's precise enough. The power train feels ample. There's some hesitation to get the power to the wheels in the all wheel drive version. It, like, waits a second before it scoots away. And then the front wheel drive version, it seems to get the power to the wheels and more immediately. But I don't know whether it was just because it was only going to the front wheels or because of-- you know, the cheaper tires on the-- on the S trim.
They'd spin really easily, and so it would take about the same time to launch in either vehicle. And the eight speed automatic transmission works pretty well in that. It's, you know, pretty smooth, pretty quick to respond. There's no paddles to shift with, but you can use the gear level-- gear lever to shift up and down in-- in the manual mode. But it's-- it drives me nuts.
I wish that cars that had, you know, manual modes on the gear lever-- I feel like pulling back should be up shifting, and pushing forward should be downshifting. Because when you're accelerating, you're getting pushed back in your seat. Your instinct is to pull back, but this is the opposite. [LAUGHS] So I kept up shifting when I meant to downshift and down shifting when I meant to up shift. I imagine you'd get used to it after a while. But the transmission works well on its own, anyway. So-- so, there it is.
GREG MIGLIORE: Cool. It's interesting. Go ahead.
JOHN BELTZ SNYDER: But, the thing is, I just drove the ID.4 a couple of weeks ago. Apart from the fidgety tech, I'd much rather drive that. It's about the same size. It handles really, really well. And I just drove the Taos, which is the size that the Tiguan used to be.
You know, if you take out the extra space for the third row, and you basically got the Taos. And that thing is a delight to drive. It's really fun, and at least in all wheel drive. Zach was telling me it's not quite as well sorted out in front wheel drive.
And the Taos is amazingly efficient with its interior space. Putting a car seat in there was a breeze. And then, you know, there's a huge space behind the-- behind the rear seats for cargo. And it's-- it's less expensive. I would-- I would much rather pick that than have the, you know, few extra inches of the Tiguan.
But I don't know. We'll see. I mean, because that's-- the ID.4 and Taos are both new vehicles. The Tiguan is Volkswagen's best seller, both in the US and globally, which-- which kind of surprised me. We'll see if-- if more people opt for one of those other choices. But either way, the choices are there. You can go into a Volkswagen dealership and, you know, sort of pick exactly what you want in-- all in the same basically, you know, compact crossover segment.
GREG MIGLIORE: It's-- the one thing that stuck out with me, with all the things you said about the Tiguan, is the steering. Because that's something I always have noticed in the years that I have driven them, is they do have that kind of, like-- generally, like, almost like a very light feel, you know, kind of artificial. Sometimes it feels like you could actually feel over boosted. But, for me, that's-- that was one of the things that have always struck me.
Important vehicle for Volkswagen, you know. It's definitely a part of the segment that really, you know, can touch a lot of different consumers. And I think it also is one of those things where-- you know, for a Volkswagen to do what it wants to do in the US, they need to get volume. And the-- the Tiguan can certainly provide that. So, you know, we'll see. I mean, I bet you see a lot of Volkswagens out, you now, college town like Ann Arbor, up by your way--
JOHN BELTZ SNYDER: Yeah. Sure.
GREG MIGLIORE: --at least sometimes. So, you know, different, like, parts of metro Detroit-- people don't remember Volkswagen was actually based here for, like, 30 years. Their headquarters was in Michigan. So you actually see a fair amount of them on the road. Yeah. It's interesting. You're talking about the Tiguan, but I do think the last Volkswagen I drove was the ID.4.
JOHN BELTZ SNYDER: Yeah.
GREG MIGLIORE: That's kind of wild that, like, you're talking about a very traditional, like, just everyday crossover. And then the last Volkswagen I drove was their car of the future that's here now.
JOHN BELTZ SNYDER: Yeah. And it's-- I was-- I really enjoyed the-- the ID.4. And in another plug for it over the Tiguan, it handles great. And the steering in the ID.4 was fantastic. It doesn't suffer from the same problems as, you know-- you know, it's very dependent on-- on model in Volkswagen, and the Golf's always had decent steering.
And-- but, yeah, the Tiguan and the Taos-- the steering is also a little-- a little numb and weird. But the ID.4, just fantastic steering. And it was super responsive. I did the-- basically what would be, like, a squirrel test, you know?
GREG MIGLIORE: Mm-hmm.
JOHN BELTZ SNYDER: There was something in the road that was sharp and pointy looking, that I didn't see until I was up on it. And I just, boom, just flipped right around it. And it maneuvered perfectly. I was driving this at the same time as the-- as the Mustang Mach-E. And that's a little, you know, a little sluggish to point its bow. We talked about this last-- last time I was on.
But, yeah, I mean, and the cargo space in the ID.4 is just basically the same as the Tiguan. I like the ID.4. [LAUGHS]
GREG MIGLIORE: Yeah. I think, you know, I've been seeing a lot of commercials for the ID.4. I don't-- that doesn't necessarily mean anything other than maybe they're spending their marketing money. But the car is really growing on me. And I liked it a good deal when I did drive it. You know, it just-- I didn't like it as much as the Mach-E.
JOHN BELTZ SNYDER: Yeah.
GREG MIGLIORE: Because some of the things, like the infotainment was a little screwy.
JOHN BELTZ SNYDER: Yeah.
GREG MIGLIORE: And, you know-- but I mean, I don't know. Go ahead.
JOHN BELTZ SNYDER: The-- the-- there's, you know, sort of two interfaces that I've used in these last few Volkswagens. And the one, the ID.4, is sort of that sideways, almost like a tablet with a little Home button, whereas in the Taos and the Tiguan it's more traditional what we're used to, you know, sort of tiles and-- the-- one of the updates with the Tiguan is it gets the new-- I don't know-- software, firmware behind it. It better recognizes voice controls. It has better touch capacity, so you can do swipes to get from one screen to another. And you can even do, like, pinch to zoom on it now. So that was-- that was cool. Yeah. The infotainment in the Tiguan was very easy to use, mercifully. [LAUGHS]
GREG MIGLIORE: Yeah. Cool. Any final thoughts on the Tiguan?
JOHN BELTZ SNYDER: It has some neat lighting on it.
GREG MIGLIORE: OK. All right. That's not where I thought you were going to go, but all right.
JOHN BELTZ SNYDER: The-- one of the updates they did, you know, they put the updated Volkswagen badge on it. And on the front across the grille, on one of the little horizontal slats on the-- at least on the SEL trim there, it's illuminated. And it looks pretty cool.
One of the Volkswagen spokespeople-- the project-- product specialist actually used the words lighting is the new Chrome, which you know-- which is kind of right on the money for the industry right now. It's-- that's the truth.
GREG MIGLIORE: I-- you know, lighting-- I like a little bit of Chrome, but give me lighting all day.
JOHN BELTZ SNYDER: Yes.
GREG MIGLIORE: You know, especially go back to the ID.4 and some of those Mercedes badges-- I mean, you see-- you see lighting as, like, a style play in a lot of different cars, too.
JOHN BELTZ SNYDER: Mm-hmm.
GREG MIGLIORE: Whether it's, like, you know, DRLs or, like, just, like-- you know, like, the pooling light, when you open a car. I love it. Give it--
JOHN BELTZ SNYDER: Yeah.
GREG MIGLIORE: I think it's great.
JOHN BELTZ SNYDER: And, you know, we as automotive journalists-- maybe not you and I personally, but a lot of us-- and I could somewhat understand the sentiment-- made fun of illuminated badges. But I always-- I always thought they were neat. They're a stupid party trick, but I think they're cool.
GREG MIGLIORE: I love driving down the street in the winter. Like, it's like, literally that ad they do in December where, like, Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer it's, like, driving, like, the SLs with the lit up grills. I want that to be me.
JOHN BELTZ SNYDER: [LAUGHS]
GREG MIGLIORE: Like, if I were going to buy a Benz and that was one of the options and it's pretty widely available, 100% check it.
JOHN BELTZ SNYDER: Yeah, absolutely.
GREG MIGLIORE: There's nothing like rolling down a snow covered street with that three pointed star lit up and--
JOHN BELTZ SNYDER: Oh, yeah.
GREG MIGLIORE: Yeah. That's awesome, I think.
JOHN BELTZ SNYDER: Yeah. That's like, the modern interpretation of having the-- you know, the hood ornament, that three point star hood ornament, when it actually, you know, stuck up off the top of the hood.
GREG MIGLIORE: Yeah.
JOHN BELTZ SNYDER: I loved that so much.
GREG MIGLIORE: Yeah. Me, too.
JOHN BELTZ SNYDER: [LAUGHS]
GREG MIGLIORE: Yeah, that's-- the funny thing too, is I feel like I'd be curious-- that's actually an interesting story, is what happened all the hood ornaments. You know? I mean, it's such a, like, old school-- I mean, so old school, like, 1920s old school. But, I mean, they've been around a long time. And it seems like they've really gone the way of, you know, the starter crank or something. And--
JOHN BELTZ SNYDER: Yeah. I remember-- I think the-- the E-class wagon was, like, the last hold out for-- for that-- that hood ornament, from what I recall. But I don't think it offers that anymore.
GREG MIGLIORE: I always liked the leaping Jaguar. I thought that was another good one.
JOHN BELTZ SNYDER: Yeah, that's cool.
GREG MIGLIORE: Can you imagine the-- the leaper lit up? Now, that's a hood ornament right there.
JOHN BELTZ SNYDER: Oh, man. Give it some red eyes.
GREG MIGLIORE: Mm-hmm.
JOHN BELTZ SNYDER: [LAUGHS] That'd be cool.
GREG MIGLIORE: Wow, that-- suddenly now you're-- so that's the hood ornament, if Cerberus was still in the car business.
JOHN BELTZ SNYDER: [LAUGHS]
GREG MIGLIORE: You do that, put that on the car, and suddenly people are like, oh, hey. I want to drive a Cerberus, except it's a Chrysler. And that was a three headed dog from hell, not a one dog with lit up eyes or cat. But--
JOHN BELTZ SNYDER: [LAUGHS]
GREG MIGLIORE: So we've went from Tiguan to lit up put ornaments of dogs. We went from Grand Cherokee to Wagoneer. So I feel like this is going to be kind of a slimmed down podcast, but we're just adding all these different cars. So that's great.
JOHN BELTZ SNYDER: Yeah.
GREG MIGLIORE: So let's continue to go off on a tangent. And I kind of made up this segment here where I was like, hey, let's-- you can pick one thing to add to an automaker's lineup. Like, everybody always would say things like Cadillac needs something to better fight the Lincoln Navigator or something. You know?
JOHN BELTZ SNYDER: Mm-hmm.
GREG MIGLIORE: Or something that slots below the Escalade, like a mid-size body on frame SUV sort of thing. So that's one example. Or, like, you know, the Barracuda should come back or, you know, for a long time we said Tesla should do a truck. And then, well, they sort of are. So, yeah. I mean, just like, you know, a one car wish list that you think would make somebody's brand better. I'll toss it over to you, and we could bat this back and forth. But what do you think?
JOHN BELTZ SNYDER: Well, do you remember the Nissan Quest?
GREG MIGLIORE: I do. I do.
JOHN BELTZ SNYDER: I liked that. And Nissan has-- one thing they do very well is-- is, you know, electric vehicles. I think Nissan should make an electric minivan, not like the NV, not like that. But they could, you know, use the sort of the same underpinnings, some of the things I've learned from the NV.
But make, like, a-- you know, bring back the Quest nameplate even, and make it look cool. [LAUGHS] And, yeah, I would-- I would-- if Nissan did that, I'd be like, Nissan's back, baby. I know I know it's cheesy but I just-- I think that would be a good move, a fun move. And, you know, it'd be a car I would actually consider owning.
GREG MIGLIORE: That's really interesting. I almost went with, like, you know, a couple of Nissans. I thought of some different trucks I would drop in. But what I actually I think I'm going to go with is I'm going to throw it over to Tesla, which is kind of, you know, like, I don't know, an obvious one to do.
I think they should do a very conventional, kind of like-- maybe not body on frame, but like, truck-like crossover, something that could be almost like a Navigator or something. And I feel like that could be cool. You know, they-- if they want to make it crazy styled up like the Cybertruck, I wouldn't do that. But it might work for them.
So I actually think, like-- like, the Model-- jeez, I'm blanking. The Model X, of course, is very Tesla-like. And I'm not saying stray too far from the Tesla formula. Maybe the front end is, like, kind of that Tesla, like, kind of mouse look. But then just get, like, more of a crossover in there that's a little bit more traditional, something that, like, you might lure, like, you know, like I said, like, a Navigator buyer or, like, a GLE buyer or something like that, and make it a little truckie. You know?
JOHN BELTZ SNYDER: Yeah.
GREG MIGLIORE: Like, it doesn't have to be like a sport activity coupe or something, which I actually think, like, an X6-fighter, a real X6-fighter could do-- could really help Tesla out. But that would be a prescription I would have. And then the other one, which this is, like, a half measure-- you know we've been reading the Roadster is delayed again.
JOHN BELTZ SNYDER: Yeah.
GREG MIGLIORE: I think it would really help them to get the Roadster back out.
JOHN BELTZ SNYDER: Yeah.
GREG MIGLIORE: So, you know, my first answer is like I'm inventing a vehicle, which is the Genesis of this. But my second part is get the Roadster here, man. I think that would really help them. It'd be a good conversational point for them.
JOHN BELTZ SNYDER: What if Tesla made its own fighter for the Wrangler? Something that, you know, you could pop the doors off, you know? They could probably find some clever way to have it do stuff like that, and make it an off roader. They could sort of give it a brand new take, and people would gobble it up for sure. But I think Tesla's got a lot on its plate already, but-- but that would be-- that would be cool.
GREG MIGLIORE: I think it's funny you said the off roader. I almost went with a GMC off roader, kind of like, bring a Jimmy back or something.
JOHN BELTZ SNYDER: Yeah. Yeah.
GREG MIGLIORE: Which, hey, I guess since we're, you know, playing handball here, batting back and forth, I actually think that would be a good one for them, too. GMC has a lot of, you know, like-- like, nobody's going to question a GMC off roader, you know?
JOHN BELTZ SNYDER: Mm-hmm.
GREG MIGLIORE: So that makes some sense. While we're with GMC, what if they did, like, a Santa Cruz fighter, like, something like Hyundai? You know, it's this crossover-like thing, might have some credibility, sort of the way forward. Nobody is going to, like, haul a hill away or scale a mountain in a Maverick, but it's got that blue oval badge on it, so it's got that built in credibility.
I feel like GMC could take some risks and nobody's going to get super bent out of shape if they swing and miss. So that could be one that might be interesting, too.
JOHN BELTZ SNYDER: Yeah. It's like, a-- I feel like it's a lower stakes thing for GMC's reputation than it would be for, like, Chevy. You know?
GREG MIGLIORE: Yeah. So it's funny you should say that. I actually slightly disagree with you there.
JOHN BELTZ SNYDER: Yeah?
GREG MIGLIORE: I can see because of, like, an El Camino, like, if they did really make it almost like a sedan alternative, then maybe a Chevy, you know, El Camino-like vehicle could-- could actually carry the water.
JOHN BELTZ SNYDER: Yeah.
GREG MIGLIORE: Although, gosh, I'm blanking. There was a GMC kind of, like, El Camino variant. Wasn't there? I--
JOHN BELTZ SNYDER: Gosh, I don't remember.
GREG MIGLIORE: Let's see.
JOHN BELTZ SNYDER: I remember my buddy had a Dodge Rampage for a while, until it got totaled in the middle of the night. [LAUGHS]
GREG MIGLIORE: OK, so this is super random. It was called the Caballero, it looks like, '78 through '87.
JOHN BELTZ SNYDER: [LAUGHS]
GREG MIGLIORE: And I'm pretty sure I had the-- for-- this is really going into the weeds. I did a writing test when I was interviewing at "Auto Week," like, over years ago. And one of the things I had to write about was this GMC concept that was, like, a riff on the Caballero, Caballero, however you say it. So, God, I had totally forgotten about that vehicle-- both the concept-- I remember the writing test, but I-- like, I forgot this GMC existed. And cool name, cool vehicle, kind of like it.
JOHN BELTZ SNYDER: Yeah.
GREG MIGLIORE: It's clearly just a rebadged, like, El Camino, but you know?
JOHN BELTZ SNYDER: Yeah. The other thing I thought of before I landed on the-- the electric Nissan minivan was do a plug-in hybrid Subaru WRX, and have, you know, the plug-in hybrid part of it be performance focused, like it is in, like, the Lincoln Aviator. Don't make it an efficiency play, make it a an output play.
And, ideally, I would-- I would love to drive a-- an all electric WRX. I just don't think batteries are where we are-- where they need to be for-- for it to be able to, you know, fill that up. You could, if you wanted to make it a little longer, do an electric Levorg and bring it to the-- the US.
GREG MIGLIORE: Oh, jeez.
JOHN BELTZ SNYDER: You'd have to probably raise-- raise the floor a little bit. But you could-- you could get some batteries under there. Yeah, something like that. Or if Subaru can make its own answer to the, you know, Polestar and Polestar 2.
GREG MIGLIORE: Mm. That's an interesting one, too. OK.
JOHN BELTZ SNYDER: Yeah. Just some thoughts.
GREG MIGLIORE: So here's another thought. I think Dodge should bust out a Barracuda. We've been hearing-- that name keeps kind of going back and forth. I think they should use that name on something, ideally like an electric muscle car. Yeah. Plymouth's been gone a long time. I think you could repurpose Barracuda as a Dodge. I mean, it fits in with, like, how Dodges-- which are usually named after, like-- like, weapons or wild animals or explosions. Like, Barracuda sounds like the name of a Dodge I think you could pass off credibly.
JOHN BELTZ SNYDER: Yeah, for sure.
GREG MIGLIORE: You know?
JOHN BELTZ SNYDER: I'd almost be surprised if they don't do that at some point.
GREG MIGLIORE: I feel like as long as Ralph Gilles is around, the Barracuda always could be there, which you know, Ralph Gilles is obviously the head of design for Stellantis and an awesome car guy. If you ever, you know--
JOHN BELTZ SNYDER: Yeah.
GREG MIGLIORE: --come across him at an event, he really brings the enthusiast passion to, you know, the Stellantis designs. But, yeah-- so, I don't know. We're really kind of shooting the moon here. Any other random wish list cars or trucks here?
JOHN BELTZ SNYDER: No. I think we should-- we should field this one to the rest of the team and-- and make it an article or, you know, revisit it in later podcasts.
GREG MIGLIORE: Yeah.
JOHN BELTZ SNYDER: Because I'm sure I would love to hear what the rest of the guys, [LAUGHS] you know, would come up with.
GREG MIGLIORE: Yeah. I think that--
JOHN BELTZ SNYDER: There'd be some good stuff.
GREG MIGLIORE: We had a-- I will use this opportunity to refer this out to our prescription for the Chevy Camaro. We did a piece this week. If, you know, you're listening to this on the weekend, maybe you're getting a nice fall cookout on your patio before the leaves fall. That's a great thing. Check out a story. It's got a staff byline on it. It's-- we say what's wrong with the Chevy Camaro.
We try to give it some tough love, like we're doing here. We're just throwing out ideas. Only, frankly, this article is a little more, like, researched and specific about how, hey, you could make-- or Chevy could make this car a little more competitive. They could sell more of them. They could tighten things up. You know, I-- check it out. I think it's a good read.
I-- I've always been very-- I've always liked the Camaro. But it's interesting how doing so many things well but also being very precise, in some ways, it succeeded at its mission, but not really achieved anything. You know what I mean? Like--
JOHN BELTZ SNYDER: Yeah.
GREG MIGLIORE: I don't know.
JOHN BELTZ SNYDER: Yeah. It's kind of--
GREG MIGLIORE: I think it drives great and looks great. But there's enough shortcomings that people end up going with I'll take the rawness of the Mustang or I like the Mustang or I'll take the Challenger, because it's about-- it's a two door sedan, is what it is. You know?
JOHN BELTZ SNYDER: Yeah. I-- I didn't contribute, because I would have said the exact same thing as Zac Palmer, is just the visibilities are really the-- the one-- my one nag for the Camaro. It's-- it's hard to drive. It's hard to see the corners of it, hard to see around you, keep your situational awareness.
But Jeremy-- I think it was Jeremy-- had-- had a really good point that maybe the Camaro is doing exactly what it's meant to do. It's not supposed to be some huge breakout hit. It's-- it-- it's, you know, the people who-- who want it, they want it for how it drives and how it looks. And they like-- they like those things. And, you know, it's really-- it's good on a track. So--
GREG MIGLIORE: Yeah.
JOHN BELTZ SNYDER: I think his-- it was really neat to-- to read everyone's different-- different points of view on it.
GREG MIGLIORE: Cool. So check that article out, a good thing to read over. Like I said, you know, your morning coffee on a weekend, maybe a little more time or read it right now. That's even better, too. So let's-- let's spend some money.
JOHN BELTZ SNYDER: Yeah.
GREG MIGLIORE: We have two questions today. I'm pretty excited about this. First of all, thank you to all of you who have written. Send more Spend My Monies. I mean, maybe we keep this pace up, we'll just do a full show of Spend My Monies.
JOHN BELTZ SNYDER: We could.
GREG MIGLIORE: I mean, this is great.
JOHN BELTZ SNYDER: Yeah.
GREG MIGLIORE: We've got some of them. We're going to try to churn these out, too. You want to throw, like, a mailbag question at us on, like, a topic or a car or a problem, please do. There's a lot going on in the car world. Podcast@Autoblog.com.
Luke in Alberta writes, "I recently moved an hour away from the city where my company is based to a small town with really bad roads. I could work from home," so can we all, "but need to attend meetings and visit clients on a regular basis. So I need something for commuting. I currently drive a 2015 Focus ST. And with the additional highway drive, Central Alberta winter, and the traffic in the city once I reach the outskirts, it's becoming a bit of a tedious haul. Not enjoyable."
So he's going to sell the Focus ST and have about $30,000 to $33,000 Canadian to spend on a new to me vehicle. He likes the Genesis G70, but they're a little bit small inside the back seat. That's true. Glued on infotainment screen bothers his wife. They've taken the G80 Sport for a test drive, and they really like it.
And let's see-- "The engine suspension, heads up display, heated and ventilated seats, all wheel drive, adaptive cruise control check all my boxes." This is some really good research, Luke. I think you have done most of the work for us. Question, however is, "what else should I be considering when looking at or comparing to the G80 Sport?" Whew! That was a long one. That was a good one. Thanks for writing, Luke. Over to you there, John.
JOHN BELTZ SNYDER: Let's see. If-- if this was-- you know, if he says he likes the Genesis G70 and the G80, you know, if this was a different car that he was, you know, saying like, oh, I like the so-and-so, I would say you should check out the Genesis G80. So I feel like a lot of people-- I mean, that's not why you write in to Spend My Money.
But a lot of people, when they ask for your advice on cars, a lot of times it's just to get confirmation of-- that the car that they want is-- is a good choice. And in this case, I would-- I would agree with that. But to give you some other options to look at, last generation Accura TLX, you know, that checks the boxes. It's also interesting and, you know, not a lot of them out there.
Subaru Legacy, you know-- goodness, no. Really great in the snow. You can get it with EyeSight. You could get that-- maybe, depending on how you optioned it, you could get it new within that price range, and it has a warranty. [LAUGHS] So those are my-- my first two thoughts. But I-- I really like the G80 as a pick, honestly.
And the G70 is-- is awesome. It's so much fun. I do agree that that backseat is really small. And it is a problem if you have to put a lot of-- if you have to put people back there a lot, especially if you have adults who are going to sit back there, maybe their clients, or if you have to-- if you have kids and you're going to put a car seat behind. You're not going to have much room to drive. But, yeah, the G80 is-- G80 is a good choice. But yeah--
GREG MIGLIORE: I like the--
JOHN BELTZ SNYDER: Go ahead.
GREG MIGLIORE: I was saying I like the G80. I'm going to throw another Genesis at you, Luke. I think the GV70, which I just dove in the last couple of weeks-- you get more into, like, the crossover style of vehicle. It's a new car, so I'm not sure if it would quite fit into the budget. Again, it's a crossover. But when I drove it, it felt to me like-- like, frankly, everything like a Volvo wagon should be. You know?
JOHN BELTZ SNYDER: Mm-hmm.
GREG MIGLIORE: Like, even though it was slightly off the ground, to me it drove very much almost like a wagon. It looks like a wagon, a very attractive crossover. I drove the one with the powerful V6, beautiful interior. Genesis-- Genesi, Genesises-- are great values. You get a lot of stuff on 'em, so that's good.
The other one I'd throw out is check-- take a look at, like, an Audi A6 All Road. You get all wheel drive. Sounds like that's a priority up there. You know, Michigan's cold. I can only imagine how rough Alberta must be in the winter. So you want something that's comfortable. I feel like in All Road could really give you a nice experience.
JOHN BELTZ SNYDER: Yeah.
GREG MIGLIORE: Audi would be nice to, you know, spend some time in there on the way to pick up clients or go to the-- you know, whether it's the Calgary Flames or the Edmonton Oilers game or the Stampeders. Yeah.
JOHN BELTZ SNYDER: Yeah. If I were-- if I were going to go with the Audi, I'd definitely do-- if there's bad roads, I'd definitely do the All Road. And the bad roads are what made me think of the-- the Legacy. 'Cause it soaks that stuff up pretty darn well. But, yeah.
GREG MIGLIORE: OK.
GREG MIGLIORE: Yeah. I like those.
GREG MIGLIORE: All right. Well, let us know which way you end up, Luke. Ben in Oregon writes, "While we wait for the coming avalanche of EVs in the next few years, I got to thinking about should I buy one last enthusiast ICE car or just wait for the perfect EV. If you had a reasonable amount to spend, let's say around 50k, what ICE car would you want as your final car, new or used? I'm looking for a combination of value, speed, looks, and fun factor."
He's a big fan of sports sedans. Hey, me too. "I don't want something you'd see every day, i.e. A Mustang, Camaro, or Charger. Considerations-- used Lexus ISF, Chevy SS, Mercedes C63, the F10 Gen M5"-- that's a good one, "Audi S4/S5 Sportback, M340i, ATSV, Giulia Quadrifoglio, other things." Those were used, by the way, and this is new.
"2022 Genesis G70"-- I see a theme popping up here. I think that's actually a side note. The fact that Genesis cars are really showing up on, like, enthusiast's radars, to me that means they're doing something right here. If you're, like, listening to the podcast and writing in to us about Genesis cars--
JOHN BELTZ SNYDER: Yeah.
GREG MIGLIORE: --I think that's a good thing. "TLX Type S"-- Snyder would say TLX, but don't type S it.
JOHN BELTZ SNYDER: [LAUGHS]
GREG MIGLIORE: "Nissan Z, the new one does look good." For reference, he owns a 2014 CX-9 and a 2020 Ioniq Plug-In, so not a lot of excitement going on. He's already partially into the future. This is a fun hypothetical. $50 grand, your final ice car. It's tough. It almost feels like it's, you know, like, your-- you know, your last meal. You know, it's a little-- a little ominous here.
JOHN BELTZ SNYDER: Yeah.
GREG MIGLIORE: But, yeah, I don't know. Your turn. What do you think?
JOHN BELTZ SNYDER: You know, he says he's tempted by the Z. And, you know, even though it's a two door, I think, gosh, that's-- that's-- that'd be such a cool one to-- to have, especially if you're going to keep it around. I feel like it could be a-- all the Z cars have-- have history and personality. And-- and now there's a whole story behind the-- the nameplate. And it's just-- yeah, I would really like that.
That would very well maybe be what I would choose personally, although I also really like the Lexus ISF. It's different, but it is-- it's really fun. Yeah. And if-- if you're gonna-- if you're gonna do your last internal combustion car, why not why not go to the V8. Right?
GREG MIGLIORE: That is definitely a fair point. If you're going to go out, I mean, you might as well go with a V8. Right?
JOHN BELTZ SNYDER: Yeah.
GREG MIGLIORE: I mean, that's-- I really see your point there. I'm a little all over the place here. I feel like if you're going to go with, like, your final, like, you know, internal combustion car, you might as well go with, like, a car. You know? Like, I almost would maybe steer towards a Mustang or a Camaro or something, just because, you know, I mean, this is it.
JOHN BELTZ SNYDER: Yeah.
GREG MIGLIORE: You might as well get a sports coupe, you know? So maybe see if you can get, like, a lightly used-- I don't know if you get a GT 350 for under 50. But, I mean, what is more red meat and potato car than, like, a Shelby Mustang GT 350, you know? If it's the last non-EV you're ever going to drive, you know, that might be my call, if you could get that somehow in the budget. A lightly used M5-- real car, you know? That could-- I could see that. Anybody who wants to buy a Chevy SS, I'm never going to tell you not to.
JOHN BELTZ SNYDER: Yeah. [LAUGHS]
GREG MIGLIORE: If you listen to the podcast, you know I like the Chevy SS. I'll give you my standard disclaimer. The interiors are basically crap, and even the outside is a little-- you know, it's pretty dated, and it's not going to really stand out. But for what it is-- a rear wheel drive Chevy Sedan with a V8, a Corvette V8-- heck, yeah. If that's the car you like, you go out and get it. In my opinion, I think that's great. So my answer would probably be about as much of a-- you know, a V8 powered Mustang as you could buy.
And I would say this answer could probably change by the minute, just because, you know, there's a lot of different things you might want to do. You might say, hey, this is my last electric-- or my last internal combustion car. Everything else is electric. I'm gonna go classic. You know, I'm gonna restore, like, an old Chevelle or something.
JOHN BELTZ SNYDER: Mm-hmm.
GREG MIGLIORE: Or maybe your last, you know, V8 or internal combustion car, you want that to be, like, an off roader. You know, electrification is going to do great things for Jeep and probably Bronco and all sorts of off roading applications. But maybe you want that. Like, go find a four liter Cherokee or something or Wrangler and, you know, ride off into the internal combustion sunset with that. So I don't know. Any other thoughts there, John?
JOHN BELTZ SNYDER: If he hadn't, you know, said don't want something you'd see every day like a Mustang, Camaro, or Charger, my first thought would have been Challenger Scat Pack.
GREG MIGLIORE: Yeah. 392 Challenger or Charger-- that is the V8 to, you know, drive to the vanishing point and, you know--
JOHN BELTZ SNYDER: Yeah.
GREG MIGLIORE: It's a good one.
JOHN BELTZ SNYDER: That would stay cool for a really long time.
GREG MIGLIORE: Yeah, it would. It would sound good, too.
JOHN BELTZ SNYDER: Yeah.
GREG MIGLIORE: All right. Well, I think we could leave it there. We're gonna have to do a fall beer podcast soon, John.
JOHN BELTZ SNYDER: Oh, yeah.
GREG MIGLIORE: Now it's getting a little cool, it's dawning on me that needs to hit the fall calendar. I'm still drinking my final summer beers. I have a canned Margarita that's actually quite good. But I need to drink that, because it's-- you know, it's gonna be hot this week. So I've got, like, another couple of weeks here to kind of clean out the summer fridge. I got a couple of, like, Shandies, things like that.
But then, you know, you really got to turn to-- I bought a six pack of Sam Adams Oktoberfest. And, to me, that's a pretty good fall beer that, you know, once it gets to be below 60 consistently, a little bit of a coolness in the air, that's a good one. So, yeah, we'll have to do that.
JOHN BELTZ SNYDER: Yeah. I've really been enjoying these-- there's this local brewery that is fairly new here in Ann Arbor called Mothfire.
GREG MIGLIORE: OK.
JOHN BELTZ SNYDER: They've got some really good fruity sours and stuff--
GREG MIGLIORE: Nice.
JOHN BELTZ SNYDER: --that have been great for this summer. So I'm going to have to start looking to their-- their offerings and maybe pick something from them for a good fall beer.
GREG MIGLIORE: Sounds good. We will report back in a few weeks. October is usually a good time to get going with the fall beer one.
JOHN BELTZ SNYDER: Yes.
GREG MIGLIORE: Not only for podcasts, but for drinking these fall beers.
JOHN BELTZ SNYDER: [LAUGHS]
GREG MIGLIORE: So we'll leave it there. Be safe out there. Don't drink and drive, obviously. Send us your Spend My Monies at Podcast@Autoblog.com. We'll see you next week.
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