201: The Bad Boy’s Back

Big news at Stellantis this week, with Dodge launching a new EV ad campaign and Ram rehiring the man who gave Dodge much of its bad boy image. Combined with the booting of Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares, does this mark the start of a new era for the company, or is it all a coincidence? Also, Tesla rumors indicate a new model is coming, Lucid Gravity test drives emerge, SAE pushes for plug & charge, and more! Subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Audible, Spotify, PocketCasts, iHeartRadio, Podbean, and more! Or heck, use your favorite podcast application. Perhaps you prefer to watch as well as listen. If so, we’ve got you covered. SHOW NOTES Report from China claims Tesla’s low-cost model will be called Model Q: https://globalchinaev.com/post/tesla-model-q-to-debut-in-first-half-of-2025-at-sub-30000-usd Road & Track speculates “Model Q” could just be a stripped-down Highland Model 3: https://www.roadandtrack.com/news/a63138882/tesla-model-q-more-affordable-car-2025-report/ First Lucid Gravity comes off the line in Arizona: https://techcrunch.com/2024/12/05/lucid-motors-completes-its-first-gravity-suv/ Lucid Gravity Reviews: https://electrek.co/2024/12/10/test-drive-lucid-gravity-epa-range-450-miles/ https://www.theautopian.com/the-lucid-gravity-is-technically-the-greatest-3-row-suv-ever-but-it-still-might-flop/ https://www.motortrend.com/reviews/2025-lucid-gravity-ev-suv-first-drive-review/ https://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/a63133880/2025-lucid-gravity-grand-touring-prototype-drive/ SAE, Federal Government plan to implement universal plug & charge in 2025: https://www.sae.org/news/press-room/2024/12/sae-evpki-plug-and-charge ID. Buzz production reportedly moving from Germany to Poland: https://www.electrive.com/2024/12/06/volkswagen-looks-towards-poland-for-id-buzz-production/ Subaru Solterra STI rumored as soon as 2025 per Japan’s “BestCar”: https://www.roadandtrack.com/news/a63135686/subaru-solterra-sti-could-be-coming-in-2025-report-claims/ Dodge brings the bad boy back with new Charger EV YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LxtJ5yi_yps Tim Kuniskis back as CEO of Ram brand, but no mention of future involvement with Dodge brand: https://www.cnbc.com/2024/12/09/ex-dodge-ram-boss-tim-kuniskis-returning-to-stellantis-.html This week’s hosts: Phil Royle and Edward A. Sanchez Episode art courtesy Stellantis Music courtesy Twisterium at Pixabay Email comments and questions to [email protected] Website: https://www.thewattcar.com Buy merch: https://www.thewattcar.com/store YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thewattcar