Latest / In Wheel Time Podcast / How A 1968 Road Runner Hit 12 Minutes Up Pikes Peak

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How A 1968 Road Runner Hit 12 Minutes Up Pikes Peak · In Wheel Time Podcast

• 0:05
  Don Armstrong: From our city studios in Texas, USA, it's the In Wheel Time Car Talk Show.
• 0:11
  Don Armstrong: Just ahead.
• 0:12
  Don Armstrong: We hope to talk to Pike Peak Hill Climber, driver of the big bird, Ben Ryan.
• 0:17
  Don Armstrong: There's a lot of bees in that.
• 0:21
  Don Armstrong: Yeah.
• 0:21
  Don Armstrong: We'll find out if he really is nuts.
• 0:25
  Don Armstrong: Jeff has the motor minute, and I'll review the 2026 All You Subaru Trail Seeker EV.
• 0:32
  Don Armstrong: Bet you didn't know about that one.
• 0:33
  Don Armstrong: Howdy, along with Mike Out of This World Mars.
• 0:36
  Don Armstrong: We always need more Jeff Zeke and Chief Engineer David Ainsley.
• 0:39
  Don Armstrong: I'm Dodd Armstrong.
• 0:40
  Don Armstrong: Hey, thanks so much for joining us on this fine, fine, hot Saturday.
• 0:46
  Don Armstrong: Mr.
• 0:46
  Don Armstrong: Mars, do we have uh do we have Ben?
• 0:50
  Don Armstrong: We don't even have Mr.
• 0:51
  Don Armstrong: Mars.
• 0:52
  Don Armstrong: All right, well I don't know what to do.
• 0:55
  Don Armstrong: I don't either.
• 0:56
  Don Armstrong: Uh you know.
• 0:57
  Don Armstrong: What'd you say, Mike?
• 1:00
  Don Armstrong: I think your microphone is off, sir.
• 1:02
  Don Armstrong: I I can't hear a word there.
• 1:04
  Mike Marrs: Sorry.
• 1:05
  Mike Marrs: I had to unmute.
• 1:06
  Mike Marrs: Uh I was um I'm chasing down Ben, who's in Colorado.
• 1:12
  Mike Marrs: And he was on the mountain.
• 1:14
  Mike Marrs: Uh well, on the mountain, hopefully.
• 1:16
  Mike Marrs: That's yeah.
• 1:17
  Don Armstrong: And not down the mountain.
• 1:19
  Mike Marrs: Or yeah.
• 1:20
  Don Armstrong: Okay, so um your turn.
• 1:24
  Mike Marrs: Tag you.
• 1:25
  Mike Marrs: My turn?
• 1:26
  Don Armstrong: Tag you.
• 1:27
  Mike Marrs: Well, great.
• 1:28
  Don Armstrong: Uh I know you got something for us.
• 1:31
  Mike Marrs: Yeah, all right.
• 1:32
  Mike Marrs: How I got automotive history.
• 1:35
  Mike Marrs: I got Don's car review.
• 1:37
  Don Armstrong: Do you have your tap shoes on, Mike?
• 1:41
  Don Armstrong: No, those I'm not no, wait a minute.
• 1:43
  Don Armstrong: No, those are the slippers, and that's not what I was talking about.
• 1:48
  Don Armstrong: Come on, let's see it, tiny dancer.
• 1:53
  Mike Marrs: Yeah, buddy, yeah, buddy, yeah, buddy.
• 1:58
  Don Armstrong: Well, well, we'll let we'll let you go ahead and track him down.
• 2:01
  Don Armstrong: Well, I think that what you're talking about is just what we were talking about, and that is the fact that you know, these cars with their uh always connected policies now.
• 2:10
  Don Armstrong: Mine's CarPlay.
• 2:11
  Don Armstrong: Mine is CarPlay.
• 2:12
  Don Armstrong: Yeah, so uh I I think that what we need to do is we need to put one of those on Ben Ryan's uh car.
• 2:18
  Mike Marrs: Well, yeah, yeah.
• 2:19
  Mike Marrs: I I know he's uh he's an hour behind us, but he's not that's as far as he is.
• 2:23
  Don Armstrong: So well, have you talked to his boss?
• 2:26
  Mike Marrs: Well, I just talked to Richard.
• 2:28
  Don Armstrong: That's his boss, his boss.
• 2:30
  Mike Marrs: Yeah, I just talked to Richard, and Richard said a few expletives that I'm not gonna repeat on the air.
• 2:36
  Don Armstrong: Oh, go ahead.
• 2:37
  Don Armstrong: Why not?
• 2:39
  Mike Marrs: How about how about just uh beep and then oh beep, how's that?
• 2:43
  Don Armstrong: That's good.
• 2:44
  Don Armstrong: Beep, beep, beep, beep.
• 2:46
  Mike Marrs: I'll be right back.
• 2:47
  Don Armstrong: Okay, thank you.
• 2:49
  Don Armstrong: Golly.
• 2:50
  Don Armstrong: All right, so I I I put this story away, and this isn't gonna involve you.
• 2:55
  Don Armstrong: So when we get Ben back, it's gonna involve you.
• 2:59
  Don Armstrong: So when when he gets back, we're not gonna have time for it.
• 3:02
  Don Armstrong: All right.
• 3:02
  Don Armstrong: You ready?
• 3:03
  Don Armstrong: Yeah, five things to know about tires.
• 3:06
  Don Armstrong: Oh boy.
• 3:07
  Don Armstrong: Number one, around.
• 3:09
  Don Armstrong: No, speak the language.
• 3:11
  Jeff Dziekan: Oh yeah.
• 3:12
  Jeff Dziekan: Aspect ratio, tread depth.
• 3:14
  Don Armstrong: Codes on passenger car tire sidewall might as well be Egyptian hieroglyphics.
• 3:20
  Don Armstrong: But you know how to define those.
• 3:23
  Don Armstrong: So talk to us.
• 3:24
  Don Armstrong: Let's see.
• 3:25
  Don Armstrong: There's a DOT.
• 3:26
  Don Armstrong: Uh you want to start over here?
• 3:28
  Don Armstrong: Treadwear.
• 3:31
  Jeff Dziekan: We have bins.
• 3:32
  Jeff Dziekan: Oh, the treadwear traction, the temperature gain.
• 3:34
  Jeff Dziekan: You know, grades.
• 3:35
  Jeff Dziekan: That actually is being revised.
• 3:37
  Jeff Dziekan: There was an article that they're changing that, but they don't know how to do it to make it more uh easy speak, not lawyer language, but uh there he is right there.
• 3:47
  Jeff Dziekan: But uh easier to understand for the consumer.
• 3:49
  Jeff Dziekan: Okay, we're gonna continue this.
• 3:50
  Jeff Dziekan: Absolutely.
• 3:51
  Jeff Dziekan: All right.
• 3:52
  Don Armstrong: All right, Ben, are you with us?
• 3:54
  Don Armstrong: Yes, I am.
• 3:55
  Don Armstrong: How you guys doing?
• 3:56
  Don Armstrong: Where the hell are you been, Ben?
• 3:58
  SPEAKER_00: Sorry, I'm slacking this morning.
• 4:01
  Don Armstrong: Yeah, uh, I'll say, you know, this listen, we go by the clock, buddy.
• 4:05
  Don Armstrong: You we you can't be late.
• 4:07
  Don Armstrong: And you gotta be on Texas time, yeah.
• 4:10
  Don Armstrong: And not only that, but Rich Richard says you're in some deep doo-doo now.
• 4:15
  Don Armstrong: Yeah.
• 4:16
  SPEAKER_00: That sounds about right.
• 4:18
  Don Armstrong: Yeah, yeah, exactly.
• 4:19
  Don Armstrong: All right, so um, you know, I I when I knew that you were gonna be on with us, I thought, so we're going to talk to the man that just got out of the insane asylum.
• 4:31
  Don Armstrong: Who in his right mind would go as fast as he could possibly go up the side to a mountaintop in Colorado called Pikes Peak?
• 4:41
  Don Armstrong: Who do that?
• 4:42
  Don Armstrong: What at what point in your life did you say, I want to do that?
• 4:47
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I'd been going up there as a kid with my dad, and it was always kind of uh a dream of ours to get up there on that hill.
• 4:55
  SPEAKER_00: And uh, as you know, it's kind of an invite only and kind of a hard race to get into.
• 5:01
  SPEAKER_00: And so uh I applied for seven years and was declined.
• 5:05
  SPEAKER_00: So I was slowly building my resume up enough to finally get accepted in my eighth year uh to compete up there, and then um, as wild as it is, uh there's nothing else like it in the world.
• 5:17
  SPEAKER_00: So um once you do it once, you're just kind of hooked.
• 5:22
  Don Armstrong: So it's kind of like a bad drug.
• 5:24
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, that is my choice of drug for sure.
• 5:28
  Don Armstrong: Well, I I can I can certainly understand.
• 5:30
  Don Armstrong: Uh, I mean, you know, how high do you want to get?
• 5:34
  Don Armstrong: I mean, seriously, though.
• 5:36
  Don Armstrong: So, how at what what is the top speed that you could get anywhere on that course up to the top of Pike's Peak?
• 5:46
  Don Armstrong: What's the fastest you can go?
• 5:48
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I mean, it it varies on what car you're driving, but I mean Well, we're talking about the big bird that you just got out of.
• 5:54
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, the road runner.
• 5:55
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, big bird.
• 5:56
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, I would I wouldn't be surprised.
• 5:58
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, it's hard to tell.
• 5:59
  SPEAKER_00: I didn't I didn't have a thing, but we, you know, I wouldn't be surprised if we weren't clocking 120, 130 in some of the straightaways.
• 6:06
  unknown: My God.
• 6:07
  Don Armstrong: Alrighty.
• 6:10
  Don Armstrong: You are crazy.
• 6:13
  Don Armstrong: What did your dad say?
• 6:15
  Don Armstrong: Son, I told you.
• 6:16
  Don Armstrong: No, his dad said faster.
• 6:20
  Don Armstrong: Apparently.
• 6:21
  Don Armstrong: So, all right, so that there, so there's no guardrail.
• 6:25
  Don Armstrong: And I know that on that mountain and some points of that mountain climb, that it is right straight down.
• 6:33
  Don Armstrong: There is no, oh, it's you know, if you if you lose control and go over the edge, it's not that big a deal.
• 6:39
  Don Armstrong: You only drop a couple hundred feet.
• 6:40
  Don Armstrong: No, like a thousand feet.
• 6:43
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, there are some areas where uh there's no margin for error, and if you do make that mistake, uh the consequences are pretty catastrophic for not only you, but definitely the car.
• 6:57
  Don Armstrong: So okay, so I have to ask this.
• 7:01
  Don Armstrong: Do you even does that ever even enter your mind at all when you're doing this race?
• 7:09
  SPEAKER_00: No, it's it's kind of wild.
• 7:10
  SPEAKER_00: The comfort level you get to, um, the more runs you make up that hill, the more comfortable you get.
• 7:17
  SPEAKER_00: And that's just that's just something that can't really enter your mind.
• 7:21
  SPEAKER_00: You really gotta be very focused, very sharp.
• 7:24
  SPEAKER_00: You gotta be, you know, hitting your apexes, you gotta be hitting your breakpoints, and um, you gotta know where you're at on that course.
• 7:31
  SPEAKER_00: A lot of those corners can blend into each other, and it's easy to uh mistake one with another, and that's where a lot of mistakes get made.
• 7:39
  SPEAKER_00: So um you have to really know the course, which is hard to do with 156 turns and 12 miles and 5,000 feet of elevation change.
• 7:48
  SPEAKER_00: So um, for me doing it my third year now, you know, you kind of get familiar with every crack and every bump on that course.
• 7:56
  SPEAKER_00: So, um, and that's important to have so that you don't you don't make those types of mistakes.
• 8:01
  Mike Marrs: So, this is your third year, the previous two years.
• 8:04
  Mike Marrs: What were you driving?
• 8:06
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so the first year I ever drove, I did a Mini Cooper, which was front-wheel drive.
• 8:11
  SPEAKER_00: Um, we went up and took that car up.
• 8:12
  SPEAKER_00: We held the record for fastest Mini Cooper up the hill, and then my second year I drove an Audi T TRS, which is an all-wheel drive platform, uh, which was kind of unique.
• 8:23
  SPEAKER_00: And then this year we drove Big Bird, which was a rear-wheel drive platform and a whole nother animal.
• 8:28
  Mike Marrs: So Yeah, 1968 Roadrunner, full-bodied car.
• 8:33
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 8:34
  Jeff Dziekan: And an Nascar chassis.
• 8:36
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, yes, and she was uh she was a handful.
• 8:40
  SPEAKER_00: She's a rowdy little car.
• 8:41
  SPEAKER_00: Richard and the team at Apex AutoWorks did an amazing job um mating those two together um and making a uh, you know, it's a big rocket ship going up that hill.
• 8:52
  Jeff Dziekan: So it's good balance going up.
• 8:54
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, no, it's a really comfortable, really predictable car, you know, with that NASCAR power plant and that thing screaming out to 8,500 RPMs and you know, having 800 horsepower to the wheels at my disposal.
• 9:05
  SPEAKER_00: Um, you know, it it was a fun car.
• 9:07
  SPEAKER_00: We we had teamed up with Kumo tire this year, and we were working with them on developing a tire, and um that was a lot of fun working with them.
• 9:15
  SPEAKER_00: So uh really it was just uh throwing that car around.
• 9:19
  SPEAKER_00: It kind of brought back to more of the dirt driving style, uh swinging that rear end around to get it to pivot around those those tight corners, and then you know, the high speed stuff, that car um stayed extremely planted and uh you know gave us the ability to to have a really good fun run up that hill.
• 9:36
  Jeff Dziekan: So you and and looking at it, what do you do to prepare?
• 9:40
  Jeff Dziekan: Are you a runner?
• 9:40
  Jeff Dziekan: Do you do any kind of like other athletic things to get in shape for the altitude change and and you know, tossing that big bird around up those up those hills?
• 9:49
  Jeff Dziekan: What do you do to prepare for this personally?
• 9:52
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, per personally, you know, it requires a little bit of sim time, and we we get such limited time, you know, up there on the hill, getting familiar with the car.
• 10:00
  SPEAKER_00: So it's kind of one of those things you kind of learn as you go.
• 10:03
  SPEAKER_00: Obviously, you know, I'm a Colorado native here and I grew up in the mountains, and so a lot of these other teams and individuals that come to Colorado, the elevation really bothers them.
• 10:11
  SPEAKER_00: But but for me, it's not a big deal, it doesn't phase me at all.
• 10:14
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm lucky in that aspect that I don't have to deal with some of the other things, some of the other drivers have to overcome.
• 10:21
  SPEAKER_00: So, you know, for me being here, yeah, it's just keeping my mind sharp.
• 10:25
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and and yeah, we you know, we we like to stay in shape with things because I mean at the end of that run, I was my arms and everything was pretty toast.
• 10:34
  SPEAKER_00: That was uh, you know, a pretty intense run going up there with the concentration level and the physicality behind driving a you know a car like that up the mountain.
• 10:42
  Don Armstrong: Are you a full-time racer?
• 10:44
  SPEAKER_00: I I I do race quite a bit, you know.
• 10:46
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not as heavily active as you know, I I want to be, Richard and I kind of um now that Big Bird's together and sorted, you know, we're talking about going on to you know a bigger schedule with that car and taking it out a lot more.
• 10:59
  SPEAKER_00: So we're really excited about that.
• 11:02
  SPEAKER_00: So um I I would kind of call myself more of a part-time driver racer right now, but it looks like the way things are leading in how Big Bird performed up on the hill this year, that that's gonna lead into a lot more opportunities and different events and things that you know we want to go conquer as well.
• 11:17
  SPEAKER_00: It's not we're not just focused on a hill climb, that's a big part of it, but we want to go out there and start checking some boxes at some of these other events.
• 11:24
  Mike Marrs: So the the run up the hill that you you were just talking about, how long was that?
• 11:30
  Mike Marrs: How long did it take you to make that run up the hill?
• 11:32
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, big big bird did a uh 12-minute time up the hill this year, which I I I feel is pretty remarkable for you know that car and our first time out in it and what it did.
• 11:41
  SPEAKER_00: You know, obviously with a new car, doesn't matter what kind of car it is, you know, you're gonna have growing pains, especially when the crazy, the crazy build Richard ended up doing putting a road runner body over a NASCAR, which is kind of unheard of.
• 11:55
  SPEAKER_00: It's pretty it was a pretty remarkable feat.
• 11:58
  SPEAKER_00: So I think we definitely laid down, you know, uh a respectable time.
• 12:02
  SPEAKER_00: Was there a lot of time left in that run?
• 12:04
  SPEAKER_00: Uh there was, you know, but uh we we also decided that we were gonna go up there and kind of put a fan on for the show.
• 12:11
  SPEAKER_00: So um we sacrificed a little bit of our time, you know, doing some cool burnouts and drifting some corners and you know, just having fun and and bringing back that old school muscle back up to Pike's Peak.
• 12:22
  SPEAKER_00: It's been a category that's been gone for so long.
• 12:25
  SPEAKER_00: And so uh a lot of people could really relate to this car from the early history of the hill climb and seeing a car like that up there.
• 12:33
  SPEAKER_00: So um it was a really unique opportunity, and you know, next year we're really excited uh to get back and really get after it.
• 12:41
  Don Armstrong: What did the the tired company take away from this?
• 12:44
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, we helped them with a lot of tire development.
• 12:47
  SPEAKER_00: Obviously, Big Bird being as big of a car it was, our tires kind of wore and did things differently than a lot of other teams, and just overall the power we had and my driving style is kind of unique to going up there.
• 12:58
  SPEAKER_00: So um we we did a lot of research with them.
• 13:00
  SPEAKER_00: We were on a 200 treadware tire this year.
• 13:03
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so grip was you know um questionable at times.
• 13:08
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and you're you're always walking that fine line of where your grip level was at with that.
• 13:13
  SPEAKER_00: So they're talking about taking what we learned from this and the data and and carrying it over and and and bringing a slick out there next year for us, which I mean I think that'll be a a huge deal for that car going up the hill having you know some proper grip.
• 13:27
  Mike Marrs: 12 miles on a pair of slicks, yeah.
• 13:30
  Jeff Dziekan: Well, he yeah, he said it's 12,000 feet in 12 minutes.
• 13:33
  Jeff Dziekan: You said you had a 12-minute run in a six months.
• 13:36
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah, we did we did a 12-minute run.
• 13:37
  SPEAKER_00: We start at 9,000 feet and we finish at about 14,200 feet.
• 13:43
  SPEAKER_00: So you're climbing 5,000 feet of elevation um over a course of 156 turns in uh you know about 12 minutes.
• 13:51
  Jeff Dziekan: So in 12 minutes, yeah.
• 13:52
  Jeff Dziekan: That's uh that's pretty that's pretty quick in my book.
• 13:55
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I mean, normal drive up that hill if you're in a passenger car is an hour and thirty thirty to hour and forty-five minutes.
• 14:02
  Don Armstrong: Well, it may be that on the clock, but in your mind you're going, it's all five hours up there, right knuckling it like I did.
• 14:10
  Jeff Dziekan: You have to stop and change your clothes and underwear.
• 14:16
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, you you have a couple of those moments going up that hill.
• 14:19
  SPEAKER_00: I think as drivers, we all do, it's just so unpredictable, and the mountain changes so fastly it can get cold overnight, and the the you know, the dirt underneath the road, like a bump might not be there one day, and the next day you go run that same line and there's a bump there all of a sudden, you know.
• 14:34
  SPEAKER_00: So that's what makes it so unique.
• 14:37
  Don Armstrong: Do team owners actually reach out to you because they're looking for a driver, like Richard did, apparently?
• 14:43
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, well, Richard and I, uh, you know, we have a unique relationship.
• 14:46
  SPEAKER_00: We met up on the hill climb my first year I was racing, and then we were talking one day about like, you know, he asked me if there's any car I could ever build to go up the hill.
• 14:54
  SPEAKER_00: And uh ironically, I said a 1968 Plymouth Roadrunner because it was the first car my dad and I had built.
• 15:00
  SPEAKER_00: And uh the first year I got accepted for the race, I had my dad set to fly out to watch us fulfill our dream.
• 15:06
  SPEAKER_00: And uh the Friday before the race, my dad unfortunately passed away to cancer and never got to come up and see me race.
• 15:12
  SPEAKER_00: So um, and then obviously the ties with Richard and his dad having this car in their family, it being their first kind of car, and so him having one um is what triggered all this after that conversation one day up on the hill, and you know, we got this wild idea.
• 15:27
  SPEAKER_00: Let's let's take a drag car and go do 156 turns and go run bikes peak.
• 15:33
  SPEAKER_00: So um, that's what we did.
• 15:34
  SPEAKER_00: And Richard and them, you know, over there at Apex AutoWorks pulled off an incredible feat in the timeline we had uh getting that car together so that we could run that thing up the hill.
• 15:43
  Don Armstrong: So now what's next for you, right?
• 15:45
  Don Armstrong: We're kind of running out of time here.
• 15:46
  Don Armstrong: What's next for you?
• 15:48
  SPEAKER_00: Uh Richard and I are talking about that right now.
• 15:50
  SPEAKER_00: Right now, we're looking at possibly going out to the Virginia City Hill Climb in Nevada next with the car.
• 15:56
  SPEAKER_00: So um we got a few things we need to sort out on the car, but we have a few things coming down the pipeline.
• 16:01
  SPEAKER_00: But that that's one that looks like it's coming up uh a little sooner than later, and it's on our radar right now to go run another hill climb event.
• 16:07
  Don Armstrong: Well, it's a real pleasure to talk to you.
• 16:09
  Don Armstrong: You're a very smart guy, and uh I I see big things happening.
• 16:13
  Don Armstrong: Courageous.
• 16:14
  Don Armstrong: You know what?
• 16:14
  Don Armstrong: I I I see NASCAR in your future, sir.
• 16:17
  Don Armstrong: And I'm no, I know laugh if you will, but I I you know you've got the gift of Gab, and you know how to do it, and you do it well.
• 16:24
  Don Armstrong: Thanks so much for joining us today.
• 16:26
  Don Armstrong: We appreciate you.
• 16:27
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you, gentlemen.
• 16:28
  SPEAKER_00: It was a pleasure being on the show today.
• 16:29
  SPEAKER_00: Appreciate the time.
• 16:31
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you.
• 16:31
  Don Armstrong: Ben Ryan with the 68 Plymouth Roadrunner Big Bird from Apex Auto Works making it up the mountain.
• 16:37
  Don Armstrong: All right, just to have Jeff's huh?
• 16:39
  Don Armstrong: Courageous.
• 16:41
  Don Armstrong: Just ahead, Jeff's motor minute and a review of the all-new Subaru Trail Seeker when the in-wheel time car talk show continues after this 90-second break.
• 16:49
  Don Armstrong: Stay with us.
• 16:51
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• 17:00
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• 17:57
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• 18:02
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• 18:34
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• 18:37
  Don Armstrong: Time now for the motor minute, Jeffrey.
• 18:39
  Jeff Dziekan: Yeah, uh this is this is amazing because it it's going to kind of bleed into your recalls, but Ford just went from recall nightmare to America's highest quality car brand.
• 18:51
  Jeff Dziekan: After years of battling a reputation marred by record-setting vehicle recalls, Ford Motor Companies officially secured gold standard in automotive reliability according to the newly released 2026 U.S.
• 19:02
  Jeff Dziekan: initial quality standards by JD Power.
• 19:05
  Jeff Dziekan: Now, this article, it's it's uh uh what happened there?
• 19:10
  Jeff Dziekan: Don't worry about it.
• 19:10
  Jeff Dziekan: This uh article it talks about the JD uh power methodology methodology.
• 19:17
  Jeff Dziekan: They took a hundred vehicles, uh the first 90 days of ownership, and there were no uh problems uh to secure any other award.
• 19:25
  Jeff Dziekan: But they go through these things.
• 19:26
  Jeff Dziekan: The blue oval comeback story: how did an automaker that recalled over 20 million vehicles between April of 2025 and April of 2026 manage such a dramatic reversal?
• 19:37
  Jeff Dziekan: Well, it's all in the numbers, and that's all how they report the numbers, the successful awareness and all this good stuff that they're talking about, the lag indicators and generations of Fords.
• 19:48
  Jeff Dziekan: So the article to me was deceiving, but JD Powers does those kind of things.
• 19:53
  Jeff Dziekan: You kind of have to pay to play.
• 19:55
  Jeff Dziekan: Right after that article I read and did all the things about it, there was another one that says Ford recalls continue to cripple the brand.
• 20:02
  Jeff Dziekan: It was the next article.
• 20:04
  Jeff Dziekan: There it is.
• 20:05
  Jeff Dziekan: There it is.
• 20:06
  Jeff Dziekan: So they're talking 1.12 1.2 million vehicles this year, including 255,000 focus models fail to fix and all that.
• 20:14
  Jeff Dziekan: So the articles that you read about these things they go either way, and it depends on who writes them and it depends on who they're about.
• 20:20
  Don Armstrong: Yeah, and how much money they're getting from other people.
• 20:23
  Don Armstrong: How much they paid to get the award.
• 20:26
  Mike Marrs: It's kind of like a survey, ask the question to elicit the answer you want.
• 20:30
  Don Armstrong: Yeah, yeah.
• 20:30
  Don Armstrong: Well, it's like we we we had this person on um, I don't know, a couple of years ago on our show, and um um it was uh basically uh a rundown the list of all of the popular cars and uh what you think of them, what she thought of them.
• 20:49
  Don Armstrong: Yeah, nobody else was questioned, yeah, it's just what she thought of them.
• 20:54
  Don Armstrong: I was hot.
• 20:55
  Jeff Dziekan: Well, JD Powers is you you have them do a survey or whatever survey company, uh Survey Monkey does these things, and they get all this data and they combine all the data and they say we have the data.
• 21:07
  Jeff Dziekan: Okay, can I have it?
• 21:09
  Jeff Dziekan: Sure, here's the bill for the data, and you have to pay to get your data.
• 21:12
  Jeff Dziekan: So, and then you get your award, so it's a pay to play.
• 21:15
  Don Armstrong: That's right.
• 21:16
  Don Armstrong: Yeah, it's it's kind of like uh uh all the kids playing soccer, and everybody gets a blue ribbon.
• 21:23
  Jeff Dziekan: Yeah, or you see you go into a hotel and you see all these little JD power trophies on the counter, it's a pay to play.
• 21:29
  Jeff Dziekan: They they didn't earn those, they paid for them.
• 21:31
  Jeff Dziekan: Yeah, well, that's my little beef.
• 21:33
  Don Armstrong: There's that.
• 21:35
  Don Armstrong: Time now for this hour's car review.
• 21:37
  Don Armstrong: I had the opportunity to drive the all-new 2026 Subaru Trail Seeker.
• 21:43
  Don Armstrong: You're going, what?
• 21:46
  Don Armstrong: It's all brand new.
• 21:47
  Don Armstrong: It's built in Japan, and it comes in these three trim levels premium, limited, and touring.
• 21:56
  Don Armstrong: I had the premium entry level, all wheel.
• 22:00
  Don Armstrong: Drive.
• 22:01
  Don Armstrong: This is a mid-size electric vehicle.
• 22:05
  Don Armstrong: Two rows of seating for five passengers, including the driver.
• 22:08
  Don Armstrong: Exterior changes, obviously.
• 22:10
  Don Armstrong: It's all new for 2026.
• 22:12
  Don Armstrong: Body shape is great.
• 22:14
  Don Armstrong: Bulging fenders give it an off-road look.
• 22:17
  Don Armstrong: Black plastic wheel openings edge into the add to the boldness, but they also edge into the front bumper.
• 22:27
  Don Armstrong: I'm not really too keen on that, but it's one of those things that some people just, oh, that makes no difference to me.
• 22:34
  Don Armstrong: Or other people will say, oh, it's not too bad.
• 22:37
  Don Armstrong: It doesn't appeal to me, but whatever.
• 22:41
  Don Armstrong: Rear lighting runs across the complete hatch into the rear fenders, which is kind of cool.
• 22:46
  Don Armstrong: It does have a taller stance than a regular Subaru, and it is noticeable.
• 22:50
  Don Armstrong: What I liked about it, the overall design is spot on.
• 22:54
  Don Armstrong: Again, what could use improvement?
• 22:56
  Don Armstrong: Front wheel opening, black plastic incorporated now into part of the front fascia.
• 23:02
  Don Armstrong: It to me overwhelms the side view of it.
• 23:06
  Don Armstrong: If I'm going to be picky, and I am.
• 23:17
  Don Armstrong: Needs to be bigger.
• 23:18
  Don Armstrong: Infotainment screen is big and um it works well with the tech borrowed from Toyota, of all things.
• 23:27
  Don Armstrong: Dual phone chargers next to each other, up underneath the dash in the center console.
• 23:33
  Don Armstrong: Now, let me just say this about that.
• 23:35
  Don Armstrong: If you have to have two of them charging at the same time, couldn't you put one on a plug and save the space for something else?
• 23:44
  Don Armstrong: One lay down phone charger is one, whatever the case may be.
• 23:50
  Don Armstrong: Seating is comfortable.
• 23:52
  Don Armstrong: The second row leg room can be a little tight, but it's not that big of a deal because what it does, it leads to a huge cargo area, up to 74 cubic feet back there when you put the second seat down.
• 24:05
  Don Armstrong: What I liked about it, it has Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.
• 24:09
  Don Armstrong: It is integrated into the system, unlike some other car makers that said, nah, we're not going to put that in there anymore.
• 24:16
  Don Armstrong: Or another car maker that says, who needs AM radio?
• 24:20
  Don Armstrong: Uh-oh.
• 24:21
  Don Armstrong: Boo.
• 24:22
  Don Armstrong: What could use improvement?
• 24:24
  Don Armstrong: Few knobs andor switches instead of screen controls would be nice for the master, the major components in it.
• 24:33
  Don Armstrong: HVAC, radio, those sorts of things.
• 24:37
  Don Armstrong: Now, this is a two-motor, 375 horsepower, all electric, with a range of 281 miles.
• 24:46
  Don Armstrong: That doesn't seem like a lot, and it really isn't in comparison to some of the other vehicles out there.
• 24:52
  Don Armstrong: But, you know, when you buy one of these, you're going to buy it for its purpose.
• 24:57
  Don Armstrong: You like the way it looks, you like the all-wheel drive, you like the electric part of it, and you'll deal with the 281 miles of range that it gives you.
• 25:07
  Don Armstrong: Toes up to 3,500 pounds.
• 25:10
  Don Armstrong: Uh miles per gallon.
• 25:12
  Don Armstrong: Well, there's none of that, but my 40-mile commute to work used 12% of its full charge, if that gives you an idea.
• 25:20
  Jeff Dziekan: I mean, is that good?
• 25:21
  Don Armstrong: Um average.
• 25:23
  Don Armstrong: 12%.
• 25:23
  Don Armstrong: Well, the batteries aren't that big.
• 25:25
  Don Armstrong: So um it is what it is.
• 25:27
  Don Armstrong: But I think your purpose-driven is good too.
• 25:30
  Don Armstrong: Yeah.
• 25:30
  Don Armstrong: And the fact that, you know, if you do it the right way, you get to work, you plug it in, it's full at the end of the day when you're ready to come home.
• 25:38
  Don Armstrong: Same thing when you get home, you plug it in.
• 25:40
  Don Armstrong: There's a lot of plugging.
• 25:42
  Don Armstrong: And um, if you're into that sort of thing and it doesn't bother you, good for you.
• 25:46
  Don Armstrong: What I liked about it, the power, plenty of it.
• 25:49
  Don Armstrong: Um, what could use improvement?
• 25:51
  Don Armstrong: How about a hybrid option?
• 25:54
  Don Armstrong: Yeah, just say is there such a thing?
• 25:57
  Don Armstrong: I don't know.
• 25:57
  Don Armstrong: Can you take an all-electric vehicle and make it a gasoline hybrid?
• 26:02
  Don Armstrong: I don't know.
• 26:04
  Don Armstrong: But I like the body style, I like the way it looks, I like it overall.
• 26:07
  Don Armstrong: Riding handling, ride is excellent.
• 26:09
  Don Armstrong: What could use improvement?
• 26:11
  Don Armstrong: Uh, didn't take it off-road, but expect uh there are some limitations to it, but who's to say?
• 26:18
  Don Armstrong: I mean, I'm not an off-road expert, so don't ask me.
• 26:21
  unknown: Okay.
• 26:22
  Don Armstrong: Uh, base trim price on this, 41,445.
• 26:25
  Don Armstrong: Price is tested 41,840.
• 26:27
  Don Armstrong: Base model price 39,995.
• 26:30
  Don Armstrong: Competitors, the Hyundai Ionic 5 um is 35,000.
• 26:36
  Jeff Dziekan: Okay.
• 26:36
  Don Armstrong: Tesla Model Y, 39,900.
• 26:40
  Don Armstrong: And Mustang Mach E.
• 26:42
  Don Armstrong: I was kind of surprised at this.
• 26:43
  Don Armstrong: 37,795 is the entry level.
• 26:46
  Jeff Dziekan: It's right in the middle there.
• 26:47
  Don Armstrong: Yeah.
• 26:47
  Don Armstrong: But you know what you get with the Tesla.
• 26:49
  Jeff Dziekan: You don't really know you know future with this one.
• 26:51
  Don Armstrong: You know, I don't know anybody that owns a Mustang Mach-E.
• 26:54
  Don Armstrong: I think that they had these.
• 26:56
  Jeff Dziekan: Do you?
• 26:56
  Jeff Dziekan: Yeah.
• 26:56
  Jeff Dziekan: Buddy Todd Sheldon up in Colorado.
• 26:58
  Jeff Dziekan: He's got one.
• 26:59
  Jeff Dziekan: Does he like it?
• 26:59
  Jeff Dziekan: I believe so, sure.
• 27:01
  Jeff Dziekan: I'm sure he does.
• 27:02
  Jeff Dziekan: He's a Ford guy.
• 27:02
  Jeff Dziekan: Yeah, he has to.
• 27:04
  Jeff Dziekan: Well, he doesn't have to, but yeah, I know I hear what you know what I like about that car, that review in those pictures.
• 27:09
  Jeff Dziekan: I love that steering wheel.
• 27:11
  Jeff Dziekan: That steering wheel in that car is cool.
• 27:13
  Jeff Dziekan: That kind of squared off.
• 27:14
  Jeff Dziekan: Yeah, flat top, flat bottom.
• 27:16
  Jeff Dziekan: That seems to be the trend these days.
• 27:18
  Jeff Dziekan: So I was thinking what you're doing.
• 27:19
  Jeff Dziekan: I was like, how do I get one of those?
• 27:21
  Don Armstrong: Hey, we could retrofit it in your Bureck.
• 27:24
  Don Armstrong: I can do it.
• 27:24
  Don Armstrong: I know, yes, you can.
• 27:26
  Don Armstrong: Let's see, a crowbar and a hammer.
• 27:28
  Jeff Dziekan: It's all we need.
• 27:29
  Jeff Dziekan: Yeah, you just need a couple of pipes and maybe a wrench, something like that.
• 27:32
  Jeff Dziekan: Yeah.
• 27:32
  Don Armstrong: Uh coming up next week, I'm gonna review the Jeep Grand Cherokee, Mr.
• 27:38
  Don Armstrong: Mars.
• 27:39
  Don Armstrong: Right.
• 27:39
  Don Armstrong: I know that you're looking forward to that.
• 27:42
  Don Armstrong: Has probably one of the most beautiful interiors ever known to man.
• 27:47
  Don Armstrong: Wow.
• 27:48
  Don Armstrong: So stay tuned for that.
• 27:49
  Don Armstrong: All right, Mr.
• 27:50
  Don Armstrong: Mars, are are you in a trance over there?
• 27:53
  Don Armstrong: You're just kind of looking off in the distance.
• 27:56
  Don Armstrong: Is my thought process resonating with you?
• 27:59
  Mike Marrs: No, I was I was listening to particularly what you were talking about, maybe making a hybrid out of it.
• 28:05
  Mike Marrs: And I thought that would be interesting.
• 28:07
  Mike Marrs: I I can visualize if it's two motors, they're on the rear wheels.
• 28:11
  Mike Marrs: Uh you talk about a pain to do, but they could probably do it.
• 28:13
  Mike Marrs: They can do what they want to do.
• 28:15
  Jeff Dziekan: Richard could do it.
• 28:16
  Mike Marrs: Yeah, we'll get Richard to do it.
• 28:18
  Don Armstrong: That's it.
• 28:18
  Don Armstrong: There you go.
• 28:19
  Don Armstrong: Mike, you'll eat it.
• 28:20
  Don Armstrong: Yeah, yeah.
• 28:21
  Don Armstrong: That's that's the next project down at Apex Auto Works.
• 28:24
  Don Armstrong: Hey, if you'd like to get in touch with us, send us an email.
• 28:26
  Don Armstrong: The address is info at nwheeltime.com.
• 28:29
  Don Armstrong: We're back after this quick break.
• 28:30
  Don Armstrong: Stay with us.
• 28:32
  Don Armstrong: Your car is a direct reflection of you, so don't be satisfied with color fade or a dingy dull appearance.
• 28:38
  Don Armstrong: Get rid of those terrible automated car wash scratches.
• 28:41
  Don Armstrong: Gulf Coast Auto Shield is your save the paint company.
• 28:44
  Don Armstrong: John Gray and his team of detailing experts can help your cars finish without a full repaint.
• 28:49
  Don Armstrong: Searching for real experts in window tent or windshield protection, Gulf Coast Auto Shield.
• 28:54
  Don Armstrong: Dash cams, radar detectors, Gulf Coast Auto Shield.
• 28:57
  Don Armstrong: Got a new car?
• 28:58
  Don Armstrong: Get it protected as soon as you take delivery.
• 29:01
  Don Armstrong: If you don't know which of the multitude of protection products to go with, John Gray will give you an honest opinion and won't sell you something you don't need.
• 29:07
  Don Armstrong: John will help you understand the many options in pricing right on the spot.
• 29:11
  Don Armstrong: He's your guy to have your ride looking its best and protected too.
• 29:15
  Don Armstrong: See the state-of-the-art shop yourself, free tours anytime.
• 29:18
  Don Armstrong: Gulf Coast Auto Shield is easy to get to, located just south of the Southwest Freeway on the Sam Houston Parkway.
• 29:24
  Don Armstrong: Gulf Coast Auto Shield, full service luxury car care today and online at gcautoshield.com.
• 29:31
  Don Armstrong: Gift giving should be meaningful, and we have an idea: a hand-painted custom illustration of your car from one of the nation's leading artists.
• 29:39
  Don Armstrong: Now you can get one or a car show poster customized for you, a friend, or a loved one.
• 29:44
  Don Armstrong: Bill Sites will be happy to guide you through the process.
• 29:46
  Don Armstrong: No matter what the day, birthday, anniversary, or any day, an autographics custom illustration adds an extra touch of class to any home.
• 29:54
  Don Armstrong: Call Bill today, 832-922-0963.
• 29:57
  Don Armstrong: That's 832-922-0963.
• 30:03
  Don Armstrong: That's it for this podcast episode of the In Wheel Time Car Show.
• 30:07
  Don Armstrong: I'm Don Armstrong, inviting you to join us for our live show every Saturday morning on Facebook, YouTube, Twitch, and our InWheeltime.com website.
• 30:17
  Don Armstrong: Podcasts are available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, iHeartPodcast, Podcast Addict, TuneIn, Pandora, and Amazon Music.
• 30:25
  Don Armstrong: Keep listening, and we'll see you soon.