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Chevy Traverse, Hyundai Santa Fe revealed; Buick Envista, BMW M4 CSL driven | Autoblog Podcast #790

In this episode of the Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Senior Editor John Beltz Snyder. After some banter, including the discussion of an excellent tomato sauce recipe, they get into car reviews. Greg has been driving the Mercedes-AMG GLE 53, while John has been testing the BMW M4 CSL and Buick's new Envista crossover. There's lots of interesting news this week. Chevy revealed the 2024 Traverse with new looks, a new engine and on off-road(ish) trim. Hyundai gave us a glimpse at the wild styling of the next Santa Fe. Dodge might bring back the Stealth nameplate as an SUV, and that has implications for the Durango as well. Ford, after repeatedly raising prices, has turned around and significantly discounted the F-150 Lightning across all trims. The first Tesla Cybertruck has rolled off the line as a pre-production prototype. Finally, we reach in to the mailbag and help a listener decide what to do with cars for himself and his kids in this week's Spend My Money segment. Send us your questions for the Mailbag and Spend My Money at: Podcast@Autoblog.com. Autoblog Podcast #790 Get The Podcast Apple Podcasts – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes Spotify – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast on Spotify RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Rundown Cars we're driving 2023 Mercedes-AMG GLE 53 2023 BMW M4 CSL 2024 Buick Envista 2024 Chevrolet Traverse gets rugged looks, new turbo engine, Z71 trim 2024 Hyundai Santa Fe revealed with a radical redesign Dodge Stealth coming with new platform, looks, and powertrains in a year (Bonus reading: check out Dodge Stealth listings) Ford F-150 Lightning gets significant price cut across the full range First Tesla Cybertruck pre-production prototype comes off the line Spend My Money Feedback Email – Podcast@Autoblog.com Review the show on Apple Podcasts Autoblog is now live on your smart speakers and voice assistants with the audio Autoblog Daily Digest. Say “Hey Google, play the news from Autoblog” or "Alexa, open Autoblog" to get your favorite car website in audio form every day. A narrator will take you through the biggest stories or break down one of our comprehensive test drives. Related video: Green Podcasts BMW Buick Chevrolet Dodge Ford GM Hyundai Mercedes-Benz Tesla Truck Crossover SUV Electric Future Vehicles Luxury Off-Road Vehicles Performance

Ford files trademark application for 'Model E'

In early December, Ford filed an application with the US Patent and Trademark Office for the name "Model E." Historically, Ford never produced a Model E, and while automakers are known to file for trademarks they never use, some have wondered if the application might be used for a concept car.
Based on other recent events, though, it could be a legal move. In 2000 Ford sued an online start-up called Model E over the similarity of that name to Ford's industry-shaping Model T, but the judge dismissed the case citing lack of proper grounds. In August 2013, Tesla applied for trademark registration for Model E, and at the time, Ford said it would review the application. Tesla actually made two applications for Model E, one for automobiles and structural parts therefore, the other for "providing maintenance and repair services for automobiles," and there are plenty of theories about what the name could be applied to.
The Published for Opposition date for Tesla's applications is December 31, 2013, after which anyone who thinks they'd be harmed by Tesla being granted the trademark gets 30 days to register their issues. This is just speculation, but Ford's application - which was filed for automobiles only - might be about protecting what it sees as unwelcome encroachment on the name Model T, protection it wasn't able to enforce before when the stakes were only online and much smaller.

Formula Drift kicks off 11th season on Streets of Long Beach

The 2014 Formula Drift series kicked off last weekend in Long Beach, and saw Chris Forsberg, who you'll recall went mad and drifted around a warehouse in an Infiniti M, take the title behind the wheel of his Hankook Tire Nissan 370Z (shown above).
Forsberg really ran away with the first round of competition, outscoring his closest opponent, second-place finisher Kenneth Moen and his Bridges Racing Nissan 240SX, by 20 points. Third place was 2013 championship winner Michael Essa and his Yokohama BMW M3, 30.5 points behind Forsberg.
In the manufacturers' title, Nissan took an early lead with 122 points, which isn't a huge surprise considering five of the top ten drifters were piloting either a Z or a product of the brand's S platform. Ford, which had two drivers (Justin Pawlak and Vaughn Gittin, Jr.) in the top ten, took home second place, while BMW is currently third in the manufacturers' standings.