Latest / In Wheel Time Podcast / EV Reality Check: Incentives, Charging, And Choice

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EV Reality Check: Incentives, Charging, And Choice · In Wheel Time Podcast

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_01: Welcome to another In-Wheel Time podcast.
• 0:06
  SPEAKER_01: Howdy and welcome.
• 0:08
  SPEAKER_01: This is your place for all things automotive, the In-Wheel Time Car Talk Show.
• 0:13
  SPEAKER_01: Just ahead, Bun Smith joins us to talk about EVs.
• 0:17
  SPEAKER_01: Plus, Mars has this week in auto history.
• 0:19
  SPEAKER_01: Jeff has the racing calendar and all get you caught up on the stories making automotive news headlines.
• 0:23
  SPEAKER_01: Howdy, along with My God of this World Mars over there on your right hand side.
• 0:27
  SPEAKER_01: And Jeff Zeken, we always need more of him.
• 0:29
  SPEAKER_01: I'm Don Armstrong.
• 0:31
  SPEAKER_01: David Ainsley is in bed this morning, enjoying a nice rainy day.
• 0:36
  SPEAKER_01: Glad you could join us.
• 0:37
  SPEAKER_01: Thanks so much.
• 0:38
  SPEAKER_01: And before we get to Buzz, I got a couple of stories that uh I did want to pass along to you here regarding EVs.
• 0:46
  SPEAKER_01: Honda's big bet on electric vehicles backfiring in the latest fiscal period, hurting the Japanese car maker more than tariffs, and tipping its auto business into the red.
• 0:56
  SPEAKER_01: The story from Automotive News.
• 0:58
  SPEAKER_01: The company booked a$150 billion one-time charge in the six months through September on write-offs and other expenses piled up from its all-in wager on EVs.
• 1:10
  SPEAKER_01: Honda's left holding uh holding the bag for losses and impairments and slow-selling EVs already offered in the United States, and for investments in future EVs that are being delayed or rethought.
• 1:29
  SPEAKER_01: The new U.S.
• 1:30
  SPEAKER_01: duty policies, by contrast, cost Honda Motor Company$1.10 billion.
• 1:37
  SPEAKER_01: Honda's pain comes as automakers around the world dial back EV plans and cancel product rollouts, often as considerable cost.
• 1:46
  SPEAKER_01: Manufacturers once optimistic about how EVs were going to be as far as sales are concerned, and now facing demand, uh imploding demand for the cars amid the end of the U.S.
• 1:58
  SPEAKER_01: tax credits and incentives for building EVs locally.
• 2:01
  SPEAKER_01: Honda was caught more than most of its Japanese counter uh counterparts because it was the most aggressive in buying into the EV future, plowing billions into EV production hubs in the U.S.
• 2:14
  SPEAKER_01: and Canada.
• 2:15
  SPEAKER_01: It was the only Japanese car maker to set a timeline for phasing out internal combustion by 2040, even though pure electrics make up less than two percent of Japan's domestic market.
• 2:26
  SPEAKER_01: Also, supplier next tier is being sued by a two-tier supplier after scrapping a program for Ford Motor Company's next generation electric pickup truck, marking the latest EV-related fight to spill into the courtroom.
• 2:42
  SPEAKER_01: Swoboda, a German supplier with a base of 157 miles west of Detroit in the Grand Rapids suburb of Kenwood, sued its tier one customer in August, seeking to recoup three million.
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_01: It said it incurred before next year, suddenly and unilaterally canceled the agreement.
• 2:59
  SPEAKER_01: Joining us now is Mr.
• 3:01
  SPEAKER_01: Buzz Smith.
• 3:02
  SPEAKER_01: He is the electric car guru.
• 3:05
  SPEAKER_01: And uh we appreciate you joining us, Buzz.
• 3:07
  SPEAKER_01: How are you?
• 3:08
  SPEAKER_02: Hello, Buzz.
• 3:09
  SPEAKER_02: Life is good.
• 3:10
  SPEAKER_01: Good, glad to hear it.
• 3:12
  SPEAKER_01: Well, I'm sure that you heard those two stories, and I know that you've been a big advocate of EVs, but you know, as the EV thing wore on, um I became more disinterested in them.
• 3:24
  SPEAKER_01: Uh one, because they took tax dollars and paid them to people like you that bought the EVs.
• 3:30
  SPEAKER_01: And uh I love you like a brother, but I'm sorry, I'm not paying your taxes, and doing incentives to me uh through an EV tax credit is really unfair to anybody that makes a gasoline lineup because they had to give the uh the incentive$7,500 to overcome the price difference and to get the things off the lots.
• 3:54
  SPEAKER_01: And I will also add to you that uh I have had several EVs that I have had some very interesting and unique experiences with trying to find a fast charger.
• 4:07
  SPEAKER_01: And um it was at a point where on one of those experiences, I had to drive 15 miles to find a fast charger from Houston Hobby Airport.
• 4:18
  SPEAKER_01: That was the closest one to the hobby airport area.
• 4:20
  SPEAKER_01: They have since rectified that after a year of construction with a ginormous EV station right there next to the Hertz Reddit car company.
• 4:28
  SPEAKER_01: So I'm gonna let you take over and you just do your own thing here.
• 4:34
  SPEAKER_02: Okay.
• 4:34
  SPEAKER_02: Well, let's well, you mentioned the incentives, and I agree with you completely.
• 4:39
  SPEAKER_02: I wish we didn't incentivize things like oil and gas, for instance, which we incentivize to the hundreds of billions of dollars per year.
• 4:48
  SPEAKER_02: So we do have a market that our government keeps getting involved in, and they do it sometimes with the best intentions.
• 4:56
  SPEAKER_02: You know, they say the road to hell has been paved with good intentions, but they don't want us to get lung cancer, so they increase the tax on cigarettes to dissuade us from that.
• 5:06
  SPEAKER_02: They're charging us a tax, you know, that really impin in impugns our freedom.
• 5:12
  SPEAKER_02: It's like, are you gonna take my freedom to smoke away from me?
• 5:15
  SPEAKER_02: Well, yeah, we don't want you to get sick, so we're trying to push you economically.
• 5:20
  SPEAKER_02: We realize what's happening in the world of transportation.
• 5:24
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, EVs are coming, guys.
• 5:26
  SPEAKER_02: Um, ever since 2017, gasoline vehicle demand has dropped and electric vehicle demand has increased every year.
• 5:34
  SPEAKER_02: So this is something that's coming.
• 5:36
  SPEAKER_02: Unfortunately, in our country, we made it a political thing.
• 5:41
  SPEAKER_02: EVs aren't political.
• 5:42
  SPEAKER_02: I've asked my cars, you know, who did you vote for?
• 5:44
  SPEAKER_02: They never voted for a Republican or a Democrat.
• 5:47
  SPEAKER_02: EVs have nothing to do with politics.
• 5:49
  SPEAKER_02: So, yeah, it would be great if we didn't have incentives, but here's something that people don't think about.
• 5:55
  SPEAKER_02: China has invested a lot of money in renewable energy and electric vehicles.
• 6:00
  SPEAKER_02: They are now getting inroads into um Southern Asia that they've never had inroads into before with their electric vehicles because they are really great electric vehicles at really affordable prices.
• 6:12
  SPEAKER_02: Well, what comes with that?
• 6:13
  SPEAKER_02: Electric infrastructure comes with that, and they're going to want the technology that works with their Chinese vehicles, so it's going to be Chinese technology in these developing countries.
• 6:23
  SPEAKER_02: This is a political move by an adversary in the real world.
• 6:28
  SPEAKER_02: The transportation industry is changing, period.
• 6:32
  SPEAKER_02: We can either fight about it politically, or we can all go test drive these things and say, is this really going to fit into my lifestyle?
• 6:41
  SPEAKER_02: And find out for ourselves.
• 6:43
  SPEAKER_02: Let's stop having political pundits tell us what we should drive.
• 6:47
  SPEAKER_02: Let's go drive it, see if we like it.
• 6:49
  SPEAKER_02: If we like it, let's get one and try it out.
• 6:52
  SPEAKER_02: That's my bottom line.
• 6:53
  SPEAKER_02: Now, let's talk about that.
• 6:54
  SPEAKER_02: You know, you were talking about charging.
• 6:56
  SPEAKER_02: The great thing is, and you did touch on it, Texas has been building charging stations out the wazoo.
• 7:02
  SPEAKER_02: The Nevi Mundy money was uh frozen for a while by the new administration, but they've now released it, so it's gung-ho time again.
• 7:09
  SPEAKER_02: But my organization, Texas EV, did a cross-state EV road trip.
• 7:15
  SPEAKER_02: We started in Shreeport, Louisiana, so that we could actually cross the Texas border and see the welcome to Texas sign.
• 7:22
  SPEAKER_02: And we went, uh the plan was to go all the way to the border with New Mexico.
• 7:27
  SPEAKER_02: And we didn't want to make this super easy.
• 7:30
  SPEAKER_02: We wanted to make it difficult, but we also wanted to shoot a documentary of us doing this because if we make a documentary about electric vehicles, the only people that'll watch it were people that already like electric vehicles.
• 7:42
  SPEAKER_02: You know, they call it preaching to the choir.
• 7:44
  SPEAKER_02: I want to get to people that want to travel and see cool stuff in Texas.
• 7:49
  SPEAKER_02: So again, we started over on the east side.
• 7:51
  SPEAKER_02: We went, uh plan was to go all the way to the west side, and that was gonna look too easy.
• 7:56
  SPEAKER_02: We looked at the Nevi map, and all these new stations made it, you know, too easy.
• 8:01
  SPEAKER_02: So we did this.
• 8:02
  SPEAKER_02: We went down into Big Bend country.
• 8:05
  SPEAKER_02: And once you hit Alpine, Texas, there's not another charger for 235 miles, and we were gonna go all the way around Big Bend State Park, back up to Marfa, and then back to Alpine to recharge and then head on uh all the way to the border.
• 8:20
  SPEAKER_02: Now, I'm not gonna spoil the story for you, I'm not gonna tell you if we made it or not.
• 8:24
  SPEAKER_02: It was very challenging uh in that uh Big Bend area, but like I said, we shot a video about it, and I've been editing that, and I'm having such a good time because I think people will see some really cool stuff to go see when you're out on a road trip in Texas.
• 8:42
  SPEAKER_02: It's a great travel documentary that has lessons that I learned about EVs along the way, and so there's ways to extend your range, and we show those in the video.
• 8:52
  SPEAKER_02: There's ways to charge that are absolutely free.
• 8:55
  SPEAKER_02: Imagine renting a cabin at a state park and they throw in a full tank of gas because that's what happened to us.
• 9:01
  SPEAKER_02: We rented these cabins at Lake Colorado City State Park, and they came with an RV pedestal.
• 9:09
  SPEAKER_02: So we just plugged in our portable charger and we got a full tank of electricity.
• 9:13
  SPEAKER_02: All of our cars were topped off when we left the next morning.
• 9:16
  SPEAKER_02: The state should advertise that, you know, free tank of electricity with every state.
• 9:21
  SPEAKER_02: It was so cool.
• 9:23
  SPEAKER_02: But had a lot of fun on this trip.
• 9:24
  SPEAKER_02: And the other thing was, even out in far west Texas, which is big oil and gas uh area, we met all these people that were one coming up to see the vehicles that we were in.
• 9:37
  SPEAKER_02: General Motors had loaned us a Chevrolet Silverado EV trailboss that had 460 miles of range.
• 9:44
  SPEAKER_02: They also loaned us an Equinox EV that had 300 miles of range.
• 9:49
  SPEAKER_02: And I took along my car as kind of the equipment van because we had tons of video and audio equipment with us.
• 9:55
  SPEAKER_02: And uh that Silverado had 460 miles of range.
• 9:59
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, we just drove past station after station uh because that thing had 50% more range than any other uh any other vehicle that we had with us.
• 10:08
  SPEAKER_02: The TechStot program, you know, we were passing at stations, but we met people out in West Texas, big oil and gas area, that uh had EVs, and we, you know, met them at Chargers and started talking talking to them.
• 10:21
  SPEAKER_02: One of them was a Dodge Detona Charger Stage 2 EV, 670 horsepower, 0 to 60 miles per hour in 3.3 seconds.
• 10:31
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, a really exciting car.
• 10:33
  SPEAKER_02: And I asked the owner if anybody had tried to racer yet, and she said, Oh, I had a couple people try.
• 10:40
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, it was and this thing had that sound system where you could actually make it sound like a gasoline-powered vehicle.
• 10:48
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I heard about all of that.
• 10:50
  SPEAKER_01: All right, well, let me interrupt you here.
• 10:52
  SPEAKER_01: And um, and and and you know, let's bring it back to the real world.
• 10:56
  SPEAKER_01: Look, let's face the fact, I mean, you are the EV advocate and you've got your own thing going on, and of course you're going to, you know, uh really promote the EV world.
• 11:07
  SPEAKER_01: I have a friend of mine that I work with, bought a Tesla three years ago, and he says that when it's time, he is not going to buy another EV.
• 11:16
  SPEAKER_01: He has family in San Antonio, they drive to San Antonio at least twice a month.
• 11:21
  SPEAKER_01: His wife is pregnant, they're gonna wind up going there a lot more.
• 11:25
  SPEAKER_01: But he says it j it makes it to San Antonio barely.
• 11:30
  SPEAKER_01: And you know, the problem there lies is that he needs something that is gonna not get him stranded or he has to stop for 30 minutes to get the thing recharged.
• 11:39
  SPEAKER_01: And that's one of my biggest gripes is is that I recently had an Eevee.
• 11:44
  SPEAKER_01: Great vehicle, loved it, rode great, a lot of uh amenities on it that uh hadn't had uh opportunity to explore.
• 11:52
  SPEAKER_01: But I will tell you that that 80% charge that took me 30 minutes to do is a pain for me.
• 11:59
  SPEAKER_01: I've got things to do in my life that I don't have 30 minutes at a gas station, basically, what that is.
• 12:05
  SPEAKER_01: You know, I can go right down the street and I can get a full tank of gas that'll take me 400 miles and good gas mileage, and I don't have to jack with taking all that time out of my life, and it didn't last a week, and I I will tell you that I don't drive that much, but um it got about 250 miles on the full tank that I was supplied.
• 12:28
  SPEAKER_01: So that that's a gripe that I have.
• 12:31
  SPEAKER_01: Most people, I'm sure, have their own gripes about certain things.
• 12:34
  SPEAKER_01: I get that, and um it's just not for me.
• 12:38
  SPEAKER_04: I think like you use the term buzz about lifestyle, and I think that's really what it is.
• 12:44
  SPEAKER_04: I mean, does it fit your lifestyle?
• 12:45
  SPEAKER_04: But that's what any vehicle you go buy.
• 12:48
  SPEAKER_04: Do I need a truck, do I need a van, do I need an SEV?
• 12:51
  SPEAKER_04: What do I want for my lifestyle?
• 12:53
  SPEAKER_04: And I think the EVs are the same way.
• 12:56
  SPEAKER_03: I I'd like to interject something from the beginning.
• 12:58
  SPEAKER_03: Buzz Buzz, you mentioned that it's uh to to stay away from the the political aspect of it.
• 13:03
  SPEAKER_03: I I truly think it did start out being political because of the cafe standards that were adjusted for gasoline engines, and then all of the uh political uproar or changes that we were uh I I don't want to say force, but suggestively told that you know this is going to be a better way.
• 13:22
  SPEAKER_03: And then of course the manufacturers they do what they have to do to make money and abide by certain standards, cafe on the gas side and electric for the kilowatts on the on the electric side.
• 13:32
  SPEAKER_03: So I I truly think it was starting out to be more of a political thing, and it's kind of wavered away from that.
• 13:38
  SPEAKER_03: But uh and that's just my opinion, Buzz.
• 13:41
  SPEAKER_02: No, it it it's not an opinion.
• 13:43
  SPEAKER_02: I mean that's a fact.
• 13:44
  SPEAKER_02: It it it became a political thing, and you can trace it back to exactly the moment it started, and it was when there was a uh Chevy vault rolling off the assembly line, and uh Obama went and sat in the car and they took a picture of it.
• 13:58
  SPEAKER_02: And immediately Rush Limbaugh started saying, Oh, Chevy vaults can only drive 40 miles and you have to start stop and charge overnight, which was a lie, it was a plug-in hybrid, or that they just burst into flames for no reason.
• 14:10
  SPEAKER_02: So it became a political thing just because of how polarized we are.
• 14:14
  SPEAKER_02: Right.
• 14:15
  SPEAKER_04: And well, not only that, it's when when you start putting mandates out that you know the man OEMs can't build certain cars anymore by a certain date.
• 14:24
  SPEAKER_04: Well, now people get the idea.
• 14:25
  SPEAKER_04: Well, they get the right idea.
• 14:26
  SPEAKER_04: I mean, you're telling me that in 2025 or 35 or whatever it is, I can't buy another car like I want.
• 14:32
  SPEAKER_04: I have to buy what you're telling me I have to buy.
• 14:35
  SPEAKER_04: And and then they go into the whole subsidy thing.
• 14:37
  SPEAKER_04: I you and Don were talking about it earlier.
• 14:40
  SPEAKER_04: No government subsidy that I know of in this country, whether you go back to the Saturn or whatever you want, has worked.
• 14:47
  SPEAKER_04: And the only reason China can do it is because they don't stop, they keep subsidizing forever and ever.
• 14:53
  SPEAKER_02: That's that's actually not true.
• 14:55
  SPEAKER_02: The one thing that's worked great is the uh mortgage interest tax uh deduction.
• 15:02
  SPEAKER_02: And the reason it's worked great is it builds wealth in our country.
• 15:06
  SPEAKER_02: So it's actually, you know, it's like a tax on cigarettes, but it's a an incentive for real estate ownership.
• 15:12
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, okay.
• 15:13
  SPEAKER_04: I agree with you there.
• 15:14
  SPEAKER_04: I don't consider that uh government subsidized like we're gonna give you$7,500 if you do this.
• 15:19
  SPEAKER_02: But it is, it's exactly the same thing because we're paying you know homeowners' interest for them.
• 15:24
  SPEAKER_02: The people that live in apartments don't get any benefit from that.
• 15:27
  SPEAKER_02: They're actually paying somebody else's mortgage interest.
• 15:30
  SPEAKER_02: So this happens all the time.
• 15:31
  SPEAKER_01: I don't know if that's really a fair comparison, however, because you're you're talking about housing and you're talking about transportation.
• 15:37
  SPEAKER_01: If I really wanted to be a cheapskate, I'd take public transportation and it would cost me a lot less money than owning a car or two.
• 15:45
  SPEAKER_01: If it's available, whether whether it's a gasoline car or it's an electric car, makes no difference.
• 15:52
  SPEAKER_01: Point A to point B.
• 15:53
  SPEAKER_01: So let's just keep it within the part of transportation.
• 16:00
  SPEAKER_02: Okay, well, I mean, the bottom line is when they did, like out in California, when they made it a mandate, said by this day we're gonna cut off, that's a dumb thing to do.
• 16:09
  SPEAKER_02: Let the market decide.
• 16:11
  SPEAKER_04: Absolutely.
• 16:12
  SPEAKER_02: As soon as you go in and and say, We're not gonna let you have this anymore, people want it, and they'll dig their heels in.
• 16:20
  SPEAKER_02: Absolutely.
• 16:21
  SPEAKER_02: And that's that's the right reaction to have in the United States of America.
• 16:25
  SPEAKER_02: We're all about freedom.
• 16:26
  SPEAKER_02: I want the freedom, and I tell people in my videos, don't buy an EV because I'm telling you by it, don't let anybody tell you what kind of car to buy, but know for yourself.
• 16:37
  SPEAKER_02: Because here's the real world, guys.
• 16:39
  SPEAKER_02: Consumer Reports has that giant annual survey about automotive.
• 16:43
  SPEAKER_02: And what they found is in the United States, if you've never even seen an EV in your life, 40% of the people say, I will never own one of those things.
• 16:52
  SPEAKER_02: But if you see one in your neighborhood, it drops to 22%.
• 16:55
  SPEAKER_02: A friend gets one 17%.
• 16:58
  SPEAKER_02: You ride in one just a few times, 10%, you drive one just a few times 4%.
• 17:05
  SPEAKER_02: So you go from 40% negative to 4% negative.
• 17:08
  SPEAKER_02: What?
• 17:08
  SPEAKER_02: With personal experience.
• 17:10
  SPEAKER_02: And that's all I want people to do.
• 17:12
  SPEAKER_02: Find out for yourself.
• 17:14
  SPEAKER_02: Because the vast majority of Americans drive 40 miles a day or less.
• 17:19
  SPEAKER_02: Even the weakest EV available today can easily do that and recoup it on a 110 outlet that you have in your garage.
• 17:27
  SPEAKER_02: So it and it's compelling.
• 17:28
  SPEAKER_02: It's you know, one-third the fuel cost of gasoline driving down the road, almost no maintenance for 150,000 miles.
• 17:36
  SPEAKER_02: So, yes, absolutely, there's going to people be people like Don that it's not a good fit for, but the vast majority of us should at least try it.
• 17:46
  SPEAKER_04: Well, my wife is like that.
• 17:47
  SPEAKER_04: It would fit her driving style, the way she drives.
• 17:50
  SPEAKER_04: Uh absolutely.
• 17:52
  SPEAKER_04: Now I can't get her in one to try it.
• 17:55
  SPEAKER_04: But because I think the same thing, because she could buy the same car she's got right now, new model that is a hybrid or an EV.
• 18:03
  SPEAKER_04: And but she's she's just no, I'm not having one.
• 18:07
  SPEAKER_04: And uh, even though she doesn't drive more than 50 miles a day on any good day unless she's taking a trip.
• 18:13
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, Buzz, it's great to talk to you.
• 18:15
  SPEAKER_01: I hate to cut this short.
• 18:16
  SPEAKER_01: We've got to move on.
• 18:16
  SPEAKER_01: We've got a short show today.
• 18:18
  SPEAKER_01: So uh we appreciate the time you took explaining all the positives of EVs.
• 18:23
  SPEAKER_01: And I got you, I hear you.
• 18:25
  SPEAKER_01: We'll have this conversation.
• 18:27
  SPEAKER_01: We'll we'll pick up this conversation next time we talk to you.
• 18:29
  SPEAKER_01: How's that?
• 18:30
  SPEAKER_01: We love you, brother.
• 18:31
  SPEAKER_02: Anytime you're ready, my friend.
• 18:32
  SPEAKER_01: All right, thank you.
• 18:33
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you.
• 18:33
  SPEAKER_01: I appreciate it.
• 18:34
  SPEAKER_01: All right, uh, just ahead.
• 18:35
  SPEAKER_01: Jeff has the racing calendar, Mars has this week in auto history, and I'll bring the stories making automotive news headlines this week.
• 18:41
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• 20:36
  SPEAKER_01: Welcome back.
• 20:36
  SPEAKER_01: The In Wheel Time Car Talk Show invites you to join us for our live broadcast every Saturday, 10 to noon on InWheeltime.com, Facebook, and YouTube.
• 20:44
  SPEAKER_01: We hope you check us out.
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• 20:51
  SPEAKER_01: We hope that you'll do that too.
• 20:52
  SPEAKER_01: Time now for the racing calendar, sponsored by Texas Muscle Car Club Challenge.
• 20:56
  SPEAKER_01: Here is Jeffrey Zekin.
• 20:58
  SPEAKER_03: Thank you for that.
• 20:59
  SPEAKER_03: Uh first of all, NHRA ended last week.
• 21:02
  SPEAKER_03: Uh their season finale uh final giveaway the trophy.
• 21:07
  SPEAKER_03: It was rained out.
• 21:08
  SPEAKER_03: So they said we're gonna cancel the last race and just give out the trophies.
• 21:14
  SPEAKER_03: So I'm I'm very disappointed in NHRA.
• 21:17
  SPEAKER_01: I know, but three out of the four had already been decided who was going to be the winner.
• 21:20
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 21:21
  SPEAKER_01: So you've got to hold the whole race up for for one person.
• 21:24
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 21:24
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, just run that class then and decide who to do anything.
• 21:28
  SPEAKER_03: Give me a call when it's over.
• 21:29
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 21:29
  SPEAKER_03: Uh we've got Formula One.
• 21:32
  SPEAKER_03: I was just talking in the preview that Las Vegas is going on today.
• 21:35
  SPEAKER_03: The race started at 10 o'clock this morning.
• 21:37
  SPEAKER_03: They ran qualifying a uh racer by the name of Russell, who is driving the Mercedes.
• 21:42
  SPEAKER_03: And I believe Russell is the one that replaced uh that other driver, uh gosh, I can't remember Hamilton, to go over to Ferrari.
• 21:49
  SPEAKER_03: So Mercedes is uh on the poll, I believe, as of last night, and they're running today.
• 21:54
  SPEAKER_03: It's a 50 laper in Las Vegas, the streets.
• 21:57
  SPEAKER_03: They also had issues with manhole covers again this year, where they were popping up and scraping the bottom of the road.
• 22:02
  SPEAKER_00: Why don't they just all it takes is a little ru uh weld, yeah, a little spot baby weld.
• 22:07
  SPEAKER_00: The president comes down.
• 22:09
  SPEAKER_04: That's what they do.
• 22:10
  SPEAKER_04: They would weld them all down.
• 22:11
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, they weld them all down.
• 22:12
  SPEAKER_04: Well, if the president comes to town, that's what they do.
• 22:15
  SPEAKER_04: Exactly.
• 22:16
  SPEAKER_03: Anyways, uh that's going on right now.
• 22:19
  SPEAKER_03: Uh there really isn't a whole lot going on.
• 22:20
  SPEAKER_03: If you've got something local in your area, please support them.
• 22:23
  SPEAKER_03: Go out there and even if it's a rainy day, sunny day, whatever, go out and support those local folks.
• 22:27
  SPEAKER_03: You got Sleg Dog Racing coming up in March, you got pigeon racing, and then ice racing throughout the winter season.
• 22:32
  SPEAKER_03: We'll bring you more on that.
• 22:33
  SPEAKER_03: Pigeon?
• 22:34
  SPEAKER_01: Pigeon racing.
• 22:35
  SPEAKER_01: Uh okay, let's do that.
• 22:36
  SPEAKER_01: Why don't you ever see a baby pigeon?
• 22:37
  SPEAKER_01: I that's true.
• 22:38
  SPEAKER_01: You never do.
• 22:39
  SPEAKER_01: Uh they've been eaten, I think, already.
• 22:40
  SPEAKER_01: I think so.
• 22:41
  SPEAKER_01: Uh time now for this week's auto history lesson.
• 22:43
  SPEAKER_01: Here is Mr.
• 22:44
  SPEAKER_01: Michael Mars.
• 22:45
  SPEAKER_04: Yes, sir.
• 22:46
  SPEAKER_04: This week we had several things that we thought were really interesting.
• 22:49
  SPEAKER_04: We're going to start off with in 1901.
• 22:51
  SPEAKER_04: The Packard Model F came out, and this was really.
• 23:12
  SPEAKER_04: Uh, because of the engineering and the craftsmanship that was put into it.
• 23:15
  SPEAKER_04: Now, the Model F had a single-cylinder engine in it, 12 horsepower, 183.8 cubic inch.
• 23:23
  SPEAKER_04: But it was the ride and the drive of it that's really what attracted the affluent buyers and kind of made Packard uh gave it its reputation for quality in in uh luxury automobiles.
• 23:34
  SPEAKER_04: Now in 1959, Ford introduced the Falcon.
• 23:39
  SPEAKER_04: This is their one of their compact cars, part of their compact car lineup.
• 23:43
  SPEAKER_04: The idea was to offer families efficiency, affordability, and a small car without having to sacrifice cargo space.
• 23:50
  SPEAKER_04: So it was lightweight, had accessible pricing for most people, and it complete it contributed to the overall compact revolution that was starting in the 1960s, and it became available in a sedan, a ranchero, and a wagon.
• 24:02
  SPEAKER_04: And the wagon came as a two-door or four-door.
• 24:06
  SPEAKER_04: So the two-door is kind of like a panel truck, but it was really a station wagon, and it was offered as such.
• 24:11
  SPEAKER_04: Is that one of your ugly cars, uh, Jeff?
• 24:14
  SPEAKER_00: That's coming up next hour.
• 24:15
  SPEAKER_00: No, no.
• 24:15
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 24:15
  SPEAKER_04: No, no, he's got better than that.
• 24:17
  SPEAKER_04: 1967, Lotus unveils the Type 49B.
• 24:22
  SPEAKER_04: Now, this was an update for their Formula car, and it was already known for using the engine as part of the structural component, but it added some tweaks to the aerodynamics and the suspension geometry.
• 24:32
  SPEAKER_04: So it became more reliable during the races when the performance and it remains a major milestone in the evolution of Formula One engineering that I'm sure Jeff is really drooling over the whole idea of the Formula One.
• 24:44
  SPEAKER_04: You betcha elevating right now.
• 24:47
  SPEAKER_04: 1992 GM announces the end of the Pontiac 6000.
• 24:52
  SPEAKER_04: Now, I did not know that this was considered a successful practical, had strong sales in the 1980s, and uh it just fallen behind in modern economics.
• 25:04
  SPEAKER_00: They were uh they they subscribed to the uh Buzz Soup, I guess.
• 25:08
  SPEAKER_04: So anyway, they had decided it wasn't selling good enough, and so they dropped it.
• 25:13
  SPEAKER_04: Good.
• 25:14
  SPEAKER_04: All right, then moving on this week in 2003, the debut of the Porsche Kam GT.
• 25:21
  SPEAKER_01: Now this was the Porsche What?
• 25:23
  SPEAKER_04: It's been trying to roll my Rs.
• 25:25
  SPEAKER_04: My R's aren't rolling this morning.
• 25:27
  SPEAKER_01: Don't try.
• 25:27
  SPEAKER_04: Don't really have a carbon fiber chassis, race bread V10 engine, a lot of aerodynamics that were engineered into it, and it really started.
• 25:39
  SPEAKER_00: What?
• 25:39
  SPEAKER_00: V10?
• 25:40
  SPEAKER_00: Did you say a V10?
• 25:41
  SPEAKER_00: That's what I said.
• 25:43
  SPEAKER_00: Wow.
• 25:43
  SPEAKER_00: I did not know that it had a V10 ever.
• 25:47
  SPEAKER_00: Well, that's what I found.
• 25:49
  SPEAKER_00: All right.
• 25:49
  SPEAKER_00: Well, cool.
• 25:50
  SPEAKER_00: I just mentioned out.
• 25:51
  SPEAKER_01: That's all.
• 25:52
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah, tub it out.
• 25:54
  SPEAKER_04: Anyway, it reinforced Porsche's engineering dominance, became a defining high performance icon in the 2000 year range because of the supercar benchmark it set.
• 26:04
  SPEAKER_04: Then in 2019, Tesla came out with the Cybertruck.
• 26:10
  SPEAKER_04: Now, this generated a lot of buzz whenever it came out, a lot of people talking about the stainless steel body, the design.
• 26:17
  SPEAKER_04: In fact, people are still talking about this vehicle.
• 26:21
  SPEAKER_04: And um apparently uh a lot of people think it designed it influenced a lot of design debate.
• 26:27
  SPEAKER_04: In other words, a lot of people are still talking about this car.
• 26:29
  SPEAKER_04: But that was just a few things we found this week in automotive history.
• 26:32
  SPEAKER_01: Well, I'm glad that's over with.
• 26:34
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, well, thank you very much for that.
• 26:36
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, as far as news stories this week, got one I want to tell you about.
• 26:40
  SPEAKER_01: Another four-alarm fire reported November 20th at the same Novellas plant in upstate New York that burned in September weeks before the supplier had said it expected full operations to resume.
• 26:55
  SPEAKER_01: And Novellas spokesperson said it was too soon to know whether the latest incident will delay repairs for the previous plays, which Ford Motor Company estimated could cost that automaker as much as two billion dollars.
• 27:08
  SPEAKER_01: Novellas makes a lot of aluminum parts, including the aluminum Ford F-150 body truck.
• 27:15
  SPEAKER_01: Flames could be seen along the seams and the roofs plant and the plant's roof, and firefighters from two counties were on the site as late as of late morning.
• 27:25
  SPEAKER_01: Uh local media reports that the four-alarm fire occurred in the same area of the plant, the hot mill, that was damaged in September.
• 27:32
  SPEAKER_01: Novellas on November 4th said it expected to fully reopen in Oswego, New York in December.
• 27:39
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, well, good luck on all of that.
• 27:40
  SPEAKER_01: Something funky's going on there.
• 27:42
  SPEAKER_01: Hey, we'd love to hear from you.
• 27:43
  SPEAKER_01: Shoot us an email.
• 27:44
  SPEAKER_01: The address is info at inwheeltime.com.
• 27:46
  SPEAKER_01: We are back right after this quick break.
• 27:48
  SPEAKER_01: Stay with us.
• 27:50
  SPEAKER_01: The Tailpipes and Tacos Christmas Edition 2025 happens Saturday, December 13th from 8 to 11 a.m.
• 27:56
  SPEAKER_01: and you want to be a part of it.
• 27:57
  SPEAKER_01: Tailpipes and Tacos is the cruise in everyone wants to attend.
• 28:01
  SPEAKER_01: And the Christmas edition is extra special.
• 28:03
  SPEAKER_01: Donate an unwrapped new toy and help yourself to a free Lupi Tortilla Breakfast Taco.
• 28:08
  SPEAKER_01: Velvey Adult Beverage is available for purchase too.
• 28:10
  SPEAKER_01: And don't forget your ride.
• 28:12
  SPEAKER_01: Just cruise in and you're automatically registered to compete for one of three famous chili pepper trophies: Best Hot Rod, Best Classic, and Best Modern Classic.
• 28:19
  SPEAKER_01: Tail Pipes and Tacos Christmas Edition will be held Saturday, December 13th, 8 to 11 a.m.
• 28:24
  SPEAKER_01: at the Loopy Tortilla Tex-Mex, located at 703 West Grand Parkway, just south of the Katy Freeway in Katy.
• 28:30
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, and don't forget to bring the kids.
• 28:32
  SPEAKER_01: There'll be special trophies and goodie bags for them too.
• 28:35
  SPEAKER_01: It's the Tailpipes and Tacos Christmas Edition 25, Saturday, December 13th, 8 to 11 a.m.
• 28:40
  SPEAKER_01: at the Loopy Tortilla Tex-Mex at 703 West Grand Parkway in Katy.
• 28:44
  SPEAKER_01: Bring a toy, get a free breakfast taco, and enjoy the camaraderie.
• 28:47
  SPEAKER_01: InWheel Time will be there too.
• 28:50
  SPEAKER_01: Apple or Android InWheel Time Podcasts can be found everywhere, on the stream and through downloads.
• 28:55
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• 29:00
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• 29:10
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• 29:16
  SPEAKER_01: Mm-hmm.
• 29:17
  SPEAKER_01: InWheeltime.com has a list, and we know you love lists.
• 29:21
  SPEAKER_01: That's it for this podcast episode of the In Wheel Time Car Show.
• 29:25
  SPEAKER_01: I'm Don Armstrong, inviting you to join us for our live show every Saturday morning, eight to eleven AM Central on Facebook, YouTube, Twitch, and our InWheeltime.com website.
• 29:37
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• 29:45
  SPEAKER_01: Keep listening, and we'll see you soon.