Latest / In Wheel Time Podcast / Hemi Hideout: A Journey Through Classic Cars, Vintage Signs, and Community Spirit with John Hovis

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Hemi Hideout: A Journey Through Classic Cars, Vintage Signs, and Community Spirit with John Hovis · In Wheel Time Podcast

• 0:01
  Speaker 1: Welcome to another In Wheel Time podcast From Hovis' Hemi Hideout in Brookshire, texas.
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: It's the In Wheel Time Car Talk Show Just ahead.
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: We've got the owner, the proprietor, the man behind the legend here at the Hemi Hideout, john Hovis.
• 0:20
  Speaker 1: That's coming up.
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: Jeff has the cruise in and events calendars and we'll have stories making automotive news headlines.
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: This week we already did that.
• 0:27
  Speaker 1: We did the cruise in.
• 0:30
  Speaker 2: We did.
• 0:30
  Speaker 1: Yeah, well, you know what?
• 0:32
  Speaker 1: It would probably help if I turned the page.
• 0:33
  Speaker 1: Turn the page there, bob Seeger.
• 0:35
  Speaker 1: Thank you, bob Seeger.
• 0:38
  Speaker 3: Yeah.
• 0:39
  Speaker 1: So what we're going to have is a review of the 2025 Toyota.
• 0:43
  Speaker 4: Camry, thank you very much, it's always good.
• 0:45
  Speaker 1: Howdy, along with Mike, out of this world Mars.
• 0:47
  Speaker 1: We always need more.
• 0:48
  Speaker 1: Jeff Zekin.
• 0:49
  Speaker 1: Chief Engineer David Ainsley I'm Don Armstrong, Glad you could join us today.
• 0:53
  Speaker 1: John timing is everything, John Hovis, and you can't do it by sitting down.
• 1:00
  Speaker 3: You're going to have to stand up.
• 1:01
  Speaker 1: Oh yeah, so I know that you want to sit down because you've been on your feet all morning long, but, uh, we're not going to let you do that so, um, I I guess, why?
• 1:12
  Speaker 1: Why don't?
• 1:12
  Speaker 1: Why don't you hold the microphone?
• 1:14
  Speaker 1: We've got our own speakers here and we can.
• 1:16
  Speaker 1: We can just kind of do our own thing.
• 1:17
  Speaker 1: So I wanted to start this interview with with with john, about the Hemi Hideout and you know the Hemi Hideout's actual beginnings.
• 1:28
  Speaker 1: What made you decide to build something like this?
• 1:32
  Speaker 5: I'm, like everybody else in the crowd, busy raising kids, fighting a corporate battle and, at 55, getting tired, and I want to do something fun before the show's over.
• 1:41
  Speaker 5: So this is what we did we built this building and started finding all this stuff, and this has been the most wonderful journey finding all the signs and what have you.
• 1:49
  Speaker 1: So, John, let's talk just a little bit about the actual structure itself.
• 1:53
  Speaker 1: Okay, and this is timber frame construction and I'd never heard of it before, but it's really old school.
• 2:00
  Speaker 5: It is old school.
• 2:01
  Speaker 5: So this is a scissor arch.
• 2:03
  Speaker 5: If you look how this goes up and crosses in the middle, that's a scissor arch timber frame.
• 2:08
  Speaker 5: All the timbers are Douglas fir, the only species that you can get that will span these distances in the US today, other than redwoods.
• 2:15
  Speaker 5: Someone else already cut the redwoods down, but it's all assembled with oak dowels.
• 2:19
  Speaker 5: There's no screws, bolts or glue.
• 2:20
  Speaker 5: So an inherently strong building.
• 2:27
  Speaker 5: Uh, it's holding up a tremendous amount of weight.
• 2:28
  Speaker 5: Every time we add another sign, it compresses the joints, it gets stronger and stronger, until one day we overload it.
• 2:33
  Speaker 1: Well, hopefully that won't happen.
• 2:35
  Speaker 1: Um, you know, and the other thing is is that I don't know most of you.
• 2:39
  Speaker 1: I think that came in through the front door.
• 2:41
  Speaker 1: Yes, I would encourage you to go and look at the wonderful patio out back.
• 2:46
  Speaker 1: It's got a very unique bar out there in the bar stools.
• 2:50
  Speaker 5: That's true.
• 2:50
  Speaker 5: We also have a restoration shop behind the building.
• 2:52
  Speaker 5: We can take you to show you some of the projects being restored, take you on a golf cart and pick you up if you'd like to see some of those things.
• 2:58
  Speaker 5: But a lot of uniqueness around the building.
• 3:00
  Speaker 5: The water feature in the front is pretty and it's part of the scheme here.
• 3:05
  Speaker 5: We built the building, started doing the signs and then the outdoor landscaping became kind of like the icing on the cake.
• 3:13
  Speaker 1: so to speak.
• 3:14
  Speaker 1: Yeah Well, it is truly amazing to see all of this and you wonder how you get the cars in here.
• 3:19
  Speaker 5: Huge doors, down there at the end.
• 3:20
  Speaker 5: Sure, you could drive an 18-wheeler loaded 18-wheeler in through those doors, but we drive most of the cars out this way.
• 3:30
  Speaker 5: We've had some people ask us well, where are the keys to the cars?
• 3:32
  Speaker 5: They're in the ashtray, but good luck getting out of the door.
• 3:34
  Speaker 1: Yeah, you ain't going to get out of the building.
• 3:36
  Speaker 1: I can promise you that Probably won't happen.
• 3:38
  Speaker 1: So let's talk a little bit about the cars themselves.
• 3:41
  Speaker 1: I mean, you've got some classics in here.
• 3:44
  Speaker 1: You've got some race cars in here, and I know that you've got your favorite over there, the green Cuda Sure, yeah, so let's talk a little bit about that.
• 3:52
  Speaker 1: You want to start there in the back and talk about some of those cars?
• 3:55
  Speaker 5: Well, these all were popular when I was a young man I was 18 in 1970, so I was right there at the peak of the muscle car era and I the Dodge Superbee.
• 4:03
  Speaker 5: So that's why it's all Dodge and Plymouth.
• 4:05
  Speaker 5: There's a 66 Belvedere Hemi in the back, in the corner, back there, a Roadrunner convertible 1970 with a 446 pack.
• 4:14
  Speaker 5: Next car is a Hemi Superbee.
• 4:16
  Speaker 5: They only made 34 Hemi Superbees in 1970, so super rare.
• 4:24
  Speaker 5: There's abird, a couple of Challengers and you know I want to try to get a little bit of everything and from the good old days when I was young, buck and you know what my favorite car in here is?
• 4:35
  Speaker 5: Yeah, the Duster.
• 4:36
  Speaker 5: The Duster, that's the only A-body in the whole deal, the only 340 in here.
• 4:40
  Speaker 5: The rest of them are all Hemis and six-packs.
• 4:42
  Speaker 5: But they've almost become play second fiddle because the signs have kind of taken the whole thing over.
• 4:52
  Speaker 5: Here's another fun thing here when you look around in Hemi hideout you look at all the signs and there's about 4,500 pieces in here and when you look around, if you guessed at to what percentage are illuminated, what would you guess percentage-wise?
• 5:05
  Speaker 5: Illuminated probably 90% Only 7% what.
• 5:12
  Speaker 5: Only 7% of these signs are illuminated.
• 5:14
  Speaker 5: So if you look close there's a lot that's not illuminated.
• 5:16
  Speaker 5: It's an optical illusion, it kind of does a number on you, but if you look close most of these are not illuminated, and I just figured that out the other day.
• 5:25
  Speaker 5: Out of the 4500 signs, there's 330 neon signs or illuminated signs, but most of them are not lit all right, let's talk about the signs for a moment.
• 5:34
  Speaker 1: And uh, you know this started by the oil and the actual cars themselves.
• 5:41
  Speaker 1: That's how the thing got going, that's true.
• 5:43
  Speaker 1: Then, all of a sudden, did you have a little brain hemorrhage or something and you just went crazy.
• 5:48
  Speaker 1: I've been having brain hemorrhages since I was a kid.
• 5:52
  Speaker 5: I'm the first to admit this is ridiculous over the top.
• 5:54
  Speaker 5: It's just completely insane.
• 5:56
  Speaker 5: But such a fun journey to find all this stuff.
• 5:59
  Speaker 5: And we keep going on different tangents with minerals, dinosaurs, country store tractors.
• 6:04
  Speaker 5: We keep going on different tangents with minerals, dinosaurs, country store tractors ammo whatever.
• 6:08
  Speaker 5: It's just fun, neat stuff.
• 6:10
  Speaker 1: Well, the chuck wagon in the back, I think, is really a unique feature here.
• 6:14
  Speaker 1: Yeah, you wouldn't want to pull that?
• 6:15
  Speaker 5: behind the car.
• 6:16
  Speaker 5: No, you wouldn't want to do that or take it cross country like a Lonesome Dove or something.
• 6:20
  Speaker 5: That's an 1860 chuck wagon.
• 6:22
  Speaker 5: Is that what it is.
• 6:23
  Speaker 5: It's all original All original yeah, 1860.
• 6:26
  Speaker 1: So how do you find these signs?
• 6:29
  Speaker 1: That's the real question, because they're now not all oil or car related.
• 6:35
  Speaker 5: That's true.
• 6:35
  Speaker 5: I don't have to find them now.
• 6:36
  Speaker 5: They're fine in me.
• 6:38
  Speaker 5: So originally, you know, when we were young, you'd see them on the outside of the antique stores and they're decorating their buildings with them Today.
• 6:45
  Speaker 5: If you do that, it won't last overnight.
• 6:46
  Speaker 5: So they're all in collections now, and so we go to auctions, trade shows.
• 6:51
  Speaker 5: We're people-oriented individuals so we like to meet people.
• 6:54
  Speaker 5: We get invited here, there and all that.
• 6:56
  Speaker 5: Unlike American Pickers, you don't just pull into somebody's place to get shot, but if you get invited, it's just a different story.
• 7:04
  Speaker 1: But when you started collecting this you were going out to different businesses that actually had signs, didn't you?
• 7:11
  Speaker 5: Well, we went to the Mecham Auctions and the Barrett-Jackson Auctions, we started buying there and then going to just sign auctions.
• 7:18
  Speaker 5: So whenever you find this stuff for sale now, they're usually somebody's kicked the bucket and you're trying to get a piece of their action.
• 7:23
  Speaker 5: Stuff for sale now, they're usually somebody's kicked the bucket and you're trying to get a piece of their action.
• 7:26
  Speaker 5: So when Diane told me that when I die she's going to make two phone calls, she's going to call the auction house first, then she's going to call the undertaker and have me picked up.
• 7:32
  Speaker 5: By the way.
• 7:33
  Speaker 1: Diane is here.
• 7:34
  Speaker 1: I saw her walking around earlier and she's still married to you.
• 7:41
  Speaker 5: Whatever she's had it up to here, but she's still there.
• 7:44
  Speaker 1: Let's talk about my friend, bill Seitz, who is a dear friend of mine that I've known since the mid-70s, and Bill was the one that introduced us, because you had hired Bill to come out and help you build this place, didn't you?
• 7:59
  Speaker 5: Yeah, actually I've known Bill, like you, through the car circles and all that Local car artist.
• 8:04
  Speaker 5: Everybody knows and loves Bill and I've been talking about building a barn for a long time and then he kind of got displaced with work and he came by and said you know what?
• 8:14
  Speaker 5: I'll help you.
• 8:15
  Speaker 5: I'll help you kick this thing, let's build the barn.
• 8:17
  Speaker 5: And if he hadn't come and done that, I'd still be talking about building a barn.
• 8:21
  Speaker 3: Yeah.
• 8:21
  Speaker 5: So I owe it to him or, as he puts it, I blame him for starting this.
• 8:26
  Speaker 5: But again, what a wonderful journey.
• 8:27
  Speaker 5: Well, he was kind of like the foreman for you.
• 8:28
  Speaker 5: Here he was.
• 8:29
  Speaker 5: He oversaw the construction and did a lot of the design work in here.
• 8:33
  Speaker 5: All the artwork, like these panels on the wall, A lot of Bill Seitz's inside this building, yeah.
• 8:40
  Speaker 1: Another unique feature of the building is the diner.
• 8:43
  Speaker 1: So another unique feature of the building is the diner.
• 8:44
  Speaker 5: Yes, tell us about the diner.
• 8:45
  Speaker 5: Okay, so the diner.
• 8:46
  Speaker 5: We were trying to mock up a 1950s diner and Shelly Gates is our event coordinator here, and also a young lady that we hired early on to help with lighting and different touches, Bathrooms, Bathrooms.
• 9:00
  Speaker 5: Yeah, we had one stall in the women's restroom.
• 9:02
  Speaker 5: She said that won't fly, so we got two stalls.
• 9:05
  Speaker 5: We should have put six, but anyway, we're trying to save space, I guess.
• 9:09
  Speaker 5: But again, so many people put so much heart and soul into this.
• 9:13
  Speaker 5: It's really we all have ownership in it and we're proud of it, and you know it wasn't perfect from the very beginning as much as you wanted it to be.
• 9:23
  Speaker 1: For instance, the sound system gave you all sorts of trouble and you've learned through the years not only things like that, but also this is a venue for different kinds of things.
• 9:35
  Speaker 1: You've had weddings in here, you've had funerals in here and everything in between.
• 9:39
  Speaker 1: Tell us about some of the trials and tribulations you've had with some of that.
• 9:43
  Speaker 5: Oh, we've had a bunch of police events out here.
• 9:45
  Speaker 5: We've had to call the cops out here numerous times when people get out of hand, but for the most part it's all been good.
• 9:51
  Speaker 5: We do a lot of charity fundraising here.
• 9:53
  Speaker 5: You can rent this out for a private event and if you do, we'll match that money.
• 9:58
  Speaker 5: That's all going to go to charity as well.
• 10:06
  Speaker 1: So we're trying to have fun here and not run a business.
• 10:08
  Speaker 1: Yeah, and you know it's.
• 10:09
  Speaker 1: It really is kind of like your home here.
• 10:10
  Speaker 1: I mean, it's just an extension of your house, it is and it's.
• 10:12
  Speaker 1: So.
• 10:12
  Speaker 1: We're all very honored to be invited into your house here and get to see all the paintings on the wall.
• 10:18
  Speaker 5: Well, really, this was built to be a man cave.
• 10:21
  Speaker 5: I'm first to say it got out of control.
• 10:23
  Speaker 5: But it was going to be friends and family coming by, and then people started coming.
• 10:28
  Speaker 5: I never dreamed that we'd be doing this kind of thing at all.
• 10:31
  Speaker 5: You've got children and grandchildren too, yeah that's right.
• 10:35
  Speaker 1: And when they come in here they go Pawpaw what happened to you, Pawpaw?
• 10:39
  Speaker 5: Well, it's their parents that are asking me what happened to me.
• 10:41
  Speaker 1: You know, it's truly unique and you know, the other thing is coming out here today.
• 10:49
  Speaker 1: I want to congratulate the Texas Department of Transportation because we actually have a freeway and an exit ramp to get here and not the orange barrels.
• 11:01
  Speaker 1: I was truly amazed 11 years.
• 11:04
  Speaker 5: Unbelievable 11 years.
• 11:06
  Speaker 5: Unbelievable 11 years Only in America.
• 11:07
  Speaker 5: Yeah, some of the worst wrecks.
• 11:09
  Speaker 1: We used to call it the death walls that were out here with two lanes to get out to the ME hideout and things have evolved really over the years here at the hideout.
• 11:19
  Speaker 1: I mean when I first came out here with the In Real Time Car Talk Show, we had a heck of a time trying to get the Internet out here and you went through hoops trying to get Internet out here.
• 11:31
  Speaker 1: Well, if it wasn't for David we still wouldn't have it out here, but we're still trying to prove it as well.
• 11:37
  Speaker 5: Yeah, I bore a tunnel under Interstate 10 to get Internet over here.
• 11:41
  Speaker 1: Yeah, and you know now think of it 11 years ago.
• 11:45
  Speaker 1: You know there was a big gap between Katy and Brookshire.
• 11:49
  Speaker 1: There's no gap anymore.
• 11:51
  Speaker 1: It's nothing, everything continues to go Well.
• 11:53
  Speaker 5: when you and I were kids in the Houston area, when we were even, say, 15 years old, there was nothing outside of Loop 610.
• 12:01
  Speaker 5: It was all farms and ranches.
• 12:03
  Speaker 5: That's correct.
• 12:03
  Speaker 5: So a lot's changed here.
• 12:04
  Speaker 1: When I moved to Houston there was no Loop 610.
• 12:07
  Speaker 1: Oh, okay, Especially the West Loop.
• 12:08
  Speaker 1: It was post oak.
• 12:11
  Speaker 4: And there's sections of post oak now along the way.
• 12:13
  Speaker 4: That was the olden days.
• 12:14
  Speaker 4: Yes, I know.
• 12:15
  Speaker 1: Thank you for reminding me of that, that I am older than you.
• 12:18
  Speaker 1: But anyway, john, it's truly amazing.
• 12:22
  Speaker 1: You know I did want to before we leave the interview here today.
• 12:27
  Speaker 1: There are some signs in here that really have some deep history, and let's talk about the oldest one that you have in here.
• 12:36
  Speaker 5: Oh, let's see.
• 12:37
  Speaker 1: Is it the?
• 12:37
  Speaker 5: Texaco over here.
• 12:38
  Speaker 5: Well, it's hard to explain from here, but let's pick something we can all see, this group can see from here.
• 12:44
  Speaker 5: Let's see, For instance, this cowboy right here that came off of Rustler Chevrolet.
• 12:49
  Speaker 5: That's one of the few Chevrolet things we allow in here.
• 12:53
  Speaker 5: But anyway just kidding, rustler Chevrolet in Cape Girardeau, missouri.
• 12:57
  Speaker 5: So that was on top of their dealership double-sided sign.
• 13:01
  Speaker 5: We added the gunshot blast.
• 13:03
  Speaker 5: But it's a cool piece and people ask well, how did you move that around?
• 13:06
  Speaker 5: You take all the glass off and it's in four-foot sections See the bandana seam and across his nose.
• 13:12
  Speaker 5: So you take it apart in four-foot sections, bolt it back together, slap all the neon on An early piece of.
• 13:20
  Speaker 5: Here's a little bit of neon history.
• 13:21
  Speaker 5: This color here, the Ferguson system, that's the only color that's neon.
• 13:26
  Speaker 5: If you take clear glass, fill it with neon and electrify it, it burns orange.
• 13:30
  Speaker 5: So during the Paris World's Fair they're building the Eiffel Tower they discovered neon and they lit up part of Paris and stole the show from the Eiffel Tower.
• 13:38
  Speaker 5: People couldn't believe what they were looking at.
• 13:39
  Speaker 5: That's the only color that's actually neon.
• 13:41
  Speaker 5: The others are argon gas filled the welding gas with phosphate coating on the glass.
• 13:46
  Speaker 5: So in early days that color and when I was a young man, like in the early 50s, we had white, gold and blue came along.
• 13:53
  Speaker 5: Now there's 64 colors.
• 13:55
  Speaker 5: So a little lesson on neon.
• 13:59
  Speaker 1: One of my favorites that you pointed out to me.
• 14:02
  Speaker 1: It's kind of back in the back there's a Dodge sign that's in a box.
• 14:07
  Speaker 5: Tell them that story.
• 14:07
  Speaker 5: So the Dodge sign in the box is 1938, new original stock.
• 14:11
  Speaker 5: We just saw the slats out, plugged it up, fired right up.
• 14:14
  Speaker 5: We found that in a building that was falling down in Franklin Tennessee.
• 14:18
  Speaker 5: Just stupid luck.
• 14:19
  Speaker 5: Somebody bought it brand new and it sat in their building all those years until we discovered it and brought it home.
• 14:24
  Speaker 1: You know, there's another sign that's more up here, next to the Dodge Brothers Motor Vehicle sign.
• 14:29
  Speaker 1: I think it's the Texaco sign and it's not lit traditionally behind it, it's got some sort of a thing that spins lights behind it.
• 14:38
  Speaker 1: It's got marbles all over it.
• 14:40
  Speaker 5: Well, it's a double-sided Texaco sign from 1918.
• 14:44
  Speaker 5: And in those days it's electrified and in 1918, only two blocks of New York City had electricity.
• 14:50
  Speaker 5: So if you bought that sign you had to buy a generator to light it up.
• 14:53
  Speaker 5: It's got glass-faceted jewels and incandescent bulbs that spin around to make it swirl, but that's a holy grail piece there.
• 15:00
  Speaker 5: If you're collecting signs, the Dodge Brothers sign motor vehicles right there.
• 15:05
  Speaker 5: That's 1917.
• 15:07
  Speaker 5: And the Dodge Brothers were responsible for Henry Ford's drivetrains, motors, transmissions and as soon as he would steal somebody's idea, kick them aside, kind of like you do people.
• 15:18
  Speaker 5: And so just kidding, so in 1914, dodge Brothers started their own motor vehicle company and that's one of their early signs there.
• 15:28
  Speaker 1: Pretty cool piece Dog and Suds that draws my attention.
• 15:32
  Speaker 1: It's two different kinds of lighting.
• 15:34
  Speaker 1: You've got the neon and then you've got the incandescent moving incandescent lights.
• 15:38
  Speaker 5: That's right, dog and Suds out of Indianapolis, indiana, but they're all over the Midwest, the northern part of the Midwest.
• 15:44
  Speaker 5: One of the neat things if you look at that sign with the chasing lights today.
• 15:47
  Speaker 5: In 1960, neon became visual pollution.
• 15:51
  Speaker 5: So today you can't have chasing lights, you can't have neon on top of a building, you can't have anything flashing or an arrow flashing, no movement.
• 16:00
  Speaker 5: You can't have these gunshot things going on because it became visual pollution in the 1960s.
• 16:06
  Speaker 1: You know, one of the things that we didn't touch on is your family and the history of your family out here in Brookshire and one of the neat things about it and it's kind of hidden it's back here behind the garage doors.
• 16:18
  Speaker 1: There's wood from your parents' or your grandparents' business out here, the mercantile.
• 16:25
  Speaker 1: Tell them about that.
• 16:26
  Speaker 5: So in the late 1800s my grandparents moved from Armenia to Brookshire and they built a two-story dry goods store in Brookshire.
• 16:34
  Speaker 5: And all this wood on the wall here and the paint is from the late 1800s.
• 16:39
  Speaker 5: We tore the building down and decorated the building with that.
• 16:41
  Speaker 5: In 1920, our family moved to Houston, texas, and started Star Furniture Company.
• 16:47
  Speaker 5: Did you know that?
• 16:48
  Speaker 1: I did know that.
• 16:49
  Speaker 1: Okay, it was called Hovis Furniture.
• 16:51
  Speaker 5: I believe it was called Star Furniture.
• 16:52
  Speaker 5: Oh, it was 1920.
• 16:54
  Speaker 1: Okay, so there's a sign in front of the office over here that says Hovis, that's 1939.
• 16:58
  Speaker 5: We sold out of Star, started Hovis Furniture and competed against Star and Fingers before Mattress Mac.
• 17:04
  Speaker 5: And all that Never made any money in the furniture business.
• 17:06
  Speaker 5: But they did start Star back in 1920.
• 17:09
  Speaker 1: Amazing.
• 17:09
  Speaker 1: I think that that's owned by Berkshire Brothers.
• 17:13
  Speaker 2: Yeah, Berkshire.
• 17:14
  Speaker 1: Hathaway.
• 17:14
  Speaker 5: Yeah, yeah naturally yeah, anyway.
• 17:17
  Speaker 1: Well, I just think that that's really a cool story, and especially the wood over here.
• 17:22
  Speaker 1: That's part of the family history, that's right.
• 17:25
  Speaker 1: And how did you have the thought of saving that wood?
• 17:28
  Speaker 5: I had to move that damn wood 20 times and I thought I'm going to put it up in something Anyway.
• 17:34
  Speaker 5: So it's a piece of family history and we've got other family things in here that kind of represent our coming to America.
• 17:40
  Speaker 5: John, thanks so much for talking to us.
• 17:42
  Speaker 1: Thank you, brother, and thank you all for coming.
• 17:44
  Speaker 5: We love you.
• 17:44
  Speaker 5: Come back again.
• 17:45
  Speaker 5: Thank you so much for taking the time.
• 17:49
  Speaker 1: Okay, thank you.
• 17:50
  Speaker 1: I think that's your microphone, so we'll just leave it over here.
• 17:54
  Speaker 1: Shelly would kill me if I lost that microphone.
• 17:57
  Speaker 1: Hey, you can catch the In Wheel Time Car Talk Show 24-7 on the Odyssey radio app and through InWheelTimecom.
• 18:04
  Speaker 1: We also stream our weekly show on Facebook, youtube and InWheelTimecom, and podcasts are available from your favorite podcast provider.
• 18:11
  Speaker 1: The InWheelTime Car Talk Show continues after this quick break.
• 18:19
  Speaker 1: Free tacos again at the Tailpipes and Tacos pre-holiday cruise-in.
• 18:21
  Speaker 1: It's been a while, but the popular Tailpipes and Tacos cruise-in returns to the Loopy Tortilla Tex-Mex in Katy, saturday, november 16th.
• 18:26
  Speaker 1: Bring a new, unwrapped toy and get a free breakfast.
• 18:29
  Speaker 1: Taco Toys will be donated to Toys for Tots and Houston Children's Charity.
• 18:33
  Speaker 1: Get to the best and one of the last cruise-ins of the year Tailpipes and Tacos.
• 18:38
  Speaker 1: Saturday, november 16th, 8 to 11 am.
• 18:40
  Speaker 1: Cruise in.
• 18:56
  Speaker 1: Donate a new, unwrapped toy.
• 18:57
  Speaker 1: We'll be right back and camaraderie at Tailpipes and Tacos.
• 19:01
  Speaker 1: Saturday, november 16th, 8 to 11 am.
• 19:03
  Speaker 1: The In Real Time Car Talk Show will be there too.
• 19:05
  Speaker 1: Bring a toy, get a free Loopy Taco and feel good about heading into the holiday season at the Loopy Tortilla Tex-Mex in Katy.
• 19:14
  Speaker 1: Is your car ready for that all-important holiday road trip?
• 19:16
  Speaker 1: Gulf Coast Auto Shield is having another Car Social Saturday, december 7th, and you're invited.
• 19:22
  Speaker 1: Bring your car, truck or SUV and find out what it'll take to get that thing looking new again.
• 19:27
  Speaker 1: Gulf Coast Auto Shield is your one-stop shop for paint detailing, coatings, window tint, clear bras, camera installs and wheel repair.
• 19:33
  Speaker 1: The Car Social is your opportunity to get a tour of this state-of-the-art facility located at 11275 South Sam Houston Parkway, just south of the Southwest Freeway.
• 19:43
  Speaker 1: Join the Car Social Saturday, december 7th, 9 to noon.
• 19:46
  Speaker 1: Talk to other owners and see how good your car can look on the road trip to Aunt Mary's.
• 19:50
  Speaker 1: She'll want that good-looking ride in her driveway.
• 19:53
  Speaker 1: I promise Put it on your calendar the Gulf Coast Auto Shield Holiday Car Social and Road Trip.
• 19:57
  Speaker 1: Get ready Saturday, december 7th, 9 to noon at 11275 South Sam Houston Parkway, just south of and.
• 20:09
  Speaker 1: The In-Wheel Time Fall Tour remote tour continues next weekend at Tailpipes and Tacos.
• 20:14
  Speaker 1: The cruise in on November 16th at the Katy location of Loopy Tortilla, tex-mex.
• 20:20
  Speaker 1: Then we'll be at Gulf Coast Auto Shield Car Social December 7th.
• 20:24
  Speaker 1: We hope you'll stop by the In-Wheel Time remote broadcast booth and say hello.
• 20:27
  Speaker 1: Time now for the Motor Minute.
• 20:29
  Speaker 1: Jeff's got that.
• 20:29
  Speaker 2: Yeah, for those of you who don't know, I just recently bought a car and now I'm getting we all know.
• 20:34
  Speaker 2: I'm getting inundated with extended warranty information.
• 20:39
  Speaker 5: Oh no.
• 20:40
  Speaker 2: Every day I get something in the mail hey, you better call today or your warranty is going to end, and then you're going to die with no warranty.
• 20:47
  Speaker 2: That's what they're telling me.
• 20:48
  Speaker 2: So if you see one of these come through and it says final notice, you've got to respond immediately.
• 20:53
  Speaker 2: Throw it out.
• 20:54
  Speaker 5: Don't even read it.
• 20:55
  Speaker 5: It's not the final notice.
• 20:56
  Speaker 2: No, it's not final.
• 20:57
  Speaker 2: It's final notice for them.
• 21:00
  Speaker 1: They want me to do it.
• 21:01
  Speaker 1: That is so funny.
• 21:01
  Speaker 1: So the state gets your information Right and then these companies go in there and they steal it.
• 21:08
  Speaker 4: Well, they sell it.
• 21:09
  Speaker 4: It's public information.
• 21:10
  Speaker 4: They go in there and mine it, mine it, steal it, mine it, whatever it's telling me to call this number with my VIN number.
• 21:17
  Speaker 2: Well, if you know I bought a car, you should already know the VIN number.
• 21:19
  Speaker 4: Exactly.
• 21:20
  Speaker 2: So come on now, don't do it.
• 21:22
  Speaker 2: Final notice, that's the motor bin.
• 21:25
  Speaker 1: Time now for this hour's car review.
• 21:27
  Speaker 1: I got a chance to drive 2025 Toyota Camry.
• 21:30
  Speaker 1: It comes in these trim levels the LE, the SE, the XLE and the XSE.
• 21:36
  Speaker 1: I had the XLE, all-wheel drive.
• 21:39
  Speaker 1: This is a midsize sedan.
• 21:40
  Speaker 1: You know about the Camry it's been around forever.
• 21:42
  Speaker 1: Five seats, including the driver, completely redesigned for 2025.
• 21:47
  Speaker 1: New front grille is really good looking Still kind of overpowering, but better than it was with the outgoing model.
• 21:57
  Speaker 1: They've done some design redesign work within the grille space itself and made it kind of look different.
• 22:04
  Speaker 1: So you've got the outsides and then you got the inside, so it looks kind of like a two-part.
• 22:08
  Speaker 1: Anyway, it's better looking.
• 22:11
  Speaker 1: Side styling creates a subtle but nice appearance.
• 22:16
  Speaker 1: Rear trunk lid has a bit of a bustle.
• 22:19
  Speaker 1: Look to it.
• 22:20
  Speaker 2: All right.
• 22:20
  Speaker 1: But who doesn't like a little booty at times?
• 22:23
  Speaker 1: Hey, hey, exhaust is two outlets, but they're all on one side.
• 22:28
  Speaker 1: Yeah, so it's got dual exhaust, so it's a European look.
• 22:32
  Speaker 1: It's a European look.
• 22:32
  Speaker 1: Yeah, oh yeah, what I liked about it the overall look.
• 22:33
  Speaker 1: It's got dual exhaust, so it's a European look.
• 22:33
  Speaker 1: It's a European look.
• 22:34
  Speaker 1: Yeah, oh yeah, what I liked about it the overall look.
• 22:36
  Speaker 1: It's an A-plus in my book.
• 22:37
  Speaker 1: What could use improvement?
• 22:39
  Speaker 1: Nothing.
• 22:39
  Speaker 1: Interior highlights integrated infotainment system.
• 22:42
  Speaker 1: The screen itself is built into the dash.
• 22:45
  Speaker 1: Yay, imagine that.
• 22:47
  Speaker 1: Yay, odd quilted trim on the door and the dash.
• 22:52
  Speaker 1: It's weird looking.
• 22:54
  Speaker 1: It doesn't seem to fit, but hey, maybe you'll like it.
• 22:58
  Speaker 1: That wasn't my cup of tea.
• 22:59
  Speaker 1: Instrument cluster can get some getting used to, but you'll get there.
• 23:04
  Speaker 1: Lots of cubbies throughout the cabin.
• 23:09
  Speaker 1: Trunk room is average size.
• 23:12
  Speaker 1: Traffic jam assist can take control of the vehicle under 25 miles an hour.
• 23:18
  Speaker 1: Now, I did not try it because I didn't go under 25.
• 23:22
  Speaker 1: I didn't sample it, but I understand it works really well.
• 23:25
  Speaker 1: So if you're in a parking lot on the Southwest Freeway, hit the button and it basically will ease up behind the car, behind you.
• 23:33
  Speaker 1: Stop, put the brakes on so you don't have to sit there and jack with it and run the thing about walking at your cell phone and running into the back of another car and you see it every day.
• 23:46
  Speaker 2: Does it help you explain your words to the other drivers?
• 23:48
  Speaker 2: No, it doesn't.
• 23:49
  Speaker 1: No, it doesn't help that.
• 23:50
  Speaker 1: What I like?
• 23:51
  Speaker 1: The 12.3-inch touchscreen infotainment.
• 23:54
  Speaker 1: It's very nice.
• 23:57
  Speaker 1: What could use improvement?
• 23:57
  Speaker 1: Seating is a little firm, but you know my bony rear end needs a little bit more padding.
• 24:05
  Speaker 1: I guess you could buy that in the aftermarket Drivetrain.
• 24:08
  Speaker 1: All 25 Camrys are now hybrids.
• 24:11
  Speaker 1: It comes with a 2.5-liter four-cylinder hybrid engine 232 horsepower, believe it or not, combined with the electricity, cbt transmission, 46 miles per gallon in the city, 46 on the highway, for a combined of 46.
• 24:27
  Speaker 1: I got 41.7 over 330 miles.
• 24:31
  Speaker 1: But I liked plenty of usable power in this.
• 24:35
  Speaker 1: It does not feel like a clunker, like a straight four-cylinder engine.
• 24:40
  Speaker 1: This thing feels like a V8.
• 24:42
  Speaker 1: Kid you not?
• 24:43
  Speaker 1: What could use improvement?
• 24:44
  Speaker 1: The engine can be noisy when floored, but how often do you floor a Camry?
• 24:50
  Speaker 1: Sorry, you just don't Ride and handling.
• 24:54
  Speaker 1: What I liked was everything.
• 24:56
  Speaker 1: Ride quality is well sorted.
• 24:58
  Speaker 1: Nothing could use improvement there.
• 25:00
  Speaker 1: Now here's the pricing on this $28,400 is the base trim price, base model price, $34,925.
• 25:11
  Speaker 1: Price is tested $41,748 because it's all gussied up, gussied up, gussied up.
• 25:18
  Speaker 3: Is this the hybrid?
• 25:18
  Speaker 3: Did you say hybrid?
• 25:19
  Speaker 3: They're all hybrids.
• 25:20
  Speaker 1: All the Camrys are hybrids now.
• 25:22
  Speaker 3: That's what I rented to go across the country, yeah, great.
• 25:25
  Speaker 3: I know it's truly amazing and then I tell somebody it's hybrid, I don't know.
• 25:30
  Speaker 3: Oh man, it's fast it is.
• 25:32
  Speaker 1: It's fast, it's got plenty of power.
• 25:33
  Speaker 1: You want to pass somebody?
• 25:34
  Speaker 1: It's there for you.
• 25:35
  Speaker 1: So as far as competitors and they're really not competitors honda accord, the gasoline version is 28 295.
• 25:45
  Speaker 1: Their hybrid version is 34 703, so that's right there, up against them.
• 25:52
  Speaker 1: So I guess honda accord would be the only hybrid in the in the bunch kia k5, gasoline motor 26 990, but no hybrid is offered and the hyundai sonata, which is akin to the k5 uh, it's a gasoline motor, it's 26 6.
• 26:09
  Speaker 1: That's my review of the 2025 toyota camry all right I I really liked it.
• 26:19
  Speaker 1: When I knew that I was going to get the camry, I thought the camry yeah really, when you yeah, I hope you get it because I think that you're going to be really impressed.
• 26:28
  Speaker 1: I was, I'm shocked actually.
• 26:30
  Speaker 1: Yeah, you think of the camry as a four-cylinder.
• 26:33
  Speaker 1: In earlier days it was a V6.
• 26:35
  Speaker 1: You don't need all of that and it is a little pricey, but 41 to 46 miles per gallon.
• 26:44
  Speaker 2: Hello, I'm all over that, and you've got Toyota quality behind it.
• 26:47
  Speaker 1: That's exactly right, so all right, let's see when are we.
• 26:53
  Speaker 3: I think we're going to take a break.
• 26:55
  Speaker 3: Can I tell you one thing about the gas tank?
• 26:57
  Speaker 3: Yes, please.
• 26:57
  Speaker 3: So I filled up $19 typically for the gas tank.
• 27:01
  Speaker 1: So David took a trip all the way from where to where.
• 27:04
  Speaker 3: Houston to Canada.
• 27:05
  Speaker 3: Houston to Canada okay $19 typically to fill up the gas tank.
• 27:10
  Speaker 1: Yep.
• 27:11
  Speaker 3: And the range was 523 miles.
• 27:12
  Speaker 3: So we had three fill-ups to fill up the gas tank and the range was 523 miles.
• 27:14
  Speaker 1: So we had three fill-ups to get up there.
• 27:16
  Speaker 1: Yeah, that's amazing $60.
• 27:18
  Speaker 1: Yeah, $60.
• 27:20
  Speaker 1: You can't buy a bus ticket for $60.
• 27:24
  Speaker 3: That's right.
• 27:25
  Speaker 1: You can't buy a bottle of scotch for $60.
• 27:27
  Speaker 2: What are you talking?
• 27:28
  Speaker 1: about?
• 27:28
  Speaker 2: I wouldn't know about that I'm not a scotch drinker, but I will tell you this you can buy a bottle of gin for $60,.
• 27:35
  Speaker 2: I'll tell you that.
• 27:36
  Speaker 1: Yeah, well bathtub gin.
• 27:37
  Speaker 2: I know where you can get some for $5.
• 27:38
  Speaker 1: Bathtub gin yeah, $5, $1, $20, $20 there hey if you'd like to get in touch with us, shoot us an email.
• 27:43
  Speaker 1: The address is info at inwheeltimecom.
• 27:46
  Speaker 1: We're Holidays are upon us and Pro-Am Auto Accessories is your local one-stop for the auto enthusiast on your gift list.
• 27:55
  Speaker 1: Pro-am Auto has been serving Houston since 1984, providing world-class products for sports cars, european sedans and American muscle.
• 28:03
  Speaker 1: Pro-am was one of the very first distributors in the US for brands such as Recaro, redline, momo Corbo and Simpson.
• 28:13
  Speaker 1: Located in the heart of Houston's premier shopping corridor, the Galleria area, pro-am's walk-in storefront includes an 8,000-square-foot warehouse and showroom with installation and service bays.
• 28:22
  Speaker 1: Pro-am reaches a worldwide audience through Pro-AmAutocom, taking its local reputation to the rest of the world.
• 28:30
  Speaker 1: Holiday gift-giving is alive and well at Pro-Am Auto.
• 28:34
  Speaker 1: If you don't see what you're looking for on the website, call and Pro-Am will lend you a hand.
• 28:39
  Speaker 1: Pro-am Auto 6125 Richmond at Greenridge in Houston's Galleria area.
• 28:44
  Speaker 1: Call them at 713-781-7755.
• 28:48
  Speaker 4: Hey, houston, it's back.
• 28:49
  Speaker 4: America's greatest hot rod tradition is Thanksgiving weekend.
• 28:52
  Speaker 2: The.
• 28:52
  Speaker 4: O'Reilly.
• 28:53
  Speaker 3: Auto.
• 28:53
  Speaker 4: Parts Autorama At the George R.
• 28:55
  Speaker 4: Brown Convention Center Four days of hot rods, customs trucks and muscle cars.
• 28:59
  Speaker 4: Don't miss the Evel Knievel Tribute, the Megamorph Transforming robot car Lowrider Showcase.
• 29:04
  Speaker 4: Meet Catherine Bach from Dukes of Hazzard Hip-hop legend Flava, Flav.
• 29:22
  Speaker 1: Barn truck and Asian from Street Out.
• 29:23
  Speaker 1: That's it for this podcast episode of the In Wheel Time Car Show.
• 29:24
  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, youtube Twitch and our InWheelTimecom website.
• 29:33
  Speaker 1: Podcasts are available on Apple Podcasts, spotify Stitcher, iheart Podcast Podcast Addict TuneIn, pandora and Amazon Music.
• 29:41
  Speaker 1: Keep listening and we'll see you soon.