Latest / In Wheel Time Podcast / Restoring a Roadrunner: A Father's Legacy

Transcript

Restoring a Roadrunner: A Father's Legacy · In Wheel Time Podcast

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Welcome to another In Wheel Time podcast, a 30-minute mini version of the In Wheel Time Car Show that airs live every Saturday morning 8 to 11 am.
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: Welcome to the award-winning In Wheel Time Car Talk Show.
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: Just ahead, we talk to our buddy, richard Tomlin, about his 68 Roadrunner, the family project car, and the story behind it.
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: Also, I'll give you my thoughts on driving the Alfa Romeo Tonali, and Jeff has the Motor Minute in this segment of the In Wheel Time Car Talk Show.
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: Howdy Along with Mike out of this world, mars.
• 0:28
  Speaker 1: We always need more.
• 0:30
  Speaker 1: Jeff Zekin.
• 0:30
  Speaker 1: Chief Engineer David Ainsley, I'm Don Armstrong.
• 0:33
  Speaker 1: Thanks so much for joining us on this Saturday for our live broadcast and if you're listening on a podcast, hey, we appreciate that as well.
• 0:41
  Speaker 1: All right, let's get right to it, shall we?
• 0:43
  Speaker 1: Richard Tomlin, apex Auto Works.
• 0:45
  Speaker 1: Richard, good morning, it's been a while since we talked.
• 0:47
  Speaker 1: We tried to talk to you last weekend, didn't work out.
• 0:50
  Speaker 1: We got it all fixed this week and it's good to see you again, my friend.
• 0:54
  Speaker 2: Good morning, Good morning guys.
• 0:55
  Speaker 1: Well, good morning to you.
• 0:56
  Speaker 1: So, just so everybody is on the same page and we really kind of get a little bit of background here.
• 1:03
  Speaker 1: Richard inherited his father's one owner, roadrunner.
• 1:08
  Speaker 1: When his father died in the Oklahoma City bombing Richard, I did not know that we're going to get into that in a minute.
• 1:14
  Speaker 1: After seeing it in the corner of the shop, we approached Richard a few times about the story, but he always seemed reluctant to talk about it.
• 1:21
  Speaker 1: Now his plan is to revive the Roadrunner.
• 1:28
  Speaker 2: take it to sema in november awesome 77 days away.
• 1:31
  Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah and uh.
• 1:32
  Speaker 1: And then pri in december, and then tackle pike's peak hill climb next june all with this same vehicle same vehicle.
• 1:41
  Speaker 2: So, uh, yeah, the car's been saying for a while, but Same vehicle.
• 1:44
  Speaker 2: So, yeah, the car's been saying for a while.
• 1:46
  Speaker 2: But Pikes Peak this year, I was sitting with a customer talking about building their new car for this year and they wanted to build a BMW M2.
• 1:53
  Speaker 2: Great car, but $80,000 plus and you want us to cut it up, turn it into a race car.
• 2:00
  Speaker 2: And I said, well, why don't you build something cool that not everybody has, something older, you know vintage, and let's go up there and race and have a good time.
• 2:04
  Speaker 2: And he says, well, there's nothing I can afford that I would build.
• 2:06
  Speaker 2: I was like, well, what does that mean?
• 2:07
  Speaker 2: What would you build?
• 2:08
  Speaker 2: And he's like, well, I'd build what my father and I had, which was a 68 Roadrunner.
• 2:12
  Speaker 2: And I'm like, well, you're going to want a 68 Roadrunner.
• 2:14
  Speaker 2: Guess who else has one of those passed while he was on the starting line at Pikes Peak three years ago.
• 2:22
  Speaker 1: Oh, my God.
• 2:25
  Speaker 2: So it's become a legacy project is the easiest way to put it.
• 2:30
  Speaker 1: Yeah Well, I did not know that about your father, so was that back in the 90s?
• 2:39
  Speaker 2: 95.
• 2:40
  Speaker 1: 95.
• 2:40
  Speaker 2: So he was a special agent for the Department of Transportation, so he dealt with semis and regulations there.
• 2:45
  Speaker 2: But yeah, fourth floor, right above the truck, he was the third to last person found in that event, so he raced.
• 2:56
  Speaker 2: I mean, since I was a kid, the car was always a race car.
• 2:58
  Speaker 2: They drove it to the hospital when I was born.
• 3:00
  Speaker 2: It's just always been around.
• 3:02
  Speaker 2: Some people are going to roll over, absolutely lose their minds when they see what we're doing to this because we're doing what they call a body swap.
• 3:10
  Speaker 2: So another Pikes Peak customer friend kindly donated a 2015 NASCAR truck running and driving truck and we have taken the body off of it, we've taken most of the cage structure off and we're going to body swap the Roadrunner onto that.
• 3:28
  Speaker 2: And then Apex is going to do what we do best, which is create a custom fab cage that will tie the NASCAR structure together with the Roadrunner and we will send it up the mountain with all 830 horsepower at the wheels.
• 3:40
  Speaker 3: Nice Wow.
• 3:42
  Speaker 1: And so now has the body been welded together or something.
• 3:46
  Speaker 1: I mean, how do you body swaddle?
• 3:49
  Speaker 3: Your butt cheeks better be welded together.
• 3:51
  Speaker 2: Yeah, so the Roadrunner is a unibody, so that makes it in my mind a little bit easier.
• 3:56
  Speaker 2: Everybody says, it makes it more difficult but I think it's easier.
• 3:58
  Speaker 2: But we've spent the last two weeks clearing the chassis.
• 4:02
  Speaker 2: But we've spent the last two weeks clearing the chassis so that the NASCAR truck is just a 2x4 box frame like an old C10 truck would be.
• 4:10
  Speaker 2: Yes, they use the old truck arm suspension and we've basically cleared off every bar, every notch on it.
• 4:15
  Speaker 2: We'll grind it smooth today, paint it white, Then it will go outside.
• 4:19
  Speaker 2: We'll bring the Roadrunner inside, drop all the suspension on it and then start lowering and cutting, lowering and cutting.
• 4:26
  Speaker 1: Does the Roadrunner have the original floor pans in it?
• 4:28
  Speaker 1: Yep, currently, because the floor pans are really the whole structure of the car.
• 4:35
  Speaker 2: Yes, they are the roof yeah.
• 4:37
  Speaker 2: There are repairs.
• 4:38
  Speaker 2: There are things that have been done to the floor pans in that car.
• 4:41
  Speaker 2: It was the automatic to manual transmission swap numerous times, as a lot of those cars were back in the day when you're drag racing it.
• 4:49
  Speaker 2: I think it's probably the third time I've put a four-speed tunnel in it, so the car is not pristine and perfect.
• 4:58
  Speaker 2: But when I was working at a body shop some 25 years ago, I spent probably two years doing body work on it myself and once I got all the body work done, we painted it, and we painted it in orange because it made sense at the time.
• 5:17
  Speaker 3: God, I don't know if you're going to make it all the way over there, Richard.
• 5:20
  Speaker 3: Richard we've dropped your video.
• 5:24
  Speaker 1: There you go, that's better.
• 5:27
  Speaker 2: You can get it now.
• 5:28
  Speaker 1: Yeah, kind of.
• 5:29
  Speaker 1: Maybe, so point that camera over there to that road rail.
• 5:33
  Speaker 1: Let's see it, there we go.
• 5:36
  Speaker 1: Is that it, the white?
• 5:37
  Speaker 2: one.
• 5:38
  Speaker 2: Yep, that's it.
• 5:40
  Speaker 2: It's now white instead of the Lamborghini orange because we're going back to what it was in 1984.
• 5:46
  Speaker 2: We asked Mike Satterfield to do us a rendering of what paint job was on the car, then make it somewhat modern.
• 5:51
  Speaker 2: We're even using single-stage paint on it, and I'll reach in here and grab this.
• 5:55
  Speaker 2: So when I grew up, the car was called Big Bird, so the NASCAR valve covers were Dodge, of course, and I couldn't have Dodge.
• 6:03
  Speaker 2: So we took the valve covers and machined them down and then put Big Bird on the valve covers and a little Plum Crazy Purple, trying to do the best we can to make it as authentic as possible.
• 6:16
  Speaker 1: Well, you said something unique to go up the mountain.
• 6:21
  Speaker 1: Yeah, this is very unique.
• 6:23
  Speaker 1: I don't believe I've ever had a 68 Roadrunner in mind when you're trying to do a hill climb.
• 6:30
  Speaker 2: Correct, but when you add enough horsepower, does it matter, right?
• 6:33
  Speaker 1: Well, that's true.
• 6:34
  Speaker 1: It's really about horsepower and suspension, isn't it?
• 6:38
  Speaker 2: Yep.
• 6:38
  Speaker 2: So the NASCAR suspension will help us quite a bit on that.
• 6:40
  Speaker 2: It's what I call the old school truck arm suspension, but it makes it very capable up the hill.
• 6:46
  Speaker 2: I think we had probably six, maybe seven, chassis last year that were all NASCAR based, but there's a lot of those that actually end up on the mountain, so it's nothing that new.
• 6:57
  Speaker 2: They run them road course as well.
• 7:00
  Speaker 2: So we're still waiting on suspension to make it go right, not just left, because this truck currently is set up just to go left.
• 7:04
  Speaker 2: So we're still waiting on suspension to make it go right, not just left, because this truck currently is set up just to go left.
• 7:06
  Speaker 2: So we still have some challenges ahead of us.
• 7:08
  Speaker 3: You know, Richard, there's going to be some extra weight.
• 7:11
  Speaker 3: Is that going to be a?
• 7:12
  Speaker 2: little challenge, so we're comparing it.
• 7:19
  Speaker 2: The guy who donated the truck to us, rick Lind, his truck is 3,400 pounds and we are literally running the same motor.
• 7:26
  Speaker 2: He ran two years ago and I want to say he was an 1150, 1155.
• 7:33
  Speaker 2: Not the same, running at the mountain Us, our shop.
• 7:40
  Speaker 2: Now this will be 17,.
• 7:41
  Speaker 2: 18 cars we've built for Pike.
• 7:45
  Speaker 2: We expect to be mid-pack with this setup.
• 7:49
  Speaker 2: So we're going to do our bit, as light as possible, and make our.
• 7:53
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I think you've about outran your Wi-Fi there, richard.
• 7:59
  Speaker 1: Yeah, it's ugly cutting in and out and can hardly understand you.
• 8:03
  Speaker 1: So can you get closer to your Wi-Fi?
• 8:07
  Speaker 2: Thought I was, no, you weren't.
• 8:10
  Speaker 2: No, now you're set.
• 8:11
  Speaker 2: There you go, there you.
• 8:12
  Speaker 2: Oh, now you're sad.
• 8:13
  Speaker 1: There you go, there you go.
• 8:14
  Speaker 1: You're getting better, there you go Better.
• 8:16
  Speaker 1: Yes.
• 8:17
  Speaker 3: My question is there are challenges going.
• 8:19
  Speaker 3: I was going to say.
• 8:20
  Speaker 3: My question is obviously there's rules and regulations.
• 8:23
  Speaker 3: Do you have to have a body on the vehicle?
• 8:26
  Speaker 3: Why not just do the frame and the roll cage and no fenders, no doors, no, nothing and just.
• 8:31
  Speaker 3: And the roll cage and no fenders, no doors?
• 8:33
  Speaker 2: no, nothing, you just run it up that way.
• 8:34
  Speaker 2: Well, that's an open-wheel car, like my Miata.
• 8:36
  Speaker 2: Well, there you go.
• 8:37
  Speaker 1: Oh, so that puts it in a different class.
• 8:39
  Speaker 2: Okay, puts it in a different class, and this is more of a.
• 8:43
  Speaker 2: We're not going up there so much to be fast as to leave a legacy.
• 8:46
  Speaker 2: This is for his father, for my father, and what you don't realize, what you do with some young men in life that will just shape the way they live forever.
• 8:55
  Speaker 2: So let's go out there and make somebody's dream come true.
• 8:59
  Speaker 1: Has there ever been a roadrunner going up?
• 9:01
  Speaker 1: A 68 roadrunner go up the mountain like that.
• 9:04
  Speaker 2: I don't know a 68 roadrunner.
• 9:05
  Speaker 2: There is a B-body that is registered this year but it's a 66 Cornette, so a little different look than a 68.
• 9:12
  Speaker 2: But we've talked to some of the Dodge people, some of the Mopar people.
• 9:15
  Speaker 2: They're excited about it.
• 9:16
  Speaker 2: Not a lot that they could do or help us with, but we will represent the best we can going up the mountain.
• 9:22
  Speaker 1: When is the event?
• 9:23
  Speaker 2: Date has not been announced, but usually the last weekend in June has been our date for like the last 10 years.
• 9:30
  Speaker 1: Okay, the last weekend in June All right, so the been our date for like the last 10 years.
• 9:34
  Speaker 2: okay, the last weekend in june.
• 9:35
  Speaker 2: All right, so the weekend before the 4th of july to get all that dialed in the sima show is the big one.
• 9:39
  Speaker 2: Uh, yes, weekend before the 4th it used to always be on 4th of july weekend, but that's all changed so so you're going to show it first yeah, well, so the the sima show, of course.
• 9:50
  Speaker 2: What november 7thth, 8th, 9th?
• 9:51
  Speaker 3: First week of November.
• 9:52
  Speaker 2: yeah, yeah, we come back November 15th for my race in Victoria, which should be the first event the car participates in.
• 10:00
  Speaker 2: So we are planning on running the car at an event a week after.
• 10:03
  Speaker 2: We should have it on the road and tested at MSR before we even leave Houston.
• 10:08
  Speaker 1: It will have no Bluetooth drive shafts no Bluetooth brakes going into the show, like many of the cars do.
• 10:15
  Speaker 1: Anything else you're working on, or is this taking up 100%?
• 10:17
  Speaker 2: of your time.
• 10:17
  Speaker 2: You know we're trying.
• 10:18
  Speaker 2: We've got the 76 Firebird right now We've got the 68 SS396.
• 10:24
  Speaker 2: El Camino Showed up yesterday, Just a beautiful car Chasing down some fuel injection issues.
• 10:30
  Speaker 2: I swapped over from carbureted to fuel injection, Did it at home.
• 10:33
  Speaker 2: It works good enough to drive, but you're not going to take it very far running the way it does.
• 10:38
  Speaker 2: And then Firebird, we're working on AC, work on it, trying to get AC back in the car, doing a retrofit from R12 to the 134.
• 10:46
  Speaker 2: But usual stuff, work, sleep.
• 10:48
  Speaker 2: C4 getting cut up, turned into a race car for lemons.
• 10:51
  Speaker 2: You know that's one of the things we've always got going on here is one or two Lemons cars.
• 10:56
  Speaker 3: So when is the Lemons event?
• 10:58
  Speaker 2: Same weekend as PR, as SEMA.
• 11:00
  Speaker 2: This year.
• 11:00
  Speaker 2: It'll be the first one I've missed in 16 years Wow.
• 11:03
  Speaker 3: Richard, how many employees do you have?
• 11:10
  Speaker 2: How many technicians or mechanics Right now?
• 11:11
  Speaker 2: Three.
• 11:11
  Speaker 2: I should be at five to six.
• 11:13
  Speaker 2: Yeah, change happens, people leave, people come, people go.
• 11:15
  Speaker 2: But I actually have two people we're interviewing today, so we're always looking for talented people.
• 11:19
  Speaker 2: The problem is we have a lot of scheduling here, timelines, a lot of travel, and some people don't like that Really.
• 11:27
  Speaker 2: I think it's their wives don't like the travel side of it.
• 11:29
  Speaker 2: But we go to a lot of places and do a lot of things and see amazing things.
• 11:33
  Speaker 1: Richard, have you ever been in touch with the guys?
• 11:35
  Speaker 2: over at Houston.
• 11:36
  Speaker 1: Have you ever been in touch with the guys over at Houston Community College?
• 11:39
  Speaker 1: You know they've got a great program over there and they're always looking for a placement of their graduates.
• 11:47
  Speaker 2: I should probably get in touch with them.
• 11:49
  Speaker 1: Yeah, you should.
• 11:49
  Speaker 2: We could use some people that are actually driven and enjoy working on cars.
• 11:53
  Speaker 2: There's a lot of people that work in the dealerships and they do it for money and they know a lot about cars, but they don't have what I call the love of cars, the passion.
• 12:02
  Speaker 2: These are family heirlooms.
• 12:04
  Speaker 2: In our business, we only work on toys from other people.
• 12:07
  Speaker 1: Like me.
• 12:09
  Speaker 2: Yeah, we don't work on daily driver cars.
• 12:11
  Speaker 2: It changes the way you touch a car and how you handle it and what attention you give it.
• 12:17
  Speaker 2: It's very different, but it shouldn't be, you know.
• 12:20
  Speaker 1: Well, yeah, because we're all car guys and we get it.
• 12:24
  Speaker 1: We kind of take it for granted being a car guy because you think that everybody else is and that's not the case.
• 12:30
  Speaker 1: No, they're not, else is and that's not the case, and a lot of kids these days and I say kids and I mean that in a very loose way, a 20-something year old that either dad's got the money or this kid works really hard and goes and spends a lot of money and buys a new car or a relatively new car and it's all complete.
• 12:49
  Speaker 1: I mean you can go to the dealership and buy a 700 horsepower race car basically that's got a license plate on it.
• 12:55
  Speaker 2: Yep, absolutely.
• 12:56
  Speaker 2: They're available all day long now.
• 12:58
  Speaker 1: Yeah, well, back in our day, if you wanted something like that, you had to build it.
• 13:03
  Speaker 1: Yeah, blood, sweat and tears.
• 13:04
  Speaker 1: Yeah, and the part of building it was really the joy in it.
• 13:08
  Speaker 1: Yeah, you get to drive it afterwards, but it was getting the friends together, getting your buddy over on a Saturday night or whatever the case may be.
• 13:15
  Speaker 1: You have a good time with the camaraderie and having a project, a group project.
• 13:21
  Speaker 3: And later on in life you say I've done that.
• 13:23
  Speaker 3: I did this.
• 13:24
  Speaker 2: This is what mine looked like.
• 13:25
  Speaker 2: Got the scars, yep, exactly.
• 13:28
  Speaker 3: Exactly.
• 13:33
  Speaker 2: Longest burnout I've ever done was in this car across a Walmart parking lot many, many moons ago, and that will be happening.
• 13:35
  Speaker 1: Are you sure it was Walmart and not Kmart?
• 13:36
  Speaker 1: They're still talking about it.
• 13:37
  Speaker 1: It was a Walmart, it was.
• 13:38
  Speaker 2: I was working there and doing the store sets, and it was a brand-new parking lot.
• 13:42
  Speaker 2: It was completely open, so we just left our mark all the way across it.
• 13:44
  Speaker 3: I'll sign the driveway.
• 13:45
  Speaker 3: You left a mark in history.
• 13:48
  Speaker 1: Yeah, that's like me and my buddy Ross, when we looked at the Richardson Chevrolet dealership and new car make ready.
• 13:55
  Speaker 1: Oh my God, we got to pull the Corvettes out on Saturday morning.
• 13:58
  Speaker 1: There were a couple of Corvettes that they had to have new tires on the back put on the car before it was sold because we had burnt the rubber off of them in the back parking lot.
• 14:10
  Speaker 1: Accidentally, I'm sure.
• 14:11
  Speaker 1: Oh, absolutely.
• 14:12
  Speaker 3: Accidentally, just two of them.
• 14:13
  Speaker 3: They got two others.
• 14:14
  Speaker 1: Yeah, they had a whole mess up.
• 14:16
  Speaker 1: We sure had a good time with that.
• 14:18
  Speaker 2: We'll get you guys some pictures.
• 14:19
  Speaker 2: But if you get time, head over to the Facebook page.
• 14:23
  Speaker 2: There's a lot of pictures there.
• 14:24
  Speaker 1: At Apex.
• 14:25
  Speaker 2: We'll try and get Mars some pictures.
• 14:26
  Speaker 1: At Apex.
• 14:27
  Speaker 2: Apex and then Richard Tomlin.
• 14:28
  Speaker 2: Both of them, They'll find it.
• 14:29
  Speaker 2: We're there, we're linked up to you guys.
• 14:32
  Speaker 1: Well, hey, man, it's great to talk to you.
• 14:34
  Speaker 1: Best of luck, let's be in touch this fall.
• 14:38
  Speaker 2: We will Come see you with a car.
• 14:40
  Speaker 2: You got it.
• 14:41
  Speaker 1: Richard Tomlin, apex Auto Works, 68 Roadrunner, hot Rod, pikes Peak Hill Climber.
• 14:45
  Speaker 1: Put a label on it.
• 14:47
  Speaker 1: He's driven it, built it, raced it, did it.
• 14:55
  Speaker 1: Yeah, just ahead, a review of the 2025 Alfa Romeo Tonali and Jeff's Motor Minute.
• 14:57
  Speaker 1: After a quick break, when the In-Wheel Time Car Talk Show continues.
• 15:01
  Speaker 1: The Tex-Mex dining experience is defined by Loopy Tortilla your destination for Texas's best beef fajitas and frozen margaritas.
• 15:10
  Speaker 1: Since 1983, loopy Tortilla has served authentic and time-tested recipes made with the freshest ingredients.
• 15:17
  Speaker 1: Atmosphere is part of the award-winning experience at Loopy Tortilla, all developed in a little house near Highway 6 and I-10 in West Houston.
• 15:24
  Speaker 1: Visit any of the Loopy Tortillas and you'll see the same attention to detail in each and every location.
• 15:30
  Speaker 1: Start your Loopy experience with queso flamiato and guacamole, along with a classic frozen margarita.
• 15:36
  Speaker 1: Dine on famous loopy beef and chicken fajitas or pepper shrimp brochette, or a fish or vegetarian entree, and finish with a scrumptious flan for dessert.
• 15:45
  Speaker 1: Find Loopy Tortilla in Houston, college Station, beaumont, austin, san Antonio and Dallas-Fort Worth.
• 15:50
  Speaker 1: There's a Texas location near you.
• 15:52
  Speaker 1: The recipes are authentic and time-tested, the ingredients always fresh.
• 15:57
  Speaker 1: Loopy Tortilla it's pretty good.
• 15:59
  Speaker 1: Apple or Android In Wheel Time podcasts can be found everywhere on the stream and through downloads, whether you're on the road or at home and jonesing for a different kind of car talk show, give In Wheel Time a try.
• 16:12
  Speaker 1: Honest new car reviews, fun, informative interviews with real car people, weekly automotive news, features like Jeff's car culture and Mike's driving destinations all on In Wheel Time.
• 16:21
  Speaker 1: Check us out on SiriusXM Podcasts, iheartart Radio or while you're shopping on Amazon through Amazon Music.
• 16:28
  Speaker 1: Inwheeltimecom has a list and we know you love lists.
• 16:31
  Speaker 1: Hey, the summer heat has us hiding inside the Sugar Shack studio, so we invite you to join us for our live In Wheel Time Car Talk Show Every Saturday 10 to noon, central Time on InWheelTimecom, youtube and Facebook.
• 16:46
  Speaker 1: Okay, time now for Jeff's Motor Minute.
• 16:48
  Speaker 3: Yeah, how many of us out there have a homeowners association Do?
• 16:51
  Speaker 2: you have one, mike, I've got one You've got one.
• 16:53
  Speaker 3: Not one here, but I've got one coming, okay.
• 16:54
  Speaker 3: Well, a homeowner was given a warning from their HOA after a family member charged a Tesla Model S in the driveway.
• 17:02
  Speaker 3: And this is the way it went down they're using a plug inside of the garage to charge a Model S.
• 17:09
  Speaker 3: Tesla Family member came over on vacation and they were just visiting, so there were no extension cords, just the Tesla cable, maybe about 10 feet long.
• 17:16
  Speaker 3: Well, shortly after they did that, they received a warning from the HOA stating that electrical cords running on the ground to the electric vehicle are not permitted in the community.
• 17:26
  Speaker 3: This seems to be a bit of confusion between the homeowner and the HOA.
• 17:30
  Speaker 3: It's not the EV charging that's necessarily the problem, but the cord on the ground.
• 17:34
  Speaker 3: The bylaws in the HOA state that long extension cords with the maximum length of 25 feet are not allowed, but the EV charger is an extension cord.
• 17:48
  Speaker 3: Nor is it 25 feet long, mike.
• 17:49
  Speaker 3: The HOA has a reputation for making the process of installing solar panels, ev chargers and other eco-friendly home upgrades far more difficult than they should be.
• 17:55
  Speaker 3: Many HOAs try to capitalize on the EV charging, like hiking electric prices, requiring specific charging vendors or just banning home charging altogether and making the practice illegal in a lot of states.
• 18:08
  Speaker 3: Even if you're in a similar sticky situation with your HOA, there are ways to change the bylaws and have the money saving come to you through the charging.
• 18:18
  Speaker 3: So here's some of the things that they're looking at.
• 18:21
  Speaker 3: These are quotes and things from the homeowners.
• 18:24
  Speaker 3: If you're charging in your garage, you have no control over what they do with your home.
• 18:28
  Speaker 3: That's what they're arguing.
• 18:29
  Speaker 3: The LV1 is no different than plugging in an appliance, which makes sense, it's true.
• 18:34
  Speaker 3: And another one says that, hey, get with your HOA, work it out, be friendly, be nice.
• 18:39
  Speaker 3: So if you've got a Karen in your neighborhood, look her up.
• 18:46
  Speaker 3: I think what you need to do is put little stakes in the yard on the way out and then have it.
• 18:49
  Speaker 3: Yeah, so it's off the ground looped.
• 18:50
  Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, right, well, if you're in your garage, close your garage door.
• 18:55
  Speaker 1: We can do that too.
• 18:55
  Speaker 1: Just close it on the cord, electrocute the whole house.
• 18:58
  Speaker 1: There you go.
• 18:58
  Speaker 1: What are you gonna say?
• 18:59
  Speaker 3: no, I was gonna say, you could put some little lights up there too, yeah, christmas lights, and then they can complain about that.
• 19:05
  Speaker 3: You guys have EVs, you plug them in in your house.
• 19:08
  Speaker 1: Plugged in right up there right now.
• 19:09
  Speaker 1: I saw that I tripped over the cord.
• 19:13
  Speaker 3: Couldn't, because I parked too close to it.
• 19:14
  Speaker 3: I know you did.
• 19:15
  Speaker 3: Anyways, be careful when you're doing that.
• 19:17
  Speaker 3: Don't get people angry with you.
• 19:19
  Speaker 1: Time now for this hour's car review.
• 19:20
  Speaker 1: I had a chance to drive the 2025 Alfa Romeo Tonale all-wheel drive.
• 19:28
  Speaker 1: Now the final assembly location is Pamigliano d'Arco, naples, italy.
• 19:35
  Speaker 1: Wow, how did I do?
• 19:37
  Speaker 1: Can you spell that Terribly?
• 19:38
  Speaker 1: I can spell it, but it won't do any good because it doesn't make any difference.
• 19:42
  Speaker 1: I can spell Tonale Pamigliano.
• 19:44
  Speaker 1: Available trim levels Base, intensa, tributo and Italiano.
• 19:54
  Speaker 1: There you go.
• 19:56
  Speaker 1: I had the base model.
• 20:00
  Speaker 1: It is considered a subcompact SUV, but in our language it's a small SUV Still seats five people.
• 20:08
  Speaker 1: All new in 2024.
• 20:10
  Speaker 1: So this is a relatively new vehicle.
• 20:12
  Speaker 1: It's got a great shape.
• 20:14
  Speaker 1: Love the distinct sporty shape with menacing headlights and Alfa's Scudetto grille.
• 20:22
  Speaker 1: Bet you didn't even know that, did you?
• 20:24
  Speaker 1: It's called a.
• 20:25
  Speaker 3: Scudetto grille.
• 20:25
  Speaker 1: Bet you didn't even know that, did you?
• 20:26
  Speaker 1: It's called a Scudetto grille.
• 20:28
  Speaker 1: Unique wheels with round spokes.
• 20:33
  Speaker 1: Rear taillights emulate the headlight design, big dual exhaust tips with a rear sunshade over the rear glass what I liked?
• 20:43
  Speaker 1: The Tonale gets high marks for its killer design.
• 20:47
  Speaker 1: In my opinion, what could use improvement?
• 20:49
  Speaker 1: Nothing Don't jack with it.
• 20:51
  Speaker 1: Here's why.
• 20:51
  Speaker 1: Because so many SUVs look the same the taillights you couldn't.
• 20:56
  Speaker 1: If you took the name of the vehicle off of it, you wouldn't be able to tell the difference between no offense, a Buick or you know.
• 21:04
  Speaker 3: An Audi Any of those.
• 21:06
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I agree, exactly.
• 21:08
  Speaker 1: Interior highlights.
• 21:09
  Speaker 1: Start-stop button is on the steering wheel Right there, see it.
• 21:13
  Speaker 1: I loved it.
• 21:16
  Speaker 1: Unique wheels.
• 21:17
  Speaker 1: I told you about that.
• 21:18
  Speaker 1: With the round spokes, we're doing the interior now.
• 21:20
  Speaker 1: Don Good Nice dash layout.
• 21:23
  Speaker 1: Huge paddle shifters Huge.
• 21:25
  Speaker 1: If you're into paddle shifting, this is the bomb.
• 21:29
  Speaker 1: Mike's into paddling.
• 21:30
  Speaker 1: Spanking Seat material.
• 21:33
  Speaker 1: Attractive and cool Dash and footwell.
• 21:38
  Speaker 1: Accent lights.
• 21:39
  Speaker 1: Sweet Cargo room.
• 21:42
  Speaker 1: Small, but this is a small SUV.
• 21:44
  Speaker 1: What I liked about it most everything we like the wetsuit-style fabric on the seats Cool, I don't know how else to describe it.
• 21:52
  Speaker 1: We could use improvement.
• 21:53
  Speaker 1: Small infotainment screen that was a little slow to react to touch inputs.
• 22:00
  Speaker 1: Two-liter turbo four-cylinder with 268 horsepower, which is a lot Torque.
• 22:08
  Speaker 1: 295, 9-speed automatic transmission.
• 22:11
  Speaker 1: So that's how they could get away with a little bit less horsepower in basically a sport SUV Miles per gallon, 21 city, 29 highway for a combined of 24.
• 22:29
  Speaker 1: Believe it or not, I got 29.7 miles per gallon over 461.5 miles.
• 22:32
  Speaker 1: Wow, that's pretty darn good, that's really good.
• 22:33
  Speaker 1: But I like plenty of power to throw it around corners.
• 22:34
  Speaker 1: And I say that in a sincere way, because you want to what?
• 22:37
  Speaker 1: Because you want?
• 22:37
  Speaker 1: to and it can yeah because it can yeah because it can, and that's the one cool thing about it that, uh, most SUVs don't have in this category.
• 22:45
  Speaker 1: What could use improvement?
• 22:47
  Speaker 1: Start-stop was annoying and couldn't turn it off oh wow, Maybe I just couldn't figure out a way to turn it off.
• 22:53
  Speaker 1: Well, that's true.
• 22:54
  Speaker 1: Parking brake automatically engages when you put it in park.
• 23:01
  Speaker 1: Turbolag in some situations.
• 23:03
  Speaker 1: Ride and handling the sportiness is what I really liked about it.
• 23:06
  Speaker 1: What could use improvement?
• 23:07
  Speaker 1: If you don't like a sporty ride and handling, then buy something else.
• 23:12
  Speaker 1: Don't buy a sports car.
• 23:13
  Speaker 1: Yeah, because that's what this is it's a sports car SUV.
• 23:18
  Speaker 1: The base model price is $36,495.
• 23:23
  Speaker 1: The base trim price wait a minute, I've got that.
• 23:24
  Speaker 1: The base trim price is $36,495.
• 23:26
  Speaker 1: The base trim price wait a minute, I've got that.
• 23:27
  Speaker 1: The base trim price is $36,495 on this because it is the base model.
• 23:30
  Speaker 1: Total price with a couple of options, including the destination charge $39,930.
• 23:36
  Speaker 1: Really, I know I was impressed not only by the price but the hot rod ride, the hot rod handling.
• 23:45
  Speaker 3: I'm all in Two things I'm noticing in that is that you don't see or you don't hear of the Alfa Romero Romero very often getting recalled for anything.
• 23:55
  Speaker 3: No, you don't that.
• 23:55
  Speaker 3: I remember I hadn't thought of that.
• 23:57
  Speaker 3: And the other thing is, you keep saying toenail.
• 24:01
  Speaker 1: I'm going to have to make a pedicure appointment.
• 24:02
  Speaker 1: I didn't have to say toenail, I'm going to have to make a pedicure appointment.
• 24:04
  Speaker 1: You said toenail, I didn't say that.
• 24:05
  Speaker 1: Keep saying it I'm going to have to have my toes done.
• 24:10
  Speaker 1: Actual competitors are the BMW X1, the Audi Q3, and the Mercedes-Benz GLA, and all of those are more expensive.
• 24:18
  Speaker 1: Well, I was going to say so.
• 24:18
  Speaker 1: This is the better bargain out of all of those.
• 24:19
  Speaker 1: I think so If you're into a small SUV and you want to have kind of a hot rod thing going on and something different that doesn't look like all the rest of it go, check it out and you're in the Euro phase.
• 24:32
  Speaker 3: the European vehicle Italian.
• 24:35
  Speaker 1: And I bet you you'll find one at an Alfa store that's already beat the tariffs.
• 24:40
  Speaker 1: Yeah, true, so the 2025 Alfa Romeo Tonali all-wheel drive Pretty cool.
• 24:47
  Speaker 1: Yeah, nice car.
• 24:49
  Speaker 1: All right, if you'd like to get in touch with us.
• 24:51
  Speaker 1: Well, we're a little bit early here, aren't we?
• 24:54
  Speaker 1: We are.
• 24:54
  Speaker 1: What did you say, morris?
• 24:56
  Speaker 1: Did you take your headset off?
• 24:57
  Speaker 1: Yeah, he did.
• 24:58
  Speaker 1: Okay, well, we're going to let him go ahead and do whatever it is that he's got to do.
• 25:03
  Speaker 1: You do, and do whatever it is that he's got to do.
• 25:04
  Speaker 1: I did run across this story and this is going to be a little bonus segment here.
• 25:07
  Speaker 1: Sure, jeep's swift shift toward more eco-friendly off-roading saw the lineup move away from high-powered Hemi engines as the Adventure brand added plug-in hybrids and its first fully electric vehicle in North America, the Wagoneer S.
• 25:24
  Speaker 1: It's now changing course and revving up its V8 offerings.
• 25:28
  Speaker 1: Again.
• 25:29
  Speaker 1: The brand will tap the power and performance of the Hemi across Jeep products, as new projects are already underway.
• 25:35
  Speaker 1: That, according to CEO Bob Broderdorf and I think we met him, didn't we?
• 25:40
  Speaker 1: Morris?
• 25:41
  Speaker 1: His name sounds familiar and then we'll go even further, he says, by bringing more powertrain options in the future, adding more horsepower to the lineup.
• 25:49
  Speaker 1: First step in Jeep's Hemi.
• 25:51
  Speaker 1: Resurgence is new life for the Wrangler Rubicon 392,.
• 25:55
  Speaker 1: Baby, I love that motor which is planned to go out of production last year.
• 26:01
  Speaker 1: The 470-horsepower Trail Cruiser Is that a category A Trail Cruiser?
• 26:06
  Speaker 1: Is that a category A Trail Cruiser?
• 26:08
  Speaker 1: It?
• 26:08
  Speaker 2: is now.
• 26:08
  Speaker 1: That ain't no cruising on that kind of thing, which retails for more than $100,000 with shipping.
• 26:13
  Speaker 1: It's currently the only Jeep to still offer eight cylinders under the hood.
• 26:17
  Speaker 1: But not for long.
• 26:18
  Speaker 1: 392 is coming back, baby.
• 26:20
  Speaker 1: Have you ever seen one?
• 26:25
  Speaker 1: Have you ever heard one?
• 26:26
  Speaker 1: I had one.
• 26:26
  Speaker 1: Yeah they rumble, oh my God Rumbling.
• 26:30
  Speaker 1: It's scary fast, and that's what we like, just like us, we're scary fast we are.
• 26:36
  Speaker 1: We're just scary.
• 26:37
  Speaker 1: That's how you lost your hair, isn't?
• 26:39
  Speaker 3: it.
• 26:39
  Speaker 3: Yeah, blew right off.
• 26:40
  Speaker 3: Blew right off, going so fast.
• 26:41
  Speaker 3: You know, I was in a car one time that as soon as you did a burnout, make the earth spin backwards.
• 26:48
  Speaker 3: That's how fast that car was.
• 26:49
  Speaker 1: Depends, I guess, which way you're pointing.
• 26:51
  Speaker 1: That's true.
• 26:51
  Speaker 1: All right, hey.
• 26:54
  Speaker 1: If you'd like to get in touch with us, shoot us an email.
• 26:57
  Speaker 1: The address is info at nwheeltimecom.
• 27:01
  Speaker 1: We are back right after this quick break.
• 27:04
  Speaker 1: You own a car you love.
• 27:06
  Speaker 1: Why not let Gulf Coast Auto Shield protect it?
• 27:08
  Speaker 1: Houstonian John Gray invites you to his state-of-the-art facility to introduce you to his specialist team of auto enthusiasts.
• 27:15
  Speaker 1: We promise you'll be impressed.
• 27:17
  Speaker 1: Whether you're looking to massage your original paint to a like-new appearance, apply a ceramic coating, install a paint protection film, nano-ceramic window tint or new windshield protection called ExoShield, gulf Coast AutoShield is where Houston's car people go.
• 27:31
  Speaker 1: Curbed your wheels.
• 27:32
  Speaker 1: Instead of buying new, why not have them repaired?
• 27:35
  Speaker 1: How about a professionally installed radar detector?
• 27:37
  Speaker 1: Gulf Coast AutoShield does that too.
• 27:39
  Speaker 1: Get a peek inside the shop and look at the services offered by getting online and heading to gcautososhieldcom.
• 27:45
  Speaker 1: Better yet, stop by their facility at 11275 South Sam Houston Tollway, just south of the Southwest Freeway, and get a personal tour.
• 27:52
  Speaker 1: Gulf Coast Auto Shield is your place to go for all things exterior.
• 27:56
  Speaker 1: Call them today, 832-930-5655, or gcautoshieldcom.
• 28:03
  Speaker 1: The award-winning In Wheel Time Car Talk Show now reaches 5.3 million folks each year.
• 28:09
  Speaker 1: Check us out on inwheeltimecom, the Odyssey Radio app, youtube, facebook and just about every other entertainment source out there, including our live broadcast every Saturday 10 to noon Central Time.
• 28:20
  Speaker 1: The In Wheel Time Car Talk Show has informative automotive guest interviews, new car reviews, along with popular features, including Jeff's car culture, the latest new cars, cruise ins and racing dates.
• 28:30
  Speaker 1: It's InWheelTimecom.
• 28:32
  Speaker 1: Join us.
• 28:33
  Speaker 1: That's it for this podcast episode of the In Wheel Time Car Show.
• 28:38
  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.
• 28:48
  Speaker 1: Podcasts are available on Apple Podcasts, spotify, stitcher, iheart Podcast, podcast Addict, tunein, pandora and Amazon Music.
• 28:57
  Speaker 1: Keep listening and we'll see you soon.