Cruise control streamed live every Saturday starting at 10 a.m. Eastern. Watch us live on Facebook and YouTube. Details are in this podcast episode information coach, because you're on cruise control, this control system And welcome to Cruise Control. You're on air. Automotive Magazine. Hello, everyone. It's Fred Star and less Jack's. And we are glad you're along for the ride. A lot to get to this hour.
Liz Jackson and one of the biggest vehicles that people love to compare their vehicles to the BMW three series and touring model that you didn't know. They still made a station wagon version of this. I didn't either. Are re-imagined and they will be going to have hybrid hybrids and other technology in mixed in with those vehicles. So that's pretty cool. Right? It is cool. And Cadillac has opened up the order books and they priced their new lyric, their electric lyric and guess what?
It's flooding them with new customers. That's every product manager we've ever talked to over the years has said, that's the dream. Yeah, absolutely. That's the dream. And we're excited about that. And then we're also going to talk about Ford They have a plan to stop big markups by dealers where it's where it's 20, 30, $40,000 markups. They have a plan to stop that and that's a good thing, isn't it? It is a good thing.
I'm actually seeing some ads locally here in Washington from dealers saying We are selling a masterpiece. That is great. That is great to see. Hey, it's about time and bad news one day. The sonata looks like it's going away. Another perfectly good sedan buy. Yeah. Yeah. We'll talk about that. And you're also going to have a review of the Ford Bronco, right? Which is the. Yes, the black diamond edition of the Ford Bronco. What's in the Black Diamond Edition? I. Well, it's it it's blacked out.
17 inch wheels with 32 inch tires. Wow. Lots of blacked out. Trim around it. It's a serious off road extravaganza. That's probably not the right word, but that's a good way, way to put it. All that and more when we get rolling on this edition of Cruise Control Radio, your on Air Automotive Magazine. And we'll have plenty more to get to, to maybe some talking tech in and a whole lot more. Yeah, a lot going on this Yeah. It's going to be interesting.
There is a lot going on and it just keeps changing. Yeah, it sure does. And we will keep you up to date and also just to bring you up to date on a lot of the technology. Also, we're going to have some best lists of vehicles to check out. So stay tuned to Cruise Control your on Air Automotive Magazine. We will be right back after this. Cruise control is your on Air Automotive Magazine. Check us out at cruise control radio dot com. And welcome back to Cruise Control.
You're on air Automotive Magazine. I'm Fred Stobbe. He has less Jackson. And we're going to get started with this story from BMW about the three series. Of course, a very important vehicle for them, the three series sedan and three series touring Did you know, Les, that they still make a station wagon version of the BMW three series? I, I wasn't aware that they did I thought they had ended that. I thought they also ended the version of the five series. I love those station wagons.
There Know they're kind of everything you need. Yeah. Yeah. And of course, the new sedan is going to be the big seller, and it is it is filled with a lot of technology. And what we found is they've integrated 48 volt mild hybrid technology into the three series. And that's a good thing. I believe that comes in at the 340 level, 340 I level, and then you can still get the naturally well it's turbocharged six cylinder straight six.
But there is a ton of technology in there and I think they've up their game when it comes to what they include with their vehicles because all of them include 18 inch double spoke light alloy wheels, eight speed transmission moon roof power front seats open poor wood oak green trim ambient lighting and and a whole lot more. Now when you step up to that 348 model, you get that 48 volt mild hybrid system.
And sport breaks wood blue calipers and sport differential variable sport steering and the M sports suspension. So that's a big step up you're getting a lot more. Oh and a rear spoiler too. Well I know that you insist on that. I insist on that. That's right. This, of course, will be a big seller for for BMW. And it was an important update. They have something that's kind of interesting.
The driving assistance professional package I like they've called that extended traffic jam assist for limited access highways. That means it will will steer and stop and make the car stop and go in traffic jams. Active cruise control would stop and go active lane keeping assist with side collision collision avoidance traffic jam assist evasion aid and cross traffic alert for the front that that's where they're anticipating a lot of traffic. Now do you do you think they have the.
Didn't you have one BMW lately with the seat delete package. Yes it's the 440 I and this coming week I'm getting the the M three competition model that will have a nice ride. Yeah. In fact, they describe the ride as firm firm which translates to bone shaking and bone shaking. Yeah. I can hardly wait to take the asprin and and look for a new pavement to ride on so it'll be smooth. Now, that's the M sport package.
You said it's it's it's kind of poorly defined the way it's described in the paperwork that, you know, comes when they're going to send you a vehicle. It just, it just calls it the m three competition. OK, M three competition. Okay. I'm looking at an M sport package. I'm sure it's based on the sport package. I'm, I'm almost afraid to say it. All right.
Well, the m sport package on the new 330 I and 330 E will be 19 inch light alloy by color wheels variable sport steering choice of aluminum rhombus C anthracite trim and the open four green oak would you get the M sports suspension or adaptive M suspension, aerodynamic kit and M steering wheel. Mm hmm. So then there's another unique package here, too.
You can get the cooling and high performance tire package, which would be the 19 inch light alloy bi color double spoke wheels style 790 to M on performance. Sure, I'll be getting that non run flat tires M technology package. There's just a ton and ton of options. So we will talk about more of those when we come back on cruise control your on air automotive magazine. I'm Fred Stobbe. He is Les Jackson. Check us out cruise control Radio.com. We will be right back.
Cruise control, welcome back to Cruise Control. You're on Air Automotive Magazine. If you were listening earlier, you heard us talk about the new BMW three models. Great, great. Model. And speaking of great and speaking of pretty high end Cadillac lyric which is their new electric Cadillac is about just about this close to delivering. Yeah. I don't know what that actually means time, but they're close and the pricing starts at 60 to 990. What now, Fred?
I think you agree with me that nobody's going to buy one for that price. No, unfortunately, I think there will probably be big markups on it. Well, plus all of the all the packages that people will want. Yeah. That's for the two wheel drive version with a range of 312 miles. The all good, which is good yeah. The all wheel drive version will start at 64,000 990 and right that it's typically a rear wheel drive vehicle that will add power to the front wheels and actually that's pretty cheap upsell.
Yeah for a whole second electric motor. Well I think I think the marketing idea there is they want people to all go for the all wheel drive, you know, and let's face it, where we are up north, you don't really buy an SUV without all wheel drive. But other parts of the country do. Texas being one of the big areas. Florida. Yeah. If you're in if you're in the Deep South, you're probably wasting your money to get an all wheel drive unless you took a boat, tow a boat, or you go off roading.
But you're not going to go off roading in this lyric. That would be dull. I you know. Hey, Dad, can I borrow the lyric and go offroading with my buddies this weekend? Sure, son. You know it, but it pays to get all wheel drive anyway for handling too, you know? And. Oh, yeah, and the all wheel drive model will let you tow up to 30 £500. That's actually pretty impressive. For something that's even though it's an SUV, it's really kind of a car. Yeah, yeah. It is more of a s.u.v.
And it's interesting because a lot of these vehicles we're seeing coming out, we're going to look at one from Genesis a little bit later on. They certainly have that same look of a small hatchback like S.u.v, all electric, lots of style, lots of interior style and technology. And you're going to see a lot more of these vehicles, even even like the V6 from Kia, which is a lot less expensive. It has that kind of form factor to it.
And I think I think that's just going to become the look of vehicles right now for the next couple of years. And what's interesting to me is apparently Americans don't like hatchbacks, but they're certainly going to build a lot of them, aren't they? They are. And we're the only society that doesn't seem to like hatchbacks. I don't understand that because they're so practical. What's the problem?
They don't look like a hatchback from the seventies. No. Maybe it's just kind of one of those words that like station wagon. Yeah. Like station or like station wagon. Yeah, that's, that's, that's the problem. I don't know. But here's the big takeaway story here. On this. 70% of the people buying Cadillac lyrics or ordering them at this point are brand new to the Cadillac brand. They've never bought a Cadillac before. And this is interesting.
I told you that story about a guy that never bought a Ford, but he bought a Mac E and right this is really bringing people in. It's interesting that that this is doing that. And maybe, you know, it's kind of a resurgence it's for domestic manufacturers when it comes to this. They're just liking what they're doing. Are people rethinking their buying choices or perhaps are these vehicles available for under 100,000? But something like an Audi E Tron, when you add everything in is over
a hundred thousand, what do you think? It's it's well over. Plus people that are buying this kind of vehicle electric. You know, they're they're looking at everything that's out because they don't really they're not familiar with them. And they go to the Cadillac dealer or the Ford dealer and they get in it. They they've never had this brand and they just say, you know, these people really know what they're doing, right? I'm interested in this.
And then they drive it and they either love it or they go on yeah. Yeah. It's interesting, but I think they've they've both done a good job here. Obviously, we've both driven the mark. I've not driven the lyric yet. I don't think you have either. I wonder. Oh, we'll never know. But I wonder what percentage of that. 70% of, of buyers, owners of competition are owners of Teslas. Oh, that's interesting.
Yes. They're discovering that a manufacturer can make something that where the doors work, that the windows were trimmed as a cheap shot. That was a cheap shot though. But but yeah, I, I also think, look, I think these vehicles have a lot more style as well. You know, I fully agree I think now not nothing against people that own Teslas. They have a great drive train and that I just don't, I just don't like the styling. I don't like the interior it's entertaining. I just don't care for it.
I think we've both met there. Stylist Hans Von Holst Housing in France. And and he's he's styled better things in the past, so. Yeah, that's the way it is. Yeah. Well, the Cadillac lyric, I think, will be a hit for them. It will make some offer at home. Level two AC charge rates of up to 19.2 kilowatts, which can add 52 miles of charge per hour, which is pretty good. That's pretty decent.
Yeah. I'm charging my moxie at the moment in my driveway where the regular 120 where the regular, you know, 20 amp, you know, 120. And I think it's charging at about eight miles per hour. Eight mount miles per hour. Yeah. Of range it sounds at 40 miles per hour. Yes. Adding miles it's pretty modest.
Yeah. Yeah. They also have a program that's pretty good, that lyric customers will receive the option of either two years of unlimited public charging from Joe Weiss or credit of up to 1500 dollars towards home charger installation and that they can receive that towards adding a 240 volt circuit and plug or actually getting the charger installed.
So it's it's good to see manufacturers taking that into account and and you know thinking about that all the way through and the free charging it's like hey that's great that's like getting free gas right well it is and it's working out to these days charging at about the equivalent of buying a gallon of gas in terms of the miles you get from the electricity of buying a gallon of gas for around a dollar. 65. Right. Which you can't buy, which is which you can't buy.
Did you hear that story that some gas stations are reprograming their pumps so they can sell $10 a gallon gas if it becomes necessary. Yeah. Which it. Wow. You know, that that can be an expensive proposition nationwide. Yeah. Some aren't even putting the prices up anymore, which I believe is a violation. But they just don't bother because it's just like buying lobsters. Yeah. Have market rate. Market market rate. Yeah. Market rate. Exactly. Hey, when we come back, we got plenty more to go.
We're just getting started here on cruise control. We're going to tell you about how Ford's got a new program to prevent dealers from doing those massive markups. Hyundai Sonata, sadness and less. Jackson will put on his off roading boots and head out in the Ford Bronco. You got it. It's coming up on cruise control We are live every Saturday at 10 a.m. Eastern. Watch us on Facebook and YouTube. Details are in this podcast episode.
Information and cruise control Welcome back to Cruise Control Your on Air Automotive magazine. I'm Fred Star. And also here is Les Jackson as he always is, something we've been talking about. Les Jackson. Oh, boy. Happily, big markups for vehicles. I mean, big markups, like 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, 100,000, maybe more. Especially when it comes to vehicles like this. The Ford F-150 lightning dealers have been marking them up. One dealer for 2000 Oaks, perfectly named for this.
What I'm about to tell you has listed one for $145,309. And now they've changed that to call for price because they got a lot of attention from Twitter and other places. And that is that is really out of out of the park, isn't it? That's by the way, that's about a $40,000 markup on the truck. It what it is is legal extortion. Yeah, well, Ford's kind of sick of this. They really are. And what they're going to do is they have a new way to stop this.
And it, it brings up an interesting term I've never heard in the automotive industry. But what they're doing is they're doing something called name matching. So it's a name match policy. In other words, if someone orders a car, if you go in Liz Jackson and order a car, Ford knows your name and it knows it's only going to you, OK? You're not you're not ordering. You know, all the salespeople aren't ordering cars just so they can put them on the lot and mark them up.
They are making a strict name match policy across the board. This was sent out to dealers per dealer bulletin this week. And they are basically saying that if you if you order a vehicle, it has to go to the person that ordered it and that the new policy says, 70%, 5% of the cars ordered by dealers must be name match to the customer. Previously, the policy said the number had to be 70% of cars order.
Ford is now closing the loophole so basically they can't just stock up on these cars and then mark them up. Well this is good and and there are we of course have a mutual friend who saw this occur except to his benefit maverick yeah he ordered one with his name which he did. I delivered it did the right and SRP right and he sold it for a very handsome profit. Yeah. Couldn't resist. Yeah. But anyway, I'm seeing it now.
Several Ford dealers locally are advertising MSR P. My next door neighbor just got a brand new yesterday. Got a brand new Subaru Outback. You don't see many out backs on the road. And he got it for me. Sarpy at the local dealership. No dealing. No, he can't. He couldn't make any deal, i'm sure, right? No, no, of course not. So you're just beginning now to try to filter through that, you know? OK, the the free ride more than free for the dealers is coming to an end. Yeah.
I mean, people should, when they're presented with this, say, I'm not going to do that. I think that's too much. And guess what? I'm going to post it on the web so everyone knows. And who knows? Maybe I'll even call the regional office I'm sure the regional office knows. But, you know, the but the the manufacturers are are telling dealers this is going to affect your allocations.
Yeah. Yeah. The other thing is, too, one way around this is I think in previous years, we've gone from people ordering a vehicle and waiting. Well, nowadays you might wait eight, nine months, but yeah, in the old days it was what, two or three months and they were build it and it was exciting.
Now, I remember as a kid we ordered the car and then it's like either they're probably building it now, you know, it was long before you could track it in and get emails as, oh yeah, we're, you know, it's in paint right now. But it was fun. But then you got exactly what you wanted. You went through the brochure. Yep. I want that and nope, I don't want that. So I think we might see a return to that as people try to fight these unfair markups. Right. I agree.
And you know it until recently the industry had reversed itself. You know, like, 90% of the people buying new vehicles didn't order them. They bought them right off the lot. Yeah, that's right. So, you know, it's much better to order. Yeah. And there was a big business where, you know, Oh, I'll find you one. And they dealers would swap vehicles and and that maybe that's gone. Maybe that's gone. Could be reference to Subaru.
Their CEO said, you know, while it's legal, it is not something a Subaru dealer should be doing and they he kind of chastised them. They didn't do anything like Ford where they went ahead and, you know, actually made a policy. But he did say we don't think that's the right thing for a Subaru dealer to be doing. Did that stop them from doing it? I don't know. I don't know how many. So I kind of feel Subaru dealers probably won't do it. Yeah. Yeah. Let's stop this one now.
My neighbors only had a choice of three different out packs to buy, right? Because they don't have many. Yeah, but still. Yeah. Could I order one if they wanted to or were they not? Well, they didn't want to order. They just wanted to get rid of their Acura. That was leaking oil and making an interesting sound. Making an interesting sound. OK, all right. Well, I think it's it's a good deal for Ford, and I hope other manufacturers follow suit, don't pay over MSRP.
And really, dealers should say realize people a lot of people don't like the whole dealer procedure. They want to get in, get out. They don't want to sit there all day and be worked on just you know, say, hey, can I take that blue one? And I see it's says that on the sticker. They say, yep. And and what do you want it for? You know, some some are not selling vehicles if you don't finance them through the dealership. I don't know how legal that is.
It's not legal if something's for sale and I go in, I say, that's fine. I'll pay that. I'm ready to go. Here's my here's my money. You pretty much have to sell it right yeah. You're violating federal law if you if you don't, it's discrimination. Yeah. Interesting stuff. Interesting times. This is kind of a sad story because this is a great vehicle. By the way, the hybrid version gets almost 50 miles to the gallon of this vehicle.
And it looks like according to one report, a South Korean publication suggests that Hyundai may drop the sonata. The sonata has been around for 37 years. And seven generations. And the sonata so not a hybrid are really really good cars or they're thinking that they have not since they have not started the new generation which they would have started in 2019. This is a publication called the Chosun Ilbo but they say I read it all the time I've read
that's one my that's one of my top reads. Yeah they said that Hyundai has not started that generation of the vehicle and they should have started it by 2019. And they're saying it may be gone. Well you know let's face it, how many, how many are you seeing on the road.
Well you know it's I'm in a different area where they only buy one or two brands but they do buy they well they I don't know I'm say I'm not seeing a lot of them but I'll tell you what the hybrid version of it right now, if you could drive around in a nice sedan that got 50 miles to the gallon is not a bad call. I would take it in a minute. Yeah. So it is sad for us to see that and it's sad because there's no real reason to do it.
You could certainly make electric sedans but yeah, it I as I said before, a lot of vehicles are going to look like those small hatchback SUVs, low roofline. See, you've got high seating, high seating which I guess means you don't have a lot of headroom Well, yeah, but and and in lots of those there all kind of look the same, you know, because of the same form factor. So yeah, I don't know. Let's see what happens here, though. Who knows?
Maybe this is just maybe it was something they had to do because of cost, because of COVID, who knows? But we'll, we'll we'll see if there is a future generation of Sonata. But I tell you what, if you're looking for a 50 mile per gallon vehicle, there's Hyundai Sonata hybrid is pretty neat. Hey, when we come back, Les Jackson, get ready because you are going off roading in the Ford Bronco. There you are off roading. Wow. That's where I am right now. Yeah, that's pretty amazing. All right.
We'll be right back with cruise control cruise control is your on Air Automotive Magazine. Check us out at Cruise Control Radio.com. Cruise Control. Welcome back to Cruise Control. Hey, this is that time of the hour when we do it at the wheel review. And I have been in the Bronco. I mean, the Bronco, the two door big off road. That guy that if you're looking at a video this is a serious machine. It's, of course, pays homage to the Broncos of the seventies. It's not like them at all.
It's obviously modern mine is the Black Diamond Edition, which is pretty impressive looking. It's actually fixed. It's fixed. It's painted in in well they call it a what is that color? It's a gray anthracite. No, no cactus gray. I believe it's gray. Cactuses were gray. I thought they were green. Yeah. I thought they're green, too. Yeah. So that's weird. Inside black gray vinyl seats. They're really high quality. OK, and bolstered.
You got to you got to be bolstered if you're at an off road Bronco. Why? Because this thing has 17 inch wheels alloy wheels with 32 inch tires. Wow. Darby, big old Off-Road Tires. We got about yay much suspension travel. Wow. It's it's like a Ford Raptor. Wow. And you can get a Raptor edition of it too, I guess. Yes, yes. You can spend money if you if you wish to spend money now with this addition and these are all options you have to buy. There's a cargo area protector $120.
There's a towing capacity which is just towing kit $600 sound deadening headliner for the for the hard top that you can remove oh honestly it doesn't deaden the sound very much OK but mainly because the tires make a lot of noise on the road. There's a lot of big tread and they have you know it's there it's I actually measured it's 87 decibels riding down a smooth highway. Wow. That's up there that's a lawnmower running next to you and that's that's exciting yes.
Q Keelan a keyless entry of course and roof rail with crossover rack you kind of have that right even if you're staying on road because you're going to carry the kayak and the kayak. Yes. The symbol of active lifestyle. That's right. Which of course I am the symbol. You are the access, you know, less jacks. Yeah. Yeah. So getting into it is a bit of a step up. There is no step because you'd rip it off if you're doing it.
So at the end of the dash are really two very nicely shaped kind of dog legs and those are pull handles so that you can grab with your left hand as the driver and pull yourself up to get to the seats. Needless to say, my passengers complained about. Did you have a step stool? Well, yeah, but, you know, you have to have a step stool outside. Sure. So it's a it's a not terribly practical but kind of cool I so as you might expect, compelled to go off road. Uh huh.
And so that meant, of course, Home Depot, that's off road and because I had to go down and buy through some basil plants for landing and our herb pot mm. And when I came out of the store, there were three people milling around it and. Oh, is this yours? I said, well it's mine to test. It's mine for the week. Yeah. Yeah. Well, well, you know, how much is it? And I, and I offered to let them sit inside. Mm. And of course I'm going out with this thing two to three little
basil pots. You you know, not very, not very He-Man off road ish, but the rear tailgate opens up and you get a lot of room in there to throw stuff. Mm. It's all you can wash it all out with a hose yeah. So it's, it's designed to get dirty. What, what are those things on the front? Fenders. I never understood those little videos. Those are pull hooks for. But not, not on the front bumper. Not rescue hooks, but on the front fender. There are those two little. Yeah. Tie down hooks.
Yeah. Oh, that's. They call them fender. Tie down hooks. That's for the kayak. Oh, for your kayak. I gotcha. I see. I see. You're not a kayaker. I guess the active lifestyle. Yeah. Which I've never been in a kayak myself, but I'm I actually have been in a kayak several times. Have you? Yeah. On lakes and on the Hudson River, so. Wow. I might. I might be an active lifestyle, and. I don't know. You could be. Yeah, you could be. Of course, it has. It has two hawks and split fold seat.
It has a six way manual seats. OK, six way, six way flip you know, you could jack it up. You can anyway. Are those the zero gravity seats like Nissen puts in that supposedly keep your spine in the right orientation? They're very supportive. Hey, you know, you did it is it is what it is. The doors off of this right I couldn't take the door. So first of all, it's an operation. You have to unplug the the electric system on the doors.
You have a special tool to remove the pins out of the hinges and the doors weigh close to £70 and they're up high too. And they're up there up by about chest height. So I said I'll just, I'll just take their word that you can take the doors off. Besides that, I like you. I don't feel at all comfortable driving something without the doors on it. Yeah. It just doesn't even though you're belted in, it just doesn't feel safe. It doesn't feel safe. No, I agree. I think but a lot of people like that.
I mean. Well, I see I see jeeps all the time with keep in mind, drugstores have a side door beam in them. They have electric motors for the window. Yeah. They have all kinds of stuff in there. It's not it's not a light thing to to throw around you know, it's it's it's definitely not, you know, something that you would easily take off. I think you'd need some kind of lift or something for it. Well, yeah. Where do you put the door?
You'd have to hang it from the ceiling and have like, something to jacket up and then slide it over on it. It's just I think the people that do that probably make a little fitting or a rack. Yeah, probably buy one. Yeah. But anyway, it comes standard with a nice stereo system. Auto start, stop. Obviously all the safety systems did it have navigation because that was one thing they were taken out of it for. It does not have navigation, OK, which you know, OK, what is this going to hold me back?
Well, this is the surprise base price. 36, 845. That's not that surprising. And with all the options and destination delivery. 1500 bucks. Wow. Delivery. So the MSP is $40,025, which honestly I was I guess that it was about 60. Mm. If you can get it for that it's if you get it it's well put together but boy is it noisy on the road drives smooth but noisy but it's quite a machine. Does it get any fuel economy. I got about 19 there's no, there was no stated fuel economy. All right.
I got about 19 I think 20 is about what you can expect. All right well we appreciate you listening on cruise control that is a great at the wheel of the Ford Bronco. Time for me to say I'm Fred Stubb. I'm less Jackson. We're going to see you down the road. But cruise control streamed live every Saturday starting at 10 a.m. Eastern. Watch us live on Facebook and YouTube. Details are in this podcast episode information.