Latest / In Wheel Time Podcast / Unveiling the True Costs of Commuting: Insights, Technology, and Car Enthusiast Celebrations

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Unveiling the True Costs of Commuting: Insights, Technology, and Car Enthusiast Celebrations · In Wheel Time Podcast

• 0:01
  Speaker 1: Welcome to another In Wheel Time podcast, a 30-minute mini version of the In Wheel Time Car Show that airs live every Saturday morning 8 to 11 am Central.
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: Well, it's been a fun.
• 0:15
  Speaker 2: 30 minutes and let's go into the next 30 minutes.
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: From the Sugar Shack Studios in Houston, Texas, USA.
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: It's the In Wheel Time Car Talk Show just ahead.
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: Do you know how much your commute costs you each year?
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: We're going to find out.
• 0:27
  Speaker 1: You may be surprised.
• 0:28
  Speaker 1: Jeff has the cruise-in calendar and the events calendars and I'll bring you stories making automotive news this week.
• 0:33
  Speaker 1: Howdy, along with Mike out of this world, Mars.
• 0:36
  Speaker 1: We always need more, Jeff Zekin.
• 0:37
  Speaker 1: Chief Engineer David Ainslie, I'm Don Armstrong.
• 0:40
  Speaker 1: Thanks so much for joining us today.
• 0:46
  Speaker 1: I'm going to try to do a better job in keeping us on time today, but I didn't do such a good job the last time.
• 0:49
  Speaker 1: Or last week or last week.
• 0:50
  Speaker 1: You know, I'm time challenged these days.
• 0:52
  Speaker 1: I think it's the tight underwear I'm wearing now.
• 0:55
  Speaker 1: That and the cold weather.
• 0:56
  Speaker 1: Well, there's that, absolutely All right.
• 0:59
  Speaker 1: Chip Lupo is an analyst with Wallet Hub.
• 1:03
  Speaker 1: Chip, good morning to you, good morning gentlemen, hey, thanks so much for joining us.
• 1:09
  Speaker 1: We appreciate you.
• 1:09
  Speaker 1: Where are you calling us from?
• 1:11
  Speaker 4: I am here in Columbia, South Carolina.
• 1:14
  Speaker 1: How's the weather up there in the Carolinas today?
• 1:23
  Speaker 4: Well, we just earlier this week we had our first snowfall and ice.
• 1:25
  Speaker 4: About barely an inch on the ground here in Columbia, but enough to shut the schools down.
• 1:29
  Speaker 1: It's a coinkydink.
• 1:29
  Speaker 1: Yeah, that is quite a coinkydink, because we actually experienced the exact same thing here.
• 1:35
  Speaker 1: We don't have snowplows here I don't know about you up there but no snowplows, and it was difficult and the city pretty much shut down for at least 24 to 36 hours, depending on what it was that was open.
• 1:48
  Speaker 2: Yeah, we had our first official blizzard you did.
• 1:51
  Speaker 2: We never had a blizzard in southeast Texas before, but it was here.
• 1:55
  Speaker 1: And you can hear that accent there, chip we never had a winter blast here, blizzard.
• 2:01
  Speaker 3: Blizzard.
• 2:02
  Speaker 3: We had to shut stuff down here, Chip.
• 2:04
  Speaker 3: You put the topping on it with the nuts it was a good blizzard.
• 2:09
  Speaker 4: The state here is divided pretty much in two regions a low country and an upstate.
• 2:14
  Speaker 4: The upstate where the greenville, spartanburg area going towards clemson, near the blue ridge mountains, they get a pretty good amount of snow.
• 2:20
  Speaker 4: So the running joke around here is that there's one plow snow plow in all of south carolina and they keep it up there in green.
• 2:26
  Speaker 1: Yeah kind of like it is here.
• 2:30
  Speaker 1: Well, at any rate, we wanted to talk to you today about how much your commute costs, and we briefly kind of teased it earlier on, before we went on the air and the fact that you you look at gasoline, that's the obviously one either that or electricity, depending on whether you're driving an internal combustion engine or you're driving one with an electric motor.
• 2:52
  Speaker 1: At any rate, you got to put energy in the car and that's going to cost you money.
• 2:57
  Speaker 1: But so many times people forget about the fact that we got insurance, we got upkeep maintenance.
• 3:04
  Speaker 1: Have you had a wreck?
• 3:07
  Speaker 1: Did you bump the fender?
• 3:08
  Speaker 1: You got to get that fixed.
• 3:09
  Speaker 1: So there's all of these factors that go into it.
• 3:12
  Speaker 1: On a commuter car and that's what we're talking about here is commuting price, and I'm thinking if people only knew how much that car actually costs to get you from point A to point B and back every day, I think they'd be amazed.
• 3:29
  Speaker 4: Well, you're right and you hit on some of the key points.
• 3:31
  Speaker 4: You mentioned upkeep.
• 3:32
  Speaker 4: You mentioned insurance and just a routine wear and tear.
• 3:37
  Speaker 4: The quality of your roads would have a lot to do with that.
• 3:40
  Speaker 4: If you're driving on a road covered with potholes, you're going to be in the shop a lot more than you anticipated.
• 3:44
  Speaker 4: But keep also in mind too, is that what you pay for your car the actual if you're.
• 3:51
  Speaker 4: You know, I'm quite sure you, gentlemen, are not one of those who are foolish enough to pay sticker price for a brand new car.
• 3:57
  Speaker 4: But the price that you pay is going to determine how much your insurance is going to be.
• 4:02
  Speaker 4: And what people forget, too, also are if you're in a state where you're paying property taxes.
• 4:08
  Speaker 4: In south carolina, you pay a county tax on your vehicle based on whatever numbers that the assessor put on it, but the more expensive your car, the higher your property taxes are going to be that's interesting because here in the state of Texas it's not based on property taxes per se.
• 4:27
  Speaker 1: We have a set rate for your car and that goes all through the state.
• 4:31
  Speaker 1: I think that mine this year was $77 to get a license plate for the next year.
• 4:36
  Speaker 1: How much was yours?
• 4:37
  Speaker 1: Do you remember?
• 4:37
  Speaker 3: I don't remember.
• 4:38
  Speaker 3: I got a new one, so it all kind of came together.
• 4:41
  Speaker 1: Yeah, something like that, about $75 a year, but I know that a lot of them are based on well, there is a fee.
• 4:48
  Speaker 1: I believe that the county that we live in takes out of that 75.
• 4:52
  Speaker 1: It's complicated, it's not just one fee that goes to one place.
• 4:56
  Speaker 1: Yeah, it's multiple things.
• 4:58
  Speaker 1: And, let's not forget, if you buy a gallon of gas, there's a lot of money that goes to the state, that's taxed onto that gallon of gas.
• 5:08
  Speaker 3: So proprietors get very much yeah right, the gas taxes.
• 5:11
  Speaker 4: There's a reason that gas is up.
• 5:13
  Speaker 4: We're about six, seven dollars in california and in a state like texas where ranks pretty low on average gas about 278 a gallon even then.
• 5:22
  Speaker 4: Even then, how much of that is going into taxes?
• 5:25
  Speaker 4: That's going straight to Austin.
• 5:27
  Speaker 1: Well, that's right, and we're fortunate in the fact that we are an oil-producing state and the state of Texas has always kind of really given us, so to speak, a discount.
• 5:41
  Speaker 1: They're very aware of where their money comes from.
• 5:43
  Speaker 1: Yeah, very much so.
• 5:44
  Speaker 1: So you know, we don't have property taxes because it's an oil-producing state and we get our revenue in different places.
• 5:53
  Speaker 3: yes, Did he freeze up?
• 5:57
  Speaker 3: He's frozen.
• 5:59
  Speaker 1: He's frozen oh am I?
• 6:01
  Speaker 4: No, I'm still here, guys.
• 6:02
  Speaker 1: Okay good, all right, you were just listening.
• 6:04
  Speaker 1: So what is it that we can do, besides the obvious, to reduce the amount of money that we pay commuting?
• 6:17
  Speaker 1: You still got to have insurance, you still got to have fuel money.
• 6:22
  Speaker 1: However, the only thing that I can think of is, if you're, if you're driving let's just take, for instance, a pickup truck, because here in texas, pickup trucks are all the range, all right, state vehicle yeah, pretty much.
• 6:36
  Speaker 1: And the fact that, generally speaking, pickup trucks, even though they've got a v6 most of them still today have V8s that didn't really go out of style or fashion here in the last couple of years, and that thing's going to get, I don't know, 13, 14 miles to the gallon.
• 6:55
  Speaker 1: Well, what do you do then?
• 6:58
  Speaker 1: I like my pickup truck.
• 7:00
  Speaker 1: Well, what can you do to cut back on the cost of the pickup truck?
• 7:06
  Speaker 1: You're not going to sell it, you're going to keep it.
• 7:10
  Speaker 4: You follow my thinking oh, absolutely, but a couple of them.
• 7:14
  Speaker 4: They're drastic at best, but, um, consider commuting to a job closer to your home or moving closer to where you work.
• 7:22
  Speaker 4: That's one thing.
• 7:23
  Speaker 4: Carpooling it's not in fashion like it was a few years ago, but that's an option.
• 7:31
  Speaker 4: Carpooling, maybe a combination hybrid working from a combination working home and in the office and GPS, is a wonderful thing.
• 7:43
  Speaker 4: You can maybe plot some shorter routes.
• 7:46
  Speaker 4: Maybe there's some routes that maybe might add a mile or two onto your trip but would save you time, therefore save you gas money.
• 7:54
  Speaker 1: Yeah Well, I think that if you really put your mind to it, you could really save some significant amount of money over a year period of time.
• 8:02
  Speaker 1: Maybe, perhaps, if your car is more than three years old and you use it mainly for commuting, perhaps taking that pickup truck and trading it in, get top dollar for it.
• 8:16
  Speaker 1: Step down and get yourself a hybrid.
• 8:19
  Speaker 1: I had a hybrid the other day.
• 8:20
  Speaker 1: 40 miles to the gallon, I didn't have to worry.
• 8:25
  Speaker 1: It was not a plug-in hybrid, it was just a hybrid.
• 8:27
  Speaker 1: I didn't have to worry about trying to find a charging station.
• 8:31
  Speaker 1: It did it all on its own and got 40 miles to the gallon.
• 8:35
  Speaker 1: Was it a race car?
• 8:36
  Speaker 1: Absolutely not, but it wasn't who drives the race car to work.
• 8:40
  Speaker 1: So I mean, you follow my thinking there.
• 8:43
  Speaker 1: Maybe perhaps over a year or two period of time, you could save some significant money if you would maybe use an alternate method of commuting.
• 8:54
  Speaker 4: Oh, hybrids are perfect idea for for general commuting if you live in an area where work and shopping are fairly close.
• 9:00
  Speaker 4: But the flip side, if you're commuting long, long trips or if you're in a job where you're traveling constantly, a hybrid may not be as good an idea, other than for the gas cost of it yeah, yeah, yeah, I need my truck, I need my truck, I gotta keep my truck, I got to keep my truck.
• 9:18
  Speaker 2: But to your point, over the course of a year most people don't think about saving a dollar or two here.
• 9:24
  Speaker 2: Over the course of a year it's oh, I can go down here and save a couple of dollars.
• 9:27
  Speaker 2: That's not too big a deal.
• 9:30
  Speaker 2: It's not worth my time and effort.
• 9:31
  Speaker 4: But if you do that 100 times a year, Guys, one thing I noticed a couple of weeks ago one of my best friends got a brand new Toyota Tundra pickup with a turbo V6.
• 9:43
  Speaker 4: And he's still figuring out the bells and whistles on it.
• 9:48
  Speaker 4: But he found out the hard way is that if you're sitting at a light or in traffic, it automatically shuts off.
• 9:54
  Speaker 4: There's kind of a kill switch or something in it that'll make it.
• 9:57
  Speaker 4: Yes, the auto start-stop feature yeah, absolutely kill switch or something in it that'll make, yes, the auto start stop feature?
• 10:00
  Speaker 1: yeah, absolutely, and and um, you know when, when I started getting uh demo cars to drive and and review, uh, I hated it and uh, today, and I used to turn it off today I don't do that as much because I want to get the full experience of it and, uh, most of them you have to actually hit the button to turn it off.
• 10:22
  Speaker 1: Now I get the full experience of it and some of those cars, when the engine comes to life, it'll shake the entire car.
• 10:30
  Speaker 1: Other ones you don't even recognize it, don't even mess with it and it won't cost any more than the other one.
• 10:37
  Speaker 3: I turn mine off every time I start.
• 10:39
  Speaker 3: I put the seatbelt on, first the car and then I turn it off.
• 10:42
  Speaker 3: Uh, I get 28 to 28 and a half miles to the gallon in the city.
• 10:47
  Speaker 3: I've gone as high as almost 33 on the highway yeah, I'm fine with that, have you?
• 10:53
  Speaker 1: have you tried a tank by not turning?
• 10:55
  Speaker 3: it off.
• 10:55
  Speaker 3: No, I just don't like that feature.
• 10:57
  Speaker 3: I just don't like that.
• 10:58
  Speaker 2: Yeah, you know, I went to a demo one time um, and I believe it was chrysler when they first started really doing that and they showed how much you know, like over the course of a tank of a gas.
• 11:08
  Speaker 2: The amount of gas that you're actually saving is pretty minimal, but they look at it over the course of a hundred thousand vehicles that they're going to build that year is how much fuel and actually it all gets saved.
• 11:19
  Speaker 2: And that was several years ago when they first started that feature, so it may be even more now with all the hybrids and the electric help processes they have to get the cars going.
• 11:31
  Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah.
• 11:32
  Speaker 4: So the other thing, gentlemen, about technology, though, is that the more technology, as my father my father was a mechanic for 35 years, and he cringed at the idea of power windows, and back in the 80s- oh yeah would say basically.
• 11:46
  Speaker 4: So that's just more things to go wrong with it and the more technology those are going to create, increase your maintenance costs, because these things are not cheap, even if you happen to be driving a ford f150 as opposed to a toyota tundra chip.
• 11:59
  Speaker 1: I challenge you to find a car that has crank windows today.
• 12:03
  Speaker 1: I think that there may be two or three manufacturers that still make crank windows for their bottom-of-the-line car that they've been building for 50 years, but they're not built here in America.
• 12:14
  Speaker 1: Well, it doesn't make any difference, they still build it.
• 12:17
  Speaker 1: And I will tell you that I have gotten used to power windows and my daughter's 2007 Ford Focus.
• 12:27
  Speaker 1: I bought it because it had crank windows, because it was cheap.
• 12:31
  Speaker 3: You, can get the modern, old, new, old stock, whatever you want to call it, where you have an actual handle on the door like a crank handle, but it's actually your window.
• 12:41
  Speaker 3: You push it down.
• 12:41
  Speaker 3: The window goes down.
• 12:42
  Speaker 3: You pull it up there's an actual handle.
• 12:48
  Speaker 4: So, chip, I want to know a little bit more about WalletHub and what you guys do.
• 12:50
  Speaker 4: Well, we are primarily a personal finance website and we offer a wide array of services, such as free credit reports, free credit scores, budgeting apps, personal finance advice.
• 12:59
  Speaker 4: But we do conduct a number of surveys that have to do with personal finance to give folks an idea of where their money is going and how much things cost.
• 13:08
  Speaker 4: Studies like this one, and my job is to sit here and chat with you, gentlemen, and kind of break things down into plain English.
• 13:17
  Speaker 1: Well, you know, when it comes to dealing with us, I'm glad that you may have to start taking some sign language courses, because we're kind of like hard-headed and tough to get through to some.
• 13:31
  Speaker 1: We repeat stuff a lot.
• 13:33
  Speaker 1: Does it cost money to get the information from WalletHub?
• 13:38
  Speaker 4: No, totally free.
• 13:39
  Speaker 4: Free credit reports and the credit scores are updated daily.
• 13:43
  Speaker 4: Your TransUnion credit report's available and there's just a wealth of products that we have out there.
• 13:50
  Speaker 4: We have a car loan payoff calculator.
• 13:54
  Speaker 4: You can type in your numbers if you're looking to buy a new car.
• 13:56
  Speaker 4: Figure out how long it's going to pay, how much you'll be paying in interest.
• 14:00
  Speaker 4: There's just a wide array of products that we have out there.
• 14:01
  Speaker 4: If you're looking to buy a new car, figure out how long it's going to pay, how much you'll be paying in interest.
• 14:03
  Speaker 1: This is a wide array of products that we have out there.
• 14:04
  Speaker 1: How does WalletHub make its?
• 14:06
  Speaker 4: money.
• 14:07
  Speaker 4: That's a good question.
• 14:08
  Speaker 4: We do a lot of credit card reviews and reports and of course, we are compensated every time someone applies for a credit card or a banking product link linking from our website and I'm not familiar with total ins and outs, but that's pretty much the gist of it.
• 14:27
  Speaker 1: There's a commission involved, like affiliate listing yes, exactly, partners so the article is 2025's best and worst states to drive in.
• 14:36
  Speaker 1: So if you are a shoe salesman and you drive state to state, we can go around those states that cost you more money to drive in.
• 14:48
  Speaker 4: Well, guys, it's relative in a way, if you think about it, because you guys are in southeast Texas, but wherever you live is the worst place to drive.
• 14:58
  Speaker 4: If you're driving to school or if you're driving to work, your city or your state is the worst place for driving.
• 15:05
  Speaker 1: It's funny how that works out that way.
• 15:07
  Speaker 1: Yeah, most definitely.
• 15:09
  Speaker 1: Well, chip, it's great to talk to you.
• 15:11
  Speaker 1: We really appreciate you taking the time to talk to us today.
• 15:13
  Speaker 1: Stay in touch.
• 15:14
  Speaker 1: When you've got some new product that you want to talk about, give us a ring and we'll get you on.
• 15:19
  Speaker 4: I look forward to it.
• 15:20
  Speaker 4: Gentlemen, you all have a great afternoon.
• 15:21
  Speaker 4: You do the same, thank you.
• 15:22
  Speaker 4: Thanks so much.
• 15:23
  Speaker 1: Chip Lupo with Wallet Hub.
• 15:25
  Speaker 1: I'm going to have to go there.
• 15:27
  Speaker 2: Yeah, do that.
• 15:27
  Speaker 2: There's a couple things I heard him talking about.
• 15:31
  Speaker 3: Yeah wallethubcom.
• 15:32
  Speaker 3: I knew a guy that found out from his insurance company that accidents happen within 25 miles of your home, so he moved.
• 15:41
  Speaker 1: Good Thank you, Jeff, for that.
• 15:44
  Speaker 3: Yes.
• 15:45
  Speaker 1: You know, Insightful, Uh-huh Insightful, and it really makes me think.
• 15:49
  Speaker 1: On a Saturday morning Coming up, Jeff has the cruise-in calendar and the events calendar as well.
• 15:55
  Speaker 1: I'll have the stories making automotive news headlines.
• 15:57
  Speaker 1: Thanks for joining us on the award-winning In Wheel Time Car Talk Show.
• 16:01
  Speaker 1: We'll be right back.
• 16:07
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• 18:00
  Speaker 1: Hey, when you download our app, you'll have access to the In Wheel Time Car Talk program 24-7.
• 18:05
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• 18:16
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• 18:21
  Speaker 1: Catch it 10 to noon Central Time every Saturday morning Time.
• 18:26
  Speaker 1: Now for the cruise in and events calendars you betcha and guess who has that?
• 18:30
  Speaker 3: I got it, it's troublemaker Jeff.
• 18:32
  Speaker 3: Zekin.
• 18:32
  Speaker 3: So these are for February 1st, which is next weekend.
• 18:35
  Speaker 3: Gears and Grounds.
• 18:36
  Speaker 3: Join fellow car enthusiasts on February 1st for Gears and Grounds.
• 18:39
  Speaker 3: Join fellow car enthusiasts on.
• 18:40
  Speaker 1: February 1st for Gears and Grounds.
• 18:41
  Speaker 3: Oh, I like that I like that name.
• 18:41
  Speaker 3: It's at the Shop Club in Houston.
• 18:43
  Speaker 3: The gathering promises a display of a wide variety of vehicles, including classic cars, sports cars, exotics, race cars, imports trucks.
• 18:50
  Speaker 3: They're either lifted or lowered one or the other Gears and Grounds occurs every first Saturday of the month from 8 to 10.
• 18:56
  Speaker 3: But of course they probably go over to 11, 12, whatever the case, because people hang out.
• 19:01
  Speaker 3: This is at 13150 Brenton Ridge Street in Houston, again February 1st, 8 to 10.
• 19:06
  Speaker 3: Then you got the Kingwood Classic Cruisers Cars and Coffee.
• 19:09
  Speaker 3: Join Kingwood Classic Cruisers every Saturday morning at the Whataburger who doesn't like Whataburger Michael?
• 19:14
  Speaker 3: From 730 to 1030.
• 19:16
  Speaker 3: Again, it probably rolls over a little later.
• 19:18
  Speaker 3: So it's at 4545 Kingwood Drive in Kingwood, texas, 8.30 to 10.
• 19:22
  Speaker 3: Conroe Cruisers again February 1st, conroe, montgomery County.
• 19:26
  Speaker 3: All these folks really know how to put on a show.
• 19:29
  Speaker 3: Saturday Night Cruise.
• 19:29
  Speaker 3: So this is an evening one.
• 19:30
  Speaker 3: It starts at the Kroger Marketplace parking lot at 341 South Loop, 336 West, on Groundhog Day, the 2nd, which is Groundhog Day, right February 2nd.
• 19:42
  Speaker 3: Woodlands Cars and Coffee for a Cruise for a Cause.
• 19:45
  Speaker 3: This is a good event.
• 19:47
  Speaker 3: It's from 6.30-ish to 10.30-ish in the morning.
• 19:50
  Speaker 3: Continued efforts, fun, creative ways to bring back things to the community.
• 19:55
  Speaker 3: They take donations and things for the different charities they have.
• 19:58
  Speaker 3: The purpose is providing a charity of car displays show off special vehicles supporting of that particular area in Montgomery County.
• 20:06
  Speaker 3: It's at the Market Street in the Woodlands, at Uni Sushi, at 9595 Six Pines Drive, uni Sushi.
• 20:13
  Speaker 3: There you go.
• 20:13
  Speaker 3: So you only get one, don, that's Uno.
• 20:16
  Speaker 3: Sorry, that's a game.
• 20:16
  Speaker 3: Spring Texas, february 2nd.
• 20:18
  Speaker 3: Now, because it's Groundhog's Day, I'm going to read it again.
• 20:22
  Speaker 3: So there you go, thank you.
• 20:26
  Speaker 1: You ever heard of a guy by the name of Hal Spurlick?
• 20:28
  Speaker 1: We're about to find out.
• 20:30
  Speaker 1: Yeah, no, so Hal Spurlick has died.
• 20:33
  Speaker 1: The template that Hal Spurlick, an engineer turned product development ace, used to create the Ford Mustang in the 1960s and the Chrysler minivan in the 1980s still works today.
• 20:46
  Speaker 1: Spurlick's first recipe was simple Create eye-catching, segment-busting vehicles by modifying existing platforms with unique bodies and keep costs under control by using as many off-the-shelf components as possible.
• 21:00
  Speaker 1: Spurlick died January 20th at the age of 95 years old.
• 21:04
  Speaker 1: Let's see.
• 21:06
  Speaker 1: He was the last surviving member of the core team of executives at Ford that created the Mustang.
• 21:13
  Speaker 1: Ford Motor Company CEO, jim Farley, in a statement, called Spurlick a product visionary who never played it safe and was always focused on the white space and improving the company's capability.
• 21:27
  Speaker 1: In his 2013 interview with Motor Trend, spurlick had more parting advice for the industry's newest leaders.
• 21:34
  Speaker 1: Nobody is innovating, creating new segments, he told the magazine.
• 21:38
  Speaker 1: Look at my history Mustang never done before.
• 21:41
  Speaker 1: Fuel-efficient front-drive cars for America never done.
• 21:43
  Speaker 1: History Mustang never done before.
• 21:44
  Speaker 1: Fuel efficient front drive cars for America never done.
• 21:45
  Speaker 1: Minivans never done.
• 21:46
  Speaker 1: It was going outside of the rear view mirror segments.
• 21:50
  Speaker 1: A lot of new niches are possible.
• 21:52
  Speaker 1: So I normally don't do that, but that struck me as a guy that he was kind of.
• 21:57
  Speaker 1: You know.
• 21:58
  Speaker 1: You always hear of Lee Iacocca Ford Mustang, but here's the guy that actually made it happen the guy behind the guy and he ultimately got fired from Ford because he poo-pooed the Edsel, and we all know what happened with the Edsel.
• 22:15
  Speaker 1: It was poo-poo, yeah.
• 22:16
  Speaker 1: President Donald Trump said he planned to impose previously threatened tariffs of as much as 25% on Mexico and Canada by February 1st, reiterating his contention that America's two immediate neighbors are letting undocumented immigrants and drugs flood into our country.
• 22:34
  Speaker 1: We are thinking in terms of 25% on Mexico and Canada because they are allowing vast numbers of people into the US, trump said in a response to questions from reporters in the Oval Office on Monday night I think we'll do it February 1st.
• 22:48
  Speaker 1: Trump also ordered his administration to consider eliminating subsidies and other policies that favor electric vehicles, laying the groundwork for moves that risk slowing adoption of EVs in the US, european, asian auto companies likely to be affected by Trump tariffs.
• 23:06
  Speaker 1: So we got that working as well.
• 23:10
  Speaker 2: Lots of stuff.
• 23:10
  Speaker 1: Yeah, stellata said it will move ahead with plans to build a midsize pickup truck at its long idle assembly plant in Belvedere, illinois.
• 23:18
  Speaker 1: In a memo obtained January 22nd by Cream's Chicago Business, an affiliate of Automotive News, the automaker said it will build the new truck and return approximately 1,500 UAW-represented employees to work there.
• 23:34
  Speaker 1: The company did not provide a timeline, though the UAW announced Belvedere will build a new midsize truck starting in 2027.
• 23:42
  Speaker 1: Finally, thank you, thank you, thank you, and I've said the story before and I'll repeat it again.
• 23:48
  Speaker 1: You know, every time I go to Wisconsin to visit relatives up there, I fly into Chicago and then drive up to Janesville, wisconsin typically, or Milwaukee somewhere in there, and I go right past that Belvedere plant on the road up to Wisconsin big highway.
• 24:04
  Speaker 1: That plant is massive and it sat there now for years vacant.
• 24:09
  Speaker 1: You drive by it and all I can think of is the number of employees that it provided a living for for all those years and what has happened to those 1,500 or 3,000 people that work there.
• 24:22
  Speaker 3: To your point, there was a thing on the news just past, like Tuesday or Wednesday, about that plant and that most of it is in disarray, falling down, so it's going to take a lot of work to get it going before they can even start again, right?
• 24:33
  Speaker 3: So they're going to have to basically rebuild the plant.
• 24:35
  Speaker 1: Pretty much.
• 24:35
  Speaker 1: Yes, I knew that and you know, originally, when that moron that was the CEO said oh yeah, we're going to do it so they could keep the UAW off their back, yeah, and they didn't do it, and have you heard anything from them lately?
• 24:50
  Speaker 3: No, the UAW, no.
• 24:52
  Speaker 1: No, not a word.
• 24:53
  Speaker 1: That's a sore subject.
• 24:56
  Speaker 1: I think yeah, and especially among the UAW rank and file.
• 24:59
  Speaker 3: I think they're trying to get rid of their leader.
• 25:01
  Speaker 3: I think I don't know.
• 25:02
  Speaker 3: I keep hearing rumblings about that, yeah scuttlebutt.
• 25:07
  Speaker 1: Donald Trump's first moves on electric vehicles, including the revocation of an executive order that called for 50% of all new passenger cars and light trucks to be zero emission by 2030, to be zero emission by 2030, signal the direction of his administration, but on their own, won't immediately change policy.
• 25:26
  Speaker 1: In addition to revoking the order, he called for a pause in the release of funds under two federal acts of legislation the Inflation Reduction Act and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
• 25:39
  Speaker 1: So the $7,500 that you were getting back from your taxes and all that stuff, yeah, not going to happen.
• 25:45
  Speaker 1: No, not going to happen.
• 25:46
  Speaker 1: And I've always been a proponent of the fact that, hey, you're going to build a vehicle, let's make it right spot on with all of the others, compete head to head.
• 25:57
  Speaker 1: It doesn't make any difference what it is that you're trying to motivate that vehicle with, whether it be electricity or gasoline or hydrogen or whatever.
• 26:05
  Speaker 1: It needs to compete with all the other vehicles head to head.
• 26:08
  Speaker 1: If you can't build it, they can compete with, let's say, the kia kv, k, uh, k5.
• 26:15
  Speaker 2: then rethink it, make it competitive with it it's just me I think I, you know if you think back, we're old enough to think back that there was a time whenever that seemed like what they were doing I'm living in the past.
• 26:29
  Speaker 2: But once you get outside forces like the government involved in trying to tell them what they can and can't do, then you start restricting what they're able to do, and so I think in a free capitalistic market, you've built stuff that people would buy If they didn't want to buy it.
• 26:47
  Speaker 2: You figured it out and you quit building it, and it's not that way right now, or it hasn't been.
• 26:52
  Speaker 2: For the last few years it's been very, very focused on what somebody else wants.
• 26:57
  Speaker 2: We want you to build this.
• 26:59
  Speaker 2: We don't care what people want to buy.
• 27:01
  Speaker 2: You're going to build this.
• 27:02
  Speaker 2: We don't care what people want to buy, You're going to build this.
• 27:03
  Speaker 1: Well, in my world, you know, I grew up with the big three period, that's it.
• 27:07
  Speaker 1: Then along comes Volkswagen with the bug, then along comes Toyota with the Corolla Honda first, then Toyota Honda.
• 27:15
  Speaker 1: Well, asian market, and so, little by little, they've been eating away at it because they were competing head-to-head with the US market which, let's face it, it wasn't all that to talk about back in the day.
• 27:28
  Speaker 2: But it's all we knew at the time.
• 27:29
  Speaker 2: That's correct.
• 27:30
  Speaker 3: Well, you say that because when they were introduced and the imports were coming, the JDM, so to speak, was during the oil crunch.
• 27:38
  Speaker 3: So that was their opening.
• 27:40
  Speaker 3: If it wasn't for that, they would have probably been a little bit behind with the big three, I think with the oil and the embargoes and the gas lines.
• 27:49
  Speaker 3: That's when the imports started to explode, because they built smaller cars more efficient cars, but it was still the same thing.
• 27:54
  Speaker 2: People made the choice Do I want to drive my truck Right or do I want to go buy a Toyota Corolla that I can buy gas for for the rest of the?
• 28:01
  Speaker 3: week.
• 28:01
  Speaker 3: Well, you'd have to buy your truck if the oil embargo didn't happen.
• 28:04
  Speaker 3: You would be driving your truck anyways.
• 28:06
  Speaker 2: So everybody switched to the but that's why you had a choice.
• 28:10
  Speaker 1: Hey, we'd love to hear from you.
• 28:11
  Speaker 1: Just shoot us an email.
• 28:12
  Speaker 1: The address here is info at inwheeltimecom.
• 28:16
  Speaker 1: We'll be right back.
• 28:17
  Speaker 1: Pro-am Auto Accessories has been serving Houston's auto enthusiasts since 1984,.
• 28:22
  Speaker 1: Pro-am Auto Accessories has been serving Houston's auto enthusiasts since 1984, providing world-class products for sports cars, european sedans and American muscle.
• 28:27
  Speaker 1: Pro-am is known as the place to go to find exclusive and hard-to-find parts and accessories.
• 28:32
  Speaker 1: Pro-am is one of the very first distributors in the USA for brands such as Recaro, redline, momo Corbo and Simpson.
• 28:41
  Speaker 1: Located in the heart of Houston's premier retail and service corridor, the Galleria area, pro-am's walk-in storefront includes an 8,000 square foot warehouse, showroom and installation bays.
• 28:48
  Speaker 1: Pro-am not only sells parts and accessories, but also offers installation and service.
• 28:52
  Speaker 1: Pro-am is now reaching a worldwide audience through Pro-Amcom, taking its local reputation to the rest of the world.
• 28:58
  Speaker 1: At Pro-Am Auto, you'll be dealing with a small group of professionals who truly want to help you with your automotive needs.
• 29:04
  Speaker 1: If you don't see what you're looking for on the website, call and Pro-Am will lend you a hand.
• 29:08
  Speaker 1: Pro-am Auto, 6125 Richmond at Greenridge in Houston's Galleria area.
• 29:13
  Speaker 1: Call them at 713-781-7755.
• 29:17
  Speaker 5: From the open roads to the open waters.
• 29:20
  Speaker 5: Your adventure starts at the Houston Auto-Botive Show at NRG Center.
• 29:25
  Speaker 5: One ticket, two shows.
• 29:27
  Speaker 5: Check out top cars, trucks, sport boats, fishing boats and more.
• 29:31
  Speaker 5: New designs, new technology and everything in between Spectacular experiences, amazing fun.
• 29:37
  Speaker 5: There's something for everyone.
• 29:39
  Speaker 5: Get your friends, get your family and get your tickets now.
• 29:42
  Speaker 5: The Houston Auto-Botive Show making waves and fueling adventures.
• 29:48
  Speaker 1: That's it for this podcast episode of the In Wheel Time Car Show.
• 29:51
  Speaker 1: I'm Don Armstrong, inviting you to join us for our live show every Saturday morning on Facebook, youtube, twitch and our InWheelTimecom website.
• 30:01
  Speaker 1: Podcasts are available on Apple Podcasts, spotify, stitcher, iheart Podcast, podcast Addict TuneIn, pandora and Amazon Music.
• 30:09
  Speaker 1: Keep listening and we'll see you soon.