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Consumer Reports Top Car Picks for 2025 · In Wheel Time Podcast

• 0:01
  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 11 am, central From Studio A A A A In Texas, usa.
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: It's the only place to go for all things automotive the award-winning in-wheel time car talk show.
• 0:27
  Speaker 1: Just ahead we head to Consumer Reports and their top picks on new and used cars.
• 0:33
  Speaker 1: These are good.
• 0:33
  Speaker 2: These are always fun.
• 0:34
  Speaker 1: Later.
• 0:35
  Speaker 1: Jeff has the racing calendar, Mars has this week in auto history and I'll get you caught up on the stories making automotive news headlines.
• 0:40
  Speaker 1: Howdy, along with Mike, out of this world, mars.
• 0:42
  Speaker 1: We always need more.
• 0:48
  Speaker 1: Jeff Zekin, chief Engineer David Ainsley, I'm Don Armstrong.
• 0:54
  Speaker 1: Thanks so much for joining us on this special edition.
• 0:55
  Speaker 1: It's special because we're special.
• 0:57
  Speaker 1: Well, it's a very special thing and, yes, we are in our own minds.
• 1:00
  Speaker 1: We don't know why, but we just made it all up.
• 1:04
  Speaker 1: Um, let's talk to alex.
• 1:07
  Speaker 1: Okay, alex is your last name, pronounced kinesic.
• 1:10
  Speaker 1: Oh, he's muted.
• 1:13
  Speaker 1: He's, he's smiling, but he, uh, for some reason.
• 1:17
  Speaker 1: Can you hear us, alex?
• 1:20
  Speaker 3: I did on you.
• 1:21
  Speaker 1: I can hear you okay, okay, very good, is it Alex Kinizik?
• 1:26
  Speaker 3: It's Nizik Nizik.
• 1:28
  Speaker 3: Okay, well, of course it is yes.
• 1:31
  Speaker 1: Well, I'm sorry.
• 1:31
  Speaker 1: Okay, you can hear me now.
• 1:32
  Speaker 1: Yes, we can, yeah.
• 1:35
  Speaker 1: So where are you located, you up in Connecticut?
• 1:39
  Speaker 3: I am Yep Colchester right now.
• 1:45
  Speaker 1: I'm sitting in one of the offices outside of our test track Very nice and you know, I just started getting my copies of Consumer Reports magazine and in it it shows the test track diagram, which is basically the one there behind you, and I'm going, wow, this is really impressive.
• 2:01
  Speaker 1: Do you get to drive on the test track?
• 2:04
  Speaker 3: Oh, yeah, yeah.
• 2:05
  Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, I was out there earlier, were you pretty nice yeah, uh.
• 2:09
  Speaker 1: So how fast can you get a?
• 2:10
  Speaker 1: Get a hot rod car up on that thing?
• 2:13
  Speaker 3: oh gosh, I mean uh, at the, at the end of the straightaway down somewhere down here a little below the screen, I I mean certainly over 100 miles an hour.
• 2:23
  Speaker 3: You know, if it's a c8 corvette, 120 is pretty easy to hit nice well, what a sweet job you got.
• 2:30
  Speaker 1: How did you get that job?
• 2:31
  Speaker 3: I want to know um well, I, I guess, if my education is some part of it, I've got a background in mechanical engineering and automotive engineering and worked at Ford for a little while.
• 2:44
  Speaker 3: And yeah, I don't know, but beyond that, just passionate about cars for my entire life.
• 2:50
  Speaker 1: Well, let me just say that, yeah, that is very impressive.
• 2:52
  Speaker 1: Yeah, and you're a young man, and how lucky are you.
• 2:56
  Speaker 1: I mean, what a great job coming out of school and going to work for Ford and then going to work for Consumer Reports.
• 3:03
  Speaker 1: I mean, you got the best of both worlds, my friend.
• 3:05
  Speaker 1: You get to drive all the cars now, not just Fords.
• 3:08
  Speaker 3: I know it is really cool to be on the testing side, right, because you're working at Ford or one of these automotive companies and you get very knowledgeable about their products, but you don't always get to be so hands-on with all the competitors.
• 3:21
  Speaker 3: So, yeah, now I get to really experience the whole market, or at least most of it, which is pretty awesome.
• 3:26
  Speaker 1: So let's talk about the top new and used car picks for 2025.
• 3:32
  Speaker 1: So where do you want to start?
• 3:33
  Speaker 1: Used or new?
• 3:36
  Speaker 3: I think new that's.
• 3:37
  Speaker 3: You know, our used listing gets kind of updated pretty frequently, just because used car prices change very often.
• 3:44
  Speaker 3: Sure, but new cars, I think, is the exciting one for yearly.
• 3:49
  Speaker 1: Very good, well, let's start with whatever you want to start with on the new side.
• 3:54
  Speaker 3: Well, I think just quickly, it would be maybe helpful to just talk about how we pick these things in the first place.
• 3:59
  Speaker 3: So there's really four components that go into it.
• 4:03
  Speaker 3: If anyone's not familiar with CR, we buy all these cars and we put them through our testing.
• 4:09
  Speaker 3: So we're an independent nonprofit organization, so a little different than press cars and whatnot.
• 4:14
  Speaker 3: So we're buying them all, we're putting them through about 50 different tests at the track behind me here.
• 4:19
  Speaker 3: So that's really the base of it.
• 4:21
  Speaker 3: All these cars have to be really top performers when it comes to our road tests.
• 4:25
  Speaker 3: And then, beyond that, we're incorporating the feedback and information that we get from our member surveys.
• 4:31
  Speaker 3: So we're looking at reliability, owner satisfaction two really big ones and then the last one is safety.
• 4:37
  Speaker 3: We just make sure that at least at a very bare minimum, all of these cars in this list have standard automatic emergency braking.
• 4:44
  Speaker 1: A lot of them have a lot more than that, but that's kind of the minimum.
• 4:46
  Speaker 1: Do they all go into the same soup as sedans, coupes, SUVs, trucks?
• 4:52
  Speaker 1: Do they all just go into one group like that?
• 4:55
  Speaker 1: As far as testing goes and scoring and everything, yes, coming up with the top new cars trucks Sure.
• 5:01
  Speaker 1: The top new cars trucks Sure.
• 5:05
  Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean, we have a truck or something like that.
• 5:19
  Speaker 3: They serve different needs, but there is.
• 5:24
  Speaker 1: What are we going to do, Mike?
• 5:25
  Speaker 1: We're going to go back to the shot.
• 5:27
  Speaker 3: Categories on it.
• 5:27
  Speaker 1: Okay, well, we're having some technical issues receiving your video and your audio, and so we're going to pause you for just a minute while Mr Mars works on that.
• 5:39
  Speaker 1: All right, do you need?
• 5:41
  Speaker 1: What are we going to do, mr Mars?
• 5:44
  Speaker 4: I want just Ethernet right there, never mind Go ahead All right.
• 5:50
  Speaker 1: So Mr Morris is working on our end to get you situated here In the meantime.
• 5:55
  Speaker 1: I was going to say that.
• 5:57
  Speaker 1: So I got my first couple of issues of Consumer Reports, and I don't care what you say.
• 6:04
  Speaker 1: They go through all sorts of things to test these deals.
• 6:08
  Speaker 1: As a matter of fact, I gave you a copy where they went through the appliances because I knew that you guys just bought some appliances at your house.
• 6:16
  Speaker 2: And Kathy used the book.
• 6:17
  Speaker 2: She did some research through that and got some answers that she was looking for, so it worked out.
• 6:23
  Speaker 1: And in this particular issue that I just got last week, it's got a whole automotive section in there and of course I'm reading it word for word about absorbing everything that I can in there.
• 6:37
  Speaker 2: All right, well my question is how many?
• 6:39
  Speaker 2: Obviously you're involved in the car segment of it.
• 6:42
  Speaker 2: There's other consumer report division.
• 6:46
  Speaker 2: How many other divisions are there, like appliances?
• 6:48
  Speaker 2: There's cars, I'm sure there's furniture or something.
• 6:51
  Speaker 2: How many are there?
• 6:53
  Speaker 3: Yeah, I actually don't know the exact number, to be honest with you, but we have a lot of different areas.
• 6:58
  Speaker 3: Appliances and kind of.
• 6:59
  Speaker 3: The home side of things is one of the other big areas, right, there's kind of three large things.
• 7:04
  Speaker 3: Automotive home things is is one of the other big areas, right, there's kind of three large things automotive home, which is appliances and whatnot that we're talking about.
• 7:08
  Speaker 3: And then we have the baby's side where it's like car seats and oh yeah, um, that sort of thing.
• 7:12
  Speaker 3: So now I think one kind of misconception is that the people testing the cars are also testing the dishwashers, but that that's not true.
• 7:20
  Speaker 3: I don't know anything about dishwashers or strictly cars up in Connecticut.
• 7:24
  Speaker 1: Well, and we're glad that we have you on the show, then We've obviously hit you up at the right time of your life, so okay, so let's get through these while we have you here momentarily.
• 7:36
  Speaker 1: Top new car picks.
• 7:38
  Speaker 1: What are they?
• 7:40
  Speaker 3: Yeah, so again, a lot of different categories and a lot of them trying to focus on something that's not so expensive.
• 7:47
  Speaker 3: So starting at kind of the bottom of the list is the Nissan Sentra for our small car category.
• 7:51
  Speaker 3: A little bit of a surprise, but it really just represents a good value right.
• 7:58
  Speaker 3: It has the standard safety features I mentioned.
• 8:00
  Speaker 3: It does well in our testing, especially for the class.
• 8:03
  Speaker 3: It drives pretty well.
• 8:04
  Speaker 3: It's relatively quiet.
• 8:05
  Speaker 3: We see pretty good reliability, um, and you can get one for that's well equipped for about twenty five thousand dollars, where you know, if people are paying on average four grand for a car these days, getting something brand new for twenty five thousand, that's going to be pretty good.
• 8:19
  Speaker 3: Um, I think is a is a good.
• 8:22
  Speaker 1: Okay.
• 8:22
  Speaker 3: What's next on the list?
• 8:24
  Speaker 3: Yeah, next we have the next two, I think are similar but different sizes, right, the Subaru Crosstrek and the Subaru Forester.
• 8:34
  Speaker 3: You know both of these cars recently redesigned, but between you and I we could probably agree they might be a heavy refresh, carrying over a lot of the powertrain components and underlying structure of these cars, but for them it's working out, because those cars did well in our testing before they continue to do well.
• 8:50
  Speaker 3: They're pretty straightforward, they're practical, reliable, good fuel economy.
• 9:00
  Speaker 3: Just some of these cars are in a world where there's so many touchscreen controls and complications and all these features and whatnot, and these cars are pretty simple and straightforward and so they work for a lot of people.
• 9:07
  Speaker 1: Well, Subaru is hot right now across the board.
• 9:10
  Speaker 3: Yeah, and you know, just dynamically.
• 9:13
  Speaker 3: I think I'm always, and we collectively here at CR are impressed at what Subaru does in terms of ride quality for the price, especially the Forester.
• 9:20
  Speaker 3: It just soaks up bumps really nice, and a lot of cars don't do that necessarily these days.
• 9:25
  Speaker 3: I agree with you, yeah, yeah, so next, uh, the Toyota Camry.
• 9:29
  Speaker 3: I think the big news here and the Toyota Camry certainly been on our list before, but the fact that it's hybrid only now for 2025.
• 9:38
  Speaker 3: But you know what?
• 9:39
  Speaker 3: I think Toyota and others too, have gotten so good at hybrids that, other than the fact that you're getting 48 miles per gallon in this car, you probably wouldn't even know it's really a hybrid.
• 9:50
  Speaker 3: Right, it looks like a normal car.
• 9:51
  Speaker 3: It drives for the most part like a normal car, doesn't do anything weird, so it's just very refined.
• 9:56
  Speaker 3: They've gotten good at hybrids over time.
• 9:58
  Speaker 3: And, yeah, another car that, like those Subarus, has recently got redesigned it.
• 10:02
  Speaker 3: It really just sticks to the Camry mission and, I'll be honest, I was surprised at how well it drives it.
• 10:08
  Speaker 3: I wouldn't call it sporty, but it it's refreshing to get into a sedan these days.
• 10:13
  Speaker 1: You're lower to the ground and it just drives pretty well, let's face it, when it comes to hybrids, you, you can't beat the, the Toyota Prius.
• 10:19
  Speaker 1: Uh, when they they kind of invented the whole and they've been doing it for a long time.
• 10:26
  Speaker 3: It's interesting too with the Priuses.
• 10:27
  Speaker 3: So the Camry is so good and gets such good fuel economy.
• 10:30
  Speaker 3: At this point the Prius starts to seem.
• 10:34
  Speaker 1: Old school.
• 10:34
  Speaker 1: Yeah, it does.
• 10:37
  Speaker 1: Okay, what's next on the list?
• 10:40
  Speaker 3: Ford Maverick for our pickup truck, really Wow.
• 10:43
  Speaker 1: That does not.
• 10:44
  Speaker 1: It does not surprise me, because I know when I had the Maverick not too long ago, I was impressed and I thought is it just me, or is this really a nice vehicle?
• 10:55
  Speaker 1: I thought it really is.
• 10:57
  Speaker 3: I mean it really is, especially for the price.
• 11:01
  Speaker 3: It also really just stands out.
• 11:02
  Speaker 3: Who else is making a kind of unibody based pickup truck like this that is super functional but also has that hybrid option?
• 11:10
  Speaker 3: I mean it really stands alone.
• 11:11
  Speaker 3: And one of our biggest um yeah, I guess I'll say a complaint of it before, was that you couldn't get all wheel drive with the hybrid, and now for 2025, they've fixed that issue Um, so you can get a hybrid all wheel drive drive, and I mean that really just hits the sweet spot right is it a?
• 11:27
  Speaker 1: is it a full-time all-wheel drive system?
• 11:31
  Speaker 3: uh, it is.
• 11:32
  Speaker 3: I believe, yeah, I believe there's a mechanical connection going to the back.
• 11:35
  Speaker 3: I mean probably a clutch back in the back.
• 11:37
  Speaker 3: It's not quite subaru, but they're not relying on an electric motor back there, gotcha, yeah, um, like toyota does sure what's next.
• 11:44
  Speaker 3: Uh, speaking of Toyota a couple others on here uh, rav4 plug-in hybrid, the, the PHEV specifically, so it used to be called the prime, now they just called the plug-in hybrid.
• 11:53
  Speaker 3: But, um, yeah, just a really sweet version of the, the RAV4.
• 11:58
  Speaker 3: Uh, it's pretty quick.
• 11:59
  Speaker 3: If you guys have driven this car, uh, has a lot of power for a compact crossover.
• 12:05
  Speaker 3: But again, just in the spirit of trying to offer people different options, getting a plug-in hybrid on the list, this one in particular offers pretty good range for, on the EV side of things, over 40 miles and after that you pretty much end up with a pretty solid RAV4 hybrid once that battery charges up, so it just functions well and then has that point of reliability behind it.
• 12:26
  Speaker 3: Similar with the Highlander hybrid not too many hybrid options for a three-row SUV and, yeah, you get that reliability.
• 12:37
  Speaker 3: This has been on the list before.
• 12:39
  Speaker 3: No big changes really for it this year, but continues to perform well.
• 12:42
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I'm not a big fan of the highlander, I'm not no, something that doesn't really jive with me they well they've made it too big now.
• 12:49
  Speaker 1: I think that it hit the sweet spot back when it was a the original.
• 12:54
  Speaker 3: Yeah yeah, well, I am interested to see what where it goes from here, because with the grand highlander they're really splitting hairs, right, um.
• 13:02
  Speaker 3: So I do wonder if maybe the next highlander, if there is one, will change direction a little bit.
• 13:07
  Speaker 2: I don't know, we'll see so that reminds me of the wagoneer, grand wagoneer.
• 13:09
  Speaker 2: What they're doing with that, you know now it's a grand wagoneer, so yeah exactly.
• 13:14
  Speaker 1: Well, let's, let's move on to the, the short list, because we're running out of time here.
• 13:17
  Speaker 1: How about the?
• 13:18
  Speaker 1: How about the used car selections for this week?
• 13:24
  Speaker 3: Yeah, so we've got a Mazda 6 on here, 2016, for our pick, under $10,000.
• 13:30
  Speaker 3: And all of these used selections have to fit pretty similar criteria to the new ones A little different, of course, because these cars are older but meeting a standard list of safety features and you know our road testing and reliability.
• 13:44
  Speaker 3: So, um, a lot of these cars end up representing really good value because they've depreciated a little bit more than their direct competitors while still, you know, meeting those criteria.
• 13:54
  Speaker 3: So, mazda 6 you could imagine most people going out for a used camry mazda 6 kind of goes under the radar a little bit but ultimately still a really good car.
• 14:02
  Speaker 3: Um, you know about 30 miles per gallon, that type of thing.
• 14:06
  Speaker 3: So just a solid, uh, mid-sized sedan there, sure, um, after that, the toyota corolla probably not a huge surprise 2018, so this is in the prior generation 2014 to 2019, um, and of course, you're going to get that pretty rock solid Toyota reliability with this thing.
• 14:25
  Speaker 3: Yep, and we see them priced in between 12 to $15,000.
• 14:30
  Speaker 3: So it's kind of coming in that that under $15,000 price there.
• 14:33
  Speaker 3: After that we've got the 2016 CRV just the regular one, not the hybrid one here.
• 14:40
  Speaker 3: But, yeah, high owner satisfaction, high reliability.
• 14:44
  Speaker 3: Pretty good road test score on that one.
• 14:48
  Speaker 3: So that's our SUV under $15,000, then getting a little bit more into higher-priced cars hybrid under $20,000, the Toyota Camry hybrid.
• 15:00
  Speaker 1: Right.
• 15:02
  Speaker 2: Oh, we've pulled that.
• 15:04
  Speaker 3: He froze up up.
• 15:05
  Speaker 3: We peel them up a little bit.
• 15:07
  Speaker 3: After that we've got the, the kia sportage, so our small suv under twenty thousand dollars.
• 15:13
  Speaker 3: This is a 2021, which I kind of like this one because it's towards the end of the generation for that, that sportage.
• 15:21
  Speaker 3: So it was like right before the new one came out.
• 15:23
  Speaker 3: Basically and what's good about that is we generally see just the trend is that as these vehicles age throughout their generation, they tend to get more reliable at the end.
• 15:31
  Speaker 3: So if you can get a good deal on on a model that you know it's kind of at the end of that generation can often work out.
• 15:37
  Speaker 1: And I agree with you a hundred percent there.
• 15:39
  Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, yeah, I mean, we hear it from the automakers directly all the time that they, you know, as you guys know, they are working on refinements both on the manufacturing side, the design side, and that all comes together At the let's see towards the end.
• 15:59
  Speaker 3: Here we've got hybrid SUV under $20,000, toyota RAV4.
• 16:01
  Speaker 3: This is again the previous generation, ra generation rav4 2016 to 2018.
• 16:04
  Speaker 3: So you can get a 2018, um, kind of coming in right under that twenty thousand dollar mark.
• 16:07
  Speaker 3: Get you know, into the 30 miles per gallon area with something like that, which is pretty awesome, um, kind of like the mazda 6.
• 16:15
  Speaker 3: The next one, the, the mazda cx9, is one of those under the radar choices.
• 16:19
  Speaker 3: We know three-row SUVs are pretty hot right now as far as a segment right, people are going after those.
• 16:26
  Speaker 3: The reason the Grand Highlander exists, so one that kind of goes forgotten but is reliable tests well, in our program and people tend to like.
• 16:35
  Speaker 3: So it's that.
• 16:36
  Speaker 3: 2016 to 2023.
• 16:37
  Speaker 3: Cx-9.
• 16:39
  Speaker 3: And, yeah, a couple of those on the list.
• 16:42
  Speaker 3: I think I'll skip ahead a little bit, but the mazda miata is is on a list of ours somewhere almost all the time.
• 16:48
  Speaker 4: It's a great car 2019 you can get it.
• 16:51
  Speaker 1: I was just gonna say that that that is almost a no-brainer these days.
• 16:54
  Speaker 1: I mean, it certainly has proven itself from the day that it rolled off the first one of the factory to today what a great vehicle for a decent price and a lot of fun.
• 17:06
  Speaker 3: For sure.
• 17:06
  Speaker 3: Yeah, and they keep making refinements and it's nice to see I mean, you can get a 2019 specifically under $20,000.
• 17:13
  Speaker 1: So that was after they kind of bumped the horsepower up in 2018 and made some other changes so you can kind of get the refreshed version and hey if worse comes to worse, you could always get it on the track and go to some SCCA event on the weekend after you've driven back and forth to work all week.
• 17:28
  Speaker 1: Yeah, dual-purpose buy.
• 17:30
  Speaker 1: There you go.
• 17:31
  Speaker 1: Well, Alex, it's great to talk to you.
• 17:33
  Speaker 1: We thank you so much for taking the time for us today with the new and used Top Vehicle Picks 2025 for Consumer Reports Again, great to talk to you, thanks so much for joining us.
• 17:45
  Speaker 3: Likewise.
• 17:45
  Speaker 3: One more thing before I go we do have crorg slash car slash in-wheel time and that gets you.
• 17:53
  Speaker 3: If you go to that link, you'll get $10 off a CR subscription.
• 17:57
  Speaker 1: You know, I wish that I would have done that.
• 17:58
  Speaker 1: We are a promo code.
• 18:00
  Speaker 1: I know We've got our own promo code.
• 18:02
  Speaker 1: Thank you, alex, we love it.
• 18:04
  Speaker 1: Where did you go to college?
• 18:06
  Speaker 3: I went to Western New England in Springfield, and then I went to Clemson after that.
• 18:10
  Speaker 1: Look at you, you go boy.
• 18:12
  Speaker 1: We love it.
• 18:13
  Speaker 1: It's great to talk to you, my friend.
• 18:15
  Speaker 1: Thank you very much.
• 18:16
  Speaker 1: Appreciate your knowledge, knowledge.
• 18:22
  Speaker 1: You do the same, alex and Isaac, with Consumer Reports Just ahead, jeff has the racing calendar, mars has this week in auto history and this week's automotive news headlines all coming up on the In Wheel Time Car Talk Show Back in a flash.
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• 20:38
  Speaker 1: Get the info link at inwheelttimecom and our In Wheel Time Facebook page.
• 20:45
  Speaker 1: Okay time now for the racing calendar sponsored by the.
• 20:48
  Speaker 1: Texas Muscle Car Club Challenge.
• 20:50
  Speaker 2: Thank you for that.
• 20:50
  Speaker 2: Now, guess what's happening.
• 20:52
  Speaker 2: This weekend Started yesterday, nhra season started for 2025.
• 20:58
  Speaker 2: They are this week at the Gator Nationals at the Gainesville Raceway.
• 21:03
  Speaker 2: Been there, been there.
• 21:04
  Speaker 2: Now, I don't know what channel it's on.
• 21:06
  Speaker 2: Is it on FS1?
• 21:07
  Speaker 2: Fs2.
• 21:08
  Speaker 2: Fs2.
• 21:08
  Speaker 2: So there you go, you can tune into that.
• 21:10
  Speaker 2: Nascar is in Phoenix, so that's going on Sunday.
• 21:14
  Speaker 2: That's the big boys, the Xfinity guys.
• 21:17
  Speaker 2: The smaller group is on, that's tomorrow in Phoenix.
• 21:21
  Speaker 2: And then you got the Craftsman Trucks.
• 21:23
  Speaker 2: They're going next week to Las Vegas, so that's pretty cool for them.
• 21:27
  Speaker 2: And then next week also, you got the 12 Hours of Sebring, so that's going to be fun as well.
• 21:32
  Speaker 2: So tune in to all that racing.
• 21:33
  Speaker 2: It's coming up.
• 21:35
  Speaker 1: Okay, time now for this week in auto history, mr Mars.
• 21:39
  Speaker 4: Yeah, we got several different stories here that I found were very interesting and learned some new stuff.
• 21:44
  Speaker 4: For example, on March 2nd 1933, ford introduces their V8, flathead V8, over to Europe.
• 21:51
  Speaker 4: What?
• 21:52
  Speaker 2: year was that 1933.
• 21:54
  Speaker 4: Don't you remember?
• 21:54
  Speaker 4: You were on that boat, I was, and what it did it?
• 22:01
  Speaker 4: So outpowered it was so much more powerful than what they had with the engines they've been using that it really made a change in that entire industry over in the european cars, because they started building bigger, more powerful cars.
• 22:11
  Speaker 4: Now, in 1931, the american automobile association published the first nationwide highway map, and this is really significant because it became a crucial tool for the expanding era of automobile travel.
• 22:25
  Speaker 4: As the highways connected cities and states, you had to figure out how to get there, from where to here, and therefore the map detailed the major routes that promoted safer, more efficient long-distance travel.
• 22:37
  Speaker 1: Is there a reason that you picked southern New England for the video?
• 22:40
  Speaker 4: Well, I did because this was a map in 1920-something like that Nine yeah and it shows just how crowded things were.
• 22:49
  Speaker 4: If you were an individual trying to figure out how to get across there, it was just a nice blown-up to see how the maps and the roads were.
• 22:56
  Speaker 4: If you didn't have a map and didn't know where you were going, you were screwed.
• 22:59
  Speaker 4: You were Plus.
• 23:01
  Speaker 4: You didn't have anything to collect and put in the back seat.
• 23:04
  Speaker 1: Well, not only that, but you probably had to go and get another set of glasses, because you can't read the dang map.
• 23:11
  Speaker 1: It's so small.
• 23:14
  Speaker 4: That's what people were dealing with, so this week the map really made a big change in the way that we were able to travel.
• 23:18
  Speaker 4: The invention of the magnifying glass, yes, this next one.
• 23:21
  Speaker 4: In 1997, toyota began the production of the Prius.
• 23:25
  Speaker 4: Now this is the first mass-produced hybrid car and it really changed the way things were done in the industry as far as creating the hybrids.
• 23:33
  Speaker 4: They still make this thing.
• 23:36
  Speaker 3: Not that particular one.
• 23:37
  Speaker 3: No, no.
• 23:38
  Speaker 4: But it became a symbol of that particular.
• 23:39
  Speaker 4: No, no, but it became a symbol of sustainable driving, influencing automotive industry, shift towards hybrid and electric vehicles, making things energy in, energy efficient transportation.
• 23:48
  Speaker 4: And uh, the first generation prius was the first mass-produced hybrid vehicle.
• 23:54
  Speaker 4: Now the 1969 pontiac introduced the trans am.
• 24:00
  Speaker 4: Now this was a high performance version of the firebird, designed for both street and track use.
• 24:04
  Speaker 4: Now, it was named after the trans-american racing series, had a ram, air, 400, v8s, upgraded suspension, several aerodynamic aerodynamic enhancements, and it was produced in limited numbers, but it was basically go racing on the weekend and sell cars on Monday, type of thing.
• 24:23
  Speaker 4: Now, another vehicle that made a significant impact on automotive history 1936, the Volkswagen Beetle is approved for production.
• 24:31
  Speaker 4: Now, adolf Hitler did the approval on this project because he envisioned an affordable people's car.
• 24:37
  Speaker 4: That was designed by ferdinand porsche.
• 24:40
  Speaker 4: The beetle was a rear mounted air cooled engine for nym porsche, porsche and uh, one of the things it was designed for, that he wanted a vehicle that everybody could afford two adults, three children.
• 24:55
  Speaker 4: Now this vehicle started being built in 1935 and they built it the same type one, basically same platform till 2003 21.5 million cars.
• 25:07
  Speaker 1: That car right there, that volkswagen beetle ticked off henry ford like no tomorrow oh, you've got to know it.
• 25:13
  Speaker 4: I mean, and but some, like I say there was because of the size and what they were after and I thought two adults and three kids.
• 25:19
  Speaker 4: Well, almost 100 years ago people were smaller, so it made a little more sense, particularly over in the European where the roads are narrow and stuff, to do this.
• 25:29
  Speaker 1: I resemble that a more.
• 25:30
  Speaker 4: And it was supposed to get.
• 25:31
  Speaker 4: One of the criteria was 33.6 miles to the gallon, which was unheard of back in 1933.
• 25:37
  Speaker 4: I'll be darned.
• 25:38
  Speaker 4: So that was just some of the stories this week in automotive history that I thought were rather interesting.
• 25:43
  Speaker 1: Well, they are very interesting and I thank you very much for sharing those with us.
• 25:46
  Speaker 1: What's next week's lesson?
• 25:49
  Speaker 4: Next week is the important things that happen between now and then.
• 25:58
  Speaker 1: That was a good answer, marsael.
• 25:59
  Speaker 1: That was direct from leaderville.
• 26:01
  Speaker 1: All right, uh, a couple of stories here.
• 26:04
  Speaker 1: Cadillac yes, preparing to launch a roomier version of the escalade yeah, offering extra space for people, bigger people and for cargo uh, about two thousand seven hundred dollars more for this car.
• 26:18
  Speaker 1: General motors luxury brand on march 5th revealed the 2026 cadillac escalade iql, a nameplate it confirmed a year ago and the counterpart to the gasoline-powered escalade esv.
• 26:32
  Speaker 1: Production of the escalade iql will begin around june, july, august somewhere.
• 26:39
  Speaker 2: So that's when they're transitioning it.
• 26:41
  Speaker 1: They're transitioning.
• 26:42
  Speaker 1: Yes, Now I think this is an added bonus.
• 26:45
  Speaker 1: Vehicle will be sold globally and come in four trims luxury, sport, premium luxury and premium sport.
• 26:56
  Speaker 1: Pricing start at $132,695.
• 27:00
  Speaker 1: Here, take this, they may give you a couple dollars off, it's an expensive transition.
• 27:05
  Speaker 1: It is a transition that's very expensive.
• 27:06
  Speaker 1: I think most of them are, from what I've heard, I don't know.
• 27:09
  Speaker 1: Uh, for potential car buyers today, vehicle price is a key focus, according to betty jetvic, president of auto relationships at Santander Consumer Auto lender.
• 27:22
  Speaker 1: Santander surveyed roughly 2,200 Americans making between $50,000 and $148,000 a year in December for the lender's quarterly Paths to Prosperity study.
• 27:33
  Speaker 1: According to the survey, 52% of middle-income Americans delayed purchasing a vehicle in the past year because of the cost.
• 27:41
  Speaker 1: Nearly half of middle-income Americans, however, are considering purchasing a vehicle this year and are taking initial steps to prepare.
• 27:51
  Speaker 1: Very good, according to Mrs Javotnik.
• 27:53
  Speaker 1: Is that the way I said it?
• 27:54
  Speaker 1: Javotnik, betty, betty, betty, betty With Sant, betty, betty With Santander, martha's sister, martha, martha, martha, santander, martha, santander, martha, javotnik.
• 28:07
  Speaker 1: Yep, all right, we're going to wrap up today's show right after a quick break here on the In Wheel Time Car Talk Show.
• 28:14
  Speaker 1: Pro-am Auto Accessories has been serving Houston's auto enthusiasts since 1984, providing world-class products for sports cars, european sedans and American muscle.
• 28:24
  Speaker 1: Pro-am is known as the place to go to find exclusive and hard-to-find parts and accessories.
• 28:29
  Speaker 1: Pro-am is one of the very first distributors in the USA for brands such as Recaro, redline, momo Corbo and Simpson.
• 28:35
  Speaker 1: Located in the heart of Houston's premier retail and service corridor, the Galleria area, pro-am's walk-in storefront includes an 8,000 square foot warehouse, showroom and installation bays.
• 28:49
  Speaker 1: Pro-am not only sells parts and accessories, but also offers installation and service.
• 28:51
  Speaker 1: Pro-am is now reaching a worldwide audience through Pro-Amcom, taking its local reputation to the rest of the world.
• 28:56
  Speaker 1: At Pro-Am Auto you'll be dealing with a small group of professionals who truly want to help you with your automotive needs.
• 29:01
  Speaker 1: If you don't see what you're looking for on the website, call and Pro-Am will lend you a hand.
• 29:06
  Speaker 1: Pro-am Auto 6125 Richmond at Greenridge in Houston's Galleria area.
• 29:10
  Speaker 1: Call them at 713-781-7755.
• 29:15
  Speaker 1: It's time for the 47th annual Corvette Chevy Expo in Galveston.
• 29:19
  Speaker 1: Saturday and Sunday, march 15th and 16th, at the Galveston Island Convention Center.
• 29:22
  Speaker 1: This premier indoor event features iconic Chevrolets, from classic Camaros to America's sports car Corvette.
• 29:29
  Speaker 1: See over 135 displays, automotive vendors and unique finds at the expansive swap meet.
• 29:34
  Speaker 1: You'll also see the all-handmade Galveston Craft Show featuring over 100 local artisans.
• 29:39
  Speaker 1: Be part of the Chevy celebration March 15th and 16th.
• 29:42
  Speaker 1: For tickets, visit CorvetteChevyExpocom.
• 29:47
  Speaker 1: Well, that's all for this week's In Wheel Time Car Talk Show.
• 29:49
  Speaker 1: Be sure to check us out online at InWheelTimecom.
• 29:53
  Speaker 1: We're always looking for new and fun automotive things.
• 29:56
  Speaker 1: If you have an idea, let us know.
• 29:59
  Speaker 1: Our email address is info at inwheeltimecom.
• 30:01
  Speaker 1: When you're looking for award-winning car talk, you can always find the In Wheel Time Car Talk Show 24-7 on the In Wheel Time app.
• 30:09
  Speaker 1: If you're on the road, grab a podcast anytime from your favorite podcast provider, including the new SiriusXM podcast channel, and be sure and catch us on the Odyssey Radio app.
• 30:20
  Speaker 1: We video stream our live show every Saturday 10 to noon on Facebook, youtube and InWheelTimecom.
• 30:26
  Speaker 1: The InWheelTime video technical director is we always need more Jeff Zekin, the booking agent, video editor and people finder, mike out of this world, mars and chief engineer.
• 30:37
  Speaker 1: David Ainsley I'm Don Armstrong Today.
• 30:42
  Speaker 1: The Hot Rod Tour of Texas starts April 24th in Victoria.
• 30:47
  Speaker 1: We hope you'll join us or at least tune in Details and links at inwheeltimecom.
• 30:51
  Speaker 1: Be safe out there.
• 30:52
  Speaker 1: Have a great weekend.
• 30:53
  Speaker 1: Thanks again for tuning in to In Wheel Time.
• 30:55
  Speaker 1: That's it for this podcast episode of the In Wheel Time Car Show.
• 31:18
  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.
• 31:28
  Speaker 1: Podcasts are available on Apple Podcasts, spotify, stitcher, iheart Podcast, podcast Addict TuneIn, pandora and Amazon Music.
• 31:37
  Speaker 1: Keep listening and we'll see you soon.