In Podcast #366, John Davis and the MotorWeek crew dive into some very recent first drives with some very important new models. Greg starts things off with a west-coast adventure in the all-new 2026 Subaru Outback, which officially leaves it’s wagon identity behind. Then Jessica recalls her recent time in Nissan’s longest running nameplate, the Sentra. And Alex gets passionate about his time on the Tail of the Dragon driving the Hurricane-powered Dodge Charger. Does it really need a HEMI now? Then we recap what we know of the 2025 Los Angeles Auto Show.
(This episode was recorded before the LA Auto Show announcements, so we want to correct that the 2027 Kia Telluride’s standard powertrain is a 2.5L Turbo-4.)
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Special Guest: John Davis
John Davis joins us on the MotorWeek podcast this week, not as host…but as our special guest! Because who better to talk about the history of the show, than the man who created it. Jessica Ray hosts our fearless leader in this special video episode of the podcast, and we get to know the man that is John H. Davis.
We’ll discuss how his childhood shaped his car enthusiasm, his background in aerospace engineering, his year working on Wall Street before he moved to public television, and of course, we get the full story on how MotorWeek began.
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Fatal Crash Prevention at the IIHS, Subaru Forester Hybrid, & New Engine in the Jeep Grand Cherokee
In Podcast #364, John Davis and the MotorWeek crew are joined by FYI Reporter Stephanie Hart who details her recent visit to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s facility in Virginia to see what they’re doing to help prevent fatal crashes. Then Jessica dives into the more fuel-efficient version of Subaru’s volume seller, the 2025 Forester Hybrid. And Logan is back from a trip to Detroit where he got to see the revised 2026 Jeep Grand Cherokee, including it’s all-new Hurricane engine. Our Lightning Round addresses Mary Barra’s recent comments claiming that GM will be leaving Apple CarPlay and Android Auto out of their new vehicles in the future and a viewer wonders if Hyundai or Kia will ever make a body-on-frame SUV competitor.
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Special Guest: Lisa Barrow
The lovely Lisa Barrow joins John and Jessica on this special episode of the MotorWeek podcast! Lisa spent over a decade as MotorWeek’s FYI reporter in the late 1980s and talks about her global travels, how the show inspired her adventurous side, and where life took her after she left the show.
There is also a video version of this podcast that can be found here: https://youtu.be/K8M2HQCWZq4
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Nissan LEAF First Drive, Plus Honda Prelude & BMW iX3 Reveals
In Podcast #362, John Davis and the MotorWeek crew have a jam-packed podcast for you! Jessica starts things off with the global reveal of the EV version of BMW’s best-selling vehicle globally, the iX3. Then Alex relays the details on the recently unvieled production model of the returning Honda Prologue sports coupe…they include a hybrid powertrain and a very distinct lack of a third pedal. Then we have finally had some time behind the wheel of the all-new Nissan LEAF so Greg let’s us know how much this charming EV has really changed. And our Lightning Round discusses Porsche pulling back on their plans to go all-electric while a viewer has a question about how we do our slalom testing.
We thought a podcast would be the perfect vehicle for taking viewers behind-the-scenes of MotorWeek. We produce 52 episodes of MotorWeek a year, but we don't always have time to tell you everything. The podcast is a unique opportunity for viewers to hear our personal impressions of the vehicles we road test, discover the stories behind the stories MotorWeek is covering and learn more about where the auto industry is headed as it focuses squarely on fuel economy.
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