Wheel Bearings is a podcast about cars and transportation hosted by Sam Abuelsamid, Nicole Wakelin and Roberto Baldwin
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Robbie and Nicole are both traveling this week so Stephanie Brinley from S&P Global Mobility and Jeff Gilbert from WWJ radio in Detroit are stepping in with Sam. Stephanie and Jeff both got to drive the new Cadillac Optiq and Escalade IQ and Jeff also moved stuff with the Chevrolet Suburban. Sam drove the Lincoln Nautilus and BMW X5M Competition. I…
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Cars Are Better Than Crossovers
2:15:20
2:15:20
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2:15:20While Nicole spends the weekend at Disney World, Perry Stern has stepped in to join Robbie and Sam with the Audi RS6 Avant. Robbie spent some more time with the 2025 Hyundai Ioniq 5 to do some charging tests with its new NACS/J3400 charging port and Sam went hands-free in the 2025 Ford Explorer and Lexus LS500h with Teammate. Nissan's CEO is steppi…
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Yes, Car Buying Still Sucks
1:34:34
1:34:34
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1:34:34Robbie is under the weather this week so Nicole shares her thoughts on the 2025 Ford Explorer ST and then Sam discusses the Acura ZDX Type-S. While we get to drive new cars every week sometimes we also buy some for ourselves. This week, Nicole finally took delivery of her new Jeep Wagoneer S and tells us about the buying experience. Honda has some …
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Why Is High Temperature Cold?
2:02:00
2:02:00
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2:02:00This week Nicole has been driving the new GMC Acadia AT4 while Sam had the Mazda CX-50 Hybrid featuring a Toyota hybrid powertrain. This week Ram held a technical deep dive on the new EREV Ramcharger pickup and we've got details. Mercedes-Benz is testing an EQS with semi-solid state batteries from Factorial Energy and Sam has a conversation with Fa…
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This week, Sam has driven the Genesis GV80 Coupe while Nicole had the 2025 Chevrolet Traverse. Nicole, Robbie and Sam all had a chance to drive the updated the 2025 Hyundai Ioniq 5 including the off-roady XRT model. In the news this week, the General Services Administration has decided that federal government facilities don't need EV charging facil…
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This week all three of our crew were in Palm Springs at various times to drive a new car that we'll discuss next week. We did however discuss the Temu mid-century modern hotel with Ritz-Carlton prices that we stayed at. At home Sam drove the Toyota Crown Signia and Nicole had the Subaru Solterra. Volvo announced a Cross Country edition of the EX30 …
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Good And Bad Cold Weather Advice
1:47:12
1:47:12
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1:47:12Nicole is back after driving both the Hyundai Palisade and Kia K4 GT-Line turbo. Sam did some truck stuff with Hyundai's trucklet, the 2025 Santa Cruz and Robbie has some tire feedback. Ford has confirmed its plans to offer extened range EV powertrains in large trucks and SUVs. Someone has developed a wide-body kit for the already wide new Dodge Ch…
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This weekend Nicole is visiting her daughters and Robbie is taking care of a family medical emergency, so Sam is joined by Perry Stern and Stephanie Brinley. Stephanie has been driving a Toyota GR Corolla on winter tires and Perry has the new GMC Terrain. Sam drove a Honda Ridgeline Trailsport to Ohio to visit Honda's new EV hub. In the news, is th…
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This week, Nicole has been driving the refreshed 2025 Hyundai Tucson in the New Hampshire cold while Robbie enjoyed some unseasonably warm bay area weather with the Mercedes-Benz CLE Cabriolet. Sam was pleasantly surprised with the efficiency and value of the new VW Jetta. In the news, Nicole and Sam have a first drive report on the new Jeep Wagone…
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This week as we prepare for our next round of driving new cars, Nicole tells us about driving the Hyundai Ioniq6, Robbie fills in the details on the BMW Z4 and Sam has the Chevrolet Blazer EV LT. Sam had an opportunity this week for a local drive of the new Nissan Murano and Armada. Acura releases an image and name for its new electric crossover co…
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Do You Want a Luxury Minivan
2:07:26
2:07:26
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2:07:26We're all back from CES in one piece. Nicole finally got to swap out the Buick Enclave and got a Land Rover Defender 110 while Sam discusses the GMC Sierra EV and how good it is to be able to pre-condition the cabin of an EV on cold winter mornings. Robby has a manual transmission BMW Z4 that he's barely driven yet. At CES Sam and Nicole got a brie…
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This week, all 3 members of our crew are in Las Vegas from CES recording from separate hotel rooms with terrible wifi. Nicole finished her stint with the Buick Envoy, Robbie had the Land Rover Defender 130 and Sam had the new Infiniti QX80. In the news Faraday Future is still not dead somehow and it's going to be unveiling new lower cost EVs at CES…
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For the final show of 2024, Nicole shares more on her ongoing experience hauling her family around in the new Buick Enclave. Robbie and his wife drove their Hyundai Ioniq 5 to southern California and he tells us about their charging experience. Sam had the new Nissan Kicks and Kia K4 GT-Line. In the news, Honda, Nissan and Mitsubishi have signed an…
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We're catching up on some reviews this week with Nicole starting a 3 week stint in the Buick Enclave and Sam driving the Chevy Equinox EV and Rivian R1S. Last week Sam participated in Operation Frodo, where 20 journalists transported rescue beagles from Nebraska to the Pacific Northwest. Along the way, he drove the Kia Carnival and Genesis GV70. Th…
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This weeks show is a bit different. Robbie is dealing with some family stuff, Nicole is at DisneyWorld wedding and Sam is headed to Omaha for Operation Frodo so no regular review section until next week. Instead, Sam and Robbie recorded a discussion on the death of Cruise and the future of automated driving. Sam also had a conversation with Chad Ki…
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This week, Robbie didn't drive anything, but Nicole got time with the Ram 1500 RHO and Honda Civic Hybrid hatchback while Sam had the Kia Niro PHEV. At Art Basel Miami, Jaguar showed off its new design direction with the Type 00 Concept and it's different. Toyota is taking advantage of its joint venture factory with Mazda to offer Soul Red Crystal …
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This week Sam has been driving the Ford Ranger with the 2.7-liter V6 and Kia Carnival Hybrid. Nicole had the Toyota Tacoma and Hyundai Ioniq 6 and Robbie had the outgoing VW Tiguan. In the news, Acura has a new entry-level crossover, the ADX and Toyota is working on a new generation Celica. California's governor has a plan to preserve EV incentives…
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Are Bad Font Choices A Bad Sign?
2:32:08
2:32:08
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2:32:08The whole team is back this week with lots of LA Auto Show news. Nicole drove the Audi SQ8 around Los Angeles for the week. Robbie had the new Toyota Land Cruiser. In the news, Jaguar has launched new branding ahead of the reveal of concept version of its next new EV. Stellantis talked about the STLA Frame platform for its new EV an EREV large truc…
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Robbie at a gas station chicken sandwich and the results were predictable so it's just Sam and Nicole both driving Hondas this week with Sam in the Prologue and Nicole in the Odyssey. In the news, automakers need to stop with electronic door switches, and while Teslas are generally safe in a crash, bad driver behavior is still leading to more fatal…
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Kia WKNDR concept Mercedes-Benz CLA preview Volvo EX30 arriving in America this year Mazda Iconic-SP to get produced 2026 Cadillac Vistiq first look Cadillac XT4 to give way to new Bolt Bentley To Launch EV in 2026, delay full transition to 2035 SEMA 2024 Roundup Mercedes-AMG Electric SUV A2RL Roman's New G-Wagen Our Sponsors: * Check out Express V…
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This week Robbie and Sam both spent time driving the Volkswagen ID Buzz and came away surprisingly delighted. Sam also spent a week with the Toyota Land Cruiser while Nicole got to drive the 2025 Camry. In the news, VW is adding enhanced hazard alerts to its latest models and Polestar and Volvo finally have Supercharger access for their EVs. Ford i…
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Hey everyone, we're back with a standard episode this week. Unfortunately a family emergency came up at the last moment and Robbie couldn't join us. Fortunately, our friend Perry Stern was able to step in and join Nicole and Sam. Perry was driving around in the new Subaru Forester while Nicole had the Hyundai Sonata Hybrid and Sam had the Kia Soren…
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Hey everyone, this week's show is a bit different. Sam is on his way to South Korea for the week, Nicole is visiting her daughter in Wisconsin and Robbie is Lake Tahoe for a gig with one of his bands. But rather than leave you with no content, we've got some material from the Nissan Fast Forward event that Sam attended in Nashville this week. Nissa…
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Nicole is back and she drove the Honda Prologue while Robbie spent more time with the GMC Hummer EV SUV and Sam had the VW GTi. Links 2025 Jeep Compass 2025 Bronco Free Wheeling 2025 Chevy Silverado EV Updates Volkswagen Tayron MCity 2.0 CyberCab 2-seat robotaxis Carlos Tavares to retire in early 2026 Stellantis EV price parity More cheap EU EVs Fi…
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Nicole's Saturday morning flight home from Venice was cancelled so she'll be back next week. In the meantime, Chad Kirchner joins us to talk about what's going on. Robbie has been driving the GMC Hummer EV SUV and Sam had the Mazda CX-70 and a weekend with the Lamborghini Huracan Sterrato. In the news, Mazda has launched a new electric sedan in Chi…
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