Latest / In Wheel Time Podcast / EV Fuel Costs, Surprises Included

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EV Fuel Costs, Surprises Included · In Wheel Time Podcast

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_06: Welcome to another InWheel Time podcast.
• 0:07
  SPEAKER_06: Welcome to the In Wheel Time Car Talk Show coming up, Aiden Brexton.
• 0:11
  SPEAKER_06: With Anderson Economics and the cost difference in owning an EV versus gasoline.
• 0:18
  SPEAKER_06: There are some surprises in this, and I think that you'll be just as surprised.
• 0:23
  SPEAKER_06: Uh, let's see what else we have later.
• 0:25
  SPEAKER_06: Jeff's Car Culture.
• 0:27
  SPEAKER_06: Big rig sleepers.
• 0:28
  SPEAKER_06: Yeah.
• 0:29
  SPEAKER_06: What's inside?
• 0:30
  SPEAKER_05: Woohoohoo.
• 0:31
  SPEAKER_06: Mystery.
• 0:32
  SPEAKER_06: And driving destinations.
• 0:34
  SPEAKER_06: Mars has Central and West Texas car museums, and we'll have some other stuff.
• 0:39
  SPEAKER_06: We don't know what it is yet, but maybe you show them the blanks.
• 0:42
  SPEAKER_06: I can tell you that.
• 0:43
  SPEAKER_06: Howdy! Along with Mike out of this world, Mars from Neederville, Texas.
• 0:47
  SPEAKER_06: Now we always need more Jeff Z.
• 0:49
  SPEAKER_06: Chief Engineer David Ainsley is on his final leg of his South Carolina tour.
• 0:55
  SPEAKER_06: I'm Doug Armstrong, and you're stuck with me for the next episode.
• 0:58
  SPEAKER_06: Phew! Thank you very much for joining us today.
• 1:02
  SPEAKER_06: It's a pleasure.
• 1:04
  SPEAKER_06: And uh Mr.
• 1:04
  SPEAKER_06: Mars, it's good to be with you and good to see you over there.
• 1:07
  SPEAKER_06: Good to be seen, I promise.
• 1:09
  unknown: Yeah.
• 1:09
  SPEAKER_06: Did you have a good week?
• 1:11
  SPEAKER_01: Good week.
• 1:12
  SPEAKER_06: Did you good?
• 1:13
  SPEAKER_06: Well, we're glad to hear that.
• 1:14
  SPEAKER_06: No uh no explosions or anything.
• 1:17
  SPEAKER_06: Hiccups.
• 1:18
  SPEAKER_01: There's a few hiccups, you know, but that kind of comes with uh territory.
• 1:22
  SPEAKER_06: Yeah, with his 15 grandchildren all living with him, all of that sort of stuff.
• 1:27
  SPEAKER_06: Just to keep you busy.
• 1:28
  SPEAKER_06: Yeah, that's it.
• 1:29
  SPEAKER_06: So do we have Aiden with us?
• 1:31
  SPEAKER_06: Yes, sir.
• 1:32
  SPEAKER_06: Aiden Bregsman with the Anderson Economics Group.
• 1:36
  SPEAKER_06: It's good to be with you, my friend.
• 1:38
  SPEAKER_06: Thanks so much for joining us today.
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_06: Yeah, thank you guys for having me back on.
• 1:41
  SPEAKER_06: Yep, and uh so this is uh an interesting comparison that you've got here because I thought for sure that gasoline would beat electric, but in some instances it does not, does it?
• 1:54
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, that's that's what we find.
• 1:56
  SPEAKER_00: We've been um doing this fueling cost comparison since 2021, and we've been expanding it over those years.
• 2:05
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so we really started just looking at Michigan, we've now expanded to California and New York as well.
• 2:10
  SPEAKER_06: California.
• 2:12
  SPEAKER_00: Yep, doing the calculations.
• 2:14
  SPEAKER_00: We figured that would be interesting given they have lots of EV adoption and a different you know charging infrastructure there, and it's pretty big.
• 2:21
  SPEAKER_00: Um so yes, we do find that across those three states, luxury EV models are actually cheaper to fuel the EVs and the ICE vehicles, primarily if you're charging at home.
• 2:34
  SPEAKER_06: But that that's only to charge it, correct?
• 2:37
  SPEAKER_06: That's not the actual price going in and the price to repair or replace the batteries.
• 2:42
  SPEAKER_06: There are other factors involved, correct?
• 2:45
  SPEAKER_00: Correct, yeah.
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_00: So this doesn't take into account, you know, the the purchasing price or repairs or things like that.
• 2:52
  SPEAKER_00: So this is strictly, you know, you own the car, we're just looking at one car versus another if you were to have one in your driveway.
• 2:59
  SPEAKER_00: Um, how much it would cost to fuel a comparable gas-powered vehicle versus electric.
• 3:04
  SPEAKER_06: So I have to share with you that last week I had an electric vehicle.
• 3:12
  SPEAKER_06: And it was a pole star, or like I like to call it a pole cat.
• 3:15
  SPEAKER_06: You may be familiar with it.
• 3:17
  SPEAKER_06: Uh Geely Motors, all made in China for the most part.
• 3:20
  SPEAKER_06: Anyway, nice vehicle.
• 3:23
  SPEAKER_06: But um range was 300, and that's I I got it with uh almost a full charge, 300 miles is what it said on the on the display on the thing.
• 3:33
  SPEAKER_06: And it didn't live up to that, but I didn't really expect it to.
• 3:38
  SPEAKER_06: I think uh probably 250 is all it would actually get to.
• 3:42
  SPEAKER_06: So right around the corner from my office is a fast charging station, a big one.
• 3:49
  SPEAKER_06: Um, I think BG owns it or uh some some big outfit owner owns this thing.
• 3:55
  SPEAKER_06: It's very nice, it's all brand new.
• 3:58
  SPEAKER_06: But the trick to that is$35, and you don't have a choice.
• 4:04
  SPEAKER_06: You want 10% charge,$35.
• 4:08
  SPEAKER_06: You want an 85% charge,$35.
• 4:12
  SPEAKER_06: Hello?
• 4:14
  SPEAKER_06: No, that that isn't the way it works.
• 4:16
  SPEAKER_06: If I want to buy five dollars worth of gas, I can do that, but not with this charging station.
• 4:21
  SPEAKER_06: So let me hear your thoughts on that.
• 4:24
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, that that's a really good point you raise.
• 4:26
  SPEAKER_00: And and we, you know, we've seen that, and I've seen that in looking at the data.
• 4:30
  SPEAKER_00: So we do our own um part of our inputs for the calculations for EVs are residential rates in the three states, and then we do our calculation of commercial rates using data from the EIA.
• 4:45
  SPEAKER_00: They publish these commercial charging rates, and we look at DC fast chargers in particular.
• 4:50
  SPEAKER_00: Um and you do see in those all different pricing schemes, some of them are you know certain cents per kilowatt hour, others, as you said, have kind of a flat fee just to even start using it, and then they charge for the per kilowatt hour rate on top of that.
• 5:06
  SPEAKER_00: Um very wide variety.
• 5:09
  SPEAKER_00: There's not really a one-size-fits-all pricing scheme for these, so it does depend just what kind of charges you have available and and what they could decide to charge if there's a flat fee on top of that, if it's just like per kilowatt hour, it depends.
• 5:22
  SPEAKER_06: So give us a comparison.
• 5:24
  SPEAKER_06: Um, I don't really know how fair it can be.
• 5:29
  SPEAKER_06: It can only be as fair as you want it to be, I think.
• 5:32
  SPEAKER_06: Because how do you compare a gasoline vehicle that here in Texas, I've got a station that between my work and and home, two dollars a gallon if you pay gas, uh to pay cash, two dollars a gallon versus a thirty-five dollar charge to get it an 85% charge on an electric vehicle.
• 5:54
  SPEAKER_06: So do a comparison for me.
• 5:56
  SPEAKER_06: Give me a you know, a Chevy Volt or what name something.
• 6:01
  SPEAKER_00: Well, uh so it's interesting because you know, we do this is strictly, you know, a numbers comparison, right?
• 6:07
  SPEAKER_00: We're looking at just strictly the fueling if you have, you know, car A, car B, what that's gonna look like for that sort of sense.
• 6:14
  SPEAKER_00: Something that we, you know, we also make apparent when we do these releases is we're not trying to tell people what car they should buy.
• 6:20
  SPEAKER_00: It obviously, just like anything, comes down to your own personal preference, your personal taste.
• 6:24
  SPEAKER_00: So maybe, maybe that$35 upfront charge for doing the charging doesn't matter to you so much because you maybe you just feel better knowing that you're driving an EV compared to an ice car, or you like maybe the convenience that it's right next to your work.
• 6:38
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe there's a gas station further away.
• 6:39
  SPEAKER_00: So there are other factors too, besides just the cost that will go into it, depending on if somebody wants to purchase an EV or stick with their ice vehicle.
• 6:49
  SPEAKER_05: And that's the answer.
• 6:52
  SPEAKER_00: Your choice.
• 6:53
  SPEAKER_05: Good, good sidestep.
• 6:54
  SPEAKER_05: Your choice.
• 6:55
  SPEAKER_05: All right.
• 6:55
  SPEAKER_05: So do you drive an EV?
• 6:58
  SPEAKER_00: I do not know.
• 6:59
  SPEAKER_00: I I drive, I'm pretty old school.
• 7:01
  SPEAKER_00: I got a 2009 Pontiac Vibe.
• 7:03
  SPEAKER_00: Uh so I'm driving a time.
• 7:06
  SPEAKER_05: Pontiac Vibe, which if I'm not mistaken, I believe underneath that thing it's a Toyota.
• 7:12
  SPEAKER_00: Pretty much, yeah.
• 7:13
  SPEAKER_00: We've uh I had a friend who owned a Toyota Matrix, and we put those things side by side, and it was almost identical.
• 7:21
  SPEAKER_06: And a great car, by the way.
• 7:23
  SPEAKER_06: That's got some line just turning into a classic.
• 7:25
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah, exactly.
• 7:26
  SPEAKER_05: So you you're driving a classic.
• 7:28
  SPEAKER_05: We had a street.
• 7:29
  SPEAKER_00: I am, and you'd honestly be surprised how many Pontiac vibes you see on the road here in Lansing and honestly in Michigan.
• 7:36
  SPEAKER_00: I I see more Pontiac vibes than I think I would have thought.
• 7:39
  SPEAKER_06: Is rust an issue with your Pontiac vibe?
• 7:42
  SPEAKER_00: Uh not visible.
• 7:44
  SPEAKER_00: I think underneath there's probably some more rust, but you know, thankfully, come on, everything that people can see is it's in pretty good condition.
• 7:52
  SPEAKER_06: All right, so let's go back to the ICE internal combustion engine versus an EV.
• 7:58
  SPEAKER_06: Give us some hard numbers here.
• 8:01
  SPEAKER_06: Give us an example.
• 8:03
  SPEAKER_00: Sure.
• 8:04
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so if we, you know, we'll I'll look at Michigan because that's our, you know, that's where we're based.
• 8:10
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 8:10
  SPEAKER_00: Where the big three are based, and that's where we where this whole journey began.
• 8:14
  SPEAKER_00: So um if we're looking at you know your entry-priced vehicles, and that's gonna include, you know, for ice vehicles, models like Honda Civics, Kio Forte's, uh, Subaru Imprezas for the EVs, we only have a couple models, but Nissan Leaf, Chevy, Chevy Bolt.
• 8:32
  SPEAKER_00: Um for Michigan, ICE is the winner here.
• 8:35
  SPEAKER_00: We're looking at about$9.10 to fuel for 100 purposeful miles.
• 8:40
  SPEAKER_00: That's how we keep the comparison apples to apples if we're just considering somebody driving 100 miles.
• 8:45
  SPEAKER_00: And this doesn't include the miles it takes to drive to either gas stations or charging stations if you're gonna just going to actual places.
• 8:55
  SPEAKER_00: So nine dollars for an uh entry ice vehicle.
• 8:59
  SPEAKER_00: For EVs, we do two different main calculations.
• 9:03
  SPEAKER_00: Somebody who's charging mostly at home, so 75% of their power comes from home chargers versus 25% commercial, and the flip side, so mostly commercial versus uh mostly at only 25% at home.
• 9:17
  SPEAKER_00: For somebody charging mostly at home, we're looking at in Michigan for entry about$13.40, and for mostly commercial,$16.16.
• 9:26
  SPEAKER_00: So quite a bigger jump if we're going from ice to EVs.
• 9:30
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, not quite double.
• 9:31
  SPEAKER_00: Um on the flip side though, if we're looking at the luxury, which is the segment that we find typically is more affordable charging an EV at home versus an ice fueling on the road.
• 9:44
  SPEAKER_00: Um for luxury ice vehicles, you know, lots of Lexus and BMW and Porsche models.
• 9:50
  SPEAKER_00: For the ice vehicles, we're looking at about$17 to fuel that for 100 miles.
• 9:56
  SPEAKER_00: Whereas the EV models, if they're charging mostly at home,$14.43.
• 10:02
  SPEAKER_00: So you're seeing, you know, almost a$3 savings there if you're charging this EV model at home.
• 10:08
  SPEAKER_00: And mostly that's primarily due to the fact that if you're charging at home, you're still using that residential rate.
• 10:13
  SPEAKER_00: But now going to the luxury models, you're now looking at premium gas prices, which are here's what I see on that.
• 10:19
  SPEAKER_03: Uh yeah.
• 10:19
  SPEAKER_03: Here's what I see on that.
• 10:20
  SPEAKER_03: You said luxury model.
• 10:21
  SPEAKER_03: So obviously the initial unit cost of that vehicle is going to be higher.
• 10:25
  SPEAKER_03: And charging at home for a smaller vehicle, like you said, the uh the smaller EVs is around$13,$14 versus the nine for 100 miles.
• 10:34
  SPEAKER_03: So the larger vehicle you're actually paying, even though the cost of the fuel is less, you're still paying more for the vehicle.
• 10:41
  SPEAKER_03: I mean, there's got to be factored in there.
• 10:43
  SPEAKER_00: That's true.
• 10:44
  SPEAKER_00: And also what I what I'm kind of noticing too is you can also, you know, that's looking just between the seg or within the segment rather, but you can also kind of compare these, you know, between the segments and think, well, maybe if you're eyeballing, maybe let's say a luxury vehicle, you know, you could step down to maybe a mid-price and you're gonna be paying less in total.
• 11:02
  SPEAKER_00: Like, for example, the charging a luxury EV at home is$14.43.
• 11:08
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 11:08
  SPEAKER_00: But mid-priced EVs at home$13.47.
• 11:11
  SPEAKER_00: So you're looking at, you know, that's a dollar savings relatively there from luxury EV to mid-priced EV.
• 11:18
  SPEAKER_00: So there's also that sort of comparison you can make too as a consumer.
• 11:22
  SPEAKER_03: How much does it cost to put a charger system nowadays?
• 11:24
  SPEAKER_03: The new technology, I'm sure, has been advanced since before the first ones were put in.
• 11:28
  SPEAKER_03: What does it cost to put a charger in your home?
• 11:30
  SPEAKER_03: You know?
• 11:31
  SPEAKER_00: Uh yeah, so that that's one of the calculations we do.
• 11:35
  SPEAKER_00: Um we look at level two home chargers and the cost to install that.
• 11:40
  SPEAKER_00: We use um construction pricing rates to see how that would kind of grow over time.
• 11:48
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, you put any permits and all that.
• 11:50
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.
• 11:51
  SPEAKER_00: So it it's not as easy.
• 11:52
  SPEAKER_00: You know, the level one is just plugging it into a regular wall out.
• 11:56
  SPEAKER_00: Level two, they have to come in, do some installation, but it does charge your vehicle significantly faster at home.
• 12:03
  SPEAKER_06: Well, last time I looked, it was about$1,500 for the unit itself plus installation.
• 12:09
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so with all of that together, we're seeing a little bit over, like, you know, in the mid$2,000 range for this installation.
• 12:17
  SPEAKER_00: So yeah, that that is factored in as well, and that's obviously an upfront cost that you, if you want to be charging at home and want to be doing it more quickly, that you'll have to make as a consumer.
• 12:27
  SPEAKER_03: I kind of relate that to these these devices where your power goes out and they use the gas to regenerate or the generac and things like that.
• 12:34
  SPEAKER_03: So they're about you know anywhere from five grand on up.
• 12:36
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, because I know people that have them, uh have two of them, as a matter of fact.
• 12:40
  SPEAKER_03: So that's uh that's the way I relate to that.
• 12:42
  SPEAKER_03: So, what would it cost to put a tank in the ground and fill it with gas?
• 12:45
  SPEAKER_03: If you could get a product to do it.
• 12:49
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know.
• 12:50
  SPEAKER_00: That's that's that's that's a good question.
• 12:52
  SPEAKER_00: That's a little outside of it.
• 12:53
  SPEAKER_05: So there you're gonna have to make an addendum to the study because Jeff wants fuel in the ground.
• 13:00
  SPEAKER_00: We'll we'll we'll see what we can do there.
• 13:03
  SPEAKER_06: I'm thinking I'm thinking of some sort of a natural gas thing that you could hook it up to the stove or something.
• 13:08
  SPEAKER_06: Tap into Billy Bob's tank down the street next door.
• 13:11
  SPEAKER_01: Well, what they do, what they do down along the coast, they uh they have some generacts put in because of the hurricanes.
• 13:17
  SPEAKER_01: Well, they've gone to running gas, natural gas, but they're burying the tank under the ground and piping it up to the generator, which is about 20 feet in the air.
• 13:28
  SPEAKER_01: But I mean, that's down on the beach.
• 13:29
  SPEAKER_01: But yeah, they are doing that with natural gas.
• 13:33
  SPEAKER_06: So anything really standout that you'd like to tell us about?
• 13:38
  SPEAKER_00: Um, some it's a little tangential to our our fueling costs, but we also look at um automotive sales too over time.
• 13:45
  SPEAKER_00: We track that.
• 13:45
  SPEAKER_00: We have an automotive dashboard on our Anderson Economic Group website that we update quarterly.
• 13:51
  SPEAKER_00: Um something that I'm sure as you guys are aware, being you know tapped into the motor vehicle industry.
• 13:57
  SPEAKER_00: Um quarter three, coinciding with our fueling costs, we also looked at EV sales.
• 14:04
  SPEAKER_00: Um, we noticed a jump in EV sales in quarter three, 2025, uh, due in part, largely really the um EV tax credits were expiring at the end of that quarter.
• 14:13
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 14:14
  SPEAKER_00: Um so as you would expect, people that were maybe on the fence of purchasing one when they find out they're gonna lose that incentive, which for new EVs is up to$7,500, they would go and purchase that before the the deadline so they could at least get you know some financial help from that and and mitigate the cost.
• 14:31
  SPEAKER_00: So we see a huge jump there.
• 14:34
  SPEAKER_00: Um and interestingly as well, we're seeing in you know relation to the tariffs that we're seeing sales of vehicles overall going down, but we'd then interestingly see the EV sales going up.
• 14:46
  SPEAKER_00: So a very interesting quarter in terms of sales that vehicles overall were down, but EVs and EVs has a share of total sales were up.
• 14:53
  SPEAKER_06: So when you're all sitting around the uh conference room table and discussing these sorts of things, do you look toward the future and think, okay, well, this is trending this way.
• 15:04
  SPEAKER_06: Maybe we need to skew our study toward that next time because it would be probably more relevant since everything is always in flux.
• 15:12
  SPEAKER_06: Yeah.
• 15:13
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I mean we're always we're always looking to evolve, especially with you know the current situation with tariffs and and these tax credits, there's always things that are changing over time.
• 15:22
  SPEAKER_00: So it does make for interesting analysis and research just to try to keep up on it and keep relevant with the changes.
• 15:30
  SPEAKER_06: Well, uh I I find the stuff fascinating, as as I'm sure that you do since you're in the business.
• 15:35
  SPEAKER_06: Um what other studies have you guys got going on besides cars?
• 15:41
  SPEAKER_00: Um well, something that we're we're trying to get a little bit more work in is uh cannabis work.
• 15:46
  SPEAKER_00: So we we just put out a uh were we?
• 15:52
  SPEAKER_06: We're all trying to do our research in the cannabis world too.
• 15:56
  SPEAKER_00: You know, it's it's I I don't think when I was you know in school and growing up I thought that I'd be doing some some cannabis related work.
• 16:05
  SPEAKER_03: I call I call uh there's a there's a penalty flag on the back.
• 16:08
  SPEAKER_03: I was in high school and I didn't think about 15 yards, buddy, half the distance.
• 16:14
  SPEAKER_05: I don't get it.
• 16:15
  SPEAKER_05: Well they stopped the drug test there at Anderson last year, so here we go.
• 16:21
  SPEAKER_00: Uh yeah, it's I mean it's it's very interesting because we um for people that don't know, you know, they might think California and the West Coast states have a lot of cannabis industry and their market's huge.
• 16:31
  SPEAKER_00: Michigan has a very large market in terms of sales.
• 16:35
  SPEAKER_05: We've heard that.
• 16:35
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I think that's um and and honestly, what I'm interested in with our state government, they just pass an excise tax on it to try to pay for road funding.
• 16:47
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so I'm I'm personally interested to see how sales will change if you know prices are going up to consumers.
• 16:54
  SPEAKER_00: Because we've been seeing for a long time the sales increasing.
• 16:57
  SPEAKER_00: We're seeing them start to plateau, and and I'm I'm predicting that we'll see them drop a little bit in the near future with smoking and talk and toking and asphalt.
• 17:05
  SPEAKER_06: Yeah, I kind of get that comparison.
• 17:07
  SPEAKER_03: Goodness, they're starting to rebuild the roads in Michigan.
• 17:09
  SPEAKER_03: They were bad when I was up there.
• 17:10
  SPEAKER_03: I lived up there for 22 years.
• 17:12
  SPEAKER_03: I was born up there.
• 17:12
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it's an ebb and flow for sure.
• 17:14
  SPEAKER_00: They get good and they get bad.
• 17:16
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, but wouldn't it be cheaper to make sure everybody has plenty of cannabis that they don't really notice the bad roads?
• 17:22
  SPEAKER_01: That could be a good idea, Mike.
• 17:25
  SPEAKER_00: I'm sure there's some give and take there, but you know, obviously we don't we don't condone the you know driving and and the use of marijuana, so we're gonna kind of keep going.
• 17:34
  SPEAKER_06: Good disclosure there.
• 17:35
  SPEAKER_06: Yeah, yeah, very good.
• 17:36
  SPEAKER_06: Well, uh, I have to tell you that this has been a very enlightening uh conversation with you this morning, and we we we truly appreciate the uh humor and uh good luck.
• 17:48
  SPEAKER_06: So let's see, when will that study be done?
• 17:52
  SPEAKER_00: Uh which study?
• 17:54
  SPEAKER_00: The pot study?
• 17:54
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah, he forgot already.
• 17:56
  SPEAKER_05: He forgot already.
• 17:58
  SPEAKER_05: That's it.
• 17:59
  SPEAKER_05: That would be the pot study.
• 18:01
  SPEAKER_00: So we we actually did just release on our website a white paper.
• 18:06
  SPEAKER_00: So we contracted with a colleague of ours over on the East Coast to do some research and some analytics with the data that we collect.
• 18:15
  SPEAKER_00: So every month we're going state by state, website by website, trying to pull their sales data, medical, recreational.
• 18:21
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and we've been tracking that since the early 2020s and looking at time trends and and seeing how those have changed over time, and especially you know, adding new states, uh, Ohio being one of the more recent ones.
• 18:33
  SPEAKER_06: So do you have like a concert bus that travels the country to all of the good really heavy duty rock and roll concerts?
• 18:41
  SPEAKER_06: Is that a bag of Doritos on your desk?
• 18:44
  SPEAKER_00: Uh we don't have one of those yet, but you know that that sounds like a good investment, Doc.
• 18:48
  SPEAKER_01: I think you're right.
• 18:49
  SPEAKER_01: In the name of research, only research.
• 18:51
  SPEAKER_01: Everything is right, right?
• 18:53
  SPEAKER_00: Strictly professional.
• 18:54
  SPEAKER_00: Yep.
• 18:54
  SPEAKER_05: All the way.
• 18:55
  SPEAKER_05: Aiden, it's it's he's in Lansing, so yeah, he's in the heart of it.
• 18:59
  SPEAKER_06: It's uh it's truly, it's truly a pleasure to talk to you as always.
• 19:03
  SPEAKER_06: We thank you so much, and your sense of humor is great.
• 19:05
  SPEAKER_06: Appreciate you.
• 19:06
  SPEAKER_06: Thank you very much.
• 19:07
  SPEAKER_06: Hope to hear from you again soon.
• 19:09
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, thank you for having me on, guys.
• 19:11
  SPEAKER_06: You bet Aiden Bergsman, data scientist and senior analyst, Anderson Economic Group.
• 19:18
  SPEAKER_06: And uh you go knock on his door.
• 19:20
  SPEAKER_06: Yeah, he he he knows everything.
• 19:22
  SPEAKER_06: Very, very intelligent young man.
• 19:23
  SPEAKER_06: There you go.
• 19:24
  SPEAKER_01: There you go.
• 19:24
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, as soon as I find the right button.
• 19:27
  SPEAKER_06: Oh my gosh.
• 19:28
  SPEAKER_06: Okay, well, there was that.
• 19:30
  SPEAKER_06: All right, just ahead.
• 19:32
  SPEAKER_06: We've got Jeff's car culture.
• 19:33
  SPEAKER_06: What's inside those big rig sleepers?
• 19:35
  SPEAKER_06: I know you want to know.
• 19:36
  SPEAKER_06: So do I.
• 19:37
  SPEAKER_06: Plus, Mars has driving destinations, Central and West Texas Car Museums after this break, here on the In Wheel Time Car Talk Show.
• 19:48
  SPEAKER_06: The Tex Mex dining experience is defined by Loopy Tortilla, your destination for Texas's best beef fajitas and frozen margaritas.
• 19:57
  SPEAKER_06: Since 1983, Loopy Tortilla has served.
• 20:00
  SPEAKER_06: Authentic and time-tested recipes made with the freshest ingredients.
• 20:04
  SPEAKER_06: Atmosphere is part of the award-winning experience at Loopy Tortilla, all developed in the little house near Highway 6 and High 10 in West Houston.
• 20:11
  SPEAKER_06: Visit any of the loopy tortillas and you'll see the same attention to detail in each and every location.
• 20:17
  SPEAKER_06: Start your loopy experience with queso flamillado and guacamole, along with a classic frozen margarita.
• 20:23
  SPEAKER_06: Dine the famous loopy beef and chicken fajitas or pepper shrimp crochet.
• 20:27
  SPEAKER_06: Or to finish your vegetarian entree and finish with a scrumptious flan for dessert.
• 20:32
  SPEAKER_06: Find loopy tortilla in Houston, College Station, Beaumont, Austin, San Antonio, and Dallas Fort Worth.
• 20:37
  SPEAKER_06: There's a Texas location near you.
• 20:39
  SPEAKER_06: The recipes are authentic and time-tested.
• 20:42
  SPEAKER_06: The ingredients always fresh.
• 20:44
  SPEAKER_06: Loopy Tortilla is pretty good.
• 20:50
  SPEAKER_02: It all happens at the Houston Automotive Show and Energy Center.
• 20:53
  SPEAKER_02: Check out classic autos to today's cars and trucks.
• 20:56
  SPEAKER_02: Experience off-road adventures with hilarious brand and campaign.
• 21:00
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• 21:04
  SPEAKER_02: It's all here from the open road to the open water.
• 21:08
  SPEAKER_02: If it brings you, you'll find fun for the whole family.
• 21:11
  SPEAKER_02: Get your tickets now for the Houston Automotive Show, making waves and fueling adventure.
• 21:18
  SPEAKER_06: Broadcasting live from the Houston Automotive Show.
• 21:22
  SPEAKER_06: That'd be in two weeks from today.
• 21:24
  SPEAKER_06: We'll be there 9 a.m.
• 21:26
  SPEAKER_06: to noon.
• 21:27
  SPEAKER_06: So you get a bonus hour up front.
• 21:29
  SPEAKER_06: And we hope that you'll stop by and see us.
• 21:31
  SPEAKER_06: We'll probably be back back there where the uh the ram adventure thing is and the Jeep uh off-road deal.
• 21:37
  SPEAKER_03: And you can tell when the when the facility opens for the show because there's everyone's lined up running.
• 21:43
  SPEAKER_03: Oh yeah.
• 21:43
  SPEAKER_03: Running back there.
• 21:44
  SPEAKER_03: You can see the age groups, the kids, the parents, the people that are actually looking for a Jeep or a vehicle like that.
• 21:50
  SPEAKER_06: It's very cool.
• 21:50
  SPEAKER_06: Hey, uh, in real time, invite you to join us 10 to noon, Central Time.
• 21:54
  SPEAKER_06: That's our regular hours every Saturday for our live show about all things automotive.
• 21:58
  SPEAKER_06: And we thank you for joining us today.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_06: Okay, time now for Jeff's car culture, those big, mysterious, big rig sleepers.
• 22:05
  SPEAKER_03: And they've been in the news a lot for the good things, though.
• 22:07
  SPEAKER_03: But comparing semi-truck sleepers, comfort space features for life on the road.
• 22:12
  SPEAKER_03: Long haul truckers, the sleeper cab just isn't a place to catch a nap.
• 22:16
  SPEAKER_03: It's home on 18 wheels.
• 22:17
  SPEAKER_03: Whether you're an owner operator or fleet manager evaluating trucks for your drivers, trying to choose the right sleeper setup, makes a huge difference in comfort and retention of those drivers.
• 22:27
  SPEAKER_03: And that's very important for these companies because they hop around.
• 22:31
  SPEAKER_03: These drivers hop around, they look for the money.
• 22:33
  SPEAKER_03: Uh, what to consider?
• 22:34
  SPEAKER_03: Trip length, weight, and fuel economy.
• 22:38
  SPEAKER_03: So here we go, Mike.
• 22:39
  SPEAKER_03: First one in the hat is a Peterbilt 579 Ultra Light.
• 22:43
  SPEAKER_03: It's an 80-inch sleeper.
• 22:45
  SPEAKER_03: Comfort and customization is best.
• 22:47
  SPEAKER_03: The pros on this baby is spacious interior with a high roof for easy movement, ample storage for dual bunk options in case you need to.
• 22:54
  SPEAKER_03: Stand up in there.
• 22:55
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, optional sleeper amenities like refrigerator and TV mount.
• 22:58
  SPEAKER_03: The cons of this, this is the most expensive one.
• 23:02
  SPEAKER_03: It's the premium price.
• 23:03
  SPEAKER_03: The ultra loft is one of the most luxurious sleeper options on the road, often favored by owner operators who spend weeks on the road in their truck.
• 23:12
  SPEAKER_03: How much?
• 23:12
  SPEAKER_03: Uh well, in average, these sleepers go from 230 on up to 350.
• 23:17
  SPEAKER_03: What?
• 23:18
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 23:20
  SPEAKER_03: You get everything with it, but 230,000 to 350,000.
• 23:23
  SPEAKER_03: For the truck and the sleeper.
• 23:24
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, the whole nine yards, yeah.
• 23:26
  SPEAKER_03: Geez whiz.
• 23:27
  SPEAKER_03: And that's uh you got to be dedicated, and that's that's your profession.
• 23:31
  SPEAKER_03: The next one is a Kenworth T680 next gen.
• 23:34
  SPEAKER_03: It's a 76-inch sleeper.
• 23:36
  SPEAKER_03: Fuel efficiency and comfort is what it's known for.
• 23:38
  SPEAKER_03: The pros are quiet cab with excellent, excellent insulation, ergonomic interior design, smart wheel controls for the digital dash.
• 23:47
  SPEAKER_03: The cons, slightly smaller living space than the first one that Peter built, uh, who's got the largest sleeper.
• 23:52
  SPEAKER_03: But this the T680 blends modern tech with practical layout.
• 23:56
  SPEAKER_03: Great for fleets focused on driver satisfaction and miles per gallon because that's very, very important.
• 24:01
  SPEAKER_06: On some of these, can't you buy the sleepers separately from the actual cab and then they marry them?
• 24:07
  SPEAKER_03: I think that's how they originally build them, but then you can also choose like your interior, like when you buy a house, you buy rooms.
• 24:13
  SPEAKER_01: This thing looks almost like an RV from that angle.
• 24:15
  SPEAKER_03: Right.
• 24:15
  SPEAKER_03: And at the end of this, I'm going to point something out on all these pictures to you.
• 24:18
  SPEAKER_03: All right.
• 24:19
  SPEAKER_03: The next one is a Freightliner uh Cascadia.
• 24:21
  SPEAKER_03: Cascadia.
• 24:22
  SPEAKER_03: It's a 72-inch raised roof sleeper.
• 24:25
  SPEAKER_03: Uh it's best known for its uh fleet efficiency and reliability for the drivers.
• 24:30
  SPEAKER_03: The pros, available in the Detroit Assurance Suite for Safety Features, optimize the fuel economy and uptime.
• 24:38
  SPEAKER_03: It's a well-balanced sleeper layout with optional amenities.
• 24:41
  SPEAKER_03: The cons, less customizable than the first two we talked about.
• 24:44
  SPEAKER_03: Freightliner dominates the fleet, and that's what they base everything on.
• 24:48
  SPEAKER_03: Next one is a Volvo VNL 860.
• 24:52
  SPEAKER_03: It's a 77-inch sleeper, smooth ride for driver comfort.
• 24:55
  SPEAKER_03: The pros on this exceptional ride quality, safety tech, workstations, convertible to a sleeper, advanced infotainment system, and digital controls.
• 25:04
  SPEAKER_03: The cons less aftermark customization.
• 25:07
  SPEAKER_03: It's a US-based brand Volvo, the VNL series, puts driver experience front and center with most ergonomically friendly interiors available.
• 25:15
  SPEAKER_03: So this was more designed for the driver rather than the sleep.
• 25:18
  SPEAKER_03: The last one we have, Mike, is an international LT series.
• 25:21
  SPEAKER_03: It's a 73-inch sleeper, value conscious fleets.
• 25:24
  SPEAKER_03: That's what it's best known for.
• 25:26
  SPEAKER_03: Competitive pricing and fuel uh economy with a smart nav system, Bluetooth integration, decent sleep area with basic amenities, the cons, fewer period premium sleep options.
• 25:36
  SPEAKER_03: It's the lower end of it.
• 25:38
  SPEAKER_03: And international offers a solid no-frills option for those drivers.
• 25:42
  SPEAKER_06: Let me ask you something.
• 25:43
  SPEAKER_06: Do these have toilets in them?
• 25:45
  SPEAKER_03: No.
• 25:46
  SPEAKER_03: You can probably get one with it, yes.
• 25:48
  SPEAKER_03: Shower?
• 25:48
  SPEAKER_03: Uh no, I don't know about shower.
• 25:49
  SPEAKER_03: No, showers you would do at the truck stop.
• 25:51
  SPEAKER_03: Yes, you can get a commodity type uh device in there.
• 25:54
  SPEAKER_03: But what I see on these, you know, when you're on an airplane and all that plastic on the walls and around the windows, that's what this reminds me of being on an airliner.
• 26:02
  SPEAKER_03: That type of that type of I can see that.
• 26:04
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, that makes sense.
• 26:06
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, that's what it reminds me of.
• 26:07
  SPEAKER_03: And it's probably lightweight, like they need it for the fuel efficiency and uh being economical for the MPGs.
• 26:13
  SPEAKER_03: So I always wondered.
• 26:14
  SPEAKER_03: Uh when I was growing up, there was a bit of a gentleman across the street when I was on a three four.
• 27:40
  SPEAKER_06: Wow.
• 27:41
  SPEAKER_06: And uh anyway, so we had a very interesting conversation.
• 27:43
  SPEAKER_06: He says, Oh, yeah, I'm on the road all the time.
• 27:46
  SPEAKER_06: I I have limited numbers of hours that I can drive a day, right to federal regulations.
• 27:51
  SPEAKER_06: And he stops in there every time he comes through.
• 27:53
  SPEAKER_06: And uh always always stops at this place to get probably knows Madge the nicest guy.
• 27:58
  SPEAKER_06: Yeah, and I I didn't know, you know, but uh it was a great experience, and he bought my dinner.
• 28:04
  SPEAKER_06: Oh, be darn.
• 28:05
  SPEAKER_06: He said, I'll buy you dinner.
• 28:06
  SPEAKER_06: Oh, be darn.
• 28:07
  SPEAKER_06: Thank you, appreciate you.
• 28:08
  SPEAKER_03: Daisy pays well, yeah, apparently, yeah.
• 28:12
  SPEAKER_03: All that West Texas, El Paso and things like that, it's all a big hub, hubba hub.
• 28:17
  SPEAKER_06: Well, Mr.
• 28:17
  SPEAKER_06: Mars, yes, sir.
• 28:19
  SPEAKER_06: We've run over and uh and and it's worth it.
• 28:22
  SPEAKER_06: But I know that you've got uh driving destinations coming up, and it just so happens, just so happens that we may have a little opening for you to do that coming up in the next segment.
• 28:34
  SPEAKER_06: Not a problem.
• 28:36
  SPEAKER_06: We are flexible.
• 28:41
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
• 28:42
  SPEAKER_03: Sorry, I went over, Michael.
• 28:44
  SPEAKER_01: No, no, not a problem.
• 28:45
  SPEAKER_01: It was really interesting to what look at those and and talk about them.
• 28:48
  SPEAKER_06: Yeah, because I have my only experience actually physically was when I was doing the drag racing thing, and clearly we had a couple of 18 wheelers, and one of them uh had the sleeper on the back of it, but it wasn't anything like those.
• 29:02
  SPEAKER_06: It was a it was a double, it was a bunk in the back, and that's pretty much all there was.
• 29:07
  SPEAKER_03: But the original ones on the trailer side, you know how underneath behind the wheels, you got it hooked up with the the uh the the hitch, and underneath you've got the arms or the legs that the fifth wheel.
• 29:17
  SPEAKER_03: Beyond that, there was actually a can they put a container underneath that, and that's where the driver would stay underneath the truck.
• 29:24
  SPEAKER_03: Uh no, that was the original ones designed.
• 29:28
  SPEAKER_03: They would stay underneath the trailer in a little cabin part.
• 29:32
  SPEAKER_01: But you see them going down the road, or if you see them at the truck stop, you always kind of wonder what it's like in there, particularly when you see some of those really big ones.
• 29:39
  SPEAKER_06: The only ones that I ever see is either got a dog or a cat or a couple dogs and cats in there with them.
• 29:44
  SPEAKER_03: And then the pay jobs.
• 29:44
  SPEAKER_03: I mean, you could take it, you know,$100,000 in a pay job from one of those things.
• 29:48
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, no doubt.
• 29:49
  SPEAKER_06: Yeah.
• 29:49
  SPEAKER_03: Thank you, Jeffrey.
• 29:50
  SPEAKER_06: All right, uh, hey, In Wheel Time, invite you to join us.
• 29:53
  SPEAKER_06: 10 to noon Central Time every Saturday.
• 29:55
  SPEAKER_06: We got another live show, uh, this kind of show.
• 29:58
  SPEAKER_06: Uh, and then uh in two weeks we'll be out at the Houston Auto Show.
• 30:02
  SPEAKER_06: Back it up.
• 30:02
  SPEAKER_06: And we invite you to join us out there as well.
• 30:04
  SPEAKER_06: In Wheel Time Car Talk continues after this quick break.
• 30:08
  SPEAKER_06: Stay with us.
• 30:10
  SPEAKER_06: You own a car you love.
• 30:12
  SPEAKER_06: Well, why not let Gulf Coast Auto Shield protect it?
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• 31:02
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• 31:09
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• 31:14
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• 31:20
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• 31:30
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• 31:36
  SPEAKER_06: Mm-hmm.
• 31:36
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• 31:40
  SPEAKER_06: That's it for this podcast episode of the In Wheel Time Car Show.
• 31:44
  SPEAKER_06: I'm Don Armstrong, inviting you to join us for our live show every Saturday morning on Facebook, YouTube, Twitch, and our InWheeltime.com website.
• 31:54
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• 32:02
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