Tom and guest host Paul Herrold of the Sons of Speed (Jill is traveling this week) opened the show discussing the surprising rebranding happening at Jaguar Land Rover. Tom and Paul agree that the planned updates, which include spinning Discovery off as a separate brand, foretell the demise of Jaguar in the U.S. Paul shared news regarding a personal car purchase. Paul recently took delivery of a BMW M2, a vehicle he plans to enjoy on the race track.
The hosts are joined in the second segment by Sam Fiorani of AutoForecast Solutions. Sam updated the team on what’s brewing with the UAW contract negotiations coming later this summer. Sam also shared some history and background information on Polestar, the new luxury EV brand owned by Volvo parent company Geely. Sam explained how Polestar will be operating outside the traditional dealership model.
In the third segment Paul is subjected to Tom’s “French Car or Asthma Drug” quiz. After the quiz Tom lamented about how small turbocharged engines lack the smoothness and progressive power delivery of old-school V6 engines. Tom used the updated Buick Enclave, which features a big V6, as an example of excellent powertrain refinement.