Wheel Bearings

Apr 05 2025 398 ep. 96 mins 285

Wheel Bearings Podcast artwork

Wheel Bearings is a podcast about cars and transportation hosted by Sam Abuelsamid, Nicole Wakelin and Roberto Baldwin

Copy RSS

Subscribe on Podcast Addict

Smart Off-Roading

Apr 05 2025 133 mins

This week in the garage Nicole has the 2025 Hyundai Ioniq 5, Robbie has the Ford e-Transit and Sam has the Corvette Stingray 3LT. Sam and Nicole both drove the 2026 Honda Passport in Puerto Rico last week and have thoughts. Sam also interviewed chief engineer Todd Hemertt. Nicole tells us about climbing Davis Dam in the 2025 Ram HD. Somehow Aptera is still trying to get its little

99% Looks or Capability

Mar 30 2025 111 mins

Robbie is back from Japan where he drove the best selling EV in that country, the Nissan Sakura. Nicole is back to discuss the Lexus GX, and Nissan Frontier and Armada Pro-4X models. Sam took the Ram 1500 RHO to Ikea and found it challenging to park. In the news, GMC is bringing lower priced versions of the Sierra EV for the 2026 model year and Electrify America is piloting new A

Swap or Charge

Mar 24 2025 106 mins

Robbie and Nicole are both traveling this week so Stephanie Brinley from S&P Global Mobility and Jeff Gilbert from WWJ radio in Detroit are stepping in with Sam. Stephanie and Jeff both got to drive the new Cadillac Optiq and Escalade IQ and Jeff also moved stuff with the Chevrolet Suburban. Sam drove the Lincoln Nautilus and BMW X5M Competition. In the news we discuss BYD's 1MW

Cars Are Better Than Crossovers

Mar 17 2025 135 mins

While Nicole spends the weekend at Disney World, Perry Stern has stepped in to join Robbie and Sam with the Audi RS6 Avant. Robbie spent some more time with the 2025 Hyundai Ioniq 5 to do some charging tests with its new NACS/J3400 charging port and Sam went hands-free in the 2025 Ford Explorer and Lexus LS500h with Teammate. Nissan's CEO is stepping aside which may reopen the opp

Yes, Car Buying Still Sucks

Mar 09 2025 94 mins

Robbie is under the weather this week so Nicole shares her thoughts on the 2025 Ford Explorer ST and then Sam discusses the Acura ZDX Type-S. While we get to drive new cars every week sometimes we also buy some for ourselves. This week, Nicole finally took delivery of her new Jeep Wagoneer S and tells us about the buying experience. Honda has some performance and range upgrades t

Why Is High Temperature Cold?

Mar 02 2025 122 mins

This week Nicole has been driving the new GMC Acadia AT4 while Sam had the Mazda CX-50 Hybrid featuring a Toyota hybrid powertrain. This week Ram held a technical deep dive on the new EREV Ramcharger pickup and we've got details. Mercedes-Benz is testing an EQS with semi-solid state batteries from Factorial Energy and Sam has a conversation with Factorial CEO Siyu Huang. Polestar

All The Weathers

Feb 23 2025 82 mins

This week, Sam has driven the Genesis GV80 Coupe while Nicole had the 2025 Chevrolet Traverse. Nicole, Robbie and Sam all had a chance to drive the updated the 2025 Hyundai Ioniq 5 including the off-roady XRT model. In the news this week, the General Services Administration has decided that federal government facilities don't need EV charging facilities and it will decomission 8,

No Pop Ups!

Feb 16 2025 84 mins

This week all three of our crew were in Palm Springs at various times to drive a new car that we'll discuss next week. We did however discuss the Temu mid-century modern hotel with Ritz-Carlton prices that we stayed at. At home Sam drove the Toyota Crown Signia and Nicole had the Subaru Solterra. Volvo announced a Cross Country edition of the EX30 this week. Sam took his wife to P

Good And Bad Cold Weather Advice

Feb 09 2025 107 mins

Nicole is back after driving both the Hyundai Palisade and Kia K4 GT-Line turbo. Sam did some truck stuff with Hyundai's trucklet, the 2025 Santa Cruz and Robbie has some tire feedback. Ford has confirmed its plans to offer extened range EV powertrains in large trucks and SUVs. Someone has developed a wide-body kit for the already wide new Dodge Charger Daytona, and VW has teased

Buy While You Can

Feb 02 2025 119 mins

This weekend Nicole is visiting her daughters and Robbie is taking care of a family medical emergency, so Sam is joined by Perry Stern and Stephanie Brinley. Stephanie has been driving a Toyota GR Corolla on winter tires and Perry has the new GMC Terrain. Sam drove a Honda Ridgeline Trailsport to Ohio to visit Honda's new EV hub. In the news, is there a chance that GM could sell a