Latest / In Wheel Time Podcast / Unveiling Auto Insurance Fraud and Reviewing the 2023 Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid

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Unveiling Auto Insurance Fraud and Reviewing the 2023 Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid · In Wheel Time Podcast

• 0:03
  Speaker 1: Welcome to another In Wheel Time podcast, a 30 minute mini version of the In Wheel Time car show that airs live every Saturday morning 8 to 11am central Live on the iHeart app.
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: It's the In Wheel Time car talk show coming up.
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: We talked to Divya Sangram and how you may be committing insurance fraud and you may or may not know it.
• 0:31
  Speaker 1: I bet you do know it, I got to drive the 2023 Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid.
• 0:36
  Speaker 1: I'll give you my thoughts on it.
• 0:37
  Speaker 1: Conrad has the cruise in calendar, the cruise in calendar and this week in Auto History and later we talk about a big Veterans Day car show coming up.
• 0:48
  Speaker 1: Make plans to go to.
• 0:50
  Speaker 1: Plus, we'll break into stories making automotive news headlines Just ahead on the In Wheel Time car talk show, along with Mike out of this world, mars King Conrad Belong.
• 1:00
  Speaker 1: We always need more.
• 1:01
  Speaker 1: Jeff Seekin, I'm Don Armstrong, so glad that you could join us on this Saturday morning for our live show.
• 1:06
  Speaker 1: If you're listening to one of our podcasts or broadcasts elsewhere that's taped and beaten, then welcome to that as well.
• 1:17
  Speaker 1: In 40 countries, in 40 countries around the world, divya Sangram is with Lending Tree and Value Penguin.
• 1:25
  Speaker 1: Divya, it's good to see you again.
• 1:29
  Speaker 1: How are you?
• 1:30
  Speaker 3: I'm good and thank you for having me on the show.
• 1:33
  Speaker 1: I always enjoy speaking with you guys on this Saturday morning and you know I'll bet you do and do not.
• 1:39
  Speaker 3: No, actually I do love it.
• 1:41
  Speaker 3: I always love talking about cars and insurance, and no other better way to spend a Saturday morning.
• 1:48
  Speaker 1: So when Mr Mars told me that you were going to be on, I said, okay, what's she going to talk about?
• 1:53
  Speaker 1: And he sends me this sheet of paper and I'm going wait a minute.
• 1:57
  Speaker 1: Most Americans say they've never committed insurance fraud, but many employ fraudulent practices to save money.
• 2:06
  Speaker 1: Yeah, and that kind of it's a wake up call, Hello, really, because they are not totally honest with the insurance person that's going to write the policy about.
• 2:17
  Speaker 1: Well, have you had any tickets?
• 2:19
  Speaker 1: Well, no, I haven't.
• 2:20
  Speaker 1: And then they go and check and they've had tickets.
• 2:23
  Speaker 3: Yeah, and that's just the tip of the iceberg, right?
• 2:26
  Speaker 3: You know people are lying about their address.
• 2:28
  Speaker 3: You know they're like oh you know, if I give my actual address I may get higher rates.
• 2:32
  Speaker 3: So let me put down my office address or a friend's address, because their zip code has lower rates.
• 2:39
  Speaker 3: That's one kind of little lie that people are telling yeah, that's what I'm thinking.
• 2:45
  Speaker 2: Let me make a note of that.
• 2:46
  Speaker 2: I remember that one.
• 2:48
  Speaker 4: Where can we get these zip codes?
• 2:52
  Speaker 3: And you know people are trying to pass off wear and tear or you know old accident damage in their current claims and you know we call you, know that's actually fraud.
• 3:05
  Speaker 3: You're not supposed to do that.
• 3:06
  Speaker 3: You don't try to claim for damages that didn't actually happen during an accident.
• 3:10
  Speaker 3: More horrifyingly, people are declaring their car stolen to cash in.
• 3:16
  Speaker 2: Oh, my God, I believe that one.
• 3:20
  Speaker 3: I was really taken aback by that because to me that's very obviously fraud.
• 3:25
  Speaker 3: But you know, the folk we interviewed didn't seem to think so.
• 3:29
  Speaker 3: They just thought it's a good way to save money.
• 3:31
  Speaker 3: And you know, in terms of the findings, 91% of Americans we surveyed said they've never committed auto insurance fraud.
• 3:40
  Speaker 3: But then you break it down and you start looking at these money saving tactics, which are actually lying or misleading your insurer, which is fraud.
• 3:47
  Speaker 3: That number is extremely high, especially among millennials.
• 3:52
  Speaker 3: That really took me aback.
• 3:53
  Speaker 1: I was just going to say.
• 3:54
  Speaker 1: I know that 39% of millennial auto insurance policyholders admit to using deceptive tactics to save money on their insurance, compared with just 3% of us baby boomers oh wow.
• 4:08
  Speaker 1: Well, where did that come from?
• 4:12
  Speaker 2: Who taught the kids to cheat?
• 4:15
  Speaker 3: You know, that was really surprising to us and we were talking about it in our teams.
• 4:19
  Speaker 3: Right, and perhaps a huge part of it is just to lack up awareness that what they're doing is wrong.
• 4:25
  Speaker 3: You think about the way that you know the boomer generation has traditionally bought auto insurance.
• 4:32
  Speaker 3: It involves dealing with a person, an agent.
• 4:35
  Speaker 3: You've probably had in-person inspections, so you know these people would have taken the time to explain to you how your policy works and what you should and shouldn't do.
• 4:44
  Speaker 3: But my generation, I'm a millennial.
• 4:46
  Speaker 3: I don't lie to my insurance company, by the way, but I am going to.
• 4:51
  Speaker 1: That we know of A disclaimer you don't bite the hand that feeds you, right?
• 4:55
  Speaker 3: Well, that was also.
• 4:57
  Speaker 1: You know, I'm terrified of lying, so Let me ask you what is the punishment for the fraud and which state has the most fraud?
• 5:06
  Speaker 3: So our research didn't dig into which state has the most fraud.
• 5:10
  Speaker 3: It was a national survey.
• 5:11
  Speaker 3: But in terms of punishment for fraud, I think most of us associate fraud with what we call hard fraud, that is, staging an accident or burning down something, trying to collect on insurance money, and that is the most serious kind of fraud.
• 5:25
  Speaker 3: You can get jail time.
• 5:27
  Speaker 3: You can get heavy fines for it.
• 5:29
  Speaker 3: But misleading your insurance company is what we call soft fraud.
• 5:34
  Speaker 3: You may not go to jail for it, but you will face penalties.
• 5:38
  Speaker 3: For example, it will raise your premiums.
• 5:41
  Speaker 2: Yeah, okay.
• 5:42
  Speaker 3: And we all know insurance is getting expensive.
• 5:44
  Speaker 3: Do you really want to do stuff that will make your insurance more expensive?
• 5:49
  Speaker 3: That's the one thing.
• 5:51
  Speaker 3: The other thing is, if the insurance company finds out that you are someone with the potential to commit fraud or you have defrauded them in some small way, they will put a mark on your file, which means if you try to shop around for insurance, you're still going to get higher premiums.
• 6:06
  Speaker 1: Because everybody knows so is there?
• 6:09
  Speaker 1: Is there some sort of a pool that you guys go to to look at?
• 6:13
  Speaker 1: Like if I'm going to switch from all state to state farm, state farm is going to look at my record over at all state.
• 6:21
  Speaker 3: Yeah and they will.
• 6:23
  Speaker 3: So it's really not worth it trying to lie to one insurance company because they can find out and they're getting really smart about it.
• 6:31
  Speaker 3: People who think they've gotten away with it.
• 6:34
  Speaker 3: I just want to say you're not going to get away with it anymore.
• 6:37
  Speaker 3: Insurance companies are spending a lot of money on technology that's helping them identify fraud.
• 6:43
  Speaker 3: There's talk about bringing back in-person car inspections every time someone's applying for a new policy and, honestly, they're losing millions of dollars every year on fraud.
• 6:55
  Speaker 3: I remember reading a statistic somewhere that almost 20% of all insurance claims are fraudulent or partially fraudulent.
• 7:02
  Speaker 3: And in the current environment we're in, you cannot control the climate right.
• 7:07
  Speaker 3: Climate change is happening, extreme weather is happening and it's causing insurance companies huge losses.
• 7:12
  Speaker 3: But they can control fraud and they're going to do everything they can to control fraud and to control those losses.
• 7:18
  Speaker 1: So I don't remember when it was, but it was probably back in the 80s.
• 7:22
  Speaker 1: I'm guessing that I actually had to take my car to an insurance office and have them come out and look at the car.
• 7:31
  Speaker 1: I don't remember what it was for, it wasn't an accident, but they had to look at the car to insure it and sometimes they take pictures.
• 7:40
  Speaker 1: Oh, they took pictures and asked me questions.
• 7:43
  Speaker 4: I remember doing that back in the late 60s because by the hot rod bus things and things like that.
• 7:51
  Speaker 4: The insurance agent wanted to see it.
• 7:54
  Speaker 1: I can only imagine that it would be almost impossible to be able to have all of your clients, at one point during the year, come to your insurance office to have them inspect your car.
• 8:07
  Speaker 2: Well, I think some of that with the insurance companies and tell me if I'm right or wrong are using the internet to learn things, because Car Facts is a pretty good database.
• 8:16
  Speaker 2: Because of an insurance company pays to fix your vehicle, that gets reported.
• 8:21
  Speaker 2: A lot of mechanical repairs and maintenance is reported to Car Facts as well, but I think insurance fraud is far greater than anybody really wants to admit.
• 8:32
  Speaker 4: So what she's saying is that when we're all back in school and they don't do that, it's going to go on your permanent record.
• 8:36
  Speaker 4: Well, here you go, it's your permanent record, that's exactly right.
• 8:39
  Speaker 1: You know, of course.
• 8:41
  Speaker 1: You know I'm what am I?
• 8:42
  Speaker 1: 3% of baby boomers?
• 8:44
  Speaker 1: I'm not in that 3% that cheats and I'm sure that over my lifetime, so far anyway, I've paid a lot more money than most people for the same policy because I am honest and I could listen.
• 8:58
  Speaker 1: I was the kid that always got caught egging the teacher's house or wrapping somebody's house.
• 9:03
  Speaker 1: I always got caught, right.
• 9:06
  Speaker 2: And the fraud isn't just by the insured person.
• 9:11
  Speaker 2: The fraud is also by the vendor that's repairing the vehicle for the insurance company.
• 9:18
  Speaker 2: So you know the body shop.
• 9:19
  Speaker 2: Oh well, let's include this, let's include this.
• 9:22
  Speaker 3: So this is scratch.
• 9:23
  Speaker 2: So we kind of build the ticket a little bit to submit to the insurance.
• 9:27
  Speaker 1: Because they can make more money.
• 9:28
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
• 9:28
  Speaker 2: Well, yeah, because they're making more money and so many of them are what are called pro shops now.
• 9:33
  Speaker 2: So the insurance company trusts them to be honest with them, and are they always?
• 9:38
  Speaker 2: I don't know.
• 9:40
  Speaker 3: That's a really good point and I just wanted to highlight one thing about that.
• 9:43
  Speaker 3: So when you go to a shop and they're telling you, oh, let's pad the repair cost so you know you meet the deductible.
• 9:51
  Speaker 4: Exactly what I was thinking.
• 9:54
  Speaker 3: And you know, as a consumer, you may think oh yeah, I know, I think that's a great idea because then I only need to pay this small sum out of pocket and then I'll get like a really amazing job done on my car.
• 10:04
  Speaker 3: So, as a consumer, your first thought is it doesn't really affect me, it's just between the shop and the insurance company.
• 10:12
  Speaker 3: I just want to remind everyone if the insurance company finds out that it's a fraudulent claim and they deny it, you still have to pay for those repairs and since it's a padded repair claim, it's going to set you back several thousand dollars.
• 10:26
  Speaker 3: So it's really not worth it.
• 10:28
  Speaker 2: And going to permanent record?
• 10:29
  Speaker 2: Yeah, because, because avoiding the deductible is fraud in itself.
• 10:33
  Speaker 3: Yeah, especially if you're making things up to add to that repair bill.
• 10:38
  Speaker 3: You know you're going to say, oh, it looks like your tires are a little wonky, let's throw that in.
• 10:42
  Speaker 3: We'll say that you know it got punctured in the accident and that's terrible.
• 10:45
  Speaker 3: Don't do that.
• 10:46
  Speaker 3: You know it's best to stay as honest as possible and if your shop is doing that, I'd say maybe shop around and look for a more honest mechanic.
• 10:55
  Speaker 1: Well, all of this stuff doesn't just it's not exclusive to the automotive industry.
• 11:00
  Speaker 1: I understand that people are also doing deception claims with their home insurance policy.
• 11:07
  Speaker 1: Wow, yeah.
• 11:10
  Speaker 3: And you know the deception, especially with homeowners insurance, it tends to be more of a lies of the mission.
• 11:15
  Speaker 3: They won't tell their insurance company that they have a trampoline or a swimming pool or even certain breeds of dogs which insurance companies consider dangerous.
• 11:25
  Speaker 3: And by not disclosing this, if your insurance company finds out, they're probably not going to non renew your policy.
• 11:34
  Speaker 3: And right now it is so hard to get homeowners insurance that have.
• 11:39
  Speaker 3: Facing a non renewal is just going to make things six to seven times harder for you if you need to shop around and get another policy.
• 11:46
  Speaker 1: Well and more expensive.
• 11:48
  Speaker 1: Let me just say this about that, especially here in the Houston area, with all of our floods the flood insurance policies that if you can get one, it's going to cost you an arm and a leg.
• 12:00
  Speaker 1: So beware.
• 12:02
  Speaker 2: Well, I have flood insurance as well and we've had it for 20 plus years and it's gone and it's a national flood policy, but it's gone from $400 like $680 since.
• 12:13
  Speaker 2: Harvey.
• 12:14
  Speaker 2: It's really elevated and cost.
• 12:16
  Speaker 1: So let me ask you, how do we prevent these younger Americans, the Gen X's, the Gen Z's and that sort of stuff, to just be aware and change their perspective of getting insurance, lying, cheating and stealing?
• 12:32
  Speaker 3: I mean, you know it's very simple, right?
• 12:35
  Speaker 3: You have to tell them that the more they lie to their insurance companies, the more they defraud them.
• 12:40
  Speaker 3: They're the ones who are going to be paying in the long term, because every loss the insurance company faces they pass on to us policy holders in the form of higher premiums.
• 12:50
  Speaker 3: And I think this is the correct time to talk to people about this, because you know everyone's grumbling about how expensive every kind of insurance is thought in.
• 12:59
  Speaker 3: Well, then, remind them hey, so maybe let's not commit fraud so that our rates don't go up further.
• 13:06
  Speaker 3: We cannot control the weather, you know.
• 13:08
  Speaker 3: We cannot control economic factors, but we can control how we interact with the insurance company.
• 13:14
  Speaker 3: So maybe let's cut back on fraud and also just to remind it's a good time to remind folks that you can get away with it.
• 13:23
  Speaker 1: Is an uninsured driver committing fraud.
• 13:26
  Speaker 3: No, they may be breaking the law by being uninsured, depending on which state they're in, but they're not committing fraud.
• 13:33
  Speaker 1: Okay, but they're costing my insurance company and me because I pay a prior premium.
• 13:39
  Speaker 3: Premium.
• 13:40
  Speaker 1: Yeah, for uninsured motorist, and so and more.
• 13:44
  Speaker 1: It seems more often these days there are a lot of people that don't have insurance, and so then does the insurance company sue them for not having insurance, or is it just strictly a law thing that I guess that is a loss?
• 14:00
  Speaker 1: Yeah, but I mean, if you have a rack and the guy doesn't have insurance, does the police officer write them a check for not have, write them a citation for not having?
• 14:12
  Speaker 3: insurance.
• 14:12
  Speaker 3: You will be cited for not having insurance, but while the insurance company can try to sue that person more like, the likelihood of them getting any money out of them is very small, because most uninsured Americans also happen to be very poor.
• 14:29
  Speaker 2: Can't get blood from a turnip, yeah.
• 14:32
  Speaker 3: But I'll tell you where the uninsured will face penalties.
• 14:36
  Speaker 3: They will when they try to apply for insurance, because if you've been uninsured for a period of time, you will be considered an extremely high risk driver.
• 14:43
  Speaker 3: So when you apply for insurance you're going to be charged the highest possible rate.
• 14:48
  Speaker 1: Well, here in the state of Texas you have to have insurance on the car before you can get your registration every year.
• 14:56
  Speaker 1: So how do people get around that?
• 14:59
  Speaker 3: I guess they're probably sharing their car with someone.
• 15:02
  Speaker 3: You have that one wonky brother-in-law who's borrowing a car.
• 15:09
  Speaker 2: He lives in the basement.
• 15:12
  Speaker 3: And a lot of times people don't declare that that person is driving the car, so these people can get away with driving a car without insurance.
• 15:22
  Speaker 2: Well, plus, you can get that insurance card for a month and then cancel a house.
• 15:27
  Speaker 2: Yeah, so that's enough to get you on the road, on the road Again.
• 15:33
  Speaker 4: Let me ask you about another situation.
• 15:35
  Speaker 4: So I get granddaughters that are getting their driver's license and things like that so if they're driving my cars, which my policy will let an occasional driver in, it'll cover them.
• 15:46
  Speaker 4: So, without the name in the case, what will happen If I'm letting her drive it to school to work every day?
• 15:52
  Speaker 4: Isn't that a type of fraud?
• 15:55
  Speaker 4: Because if I don't tell my insurance company that I've got a 17-year-old driver now, put her on a policy.
• 16:01
  Speaker 3: yeah, yeah, I mean, more often than not, the moment there is a licensed teen driver living at your address, the insurance companies will know and they will automatically charge it to your policy.
• 16:13
  Speaker 3: So if you're a parent of a teenager who's just gotten their license, you're going to get a piece of mail from the insurance company saying that your rates have increased.
• 16:22
  Speaker 3: So the insurance companies are really good about it.
• 16:25
  Speaker 3: But in your case, because it's your granddaughter, you should be disclosing the fact that she's driving it on a regular basis to your insurance company, because if you don't and they find out, not only will they raise your rates, they may put it on your file that you have misled them.
• 16:41
  Speaker 4: Or cancel your insurance.
• 16:41
  Speaker 4: Hey, can you handle?
• 16:43
  Speaker 2: that for Mike, if she gets into an accident.
• 16:45
  Speaker 4: They may deny the claim because she wasn't supposed to be driving it to work every day.
• 16:54
  Speaker 1: Okay.
• 16:54
  Speaker 1: So in other words, Mike, get her out of the dang car, get her own, let her get her own.
• 16:59
  Speaker 1: No, you buy her her own.
• 17:02
  Speaker 2: It's cheaper than paying insurance.
• 17:05
  Speaker 3: I will say this even if you buy her own car, you still have to pay for insurance.
• 17:09
  Speaker 1: Sure.
• 17:10
  Speaker 3: Yeah.
• 17:11
  Speaker 1: And the car that you would buy, you know some $3,000 beater.
• 17:15
  Speaker 1: You don't need, all you need is liability insurance on it.
• 17:18
  Speaker 1: Am I correct?
• 17:19
  Speaker 3: Yeah.
• 17:19
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 17:21
  Speaker 3: And you know that's probably going to still going to be really expensive.
• 17:25
  Speaker 3: So teenage insurance can set you back thousands of dollars a year and there is absolutely nothing you can do about it because teenage drivers are considered extremely high risk.
• 17:36
  Speaker 2: But, both of mine cost a lot of money.
• 17:38
  Speaker 3: My granddaughter instead of grandson.
• 17:40
  Speaker 3: These boys are charged more money than girls.
• 17:43
  Speaker 4: That's a good point.
• 17:43
  Speaker 4: There was a point in time when I was a teenager that I was not here as good a driver as I am now.
• 17:51
  Speaker 2: You're still not that good.
• 17:51
  Speaker 2: You still don't like a driver.
• 17:53
  Speaker 4: Well, I don't pay $1,000 a month now like I did back then.
• 17:56
  Speaker 2: That's because you don't have insurance.
• 17:59
  Speaker 1: I've been with you when you drive.
• 18:00
  Speaker 1: Forget it.
• 18:01
  Speaker 1: You scare me.
• 18:03
  Speaker 1: I don't know how you've made it this long.
• 18:04
  Speaker 1: Devia, where can we go to get more information on all this?
• 18:10
  Speaker 3: So all you can do is go to wwwvaluepingwincom forward slash receiving dash insurers slash dash survey.
• 18:17
  Speaker 3: That's where you can read our report and you know there's a lot of good information in there on what you can do if you've accidentally misled your insurer, because sometimes these are honest mistakes.
• 18:29
  Speaker 3: You know you may have under quoted the amount of miles you drive per year and that's normal, you know.
• 18:34
  Speaker 3: Just let your insurance company know they will appreciate the honesty that you're trying to fix your mistakes.
• 18:40
  Speaker 3: Just don't make it a point to let your insurance company to save money.
• 18:44
  Speaker 1: Devia, it's always great to talk to you.
• 18:46
  Speaker 1: Thank you so much for getting up and talking to us this morning and stay in touch with us.
• 18:51
  Speaker 1: Let us know what you got next.
• 18:52
  Speaker 3: Yeah, I will do.
• 18:53
  Speaker 3: Thank you so much for having me.
• 18:55
  Speaker 1: You bet.
• 18:55
  Speaker 1: Thank you, bye-bye.
• 18:57
  Speaker 1: Devia Sangram and she is with Value Penguin Lending Tree, so she knows her stuff when it comes to that insurance stuff.
• 19:05
  Speaker 4: We've had her on before.
• 19:06
  Speaker 1: Yeah, she's great, we'll have her on again.
• 19:08
  Speaker 2: Great, great stuff.
• 19:10
  Speaker 1: What I like about it is it's easy to understand her.
• 19:13
  Speaker 4: The way she explains it.
• 19:14
  Speaker 4: She explains it properly, yeah.
• 19:15
  Speaker 1: Even we can understand it.
• 19:16
  Speaker 1: That's tough to do, that is tough to do Can be Thanks for joining us over today's In-Wheel Time Car Talk Show Time.
• 19:22
  Speaker 1: Now for the Cruise Inn calendar.
• 19:23
  Speaker 1: Let's keep it short and give him a minute.
• 19:26
  Speaker 2: Here's Conrad.
• 19:27
  Speaker 2: So again, you know, one of the cruisans next weekend is Coffee and Cars.
• 19:32
  Speaker 2: At the Woodlands High school we just had them on.
• 19:34
  Speaker 2: Nifty 50's is tonight at 5 pm in the Woodlands off Buckthorn Place and that's running from 5 to 10 pm.
• 19:44
  Speaker 2: Smooth Nights in Mount Bellevue Park is tonight at 6 pm and that's off of Eagle Drive in Mount Bellevue.
• 19:52
  Speaker 2: What's so funny?
• 19:53
  Speaker 4: I'm just wondering, is that where the police found you then In Mount Bellevue, in the park?
• 19:59
  Speaker 4: And this is all depending on rain, if it rains these are probably postponed or canceled.
• 20:06
  Speaker 2: And then also tonight at 9 pm to 12 am is the Paul Walker Memorial Car Meet at Faiz Tech Performance on North Eldridge Parkway.
• 20:15
  Speaker 2: Sinton Fiddler is Fest and Bike and Car Show.
• 20:21
  Speaker 2: Wait a minute.
• 20:21
  Speaker 2: Repeat that Sinton, s-i-n-t-o-n.
• 20:24
  Speaker 2: Sinton.
• 20:25
  Speaker 1: Fiddler.
• 20:25
  Speaker 1: He's just down towards Corpus.
• 20:26
  Speaker 2: Sinton Fiddler.
• 20:28
  Speaker 2: He's in Sinton, texas.
• 20:29
  Speaker 2: Yeah, it's down by Sinton, he's down by South Eagle.
• 20:31
  Speaker 2: It's 10 am to 4 pm.
• 20:34
  Speaker 2: Bmw Houston.
• 20:36
  Speaker 2: Meet at the parking garage at 16-011 Katie Freeway for BMW Cruisin' Only.
• 20:43
  Speaker 2: That's 7 pm to 9 pm.
• 20:45
  Speaker 2: And then the 14th Hot Rod Picnic at Carbide Park in Lamarck is tomorrow at 11 am, and then and finally, is again the 17th Annual Heroes and Hot Rods Veterans Day Weekend, october 11th and 10th and 11th in downtown Bastrop.
• 21:07
  Speaker 2: Thank you We'll have Bill on shortly Perfect.
• 21:08
  Speaker 1: Thank you very much.
• 21:09
  Speaker 1: All right Time now for this hour's car review.
• 21:11
  Speaker 1: You had a chance to drive the 2023 Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid.
• 21:16
  Speaker 1: No trim levels include the blue.
• 21:18
  Speaker 1: Okay, thanks everyone.
• 21:18
  Speaker 1: Sel Premium and the Limited I had the Limited all-wheel drive.
• 21:25
  Speaker 1: This is considered a small SUV.
• 21:28
  Speaker 1: Seats five people, including the driver.
• 21:30
  Speaker 1: Exterior changes from last model year not much Exterior features overall sharp design with a weird headlight array I don't know how else to put it.
• 21:41
  Speaker 1: It just looks weird to me.
• 21:42
  Speaker 1: It's attractive.
• 21:44
  Speaker 1: It's not unattractive, it's just weird.
• 21:47
  Speaker 1: It's different.
• 21:47
  Speaker 1: Black molding on the wheel well openings.
• 21:50
  Speaker 1: Rear lower valance as a satin metal look to it.
• 21:56
  Speaker 1: Clean rear hatch is not a lot of accoutrements.
• 22:00
  Speaker 1: They didn't decorate the Christmas tree a lot back there or over decorate, yeah, what I liked, not over done with bling.
• 22:07
  Speaker 1: I do like the clean look.
• 22:09
  Speaker 1: Always have what could use improvement.
• 22:11
  Speaker 1: Not a fan of those particular wheels, but that's a personal choice that I think most people just accept.
• 22:17
  Speaker 1: Whatever the factory puts on there for wheels, yeah, okay.
• 22:20
  Speaker 4: I got it.
• 22:21
  Speaker 1: If you don't like them, go trade them.
• 22:23
  Speaker 1: Interior highlights Sharp design elements throughout the cabin Radio, hvac, push button shifter, all at the top of the center console and its own little pod, which is an interesting way to put it Nice faux leather, 10.3 inch entered infotainment screen, cargo and trunk room Plenty.
• 22:47
  Speaker 1: What I liked about it?
• 22:48
  Speaker 1: The overall layout.
• 22:50
  Speaker 1: Now, as far as power is concerned, it's generated by a 1.6 liter turbocharged four cylinder.
• 22:56
  Speaker 1: That, when it comes to the horsepower and the electric, it's rated at 226 horsepower combined.
• 23:06
  Speaker 1: Oh Okay, this is not a plug-in, this is just a hybrid.
• 23:11
  Speaker 1: So it has a battery that the engine charges while it's running and when it's going.
• 23:18
  Speaker 1: Oh well, I can save some energy here.
• 23:20
  Speaker 1: Then it uses the electric motor to do that.
• 23:23
  Speaker 1: Very cool, six speed automatic transmission on this all-wheel drive model.
• 23:28
  Speaker 1: It will tow one ton.
• 23:30
  Speaker 1: That's a lot, it's a lot.
• 23:32
  Speaker 1: Two thousand pounds Now, miles per gallon.
• 23:35
  Speaker 1: It's rated at 33 city, 30, highway for, combined to 32.
• 23:40
  Speaker 1: I got 31 over 433.5 miles.
• 23:45
  Speaker 1: I drove it a lot, I liked it.
• 23:47
  Speaker 1: What I liked about the engine?
• 23:49
  Speaker 1: It's a nice combination between the engine and the transmission.
• 23:53
  Speaker 1: It's a great combination.
• 23:54
  Speaker 1: With that, 226 horsepower is not too little, it's not too much, it's adequate, just right.
• 24:04
  Speaker 2: Thanks.
• 24:04
  Speaker 1: Closelocks With the six speed automatic transmission.
• 24:07
  Speaker 1: As far as riding, handling, smooth sailing in this car, what it could use improvement, don't touch a thing.
• 24:14
  Speaker 1: Don't, don't mess with it.
• 24:16
  Speaker 1: It's good just as it is.
• 24:18
  Speaker 1: Don't jack with it, okay.
• 24:21
  Speaker 1: As far as pricing is concerned, the base trim price on this is 41 570.
• 24:27
  Speaker 1: Price has tested 43 115.
• 24:34
  Speaker 1: To me, that's a sweet spot.
• 24:35
  Speaker 1: When it comes to pricing, base model price is 36 210.
• 24:40
  Speaker 1: Now, as far as competitors are concerned, the Kia Sportage hybrid starts at 27 490.
• 24:47
  Speaker 1: The Honda CRV hybrid 34 645.
• 24:53
  Speaker 1: It's more close and price than any of the others when it comes to base model price, and the Ford Escape hybrid starts at 41 995.
• 25:04
  Speaker 1: So they're all right in there.
• 25:06
  Speaker 1: They're all priced relatively alike and they're also under the small hybrid category.
• 25:13
  Speaker 1: But this one is bigger than Escape.
• 25:14
  Speaker 1: It is by a little bit.
• 25:17
  Speaker 1: None of them are huge.
• 25:18
  Speaker 1: These are, but this is a.
• 25:21
  Speaker 1: This is.
• 25:21
  Speaker 1: If you're out looking for a new SUV, then this might be something for you.
• 25:25
  Speaker 2: Well, and it's interesting, this has a six speed automatic versus the CVT Yep, because so many of them have a CVT, which I don't know why, but I think it has something to do with the 226 horsepower, putting the power to ground.
• 25:38
  Speaker 1: Yep 226 horsepower.
• 25:40
  Speaker 1: With that combo, just it's sweet, it hits the sweet spot.
• 25:44
  Speaker 1: And towing the 2,000 pounds, what do you lose?
• 25:47
  Speaker 1: You're gonna lose a little, a little, but not a lot, and you don't have to plug it in.
• 25:51
  Speaker 4: You don't have to jack with it.
• 25:52
  Speaker 4: That's to me an important part.
• 25:54
  Speaker 1: Well it is, but you also pay for that.
• 25:56
  Speaker 1: And remember, it's not the mileage isn't off the wall, off the charts here.
• 26:02
  Speaker 1: It's not 40 or 50 miles per gallon.
• 26:04
  Speaker 1: So you can buy actually a gasoline engine without the hybrid capability with almost that kind of mileage.
• 26:13
  Speaker 1: So you need to do your shopping and your homework on that.
• 26:15
  Speaker 1: One is my suggestion.
• 26:17
  Speaker 1: I want to remind you that the Inwheel Time car talk show is available 24 seven through the iHeart radio app or the iHeart app.
• 26:25
  Speaker 1: We're having a discussion in the studio these days about whether we can call ourselves radio and David set that bomb off on it because we're not radio.
• 26:36
  Speaker 1: We can be radio if you stream us into your car through your Bluetooth.
• 26:41
  Speaker 2: But we're not terrestrial radio.
• 26:43
  Speaker 2: We're not terrestrial radio.
• 26:44
  Speaker 2: They are aliens.
• 26:45
  Speaker 1: You have to look at the definition, but you also have to look at the fact that iHeart is using terrestrial radio, radio to get iHeart on the air and profitable for the first time in its history, and so they're using radio which we think is terrestrial.
• 27:02
  Speaker 1: Radio is radio, it's not.
• 27:05
  Speaker 2: And we're extra terrestrial.
• 27:07
  Speaker 2: We are definitely that, and I'm confused.
• 27:09
  Speaker 1: Be that Dazed and confused.
• 27:11
  Speaker 1: We also video stream on Facebook, youtube and InwheelTimecom podcast at your fingertips on over a dozen of the most popular podcast outlets available in the world.
• 27:21
  Speaker 1: How many?
• 27:22
  Speaker 1: How many countries?
• 27:23
  Speaker 1: 40 countries, 40 countries.
• 27:24
  Speaker 1: The InwheelTime car talk show continues.
• 27:27
  Speaker 1: Right after this quick break, the original group of loopy tortilla restaurants will have you telling your family and friends just what the original recipes mean when it comes to the best fajitas in Southeast Texas.
• 27:37
  Speaker 1: Founder Stan Holt invites you to visit the original loopy tortilla near I-10 and Highway 6.
• 27:41
  Speaker 1: Here's the original house that inspired the design of all the rest and the original charm that helped make loopy tortilla the go-to destination for Houston Tex-Mex.
• 27:50
  Speaker 1: Speaking of original, nothing can compete with the original lime pepper marinade that everyone will agree makes loopy tortilla award-winning beef fajitas the best anywhere.
• 27:58
  Speaker 1: Loopy tortilla Katie is another location that gives you the same quality and service historians have come to expect at loopies.
• 28:04
  Speaker 1: It's located just off I-10 in the Grand Parkway.
• 28:06
  Speaker 1: At Kingsland Boulevard in Katie, find yourself an Aggie land.
• 28:09
  Speaker 1: Head to the loopy tortilla college station, located just around the corner from Kyle Field.
• 28:13
  Speaker 1: It's a great place to enjoy those famous frozen margaritas before or after the game.
• 28:18
  Speaker 1: Head to East to Louisiana.
• 28:19
  Speaker 1: Stop in at the loopy tortilla in Beaumont.
• 28:21
  Speaker 1: It twos on I-10, it can't miss it.
• 28:23
  Speaker 1: The original group of loopy tortilla restaurants invites you in for the best Tex-Mex.
• 28:27
  Speaker 1: Anywhere you own a car you love, why not let Gulf Coast Auto Shield protect it?
• 28:32
  Speaker 1: Houstonian John Gray invites you to his state-of-the-art facility to introduce you to his specialist team of auto enthusiasts.
• 28:38
  Speaker 1: We promise you'll be impressed.
• 28:40
  Speaker 1: Whether you're looking to massage your original paint to a like new appearance, apply a ceramic coating, install a paint protection film, nanoceramic window tint or new windshield protection called ExoShield, gulf Coast Auto Shield is where Houston's car people go.
• 28:55
  Speaker 1: Curb your wheels Instead of buying new one.
• 28:57
  Speaker 1: I'd have them repaired.
• 28:58
  Speaker 1: How about a professionally installed radar detector?
• 29:01
  Speaker 1: Gulf Coast Auto Shield does that too.
• 29:03
  Speaker 1: Get a peek inside the shop and look at the services offered by getting online and heading to GCautoshieldcom.
• 29:08
  Speaker 1: Better yet, stop by their facility at 11275 South Sam Houston Tullway, just south of the Southwest Freeway, and get a personal tour.
• 29:16
  Speaker 1: Gulf Coast Auto Shield is your place to go for all things exterior.
• 29:20
  Speaker 1: Call them today, 832-930-5655, or GCautoshieldcom.
• 29:26
  Speaker 1: The award-winning in-wheel time car talk show is available on the most popular podcast channels out there.
• 29:31
  Speaker 1: In 30 minute episodes, we realize our three hour live show can be difficult to catch in its entirety, so now you can listen every day to a convenient, fresh 30 minute episode.
• 29:40
  Speaker 1: Check us out on Apple Podcasts, spotify, google Podcasts, amazon Music and Audible, along with a dozen more.
• 29:46
  Speaker 1: In-wheel time has the most informative automotive guest interviews and new car reviews, along with popular features including Conrad's car clinic and this week in auto history along with automotive news headlines.
• 29:56
  Speaker 1: Our live broadcast airs every Saturday 8 to 11, central on InWheelTimecom, the iHeart app and on YouTube.
• 30:04
  Speaker 1: Be sure to say hello when we're broadcasting from the tailpipes and tacos cruise in AutoRama and the Houston Auto Show, among others.
• 30:11
  Speaker 1: Now it's easier than ever to hear about all things automotive all week long.
• 30:14
  Speaker 1: You're invited to join fellow car enthusiasts in becoming part of the ever growing InWheelTime car talk family.
• 30:20
  Speaker 1: Don't forget those 30 minute podcast episodes on your favorite podcast channel.
• 30:24
  Speaker 1: That's it for this podcast episode of the InWheelTime car show.
• 30:28
  Speaker 1: I'm Don Armstrong, inviting you to join us for our live show every Saturday morning 8 to 11 am, central on Facebook, youtube, twitch and our InWheelTimecom website.
• 30:40
  Speaker 1: Podcasts are available on Apple Podcasts, spotify, stitcher, iheart Podcast, attic, tunein Pandora.