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Road Trip To The Savoy? · In Wheel Time Podcast

• 0:05
  Don Armstrong: From our dual city studios in Texas, USA, it's the award-winning in real-time car talk show.
• 0:13
  Don Armstrong: Just ahead.
• 0:13
  Don Armstrong: We traveled to the Savoy, the Savoy Auto Museum outside Atlanta for part one of a fascinating interview with Mary Agrusa, plus Jeff's Motor Minute, and I'll review GMC's granddaddy SUV, the Yukon, as I like to call it, the Yukorn.
• 0:30
  Don Armstrong: Howdy, along with Mike out of this world marks.
• 0:33
  Don Armstrong: We always need more Jeff Seacon.
• 0:34
  Don Armstrong: I'm Don Armstrong, so glad that you could join us on this live edition of the Memorial Day weekend show on the In Wheel Time Car Talk Network.
• 0:45
  Don Armstrong: And I guess we could call it a network because it is.
• 0:47
  Don Armstrong: We're on so many platforms, I can't even begin to repeat all of them to you.
• 0:52
  Don Armstrong: We also record this for podcast purposes and um we do quite well in the podcast.
• 0:57
  Jeff Dziekan: And for uh court purposes.
• 0:59
  Don Armstrong: And court purposes in case you want to sue Mike.
• 1:01
  Don Armstrong: Yeah, because it's all on Mike.
• 1:03
  Don Armstrong: It's always it's always been on him.
• 1:05
  Don Armstrong: Mr.
• 1:05
  Don Armstrong: Morris, how are you over there?
• 1:07
  Mike Marrs: Pretty good.
• 1:07
  Mike Marrs: A little wet this morning, but pretty good.
• 1:09
  Don Armstrong: Well, that's good, yeah.
• 1:11
  Don Armstrong: We had a storm roll through here about three or four o'clock this morning.
• 1:14
  Don Armstrong: It blasted us all out of the bed.
• 1:17
  Don Armstrong: All meaning the dog and I.
• 1:19
  Don Armstrong: And the dog, at one point, when the thunder, the lightning, all of it crashed all around us, she got out of the bed and barked.
• 1:28
  Mike Marrs: Barked at the Viking.
• 1:30
  Don Armstrong: Which is exactly what I'm doing right now.
• 1:35
  Don Armstrong: So I want to read this because I thought well, Mary probably wrote it, but I think that it's good enough to repeat.
• 1:40
  Don Armstrong: Tucked into the rolling hills of Northwest Georgia, the Savoy Automobile Museum is quickly becoming one of the nation's premier destinations for automotive enthusiasts.
• 1:50
  Don Armstrong: Opened in 2021 near the renowned Telus Science Museum.
• 1:56
  Don Armstrong: This museum features a rotating collection of beautifully restored classics, muscle cars, race cars, and rare automotive treasures from across the decades.
• 2:06
  Don Armstrong: Its modern galleries, educational exhibits, and scenic driving roads nearby make it more than just a museum.
• 2:12
  Don Armstrong: It's an immersive celebration, a destination for car culture, design, engineering, and the stories behind America's love affair with the automobile.
• 2:22
  Don Armstrong: So joining us now is Mary Argrusa.
• 2:24
  Don Armstrong: Mary, it's always good to see you.
• 2:25
  Don Armstrong: How have you been?
• 2:27
  SPEAKER_00: Doing just fine.
• 2:27
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I think there's something about whenever you call that we get rain.
• 2:32
  SPEAKER_00: Because this is the third time I've been on with you and it's pouring rain.
• 2:36
  SPEAKER_00: So thank you for sending us the rain.
• 2:38
  SPEAKER_00: We needed it.
• 2:39
  Don Armstrong: Hey, you know, uh you got to keep those peanuts growing out there.
• 2:43
  SPEAKER_00: That's pretty much South Georgia.
• 2:45
  SPEAKER_00: We have cattle up on this side.
• 2:46
  Jeff Dziekan: Oh, cattle.
• 2:47
  Jeff Dziekan: Cattle grows too.
• 2:48
  Jeff Dziekan: There you go.
• 2:49
  Jeff Dziekan: Well, the rain is just marinating them.
• 2:52
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 2:53
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 2:53
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_00: So, how are you guys doing?
• 2:55
  Don Armstrong: Well, we're doing fine.
• 2:57
  Don Armstrong: We're thinking of a road trip, and that road trip's going to take us to Cartersville, Georgia.
• 3:01
  Don Armstrong: What do you think?
• 3:02
  SPEAKER_00: Um, maybe around September 12th, the day of the car show.
• 3:06
  Don Armstrong: Well, tell us about that.
• 3:08
  Don Armstrong: Let's start with the car show that's coming up September the 12th.
• 3:11
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, that will be on September the 12th.
• 3:13
  SPEAKER_00: That will be our big show, and that will feature about 500 show cars.
• 3:18
  Don Armstrong: Is what's inside, outside, or both?
• 3:21
  SPEAKER_00: Uh outside will be the 500 car shows, and then inside will be all the regular exhibits.
• 3:26
  Don Armstrong: Gotcha.
• 3:27
  SPEAKER_00: So it it will be jam-packed.
• 3:29
  Don Armstrong: And I was just gonna say, uh, and you're gonna have to uh actually cut down some uh foliage and trees around there to get all those 500 cars in?
• 3:36
  SPEAKER_00: Uh no, we've got a really big lawn.
• 3:39
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, a huge, huge lawn, but I think they are also looking at the option of doing some off-site parking.
• 3:45
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, because we ran into a problem, a little bit of a problem this year.
• 3:48
  SPEAKER_00: And with adding more show cars, yeah, it could get a little bit tricky.
• 3:51
  SPEAKER_00: But that's that's not in my wheelhouse, so I don't have to deal with that problem.
• 3:54
  Don Armstrong: Well, do you need somebody to come over there and drive the transportation buses from the parking lot over to the museum?
• 4:00
  Don Armstrong: Because I'll volunteer for that.
• 4:02
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, I'm hey, come on over.
• 4:04
  SPEAKER_00: I'm sure we can put you to work.
• 4:06
  Don Armstrong: All right, very well.
• 4:07
  Don Armstrong: And listen, I don't take up much room when I sleep, so you can just put me in one of the closets within the museum.
• 4:13
  SPEAKER_00: We have a lot of those here.
• 4:15
  Don Armstrong: Yeah, I'm sure.
• 4:16
  Don Armstrong: And then I can come over there and say I'm out of the closet.
• 4:19
  SPEAKER_00: There you go.
• 4:20
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 4:20
  SPEAKER_00: We can even put you up on the roof if we really need to.
• 4:23
  Don Armstrong: Okay, well, hey, uh, you know, anything, anything for the ratings, that's what we think here.
• 4:29
  Don Armstrong: So, Mary, let's talk uh let's talk about the Savoy.
• 4:32
  Don Armstrong: And that's what we call it, the Savoy, it's the Savoy Museum, Cartersville, Georgia, and uh 45 miles outside of Atlanta.
• 4:39
  Don Armstrong: So you're basically just a road trip away, uh less than an hour.
• 4:43
  SPEAKER_00: Less than an hour from that, and just about an hour from Chattanooga.
• 4:47
  SPEAKER_00: So we're right about in the middle of those two main cities, right off of I-75.
• 4:52
  SPEAKER_00: Just about Chattanooga.
• 4:54
  Don Armstrong: Chattanooga, yeah, Chattanooga, Tennessee.
• 4:57
  Don Armstrong: Isn't that the home of the famous moonpie?
• 5:01
  SPEAKER_00: It might be.
• 5:02
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not 100% sure of that.
• 5:04
  SPEAKER_00: I know they do have they had the tow truck museum there.
• 5:08
  Don Armstrong: Oh, see, there we go.
• 5:09
  Don Armstrong: We could do a museum tour, and maybe we could even do a moon pie museum tour.
• 5:14
  Don Armstrong: There you go.
• 5:14
  Don Armstrong: I'm sure they've got one.
• 5:15
  Jeff Dziekan: I had a neighbor that uh used to her name is uh Annabella Cunningham from Chattanooga, Tennessee.
• 5:20
  Mike Marrs: Yeah, don't they have a train there?
• 5:22
  Jeff Dziekan: Uh Chattanooga choo choo.
• 5:24
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, they do.
• 5:25
  SPEAKER_00: And certain at certain times they will take a steam train from Chattanooga down to Somerville, Georgia, where they have the the uh the round the turn it around and you can see the round table, the round table, and then they'll take you back up to Chattanooga.
• 5:40
  SPEAKER_00: And we've done that ride, and it's really nice.
• 5:42
  Don Armstrong: I love it.
• 5:43
  Don Armstrong: So let's talk about let's talk about the Savoy.
• 5:46
  Don Armstrong: Anything happened in the past year since we've talked to you last?
• 5:50
  SPEAKER_00: Oh.
• 5:52
  SPEAKER_00: Well, uh our the curator who was here, who who I worked under, he is now the interim director director out of the LeMay in Washington State, and our director of development is now the curator.
• 6:05
  SPEAKER_00: So it was a very seamless transmission in terms of if somebody in in-house who is very familiar with you know how the museum works made the transition.
• 6:14
  Don Armstrong: And then so he went to the LeMay up there in Washington, D.C.
• 6:18
  Don Armstrong: Is that where they made the material called LeMay?
• 6:21
  Don Armstrong: I actually wore a LeMay suit one time, I had to admit.
• 6:25
  SPEAKER_00: No, I I I think that I think Mr.
• 6:27
  SPEAKER_00: LeMay made his money in trash, in waste disposal, I think is where the money came from.
• 6:34
  SPEAKER_00: It's a it's a it's a huge place.
• 6:35
  SPEAKER_00: He actually went out there as a curator.
• 6:37
  SPEAKER_00: He's now acting as the interim director because they have to their director has stepped down, so he's filling two roles.
• 6:44
  SPEAKER_00: And then we had the fun of the exhibit for February and the exhibit for March, due to circumstances beyond our control, dropped out.
• 6:53
  SPEAKER_00: But because we had enough cars of our own, we were able to host exhibits to fill those holes.
• 7:00
  SPEAKER_00: And then, unfortunately, or fortunate, unfortunately, in March, our founder, who was 93 years old, passed away.
• 7:07
  SPEAKER_00: And so that was the end of an era there when he he died.
• 7:11
  SPEAKER_00: But he was 93.
• 7:12
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and it was just, you know, he was doing very, you know, for a 93-year-old guy did very well, but it was just finally mentally sharp as attack, but just everything just physically.
• 7:22
  Don Armstrong: You know what?
• 7:23
  Don Armstrong: I'm following right in his footsteps.
• 7:24
  Don Armstrong: I'm headed to 93 as fast as I can get there.
• 7:28
  SPEAKER_00: Hey, he was 93 years old and having fun.
• 7:31
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, that's what he would tell you.
• 7:32
  Don Armstrong: So and a car guy, obviously.
• 7:34
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, very much so, a car guy, but also collected Western art, was very into science, which explains why we have the three museums that we do.
• 7:42
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, and very much the philanthropist, when he sold his business and got out of, he basically was in the cable uh TV show, TV Studio Network, way back when it started.
• 7:54
  SPEAKER_00: And so when he sold that all out, he started putting his money into building museums, has done a lot of work here in Cartersville that most of the time nobody will ever know about.
• 8:04
  Don Armstrong: So you you didn't tell me you didn't tell me, Mary, that there are two other museums.
• 8:08
  Don Armstrong: Are they all under the Savoy umbrella?
• 8:10
  SPEAKER_00: Uh no, we're we are all under what is called uh GMI, Georgia Museums Incorporated.
• 8:15
  SPEAKER_00: So we have the Booth Western Art Museum that is downtown.
• 8:19
  SPEAKER_00: That has the largest permanent collection of Western art in the United States.
• 8:23
  SPEAKER_00: Not necessarily all on view at the time, but the composite of what the museum owns.
• 8:28
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, about three miles up the road from here is the TELAS Science Museum that originally was just this little place called the Wyme and Mineral Museum.
• 8:36
  SPEAKER_00: He bought that, uh expanded it into the TELUS, and I think they just added like another 20,000 feet of exhibit space out there because they're gonna start bringing in rotating exhibits, except not on the crazy schedule that we do.
• 8:50
  Don Armstrong: So um let me ask you this at the museum, how much how many vehicles do you have on display under roof?
• 8:58
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, you mean right at right now?
• 9:01
  SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna say probably close to maybe close to 50, maybe a little bit more.
• 9:08
  SPEAKER_00: Um because I think there's 15 convertibles, I think there's 12 Corvettes, I think there's 12 Woody's, five letter cars, six cars from the um the ACA.
• 9:22
  SPEAKER_00: So probably about 45 to 50, and a whole bunch more in the building in the back.
• 9:28
  Don Armstrong: What's what the building in the back?
• 9:30
  Don Armstrong: Is that like the storage building?
• 9:32
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.
• 9:33
  SPEAKER_00: We have about a hundred, we have about 160 cars, give or take, altogether, that we own, but they they're not all out here at one time.
• 9:39
  SPEAKER_00: We only have one gallery that is dedicated to the cars we own, although right now all the cars in the Woody's and all the cars in the AACA are also all ours as as in addition to the regular Savoy gallery.
• 9:52
  Don Armstrong: So when you bring out the so when you bring out all of do you bring out all of the cars at the big shindig in September?
• 10:00
  SPEAKER_00: No, no, no, no, no, no, no.
• 10:02
  SPEAKER_00: Uh we really leave it open for everybody else to bring their cars out.
• 10:07
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, we did bring one out one time in in our trailer because we can put the car in the trailer and then open up the sides.
• 10:13
  SPEAKER_00: And we had just been given a fully restored Volkswagen Beetle, and so we had that in there.
• 10:18
  SPEAKER_00: And I think we had somebody else last year who was using it just sort of as a display thing.
• 10:23
  SPEAKER_00: But between all the people that come in with the cars, all the vendors, uh, and then all the people that are coming to the show, we we couldn't bring all of our cars out.
• 10:32
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, it would just take too much.
• 10:34
  Jeff Dziekan: Mary, uh uh, when you when you display the cars, when you have these uh rotating uh events going on, how long do the cars stay on display before you change them out?
• 10:46
  SPEAKER_00: Four months.
• 10:47
  unknown: Okay.
• 10:48
  SPEAKER_00: So so when an exhibit rolls in, it's here for four months, and that's one of the challenges because when we have to borrow, not so much from another museum, but say like from another individual, they have to realize we're gonna tie the car up for four months.
• 11:01
  SPEAKER_00: And especially as we come in now to car show season, where there are cruisings and car shows, if we have to borrow from an individual, it gets a little bit tricky to borrow from people during this time of the year.
• 11:13
  Don Armstrong: Yeah, but I'll bet you that most of those people that you ask and they go, yes, we'll do that, just to say that we've got our car in the Savannah.
• 11:22
  Jeff Dziekan: They have multiple cars that they can, you know, maybe do away or have one go for four months and really not miss it.
• 11:28
  Jeff Dziekan: Right.
• 11:28
  SPEAKER_00: Um, not necessarily.
• 11:30
  SPEAKER_00: Not necessarily.
• 11:31
  SPEAKER_00: No, no, no, no, no.
• 11:33
  SPEAKER_00: And I mean, when we had the Ferraris in here, we had to pull one out early because it was it was shipped over to Italy, going to a special show over there, but it also went down to Palm Beach.
• 11:43
  SPEAKER_00: We had the Corvette Singray Racer, they pulled that out for a weekend because the uh president of GM was down in Florida and he pulled it out for a car show at the yacht club.
• 11:53
  SPEAKER_00: So, I mean, things do sometimes get pulled out, and sometimes if we know it's gonna come in like a little bit late or have to leave a little bit early, that that works out okay.
• 12:03
  SPEAKER_00: But it's not like you can have it for two months and then we're gonna pull it out.
• 12:07
  SPEAKER_00: That may not necessarily work unless it's something that is so unique that we'll say, okay, for that short period of time.
• 12:13
  SPEAKER_00: Be worth it.
• 12:15
  Don Armstrong: So I have to I have to ask, were you the one that drew the short straw in driving the Corvette from the Savoy down to the yacht club in Florida?
• 12:25
  SPEAKER_00: No, actually, um, we have two cars here from from GM Heritage.
• 12:30
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, they come, they actually bring the car in the building and they come and they take it out.
• 12:37
  SPEAKER_00: And it is stanched, we're not even allowed to dust it.
• 12:40
  SPEAKER_00: If we have to move that car, they will come and move it.
• 12:43
  SPEAKER_00: So I I did not get to drive that car.
• 12:47
  SPEAKER_00: I wish I did because oh boy, when he started that car up, it is sweet.
• 12:52
  SPEAKER_00: But no, and they considered that the rumor is that if the building up there burns down, that's the one car that they're gonna pull out.
• 13:00
  Jeff Dziekan: Wow.
• 13:00
  Jeff Dziekan: So if we send Mike up there to visit with you, can you keep him for four months?
• 13:04
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, we we could probably find something for him.
• 13:06
  SPEAKER_00: In fact, here is here is a single racer.
• 13:10
  SPEAKER_00: Let me get it on here.
• 13:12
  Jeff Dziekan: Very nice.
• 13:13
  Don Armstrong: Yeah, uh, what is that that don't touch it.
• 13:16
  Don Armstrong: So that would be a C2.
• 13:20
  SPEAKER_00: No, this is a C nothing.
• 13:22
  SPEAKER_00: This was 1969.
• 13:24
  SPEAKER_00: This was Bill Mitchell's race car, and he had this commission.
• 13:28
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, it actually did run.
• 13:30
  SPEAKER_00: He did race it.
• 13:31
  SPEAKER_00: It was uh Peter Brock, Larry uh Larry Shinoda, and Tony Lapino were the three that did this in Project X.
• 13:39
  SPEAKER_00: It was done, it was raced, and when it was raced, there was nothing on it that said GM, nothing on it that said Chevrolet.
• 13:49
  SPEAKER_00: Because at that point, they were not they they were not officially in racing.
• 13:54
  SPEAKER_00: And so even though everybody knew that it was a GM product, they all knew where it got built because, of course, it's Bill Mitchell's car.
• 14:01
  SPEAKER_00: Um it it officially was not a GM product, but this was sort of like while they were doing this, this was also the prototype they were starting to design the stingray at the same time, and so that's where they came out with the idea of the stingray.
• 14:18
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and it's a beautiful, beautiful car, but it's a little hard photographing it because the stanchions are like really far out, and I can't get close.
• 14:27
  Jeff Dziekan: That's okay.
• 14:27
  Jeff Dziekan: That's that was for my next question.
• 14:29
  Jeff Dziekan: So when the when the museum is closed and the last guest leaves and you're locking the doors, do you find yourself going over there just sitting in the driver's seat going vroom, vroom, vroom, you know, turning the wheel?
• 14:40
  SPEAKER_00: And uh no, because the security cameras were are all on both sides, and I would be out the door in a heartbeat, maybe even with a police escort.
• 14:51
  SPEAKER_00: No, no, no, no, no.
• 14:52
  SPEAKER_00: Uh if if it's in here, no, I I mean I wish I don't give me, I mean, when they come to pick it up, and the day that this exhibit ends, they are picking it up that night and taking it home.
• 15:04
  SPEAKER_00: So they are very, very picky about it.
• 15:06
  Don Armstrong: But well, how long are that car?
• 15:08
  Don Armstrong: How long is that car gonna be there?
• 15:10
  SPEAKER_00: Uh probably another week.
• 15:11
  SPEAKER_00: Next Sunday, the the Corvettes, all the Corvettes that we have exhibit will close, and so they will come pick up this, and then we also have their manta ray.
• 15:22
  SPEAKER_00: It is another manta ray.
• 15:24
  Don Armstrong: Oh my god, yes, the famous manta ray.
• 15:28
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I mean, we love the dashboard in there that has nothing on it because everything is on it all on the console.
• 15:35
  SPEAKER_00: Beautiful, beautiful car.
• 15:37
  Don Armstrong: And of course, it has man, I remember, I remember when that came out, it was on the cover of every car magazine in the world.
• 15:43
  Don Armstrong: Is that a right-hand drive?
• 15:45
  SPEAKER_00: No, uh, no, left.
• 15:47
  SPEAKER_00: It's left.
• 15:48
  Mike Marrs: I think her camera's back.
• 15:51
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 15:52
  SPEAKER_00: Sorry, guys.
• 15:52
  Don Armstrong: But you're you're good.
• 15:53
  Don Armstrong: Don't do it, don't don't touch it.
• 15:54
  Don Armstrong: Don't touch it.
• 15:56
  SPEAKER_00: And I mean, and and and I'll mention too, like, if I don't know if you can see really close.
• 16:00
  SPEAKER_00: Like, the paint on this is not perfect.
• 16:02
  SPEAKER_00: This is the original paint.
• 16:04
  SPEAKER_00: This is how this is how it was from the very beginning.
• 16:06
  SPEAKER_00: What I love about this though is this little goody in the back.
• 16:10
  SPEAKER_00: And if you look at the back end, you can see that there are these flaps that come up.
• 16:16
  SPEAKER_00: And the the tail lights are all the way down here.
• 16:20
  SPEAKER_00: So if you happen to be behind this car, you never see when you hit the brakes.
• 16:25
  SPEAKER_00: But if you hit the brakes for your turn signals, this will lift up.
• 16:28
  SPEAKER_00: There's a light that comes up and will hit a mirror under here and shine so the driver behind you theoretically could see where they were going, that you were gonna hit the brakes.
• 16:38
  SPEAKER_00: And when we've been doing the tours, I've said to people, you know, now how long did it take us to put a brake light up where you can see it, you know, on cars today.
• 16:47
  SPEAKER_00: But they were doing it here.
• 16:48
  SPEAKER_00: But in 39, when the grand brothers did the shark note, where they had those big pontoon fenders, they're back, their tail light was back on the top of that fender, so that you if you hit the brakes, you could see somebody was hitting the brakes on that car.
• 17:03
  SPEAKER_00: But it just takes us what about almost half a century to come up with something closer.
• 17:09
  Don Armstrong: So, Mary, we're we're out of we're out of time for this segment.
• 17:12
  Don Armstrong: So um come up, come up with something for our next segment, which is gonna be the top of the next hour, and we're gonna let you guide us around the museum in the next segment, okay?
• 17:22
  SPEAKER_00: How about some woodies?
• 17:24
  Don Armstrong: Love that.
• 17:25
  Don Armstrong: Yeah, that's right off the top.
• 17:27
  Don Armstrong: Love it.
• 17:27
  Don Armstrong: All right, so we'll talk to you then.
• 17:29
  Don Armstrong: All right, thank you.
• 17:30
  Don Armstrong: All right, bye.
• 17:31
  Don Armstrong: Uh, Mary Argrusta, Savoy Museum, Cartersville, Georgia.
• 17:34
  Don Armstrong: We'll love talking to her.
• 17:36
  Don Armstrong: All right, just ahead, Jeff's motor minute, and a review of the new GMC UConn when the in-wheel time car talk show continues right after this break.
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• 18:58
  Don Armstrong: Honest new car reviews, fun, informative interviews with real car people, weekly automotive news, features like Jeff's car culture, mic's driving destinations, all on In Wheel Time.
• 19:08
  Don Armstrong: Check us out on Sirius XM Podcasts, iHeartRadio, or while you're shopping on Amazon through Amazon Music.
• 19:14
  Don Armstrong: Inwheeltime.com has a list, so check us out.
• 19:19
  Don Armstrong: I wasn't ready, but now I am because I'm it was that.
• 19:24
  Don Armstrong: Umy Saturday at our regular time, 10 to noon, Central Time, InWheeltime.com.
• 19:35
  Don Armstrong: But I want to point out the fact that I say this because this is also part of a podcast uh series that we do.
• 19:44
  Don Armstrong: So if you're listening to a podcast, and we know that we have a lot of people that listen to podcasts, then you can join us at noon 9 to noon.
• 19:51
  Don Armstrong: Uh that's why I mentioned it, because it's important.
• 19:54
  Jeff Dziekan: You could get up at 1.30 in the morning, stagger into the kitchen, turn on your podcast.
• 20:00
  Jeff Dziekan: There you go.
• 20:01
  Jeff Dziekan: Well, it'd be from outside.
• 20:03
  Don Armstrong: Oh staggering.
• 20:04
  Don Armstrong: Staggering would be that.
• 20:06
  Don Armstrong: Or you can grab a 30-minute podcast of our show from your favorite podcast store, It is Free.
• 20:11
  Don Armstrong: Time now for Jeff's Motor Minute.
• 20:13
  Jeff Dziekan: Yeah, have you ever bought an extended warranty?
• 20:14
  Jeff Dziekan: Well, there's a young lady by the name of Rachel Vitech.
• 20:18
  Jeff Dziekan: She purchased a lifetime warranty on her 1964 Mercury Comet.
• 20:22
  Jeff Dziekan: All the parts.
• 20:23
  Jeff Dziekan: The car now has over 500,000 miles, and here's how it goes.
• 20:26
  Jeff Dziekan: Uh Rachel has had the car for more than 50 years.
• 20:29
  Jeff Dziekan: She named the car Chariot.
• 20:30
  Jeff Dziekan: Well, we always name a car.
• 20:32
  Jeff Dziekan: But this is a 64 Comet Caliente.
• 20:34
  Jeff Dziekan: She originally bought it for$3,289.
• 20:38
  Jeff Dziekan: Yeah.
• 20:39
  Jeff Dziekan: So she purchased lifetime warranties for the parts.
• 20:42
  Jeff Dziekan: And it's a sound investment, and here's why.
• 20:45
  Jeff Dziekan: Nearly 50 years of ownership, as we discussed.
• 20:48
  Jeff Dziekan: To ensure uh that the car would last, she purchased the parts with all warranties and uh to have five minus buffers, lifetime warranty guarantees, had seven stocks replaced from had three lifetime batteries for pennies, and now pennies is part of Firestone, or Firestone replaces them.
• 21:09
  Jeff Dziekan: Firestone has put in 16 batteries for her since 1964.
• 21:13
  Jeff Dziekan: She took the car for service and she doesn't leave the service area bay.
• 21:17
  Jeff Dziekan: It stays by the car.
• 21:19
  Jeff Dziekan: It even brings a map or a diagram of what parts she has under warranty and what parts she has replaced.
• 21:26
  Jeff Dziekan: Now this has been going on since 64.
• 21:28
  Jeff Dziekan: Uh Rachel has since passed away.
• 21:30
  Jeff Dziekan: She passed away at the age of 94.
• 21:32
  Jeff Dziekan: And in her uh eulogy, the car was actually mentioned with all of the service work that was done.
• 21:38
  Jeff Dziekan: Where is the car today?
• 21:40
  Jeff Dziekan: The car is uh she actually wanted to contact Jay Leno when she finally stopped driving it to see if he would buy it.
• 21:46
  Jeff Dziekan: Jay never got back with her, and she has passed away, so I think it's probably part of the family.
• 21:51
  Jeff Dziekan: But yeah, she purchased a warrant.
• 21:53
  Jeff Dziekan: The car now has five hundred and seventy six thousand miles on it, uh and it's still around somewhere.
• 21:59
  Jeff Dziekan: And the battery.
• 22:00
  Don Armstrong: Are still working.
• 22:00
  Jeff Dziekan: Batteries are still working.
• 22:02
  Don Armstrong: Not like that.
• 22:04
  Don Armstrong: Time now for this hour's car review.
• 22:05
  Don Armstrong: I had an opportunity to drive the brand new 2026 GMC UConn built in Arlington, Texas, USA.
• 22:14
  Don Armstrong: They built all of those big those big suburbans, all of that.
• 22:18
  Don Armstrong: The escalate, all that's come comes out of Arlington, which they just recently expanded to make it even bigger than big, which it is.
• 22:26
  Don Armstrong: So it's classified as a standard SUV, body on frame, or truck.
• 22:32
  Don Armstrong: It comes in these trim levels: the elevation, the AT4, the Denali, the AT4 Ultimate, and the Denali Ultimate.
• 22:43
  Don Armstrong: It's three rows of seating, up to eight people, fifth generation introduced in 2021.
• 22:51
  Don Armstrong: It is really something else.
• 22:54
  Don Armstrong: I had the Yukon four-wheel drive AT4 Ultimate.
• 23:01
  Don Armstrong: Wait till you hear the price.
• 23:03
  Don Armstrong: Exterior features include great big square body, SUV-like suburban type, big grille with the GMC emblem almost as big as the grille itself, slab sides with concentric wheel openings, sharp-looking rear hatch, and lighting.
• 23:21
  Don Armstrong: What I liked about it?
• 23:22
  Don Armstrong: GM has made it different than the Chevy Tahoe, which would be its counterpart.
• 23:29
  Don Armstrong: This is kind of like a step up from the Chevrolet line.
• 23:34
  Don Armstrong: They use better materials, uh fancier stuff.
• 23:39
  Don Armstrong: It's not at the escalate, so this kind of sits in the middle between the Chevrolet version and the Cadillac version.
• 23:47
  Don Armstrong: What could use improvement?
• 23:48
  Don Armstrong: I don't know.
• 23:49
  Don Armstrong: Uh interior highlights.
• 23:51
  Don Armstrong: Comfortable, but upscale, rugged seating surfaces.
• 23:57
  Don Armstrong: Huge vertical infotainment screen.
• 23:59
  Don Armstrong: Kind of you see it right there.
• 24:01
  Don Armstrong: Yeah.
• 24:01
  Don Armstrong: Kind of uh a Tesla type lookout.
• 24:04
  Don Armstrong: Oh uh dash well laid out with ginormous center console.
• 24:09
  Don Armstrong: That's the center console.
• 24:11
  Don Armstrong: Screens for the second row passengers and a center screen in the second row for the AC controls.
• 24:19
  Don Armstrong: So if you don't like the way mom and dad has got the AC set, you can sit back there and fiddle with it, turn on the heat throughout the cabin and burn them out.
• 24:29
  Don Armstrong: Cargo.
• 24:30
  Don Armstrong: Uh well, it's huge back there in the back, uh, with the third row down, obviously with the third row up, not as big.
• 24:38
  Don Armstrong: What I liked about it, the overall, overall cowboy luxe treatment that this thing gets.
• 24:44
  Don Armstrong: What could use improvement?
• 24:46
  Don Armstrong: Absolutely nothing on the interior.
• 24:48
  Don Armstrong: I wouldn't touch it.
• 24:49
  Don Armstrong: They did good.
• 24:50
  Don Armstrong: I like the double stitching.
• 24:51
  Don Armstrong: I do too.
• 24:52
  Don Armstrong: Everything about it is just super.
• 24:54
  Don Armstrong: 6.2 liter EcoTec 3 V8 engine, turns out 420 horsepower, 460 pound feet of torque on a 10-speed automatic transmission.
• 25:06
  Don Armstrong: Uh toll rating up to four tons.
• 25:09
  Don Armstrong: Wow.
• 25:09
  Don Armstrong: That's 8,000 pounds if you're not doing the math right.
• 25:13
  Don Armstrong: Um now mileage, 14 city, 18 highway for combined to 16.
• 25:19
  Don Armstrong: I busted the seams at 17.8 miles per gallon over 411.9 miles.
• 25:26
  Don Armstrong: What I liked about it?
• 25:28
  Don Armstrong: The plenty of smooth V8 power.
• 25:31
  Don Armstrong: They ain't nothing like a naturally aspirated V8 engine, in my opinion.
• 25:37
  Don Armstrong: Uh, what could use improvement?
• 25:38
  Don Armstrong: Offer a hybrid, which I'm sure that they probably will ultimately.
• 25:42
  Don Armstrong: Ride and handling.
• 25:43
  Don Armstrong: Air ride suspension with magnetic shocks.
• 25:46
  Don Armstrong: Awesome.
• 25:47
  Don Armstrong: What could use improvement?
• 25:48
  Don Armstrong: Nothing here either.
• 25:49
  Don Armstrong: This thing rides like a limousine.
• 25:51
  Don Armstrong: Okay, let's get down to the numbers, shall we?
• 25:54
  Jeff Dziekan: Shall we?
• 25:55
  Don Armstrong: Base trim price.
• 25:57
  Don Armstrong: $97,900.
• 25:59
  Don Armstrong: That's base trim.
• 26:01
  Don Armstrong: Price is tested.
• 26:04
  Don Armstrong: $103,190.
• 26:07
  Don Armstrong: I was gonna go$102.
• 26:08
  Don Armstrong: It's just a song.
• 26:09
  Don Armstrong: Just sold for$102.
• 26:11
  Don Armstrong: Now the base model price, if you could find one out there, the entry level price of this is basically$70,000,$69.6.
• 26:20
  Don Armstrong: Okay, so here are the competitors.
• 26:22
  Don Armstrong: If you want to call it a competitor, it's just at a different level because it's a Chevy, the Chevy Tahoe starts at$60,700.
• 26:30
  Don Armstrong: The Ford Expedition, I was surprised at this.
• 26:33
  Don Armstrong: $577 is where it starts off.
• 26:35
  Don Armstrong: And the Kia Carnival, which I had recently, it starts at$37,390.
• 26:41
  Don Armstrong: Well, how can you compare the two?
• 26:43
  Don Armstrong: Size.
• 26:44
  Mike Marrs: Yeah.
• 26:44
  Don Armstrong: The size.
• 26:45
  Don Armstrong: That's that's where it compares.
• 26:46
  Don Armstrong: What were you gonna say, Mike?
• 26:47
  Mike Marrs: That's what I was gonna ask.
• 26:48
  Mike Marrs: Is that the same size?
• 26:50
  Don Armstrong: It is.
• 26:50
  Don Armstrong: It's called a standard SUV.
• 26:53
  Don Armstrong: If you remember correctly, I mentioned that in the review of the Carnival that it is classified as a standard SUV, which this is as well.
• 27:01
  Don Armstrong: All right, next week I'm gonna review the Land Rover Range Rover.
• 27:06
  Don Armstrong: All right.
• 27:16
  Don Armstrong: I think that you'll appreciate it.
• 27:17
  Don Armstrong: I know I appreciated them letting me borrow it for a week to test drive it.
• 27:22
  Don Armstrong: Um it's different.
• 27:24
  Don Armstrong: It's different than this, it's different than the Escalade.
• 27:27
  Don Armstrong: I mean, it's very English.
• 27:30
  Don Armstrong: I would say European.
• 27:31
  Don Armstrong: Yeah, it's very English, and it maintains that dignity.
• 27:36
  SPEAKER_01: I was gonna say, where's my gin and tonic?
• 27:39
  SPEAKER_01: You don't have any tonic blasphemy.
• 27:42
  SPEAKER_01: Just have a ship lease.
• 27:44
  Mike Marrs: You mentioned the differences between the Chevrolet and the GMC.
• 27:47
  Mike Marrs: You know, unfortunately, I'm old enough to remember when the GMC was the work truck level.
• 27:52
  Mike Marrs: That was kind of like this is the working man's truck.
• 27:54
  Mike Marrs: He moved up to the Chevrolet, and now it's kind of GMC is now a little bit more luxury than chevrolets.
• 28:01
  Don Armstrong: And so since Mike's going to talk about age, Mike just had a birthday.
• 28:05
  Don Armstrong: He's turning 87 now.
• 28:07
  Don Armstrong: So we can wish him.
• 28:09
  Mike Marrs: Thank you very much.
• 28:10
  Don Armstrong: Well, hey, if you'd like to get in touch with us, send us an email.
• 28:13
  Don Armstrong: The address here is info at inwheeltime.com.
• 28:16
  Don Armstrong: We are back after this quick break.
• 28:19
  Don Armstrong: Your car is a direct reflection of you, so don't be satisfied with color fade or a dingy dull appearance.
• 28:25
  Don Armstrong: Get rid of those terrible automated car wash scratches.
• 28:28
  Don Armstrong: Gulf Coast Auto Shield is your save the paint company.
• 28:31
  Don Armstrong: John Gray and his team of detailing experts can help your cars finish without a full repaint.
• 28:36
  Don Armstrong: Searching for real experts in window tent or windshield protection, Gulf Coast Auto Shield.
• 28:41
  Don Armstrong: Dash cams, radar detectors, Gulf Coast Auto Shield.
• 28:45
  Don Armstrong: Got a new car?
• 28:46
  Don Armstrong: Get it protected as soon as you take delivery.
• 28:48
  Don Armstrong: If you don't know which of the multitude of protection products to go with, John Gray will give you an honest opinion and won't sell you something you don't need.
• 28:55
  Don Armstrong: John will help you understand the many options and pricing right on the spot.
• 28:59
  Don Armstrong: He's your guy to have your ride looking its best and protected too.
• 29:03
  Don Armstrong: See the state-of-the-art shop yourself, free tours anytime.
• 29:06
  Don Armstrong: Gulf Coast Auto Shield is easy to get to, located just south of the Southwest Freeway on the Sam Houston Parkway.
• 29:11
  Don Armstrong: Gulf Coast Auto Shield, full service luxury car care today and online at gcautoshield.com.
• 29:19
  Don Armstrong: Gift giving should be meaningful, and we have an idea: a hand-painted custom illustration of your car from one of the nation's leading artists.
• 29:26
  Don Armstrong: Now you can get one or a car show poster customized for you, a friend or a loved one.
• 29:31
  Don Armstrong: Bill Sites will be happy to guide you through the process.
• 29:34
  Don Armstrong: No matter what the day, birthday, anniversary, or any day, an autographics custom illustration adds an extra touch of class to any home.
• 29:41
  Don Armstrong: Call Bill today, 832-922-0963.
• 29:45
  Don Armstrong: That's 832-922-0963.
• 29:51
  Don Armstrong: That's it for this podcast episode of the In Wheel Time Car Show.
• 29:55
  Don Armstrong: I'm Don Armstrong, inviting you to join us for our live show every Saturday morning on Facebook, YouTube, Twitch, and our InWheeltime.com website.
• 30:05
  Don Armstrong: Podcasts are available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, iHeartPodcast, Podcast Addict, TuneIn, Pandora, and Amazon Music.
• 30:14
  Don Armstrong: Keep listening, and we'll see you soon.