Going Big: 2024 Grand Wagoneer Heads to the Desert
43:19 Share

When the Jeep engineers designed the Grand Wagoneer, they certainly took to heart the well-worn phrase “Go big or go home.” That’s obvious because when you travel in the long wheelbase version of the Stellantis SUV, as Host Jack Nerad did recently, you are definitely going big. And the Grand Wagoneer certainly provides all the comforts of home.

The sizable SUV proved to be the perfect answer for Nerad’s recent problem — how to transport seven adults and their luggage from his home on the coast to the desert of the Coachella Valley and back. Certainly, the U.S. auto market has its share of sizable vehicles, but this conundrum could only be answered by a few. After trekking forth and back, the obvious conclusion is that the Grand Wagoneer scores as the best of them. Luxury. Comfort. Convenience. Entertainment. The Grand Wagoneer offered all of those as it whisked the crew across Southern California in a style to which it is easy to become accustomed. Nerad will share more in this episode’s road test segment.

The other road test took place across the country as Co-Host Chris Teague and his family sampled the new top-of-the-line 2025 Honda Pilot Black Edition. Helping the crossover “man up,” it features a more aggressive design with gloss black 20-inch wheels and blackout accents. Honda's iVTM-4 all-wheel-drive system is standard, and inside, it offers exclusive red-accented leather seating, red stitching, and unique Black Edition branding. Was all this just too much testosterone for the Teague family? Chris will report his findings right here.

This week our special guest is Kevin Butt, regional environmental sustainability director of Toyota’s North American Environmental Sustainability Programs. Jack Nerad had a chance to sit down with him for a wide-ranging discussion of what Toyota is doing about climate change at a recent event in Texas. We think you’ll be fascinated by what he has to say.

In the news segment, we ask a provocative question: Is your car spying on you? A new initiative from the U.S. Commerce Department suggests that fear isn’t science fiction — it’s real. We’ll have the details for you coming up.

This week, there has been more unrest regarding electric vehicles, as several European automakers are re-jigging their EV launch plans. We’ll give you the details and discuss how this could affect us here in America.

If you drive an EV you know that the interaction at public chargers can get — shall we say — dramatic. Now, one public charger company is taking a step to limit that drama. But could it backfire?

And speaking of EV drama, electric vehicle fires in one country have prompted its government to look into the situation as panic grows regarding the technology.

This episode of America on the Road will provide details on all of those stories and more.

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