Our two test vehicles this week couldn’t be more different. The 2024 Honda Passport TrailSport is the brand’s latest effort to cash in on the current off-road craze that continues to sweep the nation. With all-terrain tires, a trick torque-vectoring all-wheel-drive system and some appearance mods, the Passport TrailSport isn’t just fun to say; it is also fun to drive. But will it do the job off-road? That is a question we raise in this episode of America on the Road.

Co-Host Chris Teague had the opportunity to test the TrailSport in some of the wettest weather ever to hit the state of Maine. Was the Honda off-roader up to the challenge? He’ll have the answer to that and more details as well.

On the other side of the automotive coin is the 2024 Lexus LC 500 Convertible. It is hard to imagine a more on-road-oriented vehicle than this six-figure specialty car from Toyota’s luxury brand. In its tech and driver assistance features, the LC 500 ragtop is as new as tomorrow, but under the hood, its 5.0-liter normally aspirated V8 engine is a definite throwback. Happily, we like throwbacks, especially when they offer more than 400 horsepower. The overall result is a car that is both fun to drive and fun to be seen in. Host Jack Nerad will tell you more about his week with the car in the road test segment.

In the news this week, official word has come in that an iconic performance vehicle is going to come to market as a battery electric in 2026. We’ll tell you the model and give you more details in this episode.

As we have reported in the past several weeks, EVs are piling up on dealers’ lots and used EV values are plummeting. We’ll tell you why this is happening and what it means to you, even if you don’t plan to buy an electric car.

While many carmakers are still touting a battery-electric future, Hyundai is about to announce a giant new initiative too create a hydrogen ecosystem. We’ll have details and our reactions a bit later.

This week, our special guest is Sam Fiorani, vice president of global vehicle forecasting at AutoForecast Solutions. Fiorani is a much-quoted expert on the world’s automotive industry from the inside, and he’ll give us his perspective on 2023 and on what we can expect in 2024.

All that and more are coming up in this episode of America on the Road.

America on the Road is brought to you by Driving Today.com, Mercury Insurance, YourTestDriver.com, and EMLandsea.com , the publisher of Nerad’s latest book, Dance in the Dark, which is available HERE on Amazon.com