Latest / In Wheel Time Podcast / Top Cars, SUVs, and Minivans for Your Money with U.S News and World Report

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Top Cars, SUVs, and Minivans for Your Money with U.S News and World Report · In Wheel Time Podcast

• 0:01
  Speaker 1: Welcome to another In Wheel Time podcast, a 30-minute mini version of the In Wheel Time Car Show that airs live every Saturday morning 8 to 11 am Central.
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: We're talking about returns, so we'll get to that in a minute.
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: Hey, this is the only place to go for all things automotive and returns the award-winning In-Wheel Time Car Talk Show.
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: Just ahead, john Venson from US News and World Report and their list of best cars for the money.
• 0:31
  Speaker 1: Later, jeff has the racing calendar, mars has this Week in Auto History and I'll get you caught up on the stories making automotive news headlines.
• 0:38
  Speaker 1: Howdy, along with Mike out of this world.
• 0:40
  Speaker 1: Mars, we always need more.
• 0:41
  Speaker 1: Jeff Zekin, I'm Don Armstrong, so I'm glad that you could join us on our Saturday live program.
• 0:46
  Speaker 1: Chief Engineer David Ainsley, he's not here today.
• 0:50
  Speaker 1: We don't know what he's doing.
• 0:52
  Speaker 1: No, he's not here today.
• 0:52
  Speaker 1: You know, some days he sleeps in and other days he's Some days we don't want to know.
• 0:57
  Speaker 1: Yeah, and some days we don't want to know and other days he's fixing radio transmitters or installing them.
• 1:02
  Speaker 1: He's got a lot going on.
• 1:03
  Speaker 3: That's what he says.
• 1:04
  Speaker 3: Yeah, do you believe him?
• 1:06
  Speaker 3: Well, that's a question those young kids are calling it nowadays.
• 1:09
  Speaker 3: Yeah, there's that.
• 1:11
  Speaker 1: Right.
• 1:11
  Speaker 1: Well, look who's here.
• 1:14
  Speaker 1: Look who's here, Look who's on the line.
• 1:15
  Speaker 1: It's ladies and gentlemen.
• 1:17
  Speaker 1: It's John Vincent from US News and World Report.
• 1:20
  Speaker 1: Howdy sir, how are you?
• 1:26
  Speaker 1: Good morning, how are you, gentlemen?
• 1:27
  Speaker 1: Well, we're doing fine.
• 1:27
  Speaker 1: My first question to you is how's the weather up there?
• 1:29
  Speaker 4: You know we have a little bit of snow this morning, but it's already melted off.
• 1:33
  Speaker 2: Really.
• 1:35
  Speaker 4: We haven't had much of a winter yet.
• 1:37
  Speaker 1: Well, you know it's funny because the news has blown this whole weather system all out of proportion headed toward you and we're going.
• 1:45
  Speaker 1: Well, wait a minute, I'm not seeing any more stories about it.
• 1:48
  Speaker 4: I think you've had more snow in Houston.
• 1:52
  Speaker 1: So tell everybody where you are.
• 1:53
  Speaker 1: I'm in.
• 1:55
  Speaker 4: Portland Oregon.
• 1:56
  Speaker 1: In Oregon.
• 1:56
  Speaker 1: Okay, yeah, because I thought for sure that you know, a big blast of Siberian winter was headed your way and then it just kind of went yeah, what do you say?
• 2:07
  Speaker 1: Well, let's see, we have the best cars for the money.
• 2:13
  Speaker 1: And I don't know whether you heard all of my car review or not, but of course I don't do the in-depth research that you guys do.
• 2:22
  Speaker 1: But I put a lot of thought behind my car reviews and I just got through with the Buick Invista and I'm sure that you've probably driven one and I think for the money, that's something that everybody should look at to start with.
• 2:37
  Speaker 4: I think the Invista is a great car, and its sister car, the Chevy Trax, are just not getting the respect in the marketplace that they deserve.
• 2:48
  Speaker 4: They're not getting the love.
• 2:49
  Speaker 4: I agree they're not getting the love.
• 2:50
  Speaker 4: Part of that is because the models that preceded them were not very good, so yeah, They've got a reputation.
• 2:59
  Speaker 2: They've got to live with.
• 3:00
  Speaker 1: Well, from what I could tell in the week that I had mine, I was thoroughly impressed.
• 3:05
  Speaker 1: And what impressed me, I think, is the value, the cost of the car, the entry-level $22,000, it's a bargain, brother.
• 3:15
  Speaker 4: Absolutely.
• 3:16
  Speaker 4: There is no car that size that is as quiet as that Invista.
• 3:20
  Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, I agree.
• 3:21
  Speaker 1: So what does US News and World Report think about the best cars out there?
• 3:28
  Speaker 4: So our best cars for the money.
• 3:30
  Speaker 4: So we believe that.
• 3:32
  Speaker 4: You know it's not all about price.
• 3:34
  Speaker 4: It's not a good deal unless you're getting a good car the cost of operations, the cost of ownership, the price of course and then factor in our normal rankings and find the highest quality cars and all those numbers get churned through and we come up with the best cars for the money each year?
• 3:55
  Speaker 1: How many are on the list?
• 3:57
  Speaker 4: We have, I think, 11.
• 3:59
  Speaker 4: Okay, that's a good round number.
• 4:02
  Speaker 4: We've got trucks back in this year, so I think we might be.
• 4:05
  Speaker 4: We're at 13.
• 4:07
  Speaker 1: Okay, we'll go with 13.
• 4:09
  Speaker 1: You want to start with 13?
• 4:10
  Speaker 1: Let's just start with 13, if you can.
• 4:12
  Speaker 1: If not, we'll start with one.
• 4:15
  Speaker 4: Well, let's start with the best compact car for the money.
• 4:18
  Speaker 1: There you go, all right.
• 4:20
  Speaker 4: It's a car that could have won that award in 1972.
• 4:25
  Speaker 1: Oh my God, Is this a?
• 4:27
  Speaker 4: guessing game.
• 4:28
  Speaker 4: You know the Civic, you know it's been out for a while.
• 4:31
  Speaker 3: The Honda Civic.
• 4:33
  Speaker 3: Honda Civic I was thinking Chevy Nova.
• 4:34
  Speaker 3: I had a Chevy Nova in 1972.
• 4:36
  Speaker 3: It won't make that anymore.
• 4:38
  Speaker 1: Yeah, no, and it's funny you should say that, because I think that, at least in my mind, and I may be wrong, but I think honda's making a comeback you know, I think you're right.
• 4:48
  Speaker 4: I think, uh, toyota kind of had them for a little while, but I think honda's coming back.
• 4:52
  Speaker 4: They're a little sportier than um, than a lot of what's out there.
• 4:56
  Speaker 4: Um, honda's doing a good job and there's, and you know, the uh Civic sibling.
• 5:02
  Speaker 4: The 2025 Honda Accord won the best midsize car for the money.
• 5:08
  Speaker 1: Not a surprise, but you know I will say this that you know when you think of the smaller Honda, you think of a small Honda, the way it was originally.
• 5:19
  Speaker 1: But we all know that these manufacturers take that nameplate and they continue to grow the size of the vehicle and today that car is really almost the size of what the Accord used to be.
• 5:33
  Speaker 4: In fact, I was touring the Honda Museum in Los Angeles a couple months ago and my first car was in that museum.
• 5:40
  Speaker 4: It was an 83 Accord and it is dramatically smaller than today's Civic.
• 5:44
  Speaker 4: Wow, how funny.
• 5:45
  Speaker 1: Isn't that funny?
• 5:45
  Speaker 1: I just find it museum.
• 5:46
  Speaker 1: It was an 83 accord and it is dramatically smaller than today's civic.
• 5:46
  Speaker 1: Wow, how funny, isn't that funny, I, I just find it.
• 5:48
  Speaker 1: I actually bought an accord back at about 88 somewhere back in there and, uh, it was a little square, boxy car that we loved, but my god, the maintenance on it killed us.
• 6:00
  Speaker 1: You have to change the you know the timing belt on it at 30,000 miles or something.
• 6:05
  Speaker 1: The price was outrageous at the time.
• 6:07
  Speaker 4: Yes, yeah, the timing belts for those cars, achilles heel.
• 6:10
  Speaker 1: Yeah, so okay, let's move on the next one on the list.
• 6:13
  Speaker 4: Let's talk about the best hybrid car for the money, and that's the 2025 Hyundai Elantra.
• 6:18
  Speaker 1: Hybrid.
• 6:18
  Speaker 1: I agree with you 100%.
• 6:20
  Speaker 1: Remember when I had that Thing got 40 miles to the gallon, I was going really yeah, it does, it's great and you know the look of it is a little.
• 6:34
  Speaker 4: people are undecided about the look of it.
• 6:35
  Speaker 4: It's a little antiquated.
• 6:36
  Speaker 4: I think the bigger SUVs wear that look a little bit better.
• 6:40
  Speaker 4: But 10-year, 100,000-mile powertrain warranty when you're talking about long-term value, that's awesome.
• 6:48
  Speaker 1: And I don't see any, or hardly any, recalls on that car and as far as I know, they're pretty reliable.
• 6:58
  Speaker 4: They have to be if they have a 10-year warranty.
• 6:59
  Speaker 4: That's very true.
• 7:01
  Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, exactly, okay, next next let's jump up into compact suv.
• 7:08
  Speaker 1: Another hyundai the tucson no, I believe that you see those everywhere.
• 7:14
  Speaker 1: Um, hyundai is killing it across the board and I was looking at the number of models that they have.
• 7:21
  Speaker 1: My god man, it's.
• 7:24
  Speaker 1: It's like, uh, the way that it used to be back in the day, with three or four manufacturers together, I mean like 25 models or something crazy.
• 7:34
  Speaker 4: Yeah, so it's the plug-in hybrid version of the Tucson, one of our best plug-in hybrid SUV for the Money Award.
• 7:43
  Speaker 1: Do you like plug-in hybrids?
• 7:45
  Speaker 1: I think they're kind of a pain.
• 7:48
  Speaker 4: So I like them enough that I own one.
• 7:50
  Speaker 3: Oh, you do, I do.
• 7:52
  Speaker 1: Well, you know, if your driving style is such that it's not a big deal for you, it's great.
• 8:01
  Speaker 1: But I want the full-time mileage of a fully integrated hybrid.
• 8:10
  Speaker 4: So here's the deal my wife can drive my Jeep Grand Cherokee to work and back all week long and we charge it every night and we never burn a drop of gas during the week On the weekends.
• 8:23
  Speaker 4: That car is a traditional hybrid and we can drive it as far as we want to.
• 8:30
  Speaker 1: Oh, so it does revert back to a traditional hybrid?
• 8:33
  Speaker 4: Yes, when it runs out of the big battery charge, it reverts back to a standard hybrid.
• 8:37
  Speaker 1: Well, not all of them are like that, though Actually they are.
• 8:41
  Speaker 4: They all are, yeah, the plug-in hybrid they all are, because they all have pretty short all-electric ranges.
• 8:46
  Speaker 4: So, when that all-electric range runs out, they just shift over to hybrid operation.
• 8:51
  Speaker 2: Gotcha.
• 8:51
  Speaker 2: Yeah, they're up 20, 25 miles, something like that.
• 8:54
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I don't know where my brain was, but clearly not here.
• 8:56
  Speaker 1: All right, so what's next on the list?
• 9:01
  Speaker 4: So, along with the Tucson, a car on the same platform wins our best hybrid SUV for the money.
• 9:07
  Speaker 4: That's the 2025 Kia Sportage Hybrid.
• 9:10
  Speaker 4: Hmm, so Kias tend to be, you know, a little sportier than their Hyundai corporate siblings, kind of like Pontiac versus Buick In my mind.
• 9:26
  Speaker 1: Yeah, don't you wish that we had Pontiac back?
• 9:28
  Speaker 1: I do, I do too.
• 9:30
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I think that we all do.
• 9:32
  Speaker 1: That's interesting.
• 9:33
  Speaker 2: I have a friend that's got a Sportage, that he's looking for a new Sportage and he asked me recently about the hybrid.
• 9:40
  Speaker 2: So I'm going to point him in your direction.
• 9:42
  Speaker 2: Tell him to go over here and check this.
• 9:44
  Speaker 1: All right, so I'm going to go back to the plug-in hybrid just a minute.
• 9:47
  Speaker 1: Okay, how many miles do you get on the single charge electric when you plug it?
• 9:55
  Speaker 1: How much?
• 9:55
  Speaker 1: 26.
• 9:57
  Speaker 1: 26?
• 9:58
  Speaker 1: .
• 9:58
  Speaker 2: Yep, yeah, most of them are 20, 25, maybe 30.
• 10:03
  Speaker 1: So does the wife that drives it to work?
• 10:06
  Speaker 1: Does she plug it in at work?
• 10:09
  Speaker 4: Nope, our commute is about 11, 12 miles.
• 10:12
  Speaker 3: Oh.
• 10:12
  Speaker 4: God, so that range lasts to work and back.
• 10:17
  Speaker 4: We don't know what that is it marges up to about?
• 10:19
  Speaker 1: two hours, 11 miles to work.
• 10:21
  Speaker 1: We don't know what that is here.
• 10:23
  Speaker 1: You know I drive 30 miles one way to work and I think that I'm pretty, generally speaking, in line with everybody else.
• 10:33
  Speaker 4: You know, it's, it's, it's a haul, uh, to get to work so the way I look at it is, when I charge it it costs about a dollar in electricity, that's, you know, offsetting a gallon of gas at four and a half.
• 10:47
  Speaker 1: You're paying four and a half up there.
• 10:48
  Speaker 1: Yeah, holy Toledo, yeah Yikes.
• 10:53
  Speaker 1: When it gets to be $3 a gallon.
• 10:57
  Speaker 1: Here we're hurting.
• 10:58
  Speaker 1: Yeah, you make it there we do yes, we do, yes, we do.
• 11:04
  Speaker 1: I think you got a couple of refineries over there on the left coast, but whatever, all right, let's continue on.
• 11:12
  Speaker 4: Let's talk about the king of the minivan class.
• 11:14
  Speaker 4: The Honda Odyssey has won this award for years and years.
• 11:18
  Speaker 4: Wow, it's the best minivan for the money.
• 11:20
  Speaker 4: You know I it's not the newest one out there, pardon me, but what did you just say?
• 11:26
  Speaker 1: It's not the what, it's not the newest minivan out there, but it's a great one.
• 11:32
  Speaker 4: So, you guys don't like the Chrysler Pacifica minivan, we do like the Chrysler Pacifica minivan.
• 11:38
  Speaker 4: The Pacifica has gotten rather expensive and our studies show that it has a higher cost of ownership over the first four years.
• 11:46
  Speaker 2: Interesting, yeah, okay, so back to your value.
• 11:48
  Speaker 2: You're looking at the overall value.
• 11:57
  Speaker 4: The eye appeal to me is the Toyota Toyota fan, I like that look of that man.
• 12:00
  Speaker 4: I do like the Sienna too.
• 12:01
  Speaker 4: The Sienna has all-wheel drive and is a hybrid and gets better mileage than anything else out there, except for maybe the new Carnival hybrid.
• 12:06
  Speaker 4: But it comes back to.
• 12:09
  Speaker 4: You know, we don't just throw darts at a dartboard, we look at the numbers and Odyssey comes out on top every year.
• 12:16
  Speaker 2: You should try those dartboards though.
• 12:20
  Speaker 1: The dartboards.
• 12:21
  Speaker 1: Okay, next up.
• 12:24
  Speaker 4: Best electric SUV for the money.
• 12:26
  Speaker 1: Another H brand Hyundai kona oh, I'd believe that you had one.
• 12:32
  Speaker 1: I had one not too long ago and I and I remember I liked it a lot and it's not like the original kona.
• 12:39
  Speaker 1: It's uh, it it's a, it's an, it's a new version and, like you said, it's funny because people tend to think of the first one and think, oh, it's just a redo of the first one.
• 12:51
  Speaker 1: No, it's different.
• 12:54
  Speaker 4: That car grew up a lot in both its electric and gas versions.
• 12:57
  Speaker 4: For second generation it's a much, much better car.
• 13:01
  Speaker 1: You know, it's funny how that psyche thing really plays a part in the popularity of vehicles.
• 13:07
  Speaker 1: And you put it perfectly with the other one that we said, the fact that they blew it when it came out of the box but they've fixed it all now.
• 13:19
  Speaker 1: And now it's really a bargain and you go golly.
• 13:25
  Speaker 1: How do you overcome what you did before?
• 13:28
  Speaker 4: first impressions yeah exactly the impressions last a long time, changing them takes even longer.
• 13:35
  Speaker 4: Yeah, all right.
• 13:37
  Speaker 4: What's next best two-row suv for the money?
• 13:40
  Speaker 4: Uh, the car behind me, uh, 2025 honda passport.
• 13:43
  Speaker 4: In its last year of the current product cycle.
• 13:46
  Speaker 4: It's still a solid contender in class, the Honda Passport.
• 13:51
  Speaker 4: It is growing up in size too.
• 13:53
  Speaker 3: It's growing tremendously in size.
• 13:55
  Speaker 1: Yeah, yep.
• 13:55
  Speaker 1: Well, how long in the tooth is this?
• 13:59
  Speaker 4: It's six or seven.
• 14:02
  Speaker 4: It's replaced for 26.
• 14:04
  Speaker 1: You know it's funny Japanese manufacturers they tend to hang on to the design a lot longer than we do.
• 14:10
  Speaker 1: Yeah, Not that that's bad, because the original vehicles are very good and they seem to transition well through time.
• 14:21
  Speaker 4: So I was actually talking to a Honda engineer about that and that's interesting because a lot of brands they bring the car out and then they look at how they're going to improve it over the next several years.
• 14:32
  Speaker 4: Honda looks at how the car is going to be seven years in the future and dials it back to the car that they bring out.
• 14:42
  Speaker 1: Wow, I would never even think that, but sure, why not?
• 14:46
  Speaker 1: It's kind of counterintuitive, yep.
• 14:51
  Speaker 4: So we've got to talk about this one again Best three-row SUV for the money the 2025 Kia Telluride.
• 14:58
  Speaker 4: It's good that it's as large as it is, so it can carry all of the trophies that this thing has won.
• 15:05
  Speaker 3: I am not a fan of that vehicle Really.
• 15:08
  Speaker 3: Yeah, why not?
• 15:08
  Speaker 3: It just doesn't.
• 15:09
  Speaker 3: It doesn't.
• 15:10
  Speaker 3: I got to look at something and say, oh yeah, I like that.
• 15:13
  Speaker 3: There's nothing on that vehicle that appeals to me.
• 15:16
  Speaker 1: He doesn't like the design.
• 15:17
  Speaker 3: Yeah, and.
• 15:18
  Speaker 1: I have to be honest with you.
• 15:19
  Speaker 1: It's not something that I would be attracted to to go into the dealership and look at Now.
• 15:24
  Speaker 1: I would be attracted to to go into the dealership and look at Now.
• 15:27
  Speaker 1: You may feel differently than I do.
• 15:28
  Speaker 1: That's fine, because you know, the beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
• 15:32
  Speaker 1: But I think that there's something, and I can't tell you what it is exactly.
• 15:37
  Speaker 1: There's something about it that kind of holds me back.
• 15:40
  Speaker 1: Do you follow what I'm saying?
• 15:42
  Speaker 4: I do, and I think with the Telluride the look of the first generation with the square amber running lights turned a lot of people off.
• 15:53
  Speaker 4: It was just a little too far out there.
• 15:54
  Speaker 4: They kind of tamed that down and put more traditional running lights on it now and I think it looks a whole lot better.
• 16:01
  Speaker 1: Cool.
• 16:01
  Speaker 1: Okay, so that's the three-row vehicle.
• 16:04
  Speaker 4: Three-row.
• 16:05
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 16:05
  Speaker 4: Best subcompact SUV for the money Kia Soul.
• 16:10
  Speaker 1: I have always loved, not necessarily the look all the time because they've been through many generations, but the ride and the match.
• 16:21
  Speaker 1: With the power, the transmission, that car just works good the transmission, that car just works good.
• 16:32
  Speaker 4: For me, that car defies physics because it feels like it's bigger on the inside than it is on the outside.
• 16:35
  Speaker 1: Yes, exactly, that's exactly right.
• 16:36
  Speaker 1: Yeah, and you know, I'm surprised that we don't see more of them.
• 16:38
  Speaker 1: I think that if more people actually shopped that car around, they would buy a lot more of them we see a lot of them out in the northwest that's interesting.
• 16:47
  Speaker 1: Well, you also see a lot of them out in the Northwest.
• 16:50
  Speaker 1: That's interesting.
• 16:51
  Speaker 1: Well, you also see a lot of Subarus out there too.
• 16:52
  Speaker 1: Yes, we do and we don't see.
• 16:54
  Speaker 1: We see more and more Subarus every day here in the Houston area because people are finally getting to the point where we're going.
• 16:58
  Speaker 1: Well, wait a minute.
• 16:59
  Speaker 1: You know they've made it look better.
• 17:01
  Speaker 1: They got it up off the ground a little bit.
• 17:03
  Speaker 1: It doesn't look always like a station wagon.
• 17:06
  Speaker 1: They put some side body cladding on that outback thing that they've got and it looks pretty good and it rides good.
• 17:12
  Speaker 1: But back to the Kia.
• 17:16
  Speaker 1: I've always liked that car.
• 17:21
  Speaker 2: I think a lot of it's got to do with the Kia the Soul 2.
• 17:24
  Speaker 4: And 10-year 100,000-mile warranty.
• 17:26
  Speaker 4: So it's a cheap car to buy, a cheap car to keep going on the road.
• 17:30
  Speaker 2: I think a lot of it, though, is availability, Because I know our Kia dealer over there that I go by two or three times a week.
• 17:35
  Speaker 2: If you look at his lot when you go by, you don't see any Kia Souls over there.
• 17:41
  Speaker 1: Because they probably don't sell any over there, even if they have it.
• 17:44
  Speaker 1: Well, that's what I'm saying.
• 17:45
  Speaker 2: If you don't, have it on the lot, you can't sell it.
• 17:47
  Speaker 2: The Subaru dealer just built a new dealership and he's got a lot more cars out there because we're seeing more Subarus.
• 17:55
  Speaker 2: I mean, they're selling them, like you say, for a lot of reasons, but I think availability's got a lot to do with that.
• 18:01
  Speaker 4: Well, you need Subarus in Houston now, since you have winter now.
• 18:04
  Speaker 4: That's true.
• 18:08
  Speaker 3: We're not having it next year, the Outlaw.
• 18:11
  Speaker 1: We've had our fill of it this year.
• 18:13
  Speaker 1: Are there any more?
• 18:13
  Speaker 4: on the list, John Yep.
• 18:15
  Speaker 4: Since we're talking about Houston, we've got to talk about trucks.
• 18:17
  Speaker 4: We brought trucks back into these awards this year.
• 18:20
  Speaker 4: Best mid-sized truck for the money Toyota Tacoma yeah, buddy, Do you like the way it looks?
• 18:27
  Speaker 4: Do you want to buy a pickup truck and be driving the same truck in 10 years?
• 18:31
  Speaker 1: Buying a Toyota is a pretty good plan.
• 18:32
  Speaker 1: Do you like the?
• 18:36
  Speaker 4: new Tacoma.
• 18:37
  Speaker 4: Look, there are trucks in the class that I like better, but I've had a whole lot of fun in Tacomas in the new Tacoma and it's a very capable vehicle.
• 18:46
  Speaker 1: Well, maybe I'll get one in the future.
• 18:47
  Speaker 1: I saw one pass me up the other day and I'm going.
• 18:49
  Speaker 1: That's the new Tacoma.
• 18:51
  Speaker 1: Okay, all right.
• 18:52
  Speaker 1: Well, John, listen, it's always, it's very high compared to the old one.
• 18:56
  Speaker 1: Yeah, it does.
• 18:56
  Speaker 1: It's great to talk to you, as always.
• 18:58
  Speaker 1: Thank you so much for joining us today.
• 18:59
  Speaker 1: You'll be in touch with you on that one.
• 19:09
  Speaker 1: Thanks again, my friend.
• 19:09
  Speaker 1: Good to talk to you.
• 19:10
  Speaker 4: Thank you.
• 19:11
  Speaker 4: Thank you.
• 19:11
  Speaker 4: Have a good day you too.
• 19:13
  Speaker 1: All right, john Vincent, us News and World Report Just ahead.
• 19:15
  Speaker 1: Jeff has the racing calendar, mars has this week in auto history and a couple of more news headlines.
• 19:20
  Speaker 1: The In Real Time Car Talk Show is back in a flash.
• 19:23
  Speaker 1: The Tex-Mex dining experience is defined by Loopy Tortilla your destination for Texas's best beef fajitas and frozen margaritas.
• 19:32
  Speaker 1: Since 1983, loopy Tortilla has served authentic and time-tested recipes made with the freshest ingredients.
• 19:40
  Speaker 1: Atmosphere is part of the award-winning experience at Loopy Tortilla.
• 19:43
  Speaker 1: All developed in a little house near Highway 6 and I-10 in West Houston.
• 19:44
  Speaker 1: Visit any of the Loopy Tortillas, and all developed in a little house near Highway 6 and I-10 in West Houston.
• 19:47
  Speaker 1: Visit any of the Loopy Tortillas and you'll see the same attention to detail in each and every location.
• 19:53
  Speaker 1: Start your Loopy experience with queso flammeado and guacamole, along with a classic frozen margarita.
• 19:59
  Speaker 1: Dine on famous Loopy beef and chicken fajitas or pepper shrimp brochette or a fish or vegetarian entree, and finish with a scrumptious flan for dessert.
• 20:08
  Speaker 1: Find Loopy Tortilla in Houston, college Station, beaumont, austin, san Antonio and Dallas, fort Worth.
• 20:13
  Speaker 1: There's a Texas location near you.
• 20:15
  Speaker 1: The recipes are authentic and time-tested, the ingredients always fresh.
• 20:20
  Speaker 1: Loopy Tortilla it's pretty good.
• 20:24
  Speaker 1: You own a car you love.
• 20:25
  Speaker 1: Why not let Gulf Coast Auto Shield protect it.
• 20:28
  Speaker 1: Houstonian John Gray invites you to his state-of-the-art facility to introduce you to his specialist team of auto enthusiasts.
• 20:34
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• 20:36
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• 20:51
  Speaker 1: Curbed your wheels Instead of buying new, why not have them repaired?
• 20:54
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• 20:57
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• 20:58
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• 21:04
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• 21:12
  Speaker 1: Gulf Coast Auto Shield is your place to go for all things exterior.
• 21:15
  Speaker 1: Call them today 832-930-5655, or gcautoshieldcom.
• 21:21
  Speaker 1: It's the In Wheel Time Car Talk Show.
• 21:24
  Speaker 1: Hey, you're going to go on the Hot Rod Tour of Texas.
• 21:27
  Speaker 1: Whether you're going on it or not, you can join by following In Wheel Time and our team as we join over 300 other enthusiasts beginning April 24th.
• 21:36
  Speaker 1: Get the info link at inwheeltimecom and our In Wheel Time Facebook page.
• 21:42
  Speaker 1: And when's that going to appear?
• 21:43
  Speaker 1: Mr Morris, this will be a highlight.
• 21:44
  Speaker 2: When you get through watching the Super Bowl, you just go over there and say, yeah, I'm going to be a highlight.
• 21:47
  Speaker 2: When you get through watching the Super Bowl, you just go over there and say, yeah, I'm going to keep having fun and go on the Hot Rod Tour of Texas, okay.
• 21:53
  Speaker 1: No, yes, the link.
• 21:56
  Speaker 2: Will be there when you get off the Super Bowl.
• 21:58
  Speaker 1: Okay, I just wanted to make sure that we're all on the same page.
• 22:01
  Speaker 3: We are on the same page.
• 22:02
  Speaker 3: They understood I'm not on the same page, okay.
• 22:05
  Speaker 1: Time now for the racing calendar sponsored by the Texas Muscle Car Club Challenge.
• 22:09
  Speaker 3: All right, february 16th, next weekend, nascar Daytona 500.
• 22:13
  Speaker 3: They did the Bowman Clash, not really happy with that, but okay, it's coming up on the 16th Daytona, february 15th.
• 22:21
  Speaker 3: You've got the Saudi Arabia.
• 22:23
  Speaker 3: They've got a Formula E event going out there in Saudi so you can tune that in.
• 22:29
  Speaker 3: I'm not sure.
• 22:30
  Speaker 3: I think it's on one of the platforms Disney or something of that nature.
• 22:33
  Speaker 3: And then coming up in March, march 6th, through the 9th Gator Nationals, keep talking about it.
• 22:38
  Speaker 3: Nhra's coming up, imsa Racing is in March.
• 22:41
  Speaker 3: Also it's the 12 Hours of Sebring and that will be on Peacock as well.
• 22:46
  Speaker 3: So there you go.
• 22:47
  Speaker 1: Thank you, mr Mars has this week in auto history.
• 22:50
  Speaker 2: It was a very interesting week in auto history.
• 22:53
  Speaker 2: This week I found some things that I did not know.
• 22:56
  Speaker 2: February the 1st, back in 1979, Ford announced the discontinuation of the Ford Pinto.
• 23:03
  Speaker 2: It was originally introduced in 71.
• 23:05
  Speaker 1: Wait a minute.
• 23:06
  Speaker 1: It made it all the way to 79?
• 23:07
  Speaker 1: .
• 23:07
  Speaker 1: Yep, oh God.
• 23:11
  Speaker 2: It was introduced in 71 as an affordable compact.
• 23:13
  Speaker 2: A 1978 recall attempted to address the safety issues on it, but it continued to decline in sales and Ford finally phased it out in 1979.
• 23:23
  Speaker 1: Well, remember the rear-end accidents.
• 23:25
  Speaker 3: They used to blow up.
• 23:26
  Speaker 3: I actually rear-ended one in a Mazda, yeah, it didn't blow up.
• 23:27
  Speaker 3: Or accidents, it used to blow up.
• 23:27
  Speaker 3: I actually rear-ended one in a Mazda yeah, it didn't blow up or anything, it was just damaged, but it was a fire sale.
• 23:32
  Speaker 2: That's true.
• 23:32
  Speaker 2: February, the 2nd 1923, leaded gasoline went on sale for the first time in Dayton, Ohio.
• 23:38
  Speaker 2: I did not realize that this was developed by General Motors and Standard Oil to reduce engine knocking, improving performance and efficiency.
• 23:46
  Speaker 2: The toxic effects on health were known but kind of put up with for a long time until they finally decided to phase it out due to the harmful impact.
• 23:56
  Speaker 2: Ethyl Just go down to the station and pump ethyl, jeff, I'm sorry.
• 24:01
  Speaker 2: The last Chevrolet Caprice classic station wagon was produced in 1989.
• 24:05
  Speaker 2: This week I'm tearing up.
• 24:06
  Speaker 2: Look at that bad boy.
• 24:08
  Speaker 2: Yeah, marked the end of the full-size American family wagon known for its spacious interior, v8 engines Wow wow, wow.
• 24:15
  Speaker 1: You know that is today becoming actually a collector item and I would love to get in one of those today just for a ride.
• 24:21
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 24:22
  Speaker 3: To remember when and that particular one.
• 24:23
  Speaker 3: Brown is good, yeah, yeah, yeah, oh God.
• 24:25
  Speaker 3: Brown is good, yeah, yeah, yeah, oh God.
• 24:26
  Speaker 2: This week, on February the 5th 1952, the first don't walk pedestrian traffic signals were installed in New York City.
• 24:33
  Speaker 2: Now this is the first one to put in there to help reduce accidents and by getting people across busy intersections.
• 24:46
  Speaker 2: It has evolved across time and now it's a worldwide symbol of don't walk.
• 24:48
  Speaker 2: Okay, february the 7th 1942.
• 24:51
  Speaker 2: Did not know this, but the US government halted production of private passenger cars due to World War II the civilian car.
• 24:59
  Speaker 2: They did this to conserve materials like rubber and steel for the war effort and they remained until 1945 when they started building them.
• 25:06
  Speaker 2: And by that time all the new technology that had been developed for the war effort were put into place.
• 25:12
  Speaker 2: And there was a big technological advance in automobiles.
• 25:16
  Speaker 2: When they came back in 1945.
• 25:17
  Speaker 2: February the 8th 1904.
• 25:20
  Speaker 2: The first New York to Florida road trip was completed by automobile.
• 25:24
  Speaker 2: This was done by the New York to Florida Automobile Club, covered 1,100 miles on primitive roads.
• 25:31
  Speaker 2: It was done to show that you could take long trips in automobiles In that.
• 25:36
  Speaker 3: Oh yeah.
• 25:38
  Speaker 2: Pave the way for future road trips and set the stage for a future revival of wheelchair sales down south.
• 25:43
  Speaker 2: That's this week in automobile history.
• 25:48
  Speaker 1: I loved it.
• 25:49
  Speaker 1: That was good.
• 25:49
  Speaker 1: Thank you so much.
• 25:50
  Speaker 1: Tesla fans.
• 25:52
  Speaker 1: Are there any listening to this show?
• 25:54
  Speaker 1: There's like eight of them.
• 25:55
  Speaker 1: Tesla fans have spent years coming up with the explanations for why the company put the charging port on its cars behind the left rear door.
• 26:03
  Speaker 1: So drivers usually have to back into charging stalls rather than near the front end, like on many electric vehicles today.
• 26:11
  Speaker 1: Well, it's safer to back in than to back out.
• 26:15
  Speaker 1: It allows for the shortest wiring to the battery.
• 26:17
  Speaker 1: It's most convenient for the driver.
• 26:19
  Speaker 1: It's more protected from possible snow and ice buildup.
• 26:23
  Speaker 1: Peter Rawlinson, the Lucid Motors CEO, who was chief vehicle designer for the Model S.
• 26:30
  Speaker 1: None of the reasons frequently cited on various Tesla forums is correct.
• 26:34
  Speaker 1: Rawlinson said he told Tesla CEO Elon Musk that the Model S charging port should be on the left front fender, between the wheel and the driver's door.
• 26:44
  Speaker 1: Most Americans drive nose in rather than parallel park.
• 26:48
  Speaker 1: Rawlinson told PC Magazine for an interview published January 30th If you drive nose in, you want the charge port on the front.
• 26:55
  Speaker 1: You don't want a long, dirty old cable coming past the doors.
• 27:00
  Speaker 1: But Musk vetoed the plan because it wouldn't suit the layout of his garage in Bel Air.
• 27:07
  Speaker 2: Of course.
• 27:09
  Speaker 1: Why do it?
• 27:10
  Speaker 1: Rollinson said.
• 27:10
  Speaker 1: The design was then changed to accommodate the ceo's wishes.
• 27:14
  Speaker 1: Hell, it's his car exactly.
• 27:15
  Speaker 1: He said it's going to be on the rear because he could trip over the cable.
• 27:21
  Speaker 1: Rollinson said so there's the reason why.
• 27:24
  Speaker 1: There you go.
• 27:25
  Speaker 1: None of the things that we think about and none of that to do with it.
• 27:28
  Speaker 1: I want it over there because that's the way I want to charge it.
• 27:31
  Speaker 1: Okay, well, there you go.
• 27:32
  Speaker 1: The interesting thing is the chevy ev truck and the gmc it's on the left rear it's on the left rear and, uh, which is fine with me, works great.
• 27:40
  Speaker 1: Yeah, just thought I'd bring that up.
• 27:43
  Speaker 1: Yeah, all right, uh, we'd love to hear from you.
• 27:45
  Speaker 1: Shoot us an email.
• 27:45
  Speaker 1: The address is info at inwheeltimecom.
• 27:47
  Speaker 1: We are back after this quick break.
• 27:50
  Speaker 1: Pro-am Auto Accessories has been serving Houston's auto enthusiasts since 1984, providing world-class products for sports cars, european sedans and American muscle.
• 27:59
  Speaker 1: Pro-am is known as the place to go to find exclusive and hard-to-find parts and accessories.
• 28:04
  Speaker 1: Pro-am is one of the very first distributors in the USA for brands such as Recaro, redline, momo Corbo and Simpson.
• 28:15
  Speaker 1: Located in the heart of Houston's premier retail and service corridor, the Galleria area, pro-am's walk-in storefront includes an 8,000 square foot warehouse, showroom and installation bays.
• 28:20
  Speaker 1: Pro-am not only sells parts and accessories, but also offers installation and service.
• 28:24
  Speaker 1: Pro-am is now reaching a worldwide audience through Pro-Amcom, taking its local reputation to the rest of the world.
• 28:34
  Speaker 1: At Pro-Am Auto, you'll be dealing with a small group of professionals who truly want to help you with your automotive needs.
• 28:37
  Speaker 1: If you don't see what you're looking for on the website, call and Pro-Am will lend you a hand.
• 28:41
  Speaker 1: Pro-am Auto 6125 Richmond at Greenridge in Houston's Galleria area.
• 28:45
  Speaker 1: Call them at 713-781-7755.
• 28:50
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• 28:55
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• 29:06
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• 29:16
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• 29:19
  Speaker 1: Well, that's all for this week's In Wheel Time Car Talk Show.
• 29:23
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• 29:28
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• 29:32
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• 29:37
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• 29:47
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• 29:49
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• 29:58
  Speaker 1: We video stream our live show every Saturday, 10 to noon on Facebook, youtube and InWheelTimecom.
• 30:04
  Speaker 1: The In Wheel Time video technical director is.
• 30:07
  Speaker 1: We always need more.
• 30:08
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• 30:12
  Speaker 1: Video editor and people finder, mike out of this world, mars and chief engineer David Mmmmm Ainsley.
• 30:17
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I'm Don Armstrong.
• 30:19
  Speaker 1: Thanks for joining us.
• 30:20
  Speaker 1: Hot Rod Tour of Texas rolls out April 24th and we hope you'll join us or at least tune in during the tour.
• 30:25
  Speaker 1: Be safe out there.
• 30:27
  Speaker 1: Enjoy the Super Bowl tomorrow, even if or at least tune in during the tour.
• 30:29
  Speaker 1: Be safe out there.
• 30:29
  Speaker 1: Enjoy the Super Bowl tomorrow, even if your team doesn't win.
• 30:31
  Speaker 1: I think you'll have a good time.
• 30:32
  Speaker 1: Have a great week.
• 30:32
  Speaker 1: Thanks for joining us and tune in to In Real Time next time.
• 30:36
  Speaker 1: We'll see you then.
• 30:37
  Speaker 1: That's it for this podcast episode of the In Wheel Time Car Show.
• 30:53
  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.
• 31:03
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• 31:11
  Speaker 1: Keep listening and we'll see you soon.