Podcast: New Mazda BT-50 deep dive – Tools in the Shed ep. 139

This week, I'm car buyer deputy editor James and with me, two key contributing journalists, Peter and Chester. This week, we're looking at an important youth brother from another mother and a youth sister from a different mister and we'll, give you a rundown on some fresh metal in the car squad. Garage plus we'll catch up with the world's greatest interstellar philosopher in this week's mask watch, so stay with us. First of all, we've had some feedback, and last week we were talking about the emergence of h2x, a start up company in Australia, with some bold claims about where they're going to be headed with a range of vehicles from tractors and commercial vehicles to SUVs and vans. And you name it and it generated a lot of thought and a lot of feedback which has been terrific and John Gibson kicked it off. By saying he hopes the Americans and particularly GM, so he's got a bit of a problem. There keep their snouts away from h2x hope of his brand, and hydrogen in general really takes off. Hopefully, the infrastructure can be organized to match demand. Well. That, of course, is the missing link at this point. Is infrastructure in Australia, but Luke Holmes chimed in and said, don't worry mate. It will be the Chinese that play Gordon Gekko this time around in Phase two: it fades 2x and the Snowy. He says what a name I just think of blue singlet and trucky shorts are not vaporware.

They'Ll require foreign investment and partnerships to get the market reach and profit margin required to be viable. So I suppose that's the question that's been lurking in the back of a few people's minds and we'll get to yeah subsequent comments about it's such a big deal, because hydrogen fuel cell seems to be such a focus in China, so let's let's see if came in And said cars can only be constructed and stored in low humidity, atmospheric climates that's. Why Victoria and South Australia built them re new, south wales, coastal computer says no um. My my problem with that is that a few cars coming to this country actually built in Thailand and I think, it's pretty far in tropical this, though it's pretty humid in southern Japan as well. Well, David Burt, said the h2x snowy, I smell a rat. Everyone knows that New South Wales can't build cars exclamation mark the last decent car built in the first state, was the Hz at Holden's page would plant and for people people old enough to remember the page. Would plant I've got to say it was in operation from 1940 to 1980 and the H said was in fact built there, and I remember going with a notable Australian motoring journalist when I was just in short, pants and helping out on some road tests at modern Motor magazine, we had to return a damaged, ZB, Commodore SLE that had slaughtered a tree on a ray test, and there was in fact an H said pal van there that it had an engine dropped on its roof.

It wasn't ready to be picked up and taken away, mind you. It was in the rectification area so that bad what's, gon na be prepared and salt page wood is quite close to the coast and they made cars there. I would and also I am completely I'm. If I'm, a little little, I put out that he had got about the Zeppelin Renault plant, I mean the mighty Renault 12, well going some Zetland lasers lasers being built in home Bush time. Various other cars being built and great David is a proud Victoria, and we know that from really correspondence now Nezu says the first renderings of the h2x SUV, look like a ripoff howdy and he does sense. Chinese backing haha don't know what that's funny that seriously. Okay, i think their main market will return it, hence being located next to a port and that's the thing they're going to be based at Port Kembla on the south coast of New South Wales, so that they're right there ready to yeah, they may be it's the Concept of Chinese manufacturing is such that not me, people build things in Australia for the Chinese market. Well, it is ironic, you know when you talk about coals to Newcastle here's, a former steelworks town, sending cars off to China. Now my Michael Lee who's rapidly emerging is our China specialist. He keeps an eye on China. Quite obviously, h2x is not mentioned on any Chinese car site. Now he may even be in China I'm, not sure indicating to me one it's, not the Chinese market, to do.

No Chinese money involved, people are completely ignoring it over there, Oh over there, so he probably is in Australia. Australian company is behind it. Iljin group and the oven group is a mainly about concrete and other things related to it and Denso, which is an architecture, project management, engineering, type company and they are both involved. That'S absolutely right, but Michael did some subsequent digging and said. Oh just saw a report that the founders of h2x mr. Wright's that's Chris rice and mr. Norman that's, Brendan and almond, have a company in China called growth to do with FC either technology. They actually worked it together, its Grove auto. So that is true. There is a pretty strong Chinese connection. I think yes, story. Chester yeah, I think you memory serves a couple of the executives worked over there. Maybe anyway, don't hold me to that yeah the thing about h2x. Is it look it's still absolutely in its infancy that they are predominantly gon na focus on road transport, first trucks etc heavy vehicles and then eventually move into the SUV space? But that's right, I mean it's. Exciting it's got some real automotive talent behind that it's in Australia, but in the years away years – yeah – oh, it is indeed it is indeed one good point on our thought was from Eddy Fuentes. He says hydrogen fuel really. Do you know how energy intensive that is to harness and let alone transport compared to our current fuel? You know he's.

Obviously, someone who has a bit of knowledge in this area goes to show that marketing works. The public sees water coming out as a byproduct, which looks convincingly green until you find out how this fuel is extra, did and refined and, of course, making hydrogen. There are many ways of making it electrolysis or an electrolytic something the various ways that can be commercially scalable or not, but that's, a really good point and John Gibson says: maybe the brand should dabble in electric aware as well. Well, it is a fuel cell electric dryers, I mean case hydrogen – fails to take off, I don't know, but it'll be good to have local manufacturing back, and I think that was a strong sentiment through a lot of the commentary that there's just this glimmer of hope That there might be some automotive manufacturing of cars anyway in Australia yeah. Well, I think also I mean it is energy intensive hydrogen, but you can do it with green energy in the first place. So if you've been there's plenty of wind, a bit Kemper there's plenty of plenty of Sun there's plenty of wave power, so I mean engine itself can be done quite cleanly and that'd be called. You use wave energy off the coast in power, hydrogen production, that'll be an area and the CSIRO last year worked out how to move hydrogen by basically converting it to ammonia, which is a much more stable way of shifting it in the tanks.

And then it converts back when you, when it some processes beyond I'm, very small brain, only twenty of them as a government contract at the moment. But of course, the viewing years time is to make that a privately owned car and basically the word we're. Getting. Is that the Australian government wasn't really all that excited about the concept of much like electric cars about evening infrastructure and hydrogen infrastructure until they heard the word export possibilities? Yet so we do a huge opportunity to produce grain origin and then exported to the world. So it does not see it's very true and pity you mentioned the CSIRO. I just like to give a shout out to Larry Marshall, head of the CSIRO. He and I are old school chums. We went to school together and he's, probably the most successful school man. I don't there ed my entire life, but he would big big Doctor Who fan he used to wear the long colored scarves to school, so my eyes, longtime nerd great guy. Now, just on more good, he was the doctor who wore the scarves. What was the Tom Baker is big Tom Baker thing now, in more general commentary, hammer rocks K, Madison said: hey. Do this a favor when mentioning Imperial numbers, for example, horsepower. Please also include the metric equivalent, because so he was diving off to Google and having to stop things with her, and I think that was because last week I mentioned that the DBS Aston Martin, I was driving.

Where is 715 horsepower, will for hammers edification that's 533. Kilowatts, which is plenty of kilowatts, but we will do that in future, and thank you very much was it and brake horsepower or metric horsepower? Look, it was horsepower, was horses pulling something very quickly and David David Burt chimed in and said I'm loving, JC's pronunciation of kilowatts almost like Arnie kilowatts. I love to that. I would say David Ronn you're, a power figure girly man. I don't want to go to the cooler. Ok, so then I'll be back today. The bird came back again and said: team I'm loving your work. Where do we get t shirts or hoodies from you know, he'd love to get some of that and David send us. Your address details on comments at cars – guy calm got a you and we will send you some merch and the price is right as in zero dollars. So make sure one do that comments at cargo comm did. I use, send us your address David's in first. First movie, the big gets, gets the price now Jim Dannic. What is the advantage of taking out the seats on the crop now? This was Richard playing around with the seats he'd taken the middle row, seats right out, so to stack them up on top of one. Another is all very weird women compared to folding them they're. A lot of other SUVs. Is this catering for the business rep audience? You have to store them somewhere, you know, if you take them out.

Well, you have to put them somewhere, it's a fair point and hammer rocks talked about long cargo tall stuff, but nothing beats the Honda magic seats from the HIV or the Jazz. I thought that was a really good point: that's the way they can fold up fold down all that stuff makes them super practical, David Burt then said you know. In the era of multi purpose furniture remove the seats we're, not driving for use in the media rooms. You just popular that's, a very good idea, love it. Although I've never seen a fully flat floor when these seats are down since the days of the flip up, rear squab, for example, the HR holden station wagon and it's true, you know the more contoured you make. Your back seat, in fact the more supportive and comfortable you make it the less likely you are able to have it fold flat and I may get a nice flat floor so you're in a bit of a. What do. I do situation, but if you can fold the squab forward and then the the backrest down you've got a much better chance, so it's a real juggling act. I suppose in designing that that function may be the last color. I saw that had the fold up squad, but it was the Holden Trax exactly we'll. Look at our old family truckster, which is a early noughties car, has that, but it fell out of favor for some reason now the other thing was reg fundies said we had a committer that put a little suffix on the comment, saying if Oh ill, okay, ah Well, we didn't know what ello KR stood for, but reg has sorted it out and says: look little orphans kitten rescue.

You asked so thank you very much. Now Andre this year came Edison said I thought you're gon na mention the Mazda bt 50, because obviously that's been pretty big news in the last week or so, and in fact Andre. Your wish is our command, because that is our main topic of conversation. This week the new Mazda bt 50 shared platform with the d max Isuzu d max, which has been around for a little while I think it arrived at the end of last year. But before we get into the differences between the two Chester, you had some thoughts on shared models. More generally, particularly in the youth space as to who gets the better deal is the way of the future. Now, really, the only way manufactures are gon na be able to do it. Volkswagen who's partnered, with Ford on the new Amarok, has basically come out during the week and said: if it wasn't for Ford, we would there's no way. We would even consider a new a narc. We need that partnership to make it work, so I totally understand the commercial realities of the situation, but it does pose the question: who gets the better deal out of this? Now? You remember that the last master bt 50 partnered with the ford ranger ford, ranger shopton up with 2 on the Australian sales charts where's. The bt 50 Isuzu essentially provides the platform, the engines and the gearbox. All the tough tech that you expect from EU master gets to just wrap it in Nice panels and sell it, which seems like a pretty good deal for Mazda.

But the question I have for you, then, is: how do you decide between the two youths? What pulls you will it's the age old question when it comes to you know what you might simplify and say: it's badge engineering. In this case, I think it's a bit more than that, because things have been massaged quite substantially and there is a discernible difference between the two vehicles but that's when a brands well worth or its equity does come to the fore in the market. You'Re able to leverage it and people take notice, yeah yeah come I mean we've had tradies we've been a day club for tradies for the last 12 months in this house and it's it's almost over right, but they love their bt 50 but yeah. They also love their Amarok, yeah and there's. Always arguments around you know what do we get next? Do we get a range? Do we get this? Do we? You know that and it's quite interesting to hear the people have actually used them for what they're meant for rather than you know, Shire is over the bridge, they're dropping their kids off to daycare. In a you know, in a next class you know they're they're. Looking for every last dollar, which is why a lot of them made a lot, them do buy the Hilux, but a lot so all their so much more expensive than this one or this one or this one and they're buying the bt 50 or the Ranger.

Yes, yes yeah, I think I'm just a circle back, very briefly, Chesto to your point about the manufacturing relationship and who it's the rough end of the pineapple and who gets the better deal. I think there are some hidden aspects in terms of throughput in a planet like one company may do all of the hard yards in terms of the engineering. The other gets the throughput in the plant, which can be very valuable. It would be an interesting equation. 2 to 2 way up, I think the differences between the two cars, our very own, chun yin, came up with an interesting story about well okay. Here they are on the face of it very similar under the skin. But what do you get? What is different and he broke it down into the exterior styling which, when you look at the Mazda it's, very discernibly, a master that's, very, very master, it's extraordinary. How well that face is actually translated to a much bigger canvas on a youth they've managed to do it pretty successfully, so the exterior sheet metal for the bt 50 is pretty much all mazda. When you look at it in profile, it's a little more subtle there's, there are probably some more similarities rather than differences, but then you get the big wraparound taillights at the back on the Mazda, which are quite different to the bt v to the d max as Well, yeah, yeah and it's. I think brand identity is really important in these things and I think, given that you know the Mazda 3 and the cx 5, are such strong brands, and I think people like to be able to say well that car has been really good for me and I'll.

Whole go and buy Mazda, whereas a maybe an Isuzu is gon na be more of a tougher sell, particularly it's gon na be a family car yeah. You know we're upgrading with a cx 5, because you know we're gon na go totally off roading it out. You know be say 50, but yeah, but I think, or from you know and looking at this newer car, it looks like a more comfortable kind of proposition as well. Yes, the art bt 50 was quite utilitarian. Well, I mean, I think, you won't see too many d max is parked in that family focused sort of cigarette. Perhaps you won't see too many bt 50 parked at the front of a trade sites, and what I absolutely about this concept is that the people who put the message by their family gods – and just to that point, my wife, is talking to a friend whose family Has a religious kind of fervor about the Ranger and they'd never buy a maraca know it I've got some news for them. Well, you make that point. Chest we've had some trainees around recently too, and several of them have been being VT fifties and, I suppose, joke juggling that balance between what's going to be a family car to your point. They do the drop offs at school or whatever that kind of day to day activity compared to someone who does want a milk every cent out of the truck and wants it to be as reliable as possible and the longevity they want all that out of it.

You'Ve got a jungle that's from the bottom of your range to the top and make it a pretty flexible platform to do that with. Yes, there is redesign the air vents and the bt 50 with a unique shape. So long is all across that kind of detail. So I mean I can't quite tell, but if, if you were having the d max, if you're in the d max cabin and the and the the master cabin and the master cabins got mzd yeah that's, true I mean multimedia screens are the same, whether or not The the stuff that underpins it is the surname is another question that would be a bit tricky. The steering wheels are the same. They'Re just got a different edge on them, so yeah according to towing the interiors are much more similar than the exteriors for for what it's worth it's no sort of ruggedness and toughness in a you, I suspect us usually probably linked on master in terms of how To make a premium feeling Kevin, because you know you can't think of anything else: ABI Suzu family that even offered apple, carplay and android order with all those kind of yes. One thing that will be the same under the skin is, as I think you mentioned. Chesto is the engine yeah, basically the powertrain. So when I Suzu launched the new d max late last year, it came through with the same it's, 3 liter, turbo diesel four cylinder, but a little more power, 140 kilowatts up from 130 and a little more talk for 15, yet meters up from 430.

So the Mazda will have that same Drive line underneath it and in 6 speed, auto transmission behind it and there'll be 4×2 and 4×4 versions and different cabs. You know: you'll have your single cabin half dual cab, all that kind of stuff as well and Jason it's. Another indication of just how big Australia's seat at the table is when a caster dual cab use there are smaller engines being offered internationally, but but I sue them in Australia. Largely wouldn't accept anything smaller than the engine add you know. One of the big selling points of that I Isuzu for so many years was that people for that engine was absolutely bulletproof. So now you've got that same engine, just with more grunt made a different income back well, the other thing is they'll, have the same: tow rating so they'll be able to do three and a half tonnes for a brake trailer, which is your kind of industry standard. So both of those cars will be at that point and carry it yes at um, hey load, you're, absolutely right, yep. Now. The other thing is the suspense you'll, be broadly the same. Although the details haven't been completely nodded out for the Mazda, so you've got a ladder frame. You know body on frame type setup, very traditional with a leaf spring rear suspension which helps to literally underpin that one ton per payload. Now the the other thing is warranty. Now, here's, primarily the same vehicle but you've got mazda at five years.

Unlimited kilometers in the australian market and you've got a serger you'd at six years, but 150 thousand kilometres so again a bit of a juggling air which way do you jump there? Do you want the unlimited kilometres or more years, warranty that's? The most recent example of that I can think of is the the super averse BMW, you suspect, to say what, if you buy, that engine 3 p.m. BMW customers are fine with a three year warranty. Thank you, like nobody said anything to us about going to five years. It'S only you know people like us that computers. Well, you know what Mazda said that exact same thing to us when I went on the Mazda 6 relaunch a couple of years ago, where they were still at three years and and the question came up where it was like why you guys are cuz our customers Telling us that I want it, and I went, I don't think that's. True, two weeks later it was five years yeah. There are also 134 Mazda dealerships around the country and 156 sales servicing and parts outlets. For I Susan, so I think Isuzu has a marginal strengths. There, in terms of rural and regional areas, yeah, it would seem to your point chess though Mazda's more the private use and the Isuzu traditionally has probably been more the commercial I'm kind of use which brain has a bigger dealership footprint in Australia, master horses ooh, I Mean I there is a a fling number that's that's, a lot of representation across the country, but yeah the d max you're going to be able to roll into more showrooms or parts of the service areas.

Okay, I'll see if there be more Isuzu dealerships, come online. The next little while given the demise of Holden as well, yeah good point good point, because Colorado was a top Holden seller. You know such as the numbers were: Colorado was standout of master. Now the sordid subject of money, and you think about. Where are they going to be priced relative to one another in the market? And we we don't, know pricing for master just yet, but as a guide, you've got d max currently kicking off at about twenty eight thousand six hundred dollars and you've got master booty 5829 and 60. So there is a bit of a differential there. It could be a different situation when you're talking like for like with the shared model, so we'll we'll, see where that goes to, but they're both also the ones on cow pushes out there I mean we really we're we're we're. The most interests is going to be. Is up in that kind of mid 40s private buyers, yeah yeah, absolutely Ranger talk range just quickly. I wasn't a fan of the last best of 1850 starting. I really thought that trying to Mastiff either you just didn't work for mine, but I don't like this new one. I, the people running, looks sort of manages to look both tough and sort of premium. You know that's left sided from the side profile. I really think it's a good looking thing. Yeah tell you what the beat a fifty that these trainees were working with us has been improved by the fact they clobbered a ruin it the other day, in turn off, looks a lot more industrial man.

My heart goes out to the kangaroo I'm, sorry that that happened by the same token I'm happy for the panel bitter, because some business is coming their way, but then so we're we're expecting the Isuzu in September. For the d max it got its global release. Late last year, but on sale here in September and masters targeting a light 2020 arrival as well so maybe a little bit after and both of them will be around and available for us to actually evaluate. I can see how they feel relative to one another. So let's answer that question. Oh look! I that I I don't profess to know enough about either car yet I'm, just taking it at face value, and I think it is good. As a copier I'm gon na go horses for courses. I think d max is reputation for that almost Hilux style, you know, unbreakable has been Hilux is positioning for so long. The d max has built that reputation too and Mazda. I think it'll be more your private buyers that will opt for it, but your time will tell it would be interesting to interrogate measure and say what their expectations are. Yeah yeah I've been really fascinated by the way Isuzu has done so I mean, as a general shout out. The car brands have been really good in the covert advertising they haven't done in this patronizing Laurel and together in these challenging times now more than ever like.

But just you know – and I want to narrow in on the Isuzu ad, which is really clever, like everyone's in the house and they're looking out and saying now is not the time but when when, when everything comes back, let ya hit the road and I thought That was a really good ad, but I thought there was an interesting piece of brand building yeah and I actually think that it's going to play well for for the new, the new d max when it hits yeah and I think Isuzu zz. You know it's it's, it's marketing in the last year, or so has been really strong sure everyone know everyone this associating it with that Fleetwood, Mac song and it's it's. Actually, I think, almost as strong as yeah, I bought a jeep so yeah. I think that's good, and I think I think these the Isuzu is probably going to slap master unless they come up with a really really good marketing. But you think it's, interesting Peter when you mentioned these challenging times and all the cliches that are around communications. That moment decided a deal where every time he hears we're all in this together he gives five bucks the world vision and he he is basically emptying his bank account it's, come back to body he's, a internet, more I'm gon na tell you why I know they've Developed this you from the ground up so it's only right. They get the better end of the deal anyway, but I do feel like the Ute market is shifting so much in Australia.

Over the last couple of years, it's moved into a more expensive, more premium, more luxury feeling space, more lifestyle, finding space, and perhaps it ever has before – and people are spending more money on them than ever before, and there are a few brands around the world who Do that better than a Mazda, you get it a nice premium feeling interior nice equipment, that's sort of pre unit premium, ish experience it matters. I think, as soon as you can take a lot out of that, I really get there cool yep, fair call, alright! Well with that, I think we'll draw a line under that discussion, love to hear what people watching all this thing think about which way they might be headed if they're in the market wouldn't that be fascinating to hear if they're lying up a lot of trades, people Will be buying their new trucks now because it's into financial year in Australia, but maybe you'll, be looking at the end of the year rather than the now so tell us what your thoughts are. But we will move to some cars that we have been able to put their hands on a drive in real time in recent time and Peter I want to kick it off with you occurring the garage, a really interesting one, all the mini variety. Yes, so I took a bit of negotiation, I mean they're, very fine people at many, but there wasn't, actually one officially on Fleet because of the tiny volumes.

So I kept asking and got a MINI Countryman plug in hybrid electric vehicle. Great now great is this is fully sick. Bro, because when it's an electric mode, it's rear wheel, drive oh okay interests, so so the the the the engine drives the front, wheels and juices the battery where appropriate and the the rear wheels are electric, and I saw – and I thought that is really cool anyway. So obviously it's, not those those electric motors aren't hugely powerful, but it's, a really good city car for kicking around in you can easily charge it up to about 30 KS in a few hours, which is yeah yeah and it drives like a countryman um. The countryman cops a lot of stick for being too fat to this. To that, but is a compact SUV. It'S very good, I presume Peter, is that the motor then is at the rear. Does that conducing? Does that compromise load space or are there any kind of intrusions that you wouldn't find in a petrol country? No, it looked pretty much the same to me and you have run the figures yet, but I think it's about the same size as the static. It might be a little smaller yeah, the mode the mode is under the rear floor. Yeah let's not forget that that car is available in all wheel drive anyway, so maybe it's a bit of swap each there. I don't think I don't think there's a spare, so I'd say that's, probably the main change yep yeah, I really enjoyed it.

It was good fun and yeah just being able to plug it in, and I presume there's a bit of a price premium. Just to put your eyes it's, quite yeah, okay, all right to get around the 60 K range. Let me let me double check, but yeah well yeah, but I have solutely love. A good fifth you know to me is a really great kind of not compromise but a stepping stone towards where we're headed I really enjoy them. I think, and you know with so 57 200, so you almost 60 grand plenty of money is that yep. That was the Cooper S, but I think I don't, I think, fabs are under sold and underrated because they are that stepping stone and it you know you talk to anyone who owns an i3 range extender who who were brave enough to go with the Holden volt. They never used the electric engine, they just got into the habit of plugging it in yeah, because you know you talk to people and they hope they have these grand dreams of driving 400 K's on a single charge. And then you say: when have you ever driven 400 pays in your projects right now, yeah that's? True, I do side roads totally agree with that. This is that we need to reframe the conversation around electric cars, not from how much range you get out of batteries, but more. How frequently are you away from home for more than one night, because, if you're home every night or every second I'm, the range is irrelevant, it gets like painting away you go so yes, but answer your question about a point about our faves.

I think it's been a marketing problem to be honest, yeah you're right. They are under sold in Australia and I'm telling you if Toyota was in the fifth business. Rather yes and virtual hybrid business, we were well. I mean they've, been in the in the hybrid business. You'Re right, but they've singularly been reluctant to bring in the plug in hybrid varieties, various cars but they're. Looking down, we were talking earlier about some hydrogen fuel cell. I think they're starting to focus on me right and they want that to be their hero. You know yeah so with a very senior Mercedes executive at Frankfurt, who was, if you'll excuse a terrible pun, quite frank about that. It only be worse. If she was me Frank, he was saying that basically he views electric cars in total, from conventional hybrids, plug in hybrids and for babies as naught, but a stepping stone to hydrogen. So I guess yeah the future technology, whether we like it or not so mercedes benz has conspicuously been exploring all of those parts. You know they have the depth of pockets that allows them to make sure that they're ready, no matter which way things to jump bloody, expensive time to be making cars is you've, got to cover all their bases. You look at Dyson, he dropped a billion dollars and got nothing yeah yeah yeah, I mean serves him right, but that's not yeah chest. Oh, thank you very much Peter chest.

Oh we'll, move on to yourself and you've, been in speaking of electric vehicles and electric vehicle. Yes, so probably what you described is one of the pioneering electric vehicles in Australia, but also one of the kind of unsung heroes. I think I was in essence leaf. Yeah, its biggest selling point is also its biggest marketing drawback. It doesn't have any of the Tesla supercar, beating acceleration or amazing cabin technology, or anything like that. It is just a misson small car that happens to run on batteries. Yes, but yes, I stand with. It was that's what I actually like the most about it. It'S a it's been into our lives, super easily look it's, not lightning quick. I think it's, just under 8 seconds, 0 100 it's a 40 kilowatt hour battery it'll give you about, I think, between 250 and 275 in range, but look where we're screening bikes. I mean that did it yeah most weeks, that would last me Jesus at least a fortnight between challenges. You know I'm sort of in our normal life, but there is one drawback that we found, and that is that, because we do live in sort of inner Sydney, there's, we don't have a garage and yes, there's, no, no way to charge it. So, yes, even though we are probably prime electric car customers, we also kind of rule ourselves out because there's short of putting a charging pad on a public street because it's one of one of the potential next steps is exactly that Chester yeah is, is provision of A charging point next to the gutter out on the footpath.

Now that would bring on suburban wars, extraordinaire item and when your friendly neighbor policy or plug or well over that works out. But I think that that issue is being addressed. Well so that's, I said already Park: C's 1995 Commodore being Iced so that that problem is being sorted in London. So there is a there's, a number of councils who are installing charging points in in there in just residential streets, yeah and they're, just giving you a smart card. So you register the fact that you've got an electric vehicle yeah again one of my wife's Instagram friends. She'S got an eye pace and they bought it because they put that charging point in the street and it's a 50 kilowatt charger. So it says your: does your wife's, the Instagram friend have a shiny, lovely life. I presume that's that's. How it goes is it. It has an extraordinary Instagram account that she puts no effort into and has 3000 followers Wow. I call it the reluctant influencer and she hates that I guess known to be the earliest adopters of this kind of stuff. But I do like this initiative to councils. One. A Canada Bay, which is you know around the bay run in Sydney and the other one I think, is blacked out I've just invested in a rollout of evey charging street lights. So if you pull up the ground, a shrimp life great lucky for that now, it's not a fast charge, it's just a trickle charger, but the idea is they're on suburban streets.

When you get home at night, you can plug straight into the light, bulb a light pole. I should say yeah and in the morning away perfect that's a good one yeah. My my only fear, of course, is that it only takes one person up after a couple of babies to be cooking. Oh they're gon na be funny yeah. I suppose so aside from the charging issue chest out, how did you find the right comfort in the leaf? That'S one little flag that waves in my mind with that car you know it's. It is not the most comfortable ride out there, but I actually feel that somehow counteracted by the fact that it does feel surprisingly sporty. Okay it's, not the step. Ups. Really good! Yes got a lightning quick, Evy it's, not you know not not a Tesla level of tear your eyebrows off, but it is a perky little city, car and, in fact, I'm a bit of totally honest it's, giving it to listen and and perky outside of the 370z And GTR is not really what they do: it's a serum it's, a really a welcome surprise. I really, I must admit I really enjoyed it very good. So one of two passenger cars that company sells yes they're all finish off with a car that we had a sneak peek at last week, which is an Aston Martin, DBS Superleggera. Now I had that for about four days during the week, and I have a long standing tradition with my best mate Dave, David Cassie James, shout out to you guys I'm, showing him whatever I've got if it's half special and that counts when he was living overseas.

At various times counts there as well, and we agreed this was possibly the best one so far. Now that that tradition has been going for many decades, so that's, quite something it is a 5.2 liter twin turbo v12. So it is enthusiastically not an electric vehicle and it's it's, also hooked up to an 8 speed, auto, as I said, it's 533 kilowatts that's more than 700 horsepower. More importantly, 900 Newton meters of torque, which is which is plenty of pulling power zero to one hundred and three point four seconds: it will, if you have a private road of suitable length, achieved 340 kilometres an hour. So it is quite quite the car 536 grand ours was in Saburo blue, which is a new color for Aston. Martin I've got to say, it's, magnificent it's, this very deep, dark blue. When you first see it under cover, you think it's in fact black, but when it's out in the light, it is just the most superb blue it's running on on 21. So it's got these massive rims, as you would expect leather everywhere, like ever, you look inside the car, so many cows gave their all for that for that vehicle to be trimmed effectively, is it Connelly as utak as you would expect? I presume so, as you expect epic engine noise they've somehow managed to get a lot of noise past those two turbos and the acceleration is just meteoric. It is. It is really really quick, but the thing that struck me about the car is that it's, quite simple, it's, a no fuss car it's got a great little digital dash.

That just is everything you want it to do very simply: there's no elaborate kind of needless complexity. To this car it also feels sharper than a big 2. 2 GT. Normally does it's, not a 911 don't. Get me wrong, but it is a long way down that road. It really it feels responsive and quite nimble and Superleggera means light weight, it's still it's 1800 kegs so it's, not a super lightweight car that does feel responsive and more nimble than you expected it to believe. It was a really great experience. Actually, the hints of Mercedes are all around the multimedia control and the multimedia screen. The engine no it's it's, not the v8, is a Mercedes share. I don't i stand to be corrected, but I don't think the engineers can. I make one last point on electric vehicles: J see all those cylinders, all that power, all that exploding fuel, still slow 200 kilometers an hour that is Lestrade, it's, crazy, isn't. It yeah, it all depends on the way you the way you get there just are you? Do you want a Tesla Model 3, given this week's news? Yes, well now that is a beautiful, Segway big. Why? Because it is time we'll segue finished up this week to it is time for my Squatch Music and we will kick it off. As usual, the dear leader has been on the Twitter's and he on Sunday last week, randomly tweeted. We must pass the great filter.

That is our purpose. Okay, now, Dylan Davis came back on that and said. I would like to participate in the movement through the great filter, which I thought was pretty good Dylan scheme, but it turns it turns out that this is a reference to the Fermi paradox which a shorthand version of which is we're here on earth. The solar system is so vast, surely there's other life out there? Why haven't? We have interaction with these other life forms and the great filter is the thing that is stopping us from doing that. Allegedly, it means that the human race or living things never evolved to the point where they get clever enough to be able to find one another. That is this great great filter, alright. So this is what Yvonne's referring to. He says we must move through it, so it says there's more than just physical distance separates us it's our inability to actually evolve to this point. So one person on reddit when I was investigating what this is. I I can happily put my hand up to not knowing what that filter was he's. Talking about look. It might take us 400000 years to get to the point where we can travel at the speed of 50 percent of the speed of light. So once we achieve that, it might take a hundred thousand years to get to the point where we've met these other people, barring any any kind of mass extinction event.

And of course, time gorillas came in and said it seems really unreasonable. We wouldn't be there and say a hundred thousand years unless there's some mass extinction event. Second, half of 2020. Allow me to introduce myself and I think, that's not far off the mark. V we get to now. Zeus. Elin was on the Twitter's again saying tentative date for Tesla shareholder meeting and battery day is September 15th. Doesn'T that sound exciting. We include tour of cell production system and Chris came in with a comment say: release the Zeus footage I thought wow. That sounds really ominous. What is the Zeus, footage turns out, SpaceX has been exploding, starship, fuel tanks on purpose to test new alloys and and what have you that they're, using in the construction of these tanks? So, according to the space space explored website, lab Padre documents, SpaceX activity at its Boca Chica facility caught footage of what appears to be a Boston Dynamics. Robot dog running around the launch site, and now they SpaceX it turns out, has called their robot dog Zeus, which of course is the Greek sky and thunder dog, and this robot dogs job is to get in there during these explosions to suss what's going on when The thing is actually erupting and other things where you don't want humans or real dogs to go so they they strap that on we've got some footage for people watching on YouTube of their dog and they've called it their called their spot.

No sorry, Boston Dynamics calls there's, spot and SpaceX is called their Zeus and you can see Zeus moving around the launch pad. But then what kami on Twitter and said SpaceX is have sought a doghouse for their robotic, companion, Zeus and there. It is red, doghouse and that's where they park the thing, and I thought to myself. I know whose idea that was real life dog then, according to a RS Technica, they were looking at the latest. Jd Power, quality survey and Tesla has been included in the latest survey for the first time and it's bad Tesla had 250 problems per 100 cars. According to the 2020 Initial Quality Survey, there's been no comment on my dad from the Dear Leader so far on this result. So it's been an annual survey for 34 years and it's problems within the first 90 days of ownership and it's broken down into problems per hundred vehicles. Two hundred and twenty three questions: nine categories, infotainment features controls and displays on. It goes and for the first time this year, driving assistance and it's worth noting that infotainment or multimedia accounts for almost a quarter of the complaints – oh it's apple, carplay it's, is that is the audio working all that kind of stuff, but Tesla, as I mentioned score, Two hundred and fifty problems per hundred vehicles, the industry average, which surprised me is a hundred and sixty six, so you've got obviously got multiple problems with cars that people are reporting, but it came last out of 37 and in fact, it's hard to say that yeah It'S hard to say that this is the definitive answer, because Tesla refused to cooperate in 15 states where om permission is required for them to participate.

So isn't that surprising, but the best for those that are interested was a tie between Dodge and Kia with a hundred and thirty six problems per 100 vehicles, so there's that and the share price interesting story. During the week, our very own, Richard Berry was out shooting a car in the outskirts of Sydney and a peloton of cycling team passed and one of them year that hey Richard. Will you here the other day in a Skoda, camera and Richard said no, and they had a bit of a discussion about that said before he pedaled off with his friends, he said: hey with Musk watch when you're doing the Tesla share price. Make it five days not one because you're talking about the week and we want to see where it's gone through the week. Richard said, okay, so sure enough, Stuart, Stuart Marla has emailed us to that effect, and just for you Stuart, we are going to start doing that. I think it's, a brilliant idea, so Tesla last week was 985 Ono. Tesla is nine hundred and eighty five dollars and ninety eight cents. Last week it was a thousand and thirty six and it hit a high of a thousand and eight during the week on Wednesday. So it is still just oscillating around that thousand dollars for a share, and it is incredible input to the point. Thank you for that Chester because, according to CNBC Morgan Stanley, said Tesla's relative to over 1000 per share may show that the market is forgetting about the difficulties of running a car company, but really they're leaving investors at risk of a big pullback because they're seeing it As a tech stock, rather than a car company and they're, actually saying that over the next 10 years, it is gon na be very, very difficult to sustain that level of value in the shin here, because it just is hard to make cars it's not like you're.

Making you know other things, my cap is 182 billion dollars or something basically, the stay of fact. Yes, fund the partnership with PSA. Now that is a giant giant company and they are sort of living hand to mouth like so many of them are so it does say the reason that Tesla is in for tough times. I mean you it's perfectly valid, to see them as not just a car business they're, making power supplies they're into electricity, they're, doing the roof, tiles they're doing all kinds of things, but primarily they are still a car business. Yes, and so, I think, to see them as such and he's a bit of a wake up call rather than they're just on this, ever rising stairway to a higher price, yeah. Well, it's it's a bit of a hype machine too because of all the the vapor, like the you know, the roads to the cyber truck. The truck truck you know and Eli is the brand Elon is the brand. You know it's his routing that causes people to become interested in the first place and gets himself in trouble in the SEC. So you know what do you want a loose cannon as a chairman that's? What I say yeah look, I think, with that. That has brought us to the finish line. Thank you Peter and Thank You Chester, thank you and thanks to our production, superhero Night Stalker and professional snuggler mr. Pritchard for his ability to transform the stuff we record into what you ultimately see and hear today, he's in a t, shirt saying.

Sometimes I wake up. Grumpy, sometimes I let her sleep and a one of a kind, hot, pink lace up patch shoes, absolutely wild. Incredible! Please pass on the word about the podcast and let us know your thoughts by searching for cars guide on facebook and instagram, using the hashtag, cg, podcast or email us at comments at cars. Guide.Com a you, please feel free to do that if you're an iTunes listener.