Jill and Tom welcome Jamie Butters of Autotown to the show. Jamie shared his thoughts on the General Motors hybrid move, Audi's new U.S. factory, and the midterm elections.

On October 28, 2026, MTM rolled its one millionth vehicle off the line. They were expectedly cagey about which vehicle was 1,000,000 and which was 1,000,001, stating they were “neck and neck” off the line.

In this bonus episode of the Car Stuff Podcast, Jill sits down with Mazda North American President and CEO Tom Donnelly.

Though the CX-30 is little changed for 2026 (and less changed for 2027), there is a lineup swap. Mazda has added the new 2.5 S Aire Edition to the middle of the lineup, and has replaced the 2.5 Turbo Carbon Edition with the 2.5 Turbo Air towards the top of the lineup. We’ll be talking more about the Turbo Aire in a moment.

Jill and Tom welcome Mazda Crashworthiness Program Manager Christina Smith to the podcast. Christina discusses Mazda's safety philosophy, and the systems currently in place in the maker's products.