Latest / In Wheel Time Podcast / Detroit’s Lost Auto Giants, Hidden Houston, and the K4 GT Hatchback!

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Detroit’s Lost Auto Giants, Hidden Houston, and the K4 GT Hatchback! · In Wheel Time Podcast

• 0:04
  Don Armstrong: Thanks for being with us today.
• 0:06
  Don Armstrong: Time now here on the In Wheel Time Card Talk Show for Jeff's car culture.
• 0:09
  Don Armstrong: Not the motor minute, but the car culture.
• 0:12
  Don Armstrong: Abandoned car factories that still hold secrets.
• 0:15
  Jeff Dziekan: Yeah, the city of Detroit was once the beating heart of the global industry in automotive industry, basically.
• 0:21
  Jeff Dziekan: The American automobile industry rapidly expanded in the early 1900s with Detroit as its epicenter.
• 0:28
  Jeff Dziekan: Millions of cars rolled out of the factories.
• 0:30
  Jeff Dziekan: The city rightfully earned the name Motor City.
• 0:33
  Jeff Dziekan: So here we go.
• 0:34
  Jeff Dziekan: The first one that's still in Detroit is the Packard Automotive Plant.
• 0:38
  Jeff Dziekan: Since the opening in 1903, the plant served as a manufacturing hub for the Packard Motor Company, producing some of America's most prestigious automobiles.
• 0:46
  Jeff Dziekan: During World War II, the facility joined forces with Rolls-Royce to manufacture 55,000 Rolls-Royce Merlin engines, which was on the Spitfire.
• 0:55
  Jeff Dziekan: The Packard Motor Company collapsed in the late 50s, which led to the closure of the automotive plant portion in 1956, leaving the location abandoned ever since.
• 1:05
  Jeff Dziekan: Deemed structurally unsafe for decades of neglect, the massive complex was partially demolished in 22 and in 24.
• 1:13
  Jeff Dziekan: Today only fragments of the 3.5 million square foot factory remain.
• 1:18
  Jeff Dziekan: There's been movies actually made in that part of the dilapidated structure as well.
• 1:23
  Jeff Dziekan: So some of it is still viable.
• 1:25
  Jeff Dziekan: They've got the uh folks that go in there and and skateboard and you know tag all the paint and stuff like that.
• 1:32
  Jeff Dziekan: So it's still around.
• 1:34
  Jeff Dziekan: The next one, uh, this is uh kind of near and dear to my heart, the Fisher Body Plant 21.
• 1:38
  Jeff Dziekan: This is the old Fleetwood plant.
• 1:39
  Jeff Dziekan: Uh I actually worked on the fourth floor there.
• 1:41
  Jeff Dziekan: Uh if you look really close, you can see my parking spot right up front.
• 1:45
  Jeff Dziekan: Uh built in 1919, the 600,000 square foot Fisher Body Plant was designed to serve as key manufacturing site for General Motors.
• 1:53
  Jeff Dziekan: The plant closed in 1984 despite a short second life with small businesses occupying the premises until 1993.
• 2:00
  Jeff Dziekan: The massive concrete structure was left abandoned for decades.
• 2:04
  Jeff Dziekan: According to the Urban Explorers, there we go, the the rail system that transported vehicles within the factory is still left in place.
• 2:12
  Jeff Dziekan: After decades of neglect, the building is now fenced off and finally being uh revived through the Fisher 21 Lofts redevelopment program.
• 2:20
  Jeff Dziekan: So they're trying to do something with it back in that area.
• 2:22
  Jeff Dziekan: Fisher Lofts.
• 2:23
  Jeff Dziekan: Fisher Lofts.
• 2:24
  Don Armstrong: Maybe that's what they need to do with the sugar factory in Sugarland.
• 2:26
  Jeff Dziekan: I thought that's turn it into a larger.
• 2:27
  Jeff Dziekan: I thought that's what they were kind of trying to do.
• 2:30
  Don Armstrong: That's another story.
• 2:32
  Don Armstrong: Okay.
• 2:32
  Jeff Dziekan: Anyways, the next one is the Highland Park Ford plant.
• 2:34
  Jeff Dziekan: This one's got a lot of history to it as well.
• 2:37
  Jeff Dziekan: It's one of Detroit's most significant factories in automotive history.
• 2:40
  Jeff Dziekan: It opened in 1910, designed by the designed by the same uh architect that designed the Packard building.
• 2:47
  Jeff Dziekan: Uh the plant became the birthplace of the modern moving assembly line from Henry Ford, introduced in 1913.
• 2:53
  Jeff Dziekan: As the production of the Model T moved to a different factory, the Highland Park Ford plant transitioned into automotive trim manufacturing, truck and tractor production, as well as the production of tanks, aircraft, and certain parts in World War II.
• 3:07
  Jeff Dziekan: According to the Ford Company, sold uh sold this historic Highland Park complex in 1981, but it continues to leave space for storage even today.
• 3:16
  Jeff Dziekan: So you probably got a little storage company working, and and that's pretty good to keep it going.
• 3:20
  Jeff Dziekan: Last one we got, Michael, is the American Motors Detroit plant.
• 3:23
  Jeff Dziekan: You know, we've covered all the manufacturers there.
• 3:25
  Jeff Dziekan: This one was built in 1927.
• 3:27
  Don Armstrong: Wait a minute, I thought that they were up in Wisconsin.
• 3:30
  Jeff Dziekan: This one was the original, built in 1927.
• 3:32
  Jeff Dziekan: It's a two million square foot industrial complex that serves as headquarters for American Motors, or AMC.
• 3:38
  Jeff Dziekan: Uh the company first oversaw the development and production of appliances and focused exclusively on production of vehicles starting in 1960.
• 3:46
  Jeff Dziekan: Rambler, the Hornet, the Javelin, Gremlin, Pacer were some of the manufacturer's most popular models built in this factory.
• 3:52
  Jeff Dziekan: In the late 80s, Chrysler acquired, yeah, Chrysler required the AMC to move uh as a move to led the complex being uh repurposed for Jeep and Truck Engineering Center.
• 4:04
  Jeff Dziekan: So there you go.
• 4:05
  Don Armstrong: Well, that was interesting.
• 4:06
  Don Armstrong: Yeah.
• 4:07
  Don Armstrong: Uh that's funny.
• 4:08
  Don Armstrong: Uh yeah, because I always thought that American Motors was Kenosha.
• 4:11
  Jeff Dziekan: Yeah.
• 4:11
  Jeff Dziekan: Well, you know, that that's probably after that, because this was built early on.
• 4:17
  Jeff Dziekan: So but again, this I was there for that.
• 4:19
  Jeff Dziekan: You're they they were making appliances first in this one in this particular plant.
• 4:23
  Jeff Dziekan: So appliances?
• 4:31
  Don Armstrong: All right, time now for Mars driving destinations, day tripping in Houston.
• 4:35
  Mike Marrs: Alrighty, sir.
• 4:36
  Mike Marrs: You got this one, Jeff?
• 4:37
  Mike Marrs: Yep.
• 4:38
  Mike Marrs: Alrighty.
• 4:38
  Mike Marrs: So we're talking about dray tripping in Houston.
• 4:41
  Mike Marrs: A lot of places you can go and do, but today we're talking about doing things.
• 4:46
  Mike Marrs: Not just sitting around, but actually doing things.
• 4:48
  Mike Marrs: We're talking about playing.
• 4:50
  Mike Marrs: We're gonna go playing.
• 4:51
  Mike Marrs: So we're gonna start with the place that kind of sets the tone for what we're talking about.
• 4:56
  Mike Marrs: Cider cage in Houston.
• 4:58
  Mike Marrs: This is a place where you pay one time and then you have unlimited access.
• 5:03
  Mike Marrs: There's old school games like info machines, you got newer stuff like rhythm games, and you got everything in between with the videos.
• 5:10
  Mike Marrs: It's a lot loud, it's fine before you know it.
• 5:12
  Mike Marrs: You're gonna be investing a lot of time trying to beat somebody else's high school.
• 5:16
  Mike Marrs: Because you can play as long as you want for the same price.
• 5:19
  Mike Marrs: Now they also have artisan pizza, you got craft sodas, and they have adult ciders.
• 5:25
  Jeff Dziekan: Now once you're craft ciders and adult ciders, Jeff.
• 5:28
  Jeff Dziekan: I'm a pepperoni guy.
• 5:30
  Mike Marrs: Craft sodas.
• 5:31
  Mike Marrs: So, but after 9 o'clock p.m., it's 18 and older only.
• 5:37
  Mike Marrs: So the kids, you gotta take them during the day.
• 5:39
  Mike Marrs: If you want them there at night, not so much.
• 5:42
  Mike Marrs: So if you want something that's gonna be a little bit different, now you gotta head over to Ready Go Amusement Arcade.
• 5:49
  Mike Marrs: Now, this place is kind of like you stepped into another country, but it's in a good way.
• 5:53
  Mike Marrs: It's got a Japanese arcade vibe.
• 5:56
  Mike Marrs: There's over 50 machines that include the rhythm games, the skill based stuff, claw machines that actually take some finesse because they've got some prizes in there besides just little stuffed dolls.
• 6:07
  Mike Marrs: They've got to be a good thing.
• 6:08
  Mike Marrs: You play a game too long to make it worth time.
• 6:12
  SPEAKER_02: So it's probably no, no more.
• 6:15
  SPEAKER_02: We you you leave now.
• 6:17
  SPEAKER_02: You leave now, you eat too much.
• 6:19
  SPEAKER_02: 30 minutes after you play the game, you're gonna play the game.
• 6:21
  Mike Marrs: Well, it and if you get tired of this place, then you can go around the corner over there where you've got Claw Mania Kingdom as the next place.
• 6:28
  Mike Marrs: Oh, yeah.
• 6:29
  Mike Marrs: Now, it sounds simple, and it's basically all claw machines, but there's a ton of stuff in these claw machines that you can actually win and that's actually got some value to it.
• 6:41
  Mike Marrs: And then uh then you can also start trading up as you get something or you win something, you can actually trade up while you're there to get even bigger and better things.
• 6:52
  Mike Marrs: So that's another one that's close there.
• 6:54
  Mike Marrs: But here's the one I was saving for you, Don.
• 6:57
  Mike Marrs: If you're really ready to get something serious, go to battle axe throwing.
• 7:03
  SPEAKER_02: So you throw your old wife down there with a battle axe?
• 7:08
  Mike Marrs: Or maybe throw at her.
• 7:09
  Mike Marrs: I'm not sure, but anyway, that's against the law.
• 7:12
  Mike Marrs: And it's easy to do.
• 7:13
  Mike Marrs: I mean, stop asking me questions like that.
• 7:16
  SPEAKER_02: Don't ask me that question.
• 7:18
  Jeff Dziekan: I'm gonna ax another one.
• 7:19
  Mike Marrs: So and they have actually have league play, they have tournaments.
• 7:24
  Mike Marrs: You can sign up for birthday parties if you want to go throw some axes.
• 7:27
  SPEAKER_02: What happened to bowling?
• 7:28
  SPEAKER_02: Like, here we go, bowling.
• 7:30
  Mike Marrs: It's too simple.
• 7:32
  Mike Marrs: Anybody can do that.
• 7:33
  Mike Marrs: And and the thing about this battle axe, if the axe is a little too much, you get tired of throwing the axe, you can start throwing knives.
• 7:40
  Mike Marrs: Or you can shoot archery, you can shoot some arrows at it.
• 7:44
  Don Armstrong: I'd like to shoot well, never mind.
• 7:46
  Don Armstrong: Shoot the breeze, shoot the bird, shoot the bird.
• 7:49
  Mike Marrs: They got lots of food, so you can make it a date night if you want to, just to do something a little different.
• 7:53
  Mike Marrs: And you can get gift cards for that special person you want to do.
• 7:58
  Mike Marrs: For your birthday, darling.
• 7:59
  Jeff Dziekan: Let's go through some axes, let's go through some knives, canives, canives.
• 8:03
  Jeff Dziekan: Let's go through some knives.
• 8:04
  Mike Marrs: And then the last one I wanted to show you was the U.S.
• 8:07
  Mike Marrs: golf and games.
• 8:08
  Mike Marrs: Now, this is kind of old school Houston, but it's got air conditioning.
• 8:12
  Mike Marrs: Everything's air conditioned, it's got indoor mini golf, it's got batting cages, it's got a go-kart track that kind of goes outside, so it does get outside a little bit.
• 8:21
  Mike Marrs: And um, but it's also indoor.
• 8:23
  Mike Marrs: You got pool tables, you got electronic games.
• 8:26
  Mike Marrs: I mean, you got a lot of stuff in this.
• 8:30
  Don Armstrong: I've never heard of these places on the downtown.
• 8:37
  Mike Marrs: But that's the address for it.
• 8:39
  Mike Marrs: Uh a lot of them over there close to you, Don, on Bel Air.
• 8:42
  Mike Marrs: Bel Air Boulevard.
• 8:43
  Don Armstrong: Well, I'm not in Bel Air anymore, so well, no, it's not anymore.
• 8:47
  Mike Marrs: But anyway, that's these are some hidden gems that you can find in Houston to go play.
• 8:51
  Mike Marrs: To literally go and play.
• 8:53
  Don Armstrong: All right.
• 8:53
  Don Armstrong: Well, we're gonna play right on into a commercial here.
• 8:56
  Don Armstrong: The in-wheel time car talk show continues right after this.
• 8:59
  Don Armstrong: Stay with us.
• 9:06
  SPEAKER_03: All right.
• 9:06
  Don Armstrong: Uh, time now for this hour's car review.
• 9:09
  Don Armstrong: I had an opportunity to drive the 2026 Kia K4.
• 9:14
  Don Armstrong: It comes in these trim levels.
• 9:16
  Don Armstrong: You ready?
• 9:17
  Don Armstrong: The LX, the LXS, the EX, the GT Line, and the GT Line Turbo.
• 9:28
  Don Armstrong: I drove the GT Line Turbo and it was that color.
• 9:34
  Don Armstrong: This is a large car.
• 9:36
  Don Armstrong: It's a four-door saloon style hatchback.
• 9:41
  Don Armstrong: Uh, a traditional sedan is also available underneath the K4 banner.
• 9:46
  Don Armstrong: This looks like a regular SUV, but if you stand next to it, you're going, wait a minute, is this a car?
• 9:53
  Don Armstrong: Is this an SUV?
• 9:54
  Don Armstrong: What is it?
• 9:55
  Don Armstrong: They call it a large car, four-door seats, five people, including the driver.
• 10:00
  Don Armstrong: All new in 2025.
• 10:01
  Don Armstrong: Where have I been?
• 10:02
  Don Armstrong: I guess I just missed it.
• 10:04
  Don Armstrong: It is built in Mexico, and this car replaces the Kia Forte, if you remember that thing.
• 10:10
  Don Armstrong: Long body uh with a fastback to it, looks like a cross between a sedan and a station wagon.
• 10:20
  Don Armstrong: Unique styling gives this car a very cool look, in my opinion.
• 10:25
  Don Armstrong: Sleek, aerodynamic front fascia, concentric wheel well openings.
• 10:30
  Don Armstrong: Uh, what I liked about it, the saloon or wagon style of the design.
• 10:35
  Don Armstrong: It really stands out.
• 10:36
  Don Armstrong: Yes, there are others out there, but not like this one.
• 10:40
  Don Armstrong: Somehow, some way they've made it all work, and it is really cool.
• 10:44
  Don Armstrong: What could use improvement?
• 10:45
  Don Armstrong: Nothing.
• 10:46
  Don Armstrong: This is a winner in the Don Armstrong category.
• 10:50
  Don Armstrong: Interior highlights.
• 10:51
  Don Armstrong: Big 12.3 inch screen includes the instrument and infotainment systems, uh, adjustable cup holders, and roomy cell phone cubby.
• 11:03
  Don Armstrong: A cool upholstery with comfortable seating and plenty of rear leg room.
• 11:09
  Don Armstrong: Uh HVAC controls can be a little hard to see behind the steering wheel.
• 11:14
  Don Armstrong: You've got to kind of peek around it.
• 11:16
  Don Armstrong: Uh cargo, adequate uh when compared to other small SUVs, but it is a hatchback.
• 11:24
  Don Armstrong: What I liked?
• 11:25
  Don Armstrong: The abundant headroom in the rear seat because it's the saloon style.
• 11:30
  Don Armstrong: So the roof line continues on past the rear seat and doesn't slope down behind it.
• 11:35
  Don Armstrong: What could use improvement?
• 11:36
  Don Armstrong: Nothing.
• 11:37
  Don Armstrong: It gets high marks from Don Armstrong for its great overall design.
• 11:42
  Don Armstrong: As far as power is concerned, it has a 2.0 liter turbo four-cylinder.
• 11:48
  Don Armstrong: Now, it puts out 147 horsepower and 132 pound feet of torque.
• 11:53
  Don Armstrong: There is a 1.6 liter turbo that puts out 190 horsepower and 195 pound feet of torque.
• 12:01
  Don Armstrong: I did not have that one, although I think I should have.
• 12:04
  Don Armstrong: I don't know whether they got the engines mixed up or the labeling or my confusion.
• 12:09
  Don Armstrong: Somewhere in there, it has a CVT transmission too.
• 12:13
  Don Armstrong: 26 miles per gallon in the city is what it's rated, 33 on the highway for a combined of 28.
• 12:21
  Don Armstrong: I got 30.7 miles per gallon over 453 miles.
• 12:28
  Don Armstrong: Uh would have preferred more horsepower, that 190 horsepower unit would have been nice.
• 12:34
  Don Armstrong: Uh, but I certainly did like the gas mileage, there's no doubt about that, and I didn't have to plug it in either.
• 12:39
  Don Armstrong: What I liked about the ride and handling, it has car-like ride quality.
• 12:43
  Don Armstrong: What could use improvement?
• 12:45
  Don Armstrong: The GT line, I think, could be a little bit more tossable.
• 12:50
  Don Armstrong: In other words, stiffen up that suspension a little, yeah.
• 12:53
  Don Armstrong: It's a little bit sporty because it's already got a GT, which stands for Gran Turismo.
• 12:59
  Don Armstrong: Yeah, if you remember correctly.
• 13:01
  Don Armstrong: Now, I don't know whether Magato.
• 13:03
  Jeff Dziekan: That would be the GTO.
• 13:05
  Don Armstrong: Yeah.
• 13:06
  unknown: Yes.
• 13:07
  Don Armstrong: Uh so here's the pricing.
• 13:08
  Don Armstrong: Base trim price,$28,790.
• 13:11
  Don Armstrong: Price is tested$32.870.
• 13:14
  Don Armstrong: But you can get into one of these for$22,290.
• 13:19
  Don Armstrong: Really?
• 13:21
  Don Armstrong: Competitors?
• 13:22
  Don Armstrong: Honda Civic$24,695.
• 13:26
  Don Armstrong: The Mazda 3$24,550.
• 13:31
  Don Armstrong: How about the Subaru Impreza Hatch for$26,595?
• 13:37
  Don Armstrong: See, I keep hearing all these things.
• 13:39
  Don Armstrong: We can't find a vehicle under$30,000.
• 13:41
  Don Armstrong: Yes, you can.
• 13:42
  Jeff Dziekan: You can.
• 13:43
  Don Armstrong: You haven't looked hard enough.
• 13:44
  Don Armstrong: And this is one that I would suggest that you definitely put on the go check it out list.
• 13:51
  Mike Marrs: Yeah.
• 13:52
  Mike Marrs: It's a good looking car, and it sounds like it's got some great functionality.
• 13:56
  Don Armstrong: Yeah, it does.
• 13:57
  Don Armstrong: Subaru Outback is my car review next week.
• 14:00
  Don Armstrong: And so uh we do a new car review every week.
• 14:03
  Don Armstrong: And that is my car review this week.
• 14:06
  Don Armstrong: That is all.