Latest / In Wheel Time Podcast / High-Speed Adventures, the Nissan Ariya, and Road Safety Tips with Texas DPS Sgt. Woodard.

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High-Speed Adventures, the Nissan Ariya, and Road Safety Tips with Texas DPS Sgt. Woodard. · In Wheel Time Podcast

• 0:01
  Speaker 1: Welcome to another In Wheel Time podcast.
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: I'm scared From the Sugar Shack Studios in Texas, usa.
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: This is the award-winning In Wheel Time Car Talk Show.
• 0:17
  Speaker 1: Just ahead, the Broderick Crawford of our day.
• 0:20
  Speaker 1: Oh boy, mr Highway Patrol with the Texas Department of Public Safety State Trooper Sergeant Stephen Woodard.
• 0:27
  Speaker 1: It's the highway man and he's waiting for more, but that's all I'm going to give him right now.
• 0:35
  Speaker 1: Also, I'll give you my thoughts on driving the 2024 Nissan Ariya EV.
• 0:40
  Speaker 1: Jeff has the Motor Minute Coming up on this segment of the In Wheel Time Car Talk Show.
• 0:45
  Speaker 1: Howdy, along with Mike, out of this world, mars Beetlejuice.
• 0:48
  Speaker 1: We always need more.
• 0:50
  Speaker 1: Jeff Zekin, I'm Don Armstrong.
• 0:52
  Speaker 1: Thanks so much for joining us today.
• 0:54
  Speaker 1: What's the problem?
• 0:55
  Speaker 1: He's taking off his Beetlejuice outfit.
• 0:56
  Speaker 3: I forgot.
• 0:57
  Speaker 2: Why are you taking it off?
• 0:58
  Speaker 2: Because I was prepared to take it off and I just forgot.
• 1:01
  Speaker 1: Well, to take it off and I just forgot.
• 1:02
  Speaker 1: Well, at least we got a little bit of that on the air.
• 1:04
  Speaker 1: We're going to capture it and send it out to the entire world that Mars is trying to play his Beetlejuice role.
• 1:09
  Speaker 3: Come for your daughter, Chuck.
• 1:10
  Speaker 3: That's what it is.
• 1:12
  Speaker 3: You do that so well he does do that well, doesn't he?
• 1:16
  Speaker 1: It's like he's been practicing Now joining us live from the home studios of the Texas Department of Public Safety Sergeant Stephen Woodard Hi-ho.
• 1:27
  Speaker 1: Steve Arino Hi-ho.
• 1:29
  Speaker 4: Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, that's right.
• 1:33
  Speaker 4: Hey, I feel a little out of place.
• 1:35
  Speaker 4: I should have you know.
• 1:37
  Speaker 4: I'm in Studio A.
• 1:38
  Speaker 4: I'm in Studio A.
• 1:39
  Speaker 4: I'm sitting in my former dining room area.
• 1:44
  Speaker 4: We're set for two years I got the fireworks and stuff.
• 1:49
  Speaker 4: Look at that, this big old panacea.
• 1:54
  Speaker 1: And I'm hoping that you're not within the city limits of.
• 1:56
  Speaker 3: Houston.
• 1:59
  Speaker 4: No, no, no, I'm in the county.
• 2:01
  Speaker 4: Look where I'm at.
• 2:02
  Speaker 4: You can leave your door unlocked.
• 2:04
  Speaker 4: Look, I'm in the county.
• 2:05
  Speaker 4: Look where I'm at.
• 2:07
  Speaker 1: You can leave your door unlocked and you know it's just.
• 2:09
  Speaker 1: You know I would be worried about creepers like me if that's the case.
• 2:14
  Speaker 2: And what?
• 2:14
  Speaker 4: is the address hey, I tell you what.
• 2:17
  Speaker 4: You guys are looking really good in studios.
• 2:20
  Speaker 1: Yeah, well, you know, thanks to the ladies' auxiliary here at the In Wheel Time Car Talk Show, they've managed to do a bang up job.
• 2:28
  Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah so we're all in the holiday spirit, and I assume that you are too, with you and your family.
• 2:35
  Speaker 4: Yes, sir, everything's good.
• 2:36
  Speaker 4: We're just pushing right along, waiting for Santa to come to town.
• 2:41
  Speaker 4: I tell you, one of my Christmas wishes came true last week.
• 2:43
  Speaker 4: I tell you, one of my Christmas wishes came true last week I was able to get the keys, the red key, from the trooper that's assigned to that challenger.
• 2:51
  Speaker 4: He finally gave it to me.
• 2:54
  Speaker 4: It's only two individuals that have operated that, and I'm one of them, and I was able to do this little PSA commercial, which should be coming out next week, where there's a Grinch challenger riding around here and me and the Grinch did some things and I'm going to tell you fellas about this Hellcat man that's a
• 3:18
  Speaker 4: scary ride, fellas, we're well aware.
• 3:20
  Speaker 4: Yeah, you brought me on when I explained to you how we actually confiscated this thing through a pursuit, a reckless driving pursuit, racing on highway, and state law allows us to confiscate these vehicles and, you know, do with them as we leisure.
• 3:35
  Speaker 4: Obviously, we didn't send that one to the bone y'all.
• 3:37
  Speaker 4: We put it in service and I'm going to tell you right now, don, when I and again I didn't go over the speed limit on this thing, but I could feel it.
• 3:48
  Speaker 4: I'm on the beltway going around, headed to paraland, and I'm thinking, good grief, and I got that red key in my pocket.
• 3:55
  Speaker 4: I'm thinking, man, this is what's on the road right now.
• 3:59
  Speaker 1: yeah, a lot of power, fellas, a lot of power.
• 4:02
  Speaker 1: Oh yeah, yeah, as a matter of fact, people made fun of me.
• 4:05
  Speaker 1: Well, I mean, have you burnt the rear tires off of it yet?
• 4:11
  Speaker 1: No, because that's not the way that I don't.
• 4:13
  Speaker 1: I don't need to, because I've been there, done that, and I can tell you, with 800 horsepower that would burn the tires off of any car, your old ford, maverick, it doesn't make any difference.
• 4:26
  Speaker 1: 800 horsepower is a lot.
• 4:27
  Speaker 1: And I will tell you that I actually got to drive it, uh, when it first came out, uh, in a closed session, and I will tell you that that, um, they always say don't do anything stupid.
• 4:42
  Speaker 1: Well, you know, you kind of always want to push that envelope and it darn.
• 4:47
  Speaker 1: You got away from me a couple of times and I know my, I know my limits and I don't want to have a, you know, a company car, a manufacturer car, had the car up into this wall somewhere, like you know, jeff gordon does.
• 5:02
  Speaker 1: I just don't, I don't need that in my life and I can.
• 5:06
  Speaker 4: I know exactly what you're talking about well, I want to extend this to you.
• 5:10
  Speaker 4: Uh, fellas, y'all can flip a coin, but I want to put one of you three behind the wheel, mars you're not allowed uh, we'll.
• 5:19
  Speaker 4: We'll run down to the track in brazoria county.
• 5:22
  Speaker 4: I'll set set that up with my friends and I want you to take a couple of turns in that black and white and see what happens.
• 5:28
  Speaker 3: All right, don't tap me on the shoulder.
• 5:29
  Speaker 3: No that'd be you, Jeff.
• 5:30
  Speaker 3: My diapers aren't thick enough.
• 5:33
  Speaker 4: Hey, Bill, you got, the look man you got the look he does, doesn't he?
• 5:37
  Speaker 3: He kind of looks like a criminal driver.
• 5:47
  Speaker 1: Like the getaway man.
• 5:47
  Speaker 1: Thanks, fellas, thinking about christmas, harry gant, harry gant, or one one of those guys from back in the 60s 70s.
• 5:50
  Speaker 2: He just needs one of those little hats, you know no, a visor snapped on the helmet.
• 5:55
  Speaker 3: I was thinking about getaway driver and a pack of marlboro's rolled up in my sleeve.
• 5:59
  Speaker 4: Yeah, so what do you guys think about the new state inspection program?
• 6:03
  Speaker 1: how well you're going to explain that, yeah me because I don't get it.
• 6:06
  Speaker 4: I don't understand?
• 6:07
  Speaker 1: Yeah, it is, it's confusing.
• 6:10
  Speaker 4: Well, obviously, let's dwindle down the confusion.
• 6:14
  Speaker 4: If you live in Harris County, this don't apply to you.
• 6:21
  Speaker 1: Or the surrounding counties of Harris?
• 6:23
  Speaker 1: Yeah, or the surrounding counties.
• 6:24
  Speaker 4: That's true, fort Bend and all that good stuff.
• 6:27
  Speaker 4: But yeah, so the state inspection program is pretty much going to go towards or be a provision for our larger counties.
• 6:38
  Speaker 4: I'm just putting it in simple form.
• 6:39
  Speaker 4: And you know, now, keep in mind guys, uh, anybody that's driving a commercial motor vehicle, they're still got to get an inspection.
• 6:48
  Speaker 4: But everybody else, like take a little county, like let me, let me take one of my counties, like austin county or colorado county, you know, up it, and I'm thinking something closer but far away, I mean, they're out now there's going to be a fee that's going to be attached, a small fee, uh, that's going to be attached to your registration or whatever.
• 7:06
  Speaker 4: But hey, I will tell you there's a lot of states in this great country that we live in that don't do state inspections.
• 7:14
  Speaker 4: So we're going to see where that takes us.
• 7:16
  Speaker 4: Obviously, you know that's a state, that's a state deal when it comes to, you know, your registration and all this stuff, department of our Department of Transportation.
• 7:23
  Speaker 4: But we'll see that's a state deal when it comes to, you know, your registration and all this stuff, department of um, our department of transportation.
• 7:27
  Speaker 4: But we'll see.
• 7:28
  Speaker 4: I'm gonna tell you now, fellas, you have to have a state inspection now.
• 7:32
  Speaker 4: And I'm telling you, people are still driving, they comply all right.
• 7:35
  Speaker 1: So let me ask, first things, true, I just want to ask you so with when I go and have my state inspection, which I just had done last month, because it's not in effect yet it goes into effect.
• 7:47
  Speaker 1: January 1st, you know they check to make sure that the gas cap is good.
• 7:52
  Speaker 1: That's one of the things that they do Headlights, high beams, turn signals, stuff that I didn't have any problems with, clearly, but all of that's going to go away, is that correct?
• 8:12
  Speaker 4: That's it, tooting your horn and all that, yeah, yeah, all right.
• 8:14
  Speaker 4: Hey, come out here.
• 8:15
  Speaker 4: Come out here.
• 8:15
  Speaker 4: Come out here, move.
• 8:16
  Speaker 4: While I'm at you can save you a couple of dollars.
• 8:17
  Speaker 4: Yeah, but my car registration is in fort ben county ah, okay, all right, so fort ben county is one of those.
• 8:26
  Speaker 4: Let's see, is fort ben county one of those counties?
• 8:28
  Speaker 4: I gotta look at my list, but I think fort ben county is on the list and what list is that the?
• 8:35
  Speaker 4: Meaning the, the actual areas that have to have the inspection.
• 8:39
  Speaker 2: Do the emissions tests and all that oh yeah, so for him in fort County it's really not going to change.
• 8:45
  Speaker 2: Like they said, the horn and the lights and all that, yeah, but over in Jefferson County where I am, he's down there in Louisiana he doesn't count.
• 8:58
  Speaker 2: Orange County between me and the board.
• 9:02
  Speaker 4: He's over in Jefferson County.
• 9:03
  Speaker 4: Don, let me tell my son son, bring that banjo over here.
• 9:07
  Speaker 3: No, the reason why they do that is because it's a dry county.
• 9:10
  Speaker 4: That was one of my first duty stations, so stop.
• 9:13
  Speaker 3: It's because Jefferson's a dry county.
• 9:15
  Speaker 3: That's what it is.
• 9:16
  Speaker 4: That's right.
• 9:17
  Speaker 1: Yeah, it's not a dry county.
• 9:19
  Speaker 1: No Heck, no Well, something's awry over there they got you Just his neighborhood's dry.
• 9:29
  Speaker 4: That's it.
• 9:29
  Speaker 4: I will tell you that we are going to be out.
• 9:32
  Speaker 4: Our operational holiday enforcement has started.
• 9:36
  Speaker 4: You're going to see an influx of troopers.
• 9:39
  Speaker 4: As a matter of fact, my guys, we were really heavy on 59.
• 9:42
  Speaker 4: Just slowing folks down.
• 9:45
  Speaker 4: Everybody knows, you know DPS troopers.
• 9:47
  Speaker 4: We write more warnings than tickets.
• 9:49
  Speaker 4: But don't get it twisted.
• 9:52
  Speaker 4: If you're in a bind, you don't have insurance, et cetera.
• 9:55
  Speaker 4: There's going to be a strong possibility you'll get one.
• 9:58
  Speaker 4: But we're really focusing on the state's moveover law.
• 10:02
  Speaker 4: We just had a trooper struck by a vehicle a couple of days ago and, man, he's in pretty bad shape.
• 10:09
  Speaker 4: He's going to be alright.
• 10:10
  Speaker 4: But the individual didn't move over.
• 10:12
  Speaker 4: One of my troopers here within the area, within the Houston area, trooper Waters.
• 10:16
  Speaker 4: He was struck by a drunk driver in Harris County.
• 10:19
  Speaker 4: He's in rehabilitation and I hope, mr Morris, he's able to come back.
• 10:24
  Speaker 4: Two of my troopers, because I cover Galveston County as well.
• 10:28
  Speaker 4: They were hit One by an elderly lady, which she just really wasn't paying attention, and a drunk driver hit another one in Galveston.
• 10:37
  Speaker 4: So the move over law is in effect.
• 10:39
  Speaker 4: I just tell folks, the best gift that you can give any police officer, an EMS worker or individual that works for our fire service text out.
• 10:48
  Speaker 4: Worker, best gift you can give us is to move over and give us some room so we can finish and complete the job.
• 10:55
  Speaker 1: And it's also an entire lane distance.
• 10:57
  Speaker 1: It's also 20 miles under the posted speed limit too, isn't it?
• 11:02
  Speaker 4: 20 miles under the posted speed limit or you could have the option of vacating the lane.
• 11:07
  Speaker 4: Obviously, we would prefer you to vacate the lane, but if that's not possible, slow down 20 miles below the speed limit.
• 11:13
  Speaker 4: Um, last year, man, we had well over oh, talking about maybe 12 000 plus move over law violations, wow.
• 11:26
  Speaker 4: So people are still doing it.
• 11:27
  Speaker 4: So we're going to be cracking down on that and we just want to make sure people are aware of the law.
• 11:31
  Speaker 4: So troopers are going to be out all the way to New Year's, until January the 1st.
• 11:35
  Speaker 4: Hey, be mindful of your drinking.
• 11:37
  Speaker 4: I will tell you this, jeff.
• 11:39
  Speaker 4: I am a very, very, very proponent of ride share programs.
• 11:45
  Speaker 4: I them.
• 11:46
  Speaker 4: I actually called a ride share from my house to legacy stadium to catch a little high school football game because I knew, after I was going to leave the legacy stadium, I was going to go to my one of my favorite mexican restaurants and me and my wife were going to enjoy well, instant alcoholic beverages cheap.
• 12:02
  Speaker 4: Please, please, please, look and try to consider a ride share program if you don't want to have a designated driver, because unfortunately, during this time frame, from the time frame of let's see around Thanksgiving to now, that's when our DWIs unfortunately, they increase.
• 12:20
  Speaker 4: If you don't believe me, watch your favorite news outlet and they'll prove it.
• 12:24
  Speaker 2: Well, absolutely.
• 12:24
  Speaker 2: And not only that.
• 12:26
  Speaker 2: Like you say, there's a lot of things going on this time of year, whether it's the football games, parties, concerts.
• 12:31
  Speaker 2: Sometimes, even if you're not drinking, it makes sense if you think about it.
• 12:34
  Speaker 2: Time wise, with parking and everything, catch you a share, ride out to wherever you're going.
• 12:39
  Speaker 2: That way you get dropped off at the front door.
• 12:41
  Speaker 2: You don't have to fight the parking, you don't have to fight all that kind of traffic and it it's really a convenient thing to do.
• 12:48
  Speaker 3: When I heard you were coming on, I said I'm going to be the complaint department.
• 12:50
  Speaker 3: I see all kinds of stuff going on just morning drive traffic.
• 12:54
  Speaker 3: I'm on the Beltway going north and you've got the lane that doesn't.
• 13:00
  Speaker 3: You're in a left lane, but there's that I don't know what you call that lane by the wall, emergency lane, yeah, emergency lane.
• 13:07
  Speaker 3: People are driving on that, people are passing in the traffic on that lane.
• 13:11
  Speaker 3: Now it's just crazy.
• 13:15
  Speaker 4: The biggest is right up there on ITN.
• 13:18
  Speaker 4: But hey, we've got to share the road.
• 13:19
  Speaker 4: That's one thing we have to do.
• 13:21
  Speaker 4: It is my hope and prayer that we go into a new year with a clear mind, a clear conscience and better driving behaviors.
• 13:31
  Speaker 4: We know that's not going to happen because people are steadily getting vehicles.
• 13:34
  Speaker 4: So you know I want everybody to have a really good holiday season and bleed it into a really good new year.
• 13:41
  Speaker 4: I just don't want to get any calls.
• 13:43
  Speaker 4: You know about any fatals.
• 13:45
  Speaker 4: You know we're flying out of town, heading to Las Vegas the day after Christmas, but at the end of the day I'm still taking calls and I'm telling you the fatalities don't stop.
• 13:56
  Speaker 3: And not only that, but the wrong-way drivers.
• 13:58
  Speaker 3: There's been a rash of wrong-way drivers recently.
• 14:01
  Speaker 4: No, without a doubt, my wife was almost hit by a wrong-way driver actually last night, so she was able to hit the shoulder and do her thing.
• 14:10
  Speaker 4: She sees it all the time too.
• 14:12
  Speaker 4: She's a lieutenant with the Houston Police Department.
• 14:15
  Speaker 4: Thank God that God was intervening on that Quickly.
• 14:20
  Speaker 4: If you're going out shopping which if you don't have it by now, brother Mars, leave it alone, man, but if you're going out shopping.
• 14:30
  Speaker 4: I would probably try to go early, find you a good parking spot, because I'm going to tell you and I'm going to just tell you right now.
• 14:39
  Speaker 4: I'm going to put this out here.
• 14:40
  Speaker 4: The CID guys, our undercover guys, said I could.
• 14:43
  Speaker 4: I asked them on Thursday.
• 14:44
  Speaker 4: So we have a team of guys it's about six to eight and they're going around to different malls and they're sitting in parking lots trying to do the best that they can.
• 14:56
  Speaker 4: They're in Katie Mills a couple of days ago and they're just watching for guys that are robbing folks.
• 15:03
  Speaker 4: They're hitting areas like what's the big one Galleria.
• 15:07
  Speaker 4: They're hitting other areas like Memorial City Mall, and your troopers are out there.
• 15:11
  Speaker 4: They're just not wearing this and we're sitting in the parking lots waiting for the devil to strike.
• 15:16
  Speaker 4: But you got to help us guys.
• 15:17
  Speaker 4: Lock your vehicles up.
• 15:19
  Speaker 4: You pay a lot of money every month for that vehicle.
• 15:21
  Speaker 4: Lock your stuff up.
• 15:22
  Speaker 4: The number one stolen item in vehicles in the state of Texas, I'm going to tell you straight up, don number one stolen item is a weapon they're even taking our weapons.
• 15:33
  Speaker 4: We've had a couple of guns stolen of our patrol vehicles.
• 15:36
  Speaker 4: So all I'm saying is don't make this holiday season a tragedy, with a fatal crash, a DWI arrest or somebody breaking into your vehicle.
• 15:46
  Speaker 4: Try to get that stuff done early.
• 15:48
  Speaker 1: Before we move on here, because we're getting close on time, I want to ask you about the armored car robberies, of which there have been three in the past 10 days.
• 15:58
  Speaker 1: What is this about?
• 16:00
  Speaker 1: The 1940s or 50s we're going back to here.
• 16:03
  Speaker 1: Who robs an armored car and the guard gets out and he starts shooting.
• 16:07
  Speaker 1: I like it, but I want a duck for cover.
• 16:09
  Speaker 1: I can tell you that the parking lot of the heb yeah, that's right.
• 16:13
  Speaker 4: I mean, uh, here's the deal that is uh becoming a thing now.
• 16:18
  Speaker 4: Now I'm gonna tell you something right now.
• 16:20
  Speaker 4: You remember this, don do you remember?
• 16:22
  Speaker 4: When those guys tried to rob that armored car in houston and the motivated and honorable, honorable Houston police department was inside of the truck waiting on?
• 16:32
  Speaker 2: it may come to that.
• 16:33
  Speaker 4: But all I'm saying is this desperate times, man.
• 16:38
  Speaker 4: And here's the deal.
• 16:39
  Speaker 4: If a guy's going to rob an armored car where he knows that the employees on board are armed, what in the world do you think he'll do to you Exactly?
• 16:48
  Speaker 4: We don't need to live in fear.
• 16:50
  Speaker 4: All I'm saying is we need to be prepared.
• 16:52
  Speaker 1: Yeah, and if you see, my thing is, you see an armored car, wait till the guy gets done in the grocery store or gets loading up the ATM machine or whatever his job is.
• 17:03
  Speaker 1: Just wait in the car with the doors locked until he goes away.
• 17:07
  Speaker 3: I usually ask if they got free samples.
• 17:08
  Speaker 1: Free samples.
• 17:09
  Speaker 3: And the thing about the HEB in Sugar Land it's a half a mile from the police department, yeah, so that's pretty bold.
• 17:17
  Speaker 4: I just hope one day we don't get a call saying the description of one of the robbers is three good-looking gentlemen.
• 17:26
  Speaker 4: One's got a white shirt and a gray shirt and the guy with the gray shirt has a smooth, silky voice.
• 17:35
  Speaker 2: That's it, and they're all in walkers, so it'll be easy to catch up with them.
• 17:38
  Speaker 1: Stephen, it's great to talk to you.
• 17:40
  Speaker 4: My friend, merry Christmas fellas, and same to you, merry Christmas.
• 17:42
  Speaker 4: I love you guys.
• 17:43
  Speaker 4: Man, thank you for what you do.
• 17:46
  Speaker 3: Thank you.
• 17:46
  Speaker 1: We appreciate you beyond recognition.
• 17:48
  Speaker 1: Thank you, Steve.
• 17:50
  Speaker 1: It's good to talk to you.
• 17:51
  Speaker 1: Be safe, my friend We'll talk to you in the first year.
• 17:53
  Speaker 3: Put $10 on red in Vegas.
• 17:56
  Speaker 4: Ah, okay, I will, I will For him, yeah, make sure you be ready to lose it.
• 18:02
  Speaker 1: We love you, man.
• 18:05
  Speaker 4: You mean A&M.
• 18:06
  Speaker 4: Lose it or lose my money.
• 18:08
  Speaker 5: Lose your money, sir.
• 18:09
  Speaker 2: Well, yeah, it could go either way.
• 18:11
  Speaker 2: On that one, steve, take care, thank you.
• 18:17
  Speaker 5: Hey, you can catch the In.
• 18:17
  Speaker 1: Real Time Car Talk Show 24-7 on the inrealtimecom app and website and also the Odyssey radio app.
• 18:26
  Speaker 1: We also video stream our weekly show on Facebook, youtube and InWheelTimecom, and podcasts available from your favorite podcast provider.
• 18:32
  Speaker 1: The InWheelTime Car Talk Show will continue right after this quick break.
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  Speaker 1: Gulf Coast Auto Shield is your one-stop shop for paint detailing, coatings, window tint, clear bras, camera installs and wheel repair.
• 19:58
  Speaker 1: The Car Social is your opportunity to get a tour of this state-of-the-art facility located at 11275 South Sam Houston Parkway, just south of the Southwest Freeway.
• 20:08
  Speaker 1: Join the Car Social Saturday, january 11th, 9 to noon.
• 20:13
  Speaker 1: Talk to other owners and see how good your car can look on the upcoming Hot Rod Tour of Texas.
• 20:18
  Speaker 1: Put it on your calendar the Gulf Coast Auto Shield Car Social Saturday, january 11th, 9 to noon at 11275 South Sam Houston Parkway, just south of the Southwest Freeway.
• 20:29
  Speaker 1: The In Real Time Car Talk Show will be there too.
• 20:31
  Speaker 1: We hope to see you then.
• 20:32
  Speaker 1: Hey, I want to remind you that the holidays are here.
• 20:34
  Speaker 1: Do I need to remind you of that?
• 20:35
  Speaker 1: If you're looking for gift ideas, we recommend checking out Loopy, tortilla, tex-mex restaurants for a gift card.
• 20:41
  Speaker 1: Maybe take them to dinner.
• 20:42
  Speaker 1: Pro-am auto accessories and let's not forget Gulf Coast Auto Shield gift certificates from any of them.
• 20:48
  Speaker 1: Perfect for the car lover in all of us, absolutely.
• 20:51
  Speaker 1: Time now here on In Wheel Time for the Motor Minute, jeffrey.
• 20:53
  Speaker 3: Okay, the Motor Minute.
• 20:54
  Speaker 3: You've probably heard of these two companies, mike, nissan and Honda.
• 20:57
  Speaker 3: Well, they're planning to enter into negotiations for a merger.
• 21:01
  Speaker 3: Japanese business newspaper Nikkei reported just last week that the domestic peers expected to be signing a memorandum to understand how they're going to do this.
• 21:13
  Speaker 3: So the two companies will be bringing in Mitsubishi Motors, which is a Nissan company.
• 21:18
  Speaker 3: They own 24% of the stake in that car manufacturing.
• 21:22
  Speaker 3: So here's what they're going to do.
• 21:24
  Speaker 3: Manufacturing.
• 21:27
  Speaker 3: So here's what they're going to do.
• 21:28
  Speaker 3: The merger comes at a time when there's two, when many auto giants are struggling to cope with increase of global competition from bigger electric vehicle companies.
• 21:32
  Speaker 3: They're going to do this to combine their efforts for electric vehicles.
• 21:36
  Speaker 3: So good luck with that.
• 21:38
  Speaker 3: The merger, uh, however, is expected to face several obstacles and analysts have expressed concerns about the likelihood of a political scrutiny in Japan.
• 21:46
  Speaker 3: Unwinding of Nissan's alliance with French vehicle manufacturer Renault.
• 21:51
  Speaker 3: So there's a lot going on.
• 21:53
  Speaker 3: They want to combine their efforts to do electric vehicles.
• 21:57
  Speaker 1: Well, I had a guy that I befriended at a car event and he was asking about the deal with Toyota Trucks.
• 22:04
  Speaker 1: And he says look, you know and I have learned this through the 20-some-odd years that I've been doing car reviews and working with manufacturers that each country has their own style of cars.
• 22:18
  Speaker 1: For instance, germany, right, the German thing.
• 22:21
  Speaker 1: The United States has their own American car manufacturing thing, japan, korea they're all different, they have a different mindset.
• 22:30
  Speaker 1: And I was told hey, man, you know, the Japanese really don't know this is years ago really don't know trucks like we do here.
• 22:39
  Speaker 1: And so they're kind of behind the curve and, yeah, they look at the other people's trucks and think that they can do a better job.
• 22:46
  Speaker 1: Well, maybe they can, but as far as making money and doing the things that we do here, it's not the same.
• 22:54
  Speaker 1: And so in Japan, no telling what's going to happen.
• 22:57
  Speaker 3: Well, merger's a merger.
• 22:58
  Speaker 3: If they can do it, I'm sure there's going to be other fallout from it.
• 23:01
  Speaker 2: Well, if you have to sign an agreement to agree to how you're going to make an agreement.
• 23:08
  Speaker 2: You're in trouble to begin with Well, pretty much, but it's the lawyers getting involved.
• 23:11
  Speaker 3: Yeah, let's have a meeting to find out what our next meeting is.
• 23:13
  Speaker 3: Yes, that kind of thing.
• 23:14
  Speaker 1: Time now for this hour's car review.
• 23:16
  Speaker 1: 2024 Nissan Ariya.
• 23:18
  Speaker 1: Final assembly is did I put this right?
• 23:23
  Speaker 1: Could be.
• 23:25
  Speaker 3: Is it a Honda or a?
• 23:26
  Speaker 1: Nissan.
• 23:26
  Speaker 1: It's a Nissan Ariya and the final assembly point is Los Angeles, California.
• 23:34
  Speaker 1: Ah, Los Angeles, Uh-huh.
• 23:35
  Speaker 1: So here are the available trim levels Engage, Venture Plus, Engage E-Force, Evolve Plus, Platinum Plus E-Force.
• 23:46
  Speaker 1: That's a total of eight of them altogether.
• 23:49
  Speaker 1: I had the Empower Plus front-wheel drive.
• 23:54
  Speaker 1: This is a small station wagon.
• 23:56
  Speaker 1: According to US government, it is an SUV.
• 23:58
  Speaker 1: That's the way I look at it anyway.
• 24:00
  Speaker 1: There aren't too many really station wagons anymore that I know of.
• 24:05
  Speaker 1: Suv All new in 2023.
• 24:07
  Speaker 1: Seats, five, Sloped nose and windshield is drastic.
• 24:12
  Speaker 1: This is an aero cheater all the way.
• 24:15
  Speaker 1: It's.
• 24:16
  Speaker 1: Really.
• 24:16
  Speaker 1: It looks pretty amazing.
• 24:18
  Speaker 1: To be honest with you, I like the look of it.
• 24:19
  Speaker 1: The same goes for the rear hatch and the roof line.
• 24:23
  Speaker 1: That's all a big aero thing.
• 24:25
  Speaker 1: Big 19-inch wheels fill the wheel openings and have attractive designs.
• 24:30
  Speaker 1: Big slab sides give it a luxurious look.
• 24:34
  Speaker 1: What I liked about it?
• 24:35
  Speaker 1: The overall exterior design gets high marks from me.
• 24:37
  Speaker 1: I love the copper color that I had with the blacked-out roof.
• 24:41
  Speaker 1: It is a true standout.
• 24:43
  Speaker 1: Interior highlights 12.3-inch screen One of those.
• 24:53
  Speaker 1: It's big 12.3 inches for the instrument cluster and infotainment system.
• 24:55
  Speaker 1: Touchpoint controls on some functions are unique and it takes some serious getting used to.
• 25:01
  Speaker 1: I can promise you that Dash has a very clean look to it, Very quiet cabin, even at highway speeds.
• 25:09
  Speaker 1: Cargo, trunk room, standard size for this size SUV.
• 25:14
  Speaker 1: What I liked Some interior decorative panels are lit and it does add a nice touch at nighttime.
• 25:21
  Speaker 1: The ambiance is really nice in there.
• 25:23
  Speaker 1: It's quiet.
• 25:24
  Speaker 1: It's a pretty cool car.
• 25:26
  Speaker 1: What could use improvement?
• 25:27
  Speaker 1: Small movable center console.
• 25:32
  Speaker 1: Uh, it lacks storage space.
• 25:34
  Speaker 1: And you say a movable console?
• 25:35
  Speaker 1: Yeah, so the center armrest, right, it moves back and forth so you can adjust it to your elbow.
• 25:44
  Speaker 1: Are you a long-legged guy?
• 25:46
  Speaker 1: Yeah, it's cool, but there's not much space in it.
• 25:50
  Speaker 1: So, uh, engine is an e-force, is what they call it?
• 25:55
  Speaker 1: Dual motor, all electric, all-wheel drive.
• 25:58
  Speaker 1: It gets up to 389 horsepower and 442 pound-feet of torque, and no transmission.
• 26:07
  Speaker 1: It's just direct drive from the motor to the wheels, Automatic, clearly.
• 26:10
  Speaker 1: As far as miles per gallon are concerned, 105 in the city Highway is 91 for a combined to 98 at a max charge and a 289-mile range on this thing.
• 26:24
  Speaker 1: What I liked I didn't have to find a fast charger because it had enough range on this thing.
• 26:27
  Speaker 1: What I liked I didn't have to find a fast charger because it had enough range on it that I could plug it in at the house at night, let it charge overnight, drive it to work, plug it in at work, got enough to get back home and so it was fine for me.
• 26:44
  Speaker 1: But the one thing that I want to point out to everybody just be very well aware of the infrastructure where you are.
• 26:52
  Speaker 1: Do you have access to a fast charger?
• 26:54
  Speaker 1: Do you have a charger at the house, a level two charger at the house?
• 26:58
  Speaker 1: So I think all those things need to come into consideration.
• 27:02
  Speaker 1: Ride and handling smooth and compliant.
• 27:04
  Speaker 1: What could use improvement?
• 27:05
  Speaker 1: It's not a great corner carver, it's electric.
• 27:09
  Speaker 1: It's heavy, so keep that in mind too.
• 27:12
  Speaker 1: This is not a hot rod.
• 27:14
  Speaker 1: Base trim price $47,690.
• 27:16
  Speaker 1: Price is tested $50,440, which I think is pretty good.
• 27:21
  Speaker 1: Base model price Now it's not going to get you the 289 miles of range.
• 27:27
  Speaker 1: Base model price $39,590.
• 27:30
  Speaker 1: Competitors Hyundai Ioniq 5, $41,800.
• 27:36
  Speaker 1: That's base model price.
• 27:37
  Speaker 1: Same for the Kia EV9, $54,900.
• 27:40
  Speaker 1: Or the VW ID.4, which we're going to talk about that and the buzz and VW stuff a little bit later on in the show 39,735.
• 27:51
  Speaker 1: Overall, pretty good high marks for an EV.
• 27:53
  Speaker 1: And that is my review of the 2024 Nissan Aria.
• 27:59
  Speaker 1: Go and check it out.
• 28:00
  Speaker 1: If you're looking for an electric vehicle.
• 28:04
  Speaker 1: I have an electric that I'm driving now, as a matter of fact.
• 28:07
  Speaker 1: I saw that, yeah, it's the Equinox EV and I like it a lot.
• 28:08
  Speaker 1: I have an electric that I'm driving now, as a matter of fact.
• 28:09
  Speaker 1: I saw that, yeah, it's the Equinox EV, and I like it a lot.
• 28:10
  Speaker 3: I saw that too.
• 28:11
  Speaker 3: I thought it was a Trax at first when I pulled up.
• 28:13
  Speaker 3: Yeah no, and it's got lots of room.
• 28:15
  Speaker 2: I got the Blazer EV right now and your remark about the infrastructure is absolutely spot on, because I had to make time charging to get here and get back.
• 28:26
  Speaker 2: Yeah, exactly.
• 28:27
  Speaker 1: Hey, if you'd like to get in touch with us, shoot us an email.
• 28:29
  Speaker 1: The address here is info at inwheeltimecom.
• 28:32
  Speaker 1: Back after this quick break, the holidays are upon us and Pro-Am Auto Accessories is your local one-stop for the auto enthusiast on your gift list.
• 28:42
  Speaker 1: Pro-am Auto has been serving Houston since 1984, providing world-class products for sports cars, european sedans and American muscle.
• 28:51
  Speaker 1: Pro-am was one of the very first distributors in the US for brands such as Recaro, redline, momo Corbo and Simpson.
• 28:57
  Speaker 1: Located in the heart of Houston's premier shopping corridor, the Galleria area, pro-am's walk-in storefront includes an 8,000-square-foot warehouse and showroom with installation and service bays.
• 29:09
  Speaker 1: Pro-am reaches a worldwide audience through Pro-AmAutocom, taking its local reputation to the rest of the world.
• 29:17
  Speaker 1: Holiday gift-giving is alive and well at Pro-Am Auto.
• 29:21
  Speaker 1: If you don't see what you're looking for on the website, call and Pro-Am will lend you a hand.
• 29:26
  Speaker 1: Pro-am Auto, 6125 Richmond at Greenridge in Houston's Galleria area.
• 29:31
  Speaker 1: Call them at 713-781-7755.
• 29:36
  Speaker 5: From the open roads to the open waters.
• 29:39
  Speaker 5: Your adventure starts at the Houston Auto Motive Show at NRG Center.
• 29:43
  Speaker 5: One ticket, two shows.
• 29:45
  Speaker 5: Check out top cars, trucks, sport boats, fishing boats and more.
• 29:49
  Speaker 5: New designs, new technology and everything in between Spectacular experiences, amazing fun.
• 29:55
  Speaker 5: There's something for everyone.
• 29:57
  Speaker 5: Get your friends, get your family and get your tickets now.
• 30:00
  Speaker 5: The Houston Automotive Show Making waves and fueling adventures.
• 30:05
  Speaker 1: Houston Automotive Show runs January 29th through February 2nd.
• 30:09
  Speaker 1: Hours are 11 to 8, wednesday through Friday.
• 30:12
  Speaker 1: Saturday 10 to 8, we'll be there and Sunday also 10 to 6.
• 30:16
  Speaker 1: Be sure and attend the Houston Automotive Show.
• 30:19
  Speaker 1: All right, that's it for this podcast episode of the In Wheel Time Car Show.
• 30:23
  Speaker 1: I'm Don Armstrong, inviting you to join us for our live show every Saturday morning on Facebook, youtube, twitch and our InWheelTimecom website.
• 30:33
  Speaker 1: Podcasts are available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, stitcher, iheart Podcast, podcast Addict TuneIn, pandora and Amazon Music.
• 30:42
  Speaker 1: Keep listening and we'll see you soon.