In this episode we are in the Ski Portillo Resort in Chile, where we took a 2024 Great Wall Motors Tank, an adventure SUV which attracted so much attention that a Rivian owner from the US wanted to take a ride in it!
Total Car Score
S5E57 - He loves his Rivian, but might consider getting this Chinese car!
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Real tours are members of the National Association of Real Tours and bound by a code of ethics, because that's who we are. Welcome to the Total Car Score podcast, bringing you the world of cars from inside the car. And now your hosts, Carl Brouwer, Lauren Vicks, and Javier Mota. Well, I'm here still in Chile enjoying some of the most perfect days of skiing that I've seen here in years. Not a cloud in the sky, perfect snow. And this is the second episode we're going to do with this great Walmart or Tank 300. It's been so popular. So the great thing about skiing is that you meet super cool people all the time, and like in any other sport, when you put that gear on, the field levels. So like everybody is more like the same. So here's Nathan, who I met here at just this week. - Hi. - At Nathan, and we start talking and like, you know, the seven levels of what it's called. - Separation. - Separation, yeah, exactly. - Turns out we know some people in common. - Yeah, exactly, John Parker, so John, you want to say hi? - Yeah, John, I think I was remember thinking last night, I met outside an elevator when we both worked for Conde Nast. - Oh, right. - It might be 18 years ago, like this point or something, and then I definitely stalked all of his content and on Twitter and other places because I wanted to eat an EV, sorry, an EV, and I knew he was the man to tell me which one to get. And eventually he said, "Anything you should buy "a Rivian, you'll love it." And I bought a Rivian and I love it. - So there you go. - Thank you, John. I've seen Asidilis in skiing, and any other sports, and journalists, I mean, every profession, there's levels, so, Johnny's above me. He knows a lot about it, like, he really, really has gotten into the passion of, like, teaching and explaining things and all that kind of thing. But anyway, so-- - He is an engineer or something, right? - Yeah, he knows. He knows a lot. That's what I would say, like, he knows a lot. But anyway, so I brought this car, this Great Wall Motors 10-300. We were talking over dinner, I showed a couple of pictures, and Nathan's like, "What is that? "I wanna see it, I wanna ride it." Because you also like cars, right? A lot, like, not only your personal car, but you appreciate the technology and engineering that is signed and all that kind of thing, right? - And I've been very curious about cars from China. - Yeah. - Because we're kind of afraid of them in America, and I can kind of see why. - I know. - Because this is really nice. - We get into the parking lot, and we drove up from Santiago a couple of days ago, and it's messy. When you drive up a mountain with snow and dirt, now you turn around, and it's perfectly clean. And these people in Washington, Portillo, Skier Resort, the service is amazing. Nathan actually was commenting that he was surprised, like, out the ratio of employees and guests, like, where you turn to someone. - Oh, yeah. They're very helpful to do everything they can to make your vacation just calm and about the skiing. It's beautiful, I mean, it's amazing. It's well worth the trip. So, again, we're walking to the parking lot, and we turn, the car was kind of hidden behind a big truck. And Nathan was like, what is this? This is cool, so I mean, you can tell it. - Yeah, I mean, it's beautiful colors. It's kind of like dark orange, and it looks a little bit like a Jeep crossed with a Lexus, a GX, I guess. Bronco, maybe. - Yeah, Bronco. It's really, it's really nicely appointed inside. It's like metal. - Yeah, maybe this comes in front of the passenger side. There's this, I mean, obviously it's plastic, but it's very well done. - Yeah, I don't know if I love that design for this kind of adventure vehicle, because this is of road. This is meant to be, I mean, driven. - Which is really cool too. - Yeah, yes, everything has Apple CarPlay. The screens are like super, super sharp. - Very sharp. - Yeah. - And you love the-- - The little clock in the center is really cool. I mean, it's just a really weird type. It reminds me of like old Lincoln or something. I had like the Cartier clock in there. I think that was Lincoln's. This is an audio version of Spot, oops. Pulling it down. But anyway, I'm just, oh, we don't see it from here. We're in the twisties here going down to back from the ski resort to Long Beach, Santiago. They're like 39 twists, I think I'm gonna, I thought you were gonna get a good look there, but not really, maybe here when we turn. But it's like an amazing drive. And people who like driving in extreme situations, they should come here, right? - Yeah, it's a switchbacks like no other I've ever seen in the world. - And you've got thousands of feet. - That's them. - So we can hear some Saturday morning and the road was closed because of bad weather over the weekend. And there were, I don't know, thousands of trucks. - Oh, all the way back to the valley. - Yeah, and it's because the border to Argentina is like next, like a couple miles up. And so when they closed the border and the checkpoint and all that, all these trucks back up here for miles and miles and miles. So we heard people taking up to five and a half hours. - Wow, I didn't know that. - Yeah, you guys made it like in two or three. - We had a driver that I think must be very accustomed to driving in this situation because he was passing the trucks flawlessly the whole time. I mean, amazing. - Yeah. - Did we, we were skiing with, was gasping. I was like, he knows what he's doing that way, just relax. - Yeah. So anyway, going back to the cars. You said you were intrigued about the Chinese cars. What were your thoughts? How did you, how do you get interested into this topic? - Well, because reading about EVs, all the EV brands like BYD, I guess is what you said. - Beyond your dreams. - Yeah, they look spectacular. And I saw one randomly in Canada. - Oh, yes. - I don't know how it ended up there. And so at chatting with the guy, I'm pretty sure he was Chinese by his accent and talking to him. And I think he might have brought it there somehow. And I was like, oh, like Tesla and others are in trouble. This is a very slick car. It was so streamlined. And so then I started Googling about different Japanese marks and all the different cars they're making and their market is gigantic. So they're just gonna overwhelm us. - Chinese you mean? - Yeah, sorry. - Yeah, sorry. - Yeah, yeah, yeah. - And that's the thing, I mean, I've been covering the automotive industry for over 20 years. And we used to go to the outer shows in Frankfurt, in Geneva, in New York, and the quote unquote "journalist." Like 10, 15 years ago, you will see quote unquote "journalist" from China laying down under the car with a measuring tape and taking pictures of the most obscure part of the car. Like the little nut, obviously the structure maybe of the suspension and like mechanical. You could tell that they were- - To an industrialist. - Investigate, well that's okay. I was gonna say "investigate" work. But yes, they were obviously spying and like stealing things or getting ideas. And I guess as the way they've done, but I have to admire that final product of that, whatever you wanna call work, has paid off, no? I mean, like- - Yeah, it is really smooth and quiet. And we're on a pretty bumpy mountain road, right? - Yeah, the problem with these roads is that because of the tight turns, they're like 39 turns before you hit the body here. And they, I guess they laid the pavement in squares. - In squares, yeah. - Yeah, like one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, like eight squares across. Well, they're laid in a space. The truckers are very smart about how to do it. - I think I've observed that a fair number of them look like they might be from the Indian subcontinent. I don't know if you've ever driven around the trucking places in the Indian subcontinent, those guys know how to drive a truck. - I know, they better too, because like- - Because you know how they decorate them? - Oh yeah, yes, yes, yes. - A few of them are decorating- - So all these trucks go to, in this area they go to Parawai, Uruguay, Brazil, Argentina, and this is the pass from Santiago in the center of the country here, and then further west, Palparaiso, which is what the main ports of entry from the west, from China, I guess, basically. So this market here for cars, I don't know if you know Nathan, but this car is very, this market is really interesting because it's small. Chile has like only like 18 million people, but they have like every brand. - I don't know, you said, oh by the way, you came here like 30 years ago, all right? - Yeah. - To Chile. - I miss that part, but- - I came here to Portillo. - Yeah, exactly, to this key, so. - Oh, you know what cars were here then? Lots of cars like that we were getting rid of from North America. - Oh, they were. - So like Suzuki summarized. - Oh, wow. - And other like, not so safe cars, they were everywhere here. And old, like old caprice and other big sedans were here. - And you came in a very interesting time because that's right after the referendum that got rid of Augusto Pinochet, right? - Yeah, it was three or four years later. - And still- - It was also really dirty. The air was really dirty. I think it must have happened. - Oh yeah, yeah, because I see I was in a deep valley. - Yeah, and it's beautifully clean now, but you used to not be able to see down the street. It was so dirty with diesel fumes. - So now we hit the valley and we're off, quote unquote, off-roading, we're gonna park the truck here, the tank. I mean, just to admire. - I love the name. - Yeah. - All right, pretty good marketing. And so, again, you were talking about, if you compare this to an American car, I don't know how you've been recently in a Jeep or a Wrangler or a Bronco? - My dad has a new Bronco. - Oh really? - Yep. - So the price, I don't know, like we talked about this last night at dinner, but the price for this is the equivalent of $30,000. - Oh, wow! - Even worse for the Americans, right? - Are you serious? - Yeah, it's 30 million, which is like the exchange rate is like 900 something to do a dollar. - What engine does it have? - This is a four cylinder 2.5 turbo. - It's better over here. - AT&T customers switching to T-Mobile has never been easier. We'll pay off your existing phone and give you a new one free, all on America's largest 5G network. Visit T-Mobile.com/carrierfreedom to switch today. Pay off up to $650 via virtual prepaid master, 315 days, free phone up to $830 via 24 monthly book credits plus tax, qualifying port and trade and service on go 5G next to credit required, contact us before canceling entire account to continue bill credits to credit stop and balance and required finance agreements do. - There are any number of reasons you might consider selling your home. To move closer to family, live within a smaller budget, or just running a change of scenery. Whatever your reasons, having to figure out all the various housing market trends in your area may not be what you signed up for. That's where an agent who is a realtor comes in. Realtors have the expertise to help you find the right price and navigate the process to sell your home in a way that's right for you. That's who we are. Realtors are members of the National Association of Realtors. - That's 217 horsepower, which is not like a lot, like it's not sports car whatsoever or anything. - I'm assuming it's all drive, I didn't know. - Yeah, I guess we'll drive it, they're looking differentials. I mean, it has all the technology. Yeah, all the driving modes here, like we have a four low and when I select that now. So... - It's pretty great. - I know. And they were telling me in the local market, the Jeep, the American cars are like maybe the equivalent of Ford and the Wrangler like 45, 50. So I guess that's the problem that we have in the US with like the politics and the tariffs and all that kind of thing. I mean, eventually they're hurting the company, so obviously, but at the end, they're hurting the consumers too, you know, because... - I always messed up this word, homo-logated. - Yeah, homo-logated. - Yeah. - Could it pass that process? - Well, that's the other interesting thing because I mean, the safety of this car, I think it's probably an air box. It has ABS, it has all the things, but sometimes the regulations are different, but these people are smart and they target in the whole world as a market. So they hit in Europe already, obviously the regulations are tougher in California, for example. I think they're the toughest in terms of safety and emissions and all that kind of thing. But I think they're smart enough to know that if we're gonna get competitive with the Germans and the Koreans and the Japanese and all that kind, we're gonna do it right from the beginning. So I'm pretty sure they have done their work and find a way to do that. So now the problem is that, as you know, in the US, we cannot import Chinese cars from companies that are not associated with previous sources. So Volvo is part of a jelly now. But that process I think is gonna change. I don't know what do you think about that? - Yeah, I think it's a little unfortunate. I mean, you would hope that we would have access to the best of the best in the United States. Being a bit protectionist seems a little anti-market, in my opinion. I mean, I'm sure lots of people have different opinions on this. - The Unions. - But like, I'm not quite old enough to remember what happened when Japan started to import cars. It was right sort of before I was born or around when I was a little kid. - Yeah, in the early... - Yeah, I was born in '73. So I think... - It's right around there, yeah. They've been 70 years at least, yeah. - So I remember being told from my dad that you would buy an American car and it would rust apart before you finished the payments. - Before? - Before the Japanese started importing cars. And it forced the big three to improve. So this would certainly force them to improve looking at how awesome this car is. So it has a sunroof, it has a city for five. - Yeah, let's see. - Cargo pack, big cargo capacity and all that. So we'll see what happens. I mean, also intrigued. So what they're trying to do now is like to import cars as we are here in Chile. All over Latin America, Mexico, big time, because we're part of the North American Free Trade Agreement. So the next step is for them to start building their cars in Mexico. And that's where the things are gonna get interesting because if the free trade agreement stands as it is, now they're gonna have to allow them. - Right, right. - Or they're gonna have to change the whole free trade agreement or we won't be as free as we know it now. So anyway, before we finish a couple of minutes here, tell me about Euryvian because you love that thing, yeah? - Oh yeah, it is so overbuilt. I mean, I think it could easily be $30,000 more. Maybe don't tell them that, but it has-- - Were you have been willing to pay $30,000? - If, I mean, it was already like 110 worth of taxes. But it's, the fit and finish is spectacular. And it's, I joke and I say that nothing that big should be that fast. I mean, it's just ridiculously fast. - And that was your, is your first electric? - My first EV, yeah. 'Cause I also have an ICE Jaguar. - Oh yeah, yeah. - And tell the audience also a little bit about your experience with managing the mileage and the range and all that because I mean, that one has like, what, 380 or something? - Yeah, around there. I mean, it's one of the top level of range, but I mean, you're mad it's fine, right? - Oh yeah, I go, I go to this, my local ski mountain and back. Don't worry about it. I have never had a problem with it. I've never come close to being empty. There's a lot of charging. The charging network is pretty built up in the northwest where I live. The only time I had to charge it on the road that was a little complicated was I drove from where I live in northwest Washington. All the way down to Bend, Oregon to see some friends. I think it's about 400 miles, I'm not sure. I have to look it up, me 380. And it, because that, there's a lot of mountains involved. - Well, you were recharging. - I had to charge it once. And it, because it was like 95 degrees, the charger de-rated, I just went for hike. (laughing) - Yeah, that's with my dogs. - Yeah, that's the thing. - We just went for a hike for, and it told me on the app when it was done, and we walked back. - Yeah, that's, I think you have to learn with them. So anyway. - Yeah, I love it. I mean, I would recommend it to anyone. - Great week here in Chile. Great thing about discovering displays, or we discovered in your case, 30 years later, and finding new friends and friends in common, and like new cars. So maybe your next car will be Chinese. (laughing) - I mean, if they, if this were for sale in the United States, and it weren't EV, but I know they make AVs. I want to buy a BYD. Let me just go on the record. - Okay. - Which is why I've been stalking them. - There you go. (laughing) Watch out, you know, motors, for slanties, whatever you are now, because they're all now by European consortium. I don't think they're American anymore, but anyway. - Thank you, Nathan. - Yeah. - Let's go. - Right back to the, to the ski resort, we have wine to drink, you know? - Yeah. (laughing) - Bye. (upbeat music) - Thank you for listening. For more, check us out online at TotalCarScore.com. (upbeat music) - Is this house a good price compared to others in the area? Are prices going up or down? If I don't make an offer right this very moment, will I miss my chance? These are just some of the questions a home buyer might ask. And these are the sorts of questions an agent who is a realtor can help answer. Because realtors have the expertise data and access to specialty training to help you navigate the process of buying a home. They provide support, guidance, and have your back every step of the way. That's what realtors do. Because that's who we are. Realtors are members of the National Association of Realtors. (speaking in foreign language) (speaking in foreign language) (speaking in foreign language) (speaking in foreign language) (speaking in foreign language) (speaking in foreign language) (speaking in foreign language) and I'll see you next time. [BLANK_AUDIO]