Got any questions? Ask away! [email protected] Check out John's channel - https://www.youtube.com/@AutoExpertJC Check out Adam's channel - https://www.youtube.com/@ReDriven Is Stellantis quietly pulling out of Australia? With Fiat officially exiting the local market, Adam and John examine what it means for owners, whether Alfa Romeo, Jeep, Peugeot and Maserati could be next, and why Maserati's latest AI-generated advertising campaign has them genuinely worried about the future of the brand. They also debate which Stellantis vehicles are actually worth owning, from the Alfa Romeo Giulia and Stelvio to the iconic Jeep Wrangler. Plus, Ferrari are back with their first "manual" V12 in over ten years - how excited should we be? And John is fooled by an AI-generated band. Finally listener Alan asks how driver licensing should be reimagined from the ground up, prompting a passionate discussion on driver training, road safety and courtesy behind the wheel. To wrap things up, John delivers an unexpectedly entertaining deep dive into one of the handiest tools you can keep in your garage or roadside kit. Join auto industry insiders John Cadogan (Auto Expert) and Adam Morris (ReDriven) as they cut through the BS on new cars, used cars, dealer tactics, EV trends, and everything the motoring industry doesn't want you to know. New episodes weekly — subscribe now. Skip ahead: 00:00 Intro 01:10 Fiat Exits Australia 03:25 Stellantis Brands Under Pressure 06:25 Maserati’s AI Ad Disaster 09:00 AI Music Is Getting Too Good 12:00 Would We Buy Any Stellantis Car? 16:30 The Jeep Debate Gets Heated 21:20 Ferrari’s New “Manual” Transmission 23:05 Why EVs Need More Engagement 25:35 How We’d Fix Driver Training 34:25 Adam Fondles John's Nuts 36:10 BMW Brake Job Nightmare 37:30 The Pliers Wrench Explained 43:00 Why This Tool Is Brilliant 48:10 Road Trip Tools You Actually Need
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If the Stellantis group left Australia, virtually no one would notice. Jeep has sold 322 vehicles, Peugeot sold 373 vehicles, Alfa Romeo sold 139 cars, and Fiat moved roughly 144 vehicles year-to-date. That’s roughly 1,000 sales out of the 631,583 new vehicle sales for the first half of the year through June 2026. I honestly don’t know how they are making money in Australia on the back of 1,000 sales over 6 months. That wouldn’t even cover keeping the lights on.
Car giants aren’t bailing on Australia; Australians are bailing on car giants.
It'll be a sad day when Alfa and Maserati leave our shores. In Perth, I had a clown deliberately ram my car... THREE TIMES because I needed to change lanes to get off the freeway. The police did nothing about it. Happily, we had to exchange details for insurance purposes and it turns out he lives three streets away. Why his cars have slowly accumulated vandalism damage over the last three years is something of a mystery.
Thankyou for flashing up a pic of the particular car you are talking about. It helps us heathens and Luddites know what you are talking about. More of this please.
ND MX5 doesn't have a glovebox in the dash
I always wanted a Jeep Wrangler , then i drove it.. it's terrible on the road.
My 2003 6 speed Mazda MX-5 is my ‘forever car’. I will drive it until the day I drop if I can. Absolutely nothing on the market even temps me to update.
Here Australia we have more choice in car brands than the USA bordering on over saturation.
You guys forgot about Ram that's a Stellantis Brand and those sell quite well in Aussie
Have a feeling that in say, 10 years, the Australian car market will be Chinese brands, Toyota, Hyundai/Kia, and BMW /MB only.
20:25 when I was at Porsche we had a client who had a 991 Carrera 4S as her weekend car and then a Honda S660 as the daily. That's the kind of two-car garage I would love to have if I didn't have a wife or kids.
Its a shame Fiat is exiting Australia. My mum has had two Fiat 500s with the 1.4L NA engine with a manual. And they were genuinely excellent cars and very reliable. Timeless design too. A 2008 model in good condition looks just as modern as any small hatch from 2026. Peugeot will disappear next. Which is also a big shame. I just got back from Europe and saw a tonne of new Pugs. They look excellent. The Chinese should scoop up the Pergeot designers as soon as they go under.
As I look at my driveway with my Alfa, Abarth 5oo and 124, I sort of lament the passing of Stellantis, but it is not unexpected. I am like the guy in that I am keeping these as my forever cars as far as possible. And there was a time a few decades back when both Alfa and Fiat were not in Australian market somehow us Italian car tragics still got through.
Interestingly enough even though it is a Stellantis brand Maserati is actually distributed in Australia by Ateco.
Can we get Jim in on one of these episodes??
i have had 5 jeeps but this Wrangler i have now is my first one that's not modified , i 4wd with it and i carry a drum kit in it every week to a couple of gigs , i am able to fix everything except an automatic transmission on most cars , i get massively cheap parts from local and usa shops and what ever i can imagine as an accessory is already made ,its my favourite off road vehicle it has 4 coil solid axle , disc brakes front and rear , it only has to keep me happy 🙂
fiat missed a trick by not really having the panda in the market longer but one thing that might be missed is some of the fiat vans, some of those look rather nice, and i remeber borrowing one over a decade ago as my then transit work van was getting repaired, and the normal fleet of hiaces werent available, so rented one of those, and it was honestly a great work van, comfortable, and drove that from brisbane to carnis for a trade show,
I, for one, won't be celebrating the loss of Stellantis in Australia. In recent times they haven't made many great cars, but they have built some wonderful driver's cars in the past, and there are plenty of signs that they will produce some good cars in the future. The Australian car market will be far less interesting without Alfa Romeo, Peugeot or Maserati. In the meantime, the average Aussie car buyer seems to fall head over heels in love with every generic Chinese EV that enters our market, as if nothing else could possibly compare. Yes, some are pretty good, but there's plenty that are woeful. In the meantiime, Chinese car dealers are publicly apologising for the not being able supply parts because the makers aren't supporting them. BTW, John hit the nail on the head about the people who buy EVs. Engagement isn't typically something most of them would understand. EVs might be great in many ways, but very few are fun to drive. Fast, yes. Fun, not really.
I get a lot of parts for my BA ute from eBay. Most likely cloned in China and sold ridiculously cheap. My last purchase was a set of 4 door actuators for $25. 2 cost $20. So why not get some spares? Works great. A mate of mine just ordered a set of new headlights for his 2004 Hilux for $40 inc delivery from eBay.
Yay! Thanks guys - looking forward to this...Engineering Explained has a great vid on the drive-by-wire manual in the Ferrari.