America on the Road

Chevrolet says the 2024 Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 Bison AEV Edition is “America’s ultimate off-road beast.” After driving it on and off road for a full week in Maine, America on the Road Co-Host Chris Teague has no reason to question that somewhat boastful assessment. After all, the truck not only uses the still-new Chevy Colorado platform, but it also enhances that platform with a number of American Expedition Vehicles add-ons that give it even greater capabilities.

As just a taste of that, here are some of those added pieces of kit: segment-exclusive Multimatic front and rear Jounce Control Dampers, AEV heavy-duty winch-capable front bumper, AEV rear bumper and AEV fender flares, AEV 17-inch beadlock-capable wheels with segment-exclusive 35-inch OD Mud/Terrain tires, and boron steel skid plates and rocker protectors.

How did the truck’s class-leading approach angle (38.2 degrees), departure angle (26 degrees) and breakover angle (26.9 degrees) work in the rigors of a Maine off-road course? Teague will tell us in this episode.

Across the country, Host Jack Nerad was putting the 2024 Volvo XC40 Recharge Single-Motor Ultimate through its paces. Looking to add range and hit a reasonable price point, Volvo introduced the single-motor version of the XC40 Recharge this year. In doing so, the company created the first rear-drive Volvo in more than two decades.

As Nerad found during his week-long test, there’s a lot to like about the single-motor version of the small battery-electric SUV. It features a torquey 248-horsepower permanent magnet e-motor on the rear axle in tandem with a new 82 kWh battery pack. The combination of a more energy-dense battery and more efficient motor allows the XC40 Recharge to deliver 293 miles of range on the combined EPA test cycle. As a further bonus, the uprated battery pack enables charging at a top rate of 200 kW DC. Charging from 10 to 80 percent state-of-charge takes approximately 28 minutes. But how does it drive? Nerad will reveal that in the road test segment.

Our special guest this week will discuss a subject of vital interest to all of us who drive. Dr. Michael Warholic is Valvoline’s senior technology manager for light duty lubricants. If you want to learn more about choosing the right motor oil to keep your car or truck running at its best, there’s no-one better to talk to. So we’re sure you’ll enjoy our discussion with him.

We have two very interesting vehicle introductions to tell you about this week. Jeep has pulled the wraps off its first global battery-electric vehicle — the Jeep Wagoneer S. And Toyota has announced the addition of a new Corolla model that is both sporty and affordable. And it takes Host Jack Nerad back to his Motor Trend days. We’ll tell you more about both of them coming up.

In other news, a U.S. Senator is asking domestic automakers to sue the U.S. Treasury Department over the way it has implemented regulations regarding electric vehicle tax credits. (That’s what we need; more court cases.) We’ll give you the details, and offer our thoughts on that.

There’s more evidence that the internal combustion engine is not on its last legs. Three automakers have announced a plan to develop new internal combustion engine technology, and it has some very interesting wrinkles. We’ll tell you more about that, too.

America on the Road is brought to you by Driving Today.com, Mercury Insurance, and EMLandsea.com , the publisher of Nerad’s latest book, Dance in the Dark, which is available HERE on Amazon.com