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Ram's Resurrection: Exploring Chrysler's Bold Comeback · In Wheel Time Podcast

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Welcome to another In Wheel Time podcast.
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: Wrong button.
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: I've switched the microphone buttons around and I can't find it.
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: This is your place for all things automotive.
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: The award-winning In Wheel Time Car Talk Show today coming to you live from Studio A inside the Sugar Shack Studios in Texas, usa.
• 0:27
  Speaker 1: Coming up, we talked to an old friend from the Chrysler Group, dave Sowers, about a new entry level trim for the Ram pick-em-up truck and other insider stuff.
• 0:36
  Speaker 1: Later, jeff has the racing calendar, mars has this week in auto history and I'll get you caught up on the stories making automotive news headlines.
• 0:42
  Speaker 1: Howdy, along with Mike, out of this world of ours.
• 0:45
  Speaker 1: We always need more.
• 0:46
  Speaker 1: Jeff Zekin, I'm Don Armstrong.
• 0:48
  Speaker 1: Our chief engineer, david Ainsley, has the morning off.
• 0:50
  Speaker 1: He's always got the morning off.
• 0:52
  Speaker 1: He's just off, way off.
• 0:54
  Speaker 1: There is that Before we get to Dave.
• 0:58
  Speaker 1: I wanted to read this story because it kind of goes hand in hand with our interview.
• 1:04
  Speaker 2: Our guest yep.
• 1:10
  Speaker 1: Ram CEO Tim Kaneska said when he returned from a brief retirement last year that the truck brand needed more offerings under $50,000.
• 1:14
  Speaker 1: Well, ram is taking aim at that price point with the 2026 1500 Express.
• 1:20
  Speaker 1: All right A trim, it says, is marketed toward customers seeking a combination of attitude and value.
• 1:28
  Speaker 1: The Express starts at $44,495 with shipping.
• 1:32
  Speaker 1: It'll be assembled in Sterling Heights, michigan, and arrive at dealerships in the third quarter.
• 1:36
  Speaker 1: Buyers can choose from crew cab and quad cab body styles with 4x2 or 4x4 drive trains.
• 1:43
  Speaker 1: Kuniskis told Automotive News at the Detroit Auto Show in January that Ram had to be more aggressive in the sub $50,000 space after discontinuing the 1500 Classic, which served as an economical option at the bottom of the lineup.
• 1:56
  Speaker 1: Ram said that the Express First was offered in 1939 and had a whopping 78 horsepower.
• 2:04
  Speaker 1: But that was then and this is now.
• 2:06
  Speaker 2: Can you prove on that?
• 2:07
  Speaker 1: Ram has come a long way, baby, since then, and joining us now direct from Chrysler Central.
• 2:14
  Speaker 1: I assume it's Tim Koudiscus, ladies and gentlemen, oh, my God, not Tim Koudiscus.
• 2:19
  Speaker 1: I'm sorry, dave Sowers, there you go.
• 2:22
  Speaker 1: Well, I just gave you a promotion and a raise, dave, and a new name.
• 2:27
  Speaker 3: Yeah, thanks for that, Don I appreciate it Not to set the bar too high for me.
• 2:30
  Speaker 2: Yeah, exactly.
• 2:31
  Speaker 2: Well, we were at the bar last night.
• 2:33
  Speaker 1: Yeah, that's right, that was last night.
• 2:35
  Speaker 1: Well, dave, it's great to see you.
• 2:37
  Speaker 1: I haven't seen you in years and I'm glad that you're still on board with Chrysler and you're looking fine.
• 2:45
  Speaker 3: Good to see you guys too.
• 2:46
  Speaker 3: I haven't talked to you in a long time, don.
• 2:47
  Speaker 1: I know, yes, it has been.
• 2:53
  Speaker 1: You know, we wanted to talk to you today.
• 2:56
  Speaker 1: I'm sorry it's Mike.
• 2:58
  Speaker 1: I wanted to talk I'm sorry we're having some sort of a choking hazard over here by the name of Mike Mars the 2026 Express available in the third quarter, and I read that story.
• 3:17
  Speaker 1: But I also wanted to talk to you about a new heavy-duty Ram that features high-output Cummins diesel for the 25 and 3500 trucks.
• 3:22
  Speaker 1: Tell me about that.
• 3:23
  Speaker 3: Yeah, let me first start off by saying I want to talk about the quote you read from tim.
• 3:28
  Speaker 3: Yes, with automotive news and I I'll speak to it from from my side of the equation.
• 3:34
  Speaker 3: I've been on the truck brand for a while now, right?
• 3:37
  Speaker 3: I'll say yes I can tell you the enthusiasm and excitement on our brand right now is over the top.
• 3:46
  Speaker 3: The stuff we're talking about today is just the tip of the iceberg.
• 3:50
  Speaker 3: We launched the all-new 25 light-duty truck last year.
• 3:55
  Speaker 3: At the beginning of this year we're launching the new is my gosh.
• 3:58
  Speaker 3: It's so welcome and you're going to see so much good stuff and exciting stuff coming out of the Ram brand over the next couple of months.
• 4:17
  Speaker 3: It's going to really blow you away.
• 4:20
  Speaker 1: Well, I'm excited and I know that you guys have been through a really rough time up there way.
• 4:25
  Speaker 1: Well, I'm excited and I know that you guys have been through a really rough time up there and you know the CEO departure.
• 4:29
  Speaker 1: It's been a mess and I'm glad that you made it through all of that.
• 4:34
  Speaker 1: You know, those kind of things happen in companies from time to time and it's a real shame because, as you know, we have always been a big fan of the chrysler and, uh, especially the ram brand, because we think that you guys have great product and, um, that, listen, the the ram 1500, uh, it is the bomb man, I don't know how else to put it.
• 4:56
  Speaker 1: Beautiful interior, great styling, uh, longevity, engine choices comfortable to drive and you got this new straight six.
• 5:04
  Speaker 1: That I'm really and I'm really excited that you know somebody has taken the torch and moved on from the V6 and gone to a straight six.
• 5:19
  Speaker 3: And it's been a great powertrain for us.
• 5:21
  Speaker 3: That's the hurricane engine family that you're talking about.
• 5:24
  Speaker 3: You mentioned the express package which we just revealed.
• 5:27
  Speaker 3: Yes, and we come with a standard V6, normally aspirated engine with that package.
• 5:33
  Speaker 3: But we do have the optional three liter base Hurricane engine and that's 420 horsepower.
• 5:41
  Speaker 3: That's in a base level truck is a really exciting experience.
• 5:47
  Speaker 3: That's more power than what we had from the last V8, with better emissions and better fuel economy.
• 5:54
  Speaker 3: So, yes, that straight six engine is a great configuration and the power delivery out of that, with the turbo that we have, is excellent.
• 6:04
  Speaker 3: So the one other exciting piece of that Express you didn't mention, don, was the fact that there's a black Express package.
• 6:11
  Speaker 3: So it starts with that same equipment with the 20 inch wheels and the monochromatic appearance, but it adds all black accents.
• 6:19
  Speaker 3: So in this case you're getting black 20 inch wheels, you're getting black badges around the truck.
• 6:24
  Speaker 3: Obviously that's available in black, but it's also available in white, granite, hydro blue, which is one of our eye-popping colors, and then a new color for us on the 1500 and on heavy duty coming in is a Forged Blue, which we're really excited about as well.
• 6:44
  Speaker 1: Well, I can't wait for you guys to get one of these new ones, especially with that Hurricane engine in it.
• 6:51
  Speaker 1: In the press fleet hint, hint, call Kimberly, Say Kimberly, it's on the way, I want to drive it.
• 6:58
  Speaker 3: That sounds like a very specific request we should be able to address.
• 7:02
  Speaker 2: I'm just happy that it's in Sterling Heights, because I grew up in the Detroit area and Sterling Heights is an automotive blue collar town and they have some good people there and I'm glad to see that that's happening for them yeah, yeah it, it's really awesome.
• 7:15
  Speaker 1: So tell me what else is going on, um with uh Chrysler and, like you say, the mood up there has really changed, I would imagine, uh, since uh the past CEO has moved on and uh, we're getting ready here to crank it up, I hope yeah, for sure.
• 7:31
  Speaker 3: We're um as excited as we are about Tim coming back to the brand.
• 7:37
  Speaker 3: We're also excited about the general direction for the whole company, the investments that we're seeing in the Ram brand, that we're talking about innovations and our investments and new products coming to the Ram brand and that's across our lineup.
• 7:59
  Speaker 3: We just talked about the latest thing on light duty.
• 8:01
  Speaker 3: I do want to talk about our heavy duty and I know you were talking about multi-gear transmissions with higher number of gear ratios and axle ratios.
• 8:13
  Speaker 3: I want to talk about that a little bit Absolutely.
• 8:14
  Speaker 1: Let's do it Matter of fact.
• 8:16
  Speaker 1: Since we just talked about that, let's expand on that.
• 8:19
  Speaker 1: You know, there are a lot of first-time truck buyers, because trucks are the hot thing now and everybody and his mother is buying them, and a lot of them are for the first time.
• 8:29
  Speaker 1: And I don't think that most people realize the number of options that are available on a truck, including in the powertrain itself, including the rear axle.
• 8:39
  Speaker 1: And if you've got a 1500 or a 25 or 3500, that's one of those things that you can specially order and package it to whatever it is that you're towing or hauling, and I don't think that most people really realize that.
• 8:51
  Speaker 3: Yeah, I don't think that most people really realize that.
• 8:53
  Speaker 3: Yeah, and I'm actually going to spin you around another way, don on that one, because for heavy duty we made a significant investment in powertrain for a 25 model year and that includes making the 6.7 liter high output Cummins standard on all of our pickups, 2,500 through 3,500.
• 9:13
  Speaker 3: So the standard Cummins diesel now 430 horsepower, 1,075 pounds 1,075 pound feet of torque.
• 9:23
  Speaker 1: My God, you could pull down houses with that.
• 9:26
  Speaker 3: Yeah, we always joke about being able to tow around your house, and we don't just mean mobile homes either.
• 9:31
  Speaker 3: So it's a really impressive powertrain.
• 9:34
  Speaker 3: The thing that will often go unnoticed is the investments that we made in the transmission itself.
• 9:41
  Speaker 3: I know you were talking about a competitive transmission previously, but we brought in a new eight-speed transmission.
• 9:48
  Speaker 3: It's a torque flight HD for all of our diesel applications in our heavy-duty trucks, so it's a huge leap forward.
• 10:00
  Speaker 3: It's not only just two more gear ratios than the outgoing six-speed.
• 10:03
  Speaker 3: It's a huge leap forward in terms of efficiency and technology, and what we've actually done is we've eliminated any rear axle ratio choices for the customer.
• 10:16
  Speaker 1: Well, because it's all in the transmission now.
• 10:18
  Speaker 3: Yes, and I'll tell you how we do that.
• 10:20
  Speaker 3: Because we have eight speeds and because we use a spread, a gear ratio spread, we can have better pulling power in first gear than our oldest tallest gear ratio or highest numerical gear ratio.
• 10:36
  Speaker 3: So in the past you would have ordered a 410 rear axle for your towing applications.
• 10:42
  Speaker 3: Our standard axle now is a 342.
• 10:45
  Speaker 3: With the 8-speed I get better pulling power in first gear and second gear than I had in first gear before and I don't give any of that up on the highway.
• 10:56
  Speaker 3: I have lower RPM cruising speeds on the highway because of how that transmission is set up.
• 11:01
  Speaker 3: So we eliminated the choice for the customer and it's all handled in the transmission Now.
• 11:07
  Speaker 3: In the past there might have been a risk there.
• 11:09
  Speaker 3: With eight speeds you might find gear hunting going on.
• 11:13
  Speaker 3: You might find yourself not in the right gear all the time.
• 11:16
  Speaker 3: We've solved that with the transmission control strategies and the ability to keep it in the right gear all the time.
• 11:24
  Speaker 3: As a matter of fact, we will launch in second gear when the truck is empty and you're not in tow haul mode.
• 11:30
  Speaker 3: So during the normal driving around, when you're not towing or hauling, it's a more relaxed start and that's similar to what our first gear might've been in the past, and we're only going to use that high numerical gear ratio for first gear.
• 11:47
  Speaker 3: When you engage tow haul mode, or even if you don't, the truck will recognize that you're pulling a heavy load and begin to pull out in first gear on its own.
• 11:58
  Speaker 1: I was going to say that that's the one thing with the new computer-driven controls of these things is that it recognizes what it's hauling behind there.
• 12:07
  Speaker 1: What kind of grunt does it really need to pull off the stop sign?
• 12:12
  Speaker 3: It only takes two or three starts with your trailer hooked up for it to recognize and it will adapt to that and it adapts the shift strategy throughout.
• 12:21
  Speaker 3: So one of the other things I mentioned the potential to have shift busyness we actually are able to shift multiple gears at one time so we can go from sixth gear to fourth gear to pass without engaging fifth gear.
• 12:38
  Speaker 3: We can go from fourth gear to sixth gear after we've completed the pass.
• 12:42
  Speaker 3: So we've done a lot of testing with this.
• 12:45
  Speaker 3: We've run all of the typical very difficult grades Davis Dam grade, eisenhower grade with very heavy trailers the whole way up through our max trailer weights and we're able to perform better on the grade and have better overall performance with that transmission than having to change the axle ratios.
• 13:08
  Speaker 3: So we're kind of changing the paradigm with this and the customers getting the best of both worlds, and even those first-time heavy-duty buyers that are going to haul a camper they're not going to have to remember exactly what to do, they don't have to spec a different axle ratio and when they jump in to drive it it's going to be very intuitive and it's going to take care of it.
• 13:30
  Speaker 3: All that power and a very smart transmission makes this driving experience out of this world, when you're towing and hauling.
• 13:38
  Speaker 1: Do you happen to have a fifth-wheel factory installed option?
• 13:43
  Speaker 3: We do.
• 13:43
  Speaker 3: We have both fifth wheel and gooseneck from the factory.
• 13:48
  Speaker 3: That is a check the box option and it comes installed in the bed, the actual fifth wheel hitch itself.
• 13:57
  Speaker 3: We have two different hitches available via Mopar, so you can get a fifth wheel hitch that's rated at 25,000 pounds and a fifth wheel hitch that's rated at 25,000 pounds and a fifth-wheel hitch that's rated at 30,000 pounds.
• 14:08
  Speaker 3: These trucks are capable of so much more.
• 14:11
  Speaker 3: We actually had to invent that 30,000-pound hitch to be able to haul that.
• 14:19
  Speaker 1: I was just going to ask.
• 14:20
  Speaker 1: Oh, hold on, I've changed microphones around in here this morning and I can't get the buttons right.
• 14:27
  Speaker 4: Yeah, we're doing some technical work, yeah.
• 14:29
  Speaker 4: So I was wondering about the transmission and the low gear.
• 14:33
  Speaker 4: I mean, that sounds like the old granny gear we used to call it, where you downshift it into.
• 14:36
  Speaker 4: I mean it just didn't have any speed but it had tons of power.
• 14:40
  Speaker 4: So if you're not in the tow haul mode and you're not really hauling something but you hammer it, for example, not in the tow haul mode and you're not really hauling something but you hammer it, for example, I mean, if you put some pressure on that engine, does it react to that?
• 14:52
  Speaker 4: Or is it strictly understand?
• 14:53
  Speaker 4: You know, I got a heavy load here.
• 14:56
  Speaker 3: It's uh, it's still going to pull out in second gear and I can tell you from personal experience, and our engineers can tell you from their testing, that our second gear, with 1,075 pound-feet of torque, with the truck empty, you are not going to miss a first gear.
• 15:14
  Speaker 4: That is going to pull out like crazy.
• 15:16
  Speaker 3: When you go to the heavy throttle input, it's really going to pull out.
• 15:22
  Speaker 1: You have to understand, dave, we're all drag racers here and I know that you can appreciate that.
• 15:27
  Speaker 1: Can you override it and stick it in first with the shifter?
• 15:31
  Speaker 3: Well, yeah, there's two ways that you can force it to use first gear.
• 15:35
  Speaker 3: One is to select tow haul mode and it'll pull out in first gear every time.
• 15:39
  Speaker 3: So if you really want to snap your neck, you could do that on an empty truck, and then we have haul mode Wait a minute, Wait, wait.
• 15:47
  Speaker 1: What is that little smirk on your face as you say that you devil you?
• 15:53
  Speaker 3: No ill intent implied.
• 15:55
  Speaker 1: I'm sure yeah, I got it.
• 15:59
  Speaker 3: But all of our trucks, from light duty through heavy duty or chassis cabs up through 5500, all have range select so you can select the top gear that you will be in and if you want to pull that down into first gear and then you can actually shift it using that range select button from there so there's a way to do it drag strip mentality.
• 16:19
  Speaker 4: You can certainly use that feature as well not that we would do that, oh no, but.
• 16:23
  Speaker 3: But that's one of the things I think there's that, that smile again.
• 16:26
  Speaker 1: That's right.
• 16:28
  Speaker 4: Yeah, come on, he's a car guy, well, and they've been doing Ram trucks for so long.
• 16:32
  Speaker 4: I can imagine you know the testing that it's really gone through.
• 16:37
  Speaker 1: I mean, you have things that you can talk about we go back to the little red wagon days, so never mind us okay.
• 16:43
  Speaker 2: So, dave, you're up in Detroit, right, dave?
• 16:44
  Speaker 2: That's right, okay.
• 16:45
  Speaker 2: So, dave, you're up in Detroit, right, dave?
• 16:46
  Speaker 2: That's right, okay, whereabouts, or just downtown Auburn Hills, auburn Hills, perfect, yeah, know it well.
• 16:56
  Speaker 3: I was going to let you guys know I just earned my gold star for having 10,000 hours in the passenger seat with journalists, so I'm one of the rare people that survived that long.
• 17:01
  Speaker 1: Well.
• 17:02
  Speaker 3: I got that years ago.
• 17:03
  Speaker 1: Do we congratulate you or do you feel sorry for us?
• 17:06
  Speaker 4: Do we need a sympathy card or?
• 17:08
  Speaker 3: how do we do that?
• 17:09
  Speaker 3: You should congratulate me on my good fortune, and you're still alive.
• 17:13
  Speaker 1: Yeah, oh my God.
• 17:15
  Speaker 1: Well, dave, it's great to talk to you, my friend, good to see you and hopefully one of these days we'll be reunited and we can have dinner or something together again.
• 17:25
  Speaker 3: We're looking forward to bringing some of our new trucks to Texas so you guys can try them out.
• 17:28
  Speaker 3: Looking forward to it.
• 17:30
  Speaker 1: Dave, thanks again.
• 17:31
  Speaker 4: Thanks, dave, let's stay in touch.
• 17:32
  Speaker 4: Thank you very much.
• 17:33
  Speaker 4: Yeah, thank you guys Okay.
• 17:34
  Speaker 4: Dave Sowers.
• 17:38
  Speaker 4: I love that smile on his face.
• 17:39
  Speaker 2: I know he's got a lot of information that man is in tune with it.
• 17:43
  Speaker 1: I'll say to say the least.
• 17:45
  Speaker 1: Hey, just to have, Jeff has the racing calendar, Mars has this week in auto history and I think that, no, that's not correct.
• 17:54
  Speaker 3: Yeah that's right.
• 17:56
  Speaker 1: It is Okay.
• 17:56
  Speaker 1: I just wanted to make sure, because I'm a little bit lost.
• 17:59
  Speaker 1: Okay, yeah, we've got racing calendar Well the whole microphone thing has really got me dumbfounded, but it doesn't take much these days.
• 18:05
  Speaker 1: Well, really got me dumbfounded, but it doesn't take much these days, nope, okay, so Mars has this week in auto history.
• 18:08
  Speaker 1: I'll bring you the automotive news headlines coming up just a bit here on the In-Wheel Time Car Talk Show.
• 18:13
  Speaker 1: We're back in a flash.
• 18:14
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  Speaker 1: The recipes are authentic and time-tested, the ingredients always fresh.
• 19:11
  Speaker 1: Loopy Tortilla it's pretty good.
• 19:15
  Speaker 1: The Unwell Time Car Talk Show thanks you for 14 wonderful years.
• 19:18
  Speaker 1: Yep, our first show aired May 7, 2011, on a local radio station.
• 19:22
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• 19:32
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• 19:33
  Speaker 1: It's always great to see you at our remote broadcasts and we hope you'll continue to stop by and say hello.
• 19:38
  Speaker 1: It's been a great ride and we hope to bring you more fun and adventure right here on the In Wheel Time Car Talk Show.
• 19:43
  Speaker 1: Welcome back to In Wheel Time.
• 19:44
  Speaker 1: Looking forward to seeing you at the Lone Star Street Rod Association State Run in Granbury June the 12th.
• 19:49
  Speaker 1: If you can't be there with us in person, join us for our live broadcast.
• 19:53
  Speaker 1: It's going to be 9 to noon that particular Saturday and we invite you to come along for the ride.
• 19:57
  Speaker 1: It's going to be fun.
• 19:58
  Speaker 1: All right time now for the ride.
• 19:59
  Speaker 1: It's going to be fun.
• 20:00
  Speaker 1: All right time now for the racing calendar sponsored by Texas Muscle Car Club Challenge.
• 20:04
  Speaker 2: Thank you for that.
• 20:04
  Speaker 2: May 15th through the 18th is NHRA at the Gerber Collision and Glass Route 66, nhra Nationals at the Route 66 Raceway.
• 20:12
  Speaker 2: So that's up coming up on the 15th through the 18th.
• 20:15
  Speaker 2: Craftsman Truck is running today in Kansas, the Xfinity boys are off and then the big NASCAR Cup guys are again on Sunday in Kansas.
• 20:26
  Speaker 2: So they're kind of back to back with the truck boys.
• 20:28
  Speaker 2: Grand Prix of Indianapolis we talked about that earlier.
• 20:31
  Speaker 2: It is today at 3pm.
• 20:34
  Speaker 2: Indianapolis Motor Speedway is 85 lapper on the circuit there within the big oval.
• 20:40
  Speaker 2: Formula One is going on May 25th, which is the same weekend as Indy.
• 20:45
  Speaker 2: That's the Monaco Grand Prix.
• 20:47
  Speaker 2: Imsa Racing is the 11th, which is Sunday.
• 20:50
  Speaker 2: That's at the WeatherTech Raceway in Laguna Seca.
• 20:54
  Speaker 2: That's actually going to be on NBC, your local channel, soapbox, that's the Nobody Cares television.
• 20:58
  Speaker 2: That's it May 17th, which is next weekend.
• 21:01
  Speaker 2: You've got Soapbox Derby out of Chicago and there's been two episodes I saw with Dale Earnhardt Jr and there's another broadcaster.
• 21:07
  Speaker 2: They go to different countries and they have they call it Soapbox Derby.
• 21:10
  Speaker 2: You make a contraption and you go down this course with hay bales and things.
• 21:15
  Speaker 2: Water jumps and slides in these two people contraptions and they're calling it Soapbox Derby.
• 21:21
  Speaker 2: I watched it and then I turned it off.
• 21:22
  Speaker 2: People contraptions and they're calling it Soapbox Derby.
• 21:24
  Speaker 2: I watched it and then I turned it off.
• 21:24
  Speaker 2: It's kind of hokey, it's kind of bad.
• 21:25
  Speaker 1: Did you happen to see the thing that I posted on Facebook?
• 21:28
  Speaker 1: It's on my personal Facebook account.
• 21:29
  Speaker 1: Did you see the one from New Braunfels?
• 21:32
  Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
• 21:32
  Speaker 2: And Bobby said he wants to do it.
• 21:35
  Speaker 1: He said do it for Bobby.
• 21:36
  Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, build your own kind, if you want to call it that, and you go down the flume into the river.
• 21:43
  Speaker 2: It's that principle, but on a concrete course.
• 21:45
  Speaker 2: And then you got Tokyo Waterfront City Circuit in Japan.
• 21:50
  Speaker 2: Of the E vehicles, the Formula E vehicles E-Prix is what they're calling it and that's the 16th through the 18th E-Prix, E-Prix.
• 21:58
  Speaker 1: Okay, all right, mr Mars, it's your turn for this Week in Auto History.
• 22:02
  Speaker 4: Yes, sir, this week we've got lots of good things.
• 22:04
  Speaker 4: It's going to start with this week in 1957.
• 22:08
  Speaker 4: Great year.
• 22:09
  Speaker 4: Packard Motor Company Better be Founded in 1899.
• 22:12
  Speaker 4: It was known for its innovative engineering and elegant design.
• 22:15
  Speaker 4: However, post-war struggles Bye-bye, Poor mergers, which translates into management screwed up.
• 22:23
  Speaker 4: Shifting market trends led to its decline.
• 22:24
  Speaker 4: The last car came off the assembly line this week it was a rebadged Studebaker.
• 22:29
  Speaker 4: Oh boy.
• 22:30
  Speaker 4: Oh it does look like that.
• 22:32
  Speaker 4: Yeah, it kind of symbolizes, except it's got quad headlights.
• 22:35
  Speaker 1: Kind of looks like a 58 Chevy 58 Chevy in the front and then the Chrysler look with the flying wings in the back.
• 22:42
  Speaker 4: Yeah, it's kind of a morphidite Studebaker Chrysler thing Well yes, Morphidite this week back in 1914, motorcycle racer Erwin Baker, who was the winner of the first ever race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
• 22:58
  Speaker 3: Oh, erwin, it was a motorcycle race, I remember him.
• 23:00
  Speaker 4: Well, yeah, so he left San Diego for New York City, new York City, new York City, and he made it 11 days, which smashed the old record by nine days, and it was after this run that a journalist said he was faster than a cannonball, which got him Irwin Cannonball Baker was his nickname, and that actually led to the naming of this unsanctioned and outlawed race known as the Cannonball Run.
• 23:29
  Speaker 1: That poor guy is in a back brace for the rest of his life after that.
• 23:33
  Speaker 2: I'd say he's too tall to ride that.
• 23:34
  Speaker 4: I think he's standing as straight as he can right there.
• 23:36
  Speaker 2: Too tall cannonball.
• 23:37
  Speaker 2: Yeah, that's it all bent over.
• 23:38
  Speaker 2: Too tall cannonball.
• 23:39
  Speaker 4: Also this week in 2008, the film Speed Racer Was released to the public for the first time.
• 23:45
  Speaker 4: Now, this was a live action Based on the classic anime, and it has become kind of an iconic Thing about Speed Racer.
• 23:54
  Speaker 1: Just People just talk about Speed Racer and Spritled the monkey by the way, speaking of that, there is a guy here in town that has a clone Of the actual Speed Racer car.
• 24:06
  Speaker 2: Didn't he?
• 24:06
  Speaker 2: He brought it to Tailpipes and Tacos one time he did.
• 24:09
  Speaker 4: He did.
• 24:09
  Speaker 4: Yeah, yeah, yeah, he did.
• 24:10
  Speaker 4: I remember that.
• 24:11
  Speaker 4: Now Also, this week, in 1952, Chrysler introduces the Power Flight automatic transmission.
• 24:18
  Speaker 4: Now this was their first fully automatic offering and it really changed a lot of things in post-war America because there was a lot of semi-automatics and of course they had the manuals.
• 24:28
  Speaker 4: But this is the first one that actually used no clutch and only the gear selector.
• 24:33
  Speaker 4: Now it had a couple of variations.
• 24:35
  Speaker 4: This was a later model, but the first one was on the column, like they normally are.
• 24:39
  Speaker 4: But the thing was the way gear selectors were, the gears were positioned, is not the standard Pernando, that we have now.
• 24:47
  Speaker 4: It was backwards, Pernando.
• 24:49
  Speaker 2: Pernando, pernando, pernando.
• 24:51
  Speaker 4: Yeah, pernando.
• 24:52
  Speaker 2: Yeah, p-r-n-d-l.
• 24:55
  Speaker 2: Pernando, you never known that, never I've never heard that in my life.
• 25:00
  Speaker 4: You need to get out more, Don.
• 25:01
  Speaker 2: But the other thing I don't see on there.
• 25:02
  Speaker 2: No, I don't have the automatic transmissions.
• 25:04
  Speaker 4: Where's the P for park?
• 25:05
  Speaker 4: They didn't have it on this version of it.
• 25:07
  Speaker 1: You put it in neutral and you hit the emergency brake.
• 25:10
  Speaker 4: And it was park neutral, then it was drive and reverse, so you had to go through a lot of gear ratio.
• 25:16
  Speaker 4: So they eventually moved it around and changed it to where they separated park and neutral.
• 25:20
  Speaker 2: And we'll be teaching.
• 25:21
  Speaker 4: Don how to drive later.
• 25:22
  Speaker 4: Absolutely Also this week in 2007,.
• 25:25
  Speaker 4: Bump in the Trunk is a bass-heavy hip-hop track known for its deep beats and party vibe.
• 25:32
  Speaker 4: You've got other albums, don't you.
• 25:34
  Speaker 2: It references the powerful car audio system and the song's in harmony Strength and loyalty, and the song celebrates cruising culture and high-volume.
• 25:43
  Speaker 4: The song celebrates cruising culture and high volume sound.
• 25:46
  Speaker 1: Nothing celebrates cruising culture like Bawla Shotcowla, 20 inch blades, all my M-Pawla who sang it.
• 25:54
  Speaker 4: Bump in the truck.
• 25:55
  Speaker 4: They don't really care.
• 25:56
  Speaker 4: It's Lil Troy from Houston, Texas.
• 25:59
  Speaker 1: I knew he was from Houston how come we've never had him on the show.
• 26:03
  Speaker 4: Well, because you sing it, little Troy.
• 26:05
  Speaker 1: No, it's Lil L-I-L.
• 26:08
  Speaker 2: You singing.
• 26:09
  Speaker 2: That is like having him in the studio, that's what it is Not hardly Okay so.
• 26:13
  Speaker 4: So this week in 1962.
• 26:15
  Speaker 1: We're moving on.
• 26:15
  Speaker 4: Judah Baker Avanti begins production.
• 26:18
  Speaker 4: Now, this was a radical fiberglass body.
• 26:20
  Speaker 4: I'd drive it and it was designed to revive the brand image.
• 26:24
  Speaker 4: You know futuristic styling, optional supercharged engines.
• 26:27
  Speaker 4: Sold them at the Cadillac store.
• 26:29
  Speaker 4: Safety features, all these things, but it had limited success because of production delays, financial woes and its ugliness.
• 26:37
  Speaker 2: I would drive that, Of course you would.
• 26:38
  Speaker 2: I'd put a blower on it and tub it out.
• 26:40
  Speaker 2: Oh my God.
• 26:42
  Speaker 4: You could get one with a supercharged can, isn't?
• 26:43
  Speaker 1: it.
• 26:44
  Speaker 1: Fiberglass, yes, fiberglass, yeah, no, no, no, it's pretty.
• 26:48
  Speaker 4: Also this week in 1981, the first episode of BJ and the Bear aired Now.
• 26:54
  Speaker 4: This was a series about trucker BJ McKay and his pet chimpanzee, bear Biker one man.
• 26:59
  Speaker 4: They traveled the country in a red and white Kenworth semi helping people and outwitting corrupt law enforcement Outwitting.
• 27:06
  Speaker 4: The show mixed action, humor and charm and it became a cult classic Really.
• 27:11
  Speaker 1: I never would think that a cult classic is way over the top.
• 27:15
  Speaker 2: Theoretically it's a cult classic.
• 27:16
  Speaker 2: It is, it is because of the chimp.
• 27:18
  Speaker 2: Anyway, that's this week in automotive history.
• 27:20
  Speaker 1: Thank, you, but I want to stay on this for a minute.
• 27:22
  Speaker 1: Okay, bj and the Bears.
• 27:23
  Speaker 2: I thought I was going to get out of it how many seasons.
• 27:25
  Speaker 1: Did that last.
• 27:27
  Speaker 4: Too many.
• 27:27
  Speaker 4: Let's see here it started in 1981.
• 27:30
  Speaker 4: I didn't write it down how many it did One.
• 27:34
  Speaker 1: One season BJ and the Bears.
• 27:35
  Speaker 4: No, it was more than that.
• 27:37
  Speaker 2: No it wasn't you know, but I think George or Jeffrey Heisman will tell us Somebody needs to chime in.
• 27:43
  Speaker 1: Let's see, I'm sure they're looking it up.
• 27:44
  Speaker 1: Right now.
• 27:46
  Speaker 1: Mars is opening up his computer right now, hey, google, I'm looking to see who's saying what.
• 27:51
  Speaker 4: Somebody will tell us hey Siri.
• 27:53
  Speaker 1: Yeah that's it, and everybody's phone goes off.
• 27:55
  Speaker 1: Everybody's phone goes off.
• 27:56
  Speaker 1: Yeah, but don't look up the BJ part BJ and the Bear.
• 28:02
  Speaker 2: Oh God, Barney Johnson.
• 28:04
  Speaker 4: No, that was him, brad McKay, bill McKay.
• 28:09
  Speaker 1: Never heard of that guy, bj McKay.
• 28:11
  Speaker 1: Never heard of the actor, did you?
• 28:14
  Speaker 1: Who was the actor?
• 28:16
  Speaker 1: Nope, no, it was a one-hit wonder kind of thing.
• 28:20
  Speaker 4: Yes, yeah, no, but I think the chimpanzee was in several things.
• 28:26
  Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, gone with the Wind, gone with the Wind.
• 28:33
  Speaker 1: What was the name of the monkey on the Today Show.
• 28:37
  Speaker 4: Muggs.
• 28:38
  Speaker 1: JJ Muggs.
• 28:39
  Speaker 4: JJ Muggs.
• 28:40
  Speaker 4: Was it that, al Roker?
• 28:41
  Speaker 4: No, that's not it.
• 28:42
  Speaker 1: No, well, we'll find out during the break.
• 28:45
  Speaker 1: See, George says oh boy, okay, well, hold that.
• 28:49
  Speaker 1: Thought we're going to get back to that, all right.
• 28:50
  Speaker 1: Hey, we'd love to hear from you.
• 28:51
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• 28:52
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• 28:58
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• 28:59
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• 29:49
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• 29:56
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• 30:01
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• 30:12
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• 30:22
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• 30:25
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• 30:30
  Speaker 1: I'm Don Armstrong, inviting you to join us for our live show every Saturday morning on Facebook, youtube, twitch and our InWheelTimecom website.
• 30:40
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• 30:48
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