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Coast-to-Coast: The Transamerica Trail Adventure · In Wheel Time Podcast

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Welcome to another In Wheel Time Podcast.
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: This is the In Wheel Time Car Talk Show.
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: Just ahead we're going to catch up with Andy and Mercedes Lillian Paul to talk about their coast-to-coast trip on the Transamerica Trail.
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: Jeff will bring us some car culture with a story of the VW Amarok, and Mr Mars reveals the new Ford Ranger.
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: Howdy Along with Mike.
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: Mars reveals the new Ford Ranger.
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: Howdy Along with Mike.
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: Out of this world, mars.
• 0:27
  Speaker 1: We always need more.
• 0:28
  Speaker 1: Jeff Zekin, I'm Don Armstrong, glad you could join us on this Saturday Back in the studio, the Sugar Shack Studios, after a three-week affair across the world.
• 0:40
  Speaker 2: And it's good to be back home, as they say Well across Texas, which is pretty much the world it is.
• 0:43
  Speaker 2: Now it's our world, Our world.
• 0:46
  Speaker 1: And right now we're going to welcome into the show the famous couple from Hollywood, California.
• 0:53
  Speaker 1: Ladies and gentlemen, here they are Andy and Mercedes Lillienthal.
• 0:58
  Speaker 1: Hi kids, no autographs.
• 0:59
  Speaker 1: Hello Hollywood.
• 1:01
  Speaker 1: Oh wait a minute, they're in two separate places.
• 1:03
  Speaker 1: What?
• 1:04
  Speaker 3: I thought it was two cameras.
• 1:05
  Speaker 1: Where are you guys?
• 1:07
  Speaker 3: I'm in Wisconsin at the moment.
• 1:09
  Speaker 4: Cool Yep, and I'm back home, still in Oregon.
• 1:12
  Speaker 2: Oh yeah, Make sure you get the trash out.
• 1:14
  Speaker 4: Yeah, yeah, right right, I've been here long enough to actually make that happen.
• 1:18
  Speaker 1: Wreck the leaves all that, yeah Well.
• 1:20
  Speaker 1: So we wanted to talk to you guys about this thing that you guys have coming up, because apparently this is your only weekend to talk ahead of the event, so grab them while we can.
• 1:31
  Speaker 1: Trans-america Trail 2025.
• 1:38
  Speaker 3: I don't know anything about it and I know you're going to tell me, yeah.
• 1:39
  Speaker 3: So the Trans-America Trail is a network of back roads and dirt roads and trails that have been mapped out and basically connected, so you can basically drive from North Carolina all the way to Oregon on these smaller roads.
• 1:58
  Speaker 3: And it's been mapped out by a gentleman by the name of Sam Cordero I believe his name is and you can visit transamericatrailcom and download and buy the maps to help you do this journey.
• 2:13
  Speaker 1: Wow, what a great road trip.
• 2:14
  Speaker 1: I'm thinking maybe the Hot Rod Tour of Texas may be considered that for some upcoming.
• 2:20
  Speaker 1: We just finished the Hot Rod Tour of Texas, so I'm thinking, huh, Hot Rod Tour of America.
• 2:27
  Speaker 3: Might be a little rugged for Hot Rod, but you never know.
• 2:32
  Speaker 1: So is it an off-road kind of vehicle trail?
• 2:37
  Speaker 4: Yes, yes it's basically a system where a lot of motorcycles like dual-spart motos side-by-sides can use it, but there are four-wheel drives andos um side by sides can use it, but there are um four wheel drives and all wheel drives that can do it.
• 2:47
  Speaker 4: Um and uh, I'll let andy talk about the vehicle, since he's the driver, but since I'm the navigator again, I'll talk a little bit about the mapping.
• 2:55
  Speaker 4: Um, so you can either do gpx files or you can get maps like this, if you can see that yeah, we can and then uh a roll chart holder and uh turn by turn directions it's a, it's a tip trick.
• 3:10
  Speaker 1: No trick tip.
• 3:11
  Speaker 4: Remember that trick that's it, whatever it is from from triple a yeah yeah, just a very, you know, bare bones version of it, but uh, I, uh andy did such a great job of patching together all the GPX files.
• 3:25
  Speaker 4: In our Garmin inReach device We've got a Tread Overland Edition GPS that we're planning on taking along as a backup and it calculated about 7,100 miles, primarily off-road.
• 3:37
  Speaker 4: And it'll take us about a month, so just think about it.
• 3:40
  Speaker 4: Let that sink in for a second.
• 3:43
  Speaker 1: I would imagine that there aren't too many motel sixes on this trail no so you're going to camp all the way yeah, that's the, that's the plan.
• 3:54
  Speaker 3: Oh my god, what are?
• 3:55
  Speaker 3: you going to do for a shower, so you can at least stand each other in the car showering overrated overrated, but on day seven I might beg to differ actually exactly well, so the route actually uh includes like towns you could stop off, could stop off at that'll have motels and so on and so forth.
• 4:16
  Speaker 3: Some people motel it the whole trip.
• 4:18
  Speaker 3: Some people camp, some.
• 4:19
  Speaker 3: We'll probably do a combination.
• 4:21
  Speaker 3: We'll I'm sure we'll need a couple of nights here and there to clean up, do laundry, that kind of thing, but we'll be driving a 2025 Subaru Crosstrek Wilderness on this trip, and so, on top of that, we're going to have a rooftop tent which we'll be sleeping in, which is a Subaru factory accessory, on their roof rack as well, and then we're going to have a whole host of modifications to the car.
• 4:47
  Speaker 3: Nothing too extreme because, frankly, this car is set up well enough from the factory that it can do most of the things.
• 4:56
  Speaker 1: Y'all are going to have to stop and get gas somewhere along the way.
• 5:00
  Speaker 3: Oh yeah, yeah, there's towns and whatnot.
• 5:02
  Speaker 3: We'll go through that.
• 5:02
  Speaker 3: Have fuel.
• 5:03
  Speaker 1: Gotcha.
• 5:04
  Speaker 1: Now is it a bunch of vehicles that are going to be on this and you're all traveling together.
• 5:11
  Speaker 4: Nope, we're literally self-supported.
• 5:12
  Speaker 4: So we've got us Max Trax Recovery Boards, rig supply, jerry can and spare tire carrier that's going to house all of that in the back and our tent and Airbnb awning fridge and good tires from BFG and primitive skid plates.
• 5:29
  Speaker 2: So when you?
• 5:30
  Speaker 2: Decide to do one of these.
• 5:31
  Speaker 2: When you go on one of these events and these excursions, do you flip a coin to see who drives?
• 5:38
  Speaker 3: No, I'm generally the driver and she's the navigator.
• 5:41
  Speaker 3: And it's not that she can't drive, it's that I can't navigate.
• 5:43
  Speaker 3: Ah, oh, I did navigate.
• 5:44
  Speaker 3: Ah, uh-huh, oh, I did it.
• 5:46
  Speaker 3: Okay, that might be a bit of an exaggeration, but honestly, I generally get a little dizzy reading maps in the car.
• 5:53
  Speaker 3: So she's the yeah.
• 5:55
  Speaker 2: And that's the excuse we're sticking by right, we get a little dizzy reading maps.
• 6:00
  Speaker 4: Well, whenever we partner together, andy drives and then I co-drive or I'm the navigator.
• 6:05
  Speaker 4: But whenever I partner with anybody else for a major off-road or on-road rally event, any of that type of thing, I'm primarily the driver, so I switch roles.
• 6:14
  Speaker 1: Wow, okay, well, cool.
• 6:19
  Speaker 1: Basically, two months on the road and doing this, uh, because I think after about day five I'd be ready to pretty much hang it up and say, okay, it was fun, I'm ready to go home and get in my own bed and I know this because we just spent three and a half days, the three of us together, and it was.
• 6:40
  Speaker 2: It was uh, no, we'll wait till next year.
• 6:42
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
• 6:43
  Speaker 1: Yeah, exactly.
• 6:43
  Speaker 1: So I mean it's not that bad.
• 6:45
  Speaker 1: But I can only imagine.
• 6:47
  Speaker 1: And you guys are married.
• 6:49
  Speaker 1: I mean, do you ever get any fights on the way?
• 6:51
  Speaker 3: No, oh, yeah, yeah, it happens oh yeah.
• 6:54
  Speaker 3: We try to promise each other.
• 6:57
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
• 6:58
  Speaker 3: We try to promise each other.
• 6:59
  Speaker 3: You know, listen, we're not getting mad at each other, it's just the situation.
• 7:02
  Speaker 3: This isn't a competition, though.
• 7:04
  Speaker 3: This isn't like the Alcan 5000 or some of these other competitions that we do.
• 7:08
  Speaker 3: This is literally just an adventure, a journey.
• 7:12
  Speaker 2: A road trip, a vacation.
• 7:14
  Speaker 3: An off-road trip, yeah, and so we're not constrained by time or anything like that.
• 7:20
  Speaker 3: So we're just putting that trust in in the, uh, the, the modifications you know, and like we're putting just slightly bigger bf goodrich tires on or we're putting some reica wheels on there.
• 7:31
  Speaker 3: Uh, slightly different there, um, we have some, uh, baja designs, lights on a rally innovation light bar for, you know, if we have to travel in low light, um, I know mercedes had mentioned that.
• 7:41
  Speaker 3: The skid plates, uh, you know that kind of stuff.
• 7:43
  Speaker 3: So we'll have a Factor 55 recovery point in the back too, just in case.
• 7:48
  Speaker 3: But this isn't our first rodeo, but this is our first rodeo on the Transamerica Trail, so we'll have to see how it goes, because there are some sections that can be pretty technical throughout the Colorado Mountains and stuff.
• 8:04
  Speaker 3: So we're going to have to sort of feel that out if we bypass that or attempt it or what.
• 8:10
  Speaker 1: So does the trail?
• 8:11
  Speaker 1: Does the trail start at y'all's backyard, or how does that work?
• 8:16
  Speaker 4: no, actually.
• 8:17
  Speaker 4: Um, there you can dive in at different points.
• 8:20
  Speaker 4: Um, we're just choosing to do this self-supported from the easternmost Atlantic Spur all the way over to the west coast, most Pacific Spur, so North Carolina, all the way to Oregon, and based on what I've been able to gather so far with my research, it's about 15 states.
• 8:37
  Speaker 4: I've gone through exhaustively now because the hurricane has wiped out a lot of North Carolina, a lot of floods in Tennessee, oklahoma, all sorts of areas, and so I've made it so far to Alabama to figure out and really just cross-check the GPX file against the state's road closure maps, trail systems, any BLM land or any type of public governmental website that shows what might be closed, and there are deviations already.
• 9:08
  Speaker 4: So we have to plan for that.
• 9:10
  Speaker 4: And, especially since Andy and I are together just on our own, we'll see other people that are doing the Transamerica Trail.
• 9:16
  Speaker 4: But we just have to be very careful, very methodical, practice mechanical sympathy and just be ready to have to turn around if we need to, or if there's down trees we're going to have a chainsaw we're going to buy, or you know things like that.
• 9:29
  Speaker 4: I mean, one of the key things too is we're using a system from ecoflow that is a big power station and then also an alternator charger, and we talked with the company, we did a lot of research on that, because that will send power back into our devices, especially the air beef fridge that we're using to keep things cold, to keep things running and juiced up and everything, and not during the alternator how much weight are you guys packing into this wilderness?
• 9:56
  Speaker 3: that's a really really good question.
• 9:57
  Speaker 3: Um, we haven't done, uh we haven't actually weighed all of our gear or anything like that.
• 10:03
  Speaker 3: It's actually being built out on the East Coast.
• 10:06
  Speaker 3: It is something we have thought about, but considering we're not going to have any passengers, it's really mostly just our clothing, so that's not much.
• 10:17
  Speaker 3: The rooftop tent will add some weight and the refrigerator will add some weight, but I don't think it's going to be all that much.
• 10:26
  Speaker 3: We're just going to make sure everything is nice and secured.
• 10:28
  Speaker 3: Uh, yeah, we will have some tools and and whatnot, but you know, we uh we're pretty accustomed to traveling light and traveling small.
• 10:36
  Speaker 3: We usually do this stuff in fairly small vehicles.
• 10:39
  Speaker 3: We're not doing it in an f-350 or ram 3500.
• 10:42
  Speaker 3: It's always something tiny.
• 10:44
  Speaker 3: So we've we've actually taken a lot of pointers from the people who travel on motorcycles, because they know how to pack really small and really light, and we've just kind of naturally gravitated towards that over the last 10, 15 years.
• 10:56
  Speaker 1: So, mercedes, I've got to ask you back to the research that you're doing getting there, where do you find these websites for government websites, trail websites, and pack all this information together to make sure that you're going not only in the right direction that's an easy given but making sure that everything is open, that you can go there.
• 11:18
  Speaker 1: You can get there, that sort of thing right?
• 11:21
  Speaker 4: yeah, that's a really good question.
• 11:22
  Speaker 4: There are some governmental websites that have National Forest or NF roads that you can look per state, per trail, things like that how updated they are, especially nowadays.
• 11:34
  Speaker 4: I don't know that.
• 11:35
  Speaker 4: I know on Facebook that I know live in North Carolina or live in Tennessee or live in we dip into Georgia just a brief bit.
• 11:50
  Speaker 4: Or you know we're doing the whole entire northern route of Oklahoma and I'm including that little tiny strip, for instance.
• 11:52
  Speaker 2: Route 66.
• 11:53
  Speaker 4: So I'm finding per state websites like I don't know if they're like the 511 type of things you know if you were to call or whatnot.
• 12:00
  Speaker 4: But each state has a different website.
• 12:03
  Speaker 4: Some are a lot better than others.
• 12:04
  Speaker 4: Some leave a lot to the imagination and the the you know wish that it was a you know more in depth than what it is.
• 12:11
  Speaker 4: But the challenge that I'm facing with doing this is a lot of these trails are very small, aren't really documented and you have to really dig hard to find it so the transamerica trail does it?
• 12:23
  Speaker 1: is there a website, a, a clearinghouse, a chat room, something that you can share information with people like yourselves?
• 12:31
  Speaker 4: Yeah, so the website, I believe, is TransAmcom, or you could Google TransAmerica Trail or TransAmTrailcom.
• 12:38
  Speaker 4: Andy, I think it's TransAmTrailcom, but you can Google TransAmerica Trail.
• 12:44
  Speaker 4: We found a couple of Facebook groups that we began being a part of.
• 12:50
  Speaker 4: One of them is a 4x4 group, four by four group.
• 12:56
  Speaker 4: There are a couple of all wheel drives that we've talked to, of vehicle owners that have shared their journey and whatnot Different.
• 12:59
  Speaker 4: You know, some are 10 years ago, some are two years ago and yeah, and the rest of them are mainly moto.
• 13:04
  Speaker 4: But I still stay in them because you never know the moto guys just really know when they're on top of it, and we learn a lot from them too.
• 13:11
  Speaker 1: Well, one of the things that comes to mind is we've had so many fires, not only in California, out on the West Coast or everywhere, that you tell me that you're going to go, and especially over in the East, which is a surprise to me.
• 13:23
  Speaker 1: There's got to be some variations to the trail because of the fires that have occurred out there.
• 13:29
  Speaker 3: Yeah, that is one thing you know.
• 13:31
  Speaker 3: I mean, the folks out on the East Coast, especially in the Carolinas, you know they dealt with Hurricane Helene and then they ended up with fires here not that long ago, and you know, when those trees fall and they sort of get rid of that erosion barrier and then it rains and then they get landslides, and so I think honestly, our biggest challenge here is going to be changing trail conditions and changing weather conditions.
• 13:53
  Speaker 3: You know, going across the states in the the summer you can get big thunderstorms.
• 13:58
  Speaker 3: I mean, you know we've been in texas during massive thunderstorms and and uh, uh, you know we're from the midwest we just had tornadoes here in wisconsin and minnesota last week.
• 14:08
  Speaker 3: So it's going to be paying attention, keeping eyes to the skies, ears of the tracks and just trying to understand what lies ahead and being prepared to to turn around or take bypasses.
• 14:17
  Speaker 3: We've cut our way through.
• 14:19
  Speaker 4: I've got one for you, we will have emergency.
• 14:21
  Speaker 4: No, go ahead oh, I just wanted to add to that we will have emergency communications via uh, our garment in reach device.
• 14:27
  Speaker 4: We're going to actually bring two of them.
• 14:28
  Speaker 4: One is a handheld, it's a little gps 67i, um gps map 67i, and so when we or when we deviate off the vehicle and maybe hike in or check something out or whatever, we can take that with us in case something happens.
• 14:41
  Speaker 4: Then we have our main GPS that you know, is about six inches wide.
• 14:45
  Speaker 4: That'll be mounted in the vehicle.
• 14:47
  Speaker 2: But we also are bringing a Starlink mini gosh it's early in the morning with us and we could set that up to upload content to our blog site, social, social and all that type of stuff, but also for emergency purposes so when you, when you have a trip like this and say if someone wants to get in and join what you're doing on the trans uh journey, say, for instance, mike and don want to spend a month together and attend on the roof of a car what is no what is it going to cost them?
• 15:16
  Speaker 2: What is the initial outlet?
• 15:17
  Speaker 2: You've got a sponsorship to Subaru.
• 15:18
  Speaker 2: You've got a lot of tech stuff.
• 15:20
  Speaker 2: What does it cost to do a trip like this?
• 15:22
  Speaker 2: Don't forget the shots yeah.
• 15:24
  Speaker 4: Yeah, I mean, it all depends on what vehicle you have, or, if it's a motorcycle, do you have the gear already?
• 15:30
  Speaker 4: Thankfully, andy and I since we've been doing a lot of off-roading stuff for so long, for so many years we have 95% of everything that we need.
• 15:38
  Speaker 4: We decided to outfit the vehicle, the Subaru Crosstruck Wilderness, which is a 2025 model, with very critical things that, of course, we don't have, although we've got it at home, but we can't put it on.
• 15:49
  Speaker 4: You know, from our Crosstruck, for instance, we've got a 2022 onto that one, um, it depends on what you need to buy, um, but for us, we're planning on camping primarily along the way, uh, gathering a lot of content, writing articles and podcasts, radio shows, all that type of stuff, photography, um.
• 16:05
  Speaker 4: But pay for fuel, pay for whatever clothing that you might need, food, uh, would be critical again, you know we've got that fridge, so we're gonna hopefully minimize the having to run to the grocery store all the time, pack some freeze-dried stuff, uh, and and, just yeah, whatever else you might need along the way oh, freeze-dried food, how yummy yeah you'd be surprised.
• 16:25
  Speaker 3: Some of them are too bad these days yeah, well, thank god for the space program.
• 16:29
  Speaker 1: I'll be anxious to see these two in a tent yeah, well, uh, listen, uh, all I can can suggest is be sure, and pack a nice set of toenail clippers while you're on the way.
• 16:38
  Speaker 1: That's a good point.
• 16:40
  Speaker 1: Use them here and there in the ditty bag, whatever, but it's great to talk to you guys.
• 16:46
  Speaker 1: The best of luck to you.
• 16:48
  Speaker 1: We'll be following you.
• 16:49
  Speaker 1: Now.
• 16:49
  Speaker 1: What's the best way for us to follow you on a daily basis?
• 16:54
  Speaker 3: The best way to follow us is going to be through our social media.
• 16:57
  Speaker 3: That's going to be our Instagram account at Crankshaft Culture, our Facebook groups and pages at Crankshaft Culture.
• 17:05
  Speaker 3: We're also on Blue Sky these days and then, of course, we have our website, crankshaftculturecom.
• 17:11
  Speaker 3: Probably not going to be as updated as our social, but definitely stay tuned to Facebook, instagram and Blue Scott.
• 17:18
  Speaker 1: Most importantly, you guys be safe on the trail.
• 17:20
  Speaker 1: We love you both and thank you so much for joining us today.
• 17:24
  Speaker 3: Thanks guys, Always a pleasure.
• 17:25
  Speaker 3: Thanks so much for having us Be safe.
• 17:26
  Speaker 1: Y'all take care.
• 17:27
  Speaker 1: All right Just ahead.
• 17:28
  Speaker 1: Jeff's car culture on the VW Amarok.
• 17:32
  Speaker 1: Never heard of it.
• 17:33
  Speaker 1: Jeff's going to tell you about it, oh yeah.
• 17:35
  Speaker 1: And a review of the 2025 Ford Ranger all coming up on the In Wheel Time Car Talk Show.
• 17:40
  Speaker 1: After this quick break, the Tex-Mex dining experience is defined by Loopy Tortilla your destination for Texas' best beef fajitas and frozen margaritas.
• 17:50
  Speaker 1: Since 1983, loopy Tortilla has served authentic and time-tested recipes made with the freshest ingredients.
• 17:57
  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.
• 18:05
  Speaker 1: Visit any of the Loopy Tortillas and you'll see the same attention to detail in each and every location.
• 18:11
  Speaker 1: Start your Loopy experience with queso flammeado and guacamole, along with a classic frozen margarita.
• 18:17
  Speaker 1: Dine on famous Lupe beef and chicken fajitas or pepper shrimp brochette or a fish or vegetarian entree, and finish with a scrumptious flan for dessert.
• 18:26
  Speaker 1: Find Lupe Tortilla in Houston, college Station, beaumont, austin, san Antonio and Dallas-Fort Worth.
• 18:31
  Speaker 1: There's a Texas location near you.
• 18:33
  Speaker 1: The recipes are authentic and time-tested, the ingredients always fresh.
• 18:39
  Speaker 1: Loopy Tortilla he's pretty good.
• 18:43
  Speaker 1: The Emerald Time Car Talk Show thanks you for 14 wonderful years.
• 18:47
  Speaker 1: Yep, our first show aired May 7, 2011 on a local radio station.
• 18:51
  Speaker 1: Then it was a move to the digital world and social media, and you followed you.
• 18:55
  Speaker 1: We continue to build and grow our fan base, and it's all because of you and your auto enthusiast friends.
• 19:00
  Speaker 1: We appreciate your support.
• 19:02
  Speaker 1: It's always great to see you at our remote broadcasts and we hope you'll continue to stop by and say hello.
• 19:07
  Speaker 1: It's been a great ride and we hope to bring you more fun and adventure right here on the in-wheel time car talk show.
• 19:12
  Speaker 1: Oh my god, there's so much going on during a commercial break.
• 19:14
  Speaker 1: You have no clue.
• 19:15
  Speaker 1: My head is spinning.
• 19:16
  Speaker 1: Hey, welcome back to the In Wheel Time Car Talk.
• 19:20
  Speaker 4: Show.
• 19:20
  Speaker 1: Let's see.
• 19:21
  Speaker 1: I did want to remind you that In Wheel Time hits the road again.
• 19:26
  Speaker 1: What Come on?
• 19:28
  Speaker 1: Our next stop is in Granbury for the Lone Star Street Rod Association State.
• 19:31
  Speaker 4: Run, there you go.
• 19:32
  Speaker 1: Beautiful.
• 19:32
  Speaker 1: We invite you to join us for a live broadcast on June 14th, 9 to noon that day.
• 19:38
  Speaker 1: We thank you for being with us today, and let's now get to Jeff's car culture the VW Amarok what Right.
• 19:46
  Speaker 2: Well, last week, before we went to the Hot Rod Tour early morning watching TV and I was watching a little bit of the Pope's funeral they had the procession on TV.
• 19:54
  Speaker 2: Oh yeah, this vehicle was in the procession and I could not understand what it was because it looked like a mini pickup.
• 20:01
  Speaker 5: It looks like a.
• 20:02
  Speaker 2: Honda.
• 20:02
  Speaker 2: It looked like a VW because of the emblem.
• 20:04
  Speaker 2: So here we go, michael.
• 20:05
  Speaker 2: So for its second generation, the VW Amarok gets Ford's underpinning that grows the mid-side truck towing, hauling and cabin size.
• 20:15
  Speaker 2: Following months of teasing, volkswagen has finally revealed the next-generation Amarok pickup truck.
• 20:19
  Speaker 2: Ford is partnered with Volkswagen.
• 20:22
  Speaker 2: They offer more toughness, more capability, along with more space and more technology into this vehicle.
• 20:28
  Speaker 2: Somebody wrote that Absolutely.
• 20:30
  Speaker 2: What's left for Volkswagen is to confirm when this vehicle is coming to the US, not just yet.
• 20:36
  Speaker 2: Volkswagen sold more than 800,000 copies of the first generation of the Amarok in the worldwide market, but Ford sold over 800,000 vehicles just in the F-150 series.
• 20:48
  Speaker 2: So there you go, volkswagen.
• 20:50
  Speaker 2: Might be a big part of why Ford and Volkswagen are partnering.
• 20:53
  Speaker 2: They want to get the vehicle over to the US and the underpinnings from Ford's new Global Ranger that helped Volkswagen offer the vehicle with more features and capabilities.
• 21:03
  Speaker 2: The new Volkswagen Amarok is a 210.6-inch long vehicle.
• 21:08
  Speaker 2: It's around four inches longer than the model it replaces, the previous Gen 1.
• 21:12
  Speaker 2: The truck is seven inches longer between the wheels and yet Volkswagen has it shortened up after the wheels, after the rear fenders and the bumper spacing that they have on each end.
• 21:23
  Speaker 2: The side benefit is the shorter overhangs Truck is better approached on off-road angles.
• 21:28
  Speaker 2: Both the towing and payload have increased.
• 21:31
  Speaker 2: Amarok will be able to tow a maximum of 7,700 pounds.
• 21:36
  Speaker 2: That's a lot, a very competitive in this segment.
• 21:38
  Speaker 2: Its peak payload is a little over 2,500 pounds higher than the capability of many light duty trucks and considerably higher than some of them in the us market.
• 21:47
  Speaker 2: Toyota tacoma is around 1,600.
• 21:50
  Speaker 2: As an example, volkswagen plans to offer the tDI diesel in the worldwide markets, from a 148-horsepower 2-liter four-cylinder version to the African market and other parts around the European market.
• 22:04
  Speaker 2: They got a 3-liter V6 that makes 247 horsepower, which will only be offered in the premium markets, which the United States will be once it happens.
• 22:13
  Speaker 2: The only gas engine is the 2.3 liter turbo 298 horsepower.
• 22:18
  Speaker 2: It's rumored that it's going to be in North America, but we'll see.
• 22:21
  Speaker 2: With a 10-speed transmission attached to it.
• 22:24
  Speaker 2: Though its bones are shared by Volkswagen, the truck is clearly all Volkswagen.
• 22:28
  Speaker 2: Styling is heavy influences from the VW's SUV and the three-row Atlas, so that's another kind of strange vehicle for Volkswagen to be copying.
• 22:39
  Speaker 2: More than 20 new driver assist features will be offered.
• 22:42
  Speaker 2: These include adaptive cruise control, road sign recognition, six different terrain models.
• 22:46
  Speaker 2: The cabin will also get Volkswagen's digital cockpit display as an option, with a 10-inch infotainment screen, so that's very good for them.
• 22:54
  Speaker 2: Other handy helpers electronically operated roll tonneau cover, which is very cool, high to reveal your truck's cargo inside the cab.
• 23:01
  Speaker 2: Remote control offering that for handy loading and unloading.
• 23:04
  Speaker 2: The truck bed supports about 1,100 pounds, so that's cool.
• 23:08
  Speaker 2: You can stand and sit and use that as a jumping off point, so to speak.
• 23:12
  Speaker 2: Amarok's roof can hold a static load of 350 kilos, which is 772 pounds.
• 23:18
  Speaker 2: So, yes, you can put your mother-in-law up there.
• 23:20
  Speaker 2: This actually goes into what Mercedes was saying about having the camping on the roof of the vehicle they have.
• 23:27
  Speaker 2: The Amarok will be built in South Africa for sale in Africa, mideast Europe and Australia.
• 23:32
  Speaker 2: This truck should be subject to hefty fees of the tariffs if it comes to the US under the normal plans that we have.
• 23:39
  Speaker 2: So there you go.
• 23:40
  Speaker 2: How fun.
• 23:41
  Speaker 2: Yeah, it's a Ford Ranger.
• 23:43
  Speaker 1: It's a Ford.
• 23:44
  Speaker 2: Ranger.
• 23:44
  Speaker 2: And what's in your driveway right now?
• 23:46
  Speaker 2: A Ford Ranger.
• 23:46
  Speaker 2: Mike's going to do a Ford Ranger, yeah.
• 23:49
  Speaker 1: Mr Barnes does have a review right now, as a matter of fact, of the Ford Ranger.
• 23:51
  Speaker 1: It Is it Mike's review Of the Ford Ranger.
• 23:52
  Speaker 5: It's Michael's review yeah, buddy, it's the Ford Ranger, lariat, lariat.
• 23:57
  Speaker 1: Lariat, Not Lariat, oh my God.
• 24:00
  Speaker 1: Now this is the fifth gen and this man was born in Texas.
• 24:03
  Speaker 2: Lariat.
• 24:03
  Speaker 2: That's why I got that twang.
• 24:05
  Speaker 5: Now the final assembly location of this is actually in Michigan.
• 24:08
  Speaker 5: It comes in four trim levels the XL, xlt, l levels, the xl, xlt, lariat and the raptor and it's considered a standard size pickup.
• 24:17
  Speaker 5: However, most of us call it a mid-size pickup and of course they've gotten a lot bigger, so maybe it is really and truly a standard size.
• 24:23
  Speaker 5: Sits five people?
• 24:25
  Speaker 5: Uh, it only comes at a crew cab short bed.
• 24:28
  Speaker 5: You don't have a lot of choices on this.
• 24:29
  Speaker 5: Particular one has automatic led projector headlamps, led fog lights.
• 24:34
  Speaker 5: You got tow hooks up front body colored door handles and side mirrors.
• 24:38
  Speaker 5: Got the running boards on it and I'm not sure why for somebody like me, they don't help me get in or out.
• 24:44
  Speaker 5: In fact, they kind of hinder it because I got to step over them and climb over them.
• 24:47
  Speaker 5: They look good.
• 24:48
  Speaker 5: The cargo bed has LED lighting as well, and then the locking tailgate.
• 24:52
  Speaker 5: You lock the doors, it locks the tailgate as well, and rolling on the 18-inch aluminum wheels.
• 24:56
  Speaker 5: Now inside, because of the trim level we have, we have the leather seating.
• 25:00
  Speaker 5: The front seats are heated, but there's no venting, there's no cooling on those seats.
• 25:04
  Speaker 5: Got a fold-up rear seat.
• 25:05
  Speaker 5: It's got storage areas underneath it.
• 25:07
  Speaker 5: Got the 12-inch digital driver display so you can configure that a lot of different ways.
• 25:12
  Speaker 5: The 12-inch center stack.
• 25:13
  Speaker 5: That's where you're going to find your convenience controls, your nav, your 360 degree surround view camera.
• 25:18
  Speaker 5: You'd also had the power sliding rear window, which I'm not sure.
• 25:22
  Speaker 5: That's another one of those things.
• 25:23
  Speaker 5: I don't open it much never did actually, uh, so maybe you need it if you do.
• 25:28
  Speaker 5: There it is had the bno sound system with 10 speakers and a subwoofer.
• 25:32
  Speaker 5: That's a Bang Olufsen.
• 25:34
  Speaker 5: Yes, I wasn't sure I could get all that out, so I went with B&O.
• 25:38
  Speaker 1: I think there's a railroad company called B&O Railroad.
• 25:41
  Speaker 5: Monopoly.
• 25:42
  Speaker 5: It does have USB A and C access points, which I think is great.
• 25:47
  Speaker 5: Some people have already gone to the C and you don't have the capability of using the A's anymore unless you got adapters.
• 25:54
  Speaker 5: Apart of the hood, we had the 2.7 liter EcoBoost and this is a $2,100 option 315 horsepower, 400 pound feet of torque, backed by 10 speed automatic transmission.
• 26:06
  Speaker 5: So this vehicle is capable of towing 7,500 pounds and you can load it up with a little over 1,800 pounds in the bed.
• 26:13
  Speaker 5: Epa says you should be looking for about 19 in the city highway pounds and you can load it up with a little over 1,800 pounds in the bed.
• 26:15
  Speaker 5: Epa says you should be looking for about 19 in the city highway 23, and combined 20.
• 26:19
  Speaker 5: And this is a regular fuel vehicle even though it's turbo.
• 26:22
  Speaker 5: So I got 21.3 miles to the gallon across 327 miles and I was very happy with that.
• 26:29
  Speaker 5: Driving this vehicle, it's got a lot of power on it once you get it rolling a little uh, a little weak off the line maybe, and the engine can be noisy if you're sitting there putting it under a little bit of duress going down the highway duress.
• 26:41
  Speaker 1: I like that word, yeah.
• 26:42
  Speaker 5: Yeah, as far as riding or so I'm told it was.
• 26:46
  Speaker 5: Anyway, it rides still like a truck, but it's a nicer driving vehicle.
• 26:51
  Speaker 5: Um, you got plenty of room in the front seats.
• 26:53
  Speaker 5: The back seats are a little bit tight for what I think it would be an adult, but it's usable for a while.
• 26:57
  Speaker 5: Pricing on this thing Now.
• 26:59
  Speaker 5: The base trim price for this vehicle was $47,165.
• 27:04
  Speaker 5: Our MSRP is tested $54,375.
• 27:08
  Speaker 5: Whoa, but you should know you can get into a base model of the Ranger for $34,265.
• 27:13
  Speaker 5: Looking for something to compare that to.
• 27:17
  Speaker 5: Toyota Tacoma immediately comes to mind $33,085.
• 27:20
  Speaker 5: Chevrolet Colorado, another popular midsize pickup truck, at $33,595.
• 27:26
  Speaker 5: If you're looking to step up a little bit, you might look at the Jeep Gladiator that's going to start at $40,000.
• 27:31
  Speaker 5: Or the Honda Ridgeline, which is another midsize, even though it's kind of a unibody more of an SUV to me than a truck, but it's considered a midsize at $41,600.
• 27:40
  Speaker 5: So there's a lot of choices in there to look at.
• 27:43
  Speaker 1: You know, one of the things I'm driving I think the same truck Probably, yeah.
• 27:46
  Speaker 1: Anyway, I'm driving it this week and the one thing that came to mind was One thing that came to mind was this truck they call it a midsize was in the 1960s and 70s a full-size truck size.
• 27:59
  Speaker 1: If you stop and think about it, that used to be the full-size truck.
• 28:04
  Speaker 1: Because they've grown the full-size truck into such enormous proportions it won't fit in the garage anymore.
• 28:11
  Speaker 5: No, it won't, and that one barely will.
• 28:13
  Speaker 5: I remember my dad had a Ford Ranger for years.
• 28:16
  Speaker 5: It had the little jump seats on the side of it and it would almost fit in the bed of a full-size truck now so it's a lot smaller.
• 28:23
  Speaker 5: But that's my review of the Ford Ranger Lariat 4x4.
• 28:28
  Speaker 1: Thank you, sir.
• 28:28
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• 30:03
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