Michigan's AutoTalk Podcast is Michigan's only podcast for car and truck lovers, backyard mechanics, and automotive enthusiasts. Previous hosts were Al Schwinkendorf, and John Puhek. Our new host & executive producer is a die-hard car guy himself, Phil Tower.
“A deep dive on driving and owning EVs with Dr. Karl Bloss from Consumers Energy ”(Episode 99)
Episode 99: “A deep dive on Driving and Owning EVs with Dr. Karl Bloss from Consumers Energy ”
In this episode, producer Phil Tower plus hosts Al Schwinkendorf and John Puhek welcome Dr. Karl Bloss, Consumers Energy’s Electric Vehicle Education and Outreach Coordinator.
As just about anyone who drives knows by now, electric vehicles have gone from being a rarity to almost commonplace road sight. In fact, Cox Automotive reports that in the second quarter of 2022, electric vehicle sales topped 5.6% of all new car sales. EVs are becoming mainstream. Still, these vehicles are far from standard, the innovation in this world has led to exciting technology jumps across the auto industry. Karl Bloss doesn't just talk about EVs but drives them. He has owned and used EVs for years. Karl told us he made the decision to go EV after spending time in Germany feeling the full cost impact of diesel vehicles. Even in those early days of EV technology (with the lower mileage capabilities), an EV made sense for him and his wallet. And that is even more true today. By the way, the percentage of electric vehicles on Michigan roads is in the single digits. But the percentage is expected to rise to between 15% and 25% by the decade's end.
MI AUTOTALK FUN FACT: According to U.S. Department of Energy data from 2021 — the most recent numbers available — Michigan had 17,500 EVs, out of roughly 8.7 million vehicles registered. That means EVs accounted for about 0.2% of all vehicles in Michigan.
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Online: Consumers Energy PowerMIDrive (https://www.consumersenergy.com/residential/programs-and-services/electric-vehicles/powermidrive)
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20 Apr 2023
"An inside look at 16th running of Car and Driver's Lightning Lap, with editor-in-chief Tony Quiroga" (Episode 98)
Episode 98: "An inside look at 16th running of Car and Driver's Lightning Lap, with editor-in-chief Tony Quiroga"
In this episode, producer Phil Tower welcomes back Car And Driver editor-in-chief, Tony Quiroga. Tony is an 18-year-veteran Car and Driver editor, writer, car reviewer, and the 19th editor-in-chief for the magazine since its founding in 1955.
In this episode, Tony gives us an insider's look at Car and Driver's 16th running of Lightning Lap, an annual test of performance cars held at Virginia International Raceway (VIR). The 2023 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 recorded the quickest time this year, lapping the 4.1-mile track in just 2 minutes and 38.6 seconds. The full package is available now on the Car and Driver website and in the February/March issue, which is available now everywhere magazines are sold.
Tony told us that VIR is chosen for its length and variety of challenges and that VIR is widely considered to be America’s toughest and most-demanding racetrack. This year’s 16 Lightning Lap entrants were grouped by base price (which includes performance-enhancing options and has been adjusted for inflation), and their best times determined the finishing order. The goal is to boil down each vehicle’s performance to a single number: the lap time.
More Online:
Lightning Lap 2023: The Hottest Cars on America's Toughest Track
https://www.caranddriver.com/features/a42387169/lightning-lap-2023/
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https://www.facebook.com/MichigansAutoTalkPodcast (https://www.facebook.com/MichigansAutoTalkPodcast)
Michigan's AutoTalk podcast is available on iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Amazon Audio, Spreaker.com, Deezer, and Podcatcher.
Thank you for listening. If you like our podcast please share it with a friend!
Al, John, and Phil
25 Mar 2023
Sticker price+$5,000 ?: The five new vehicles buyers pay big $$ for with Karl Brauer from iSeeCars(Episode 97)
Sticker price+$5,000 ?: The five new vehicles buyers pay big $$ for with Karl Brauer from iSeeCars(Episode 97)
Bought a new car lately? Today, new cars have priced an average of 8.8 percent above MSRP nationally, even after improving supply chain issues and paying higher interest rates on vehicle loans.
In this episode, producer Phil Tower chats with Karl Brauer, executive analyst for ISeeCars.com.
Locally, a recent iSeeCars study (https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fec2-52-33-3-241.us-west-2.compute.amazonaws.com%2Fx%2Fd%3Fc%3D29987461%26l%3D7bd2fafa-83c7-4db6-8087-872c3a09af7b%26r%3D5f0170f6-c685-4fbd-a8cc-18811b7efffd&data=05%7C01%7CPHILTOWER%40iheartmedia.com%7Ccb8bedd42cfc483e08a008db2ca24fc7%7C122a527e5b714eba878d9810b495b9e3%7C0%7C0%7C638152847905872377%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=v4QTMqirl6jC7J6BuIEruluu1jpdYrbyP6meHFqgoW8%3D&reserved=0) also found that the average new car in the Grand Rapids metro area is priced at nearly 8% or $3,104 above MSRP.
The study analyzed over 12 million new car listings from February 2022 through February 2023, looking at the average list price of new cars and comparing it to MSRP. Karl helped break down the five vehicles with the highest markups over MSRP in the Grand Rapids-Kalamazoo region.
The #1 highest over-sticker vehicle shouldn't surprise you!
Helpful links:
ISeeCars.com Study (https://www.iseecars.com/new-cars-with-greatest-price-hikes-study)
Karl’s website Karl On Cars (https://www.karlbrauer.com):
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Michigan's AutoTalk podcast is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio, Google Podcasts, Amazon Audio, Spreaker.com, Deezer, and Podcatcher.
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