Podcast app resumes paused podcast in car, even when app is off and not running in background

A previous Apple community post from 2023, which can no longer be replied to, states my problem better than I can: Podcast automatically plays every time I … - Apple Community

"How can I stop Podcasts from automatically starting or restarting when I get in my [vehicle name]. This is so maddening. If the app is on pause, when I get back in it starts back playing. Even if I swipe up and close out the app, somehow it will restart automatically. It has a mind of it's own. There should be a way to stop this." [Note: The vehicle make and model of the 2023 post is different from mine, GM vs. Japanese; underline added by me.]

A solution suggested by Apple Support is a follows: Settings>General>Carplay>[vehicle name in phone]>Customize>Carplay. Then PRESS RED BUTTON TO REMOVE PODCAST APP FROM CAR.

I have not fullly tested this yet. Very likely it will work, but only in the sense of preventing all use of the podcast app in the car.

My question: Has anyone else found a way to prevent the Apple podcast app from starting automatically in the car under the conditions above, while still allowing the podcast app to be used in the car on demand?

If there is no way to do this, is there any good explanation for this state of affairs?

My vehicle, a recent year Subaru, has no setting I can find that is similar to an online photo of a car's screen with wording like this: "Start Car Mode Automatically. Turn this on and the app will automatically go into Car Mode when connected to your car's Bluetooth." Do some cars have this car mode setting, and others do not? Is "Car Mode" the widely used name for this setting?