348 episodes

Wheel Bearings is a podcast about cars and transportation hosted by Sam Abuelsamid, Nicole Wakelin and Roberto Baldwin

Wheel Bearings https://wheelbearings.media

    • Leisure
    • 4.5 • 174 Ratings

Wheel Bearings is a podcast about cars and transportation hosted by Sam Abuelsamid, Nicole Wakelin and Roberto Baldwin

    Finding The Hidden Charge Port

    Finding The Hidden Charge Port

    Nicole is back and she shares her impressions of driving a Lynk&Co 01 that she and her husband rented in France during their vacation. Robbie will have more to share next week about the BMW i5 and Sam has driven the Land Rover Defender 110 and Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray.

    In the news, the Ram TRX has been shelved for now, but Ram has a six-cylinder powered version called the RHO. Mercedes-Benz has revealed an all-electric version of the new G-Wagen with four motors. There were several interesting reveals at the 2024 Beijing Motor Show and some of them might make it to North America. The Mini Aceman is all electric, but it doesn't directly replace the discontinued Clubman. The Mazda EZ-6 is a great looking electric sedan that should come to America along with the Buick Electra L and LT. While the design of the Toyota bZ4X is polarizing, the bZ3C and bZ3X are much more appealing. Honda and its partners will invest $11 billion into an EV production ecosystem in Alliston, Ontario and NHTSA has closed one Tesla Autopilot investigation and opened up another.

    Links

    Lynk & Co 01
    2025 Ram 1500 RHO
    Tesla Autopilot has caused hundreds of crashes, dozens of fatalities
    Mini Aceman
    Mazda EZ-6
    Toyota BZ3C and BZ3X
    Buick Electra L, LT concepts
    Honda $11B investment in Canada EV production
    Mercedes-Benz G-Wagen EQ

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    • 1 hr 40 min
    No Soap Please

    No Soap Please

    Nicole is still cruising European rivers so it's just the boys this week. Robbie drove the Range Rover Sport and used a Ford Transit to get his bands to Salt Lake City for a couple of shows (hence why there was no episode last week). Sam has been driving the Subaru CrossTrek Wilderness.

    In the news, VW workers in Tennessee join the UAW, and Mercedes-Benz is voting next. Toyota launches a 6th gen 4Runner. Sam sees the BMW Vision Neue Klasse X in person and talks with Designworks CEO Julia de Bono. Kia is testing the EV3 and it may sticker for under $35,000. GM launches its vehicle to home charging products. Alfa Romeo unveils its first EV as the Milano and almost immediately changes the name. Back in the 1980s, Porsche was developing a Miata competitor before the Mazda launched. Maserati shows off the stunning Gran Cabrio Folgore and Honda is launching a new design language for its Ye EVs in China.

    Links

    VW Workers in Tennessee Vote for UAW, M-B next?
    2025 Toyota 4Runner
    BMW Vision Neue Klasse X
    Soapy Cybertruck Recall
    Kia EV3 may be under $35,000
    GM Launches V2H products
    Alfa Romeo Launches Milano EV, Quickly Renames it Junior
    What if Porsche built a Miata Competitor?
    Maserati Gran Cabrio Folgore
    Honda Ye EVs for China

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    • 1 hr 57 min
    Still Too Much

    Still Too Much

    This week Nicole and her husband compare the 2024 Jeep Wrangler 4XE to their 2022 model that they own. Robbie takes the Kia EV9 on a snowboarding trip and is unimpressed by the new Lincoln Nautilus. Sam drives the 2024 Polestar 2 dual motor performance model.
    Nicole shares her impressions of driving the updated Jeep Gladiator in Moab and Hyundai has unveiled a race version of the Ioniq 5 N. Friend of the show Alex Dykes shares his impressions of a Fisker Ocean he rented on Turo. Chevrolet officially prices the Silverado EV RST first edition and cuts the price by $10K from what was originally announced while JerryRigEverything goes 460 miles on a charge. Tesla kills its $25K car to focus on a robotaxi and Ford delays its next EVs by up to 2 years. Our friend Tommy Mica from TFL decides to driving his 1915 Model T in the snow and a listener asks about a Mitsubishi pickup truck in California.
    Links
    IONIQ 5 N eN1 Cup car
    2024 Jeep Gladiator
    Alex on Fisker, 12V problems and broken vents
    460 Miles in the Silverado EV RST
    Chevy Cuts Silverado EV RST price by $10K
    Tesla scraps $25K EV
    Ford delays next-gen EVs up to 2 years
    Driving a Model T in the snow
    Mitsubishi Triton


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    • 1 hr 34 min
    Faster Than Magma

    Faster Than Magma

    This week, friend of the show Perry Stern is filling in for Robbie and he's been driving the Mercedes-AMG GLB. Nicole tries out the latest variant of Honda's pickup truck the off-road-ish Ridgeline Trailsport and Sam has the Acura TLX Type-S.

    Perry went to the New York for the Auto Show this week and gives us a rundown on what he saw including the new Genesis Neolun concept and the GV60 Magma performance model. Kia also unveiled the new entry level K4 sedan and teased an upcoming hatchback version. Hyundai showed off mid-cycle refreshes for the Tucson and Santa Cruz that look a bit more truckish and bring back the buttons on the center stack. Nissan also unveiled a new version of the Kicks and the Infiniti QX80.

    Instead of New York, Nicole went to Moab for the Easter Jeep Safari and got to try out a bunch of cool Jeep concepts. Fisker is inching closer to bankruptcy and BMW has a new Neue Klasse SUV concept. For those concerned about buying used EVs, Cox has a new battery health reporting tool and Chinese phone maker Xiaomi is getting into the EV game with the SU7 sedan.

    Links

    Fisker almost done
    Fisker couldn't track millions in payments
    Genesis Neolum and GV60 Magma
    2025 Hyundai Santa Cruz
    2025 Hyundai Tucson
    BMW Vision Neue Klasse X
    Jeep Gladiator Mojave in Moab
    Cox rolling out battery health reports to Manheim auctions
    Xiaomi SU7
    Kia K4

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    • 1 hr 31 min
    Jumping Raptors

    Jumping Raptors

    While Robbie is off doing some late winter snow boarding, Nicole and Sam are holding down the fort. Nicole has been driving Buick's new entry level model, the Envista and the Hyundai Palisade. Meanwhile Sam had the new Toyota Prius Limited AWD and the very pricey Mercedes-AMG EQE SUV.

    We've got a first drive review of the blocky new Hyundai Santa Fe with some more rigorous off-roading than the last Hyundai SUV we tried. We also drive the new Ford Ranger and Ranger Raptor. The New York Auto Show is coming up this week and none of us will be there so of course there are some interesting vehicle launches. Nissan has both ends of its product lineup covered with a second-generation Kicks crossover and an all-new Infiniti QX80 that really steps up its game in the big luxury SUV segment. Kia also has a new entry model with the new K4 sedan replacing the Forte. After the uproar over the news that GM was sharing driver data with data brokers, GM has decided to halt that new approach to monetization.

    While attending Nvidia GTC in San Jose, Sam took some time to ride Waymo robotaxis in San Francisco and then sat down in the new Volvo EX90 with the Swedish automaker's head of software engineering Alwin Bakennes. Finally, we answer some listener questions.

    Links

    2024 Hyundai Santa Fe
    2024 Ford Ranger
    2024 Ford Ranger Raptor
    2025 Infiniti QX80
    2025 Kia K4
    2025 Nissan Kicks
    GM stops data sharing

    Riding with Waymo

    Running the Ranger Raptor in the desert

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    • 2 hr 19 min
    Touch The Vent Not The Screen

    Touch The Vent Not The Screen

    This week Sam has been driving the Honda Passport Trailsport.

    Nicole and Sam assess the new Lincoln Nautilus and like the big screen, but there are other issues. Porsche is finally bringing out a hybrid version of the 911. Renowned automotive Designer Marcello Gandini has died at 85. Are automakers sharing too much of our data? Polestar cuts the price of the 3 before it even arrives. Audi is forcing subscriptions on the new A3. Dan Edmunds and Motor Trend look at the Cybertruck and Automotive News no longer classes Tesla as a luxury brand. Finally, Rivian drivers can start using superchargers.

    Links

    2024 Lincoln Nautilus First Drive
    Sam's Nautilus take

    Hybrid Porsche 911
    Polestar 3 US pricing down by $10K
    Marcello Gandini dies at 85
    Data from connected cars
    Audi A3 subscriptions
    Dan Edmunds examines the cybertruck
    Motor Trend on the Cybertruck
    Tesla no longer a luxury brand
    Rivian Supercharging now working

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    • 1 hr 24 min

Customer Reviews

4.5 out of 5
174 Ratings

174 Ratings

incognitogorilla ,

Great job y’all

extremely informative, detailed, thorough but also contains lots of practical advice and criticisms.

gfgghbn ,

Not prepared.

Too often I hear them say, I don’t have the maroney with me. Or they don’t remember the facts, like whether it’s a plug-in, hybrid or not.

Clay "The Intern" ,

My Favorite Podcast

Really enjoying the upbeat combo of Nicole and Nicole, with the soothing matter-of-fact delivery of knowledge from Sam. It’s really jiving, guys. Keep it up.

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