Latest / In Wheel Time Podcast / Driving Innovation: Exploring the 2025 Lexus UX300 Hybrid SUV and the Changing Face of Car Ownership

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Driving Innovation: Exploring the 2025 Lexus UX300 Hybrid SUV and the Changing Face of Car Ownership · In Wheel Time Podcast

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: The 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 From Studio A in the Texas Sugar Shack.
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: This is the award-winning In Wheel Time Car Talk Show.
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: Just ahead, we visit with Tony Thacker, hopefully about his new book, Hot Rod Mavericks, Also giving you my thoughts on driving the 2025 Lexus UX300 Hybrid SUV.
• 0:28
  Speaker 1: It's a mouthful.
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: Jeff has the Motor Minute in this segment of the In Wheel Time Car Talk Show.
• 0:34
  Speaker 1: Howdy Along with Mike out of this world, Mars.
• 0:36
  Speaker 1: We always need more.
• 0:37
  Speaker 1: Jeff Zekin, I'm Don Armstrong, so glad that you could join us on this Saturday morning.
• 0:42
  Speaker 1: It's a beautiful day here in Houston.
• 0:45
  Speaker 1: Texas, it really is.
• 0:46
  Speaker 1: I think the high temperature today is supposed to be somewhere about 80 or so.
• 0:48
  Speaker 1: What are you doing down there, morris?
• 0:50
  Speaker 2: I'm trying to find out where Tony is.
• 0:52
  Speaker 2: We've got the door open If you look down the door.
• 0:55
  Speaker 1: Wait a minute.
• 0:55
  Speaker 1: That's him walking up now, is it no?
• 0:57
  Speaker 2: That's a beautiful sight.
• 0:58
  Speaker 2: Look at that.
• 0:59
  Speaker 2: Y'all can't see this, but there is a gorgeous vehicle out there, parked right about 50 feet away.
• 1:05
  Speaker 1: You know what it looks to me like?
• 1:06
  Speaker 1: It's some sort of Buick.
• 1:07
  Speaker 1: It's a Buick Buick.
• 1:08
  Speaker 1: It's a gorgeous car it is.
• 1:09
  Speaker 1: What is it A Buick Envoy?
• 1:11
  Speaker 1: It's an Envision, envision.
• 1:12
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I envision myself driving it.
• 1:15
  Speaker 1: So I'm sitting around the corporate table.
• 1:16
  Speaker 1: What are we going to enclave?
• 1:22
  Speaker 1: No, but the.
• 1:23
  Speaker 1: Let's go back to the 50s.
• 1:24
  Speaker 1: Oh okay, invista the buick.
• 1:27
  Speaker 1: Invista, and it was part of the big sedan league back then where they had the buick wildcat engine.
• 1:35
  Speaker 2: Oh, my aunt had a wildcat.
• 1:36
  Speaker 2: It was a gorgeous car.
• 1:37
  Speaker 2: It was a gorgeous.
• 1:39
  Speaker 2: Cousin doug's a listener, supporter of the show.
• 1:41
  Speaker 2: So thank you, gene Gene, for letting me ride it.
• 1:44
  Speaker 2: What his mother or something.
• 1:45
  Speaker 2: It was his mom.
• 1:45
  Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, gorgeous car.
• 1:47
  Speaker 1: Yeah Well, the Wildcat was one of its own.
• 1:49
  Speaker 1: Not only did they have the Wildcat engines, but they had the Wildcat car.
• 1:53
  Speaker 2: Right, she had the Wildcat car Nice.
• 1:54
  Speaker 2: Oh yeah, it was white, it was gorgeous and it was talked about that when I did the thing about the, the buicks, the 225 with the little squares on the front grill.
• 2:04
  Speaker 2: That's what the two kind of looks like, that yes it does kind of a, a deuce in a quarter yeah yeah, yeah.
• 2:11
  Speaker 1: So there you go you know, I was never sophisticated enough to actually ride in a deuce in a quarter, certainly never drove one, but uh, my god they were huge.
• 2:20
  Speaker 2: My dad had pontiacs, he had catalina, uh, and it was that back in the star chief days.
• 2:25
  Speaker 2: Yes, the headliner was little tiny stars so when you're a little kid when you lay.
• 2:30
  Speaker 2: I did the star chief yeah, so when you lay in the back seat, when you're a kid taking a nap or driving home from grandma's, you look up at the ceiling and there's all these little stars and it was pretty cool.
• 2:38
  Speaker 1: Yeah, they built them right back then, yeah, yeah, and you know you see these rebuild shows on television with those cars and they've got a bajillion parts, little bitty trim pieces here, a little bitty there.
• 2:52
  Speaker 2: Chrome this.
• 2:52
  Speaker 2: We went out to Fireman Jack's car show.
• 2:55
  Speaker 2: Yes, remember we saw that there was a Buick out there and every little detail of a headlight bezel.
• 3:02
  Speaker 2: There was like 14 parts on this thing, yes, and they're all chrome.
• 3:04
  Speaker 2: You have to fit them in.
• 3:05
  Speaker 2: It was just amazing.
• 3:06
  Speaker 2: Yeah, they did back then.
• 3:07
  Speaker 1: yeah yep, it truly.
• 3:09
  Speaker 1: It was amazing the way that they built cars back in the day and that was all of the world war ii era guys that came back from war.
• 3:17
  Speaker 1: Attention to detail, oh yeah, and the bigger the better.
• 3:21
  Speaker 1: My God, the cars got to be massive.
• 3:24
  Speaker 1: You look at those today and you think this was the standard operating vehicle of the day.
• 3:31
  Speaker 1: Mom and dad had one.
• 3:33
  Speaker 1: Dad had the Buick.
• 3:35
  Speaker 2: Special and I think if we didn't go through the oil embargo and the gas prices back in the 70s, we probably would still have big cars.
• 3:44
  Speaker 2: Actually, we still do have them, and they're in the form of an SUV.
• 3:47
  Speaker 2: Well, I know that, but I'm talking the old school, like the Deuce, and a Quarter like the Wildcats, and all that, the big caddies.
• 3:54
  Speaker 1: When are the lowrider guys going to put one of those great, big, huge SUVs down not down slammed on the ground, but get it lowered?
• 4:05
  Speaker 1: So it's no longer a sport utility vehicle.
• 4:08
  Speaker 1: It is now a four-door sedan with a trunk that's the same height as the roof.
• 4:17
  Speaker 2: Well, that's not my style.
• 4:18
  Speaker 2: I don't go low.
• 4:19
  Speaker 2: I want to see like an Escalade Donk.
• 4:26
  Speaker 1: That's what I want.
• 4:26
  Speaker 1: Mars just put his head in his hand.
• 4:29
  Speaker 1: He does that a lot.
• 4:31
  Speaker 2: That's an Escalade Donk, escalade Donk.
• 4:34
  Speaker 1: I'm sure that there's one out there.
• 4:35
  Speaker 2: I'm sure there is Eskadonk, eskadonk.
• 4:37
  Speaker 2: He's hauling a lot of Eskadonkies.
• 4:40
  Speaker 2: That's perfect.
• 4:42
  Speaker 2: That's perfect for him.
• 4:44
  Speaker 2: You do I like that, I'll tell you what.
• 4:47
  Speaker 1: So your charge in the next month is to get an Eskidon and review it.
• 4:53
  Speaker 3: I'll do it, I'll do it.
• 4:55
  Speaker 3: I think you've got to go to Atlanta or someplace.
• 4:58
  Speaker 1: No.
• 4:59
  Speaker 1: So I came coming home down the freeway last night about 10 o'clock which is way late for me, I know and there was a group of JDM guys All of them slammed to the ground.
• 5:12
  Speaker 1: And there was one we were just doing the freeway speed limit and he just came on the on-ramp and he was trying to get up to speed.
• 5:19
  Speaker 1: Sounded like a and Leslie looks at me and says I don't think that that's normal.
• 5:28
  Speaker 1: No, I said no.
• 5:29
  Speaker 2: He doesn't have any mufflers on, it's a ticked off bumblebee that's what it is.
• 5:33
  Speaker 1: It was very upset.
• 5:34
  Speaker 1: Yeah, it's not.
• 5:35
  Speaker 2: Which way did you come home last night?
• 5:36
  Speaker 2: Uh, 59, we went i-10 because we were.
• 5:38
  Speaker 2: We went out, turned right boomer i-10 was right there, yeah well, leslie got mad at me because I didn't do that.
• 5:43
  Speaker 1: You don't ever follow.
• 5:44
  Speaker 1: I said, well, I wanted to go 59.
• 5:46
  Speaker 1: I didn't want to go that far north.
• 5:47
  Speaker 2: See, we did that going because it was trying to take me through Highway 90 all the way into town.
• 5:53
  Speaker 2: Oh Lord, That'd take you forever.
• 5:54
  Speaker 2: So we took 59.
• 5:55
  Speaker 2: You know it said it was slammed into the ground.
• 6:11
  Speaker 1: Mike's Googling donks, yeah, no what did you call them Eskadonk?
• 6:16
  Speaker 1: Eskadonk, Mike.
• 6:18
  Speaker 1: Maybe that's the president's new vehicle.
• 6:21
  Speaker 1: That.
• 6:21
  Speaker 1: Gm is going to be working on.
• 6:23
  Speaker 4: An Eskadonk.
• 6:24
  Speaker 1: There you go.
• 6:24
  Speaker 1: So what happens to the old presidential limousines, the Eskadonks, if you will?
• 6:30
  Speaker 1: Maybe it goes to a museum.
• 6:32
  Speaker 2: I think that they go to the crusher.
• 6:33
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I think they cut it up Because they don't want anybody to know any of the secrets in there, and there's lots of them apparently.
• 6:41
  Speaker 2: Evidently, there's like the doors are that thick, yeah, and they're packed with ammunition and guns and, you know, deterrents.
• 6:49
  Speaker 2: And communication gear, I went to high school a young man a year behind me.
• 6:54
  Speaker 2: I went to high school with his sister, mike Cutajar.
• 6:57
  Speaker 2: He worked with Cutajar.
• 6:59
  Speaker 2: His name was Cutajar.
• 7:00
  Speaker 2: He worked with the somehow with that vehicle, with the Beast.
• 7:03
  Speaker 2: I don't know all the details, but he was involved in some type of program with that the maintenance of the vehicle.
• 7:08
  Speaker 2: So that was pretty cool.
• 7:09
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I hear from him every now and then.
• 7:11
  Speaker 2: I see him on Facebook and all that stuff.
• 7:13
  Speaker 1: Does he know that you're on this award-winning?
• 7:14
  Speaker 2: car show, I believe.
• 7:15
  Speaker 2: So I think we tried to get him on one time years ago and he's just a busy guy.
• 7:19
  Speaker 2: He's got a lot of stuff going on, not really involved in that anymore, but good for him.
• 7:23
  Speaker 2: Did he work for GM?
• 7:24
  Speaker 2: I don't know if it was a company that just did the service for it, but I'll try to find out.
• 7:31
  Speaker 1: I'd like to find out more about the car, the beast, the ones that they built for the president.
• 7:36
  Speaker 1: You know, the one that Kennedy was shot in is on display at the Henry.
• 7:41
  Speaker 1: Ford.
• 7:41
  Speaker 1: The only thing is that it's no longer.
• 7:43
  Speaker 1: It wasn't a convertible after he was assassinated.
• 7:48
  Speaker 3: They put a top back on it.
• 7:49
  Speaker 1: Yeah, but it is the same car.
• 7:51
  Speaker 1: Yeah, same car.
• 7:53
  Speaker 1: Yeah, chat, yeah, it was the same car.
• 7:55
  Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, that was always interesting.
• 7:57
  Speaker 1: All right, well, we have some time to fill, because I had an idea.
• 8:03
  Speaker 3: Yeah, you were talking about the lowering escalating, all that stuff.
• 8:08
  Speaker 3: Well, if you put all that weight and stuff in there, all the bulletproof glass and everything in it, you wouldn't have to jack with a suspension.
• 8:15
  Speaker 1: Just let it settle down on its own by being overweight can you imagine trying to do some invasive moves with it on the ground?
• 8:22
  Speaker 1: Like that it'd tear the whole suspension out from underneath.
• 8:25
  Speaker 2: Oh yeah, there's that oops, I forgot, it's like turning an aircraft carrier.
• 8:32
  Speaker 2: You know all the big boat, yep.
• 8:37
  Speaker 1: Let's do.
• 8:37
  Speaker 1: I got a story here, Can I do that?
• 8:40
  Speaker 3: Yeah, we don't seem to be making much headway over here.
• 8:42
  Speaker 1: Well, we got a free book, so I guess it's worth it.
• 8:45
  Speaker 1: Hot Rod Mavericks.
• 8:46
  Speaker 3: Well, we couldn't talk them out of three, so now they're going to have to pay the price.
• 8:49
  Speaker 1: Federal Reserve announced no changes to the central bank's benchmark interest rate policy after its second Federal Open Market Committee meeting of 2025.
• 9:00
  Speaker 1: The Fed also made no changes to the rate at its January 29th meeting.
• 9:05
  Speaker 1: The federal fund's rate target range will remain 4.25 to 4.5 percent, where it has stood since the last quarter in December.
• 9:17
  Speaker 1: The committee said the Fed's adjustments can have a ripple effect on the interest rates auto lenders charge consumers.
• 9:23
  Speaker 1: The committee judges that the risks to achieving its employment and inflation goals are roughly in balance.
• 9:31
  Speaker 1: The Fed said in a statement goals are roughly in balance.
• 9:33
  Speaker 1: The Fed said in a statement the economic outlook is uncertain and the committee is attentive to the risks to both sides of its dual mandate.
• 9:43
  Speaker 1: That is not something that is said.
• 9:44
  Speaker 1: That is something that is written, because nobody would say those words in a speech.
• 9:48
  Speaker 1: The economic outlook is uncertain and the committee is attentive to the risks to both sides of its dual mandate.
• 9:58
  Speaker 1: I would like to interview that person that wrote that and go.
• 10:02
  Speaker 1: You know we used to have a sign in the newsroom that said write like you talk.
• 10:10
  Speaker 2: It's probably AI.
• 10:11
  Speaker 1: then that wrote that Could be Either that or one of those overpriced government people, because it's the Fed that says it.
• 10:21
  Speaker 1: Yeah, niterville, niterville.
• 10:22
  Speaker 1: Theoretically, vehicle thefts in the United States, mars, recorded their biggest yearly drop in four decades as automakers, mainly Hyundai and Kia, bolstered anti-theft measures, while easing supply chain constraints made stealing vehicle parts for less lucrative.
• 10:44
  Speaker 1: What Again?
• 10:48
  Speaker 1: Here we go.
• 10:48
  Speaker 1: Somebody wrote that Hyundai and Kia cars topped the list of the most stolen vehicles in 2021 and 2023 as their lack of immobilizers made them easy targets for stealing, fueling viral social media trends such as the Kia Boys.
• 11:04
  Speaker 1: Although cars made by Hyundai and Kia were among the top five models that were stolen last year, their thefts fell about 37.5%, data from the National Insurance Crime Bureau showed.
• 11:16
  Speaker 1: So they stopped that, yep, because they didn't put engine immobilizers on the keys.
• 11:23
  Speaker 1: Really.
• 11:24
  Speaker 1: So now I got to take it to John Gray down at Down at Gulf Coast To put an engine immobilizer on it, because the factory didn't.
• 11:37
  Speaker 1: I think I'd charge them, oops so how does that really work?
• 11:42
  Speaker 3: you turn the car off, you hit the door lock and then you hit the engine immobilizer.
• 11:46
  Speaker 1: No, you would have the engine immobilizer somewhere inside like a switch, yeah, a battery.
• 11:52
  Speaker 3: Disconnect, valet, valet if you get in it and you unlock it.
• 11:56
  Speaker 3: You get in and you push the button to mobilize the engine hit the switch and the switch is gone, don't you?
• 12:02
  Speaker 1: remember you used to.
• 12:03
  Speaker 1: Oh well, that's that, but I'm just saying remember, underneath the dashboard you used to have that secret switch that you put in there, yeah, yeah a little toggle, a cheap toggle from radio shack that you put there, wired it into up to the starter so you wouldn't get any power to the starter.
• 12:19
  Speaker 1: Well, how's it going to start?
• 12:21
  Speaker 3: Somebody gets in, they just run their hand along the bottom of the dash.
• 12:24
  Speaker 3: There it is.
• 12:25
  Speaker 2: That's why you don't put it that way.
• 12:26
  Speaker 2: Do you have a routine?
• 12:27
  Speaker 2: When you get in the car, you get down in the seat.
• 12:30
  Speaker 2: What's your routine?
• 12:31
  Speaker 2: Mine is you put the seatbelt on, you start the car, because that eliminates all the ding-dongs and things to get your seatbelt on, then I push the button to disable the auto start-stop and then I get into four-wheel, two-wheel sport.
• 12:46
  Speaker 1: You know I've stopped doing that.
• 12:47
  Speaker 1: I used to when I first got the new cars that had the auto start-stop feature on them and they had a button that you could override it.
• 12:57
  Speaker 1: I always overrode it.
• 12:58
  Speaker 1: Now I'm not.
• 13:01
  Speaker 1: But if the car shutters to start from a stoplight, I'm going to tell you in the car reviews that I do, because it shouldn't do that and the manufacturers shame on you that let a car do that.
• 13:14
  Speaker 3: And a lot of them.
• 13:15
  Speaker 3: You don't hardly even realize what it's doing anymore.
• 13:17
  Speaker 3: I got one sitting out there right now, though Whenever it's, you don't really notice the infinity, you don't really notice it stopping, but when it goes to start, you know it shudders starting.
• 13:29
  Speaker 2: That's right.
• 13:29
  Speaker 2: Now are there two different versions.
• 13:30
  Speaker 2: There's one where you take your foot off the brake and it automatically starts, and there's another system design that when you press the gas.
• 13:38
  Speaker 1: I had that recently and I'll tell you what.
• 13:40
  Speaker 1: It damn near got me killed.
• 13:41
  Speaker 1: Pressing the gas one.
• 13:42
  Speaker 1: Yeah, Because you take your foot off the brake and there's no engine there.
• 13:46
  Speaker 1: Well no, there's no engine there and it's waiting for you to hit the accelerator pedal.
• 13:51
  Speaker 1: Then it's waiting for you to hit the accelerator pedal then the engine comes on.
• 13:54
  Speaker 3: Uh, no, yeah, that second or two hesitation there.
• 13:57
  Speaker 1: We're in Houston, texas, where there's a bajillion cars and there are certain situations that if you want to get across the intersection you better be ready to go, and when it's your time to squirt out there, by golly, you better be able to go, and I don't need a two-second delay with the car, thinking well, did he press the gas pedal?
• 14:17
  Speaker 1: Oh, he did.
• 14:18
  Speaker 1: Okay, well, I'll start the car now.
• 14:20
  Speaker 2: No, yeah, because the situation that you've got plenty of time not plenty of time, but you can safely do, it turns into unsafely doing it Nothing worse than delay when you're trying to squirt across.
• 14:29
  Speaker 2: I'm telling you I don't like the feature.
• 14:36
  Speaker 1: I turn mine off.
• 14:36
  Speaker 1: Have you tried one week living with it, not turned off, I tried to live with it a day.
• 14:42
  Speaker 2: I couldn't take it.
• 14:44
  Speaker 1: It's one of those things that I'm just telling you from experience.
• 14:46
  Speaker 1: You have to get used to.
• 14:49
  Speaker 3: Jeff tried it.
• 14:50
  Speaker 3: He got used to it.
• 14:50
  Speaker 3: While it was sitting in the garage it worked fine.
• 14:53
  Speaker 3: You don't have a problem with it.
• 14:54
  Speaker 1: He's old school and I will tell you that there are a lot of things that are old school that I still do.
• 14:59
  Speaker 1: I'm still, even though it's an automatic transmission, I'm still a two-pedal kind of guy Left foot on the brake, right foot on the accelerator pedal and I know that's not the way the car is set up.
• 15:09
  Speaker 1: It's set up for a right foot on the brake that goes over to the gas pedal one foot driving, and many times that's okay for most people, not for me.
• 15:19
  Speaker 1: I know I'm a more aggressive driver when it comes to that, but when I want the car to go by, golly, I want it to go when you drive the Vette, do you lay your left foot on the clutch pedal or you just take it to the side?
• 15:29
  Speaker 2: When you drive the Vette, do you lay your left foot?
• 15:30
  Speaker 1: on the clutch pedal or do you just take it to the side?
• 15:31
  Speaker 1: No, it's always above the clutch pedal.
• 15:32
  Speaker 1: It never rests on the clutch pedal, but it's there above it.
• 15:35
  Speaker 1: Now, if I'm driving down the freeway and we're in sixth gear, it's over on the dead pedal.
• 15:39
  Speaker 1: Okay, just wondered.
• 15:41
  Speaker 1: No, that's one of the first things I learned.
• 15:44
  Speaker 1: You never ride the clutch.
• 15:46
  Speaker 2: Unless you want to burn it up.
• 15:47
  Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah.
• 15:48
  Speaker 2: Well, it's the throw-out bearing that goes first, then the clutch, you mean the squealing throw-out bearing.
• 15:56
  Speaker 1: That's it.
• 15:57
  Speaker 1: Yes, I remember them well.
• 15:58
  Speaker 1: I had a 54 Chevrolet pickup truck that had a four-speed crush box transmission.
• 16:05
  Speaker 1: Ooh, where the shifter went right in the top of the transmission and if you really wanted to shift smoothly you'd double clutch it.
• 16:13
  Speaker 1: Oh, remember double clutching when they had no synchronizer.
• 16:17
  Speaker 1: But this didn't.
• 16:19
  Speaker 1: It shifted pretty well and of course I took the foot-long shifter and cut it down to about this big so I had to reach down.
• 16:28
  Speaker 1: Yeah, it was down here at your ankles.
• 16:31
  Speaker 2: I like them when they're up tall and they got like a skull on them.
• 16:33
  Speaker 2: Yeah, and you're driving up here.
• 16:34
  Speaker 2: They put an extension on them, yeah like ape hangers when you're driving a motorcycle.
• 16:38
  Speaker 1: That's right, I know it well.
• 16:40
  Speaker 1: Yep, alright.
• 16:41
  Speaker 1: Well, thanks a lot, tony Thacker, for your interview with the Hot Rod Mavericks.
• 16:45
  Speaker 1: Appreciate the book.
• 16:46
  Speaker 1: Appreciate the book.
• 16:47
  Speaker 1: Yeah, that's going to sit on there.
• 16:49
  Speaker 1: Yeah, this guy that we had, we were going to interview, but he didn't show up for the interview.
• 16:54
  Speaker 1: Can you imagine doing that to Johnny Carson?
• 16:56
  Speaker 1: I mean, I'm comparing myself to Johnny Carson, but the show Johnny Carson.
• 17:01
  Speaker 3: So you're Ed.
• 17:01
  Speaker 2: McMahon.
• 17:02
  Speaker 2: You both have gray hair.
• 17:03
  Speaker 2: You're Ed McMahon and I'll be the band leader, Doc.
• 17:06
  Speaker 3: You liter Doc You're.
• 17:09
  Speaker 1: Doc, at least you're not Mitch Miller, although you look like Mitch Miller.
• 17:14
  Speaker 1: Mitch was cool.
• 17:14
  Speaker 1: No, he wasn't, not from what I read.
• 17:16
  Speaker 2: He was a mean man.
• 17:18
  Speaker 1: Who was the other guy?
• 17:20
  Speaker 3: that had the champagne bubbles.
• 17:21
  Speaker 3: That would be.
• 17:22
  Speaker 2: Lawrence Welk Lawrence.
• 17:23
  Speaker 3: Welk, that's who you are.
• 17:24
  Speaker 2: Okay, okay.
• 17:29
  Speaker 1: Just ahead a review of the 2025 Lexus UX300 and Jeff's Motor Minute.
• 17:35
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• 17:46
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• 18:29
  Speaker 1: The recipes are authentic and time-tested, the ingredients always fresh.
• 18:34
  Speaker 1: Loopy Tortilla he's pretty good.
• 18:37
  Speaker 1: You own a car you love.
• 18:39
  Speaker 1: Why not let Gulf Coast Auto Shield protect it?
• 18:41
  Speaker 1: Houstonian John Gray invites you to his state-of-the-art facility to introduce you to his specialist team of auto enthusiasts.
• 18:48
  Speaker 1: We promise you'll be impressed.
• 18:49
  Speaker 1: Whether you're looking to massage your original paint to a like-new appearance, apply a ceramic coating, install a paint protection film, nano-ceramic window tint or new windshield protection called ExoShield.
• 19:01
  Speaker 1: Gulf Coast Auto Shield is where Houston's car people go.
• 19:04
  Speaker 1: Curbed your wheels Instead of buying new, why not have them repaired?
• 19:08
  Speaker 1: How about a professionally installed radar detector?
• 19:10
  Speaker 1: Gulf Coast Auto Shield does that too.
• 19:12
  Speaker 1: Get a peek inside the shop and look at the services offered by getting online and heading to gcautoshieldcom.
• 19:18
  Speaker 1: Better yet, stop by their facility at 11275 South Sam Houston Tollway, just south of the Southwest Freeway, and get a personal tour.
• 19:25
  Speaker 1: Gulf Coast Auto Shield is your place to go for all things exterior.
• 19:29
  Speaker 1: Call them today 832-930-5655, or gcautoshieldcom.
• 19:35
  Speaker 1: They want to invite you to come along with us on the upcoming Hot Rod Tour of Texas, april 24th through the 27th, beginning in Victoria.
• 19:42
  Speaker 1: We have links to the site on inwheeltimecom and the In Wheel Time Facebook page.
• 19:49
  Speaker 1: Be sure and follow us and join us.
• 19:50
  Speaker 1: It's going to be a fun trip.
• 19:52
  Speaker 1: All right time now for Jeff's Motor Minute.
• 19:55
  Speaker 2: Yeah, this is a little different.
• 19:57
  Speaker 2: The car industry is in a state of continuous flux, evolution of new technologies.
• 20:01
  Speaker 2: You've got SUVs, evs, all-electric, hybrids.
• 20:04
  Speaker 2: So what are the most valuable car brands out there?
• 20:08
  Speaker 2: Well, there's six of them.
• 20:09
  Speaker 2: I'm going to give you five and at the end of the show I'll give you the number one.
• 20:13
  Speaker 2: See if anybody wants to guess and call that in.
• 20:16
  Speaker 2: Okay, number six is Ford.
• 20:18
  Speaker 2: They are valued at $38.7 billion.
• 20:21
  Speaker 2: Honda is number five.
• 20:24
  Speaker 2: They're valued at $53.7 billion.
• 20:27
  Speaker 2: General Motors they're valued at $56.1 billion.
• 20:32
  Speaker 2: Ferrari they're number three $81.9 billion.
• 20:38
  Speaker 2: That's the value of that brand.
• 20:40
  Speaker 2: Number two is Toyota.
• 20:42
  Speaker 2: Well, I think Toyota's kind of got Lexus in there too.
• 20:45
  Speaker 2: $304 billion.
• 20:48
  Speaker 2: That's what they're valued at.
• 20:50
  Speaker 2: Now let us know what the number one is.
• 20:52
  Speaker 2: We all know it here, so chime in and I'll tell you at the end of the show what the number one is.
• 21:04
  Speaker 2: There's lots of car makers out there.
• 21:05
  Speaker 2: Yeah, these are the top.
• 21:07
  Speaker 3: There's actually eight, but two of them I didn't recognize because they're European startup companies, but these are all just ones that are.
• 21:11
  Speaker 3: Well, ferrari's not built in the country, though.
• 21:12
  Speaker 2: No, these are just valuable car brands, not necessarily the US Right right, so let us know what you think.
• 21:20
  Speaker 1: The number one is Time now for this hour's car review.
• 21:23
  Speaker 1: I had the opportunity to drive the 2025 Lexus UX300H.
• 21:31
  Speaker 1: Okay, final assembly location is Miyawaka, fukuoka, japan.
• 21:39
  Speaker 1: Can you spell that?
• 21:40
  Speaker 1: Yep, there you go.
• 21:41
  Speaker 2: F-U-K.
• 21:41
  Speaker 2: Oh yeah, it is U-O-K-A, Yo mama.
• 21:46
  Speaker 1: Okay, so I can only imagine Mars trying to pronounce that.
• 21:52
  Speaker 3: I was trying to imagine it myself while you were saying it.
• 21:57
  Speaker 1: The reviewed trim level.
• 21:58
  Speaker 1: It comes in several trim levels base, premium and F-Sport.
• 22:01
  Speaker 1: I had the F-Sport handling package Top of the line, Compact SUV seats, five, all new for 2024.
• 22:09
  Speaker 1: I never got a chance to drive this.
• 22:11
  Speaker 1: Did you ever drive it before?
• 22:13
  Speaker 3: No.
• 22:14
  Speaker 1: I hadn't either.
• 22:15
  Speaker 3: It's kind of like a secret.
• 22:17
  Speaker 1: And I didn't really know what to expect.
• 22:19
  Speaker 1: It wasn't an RX, it wasn't an LX or LS or any of those.
• 22:25
  Speaker 1: It's a UX, all new for 2024.
• 22:28
  Speaker 1: Smaller version of the RX with oversized spindle grille.
• 22:34
  Speaker 1: Faux brake duct inlets help quell the big grille.
• 22:40
  Speaker 1: Kind of A nicely sculpted fastback rear hatch.
• 22:45
  Speaker 1: Awesome side sculpting helps the UX stand apart from its competitors.
• 22:52
  Speaker 1: Overall, design is top-notch.
• 22:54
  Speaker 1: What could use improvement?
• 22:56
  Speaker 1: I got nothing to offer there.
• 22:57
  Speaker 1: Interior highlights modern dash with optional big screen, which we had.
• 23:02
  Speaker 1: The optional big screen.
• 23:03
  Speaker 1: Controls are well-placed with easy-to-use features.
• 23:07
  Speaker 1: Seats are extra comfortable with nice side bolstering Materials.
• 23:12
  Speaker 1: Nothing but high-end all the way with attention to detail.
• 23:16
  Speaker 1: The cargo room small, with the second row up.
• 23:21
  Speaker 1: But this is a compact.
• 23:22
  Speaker 1: What I liked about it?
• 23:24
  Speaker 1: The compact design.
• 23:25
  Speaker 1: It puts everything at your fingertips and it goes through parking lots with a breeze.
• 23:31
  Speaker 1: What could use improvement?
• 23:33
  Speaker 1: Nothing.
• 23:33
  Speaker 1: Let's be nice If you're a car manufacturer to hear that.
• 23:38
  Speaker 1: Yeah, what could use improvement?
• 23:39
  Speaker 2: It's a good-looking vehicle.
• 23:40
  Speaker 1: I really do.
• 23:40
  Speaker 3: Particularly if you don't have the recalls to contradict it.
• 23:43
  Speaker 1: Well, there's that too.
• 23:44
  Speaker 1: Yeah, New for 25 is upgraded power system.
• 23:49
  Speaker 1: A 2-liter inline-4 hybrid.
• 23:51
  Speaker 1: That turns out 196 horsepower, which is just the right level for this small of a vehicle.
• 24:00
  Speaker 1: Cvt transmission Get this Miles per gallon in the city.
• 24:05
  Speaker 1: Now, this is a hybrid and it's not a plug-in hybrid, so you don't have to do nothing but you put on the gas and go 45 miles per gallon in the city, 41 on the highway, for a combined of 43.
• 24:16
  Speaker 1: I got 40.7.
• 24:18
  Speaker 1: Wow, over 682 miles back and forth to Austin and then around Houston.
• 24:24
  Speaker 1: Yeah, it was a good-looking car, it was and it was comfortable.
• 24:26
  Speaker 1: What I liked about the mileage and the handling and all everything.
• 24:30
  Speaker 1: Use improvement.
• 24:31
  Speaker 1: I got a question mark here.
• 24:32
  Speaker 1: I don't know what could use improvement.
• 24:34
  Speaker 1: It rides great.
• 24:35
  Speaker 1: I was really surprised because usually when you get in a short wheelbase, it's choppy.
• 24:40
  Speaker 2: It rides rough Like a funny car.
• 24:41
  Speaker 1: Yeah, not like this.
• 24:42
  Speaker 1: Ride and handling superb, but could use improvement.
• 24:46
  Speaker 1: Again, nothing.
• 24:46
  Speaker 1: Base trim price $44,805.
• 24:51
  Speaker 1: Prices tested $48,200.
• 24:54
  Speaker 1: Loaded up it was that's not bad.
• 24:55
  Speaker 1: The base model price $36,540 for a Lexus Wow, I'm liking it.
• 25:02
  Speaker 1: Yeah, good stuff.
• 25:03
  Speaker 1: Competitors Audi Q3 starts at $39,800.
• 25:09
  Speaker 1: The BMW X1 starts at $41,350.
• 25:13
  Speaker 1: The BMW X1 starts at $41,350.
• 25:16
  Speaker 1: And the Mercedes-Benz GLA and also the GLB $43,000.
• 25:19
  Speaker 1: This one starts at $36,540.
• 25:22
  Speaker 1: Cool, I'm impressed.
• 25:22
  Speaker 1: As I told you, I owned a Lexus way back in the day, back in the 90s.
• 25:30
  Speaker 1: I bought a press car back in the day, back in the disco days, yep, back in the days when you could actually buy a press car.
• 25:34
  Speaker 1: Back in the day, back in the disco days, Yep, back in the days when you could actually buy a car out of the press fleet.
• 25:38
  Speaker 1: They stopped doing that because some moron ruined it for everybody.
• 25:42
  Speaker 1: But whatever the case may be, I will tell you that I bought it and it had 12,000 miles on it.
• 25:48
  Speaker 3: They were getting ready to get rid of it, Turn it over yeah.
• 25:51
  Speaker 1: And so I said I want the car.
• 25:53
  Speaker 1: I said yeah, and so I said I want the car.
• 25:54
  Speaker 1: He said, okay, well, here's the prices, no negotiating.
• 25:56
  Speaker 1: I said I'll take it, bought it, had it for many years and loved that car and it was the original RX body style and all that, the little egg shape.
• 26:06
  Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, what a great vehicle.
• 26:08
  Speaker 1: And I fell in love with the Lexxus brand through that and now with this one and taking this on the road to austin.
• 26:17
  Speaker 1: I want to thank, uh, the guy from lexus that allowed me to do that.
• 26:19
  Speaker 1: It gave me a a different sense because I got to spend some highway time with it right typically don't do right I
• 26:25
  Speaker 3: do around houston, but it's not the same yeah, it's not like having two hours, yeah, going different roads, going up like to austin and then the highway.
• 26:33
  Speaker 2: The 35 minutes or whatever for him on the highway really doesn't give you that.
• 26:36
  Speaker 3: And that's just in traffic.
• 26:37
  Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, it makes a big difference.
• 26:39
  Speaker 1: So it was a great vehicle and I really appreciate the loan.
• 26:41
  Speaker 1: Thank you, lexus, once again for coming through.
• 26:44
  Speaker 1: Remember, I took the RX up to the top of Pike's Peak.
• 26:50
  Speaker 1: Remind me never to.
• 26:52
  Speaker 1: No, you won't have to remind me of.
• 26:50
  Speaker 1: Pike's Peak.
• 26:51
  Speaker 1: Remind me never to.
• 26:52
  Speaker 1: No, you won't have to remind me, I'll never do that again.
• 26:54
  Speaker 1: Listen, you see those knuckles.
• 26:56
  Speaker 1: They're still white, aren't they?
• 26:58
  Speaker 1: I white knuckled it all the way up there and all the way down.
• 27:00
  Speaker 3: So I should give up on trying to get us a remote broadcast from the top of that.
• 27:03
  Speaker 3: See, I was thinking don't keep going with that.
• 27:04
  Speaker 1: Go right ahead.
• 27:04
  Speaker 1: I'll keep it all tuned in for you.
• 27:10
  Speaker 1: You just go up there.
• 27:11
  Speaker 1: Go on, get up there, be gone with you.
• 27:13
  Speaker 1: Was it 12,000, 14,000 feet?
• 27:17
  Speaker 3: It was up there.
• 27:17
  Speaker 3: Well, if I can find us a sponsor.
• 27:19
  Speaker 3: We're in these days, we're going to do that.
• 27:21
  Speaker 1: No, you find yourself a sponsor because I'm not doing it.
• 27:24
  Speaker 2: We're getting the Legends car and you're driving it with Rodney Pikes Peak Anything you?
• 27:30
  Speaker 1: want, we can arrange that we have connections with the Pikes Peak Hill Climbing.
• 27:33
  Speaker 3: Yeah yeah, we'll get it through Saison.
• 27:36
  Speaker 1: I can see you doing that, not Talk about chicken little.
• 27:40
  Speaker 1: Hey, if you'd like to get in touch with us, shoot us an email.
• 27:43
  Speaker 1: The address here is info at inwheeltimecom.
• 27:46
  Speaker 1: We're back after this quick break.
• 27:49
  Speaker 1: Pro-am Auto Accessories has been serving Houston's auto enthusiasts since 1984,.
• 27:54
  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.
• 27:58
  Speaker 1: Pro-am is known as the place to go to find exclusive and hard-to-find parts and accessories.
• 28:03
  Speaker 1: Pro-am is one of the very first distributors in the USA for brands such as Recaro, redline, momo, corbo and Simpson.
• 28:13
  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.
• 28:30
  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.
• 28:36
  Speaker 1: If you don't see what you're looking for on the website, call and Pro-Am will lend you a hand.
• 28:40
  Speaker 1: Pro-am Auto, 6125 Richmond at Greenridge in Houston's Galleria area.
• 28:45
  Speaker 1: Call them at 713-781-7755.
• 28:49
  Speaker 4: Necom Auctions, the world's largest collector car auction company, returns to Houston April 3rd to the 5th at NRG Center.
• 28:57
  Speaker 4: Join us for the fun, fast-paced, high-energy Mecham experience.
• 29:02
  Speaker 4: With 1,000 vehicles up for grabs For avid collectors, first-time buyers and enthusiasts of all ages, there's something for everyone.
• 29:12
  Speaker 4: Bring home your dream car Register to pick and buy spectator tickets now at Mechamcom.
• 29:20
  Speaker 1: That's it for this podcast episode of the In Wheel Time Car Show.
• 29:23
  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 Facebook, youtube Twitch and our InWheelTimecom website.
• 29:33
  Speaker 1: Podcasts are available on Apple Podcasts, spotify Stitcher, iheart Podcast, podcast Addict TuneIn, pandora and Amazon Music.
• 29:42
  Speaker 1: No-transcript.