Latest / In Wheel Time Podcast / Operation Frodo: Cars, Canines, and the Road to Rescue during the Holidays with Nik Miles

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Operation Frodo: Cars, Canines, and the Road to Rescue during the Holidays with Nik Miles · In Wheel Time Podcast

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Welcome to another In Wheel Time Podcast, a 30 minute mini version of the In Wheel Time Car Show that airs live every Saturday morning 8 to 11am, central Podcasting and streaming worldwide.
• 0:20
  Speaker 1: It's the In Wheel Time Car Talk Show.
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: Just ahead, nick Miles, noted auto journalist, talks about Operation Frodo A feel good Christmas story about cars and dogs.
• 0:33
  Speaker 1: Alright Conrad's going to have the In Wheel Time Car Clinic and we'll have this week's auto news Howdy, along with Mike out of this World, mars Christmas King, conrad DeLong oh boy, we need more.
• 0:46
  Speaker 1: Jeff Zeekin, I'm Don Armstrong, glad you could join us on this Christmas weekend.
• 0:51
  Speaker 1: We appreciate you taking the time out of your day to join us and if you're not listening to our live show on Saturday from 8 to 11am, we invite you to do that If you're listening on a podcast.
• 1:02
  Speaker 1: Thanks for doing that.
• 1:03
  Speaker 1: We appreciate it.
• 1:03
  Speaker 1: We have made some great strides in podcasting for the last year and numbers came in and we were all going what?
• 1:12
  Speaker 1: What Really Weren't you?
• 1:14
  Speaker 1: Mars?
• 1:14
  Speaker 1: Yes, yes, 75 countries worldwide.
• 1:17
  Speaker 1: There's their opinion Band in Russia.
• 1:20
  Speaker 2: Band in Russia, band in Russia.
• 1:21
  Speaker 2: Yeah Well, you broke my heart.
• 1:23
  Speaker 1: Yeah, exactly, I'm not going to go to them.
• 1:27
  Speaker 1: They need some communists.
• 1:29
  Speaker 1: Who do they think they are?
• 1:32
  Speaker 2: They're just communists, but you have commies.
• 1:33
  Speaker 2: Keep sending your vodka, though.
• 1:34
  Speaker 2: That's good.
• 1:34
  Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, yeah, more vodka.
• 1:36
  Speaker 1: I don't get vodka from Tito's that handle.
• 1:39
  Speaker 2: we went through last night.
• 1:40
  Speaker 1: Did you go through the?
• 1:41
  Speaker 2: whole thing.
• 1:41
  Speaker 2: Yeah, that was from Austin that was Tito's from Austin he had a death grip on it.
• 1:45
  Speaker 2: Give me that.
• 1:46
  Speaker 2: It went through the whole thing last night.
• 1:49
  Speaker 1: Nick Miles is with Operation Frodo, and let me bring in Nick Nick.
• 1:55
  Speaker 1: Good morning to you.
• 1:56
  Speaker 1: Good morning team.
• 1:58
  Speaker 1: Yes, exactly that's exactly what it is.
• 2:00
  Speaker 1: So, instead of me messing this up, I'm going to let you explain in a simple, understandable way what Operation Frodo is.
• 2:11
  Speaker 3: All the weights on my shoulders.
• 2:12
  Speaker 3: I get how you work.
• 2:13
  Speaker 3: Yeah, exactly.
• 2:15
  Speaker 1: I'm going to shovel it off on you.
• 2:16
  Speaker 1: It's a dog and car kind of thing, isn't it?
• 2:20
  Speaker 3: Yeah, absolutely so.
• 2:21
  Speaker 3: Just before the pandemic, with my partner, mike Cudow, we formed a charity called Animal Rescue Rigs, because we do cars right, we do cars real well, and there are people in the world that need cars to do their jobs, and one of those organizations is the animal rescue organizations.
• 2:40
  Speaker 3: Around the country, all the way from Florida up to Seattle, they need to transport animals, and so we thought let's use our connections in the car industry and make some rescue vehicles and instead of them using the money that they raised to rescue animals, we would find the money and then donate the vehicles.
• 2:57
  Speaker 3: So all the money they raised ended up helping rescue animals.
• 3:00
  Speaker 3: So they weren't spending the money on the vehicles and our first vehicle.
• 3:04
  Speaker 3: We found a need in the Midwest, in Omaha, nebraska.
• 3:07
  Speaker 3: They desperately needed a vehicle, and so we had a vehicle we'd made.
• 3:13
  Speaker 3: It was a 2018 Nissan Titan, donated to us by the Nissan car company.
• 3:19
  Speaker 3: We decked it out, we'd linexed the exterior, we'd put a boat on the top, we'd done a whole bunch of stuff to it, and because it was so big and so expensive to ship, I decided to drive it across the country, because there was a dog there called Frodo that I wanted, and suddenly auto journalists found out about this and before I knew it, I had a team of people who wanted to drive this truck out, and so we drove it out 1650 miles to Omaha, nebraska, dropped the vehicle off Jim Morrison they had a Jeep donated a Jeep, wagoneer, grand Wagoneer L for us to bring dogs back.
• 3:56
  Speaker 3: It started with just Frodo.
• 3:57
  Speaker 3: We ended up bringing four dogs in total back.
• 3:59
  Speaker 3: That was all in 2022.
• 4:01
  Speaker 3: But the trip back was pretty treacherous.
• 4:04
  Speaker 3: Guys and unfortunately, people lost their lives on that route.
• 4:08
  Speaker 3: It was minus seven zero.
• 4:10
  Speaker 3: It was minus seven zero in Wyoming.
• 4:12
  Speaker 3: It took us about three extra days to make it back and it made national news.
• 4:18
  Speaker 3: And so this year everybody was saying to us are you going?
• 4:21
  Speaker 2: to do it again.
• 4:22
  Speaker 3: Are you going to do it again?
• 4:23
  Speaker 3: And a lot of you will ask why?
• 4:25
  Speaker 3: Omaha, nebraska, going to the West Coast?
• 4:28
  Speaker 3: Well, there is a glut of beagles in Omaha At the end of the hunting season, hunters just dump them in the woods.
• 4:35
  Speaker 3: There's all the testing facilities that use beagles for testing.
• 4:39
  Speaker 3: They're always closing down puppy mills, and so there's a huge glut of beagles there and there wasn't any on the West Coast.
• 4:46
  Speaker 3: So we did it again this year.
• 4:47
  Speaker 3: And this year it started with just eight dogs.
• 4:51
  Speaker 3: It suddenly got to 10.
• 4:52
  Speaker 3: And then the night before it got to 12, and so there was four vehicles with about 20 journalists and 50 total volunteers, and we drove these vehicles all the way across the country.
• 5:07
  Speaker 3: We ended up doing 1,995 miles.
• 5:10
  Speaker 3: 12 dogs ended up in their forever homes, and there's a lot of tears, a lot of journalists and donations from Ford and Infinity and Subaru and Nissan and Hyundai, and the list goes on and on DriveShop, all these guys.
• 5:29
  Speaker 3: Toyota sent their new Tacoma rubber trucks for all the dogs to chew, toys for them to play with.
• 5:35
  Speaker 3: So there was, you know, buckets of love, buckets of fun and a lot, a lot of fast food and a lot of empty cans of soda, but we finally made it and it was 34 hours of driving.
• 5:49
  Speaker 1: Wow, what a trip, but what an idea and what a great thing.
• 5:53
  Speaker 1: You know we have the studio dog here, susie, and Susie came with her name.
• 5:59
  Speaker 1: She is a rescue dog.
• 6:00
  Speaker 1: She is now 11 years old and she's very important to me, but I'm a big rescue kind of guy and Susie is a purebred beagle.
• 6:11
  Speaker 1: I found that out after a little DNA testing and so you can imagine she likes to sleep a lot and she's my girlfriend and she's getting old, all white face now and she's got a little limp.
• 6:25
  Speaker 1: We think she's got some serious arthritis going on.
• 6:28
  Speaker 1: But you know she's been my partner for 11 years and she's in the studio with us today and I could hear some tinkling going on in your studio there and apparently you've got one or two in there with you.
• 6:42
  Speaker 3: I actually have six, six, yeah, I have four.
• 6:46
  Speaker 3: I'm a multiple failed foster parent, so I go to foster these dogs and they stay forever.
• 6:53
  Speaker 3: So we have two labs in the German Shepherd's family dogs and then three beagles as rescues, and these guys are newly.
• 7:01
  Speaker 3: You'll probably understand this.
• 7:02
  Speaker 3: I like to call beagles Tasmanian devils, because in the daytime they're absolutely crazy.
• 7:08
  Speaker 3: They race everywhere.
• 7:09
  Speaker 3: You know, if you're missing a beagle, just look at a trash can and you'll see a little white tail poking out, and they're just a lot of fun.
• 7:17
  Speaker 3: At night time they become teddy bears.
• 7:19
  Speaker 3: They just curl up with you.
• 7:20
  Speaker 3: They want to go to sleep.
• 7:21
  Speaker 3: I always have plenty of people trying to climb in the bed with me.
• 7:25
  Speaker 3: To me they are the actual perfect pet.
• 7:28
  Speaker 3: The only thing with beagles that I wish would be different is that they you could let them off leash, but boy, those guys get a smell and they're gone.
• 7:35
  Speaker 3: They get a sniff or something and they're gone as soon as they smell anything.
• 7:39
  Speaker 3: Yep, it sounds like the whole group of them, absolutely.
• 7:42
  Speaker 1: There's always one leader of the band and that starts it and then they all chime in and there's a lot of howls and but there's so much fun.
• 7:50
  Speaker 1: There's such loving dogs and I don't know what I do without mine.
• 7:54
  Speaker 1: I have a weakness for beagles and I don't know.
• 7:58
  Speaker 1: I've had one for a long, long time.
• 8:00
  Speaker 1: This Susie will be the third and kept them until they couldn't walk anymore.
• 8:05
  Speaker 1: So obviously you know that's how wonderful and sweet they are.
• 8:10
  Speaker 1: But I will tell you this when I have people come over, they're going why?
• 8:14
  Speaker 1: Why is your garbage can on top of the pantry?
• 8:18
  Speaker 1: And I said well, there's a story to that.
• 8:22
  Speaker 1: We had a can, one of those silver trash cans, that had the you know foot press and you opens the lid.
• 8:28
  Speaker 1: That that that dumped that over, got in there several times and we got.
• 8:33
  Speaker 1: We got to do something else.
• 8:35
  Speaker 1: So we pulled the liner out and put it up on top of the pantry cabinet and that's where it still stays to this day.
• 8:42
  Speaker 3: Yep but yeah, the funny thing, the funny thing about our story is the reason I wanted Frodo really badly when I when I saw him.
• 8:51
  Speaker 3: Between my parents and I we already had four Hobbits we had Pippin, merry-dog, samwise and Bilbo.
• 8:57
  Speaker 3: And when you see a dog called Frodo, who looks exactly like a dog that you lost a couple years before you go, it's gotta be, it's it's fate, it has to be something you have to do, and so that was originally why we decided we had to go get this dog.
• 9:13
  Speaker 2: And you have a thing for Lord of the Rings.
• 9:16
  Speaker 3: Well, you know I'm a little bit of a geek, but aren't we all?
• 9:19
  Speaker 3: We don't like to admit it.
• 9:20
  Speaker 3: Whether it's cars or movies or whatever, we all have geekness in us.
• 9:25
  Speaker 1: So where?
• 9:26
  Speaker 1: Where are you located?
• 9:29
  Speaker 3: So I actually live on Delta Airlines now that's just my, my joke for everyone because I travel to work doing TV around the country.
• 9:37
  Speaker 3: But I live in Portland, oregon, and every time I used to go to the local rescues.
• 9:42
  Speaker 3: There's never any Beatles, and I don't know if you remember that big puppy mill that they closed down in the west, the midwest, about two years ago, and I think there was 800 beagles that got dispersed around the country.
• 9:54
  Speaker 3: Every time I tried to see if I could help an adult one, they were always gone.
• 9:58
  Speaker 3: So there is no real beagle apart from breeders.
• 10:02
  Speaker 3: There's no real rescue beagles on the west coast Seattle, portland, sacramento, san Francisco, la, san Diego, up and down the west coast.
• 10:12
  Speaker 3: There's just a shortage.
• 10:13
  Speaker 3: So why not move the dogs where people want to adopt?
• 10:17
  Speaker 1: them Absolutely.
• 10:18
  Speaker 1: And what I find interesting is that boy.
• 10:21
  Speaker 1: The manufacturers jumped on board that all over that.
• 10:25
  Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah are you, are you hoping, are you?
• 10:28
  Speaker 1: hoping to expand that.
• 10:29
  Speaker 1: I mean you know we might be able to help in that regard down here in Texas.
• 10:35
  Speaker 1: I'm kind of volunteering you, mars.
• 10:37
  Speaker 1: I know you're looking at me while you're doing this, volunteering down here I am, but that kind of speaks volumes to us down here and, yeah, we wouldn't have a problem doing that.
• 10:48
  Speaker 1: I don't think.
• 10:50
  Speaker 3: Yeah, you know we're talking about next year is finding out what the least.
• 10:55
  Speaker 3: The last thing that we want to do is move dogs to where there's already too many of this sort of kind of dog.
• 11:01
  Speaker 3: Sure, people are very particular and they say, well, why can't we go from the local shelters?
• 11:06
  Speaker 3: Well, everyone has different circumstances.
• 11:09
  Speaker 3: Every single one of you guys would probably have a different breed of dog because that's what suits you, whether you have land or whether you have a small apartment in the city.
• 11:18
  Speaker 3: Whatever you have, you have to have the right dog for you.
• 11:21
  Speaker 3: Otherwise, guess what?
• 11:22
  Speaker 3: It ends up back in the shelter.
• 11:24
  Speaker 2: And so what?
• 11:25
  Speaker 3: we're doing is taking dogs to places where there is a shelter.
• 11:28
  Speaker 3: Oh, there we go, taking dogs to places where there isn't the right kind of dog for the right kind of people.
• 11:35
  Speaker 3: And beagles are a favorite pet in the Northwest.
• 11:38
  Speaker 3: It's just that they get lapped up from the shelters real quick.
• 11:42
  Speaker 3: And if you need and there's a need for a local rescue anywhere in Texas that is looking for beagles, we'd be more than happy to ship them out of the Midwest.
• 11:54
  Speaker 3: There are so many.
• 11:56
  Speaker 3: They're getting 230 requests every month From this little rescue that works in five states in the heartland states to rehoused dogs and they just can't cope because they don't have a physical shelter.
• 12:10
  Speaker 3: They put them up in their homes.
• 12:11
  Speaker 3: So that means people have five, six dogs in their homes.
• 12:15
  Speaker 3: So we're trying to move them out and at the end of the year it's real tough guys.
• 12:20
  Speaker 3: Because what happens is in Missouri it's completely legal just to dump your dogs in a field at the end of the hunting season.
• 12:27
  Speaker 3: So there's all these dogs that are running around, get pregnant because they're not spayed or neutered.
• 12:32
  Speaker 3: Then you end up with another five or six dogs there.
• 12:35
  Speaker 3: So the situation is out of control.
• 12:38
  Speaker 3: And if you're a Missouri resident.
• 12:41
  Speaker 3: I would just say please, please, email your governor and say let make this stop, because right now, 49 states are taking the brunt of what Missouri is doing and just having these dogs dumped into the woods.
• 12:54
  Speaker 1: Kind of like having an open border in Texas.
• 12:56
  Speaker 1: Oh, I'm sorry Did.
• 12:57
  Speaker 1: I say that I just kind of slipped right out.
• 13:00
  Speaker 1: But I will say this that we do have a Beagle Rescue Group here in Houston.
• 13:05
  Speaker 1: But I will also say that there are times that they are short on beagles.
• 13:11
  Speaker 1: It's an interesting breed because everybody seems to love those long-eared dogs.
• 13:17
  Speaker 1: And what can I say?
• 13:20
  Speaker 1: I can totally empathize.
• 13:23
  Speaker 1: I understand it all yeah.
• 13:25
  Speaker 3: I think a lot of people get them and they think, oh, it's such a cute teddy bear type dog and they come home with their couches and pieces or their carpets being pulled up or the trash can spread around the floor and they just can't deal with it.
• 13:36
  Speaker 3: And they're hounds.
• 13:37
  Speaker 3: They love being in packs, they love to hunt, they love to sort of root into little holes.
• 13:44
  Speaker 3: I have Galadriel, who is named after the princess in Lord of the Rings.
• 13:49
  Speaker 3: She is the other dog that I got from that same trip last year.
• 13:53
  Speaker 3: We have rats under our big shed in the back and she will sit looking at a hole for four or five hours to try and see if something pokes its head out.
• 14:02
  Speaker 3: So they are absolute hunting dogs and you just have to know that when you're getting one you have to understand what you're getting.
• 14:11
  Speaker 3: These dogs are driven by small furry things and they love to chase them.
• 14:14
  Speaker 1: Yeah Well, how fun, don't we all?
• 14:16
  Speaker 1: Yeah, there is that.
• 14:20
  Speaker 1: So what can we do here at the Inwheel Time Car Talk Show to kind of get involved here?
• 14:27
  Speaker 3: Well, listen, guys, listen, Take on Texas.
• 14:30
  Speaker 3: Challenge people in Texas to go to animalrescuerigsridscom and donate money, Because what we're trying to do is build another rescue vehicle so we can donate it to a rescue that is in desperate need of shifting dogs around.
• 14:44
  Speaker 3: You know, one of the things that a lot of people don't think about and I have a truck that may be coming up for a donation.
• 14:50
  Speaker 3: Especially when there's tornadoes or hurricanes or bad weather, a lot of these places need a big off-road truck that can tow to put on a horse trailer, Because horses desperately need moving out of areas.
• 15:05
  Speaker 3: They get injured.
• 15:06
  Speaker 3: They're in fields they have to go into protected areas During hurricanes.
• 15:11
  Speaker 3: We had so many calls from Texas to help us with horse towing vehicles, so we're trying to build as many of these vehicles as we can to let these rescues use them in cases of emergencies.
• 15:23
  Speaker 3: Plus, you know, sprinter vans, dodge vans, anything that we can get our hands on we're going to convert into hauling for dogs, for any pets that get left out in the wild from fires, from floods, whatever it might be.
• 15:39
  Speaker 3: You guys have had your fair share of disasters in Texas.
• 15:42
  Speaker 3: Let's get them the equipment they need.
• 15:45
  Speaker 3: So the money that they're raising to rescue animals isn't going on buying vehicles.
• 15:49
  Speaker 3: We'll do that for them.
• 15:51
  Speaker 1: Very interesting.
• 15:51
  Speaker 1: Well, how can we have a website?
• 15:57
  Speaker 3: Yes, animalrescuerigscom is the website.
• 16:01
  Speaker 3: Animalrescuerigscom and Riggs is R-I-G-S and it has the whole story up there.
• 16:07
  Speaker 3: It has the story of all the animals that need help.
• 16:10
  Speaker 3: It has the story of the rescue rig that we built.
• 16:12
  Speaker 3: You can go see videos.
• 16:14
  Speaker 3: You can go see why we need to exist, because when I give money to a rescue, I want that money to go to helping an animal, not to buying a vehicle.
• 16:22
  Speaker 1: There you go.
• 16:23
  Speaker 1: Well, nick, what a great thing you got going on there and it's such a pleasure to get in touch with you and learn all about Operation Frodo, and we hope that you'll stay in touch with us and keep us updated, and we hope that some of the in-wheel time listeners will feel that and make those donations.
• 16:42
  Speaker 3: Absolutely make yourself known if you're a rescue or you need a vehicle or that you have some way of helping us create a vehicle.
• 16:50
  Speaker 3: And it doesn't have to be new.
• 16:51
  Speaker 3: We'll take anything as long as it has some life in it and make use of it at a rescue, even minivans, which we're finding what the preferred transport is.
• 17:01
  Speaker 3: They transport up to 17 dogs and crates in these minivans.
• 17:05
  Speaker 3: Sometimes they're driving four or five days to get them out of the south and the southwest up into states that will take these dogs.
• 17:15
  Speaker 1: Okay, well, we're going to do our best to help you out.
• 17:17
  Speaker 1: Nick, it's great to talk to you.
• 17:18
  Speaker 1: Thank you, merry Christmas to you and your family, and all the dogs, and all the good stuff that you do for the dog rescue.
• 17:24
  Speaker 1: We really appreciate it.
• 17:25
  Speaker 1: And again, stay in touch with us and let us know how things go and what we can do to help you.
• 17:31
  Speaker 3: We appreciate the in wheel time team.
• 17:33
  Speaker 3: Thank you for making time for our little, very four-legged friends.
• 17:38
  Speaker 1: Well, we're very, we're very thankful.
• 17:39
  Speaker 1: You carry yourself and we'll talk again soon, thank you.
• 17:43
  Speaker 1: Miles with Operation Frodo.
• 17:44
  Speaker 1: All right Time now for Conrad's car clinic.
• 17:48
  Speaker 1: What is in the clinic today?
• 17:49
  Speaker 1: Well, this is the final version of the Shelby conversation.
• 17:53
  Speaker 2: Oh yeah, you know, we started out originally talking about the muscle car people and Shelby being one of them, mr Norm being one of them, and then Shelby doing the AC, ac, cobra, ac Cobra, and then his history with Ford and the Mustangs and such.
• 18:11
  Speaker 2: And then he, when Leigh Aikoka went to Chrysler, shelby started building Chrysler products we talked about last year.
• 18:17
  Speaker 2: Well, at the end of the production run Shelby built one called the Shelby Series One and it was the only truly ground up Shelby car that was ever made.
• 18:31
  Speaker 2: You know, the AC Cobra started as an AC and then they put big motors in them and stuff.
• 18:37
  Speaker 2: Well, the Series One was they had planned originally to build 500 cars.
• 18:43
  Speaker 2: They only built 249.
• 18:46
  Speaker 2: And it came from a relationship between Carol Shelby and John Rock who at the time was the head of Oldsmobile Division.
• 18:52
  Speaker 2: John Rock had come to Oldsmobile from GMC Truck and he was building the Cyclone and Typhoon over there at GMC Truck.
• 19:00
  Speaker 2: So he came to Oldsmobile and they built a two door roadster, basically a roofless car, and it had the Oldsmobile V8 in it.
• 19:10
  Speaker 2: That was the engine of choice and it put out 320 horsepower.
• 19:14
  Speaker 2: They had an upgraded one for 350.
• 19:16
  Speaker 2: And they actually built a supercharged.
• 19:19
  Speaker 2: They built 11 supercharged versions of it with 540 horsepower, which kind of amazes me that they got that much power out of that.
• 19:28
  Speaker 2: Now they all came in, basically silver with different colored stripes on them.
• 19:32
  Speaker 2: Now since people have changed the colors of them, you can buy different colors, but they all came with silver.
• 19:37
  Speaker 2: You know they were all silver with various stripes, they all.
• 19:40
  Speaker 2: It was a bit of a parts bin car from General Motors, so it had the Oldsmobile Aurora V8 in it.
• 19:48
  Speaker 2: It had the ZF manual transaxle from a C5 Corvette was put into it.
• 19:54
  Speaker 2: Shelby built his own chassis and it was an aluminum chassis with a carbon fiber body.
• 20:00
  Speaker 2: Now this is back in 99.
• 20:01
  Speaker 2: Very high tech for the day.
• 20:03
  Speaker 2: The contents of the car, the series one, had dual wishbone suspension with coil over remote reservoirs on levers.
• 20:16
  Speaker 2: So these weren't shocks that were attached to the control arms and then moved up and down.
• 20:22
  Speaker 2: They worked through some levers and stuff which again was pretty high tech suspension for its day.
• 20:27
  Speaker 2: The transmission was specifically modified for Shelby and the chassis was made from extruded 6061 aluminum.
• 20:35
  Speaker 2: It came with the creature comforts you expect of a performance, luxury car power steering, four-wheel disc brakes, factory air conditioning, power windows, am, fm, cd audio system.
• 20:47
  Speaker 2: Goodyear made tires specifically for this car that were actually based on IMSA racing rain tires that they used and they were all manual transmission cars.
• 21:00
  Speaker 2: Performance figures for this 0-60 times in about 4.5 seconds.
• 21:05
  Speaker 2: Quarter mile times in about 12.8 seconds, top speed of about 170 miles an hour.
• 21:12
  Speaker 2: The car weighed about 2600 pounds and again, the series one was the only car designed, engineered and built by Carol Shelby from the ground up, but again using parts, bin pieces from General Motors as far as engine, air conditioning systems and such Pretty rare car to see.
• 21:30
  Speaker 2: I actually had a chance to take one of these to a cruise in one time.
• 21:35
  Speaker 2: George DeMontrand had one and at the time it was still running and they were kind enough to loan it to me and I took it on a Galveston cruise.
• 21:44
  Speaker 2: We drove all the way down to Galveston and you know it drew a crowd because people rarely saw that car on the street.
• 21:50
  Speaker 2: But you know, pretty fun little car but again that has retained its value, the Shelby value that the Chrysler hasn't yet.
• 22:01
  Speaker 2: And that's kind of my story of Shelby.
• 22:04
  Speaker 2: Thank you, sir.
• 22:05
  Speaker 1: Appreciate it.
• 22:06
  Speaker 1: Top 10 stories of 2023 is composed by Auto News.
• 22:13
  Speaker 1: Number 10, hyundai-amazon deal.
• 22:17
  Speaker 1: Hyundai's partnership with Amazon to sell new vehicles through its website was a major development of the evolution of auto retail.
• 22:22
  Speaker 1: Whether the deal represents progress or problem for dealers, if it inspires other automakers to follow suit, remains to be seen.
• 22:29
  Speaker 1: Number nine industry adopts Tesla EV charging standard.
• 22:34
  Speaker 1: That was a big story this year that fell into the number nine slot.
• 22:38
  Speaker 1: Number 10, fane wins UAW presidency.
• 22:42
  Speaker 1: Campanning as a reformer after the union's demanding corruption scandal, fane narrowly ousted incumbent Ray Curry in a runoff to win UAW's first ever direct election of leadership.
• 22:54
  Speaker 2: A corrupt union?
• 22:55
  Speaker 2: No, never heard of that.
• 22:57
  Speaker 1: Number seven Lithia is number one, topped Auto Nation to become the largest dealership group based in the US.
• 23:03
  Speaker 1: On this year's automotive news list, that's a big jump.
• 23:06
  Speaker 1: Number six the inventory rebound.
• 23:09
  Speaker 1: With the microchip shortage that began in 2021 easing significantly, inventory bounced back to a nearly three year high.
• 23:16
  Speaker 1: Us vehicle sales surged 14% in the first nine months of this year.
• 23:21
  Speaker 1: Number five UAW ripple effect.
• 23:25
  Speaker 1: Workers of the Detroit three ratified their new contracts.
• 23:28
  Speaker 1: Toyota, honda, volkswagen, hyundai, tesla and other non union automakers quickly gave their own manufacturing employees sizable raises.
• 23:36
  Speaker 1: Number four the cruise crisis.
• 23:40
  Speaker 1: Cruises permits to operate autonomous vehicles were suspended in California after a pedestrian was injured in San Francisco.
• 23:47
  Speaker 1: The GM subsidiary was forced to dramatically backtrack on its ambitious expansion plans and CEO Kyle Vaught resigned.
• 23:56
  Speaker 1: That's ugly.
• 23:57
  Speaker 1: The wrong CEO.
• 23:58
  Speaker 1: E V tax credits.
• 24:00
  Speaker 1: Federal incentives encouraging localized sourcing for EVs had automakers scrambling to set up a compliant supply chain.
• 24:08
  Speaker 1: Dealers feared chaos as the IRS set up a system to apply credits at the time of sale and for an entity of concern.
• 24:15
  Speaker 1: Sourcing rules threatened to slash the number of vehicles eligible.
• 24:18
  Speaker 1: Number two EV pullback.
• 24:21
  Speaker 1: Demands for EVs continue to decline, but at a slower pace than many automakers had expected.
• 24:26
  Speaker 1: That prompted GM, ford and others to postpone or scale back investments in anticipation of a more gradual transition to an electric future.
• 24:35
  Speaker 1: Wow, and the number one story.
• 24:41
  Speaker 1: The UAW strike union called for its first ever simultaneous strike against the Detroit three demanding record contracts amid the automakers huge profits in recent years.
• 24:51
  Speaker 1: But instead of calling everyone on to picket lines at once, the president Fain targeted only certain plants, threatening to escalate the work stoppages whenever negotiations got bogged down.
• 25:02
  Speaker 1: He eventually shut down production at each of the company's most profitable plants before reaching deals that ended the strike after about six weeks at a cost of roughly $3 billion in lost production.
• 25:14
  Speaker 1: We've got something very special for you as we close out our show today.
• 25:18
  Speaker 1: We invite you to stay tuned for that here on the In-Wheel Time Car Talk Show.
• 25:21
  Speaker 1: You own a car you love, well, why not let Gulf Coast Auto Shield protect it?
• 25:26
  Speaker 1: Houstonian John Gray invites you to his state of the art facility to introduce you to his specialist team of auto enthusiasts.
• 25:32
  Speaker 1: We promise you'll be impressed.
• 25:34
  Speaker 1: Whether you're looking to massage your original paint to a like new appearance, apply a ceramic coating, install a paint protection film, nanoceramic window tint or new windshield protection called ExoShield, gulf Coast Auto Shield is where Houston's car people go.
• 25:49
  Speaker 1: Curb your wheels Instead of buying new.
• 25:51
  Speaker 1: Why not have them repaired?
• 25:52
  Speaker 1: How about a professionally installed radar detector?
• 25:55
  Speaker 1: Gulf Coast Auto Shield does that too.
• 25:57
  Speaker 1: Get a peek inside the shop and look at the services offered by getting online and heading to GCautoshieldcom.
• 26:02
  Speaker 1: Better yet, stop by their facility at 11275 South Sam Houston Tullway, just south of the Southwest Freeway, and get a personal tour.
• 26:10
  Speaker 1: Gulf Coast Auto Shield is your place to go for all things exterior.
• 26:13
  Speaker 1: Call them today 832-930-5655 or GCautoshieldcom.
• 26:20
  Speaker 1: The original group of Lupe Tortilla restaurants will have you telling your family and friends just what the original recipes mean.
• 26:26
  Speaker 1: When it comes to the best fajitas in Southeast Texas, founder Stan Holt invites you to visit the original Lupe Tortilla near I-10 and Highway 6.
• 26:33
  Speaker 1: Here's the original house that inspired the design of all the rest and the original charm that helped make Lupe Tortilla the go-to destination for Houston Tex-Mex.
• 26:41
  Speaker 1: Speaking of original, nothing can compete with the original lime pepper marinade.
• 26:45
  Speaker 1: That everyone will agree makes Lupe Tortilla award-winning beef fajitas the best anywhere.
• 26:50
  Speaker 1: Lupe Tortilla Katie is another location that gives you the same quality and service.
• 26:53
  Speaker 1: Historians have come to expect it Lupe's.
• 26:55
  Speaker 1: It's located just off I-10 of the Grand Parkway.
• 26:58
  Speaker 1: At Kingsland Boulevard in Katie, find yourself an Aggie land.
• 27:01
  Speaker 1: Head to the Lupe Tortilla College Station, located just around the corner from Kyle Field.
• 27:04
  Speaker 1: It's a great place to enjoy those famous frozen margaritas before or after the game.
• 27:09
  Speaker 1: Head to East, to Louisiana.
• 27:11
  Speaker 1: Stop in at the Lupe Tortilla in Beaumont.
• 27:12
  Speaker 1: It twos on I-10, you can't miss it.
• 27:13
  Speaker 1: The original group of Lupe Tortilla restaurants invites you in for the best Tex-Mex anywhere.
• 27:20
  Speaker 1: The In-Wheel Time Car Talk Show is now part of the I-Heart family.
• 27:22
  Speaker 1: Now you'll have access to 24-7 car talk anytime you need to fix.
• 27:26
  Speaker 1: Just download the I-Heart radio app and ask for In-Wheel Time Car Talk and there we are.
• 27:31
  Speaker 1: Be sure to save us in your I-Heart library for instant access.
• 27:34
  Speaker 1: No matter where you are, you have the best car talk show right on your piece of right on your PC, laptop or mobile device and never have to worry about finding us again.
• 27:42
  Speaker 1: Of course, you can always get access to our video and audio streams via inwheeltimecom and your favorite podcast channel, and all of this is free to you.
• 27:50
  Speaker 1: From the I-Heart radio app, you'll not only hear our Saturday morning live show, but the best shows of the past, updated weekly.
• 27:57
  Speaker 1: Never miss a minute of up to date new car reviews, pre-owned reviews, conrad's car clinic, informative interviews, automotive news and the most fun car talk show on the planet.
• 28:06
  Speaker 1: Just download the I-Heart radio app, search for In-Wheel Time Car Talk, save it to your library and with a tap of the icon you'll be in touch with your favorite car talk team.
• 28:15
  Speaker 1: In-wheel Time Car Talk streaming now on I-Heartcom.
• 28:18
  Speaker 1: Slash In-Wheel Time Car Talk.
• 28:19
  Speaker 1: Now a special Christmas goodbye from all of us here at In-Wheel Time.
• 28:24
  Speaker 1: T'was the night before Christmas and out in the garage there wasn't a trace of a Ford or a Dodge.
• 28:29
  Speaker 1: The presents were wrapped and the lights were all lit, so I figured I'd mess with the Chevy a bit.
• 28:34
  Speaker 1: I popped the release and I lifted the hood when a deep voice from behind me said looks pretty good.
• 28:40
  Speaker 1: Well, as you can imagine, I turned mighty quick and there by the workbench stood good old St Nick.
• 28:46
  Speaker 1: We stood there a bit not sure what to say.
• 28:49
  Speaker 1: Then he spoke up want a trade for my sleigh?
• 28:52
  Speaker 1: I said no way, santa, and started to grin.
• 28:55
  Speaker 1: But if you've got the time we could go for a spin.
• 28:58
  Speaker 1: His little round mouth, all tied up like a bow, turned into a smile and he said all right, let's go so as to not disturb all the neighbors retreat.
• 29:08
  Speaker 1: We pushed the Chevy on down to the street Then taking our places to coast down the hill.
• 29:13
  Speaker 1: I started by baby.
• 29:14
  Speaker 1: It was always a thrill.
• 29:15
  Speaker 1: The sound that erupted took him by surprise, but he liked it a lot by the look in his eyes.
• 29:21
  Speaker 1: With tires a cryin' and headers a glow, we headed on out where the hot rodders go and Santa's grin widened, approaching his ears with every shift up as I went through the gears.
• 29:31
  Speaker 1: Then he yelled.
• 29:33
  Speaker 1: I can't recall when I felt so alive.
• 29:34
  Speaker 1: So I backed off the gas and said you want to drive?
• 29:40
  Speaker 1: Old Santa was stunned when I gave him the keys.
• 29:41
  Speaker 1: When he walked past the headlights he shook at the knees.
• 29:44
  Speaker 1: The small block erupted with that American sound.
• 29:47
  Speaker 1: When Santa stomped the gas, the tires shook, the ground tripped into second and again into third.
• 29:53
  Speaker 1: I just sat there holding on at a loss for words.
• 29:56
  Speaker 1: Then I heard him exclaim as he blasted from sight.
• 29:59
  Speaker 1: Merry Christmas to all.
• 30:01
  Speaker 1: It's been one heck of a night From Mike, conrad, jeff and David.
• 30:06
  Speaker 1: I'm Don Armstrong.
• 30:06
  Speaker 1: Have a wonderful Christmas and we'll see you for our New Year's show next Saturday, 8 to 11.
• 30:11
  Speaker 1: So long for now.
• 30:12
  Speaker 1: That's it for this podcast episode of the In-Wheel Time Car Show.
• 30:18
  Speaker 1: I'm Don Armstrong, inviting you to join us for our live show every Saturday morning 8 to 11 am, central on Facebook, youtube, twitch and our In-WheelTimecom website.
• 30:29
  Speaker 1: Podcasts are available on Apple Podcasts, spotify Stitcher, iheart Podcast Podcast Addict Tune In Pandora and Amazon Music.
• 30:39
  Speaker 1: Keep listening and we'll see you soon.