Company Cars – Details, episodes & analysis

Overseas Delivery Programs, what they are, how did we end up with them briefly during the 1990s and 2000s, why we only have 1 program standing, and whether that program (Volvo) is a good idea or not. I also talk about my rental of a brand new Cadillac XT5 Premium Luxury from Hertz in Phoenix, AZ.

Howdy! For this long belated episode, I do a drive-by of three of the most impactful events in the automotive market this year: 1) Tesla's continued price cuts, which launched an EV price battle, 2) is EV demand saturating?, and 3) how high interest rates have impacted certain corners of the car market.

I also discuss a rental car roulette that is a minivan- my favorite category of cars! I drive a 2022 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid Touring-L from Budget Rent-a-Car!

In this episode, we explore the past internet revolution in car buying, the forthcoming (or already underway?) internet revolution in car buying, and how the pandemic accelerated the forthcoming internet revolution. In rental car roulette, I discuss the Chevrolet Trailblazer and why it's a better sub-compact SUV than the Jeep Compass from episode 24.

In this episode, we discuss the rapid disappearance of affordable new cars, especially in light of record high new vehicle transaction prices and the explosive popularity of one particular affordable new car, the Ford Maverick. Rental Car Roulette also returns with a bright orange Jeep Compass Trailhawk! 

Note: In rental car roulette, I mentioned the Compass had around 15,000 miles. This is erroneous. It only had about 9,000 miles when I drove it. This difference in mileage does not affect my opinions on the car.

Ever wondered what an auto show was? Why do automakers bring a bunch of cars, park them inside a convention center, and then sell tickets to people to come and see cars? Has the pandemic destroyed the need for an auto show? Those questions explored on this week's episode of Company Cars! 

In this episode, we finally take a stab at addressing the elephant in the room on this podcast: Tesla. Over the past year, I've gotten many requests for episodes to discuss various things Tesla is doing, and this episode marks the first of probably many episodes where we discuss Tesla and the many ways it has revolutionized the automotive business. 

We begin very broadly with a brief discussion of the critical insights that led to the company's founding, how these insights guided the initial direction of the company, and how these insights led to Tesla's competitive advantage in electric vehicles today.

In future episodes, we'll dive more into the specifics of the company and examine specific events, products, and people in greater detail. 

On this episode, we sit down to talk with Quinn Osha, the founder of Topmarq, an online platform to gather bids when selling your used car. We sit down and talk about Topmarq's story, its role in the car business, and Quinn's thoughts on how the car business has changed with COVID-19 and his opinion on what to do if you need to buy a new car right now.

Plus we do a brief industry news round up covering the latest events in the automotive business as we approach the end of 2021 and a drive-by review of the Los Angeles Auto Show, the first major in-person auto show we've had since the beginning of COVID-19.

For more information about Topmarq, visit: https://www.topmarq.com/ 

On this episode, we're checking in with the supply shortage of new cars and how the car market has (or has not...) changed since our last episode in May 2021 about this topic. We get a little more tactical about what to do if you happen to find yourself in need of a new car during this tumultuous time. And we celebrate the return of rental car roulette, where I check in on the state of Hertz's rental car selection and try out a Mazda CX-30. 

In this long-delayed episode, we explore all the business decisions behind the large, miles-per-gallon numbers you see on a window sticker when you go car shopping. We discuss what regulations govern fuel economy for cars sold in the United States, how the numbers used for regulatory purposes differ from what you see on the window sticker, and how fuel economy regulations can influence the cars that automakers sell in the United States. 

We also make an exciting announcement about rental car roulette and catch up on some administrative things.

On the final episode of our multi-episode series, we talk about Amati, the luxury brand that never made it to the starting line. We discuss what Mazda had in the works for Amati, the rumors surrounding what Mazda was working on, and why timing is everything in the car business. 

For Raphael Orlove's 2018 Jalopnik piece about Amati, visit this page: https://jalopnik.com/it-was-japan-s-most-daring-car-then-the-economy-implod-1826265571

For the New York Times' piece about Mazda's success moving upmarket itself, visit this page: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/27/business/mazda-sales-pandemic.html

Have a listener question? Email it to companycarspodcast@gmail.com!