Best of the Bay (Part 1): New Cars Road Tested

Jon Summers is the Motoring Historian. He was a company car thrashing technology sales rep that turned into a fairly inept sports bike rider. On his show he gets together with various co-hosts to talk about new and old cars, driving, motorbikes, motor racing, motoring travel.

In this episode Jon focuses on the 'Best of the Bay 2024' car event. He reminisces about his participation in various Western Automotive Journalists' events and acknowledges the organizers and contributors, especially Michael Coates and Page One Automotive. Jon details the event format, including driving routes and the structure of the test drives. He highlights various vehicles, mentioning the Toyota Camry as the best overall car due to its value, and the Lucid Air as an impressive but expensive option. He also shares his love for more soulful, less efficient older machines compared to modern, efficient cars. Jon ends with a reflection on the emotional connection with vehicles that newer models often lack.

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• D.A.D. - Girl Nation

• Thanks to Western Automotive Journailsts and Michael Coates

• Thanks to Page One, the Press Car suppliers

• Thanks to the OEMs for supplying cars, and nicely specc’d ones too

• J is honest about these cars, lord knows he’s not doing this for the money

• The venue - the Dream Inn, Santa Cruz

• Pacific Coast Highway 1 San Francisco to Santa Cruz - really an awesome road

• 17 cars, timetabled driving slots

• Hill and coastal driving routes allowing high and low speed testing, including sweeping bends

• Judgement to be “the Best At What The Car Set Out To Do”

• J’s Best Car: 2025 Toyota Camry

• J’s Best, price no object: 2025 Lucid Air

• If It Was J’s Money: 2025 Genesis G80

• 2025 Fiat 500e - basic, but adequate

• Many good cars, some great ones, no terrible ones

• But none are as cool as the ‘91 Gixxer - 750 not a 1000 like I say - I rode before this recording

• As the machines get more efficient, they become less intereting

• Judas Priest - Free Wheel Burning

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Copyright Jon Summers, The Motoring Historian. This content is also available via jonsummers.net. This episode is part of the Motoring Podcast Network and has been republished with permission.