Lexus has some important new vehicles coming this year, including an all-new 2023 Lexus RZ 450e crossover utility. And our special guest will share his thoughts about where the brand is going. Andrew Gilleland, Lexus Group VP, sat down for an exclusive interview with Host Jack Nerad recently, and the exec had interesting things to say about the luxury brand’s future in the “electrified era.”

Guest Co-Host Matt DeLorenzo joins us this week as Co-Host Chris Teague takes a break. Matt is the author of the new book How to Buy An Affordable Electric Car: A Tightwad’s Guide to EV Ownership, and he and Jack Nerad will discuss the important questions facing potential first-time EV buyers.

In the road test segment, Matt DeLorenzo will profile the all-new 2023 Toyota bZ4X battery-electric crossover. Matt had the opportunity to get behind the wheel of Toyota’s first nationally marketed EV at the recent Motor Press Guild Drive Day 2022 event. And Host Jack Nerad drove the bZ4X at the Toyota HQ Confidential event in Texas.

Also in the road test segment, Jack Nerad will give his initial impressions of the 2022 Chevrolet Silverado ZR2 off-road specialty pickup. Jack got the chance to drive the impressive vehicle at MPG Drive Day, and he’ll tell you all about how it fared on the event’s very challenging off-road course.

In the news, car sales were down precipitously in the second quarter while at the same time finding a new car to buy continues to be difficult for consumers. We’ll have the details and our reactions to that coming up.

Meanwhile, a new study of the industry gives rosy predictions about the future of electric vehicles. But is the study right? We’ll give you details on the study and share our opinions about the optimistic predictions for electric vehicle adoption. Are they real or just wishful thinking? We’ll let you know.

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