Sedans Are Back, Dodge Is Confused & Should Acura Just Die?

from Auto Buyers Guide Podcast · host Auto Buyers Guide

This week on Auto Buyer's Guide, the crew goes unscripted and ends up covering more ground than most planned episodes ever do. It starts with a Camry in the driveway and spirals into a genuinely compelling argument for why Toyota's all-hybrid midsize sedan is one of the shrewdest value plays on the market right now — outselling the entire Mercedes lineup in North America and costing buyers roughly $100 a month less than a RAV4 when you run the real numbers. From there the conversation widens into the broader sedan and hybrid sales resurgence, the questionable economics of the Prius versus Camry, why manufacturers keep killing promising vehicles too early, and a tour through what Honda used to get right with packaging that it no longer does. The back half of the episode gets into some of the thornier issues shaking up the industry: Dodge's $12,000 price hike on the Charger EV and the deeper identity crisis behind it, a candid review of the new Honda Prelude hybrid, the vanishing breed of affordable fun cars for everyday buyers, and a long-form discussion on what a Honda-Nissan merger might actually look like — including which brands (Acura, Fiat, Alfa Romeo, Infiniti) probably shouldn't survive it. Tesla's luxury market positioning, Hyundai and Kia's dramatic move upmarket, and a listener question on vehicle sizing graphics round out a wide-ranging, opinion-heavy hour that sounds nothing like it wasn't planned. 00:00:00 - Intro: No Plans, No Filter Edition 00:00:33 - Camry Hybrid Deep Dive: Sales, MPG & the RAV4 Cost Math 00:10:30 - Sedans & Hybrids Are Making a Comeback 00:13:48 - When Manufacturers Kill Good Products Too Soon 00:34:48 - Dodge Charger EV: $12K Price Hike & the CAFE Connection 00:40:06 - What Dodge Should Have Done with the Charger 00:48:41 - Honda Prelude Review: Fun, But Is It Enough? 00:51:27 - Honda's Lost Packaging Magic & the Death of the Fit 01:00:28 - Affordable Fun Cars Are Disappearing 01:06:08 - Honda-Nissan Merger: Kill Acura? Brand Rationalization Debate

What this episode covers

This week on Auto Buyer's Guide, the crew goes unscripted and ends up covering more ground than most planned episodes ever do. It starts with a Camry in the driveway and spirals into a genuinely compelling argument for why Toyota's all-hybrid midsize sedan is one of the shrewdest value plays on the market right now — outselling the entire Mercedes lineup in North America and costing buyers roughly $100 a month less than a RAV4 when you run the real numbers. From there the conversation widens into the broader sedan and hybrid sales resurgence, the questionable economics of the Prius versus Camry, why manufacturers keep killing promising vehicles too early, and a tour through what Honda used to get right with packaging that it no longer does. The back half of the episode gets into some of the thornier issues shaking up the industry: Dodge's $12,000 price hike on the Charger EV and the deeper identity crisis behind it, a candid review of the new Honda Prelude hybrid, the vanishing breed of affordable fun cars for everyday buyers, and a long-form discussion on what a Honda-Nissan merger might actually look like — including which brands (Acura, Fiat, Alfa Romeo, Infiniti) probably shouldn't survive it. Tesla's luxury market positioning, Hyundai and Kia's dramatic move upmarket, and a listener question on vehicle sizing graphics round out a wide-ranging, opinion-heavy hour that sounds nothing like it wasn't planned. 00:00:00 - Intro: No Plans, No Filter Edition00:00:33 - Camry Hybrid Deep Dive: Sales, MPG & the RAV4 Cost Math00:10:30 - Sedans & Hybrids Are Making a Comeback00:13:48 - When Manufacturers Kill Good Products Too Soon00:34:48 - Dodge Charger EV: $12K Price Hike & the CAFE Connection00:40:06 - What Dodge Should Have Done with the Charger00:48:41 - Honda Prelude Review: Fun, But Is It Enough?00:51:27 - Honda's Lost Packaging Magic & the Death of the Fit01:00:28 - Affordable Fun Cars Are Disappearing01:06:08 - Honda-Nissan Merger: Kill Acura? Brand Rationalization Debate