America on the Road Jack Nerad - Host

In Europe, the Fiat 500e is leading the electric city-car market for the second year in a row, ranking at the top of that category in Italy, Germany, Spain, Belgium and Austria. But can it achieve similar success in North America? One person who thinks so is Fiat North American Head Aamir Ahmed, and in his exclusive interview with AOTR Host Jack Nerad he’ll tell us why.



One of the reasons he cites is price. With a manufacturer’s suggested retail price of $32,500 (excluding the $1,595 destination fee), the 2024 Fiat 500e appears to be within the reach of young urban dwellers, one market that most EV makers have found difficult to exploit.



Fiat’s opening salvo in its renewed attack on the U.S. market is the redhot (RED) Edition. The Italian brand partnered with (RED) to introduce what it calls "the coolest, most ethical car in urban mobility." As you might guess, not only is red the color that my baby wore, but also the featured hue of the (RED) Edition with its red-painted exterior mirrors, front grille details, and dashboard. In the interview, Ahmed will hint at other 500e special editions to come and offer more details on the launch strategy he has prepared for this latest EV.



In our road test segment this week, Co-Host Chris Teague got a very early drive in the all-new 2025 Subaru Forester. The brand’s popular entry in the popular compact crossover utility segment, the Forester has more exterior appeal than ever while retaining the bedrock Subaru values of all-wheel-drive and all-weather capability.



While many brands have largely turned their backs on low- and middle-income buyers who are seeking affordability, Hyundai has not, as evidenced by the 2024 Hyundai Venue subcompact crossover tested by Host Jack Nerad. The top-of-the-line Limited test model had a base price of less than $25,000. And, surprisingly, it is filled with more standard electronic safety equipment than some luxury brand vehicles.



In the news this week, Tesla is in hot water again with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration over its Autopilot system, and we’ll have the details.



It looks as if the all-electric Volvo EX30 is about to arrive in showrooms in the U.S., and we’ll have more info about the car and its labyrinthine journey to the U.S.



Honda has just announced a plan to invest $11 billion in an EV factory in Canada with the financial help of the Canadian government and the Canadian people. We’ll have more on that, including our comments.



The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has offered some recommendations that could make the delivery vans we see everywhere now much safer for everyone. We’ll tell you all about that in this episode.



So there’s plenty of food for thought this week. Thanks for joining us.



America on the Road is brought to you by Driving Today.com, Mercury Insurance, and EMLandsea.com , the publisher of Nerad’s latest book, Dance in the Dark, which is available HERE on Amazon.com

Just as Clark Kent can turn into Superman by ditching his glasses and changing his outfit, so it is wth the 2024 Volvo S60 Recharge. At first glance, like the mild-mannered reporter for a great metropolitan newspaper, the S60 Recharge looks unassuming. It’s an attractive small sedan, but its exterior doesn’t hint at the fire that burns inside. Its surprisingly potent plug-in hybrid powertrain, offering 455 horsepower no less, turns it into one of the fastest and most powerful Volvos ever. That's what host Jack Nerad discovered when he road-tested the car this week. With its ample all-electric range, nifty road manners, and attractive cabin, the S60 Recharge is worth a second look.



In our other road test this week, Co-Host Chris Teague evaluates the 2024 Nissan Ariya battery-electric SUV. There was a time when it looked as if the Ariya would lead the electrric SUV parade, but delays in its introduction sidetracked that plan. Is it more than just another battery-powered small SUV? What sets it apart from the other contenders in that increasingly crowded space? We’ll tell you in this episode.



This week, our special guest is Tyson Jominy, vice president of Data and analytics at J.D. Power. Jominy keeps a very close eye on vehicle pricing and affordability, and he’ll have some exclusive information for us. If you’re thinking of buying a vehicle in the near future, you need to hear what he has to say.



This week, the all-new, all-electric Acura ZDX and ZDX Type S have just rolled into dealerships across the country, and the Type S version just happens to be the most powerful Acura vehicle ever. (Take that NSX!) Also interesting is the fact that you can buy one without ever visiting an Acura dealership. We’ll tell you all about the SUV and how Acura plans to sell it.



A new study from IDTechEx predicts that robotaxis will be big business in 10 years, but there are issues with the autonomous-driving technology. Will self-driving taxis change the way we live our lives? We’ll give you our thoughts. And Toyota has just created a new hydrogen headquarters, indicating its continuing commitment to that alternative fuel. What does that mean for the EV efforts going forward?



Honda has just announced that it will plant 85,000 trees near its factory in Ohio. The idea isn’t new but maybe it’s time to take a second look at measures like this to combat carbon dioxide in the atmosphere rather than concentrating only on EVs. We’ll tell you more a little later in the show.



So there’s plenty of food for thought this week. Thanks for joining us.



America on the Road is brought to you by Driving Today.com, Mercury Insurance, and EMLandsea.com , the publisher of Nerad’s latest book, Dance in the Dark, which is available HERE on Amazon.com

Ram has just introduced its latest off-road performance truck, the 2025 Ram 1500 RHO, and we will give you all the details in our exclusive interview with Ram North America sales head Brant Combs. Few people know more about Ram’s 540-horsepower RHO off-roader than Combs, who took time out of a busy vehicle introduction week to sit down for an interview with Host Jack Nerad.



 







Following in the tire tracks of the Ram 1500 TRX, the new RHO features the brand-new and highly potent 3.0-liter Hurricane H/O straight-six turbo engine that cranks out 540 horsepower and 541 pound-feet of torque. The powerplant is a key to the RHO eye-popping performance that includes 0-60 mph in 4.6 seconds and 0-100 mph in 11.7 seconds. But, as Combs tells us, there’s much more to the truck than just its spaking-new powertrain. It also offers a unique, long-travel suspension system with adaptive damping inspired by desert off-road racers. Combs will tell us much more in this episode.



This week’s road test vehicles are the 2024 BMW X2 xDrive 28i and the 2024 Mazda CX-5 Turbo. Both are small crossover utilities with more than a little performance spice. Co-Host Chris Teague chased pleasant New England spring weather in the X2, while Host Jack Nerad dodged unusual April raindrops in the CX-5. Details on both vehicles will fill our road test segment this week.



Leading the news, the International Energy Agency predicts that electric vehicle sales will surge this year. But evidence on the ground suggests otherwise. Tesla, Rivian, and Fisker are among the electric vehicle manufacturers that are having issues this week, cutting prices, offering new promotions, and, in Fisker’s case, telling regulators that bankruptcy might be just around the corner. Of course, Elon Musk always has an answer that calms critics, and we’ll tell you what he said with our comments as the news segment rolls out.



In other news, BMW and MINI have just introduced new and revised models. We’ll have the details on the all-new MINI Aceman, which is the brand’s big salvo in its quest to go all-electric, and info on BMW’s revised 4 Series.



All that and more coming up this week.



America on the Road is brought to you by Driving Today.com, Mercury Insurance, and EMLandsea.com , the publisher of Nerad’s latest book, Dance in the Dark, which is available HERE on Amazon.com

Many think that we in America should change the way we get around every day, increasing our use of public transportation, electric cars and commuting by bicycle much as they do in Europe. But is that a practical solution for the average American? To find out, Host Jack Nerad traveled to two major European capitals — London and Copenhagen — to find out how Europeans get to work, to the grocery store and to all the other places they need to go on a day-to-day basis.



Over the course of a week in Europe, Nerad took about every kind of European transport imaginable, from planes to trains, subways, cabs, canal boats, and…well, even walking. After sampling them all he's come to some definite conclusions.



In this episode of America on the Road, he will share what he discovered. In a discussion with Co-Host Chris Teague, he will offer his thoughts on how the typical American would react to the European style of transport. He’ll point out the positives and negatives of how they travel “over there.”



In the road test portion of this week’s show, Teague will deliver his thoughts on his week-long evaluation of the 2024 GMC Canyon AT4 X AEV Edition. It’s not only a mouthful, but it is also the most off-road-capable GMC Canyon ever.



Also in the road test segment, Nerad will outline his findings after a week of driving the luxurious $99,000 Genesis G90 AWD 3.5T E-Supercharger. Can it compete with the op large luxury sedans from the vaunted German makes? Is the E-Supercharger really a thing?



Leading the news this week, there is a lot going on at Tesla as the company tries to get Elon’s Musk’s multi-billion-dollar back pay reinstated at the same time that the company is laying off 10 percent of its workforce. We have more on that soap opera in this week’s show.



While Tesla is struggling, Ford and Honda have issues of their own. Ford is recalling nearly half a million vehicles over sudden loss of power, while Honda is dealing with an investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration over its automatic emergency braking system that sometimes hits the brakes when there is no emergency. We’ll have details on both stories.



And Ford Motor Company Chairman Bill Ford just told an industry gathering that politicians are a big problem for the auto industry. Hmm, this just in? We’ll have more of his remarks and our comments as this week’s AOTR rolls into your ear canals. Thank you for joining us.



America on the Road is brought to you by Driving Today.com, Mercury Insurance, and EMLandsea.com , the publisher of Nerad’s latest book, Dance in the Dark, which is available HERE on Amazon.com

The 2025 Ram 1500 light-duty pickup truck isn’t all new, but its changes are more significant than the typical mid-cycle refresh. The biggest change is the substitution of the new twin-turbo Hurricane inline-6 for the legendary HEMI V-8. But there is a lot more to it than that, as chief engineer Doug Killian tells us in an exclusive interview.



At the truck’s introductory drive event Host Jack Nerad sat down for a lengthy and insightful discussion with Killian on the heavily revised truck. From the engine, to the suspension, to the special changes Ram made in the cabin, Killian and Nerad look at them all.



In this week’s road test segment, AOTR Co-Host Chris Teague slipped behind the wheel of a new model many Americans probably haven’t heard of yet — the 2024 Buick Envista Avenir. Its the top-level trim of Buick’s latest effort to build and market an affordable entry-level SUV. Does it hit the right marks? Teague tells us in this episode.



At the same time, Nerad will report on his recent road test of the 2024 Hyundai Tucson PHEV Limited, one of the most appealing mass-market compact utes he’s driven in a long time. With plenty of horsepower, tons of interior space, and a handy size, the Tucson plug-in hybrid is an especially appealing vehicle. But it does have at least one shortcoming, which Nerad will reveal in this episode.



Leading the news this week, Toyota has just unveiled its all-new 2025 4Runner, and it has Co-Host Chris very excited. We’ll have plenty of details on the all-new generation coming up.



If you are about to trade in your current car and you haven’t finished making the payments on it, you might be in for a nasty shock. We’ll tell you all about that and what you can do about it coming up.



Acura has just announced a new entry-level SUV that will go on sale next year. While details are scarce, speculation is rampant. We’ll tell you what we know and what we suspect is coming up.



So we have a lot of show for you this week. Thanks for joining us.



America on the Road is brought to you by Driving Today.com, Mercury Insurance, and EMLandsea.com , the publisher of Nerad’s latest book, Dance in the Dark, which is available HERE on Amazon.com

You could say the Ford F-150 Lightning Switchgear is the unexpected Lightning. Sporting 37-inch tires and outrageous bodywork, the Ford Performance on- and off-road demonstrator vehicle doesn’t simply get stares for how it looks but also for what it can do. That’s because the stuff it can do is pretty epic.



In this week’s show we get behind the scenes of this amazing one-off truck in an interview with one of its key development engineers, Sri Pakkam. He’l give us the details on why Ford decided to build the truck, the challenges the development team has faced and what it hopes the truck can acomplish.



Designed and built in collaboration with RTR Vehicles and inspired by the 2016 F-150 RTR Ultimate Fun-Haver project vehicle, the Switchgear’s arresting carbon bodywork covers off-road upgrades that take the F-150 Lightning where it’s never been. With a wider track, greatly improved ground clearance, and plenty of suspension travel, it’s a testbed for pushing the boundaries of what’s expected from electric trucks. The interview will tell you more.



The road test segment will also include an electric vehicle this week. Co-Host Chris Teague was blessed with the opportunity to drive the 2024 Genesis GV60 crossover in a week of frigid temperatures, ice and snow in Maine. Across the country, Host Jack Nerad drove the 2024 Mazda CX-90 to the desert and back, battling 80-degree temperatures and sunny conditions all the way.



In the news this week, we will examine the key vehicles unveiled at the New York Auto Show. Hyundai, Nissan, Kia, Porsche and Genesis showed off some notable vehicles. We offer details and give our thoughts on each one.



Meanwhile, there is plenty of trouble in EV Land. Ford has just laid off or transferred two-thirds of the 2,100 workers at its Rouge plant who were building F-150 Lightning electric pickups.



Things are even more dire at Fisker. The EV brand has cut prices drastically on its 2023 models as it tries to fend off imminent bankruptcy. Investors in the company have been told to prepare for the worst. We’ll have our comments on all this mayhem coming up.



So we have a lot of show for you this week Please join us for this week’s episode.



America on the Road is brought to you by Driving Today.com, Mercury Insurance, and EMLandsea.com , the publisher of Nerad’s latest book, Dance in the Dark, which is available HERE on Amazon.com