Latest / In Wheel Time Podcast / Racing to the Finish Line: A Chat with NHRA Champion Jerry Emmons & Navigating the Used Car Market

Transcript

Racing to the Finish Line: A Chat with NHRA Champion Jerry Emmons & Navigating the Used Car Market · In Wheel Time Podcast

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Welcome to another Inwheel Time podcast, a 30 minute mini version of the Inwheel Time car show that airs live every Saturday morning 8 to 11 am, central the Time Car Talk.
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: It's the Inwheel Time Car Talk Show.
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: Just ahead, we're going to talk to Jerry Emmons, proud owner of this NHRA Drag Racing 2023 stock-elimined champion trophy called the Wally, how he got it.
• 0:30
  Speaker 1: Also get some insight in the used car market down there at Emons Auto Plex, where he be located in Webster, texas.
• 0:37
  Speaker 1: Also, we're going to look at the automotive news headlines this week as well.
• 0:42
  Speaker 1: In this last half hour of this Saturday live edition of the Inwheel Time car talk show, howdy, along with David Ainsley filling in for Mr Mars this morning.
• 0:53
  Speaker 1: King Conrad DeLong, we always need more Jeff Seekin, I'm Don Armstrong and thanks so much for joining us.
• 0:59
  Speaker 1: But speaking of joining us, let's get to it.
• 1:01
  Speaker 1: Ladies and gentlemen, joining us right now is none other than Jerry Emmons.
• 1:07
  Speaker 3: Congratulations, hey guys.
• 1:08
  Speaker 3: How you doing man?
• 1:09
  Speaker 3: Well, we're doing great.
• 1:13
  Speaker 1: First of all, thank you so much for this and we'll get it back to you as soon as we towed it around over here, kind of like the World Series Champion Astros.
• 1:24
  Speaker 1: This is our Stanley.
• 1:26
  Speaker 2: Cup.
• 1:27
  Speaker 3: That's actually yours forever.
• 1:29
  Speaker 3: Oh, wow.
• 1:29
  Speaker 3: So that's the one that they actually gave me at the end of the race track when we turned off and we did the on track interviews.
• 1:37
  Speaker 3: So that's the one they gave me.
• 1:39
  Speaker 3: I just called in HRA and just ordered another one.
• 1:41
  Speaker 3: So for the track.
• 1:43
  Speaker 1: God bless you.
• 1:43
  Speaker 1: Well, it'll always be on display here in the Inwheel Time Studio.
• 1:49
  Speaker 4: I was amazed at how heavy, physically heavy it is.
• 1:52
  Speaker 4: Yeah, you know, I watch you guys all there at the end and everybody holds it up with one arm and weighs it around in the air.
• 1:58
  Speaker 4: That's right, that's not an easy task.
• 2:00
  Speaker 2: And we have your wonderful note, your personalized note.
• 2:03
  Speaker 2: We have that framed as well, so that will be in conjunction with Mr Parks.
• 2:07
  Speaker 2: I love that, thank you.
• 2:08
  Speaker 2: Thank you very much for doing that.
• 2:10
  Speaker 3: Yeah, that's a very special Wally for us.
• 2:13
  Speaker 3: You know it was our family's 50th NHRA national event, Wally, so we take a lot of pride in that and I know on our previous show we had talked about, hey, the next national event we win, you guys are going to get our 50th.
• 2:25
  Speaker 3: And especially because it's the fifth year, because it has a lot of meaning to us and we've been really privileged to be part of your show and we really, we just enjoy that.
• 2:35
  Speaker 2: Well, I think we coaxed you.
• 2:36
  Speaker 2: We coaxed you into it with all this other hardware we have behind us.
• 2:39
  Speaker 1: Fair, enough, but it doesn't come anywhere close to the meaning behind this.
• 2:42
  Speaker 1: The 50th and how ironic the 50th family win and it's the championship Absolutely.
• 2:51
  Speaker 3: So after we won that, so the because of the NHRA and the scheduling of the races, that was our second national event of the year that we attended, because the Houston event is now no more Right.
• 3:03
  Speaker 3: So we were supposed to attend our first NHRA national event in Topeka, kansas.
• 3:08
  Speaker 3: We didn't have all of our fleet ready, so the US nationals was our first national event, dallas was our second, and then, as we traveled out West, we had to secure the NHRA Division for Stock Championship as we went out West and we did that at the last race that we could do, that, which was the Vegas divisional, and that was pretty special.
• 3:29
  Speaker 1: How do you keep up with points and where you place nationally with all of the others in your division?
• 3:38
  Speaker 3: So NHRA has a pretty good point system.
• 3:40
  Speaker 3: So for the for the national events to win a national championship, like we did in 21 and 94.
• 3:45
  Speaker 3: You go to your to your best six NHRA national events, which is what you have there on your, on your, on your table, and it lets you claim the best three out of the six now and then to go along with that points total.
• 3:58
  Speaker 3: You go to eight in HRA Lucas old divisional events.
• 4:01
  Speaker 3: So you have to attend those to qualify to run at the national events.
• 4:06
  Speaker 3: It's on a grading system.
• 4:08
  Speaker 3: The less you go to you may not be able to get in as the races give because you have a quota.
• 4:14
  Speaker 3: Nhra says okay, for the Dallas National, you only 55 guys can enter this event.
• 4:19
  Speaker 3: Used to it was wide open, but as NHRA has grown, the classes that they have brought into the sport has grown, so they've had to diminish each size of the category.
• 4:31
  Speaker 3: So whereas before we would run 100 to 128 cars, which now only is allowed at Indy, at the Dallas National, the Vegas National and the Pomona California, the quota was 55 in Dallas and I believe it was 60 in Pomona California.
• 4:46
  Speaker 4: So you've got an earlier way in.
• 4:48
  Speaker 3: You've got a really good job of structuring the points and you get to go to eight divisional events to claim your best five nationally.
• 4:54
  Speaker 3: You go to six and claim your best three.
• 4:57
  Speaker 1: Man, this is not some Friday night bowling thing is it.
• 5:02
  Speaker 3: No, not at all, and it's crazy because we've been very blessed and very fortunate to actually do well since we started doing this when we were kids and my dad was doing it with my older brother.
• 5:15
  Speaker 3: But when they did the on-track interview, I kind of got choked up a little bit and got a little emotional, because I was just thinking because at this event now is our home event, so to speak right.
• 5:29
  Speaker 1: Yes, right.
• 5:30
  Speaker 3: And all my brothers were there, all of our children were there.
• 5:33
  Speaker 3: I kind of joke with myself like ever since I became a family guy, having my own children, I've become a little bit more emotional, right?
• 5:40
  Speaker 3: So things mean more as you get older.
• 5:42
  Speaker 1: Old children, not that yeah.
• 5:43
  Speaker 3: So I'm looking around and I see all my brothers, all the kids and all my friends were there.
• 5:49
  Speaker 3: And then so you know, I think about my dad and all the.
• 5:52
  Speaker 3: You know that special time behind the windshield man when we were going to the races in the early 90s.
• 5:58
  Speaker 3: It was a crew cab car hauler with a car on the back with the trailer hooked up to the back, and we were just going to the races with a 454, with a granny transmission going up down the road.
• 6:09
  Speaker 3: So you know, when they interview you, you know you don't really know what to say.
• 6:13
  Speaker 3: Obviously you want to thank everyone that's helped you along the way, but I was just thinking about my dad at that time.
• 6:20
  Speaker 3: I was like man, I just, you know, everything that he sacrificed is really worth it and we enjoy it.
• 6:25
  Speaker 3: It's not anything that he forced on us.
• 6:27
  Speaker 3: He actually it was actually the opposite way.
• 6:30
  Speaker 3: We had to be part of what he was doing.
• 6:34
  Speaker 3: Like we had to go out in the garage and polish wheels and arm-wrestling tires, waxed, cleaned the windows.
• 6:39
  Speaker 3: He didn't say, hey, come on, let's load up in the truck and go racing.
• 6:42
  Speaker 3: You had to kind of earn and I don't say that in a negative way, but you had to kind of earn your spot to be able to go to the races.
• 6:49
  Speaker 1: Something that you're proud of and you want to do.
• 6:51
  Speaker 1: I know when my dad worked on the car he didn't ask me to be there with him.
• 6:55
  Speaker 1: I was with him every step of the way on some old de Soto that somehow he, you know, bail wired together and kept the thing running and made his own battery charger because he couldn't afford to buy one.
• 7:08
  Speaker 1: So he made one of his own because of those cold winters in Wisconsin, either that or you didn't have a car to start in the morning, and so I can totally get it.
• 7:17
  Speaker 1: And I know that when we moved down here in 1962, meyer Speedway was up and running and it was a big deal and I was there every Saturday night in the mid sixties.
• 7:29
  Speaker 1: And I'll also tell you that you know my first drag race.
• 7:34
  Speaker 1: My dad really wasn't in in into the drag racing part of it, but my buddies were, and that's the point that I was trying to make.
• 7:41
  Speaker 1: You know the friendships that are gathered up.
• 7:45
  Speaker 1: These guys were friends of another friend of mine that we all got together and decided to do this car talk show Stan Holt.
• 7:54
  Speaker 1: I met Stan Holt on the road when I was working on the Valveline top fuel team, and that's about the time that I think I met you guys as well, and it's, it's, it's, it's a family, and it's a road trip family and doing something that you really love, the passion that you have, like the guy that goes bowling on Friday night that's really passionate about winning the championship.
• 8:14
  Speaker 1: It's no different.
• 8:14
  Speaker 1: You got these friends and yet this is what the camaraderie is.
• 8:19
  Speaker 3: And I could not agree more.
• 8:20
  Speaker 3: Yeah, and you mentioned Stan Holt.
• 8:21
  Speaker 3: We got Stan Holt, dale Holt, chris, like we have a lot more friends in the racing community that we really cherish and more like family to us.
• 8:29
  Speaker 3: And look, we've been in the car business longer than we've been in the drag racing business and it's I think we have more friends in the racing world than we do in the car business.
• 8:41
  Speaker 3: It's, you know, the car business is our passion, but the, the, the drag racing, is definitely something you know, it's not, it's the love company every weekend.
• 8:49
  Speaker 3: I mean it's a job but we take it very seriously, just as Dale does and and Stan Holt it's.
• 8:54
  Speaker 3: You know we have a good time but it's, it's a serious program.
• 8:57
  Speaker 3: We go out there to win because we have the memory of my dad that we want to, we want to keep alive and and obviously you know the if you're taking time away from your business, you're going to have to perform and that's kind of like.
• 9:08
  Speaker 3: That's just the way we do it.
• 9:10
  Speaker 1: Are you training your kids yet?
• 9:13
  Speaker 3: Not yet.
• 9:13
  Speaker 3: So my older brother has two boys that are in the junior drag show program.
• 9:17
  Speaker 3: Mine are a little young for that right now, but that's the route they're going, yeah.
• 9:21
  Speaker 1: Well, I mean, I was always a firm believer in exposure kids to all of that stuff and some of it will stick, some of it won't, and whatever sticks, go for it.
• 9:31
  Speaker 3: And I have the race shop is behind my house.
• 9:34
  Speaker 3: So every Sunday when after church, when we come back to the house, the kids will come back and again I don't ask them to come out, but they'll come out and then they'll watch.
• 9:42
  Speaker 3: You know they'll watch what I do, changing oil, running valves, that kind of thing.
• 9:45
  Speaker 3: And next thing, you know, you look over and my boy, my three year old boy, has a, has a little plastic push around car, he has it sitting up on jackstand, and my daughter, you know they got a hammer and a wrench to it.
• 9:57
  Speaker 2: Yeah that's that's cool.
• 9:59
  Speaker 2: That's cool.
• 9:59
  Speaker 2: So how many, how many wallies do you have behind you there?
• 10:02
  Speaker 2: I try counting.
• 10:02
  Speaker 2: I think I lost count.
• 10:04
  Speaker 3: Well, some of the our division championships, some of these are the nationals, those are division championships and those are are a divisional event wins.
• 10:12
  Speaker 3: Those are just, you know, ones that we can put up here.
• 10:15
  Speaker 3: We have some at the house, but they all have, everyone of them has a special, special memory.
• 10:21
  Speaker 2: Sure, yeah, absolutely.
• 10:23
  Speaker 3: And interesting like.
• 10:24
  Speaker 3: So you know, when you go to Dallas I don't know if you guys know but when you win the NHRA national event in Norwalk, ohio, they give you a like.
• 10:32
  Speaker 3: They give you a national event, wally, but they also gave you the ice cream scoop.
• 10:35
  Speaker 3: Their claim to fame is you get a one pound of ice cream for like a dollar.
• 10:39
  Speaker 3: Well, since you know the economy's gone up, they've had to just change that recently, but you get a, an actual ice cream scoop.
• 10:45
  Speaker 3: So one thing that's really iconic about winning at the Texas motorplex is that one is all the winners.
• 10:52
  Speaker 3: So from the professional categories to the sportsman categories, you get your name and a brick.
• 10:57
  Speaker 3: So this is a paper.
• 10:58
  Speaker 3: I don't know if you can see that.
• 10:59
  Speaker 4: Yeah, we can.
• 11:00
  Speaker 3: So back in 94, that was my first national event when there, so it's shaped in the state of Texas.
• 11:05
  Speaker 3: So they have these pavers all all along the front of the tower section and the only reason why I have this is because they they, you know, they remodeled it and and laid all new papers down.
• 11:16
  Speaker 3: So they called me and said, hey, we have, we have some of your bricks, would you like one?
• 11:20
  Speaker 3: I said yeah, so they just shaped it Texas, and then also what they started doing, which is really cool, is they give everybody the Texas cowboy hat.
• 11:28
  Speaker 2: Yeah, baby.
• 11:29
  Speaker 3: Yeah, so, and then, if you can see, they actually make this while you're there.
• 11:34
  Speaker 3: So they you know they fit it to your head as the Bowie Hat Company, I believe, or out of Bowie, texas they say they brand it with the Texas Motorplex brand.
• 11:44
  Speaker 3: So really cool to have these extra kind of stuff you know, just to have in your closet.
• 11:51
  Speaker 3: So when your kids grow up they see that and you know, when my wife and I go dancing I'll wear it.
• 11:55
  Speaker 1: So there you go, beautiful, and I tell you that.
• 11:58
  Speaker 1: You know Jerry has always been.
• 12:01
  Speaker 1: I'm very impressed by him and let me tell you something, his family is very impressive as well, and this all shows through their dealership down there, emons AutoPlex.
• 12:13
  Speaker 1: And so let's talk just a little bit about Emons AutoPlex and the used car business, and you guys have been very successful over the years and you know there are plenty of used car lots individually owned all over Houston.
• 12:28
  Speaker 1: But this would, in particular, Very few is impressive.
• 12:32
  Speaker 1: Yeah, and you know, Jerry, I mean it says a lot about the way you guys do business down there that you've been so successful over the years and you have cheap cars.
• 12:42
  Speaker 1: But you also have some gently used, really nice cars and it seems to me that the majority of what you sell are really nice, used cars.
• 12:50
  Speaker 1: I know our engineer, David Hinsley, has bought several cars from you Six, he said he's bought six, and one of the ones that's most impressive to me don't laugh is the minivan.
• 13:00
  Speaker 2: Yes, I want to take that the Toyota minivan that was spotless.
• 13:04
  Speaker 1: It was 35,000 miles and owned by an older couple.
• 13:07
  Speaker 1: That got rid of it and Hinsley bought it.
• 13:09
  Speaker 2: I thought, man, I would have liked to have bought that and he's driven it across the United States.
• 13:13
  Speaker 2: Yeah, he's went up to Upper.
• 13:16
  Speaker 3: Peninsula yeah.
• 13:17
  Speaker 2: Upper Peninsula, Michigan, and he said I think he left here early to go buy his seventh one from you.
• 13:23
  Speaker 1: So he, I hope so hope to see him.
• 13:25
  Speaker 1: Yeah, so tell me about used car market.
• 13:29
  Speaker 1: I know that things are crazy.
• 13:31
  Speaker 3: Yeah Well, I'll tell you what and I'm joking but I'm not but there is no market Like we're having to create our own market by aggressively marking stuff down.
• 13:39
  Speaker 3: Now, from Thanksgiving on to the first of the year has always been, you know, you better run your program lean, because it's just going to slow down.
• 13:48
  Speaker 3: It's just natural progression.
• 13:49
  Speaker 3: The holidays, people traveling, they're spending money elsewhere, that kind of thing.
• 13:53
  Speaker 3: It doesn't help that the interest rates have are extremely high.
• 13:58
  Speaker 3: We've seen at the auctions.
• 14:00
  Speaker 3: We've seen the amount of cars like, for example, two sales that I attend every week generally have around 400 to 500 cars a week, you know, available to buy.
• 14:13
  Speaker 3: Well, now they're only posting maybe 300 and the low 300 is high to eighties and that's been for the last several weeks.
• 14:20
  Speaker 3: I don't believe they're getting.
• 14:22
  Speaker 3: I don't believe the dealers are getting as many trades.
• 14:25
  Speaker 3: We feel that effect here.
• 14:26
  Speaker 3: A lot of people when they want to trade in, either they're so far upside down and then and then if we can get them out of it with interest rate, like on a good credit customer at the moment I think it's was the last time I looked with high sixes, low sevens.
• 14:41
  Speaker 3: So when they can get, they can't understand why Payments are high.
• 14:48
  Speaker 3: You know they the interest rates, just you know it's just hard to make them make that, make that decision.
• 14:51
  Speaker 3: So for us we've and I laugh saying that there is no market, but we've.
• 14:56
  Speaker 3: I think this is the first year since we've been at this store.
• 15:00
  Speaker 3: This is what, five years now, that we've had to stay as aggressive on our, on our markdown.
• 15:05
  Speaker 3: So generally we do our markdowns every 45 to 60 days when that baby's 28 to 30, to 30 days old.
• 15:12
  Speaker 3: We have to, we have to keep marking down, marking down.
• 15:15
  Speaker 3: We just got to.
• 15:16
  Speaker 3: You know, everything is you have to sell in the market, you buy them in, and so the longer these cars sit here, the worst it's going to get.
• 15:24
  Speaker 3: So it's great right now.
• 15:25
  Speaker 3: To me it's a, it's a buyer's market, even in the on the performance side.
• 15:30
  Speaker 3: I have a lot of, a lot of friends in the racing world who have really good quality cars, but they, you know, race cars for sale.
• 15:38
  Speaker 3: They're not moving, not moving as well.
• 15:40
  Speaker 3: But on the on the retail side.
• 15:42
  Speaker 3: For for us at MS Autoplex it's a buyer's market for sure.
• 15:46
  Speaker 3: The markdowns have have been aggressively coming.
• 15:50
  Speaker 3: We're.
• 15:50
  Speaker 3: I think we're still going to fall short of our total sales from last year.
• 15:54
  Speaker 3: But you know we're we're going to make it up next year.
• 15:58
  Speaker 3: I think next year would be a lot better.
• 15:59
  Speaker 3: You know.
• 16:00
  Speaker 3: Obviously with the higher interest rates it did affect our business some.
• 16:03
  Speaker 1: Well, I think that the interest rates.
• 16:04
  Speaker 1: Interest rates are finally stabilizing a bit, and I guess it'll take some time for us to see if that really holds true.
• 16:11
  Speaker 1: But in the meantime, how are you doing on inventory over there?
• 16:16
  Speaker 1: And what?
• 16:18
  Speaker 1: What price bracket you sell the most of?
• 16:21
  Speaker 3: So right now we have I just looked at last night before I left, so we were we have 804 and inventory but actually 528 is online.
• 16:30
  Speaker 3: So that's not really good.
• 16:31
  Speaker 3: But but every day, like I just looked, we had we have 50 cars in our photo line.
• 16:35
  Speaker 3: So once those, they can generally do 30 to 35 a day and then they upload them every night at midnight.
• 16:41
  Speaker 3: So we're I mean it's just a constant flow.
• 16:44
  Speaker 3: From when they come in they go through the make ready process.
• 16:48
  Speaker 3: So inventory is not a problem, it's just getting it online quick enough so that we can get to the buyers immediately.
• 16:54
  Speaker 3: And our and our, our cream of the crop price point is is 25,000.
• 17:00
  Speaker 3: In fact, say 28,000 and down.
• 17:02
  Speaker 3: That's our, that's our sweet spot.
• 17:04
  Speaker 3: If we can sell anything under 10,000, it's not here for more than three to four days.
• 17:09
  Speaker 1: Well, at $28,000, that seems to me like a real sweet spot.
• 17:12
  Speaker 1: Now, what kind of cars are you talking about?
• 17:14
  Speaker 1: Three year old, five year old cars?
• 17:17
  Speaker 3: Yes, so we're talking four to five year old vehicles with low mileage.
• 17:20
  Speaker 3: You know, pickup trucks we seem to do really good.
• 17:24
  Speaker 3: Obviously, we'd lift the trucks, but that drives the price up a little bit more.
• 17:28
  Speaker 3: But the stock trucks like 2015,.
• 17:31
  Speaker 3: But you know, I say average miles.
• 17:33
  Speaker 3: Let's just say 70,000 miles and less.
• 17:35
  Speaker 3: That that's a good price point there.
• 17:36
  Speaker 3: That's that 25 to 28,000.
• 17:40
  Speaker 4: Gotcha, yeah, you also carry a pretty good selection of Jeeps, absolutely.
• 17:45
  Speaker 4: I've noticed that, looking online at your inventory, you've always got a great selection of Jeeps.
• 17:51
  Speaker 4: I mean, in my opinion it is a better selection than some new car dealers in the range of.
• 17:56
  Speaker 4: Jeeps you have, including the range of prices that you have.
• 17:59
  Speaker 4: You know everything from.
• 18:00
  Speaker 4: You know the sub $15,000 vehicle on up to the $60,000, $70,000 vehicle.
• 18:06
  Speaker 4: You guys have a good selection of stuff if people are out looking.
• 18:11
  Speaker 3: Thank you very much and yeah, and so and so, like we try to have, like a truck, a Jeep that's lifted, or we try to have a stock one Like some.
• 18:20
  Speaker 3: Some people like the two doors, some like the four doors, the hard top seem to sell better, but when the summertime comes the soft top seem to do pretty well, pretty good as well.
• 18:29
  Speaker 3: But absolutely on the Jeeps, that's a special area that we're in Galveston's what, 30 miles away, people want to go to the beach.
• 18:36
  Speaker 3: So the Jeeps have definitely been one of our favorite sellers and I think the longer we've been here, people that just drive by, just to drive by traffic, people will come in and we always ask hey, how'd you find out about us?
• 18:49
  Speaker 3: Was it, you know, through the internet?
• 18:52
  Speaker 1: Google search or the in wheel time.
• 18:53
  Speaker 3: Yeah, or in wheel time, absolutely so.
• 18:56
  Speaker 3: And they'll say, well, man, we were just driving by and we're sitting at the red light and you know the traffic's backed up in the evening here, and so they see the front line of Jeep.
• 19:04
  Speaker 3: So they said, well, we just know, because we travel this road, that you guys have a pretty good selection.
• 19:09
  Speaker 1: Yeah, well, listen, we, we, we love you dealership, and we love you and your brothers and the family and all more than you know, and we certainly.
• 19:19
  Speaker 1: I can't thank you enough for sharing this wall with us.
• 19:22
  Speaker 2: This is awesome.
• 19:24
  Speaker 1: It'll be with us for a long time and we appreciate you, sir, and hope that you have a wonderful Christmas.
• 19:30
  Speaker 1: Tell everybody we said hello.
• 19:31
  Speaker 1: By the way, we're having the in wheel time Christmas party over at Stanholz loopy one, so come join us next Saturday around lunchtime.
• 19:39
  Speaker 3: We'll be there.
• 19:39
  Speaker 3: That sounds great, listen, man.
• 19:41
  Speaker 3: Merry Christmas to all of you guys and we love you guys too and thank you for allowing us a platform to talk about our racing, to talk about our car.
• 19:48
  Speaker 3: Business is beneficial for us and we just really appreciate being a part of a good group of guys like you are, and enjoy the wallet because it has a lot, a lot of meaning to us and you guys mean a lot to us as well.
• 20:00
  Speaker 2: I'm taking it to a hot tub this afternoon, right on.
• 20:03
  Speaker 4: Jerry, take care.
• 20:04
  Speaker 4: Thank you very, very much for joining us.
• 20:07
  Speaker 4: Bye, bye.
• 20:07
  Speaker 2: How cool was that?
• 20:08
  Speaker 2: Yeah, what an awesome guy.
• 20:10
  Speaker 1: Yeah, no doubt we're an awesome family.
• 20:11
  Speaker 1: I mean, they're good, good guys.
• 20:13
  Speaker 1: Okay, time now for a couple of stories I wanted to get in.
• 20:16
  Speaker 1: Electric vehicles are beginning to make headway into the used vehicle market, but they are having a rough time holding their value.
• 20:22
  Speaker 1: But the proceeds from those EV lots might be disappointing, depending on which side of the sale you're on.
• 20:29
  Speaker 1: It's either a horrible year for EVs or a great year for EVs, according to fellow panelists, alex Yorchenko, black Book Chief Data Scientist, who saw a very heavy depreciation of EVs this year.
• 20:42
  Speaker 1: When Tesla cut new vehicle prices in January last year this year actually, the impact could be felt almost overnight in the wholesale market.
• 20:51
  Speaker 1: A lot of fleet companies, a lot of rental companies were not happy about that, yorchenko said.
• 20:57
  Speaker 1: But if a consumer wants a used EV, it's getting more and more affordable.
• 21:01
  Speaker 1: Black Book predicts used EV prices will continue to fall and drop.
• 21:07
  Speaker 1: The weakness in value retention among EVs compared with other vehicles has grown in the past several months and it's likely to continue with the price wars on new EVs.
• 21:16
  Speaker 1: Large three-year-old vehicle in October 23 for an EV held 66% of its original value, down from 73% last year.
• 21:26
  Speaker 1: As far as sales are concerned, the seasonally adjusted annual rate of new car sales, after peaking this year just above $16 million in June and July, is expected to continue cooling, finishing November at $15.3 million to $15.5 million.
• 21:40
  Speaker 1: Forecasters say the SARR, which is the seasonally adjusted annual rate of sales, tallied $14.36 million vehicles in November of 22 and $15.66 million in October of this year.
• 22:00
  Speaker 1: Let me get.
• 22:00
  Speaker 1: I want there's one in particular that I wanted to.
• 22:03
  Speaker 1: There's the deer crossing thing.
• 22:06
  Speaker 1: Did you read about the deer crossing thing?
• 22:07
  Speaker 1: I?
• 22:07
  Speaker 2: have not.
• 22:08
  Speaker 1: The transportation awarding $110 million to fund 19 projects in 17 states to help reduce car collisions with wildlife and help animals safely cross the roadways.
• 22:21
  Speaker 1: To put up these ginormous fences.
• 22:23
  Speaker 2: Well they can you know stop the crashes with other people crashing.
• 22:26
  Speaker 1: Yeah, well, there's that A Jeep is dropping the Renegade subcompact from its lineup in the US and Canada.
• 22:32
  Speaker 4: Nobody will notice.
• 22:33
  Speaker 1: Nobody.
• 22:33
  Speaker 1: The Renegade, which starts at $29,445 since just below the Compass, compass, which begins at $2,995, will become Jeep's entry level nameplate.
• 22:42
  Speaker 1: Renegade, well, had its best year in 2016 with $106,000 sold.
• 22:49
  Speaker 1: Sales have declined every year since then, since then dropping to just under $27,000 in 2022.
• 22:55
  Speaker 1: Enter down 35% more this year through September.
• 23:01
  Speaker 1: Yikes, former Coil Automotive Group Manager, was arrested December 1st on suspicion of a bestling more than $200,000.
• 23:07
  Speaker 1: It's going to be a pattern.
• 23:10
  Speaker 1: There's a theme here Company funds from the Clarksville Indiana dealership.
• 23:14
  Speaker 1: According to authorities, the Indiana State Police at its investigation of John Blakely, 34 years old, began in August with authorities looking to an analog allegation.
• 23:23
  Speaker 1: Blakely had for a year a year used for a year used a company credit card to transfer transfer Coil, chevrolet, buick GMC's money to accounts he controlled.
• 23:35
  Speaker 1: This issued the credit company company credit card to John Blakely.
• 23:38
  Speaker 1: However, the card was only to be used as part of his business dealings with vehicle wholesalers.
• 23:44
  Speaker 1: According to the state police, blakely was arrested on suspicion of one kind of theft and one kind of corrupt business practices, both felonies.
• 23:51
  Speaker 1: He pleaded not guilty to both counts at an initial hearing December 4th.
• 23:57
  Speaker 4: He's going to be on the last train to Clarksville.
• 23:59
  Speaker 4: Oh boy, oh my gosh.
• 24:04
  Speaker 1: And Ventura California dealership remains on the hook for $4 million.
• 24:08
  Speaker 1: Jury verdict arising from a fatal accident caused by a sales manager who was rushing to the store on his day off to close a deal.
• 24:18
  Speaker 1: He got in an accident, somebody died and now the victim is suing the dealership and saying that they're liable for the fatal accident caused by the salesman because he was off duty and was rushing there so he would make his commission Yikes.
• 24:33
  Speaker 1: You know, the car business is crazy, but not unlike most other businesses in this world these days.
• 24:40
  Speaker 1: Okay, it's time now for us to take a little break.
• 24:44
  Speaker 1: It is, and we're going to do that, and then we're going to wrap up today's show here on Inwheel Time.
• 24:51
  Speaker 1: So we invite you to stay with us for more exciting things.
• 24:54
  Speaker 1: You own a car you love.
• 24:56
  Speaker 1: Well, why not let Gulf Coast Auto Shield protect it?
• 24:58
  Speaker 1: Houstonian John Gray invites you to his state-of-the-art facility to introduce you to his specialist team of auto enthusiasts.
• 25:05
  Speaker 1: We promise you'll be impressed.
• 25:07
  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.
• 25:21
  Speaker 1: Curb your wheels Instead of buying new, why not have them repaired?
• 25:25
  Speaker 1: How about a professionally installed radar detector?
• 25:27
  Speaker 1: Gulf Coast Auto Shield does that too.
• 25:29
  Speaker 1: Get a peek inside the shop and look at the services offered by getting online and heading to gcautoshieldcom.
• 25:35
  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.
• 25:42
  Speaker 1: Gulf Coast Auto Shield is your place to go for all things exterior.
• 25:46
  Speaker 1: Call them today 832-930-5655 or gcautoshieldcom.
• 25:53
  Speaker 1: 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.
• 26:01
  Speaker 1: Founder Stan Holt invited you to visit the original loopy tortilla near I-10 and Highway 6.
• 26:06
  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.
• 26:14
  Speaker 1: Speaking of original, nothing can compete with the original lime pepper marinade.
• 26:18
  Speaker 1: That everyone will agree makes loopy tortilla award-winning beef fajitas the best anywhere.
• 26:22
  Speaker 1: Loopy tortilla Katie is another location that gives you the same quality and service Houstonians have come to expect at loopies.
• 26:28
  Speaker 1: It's located just off I-10, in the Grand Parkway.
• 26:31
  Speaker 1: At Kingsland Boulevard and Katie, find yourself an Aggie Land.
• 26:33
  Speaker 1: Head to the loopy tortilla college station, located just around the corner from Kyle Field.
• 26:38
  Speaker 1: It's a great place to enjoy those famous frozen margaritas before or after the game.
• 26:42
  Speaker 1: Head to East, to Louisiana.
• 26:43
  Speaker 1: Stop in at the loopy tortilla in Beaumont.
• 26:45
  Speaker 1: It twos on I-10, you can't miss it.
• 26:48
  Speaker 1: The original group of loopy tortilla restaurants invites you in for the best Tex-Mex anywhere.
• 26:53
  Speaker 1: The In Wheel Time car talk show is now part of the I-Heart family.
• 26:56
  Speaker 1: Now you'll have access to 24-7 car talk anytime you need to fix.
• 27:00
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• 27:05
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• 27:08
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• 27:15
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• 27:23
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• 27:30
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• 27:39
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• 27:49
  Speaker 1: You can find us streaming now on I-Heartcom.
• 27:51
  Speaker 1: Slash In Wheel Time car talk.
• 27:53
  Speaker 1: Well, that's it for this week's In Wheel Time car talk show.
• 27:58
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• 28:01
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• 28:05
  Speaker 1: We'll keep you posted on all things automotive all week long, including new car reviews, upcoming events, cruise ends, racing and car truck and SUV goodies.
• 28:15
  Speaker 1: When you need a car fix during the week, find the In Wheel Time car talk show 24 seven via the I-Heart radio app.
• 28:23
  Speaker 1: We live stream the show on Facebook, youtube and In Wheel Timecom every Saturday 8 to 11 central time.
• 28:30
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• 28:34
  Speaker 1: There's a new episode out there every day.
• 28:37
  Speaker 1: In Wheel Time chief engineer is David Ainsley, our marketing advertising advisor and video technical director.
• 28:44
  Speaker 1: As we need more.
• 28:45
  Speaker 1: Jeff Seekin, the booking agent, do it all.
• 28:48
  Speaker 1: Mr Mike Mars and Mr Know it All his royalty King Conrad DeLong.
• 28:53
  Speaker 1: Chief engineer, david Ainsley.
• 28:54
  Speaker 1: I'm Don Armstrong.
• 28:56
  Speaker 1: We hope you join us for another live award winning production of the In Wheel Time car talk show next Saturday, december 16th 2023, on all of our In Wheel Time car talk outlets.
• 29:06
  Speaker 1: Have a great weekend and stay safe out there, and I'll see you next time.
• 29:19
  Speaker 1: Thank you.