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John Hovis Explains How The Hemi Hideout Became A Charity Powered Car Landmark · In Wheel Time Podcast

• 0:06
  Don Armstrong: From the broadcast studios in Texas, USA, it's the In Wheel Time Car Talk Show.
• 0:12
  Don Armstrong: Just ahead, we're gonna have a mystery guest.
• 0:15
  Don Armstrong: Ah, let's uh let's just get on with it, shall we?
• 0:18
  Don Armstrong: Let's get on, get it on.
• 0:20
  Don Armstrong: Ladies and gentlemen, here he is, the creator of the Hemi Hideout, John Hovis in front of in front of a fireplace, which I think is kind of ironic since it's about to turn 100 degrees out there.
• 0:30
  Don Armstrong: But it's perfect for you, John.
• 0:32
  SPEAKER_01: It is indeed.
• 0:33
  SPEAKER_01: Hola, amigos.
• 0:34
  Don Armstrong: How are you?
• 0:37
  Don Armstrong: Is that where you are?
• 0:38
  Don Armstrong: Nearby, anyway.
• 0:39
  SPEAKER_01: I am, yeah.
• 0:40
  SPEAKER_01: It's just down the street.
• 0:41
  Don Armstrong: Yeah, just down the street.
• 0:42
  Don Armstrong: Well, uh, so you're out there, and uh are you vacationing out there?
• 0:47
  SPEAKER_01: We're just kind of listening to our arteries hardened today.
• 0:53
  SPEAKER_01: There is that.
• 0:54
  Mike Marrs: Well, hey man, can you pull that mic up just a little bit closer to you?
• 0:58
  Don Armstrong: Yep, sure can.
• 0:59
  Mike Marrs: Very good.
• 1:00
  Mike Marrs: There you go.
• 1:00
  Mike Marrs: There you got it.
• 1:01
  Don Armstrong: Oh, and it's a professional microphone.
• 1:03
  Don Armstrong: You've been in touch with you've been in touch with David Ainsley, haven't you?
• 1:07
  SPEAKER_01: No, I've been in touch with my grandson.
• 1:09
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, okay.
• 1:10
  SPEAKER_01: One and the same, kind of.
• 1:12
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, same thing.
• 1:13
  SPEAKER_01: Anyway, John, how have you been?
• 1:15
  SPEAKER_01: All good, buddy.
• 1:16
  SPEAKER_01: Miss you guys.
• 1:17
  SPEAKER_01: We need to get together again.
• 1:18
  SPEAKER_01: I didn't realize it's been a whole year now, so pretty close, yeah.
• 1:23
  Don Armstrong: It is.
• 1:23
  Don Armstrong: Well, you know, uh, when somebody picks up the phone and says, Hey, we're having an open house out here, you guys want to come, we'll be there.
• 1:29
  Don Armstrong: Okay, well, it'll be spring.
• 1:31
  Don Armstrong: We'll do that again.
• 1:32
  Don Armstrong: Okay, spring.
• 1:33
  Jeff Dziekan: Well, the last time we were out there is when we were uh rearranging the studios.
• 1:36
  Jeff Dziekan: That's correct.
• 1:37
  Jeff Dziekan: He afforded us a place to stay.
• 1:38
  Don Armstrong: That's right.
• 1:38
  Don Armstrong: We were hidden in a closet, which was perfect for us, and that's where we came from anyway.
• 1:43
  Don Armstrong: We appreciate it.
• 1:43
  Don Armstrong: Yeah.
• 1:44
  Don Armstrong: So uh let's talk about the Himmy Height out and how things are going out there.
• 1:47
  SPEAKER_01: All's going good.
• 1:49
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, we've just got a lot of visitors coming, you know, Monday through Friday we do the tours and uh getting busier and busier and busier, all out as busy as I want to be.
• 1:58
  Don Armstrong: So well that that's right, because uh you've been quote unquote in retirement for a number of years.
• 2:04
  Don Armstrong: Actually, I met you and you just had been in retirement for a couple of years, I think.
• 2:09
  SPEAKER_01: You are correct.
• 2:10
  SPEAKER_01: That's been almost 15 years now.
• 2:12
  SPEAKER_01: Wow.
• 2:12
  SPEAKER_01: Oh my gosh.
• 2:13
  SPEAKER_01: Well, it is you were a young buck back in those days.
• 2:15
  Don Armstrong: Yes, I was.
• 2:16
  Don Armstrong: He's not anymore.
• 2:17
  Don Armstrong: No, none of us are, as a matter of fact.
• 2:20
  Don Armstrong: So uh let's talk about the Hemi Hideout for those that uh really don't know.
• 2:24
  Don Armstrong: And uh we we continue to have this influx of people that come and visit us uh either on our live broadcast or mainly on podcasts.
• 2:33
  Don Armstrong: And the Hemi Hideout is located just outside of Brookshire, Texas, and uh it's a fabulous place that John has built as an homage.
• 2:42
  Don Armstrong: There's a word for you in homage to the Hemi culture and mainly late 60s, early 70s, right, John?
• 2:50
  SPEAKER_01: That's correct.
• 2:51
  SPEAKER_01: That's my love of my life.
• 2:52
  Don Armstrong: Yeah, and but here of late, and I say of late, meaning the last I don't know, seven, eight years, you've kind of backed off of the cars and you're into the signs now.
• 3:04
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, into the signs, it's getting a little cozy in there now, so even that's starting to slow a little bit, but we still put things in almost every day.
• 3:12
  SPEAKER_01: So uh, you know, special things.
• 3:14
  SPEAKER_01: So fill in the holes.
• 3:16
  Don Armstrong: Yeah.
• 3:17
  Don Armstrong: Well, let's go back to the carts for a second and tell everybody uh what is the what is the collection, what is it made up of?
• 3:24
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, so uh basically uh my love when I was 18 years old, uh 1970, and the muscle car era was in full swing, as we all know.
• 3:34
  SPEAKER_01: And for me, uh I had a Dodge Super B and uh I love the Dodge and Plymouth muscle cars.
• 3:39
  SPEAKER_01: I loved all the cars, but uh Hemi Hideout is uh certainly got a theme behind it uh because of my love.
• 3:46
  SPEAKER_01: But uh collected the cars, tried to get one of each model from say 68 to 71.
• 3:52
  SPEAKER_01: That was my heyday, so that's what I've basically done.
• 3:55
  SPEAKER_01: All 446 packs and Hemi's except for one 340 duster, which is my favorite.
• 4:02
  Don Armstrong: Leave it to me to be the oddball out, right?
• 4:05
  SPEAKER_01: It's it's in the will, okay, pal.
• 4:09
  Don Armstrong: I appreciate that.
• 4:10
  Don Armstrong: But don't look for it today.
• 4:12
  Don Armstrong: Yeah, you also have um a super bird in there, amongst you collection.
• 4:18
  SPEAKER_01: Sure.
• 4:19
  Don Armstrong: Is that an original?
• 4:20
  SPEAKER_01: That's an original.
• 4:21
  SPEAKER_01: That's uh I'm the second owner.
• 4:23
  SPEAKER_01: It's got like 38,000 miles on it.
• 4:25
  SPEAKER_01: It's a 446 pack, and out of the 1,840 that they built, only 277 had the 446 pack.
• 4:33
  SPEAKER_01: So that made that kind of special.
• 4:35
  SPEAKER_01: 77 had uh Hemis, and the rest were all 444 barrels.
• 4:39
  unknown: Wow.
• 4:40
  Don Armstrong: Interesting.
• 4:41
  Don Armstrong: And I guess yours is the got the most horsepower.
• 4:44
  SPEAKER_01: Well, mine's a 446 pack, so it's underneath the Hemi.
• 4:48
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, I see.
• 4:52
  Jeff Dziekan: Do any of these folks that think they know what they're doing contact you about any of your vehicles that maybe want to buy them or maybe sell you one?
• 5:00
  SPEAKER_01: They do, Jeff, but you know, uh I'm really not a professional on any of that.
• 5:04
  SPEAKER_01: I'm just uh ultimate enthusiast.
• 5:06
  SPEAKER_01: So I sometimes I get called out on some of my facts that I spill out.
• 5:10
  SPEAKER_01: But uh I'm just uh uh an enthusiast really and not a professional, but just love those cars.
• 5:16
  SPEAKER_01: But yeah, we get calls all the time, uh, people wanting to buy one of those cars or trade or sell one.
• 5:23
  SPEAKER_01: So but it's getting it's cozy in there now, so it's almost a fullness.
• 5:27
  Don Armstrong: Yeah, yeah.
• 5:27
  Don Armstrong: And when you have an event out there that isn't really car theme related, um, you also have other events in there that you have to move some of the cars out and allow room for the tables.
• 5:40
  SPEAKER_01: That's right.
• 5:40
  SPEAKER_01: So we you can rent the place out for a private event, and uh we do that uh, well, whatever, normally for corporate events is what it's mainly for, but you can come and have a 50-person lunch and it's very affordable.
• 5:53
  SPEAKER_01: If somebody comes out and rents the place, we match the funds and all of it gets donated to local charities.
• 5:58
  SPEAKER_01: So it's amazing.
• 6:00
  SPEAKER_01: Don't want to run, I don't want to have a full-time business, but it's fun to share it with people anyway.
• 6:05
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, exactly.
• 6:06
  Don Armstrong: So for a nice size, let's say a corporate Christmas party, how many people comfortably can you hold in there?
• 6:13
  SPEAKER_01: 250 is perfect.
• 6:14
  SPEAKER_01: Anything under 125, it kind of runs out of the pizzazz.
• 6:18
  SPEAKER_01: You gotta have the party atmosphere, you know.
• 6:20
  SPEAKER_01: So uh say we know that you're the party guy.
• 6:24
  SPEAKER_01: I'm not I'm old, but I ain't dead yet.
• 6:28
  SPEAKER_01: He's taking care of his arteries out there, don't you?
• 6:30
  SPEAKER_01: That's right.
• 6:31
  SPEAKER_01: I gotta keep those going.
• 6:32
  Don Armstrong: Yeah, yeah, I got to keep them breathing out there.
• 6:35
  Don Armstrong: Right.
• 6:36
  Don Armstrong: Well, and and and we're gonna get to the signs in just a minute, but uh, you got a good friend that actually uh put us together uh by the name of Bill Sites, and uh uh Bill painted this uh beautiful thing for me for for my current Corvette.
• 6:52
  Don Armstrong: And uh so I said, you know, Bill, I really have never done anything for you and Sharon.
• 6:57
  Don Armstrong: I said, let me run some spots for you guys and uh your autographics uh business, and so we're doing that, and uh, I don't know, he probably has gotten hate calls because of it, but uh whatever the case may be.
• 7:11
  Don Armstrong: But uh Bill was instrumental in helping you build the Hemi hideout.
• 7:16
  SPEAKER_01: He's a prince of a guy, as you well know, just like you three guys, you know what I mean?
• 7:21
  SPEAKER_01: That's it.
• 7:22
  Jeff Dziekan: I mean, come on, but uh didn't he say that he's he's fabricated stories?
• 7:26
  Jeff Dziekan: I think he's doing one right now.
• 7:27
  Jeff Dziekan: Yeah, well, there's that.
• 7:28
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, no, but Bill played a major role and really was the catalyst that got me going.
• 7:33
  SPEAKER_01: I'd still be sitting there talking about it if it hadn't been for Bill.
• 7:37
  SPEAKER_01: And it's been a wonderful journey for me, Bill, really all of us, you guys, for everybody, the car industry has really been a wonderful ride for us in our lifetimes.
• 7:48
  Don Armstrong: Well, yeah, and uh, you know, the the and I met Bill back in the car club days when I was actually uh a member, uh became a member of the San Jacino Corvette Club.
• 7:58
  Don Armstrong: And I'll never forget meeting him, Sharon, uh, out there at uh I think it was the town and country, whatever hotel was out there at the time for the monthly meeting where they read the minutes and all the all the garbage that goes along with that.
• 8:11
  Don Armstrong: But um, you know, uh that was 1978, I believe it was.
• 8:17
  Don Armstrong: And uh Bill and I have been friends and gone to every kind of event when it comes to cars that you could possibly imagine.
• 8:25
  Don Armstrong: Actually, we even started our own club called Corvettes of Houston, which is from what I understand, uh or has been at least a Corvette dealership, if you like.
• 8:35
  Jeff Dziekan: I think it's still there.
• 8:36
  Don Armstrong: Yeah.
• 8:37
  Don Armstrong: Anyway, uh so we and it was Bill that said, Don, listen, I'm involved in this project with this guy that I have met, and uh it's called the Hemi Hideout, and we're in the process of building it right now, and as soon as it gets built, we want you to come out and take a look at it.
• 8:54
  Don Armstrong: I went out there and was blown away.
• 8:56
  Don Armstrong: Are you kidding me?
• 8:58
  Don Armstrong: And what it looks like a church to cars in there.
• 9:01
  Don Armstrong: And uh, you know, and you'll have to explain briefly exactly what the makeup of the actual building itself is.
• 9:10
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, make you uh well uh okay, so the building is a uh uh 21,700 square foot uh uh car venue, if you will.
• 9:20
  SPEAKER_01: It's also neon signs and different memorabilia things of the good old days.
• 9:24
  SPEAKER_01: Uh it's a scissor arch timber frame building, which is kind of unique for the Texas area because all the timbers have to come from the Pacific Northwest.
• 9:33
  SPEAKER_01: So in this case, Idaho, and uh you bring the trees down.
• 9:37
  SPEAKER_01: Most people will build like a gazebo or a great room, but very few people will build a whole building out of timber, but it made uh just uh gave you the wow factor naked before anything ever went in there.
• 9:51
  SPEAKER_01: It looked beautiful, and everybody said it looked like a church or a cathedral.
• 9:54
  SPEAKER_01: And then as we started to hang the neon signs originally 15 years ago, we had collected 240 neon signs.
• 10:01
  SPEAKER_01: There's 342 neon signs in there now out of 4,500 pieces.
• 10:07
  SPEAKER_01: But when people come in, they think they're all neon signs.
• 10:10
  SPEAKER_01: Only 7% of those signs are actually illuminated.
• 10:14
  SPEAKER_01: Wow.
• 10:14
  SPEAKER_01: What inspired you to go with that kind of the timber frame technology?
• 10:19
  SPEAKER_01: I I always wanted to build a uh like a log home or some kind of wood structure, and then when I so-called retired, uh I thought, well, you know, the clock's ticking.
• 10:30
  SPEAKER_01: If I'm gonna do it, I better do it now.
• 10:32
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm glad I did it when I did.
• 10:34
  SPEAKER_01: I wouldn't do it today.
• 10:36
  SPEAKER_01: Why wouldn't you do it today?
• 10:37
  SPEAKER_01: Well, I'm an old goat now, and and you know, don't I wouldn't have enough time to to really enjoy it, or it doesn't, it wouldn't make sense.
• 10:44
  SPEAKER_01: It really didn't make sense then, but I'm I'm so proud and glad that I did it.
• 10:48
  Mike Marrs: Well, you've got it's 15 years that you've been able to enjoy it now.
• 10:52
  SPEAKER_01: Exactly, exactly.
• 10:52
  Don Armstrong: Yeah, so and as and more uh important than all of that, I think, is the fact of uh all of the people that you through the Hemi Hideout have brought together.
• 11:03
  Don Armstrong: It's a people place.
• 11:05
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it is.
• 11:06
  SPEAKER_01: It it really is, and uh we continue every day we get new people come by and tour, and they bring other people.
• 11:13
  SPEAKER_01: We don't advertise it, it's by word of mouth.
• 11:15
  SPEAKER_01: So uh every day we have busloads of people that come out, community centers, church groups, whatever.
• 11:21
  SPEAKER_01: Wow.
• 11:21
  SPEAKER_01: Um again, we collect a ten dollar fee when they come, we match that, all that goes charity too.
• 11:27
  SPEAKER_01: So it's fun to share it and we're having fun.
• 11:29
  SPEAKER_01: All of a reason for the friends to get together and we explain what all that stuff is because when people walk in, most people don't know what is this.
• 11:37
  SPEAKER_01: They look at it like, what in the heck happened in here?
• 11:41
  SPEAKER_01: You guys know, you recognize all this.
• 11:43
  SPEAKER_01: A lot of people just don't get it, they don't understand what they what they love it, but they don't know why they love it.
• 11:48
  SPEAKER_01: It's just pretty, you know.
• 11:49
  Jeff Dziekan: Well, I I find myself when I've walked into it, it's just you you don't talk for a few minutes, you just kind of look around, and your eyes are about this big, and you're going, wow, this is incredible.
• 11:57
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, when we see somebody like that, Jeff, that's when we go get them because we know we're gonna have a lot of fun talking with them.
• 12:03
  Jeff Dziekan: And you do, you have your staff is very knowledgeable on all the details of all the things that you have in there, and they give tours, and they're it it's it's just amazing how they can remember all that since you keep adding and changing and things.
• 12:15
  Jeff Dziekan: You talked about corporate events.
• 12:16
  Jeff Dziekan: Do you do weddings and most of the time?
• 12:18
  SPEAKER_01: We've done weddings, uh, but we try to steer away from those because we don't allow kids under the age of 12 for law uh for lawsuit purposes.
• 12:27
  SPEAKER_01: But we do rehearsal dinners and we do receptions, so those are pretty popular.
• 12:31
  SPEAKER_01: But again, you're limited to no kids under 12, and that usually uh nixes the the uh wedding venue.
• 12:38
  SPEAKER_01: Right, right.
• 12:38
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, gotcha.
• 12:39
  Don Armstrong: Yeah, we don't want little Johnny scratching up the super bird or Don Armstrong.
• 12:44
  SPEAKER_01: I was gonna say Dr.
• 12:45
  SPEAKER_01: Word right out of my mouth.
• 12:49
  Don Armstrong: Oh, you won't know me too well.
• 12:52
  Don Armstrong: Oh, yeah.
• 12:53
  Don Armstrong: Yeah, exactly.
• 12:54
  Don Armstrong: Um so you you have a lot of help and you have these volunteers.
• 12:59
  Don Armstrong: It's a staff of volunteers, and I say staff because it really is a staff, an unpaid staff, because they love coming there, helping you, and they love meeting the people, and the people love them.
• 13:09
  Don Armstrong: It's a it's a it's a big love fest going on out there.
• 13:13
  SPEAKER_01: It's a win-win-win all the way around.
• 13:15
  SPEAKER_01: We just have a great time.
• 13:16
  SPEAKER_01: So onward through the fog we go.
• 13:19
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 13:19
  Don Armstrong: So let's talk about the signs here before we l get out of time.
• 13:23
  Don Armstrong: Um what have you got since uh we saw you last?
• 13:26
  Don Armstrong: And by the way, we saw you last August?
• 13:32
  Don Armstrong: Could have been I think it was August that because we that was when we transitioned.
• 13:38
  Don Armstrong: Yeah.
• 13:39
  Don Armstrong: So uh since last August, have you acquired anything that you're mighty proud of?
• 13:44
  SPEAKER_01: Well, we've got a new sign we're working on now.
• 13:46
  SPEAKER_01: You remember Bill Prokopic, he's our absolutely restoration guy.
• 13:49
  SPEAKER_01: Yep, and we've got a really cool sign that's gonna go up here in a couple of months, and it says everything is bigger in Texas.
• 13:56
  SPEAKER_01: It's a porcelain sign, and Texas is great big with two X's, and uh it's got a cowboy lassoing a big giant jackrabbit.
• 14:06
  SPEAKER_01: It's a neon sign, it's huge, it's about 10 by four, and uh it's a it's gonna be a neon, it's gonna look really cool.
• 14:16
  Mike Marrs: So you're gonna hang it or mount it on the wall.
• 14:19
  SPEAKER_01: It'll be it'll be hanging probably in in the the front entry, uh, you know, Mike, where where you where you drive in under that portique share because we're running out of space.
• 14:28
  SPEAKER_01: I love that.
• 14:29
  SPEAKER_01: I was gonna get to it.
• 14:30
  SPEAKER_01: It's gonna be outside under the roof and protect.
• 14:33
  SPEAKER_01: It'll be under the roof, but it'll be cool and say everything's bigger than that entry, yes.
• 14:37
  Mike Marrs: Talk about an entry.
• 14:38
  Don Armstrong: Yeah, yeah.
• 14:39
  Don Armstrong: You know what?
• 14:40
  Don Armstrong: Before you go, I I did want to mention to everybody that John's last name is Hovis.
• 14:44
  Don Armstrong: And when I moved to Texas and to Houston uh back in the 60s, uh it was Hovis furniture.
• 14:53
  Don Armstrong: And uh I know that you're you're your family has a rich history here in in Texas, and especially out in the Brookshire area, because uh, was it your grandparents that had the uh mercantile out there?
• 15:05
  SPEAKER_01: That's right.
• 15:05
  SPEAKER_01: That was in 18, late 1800s when they moved from Armenia, and then in 1920 moved into Houston, started Star Furniture Company, and then uh we sold out of three people that started Star.
• 15:16
  SPEAKER_01: And uh in 1939, my grandfather sold out and we started competing against Star.
• 15:21
  SPEAKER_01: We lost the war by 1972.
• 15:24
  SPEAKER_01: That was the end of Hovis Furniture Company, and a few years after that is when I started my manufacturing company.
• 15:30
  Don Armstrong: Yeah, and uh and you you went to Memorial High School?
• 15:34
  Don Armstrong: I did, I was a legend over there when you weren't on mine, when you weren't under arrest.
• 15:43
  Don Armstrong: I've seen pictures of you, including your, I think it was your high school graduation picture.
• 15:49
  SPEAKER_01: Well, yeah, long hair hippie.
• 15:51
  SPEAKER_01: Man, I was I was driving a 1970 yellow super B hair down to my past my shoulders and uh Rolling Stones on ride open.
• 16:00
  SPEAKER_01: So it was the good old days.
• 16:02
  Mike Marrs: Hey John, we have a question that came in from the internet.
• 16:05
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, sir.
• 16:06
  Mike Marrs: Uh the question is uh once somebody wants to know, somebody named Diane Hovis wants to know if you're planning on selling any of this stuff.
• 16:13
  SPEAKER_01: I don't know who you're talking about.
• 16:16
  SPEAKER_01: Wrong number.
• 16:17
  SPEAKER_01: Wrong number.
• 16:19
  SPEAKER_01: Hang up quick.
• 16:22
  SPEAKER_01: She'll sell everything for half price.
• 16:24
  SPEAKER_01: She's got a sign in there that says this is not a museum, everything's for sale.
• 16:28
  SPEAKER_01: See Diane.
• 16:29
  SPEAKER_01: Hey Mike, Mike, Mike, get her number.
• 16:32
  Mike Marrs: Yeah, get her number.
• 16:33
  Don Armstrong: Yeah, right, right.
• 16:34
  Don Armstrong: Yeah.
• 16:35
  Don Armstrong: Uh listen, uh, we love you guys, and we thank you so much for taking the time to join us today.
• 16:40
  Don Armstrong: I know you were going to sleep in late today, but guess what?
• 16:43
  Don Armstrong: The in-wheel time car talk show came a knocking, and we sure appreciate you spending the time with us.
• 16:49
  SPEAKER_01: I appreciate you guys, your friendship, and all man.
• 16:51
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you guys again.
• 16:53
  SPEAKER_01: Y'all are a great big part of our ride that we've had.
• 16:56
  SPEAKER_01: So thank you all.
• 16:56
  SPEAKER_01: Love you both.
• 16:57
  SPEAKER_01: Love you too, man.
• 16:58
  Don Armstrong: Thanks, and we'll talk again soon, John.
• 17:00
  Don Armstrong: We appreciate you.
• 17:01
  Don Armstrong: All right.
• 17:01
  Don Armstrong: Text Motor Minute and a review of the Electric GMC Sierra when the in-wheel time car talk show continues right after this quick break.
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• 18:03
  Don Armstrong: Loopy Tortilla eats pretty good.
• 18:09
  Don Armstrong: Apple or Android In Wheel Time podcasts can be found everywhere, on the stream and through downloads.
• 18:15
  Don Armstrong: Whether you're on the road or at home and searching for a fun car talk show, give In Wheel Time a try.
• 18:20
  Don Armstrong: Honest new car reviews, fun informative interviews with real car people, weekly automotive news, features like Jeff's car culture, Mike's driving destinations, all on In Wheel Time.
• 18:30
  Don Armstrong: Check us out on Sirius XM Podcasts, iHeartRadio, or while you're shopping on Amazon through Amazon Music.
• 18:36
  Don Armstrong: Inwheeltime.com has a list, so check us out.
• 18:38
  Don Armstrong: Check us out.com, YouTube, and Facebook.
• 18:50
  Don Armstrong: Or you can grab a 30-minute podcast of our show, lots of them on there, from your favorite podcast store.
• 18:56
  Don Armstrong: It is free and it is wonderful.
• 19:00
  Don Armstrong: Time now for Jeff's Motor Minute, Jeffrey.
• 19:02
  Jeff Dziekan: There you go.
• 19:02
  Jeff Dziekan: Well, everybody knows Burt Reynolds, right?
• 19:04
  Jeff Dziekan: They know the Pontiac Transam and the movie Smokey and the Bandit and General Motors.
• 19:08
  Jeff Dziekan: Well, hey, uh not anything more iconic than that movie, especially for the car.
• 19:13
  Jeff Dziekan: Well, the amazing success of the film led General Motors to gifting a Pontiac Transam to Burt Reynolds every year for the rest of his life.
• 19:22
  Jeff Dziekan: So that went on, and uh sure he was getting them, and and uh most of the time he was giving them to family and friends, but he kept one for himself, obviously the 77.
• 19:31
  Jeff Dziekan: But the deal was much better than expected.
• 19:34
  Jeff Dziekan: Uh loving the car, and he went on to to uh be other success in other movies.
• 19:40
  Jeff Dziekan: So GM did something a little different.
• 19:43
  Jeff Dziekan: Uh after the fifth year, the sixth year comes, and Burt Reynolds didn't get a car.
• 19:48
  Jeff Dziekan: So he called General Motors and he got the new Pontiac president on the phone and he said, you know, we were just checking to make sure it was a car stolen, is something in transit?
• 19:57
  Jeff Dziekan: What happened?
• 19:58
  Jeff Dziekan: Are we still gonna get a car?
• 19:59
  Jeff Dziekan: And the new Pontiac president said, Well, that was the predecessor of me, did that, and we're not gonna do that because I don't like your movies.
• 20:07
  Mike Marrs: So they cut them off.
• 20:08
  Jeff Dziekan: Yeah, they cut them off.
• 20:10
  Jeff Dziekan: And he's the uh told him all we love Burt Reynolds films, but we just don't like you.
• 20:15
  Jeff Dziekan: So um that was it, that was the end of it.
• 20:18
  Jeff Dziekan: So he got them for five years, he gave them away to family and friends, but uh no more.
• 20:23
  Don Armstrong: Well, way to go, GM.
• 20:24
  Jeff Dziekan: There you go.
• 20:25
  Jeff Dziekan: Pontiac knuckleheads.
• 20:30
  Don Armstrong: Time now for this hour's car review.
• 20:33
  Don Armstrong: I got to drive the Toyota CHR.
• 20:38
  Don Armstrong: Do you know what C H R stands for for?
• 20:43
  Don Armstrong: It stands for compact or coop, which is not a coop in my mind, but a compact high rider.
• 20:54
  Don Armstrong: Compact high rider.
• 20:56
  Don Armstrong: I had no clue.
• 20:57
  Don Armstrong: Yeah, I thought, what does that what does that mean?
• 21:01
  Don Armstrong: Well, there you go.
• 21:02
  Don Armstrong: There's your definition.
• 21:03
  Don Armstrong: Okay, so the CHR that I got to drive comes in two trim levels, the SE and the XSE.
• 21:10
  Don Armstrong: This is an electric only.
• 21:13
  Don Armstrong: There is no gasoline or hybrid version of it yet.
• 21:17
  Don Armstrong: Reviewed trim level was the top of the line, XSE, all-wheel drive.
• 21:21
  Don Armstrong: And by the way, all models come all-wheel drive.
• 21:24
  Don Armstrong: This is a small SUV, two rows of seating in it.
• 21:27
  Don Armstrong: I like the looks of that car.
• 21:30
  Don Armstrong: Uh, exterior changes from last model year.
• 21:32
  Don Armstrong: Well, this is the second generation.
• 21:34
  Don Armstrong: Now there was a gap between the first generation and this one.
• 21:37
  Don Armstrong: So this is the second generation.
• 21:39
  Don Armstrong: It is an all new model.
• 21:41
  Don Armstrong: It shares, which I thought was interesting, most of its parts with the Subaru Uncharted.
• 21:50
  Don Armstrong: Which, as you remember, I had one of those not that long ago, and I liked it.
• 21:53
  Don Armstrong: I actually saw one the other day.
• 21:55
  Don Armstrong: I like this exterior features.
• 21:58
  Don Armstrong: Overall, modern design.
• 22:00
  Don Armstrong: With split headlights, creased side sculpture enhances bulging fenders.
• 22:08
  Don Armstrong: Optional two-tone paint gives it a more upscale look, if you notice.
• 22:13
  Don Armstrong: Fast back roof leads to a sleek rear glass.
• 22:17
  Don Armstrong: Kind of like a little hot rod.
• 22:19
  Don Armstrong: But I like the overall exterior, gets high marks in my book.
• 22:22
  Don Armstrong: What could use improvement?
• 22:23
  Don Armstrong: Nothing.
• 22:24
  Don Armstrong: Interior that you're looking at there now.
• 22:27
  Don Armstrong: Dual phone charging pads.
• 22:29
  Don Armstrong: See them there?
• 22:30
  Don Armstrong: I thought that was pretty cool.
• 22:31
  Don Armstrong: Rotary dial transmission selector.
• 22:34
  Don Armstrong: Good for you.
• 22:35
  Don Armstrong: We don't need to have that big, bulky steering wheel, although they took up a lot of room with this thing.
• 22:41
  Don Armstrong: Uh, unique cloth vinyl interior materials.
• 22:46
  Don Armstrong: I'm not too sure about the cloth aspect of it.
• 22:49
  Don Armstrong: Tight leg room in the back seat.
• 22:51
  Don Armstrong: It's a small SUV.
• 22:53
  Don Armstrong: What I liked about it, the sporty nature of the interior and the exterior.
• 22:58
  Don Armstrong: Uh, what could use improvement?
• 23:00
  Don Armstrong: Another choice or two for the interior coverings.
• 23:04
  Don Armstrong: You may like it, good for you.
• 23:06
  Don Armstrong: And that that's what they're hoping for that you'll buy it.
• 23:09
  Don Armstrong: Engine, dual electric motors, uh, 338 total horsepower through the system, uh, 323 pound feet of torque.
• 23:20
  Don Armstrong: And by the way, if you didn't know, this is direct drive, so it has no transmission.
• 23:25
  Don Armstrong: Okay, on a full charge, I could get up to, according to the calculator inside the vehicle, 233 miles.
• 23:35
  Don Armstrong: I got 3.6 miles per kilowatt hour.
• 23:41
  Don Armstrong: Uh that would mean 417 miles.
• 23:45
  Don Armstrong: Well, depends on how you drive it.
• 23:47
  Don Armstrong: What I liked, 0 to 60 time in 4.9 seconds.
• 23:52
  Don Armstrong: It's a rocket.
• 23:53
  Don Armstrong: Screamer.
• 23:53
  Don Armstrong: It is a screamer.
• 23:54
  Don Armstrong: Uh, what could use improvement?
• 23:56
  Don Armstrong: More of that.
• 23:57
  Don Armstrong: They should have a plaid version.
• 24:00
  Don Armstrong: Two motors.
• 24:00
  Don Armstrong: This is only with two motors.
• 24:02
  Don Armstrong: Yeah, but the you know, the battery, the battery is uh where it's at.
• 24:06
  Don Armstrong: Uh ride and handling.
• 24:08
  Don Armstrong: What I like.
• 24:08
  Don Armstrong: The suspension is a little bit stiff, but it kind of adds to the sporting nature, the whole look of it, the whole thing of this particular vehicle.
• 24:16
  Don Armstrong: What could use improvement?
• 24:17
  Don Armstrong: Nothing, don't change it.
• 24:19
  Jeff Dziekan: Is it heavy?
• 24:20
  Jeff Dziekan: Is it a heavy drive?
• 24:21
  Don Armstrong: Um, no, not particularly.
• 24:24
  Don Armstrong: Base trim price, base trim price,$39,000.
• 24:30
  Don Armstrong: Price as tested,$43,429.
• 24:34
  Don Armstrong: So it did have some options on it.
• 24:36
  Don Armstrong: You can get into one of these, same motor setup,$37,000 even.
• 24:43
  Don Armstrong: Competitors, well, both the Toyota and this Subaru, well, the Subaru and the Toyota, the same vehicle, uh, both come out of Aichi, Japan.
• 24:56
  Don Armstrong: Subaru Uncharted starts at$34,995.
• 25:01
  Don Armstrong: So the Subaru Uncharted is a little bit better deal.
• 25:05
  Don Armstrong: Um, it's its twin, three thousand dollars less than the Toyota CHR.
• 25:11
  Don Armstrong: Now, another competitor to it would be the Hyundai Ionic 5.
• 25:16
  Don Armstrong: It starts at$35,000.
• 25:18
  Don Armstrong: These are all electrics now, and the Kia Nero Electric, they're pretty proud of that one, starts at$39.7.
• 25:25
  Don Armstrong: All of them under$40,000.
• 25:27
  Don Armstrong: Well, the base price anyway.
• 25:30
  Don Armstrong: So uh that's my review of the 2026 Toyota CHR.
• 25:36
  Don Armstrong: What does CHR stand for?
• 25:38
  Jeff Dziekan: Uh high high rise.
• 25:40
  Jeff Dziekan: Comedy duty high rise.
• 25:42
  Jeff Dziekan: Yeah.
• 25:43
  Jeff Dziekan: Laura bought a Toyota this week.
• 25:45
  Jeff Dziekan: She got one.
• 25:46
  Jeff Dziekan: Oh, really?
• 25:46
  Jeff Dziekan: Yeah, she got she bought a uh oh god, I can't remember now.
• 25:51
  Jeff Dziekan: Wasn't the CHR?
• 25:52
  Jeff Dziekan: Uh probably something larger than that.
• 25:54
  Jeff Dziekan: Yeah, uh, yeah.
• 25:55
  Jeff Dziekan: Listen, Toyota makes hers is a hybrid.
• 25:57
  Don Armstrong: She bought the hybrid, and her headlights look just like the headlights on that car you just reviewed.
• 26:01
  Don Armstrong: Um, good choice.
• 26:02
  Don Armstrong: Yeah, that's a good choice.
• 26:03
  Don Armstrong: The the hybrid is the way to go, and um I'm I'm a I'm a I'm a big fan of the hybrids.
• 26:09
  Don Armstrong: Um, and you know, Toyota makes so many different models, and within those models, they got a whole list as a rule of the trim levels.
• 26:20
  Don Armstrong: So you want the cheap one, they got that.
• 26:23
  Don Armstrong: You want the one that's all loaded out, they got that too, and everything in between.
• 26:26
  Jeff Dziekan: I saw it the other day it was dark out.
• 26:27
  Jeff Dziekan: I really didn't get a chance to look at it, but it's pretty blue, dark blue, really nice, yeah.
• 26:31
  Don Armstrong: She did good.
• 26:32
  Don Armstrong: Yeah, they build good stuff over there.
• 26:34
  Don Armstrong: Uh well, Aichi Japan, isn't that where they had the uh earthquake?
• 26:37
  Don Armstrong: Yes, yeah, yes.
• 26:38
  Don Armstrong: They should be up and running.
• 26:39
  Don Armstrong: I haven't I didn't see our story this week, so what that tells me is that their planned uh restart of all of that after they closed for a few weeks because of the damage that was done, that uh that apparently has happened.
• 26:52
  Don Armstrong: Okay.
• 26:53
  Don Armstrong: Hey, if you'd like to get in touch with us, we'd love to hear from you.
• 26:56
  Don Armstrong: Send us an email.
• 26:57
  Don Armstrong: The address is info at nwheeltime.com.
• 27:00
  Don Armstrong: We're back after this quick break.
• 27:04
  Don Armstrong: Your car is a direct reflection of you, so don't be satisfied with color fade or a dingy dull appearance.
• 27:10
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• 27:13
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• 27:21
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• 27:30
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• 27:33
  Don Armstrong: If you don't know which of the multitude of protection products to go with, John Gray will give you an honest opinion and won't tell you something you don't need.
• 27:40
  Don Armstrong: John will help you understand the many options and pricing right on the spot.
• 27:43
  Don Armstrong: He's your guy to have your ride looking its best and protected too.
• 27:47
  Don Armstrong: See the state-of-the-art shop yourself, free tours anytime.
• 27:50
  Don Armstrong: Gulf Coast Auto Shield is easy to get to, located just south of the Southwest Freeway on the Sam Houston Parkway.
• 27:56
  Don Armstrong: Gulf Coast Auto Shield, full service luxury car care today and online at gcautoshield.com.
• 28:03
  Don Armstrong: Gift giving should be meaningful, and we have an idea.
• 28:06
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• 28:11
  Don Armstrong: Now you can get one or a car show poster customized for you, a friend, or a loved one.
• 28:16
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• 28:19
  Don Armstrong: No matter what the day, birthday, anniversary, or any day, an autographics custom illustration adds an extra touch of class to any home.
• 28:26
  Don Armstrong: Call Bill today, 832-922-0963.
• 28:30
  Don Armstrong: That's 832-922-0963.
• 28:35
  Don Armstrong: That's it for this podcast episode of the In Wheel Time Car Show.
• 28:39
  Don Armstrong: 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.
• 28:49
  Don Armstrong: Podcasts are available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, iHeartPodcast, Podcast Addict, TuneIn, Pandora, and Amazon Music.
• 28:57
  Don Armstrong: Keep listening, and we'll see you soon.