Latest / In Wheel Time Podcast / Navigating Tariff Turmoil and the 2025 Toyota Grand Highlander Review

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Navigating Tariff Turmoil and the 2025 Toyota Grand Highlander Review · In Wheel Time Podcast

• 0:00
  Speaker 2: Welcome to another In Wheel Time podcast a 30-minute mini version of the In Wheel Time Car Talk Show that is live every.
• 0:07
  Speaker 3: Saturday morning 8 to 11 am.
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: Central and what the auto industry is struggling with.
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: Along with what we're struggling with, we've got recalls and guess what it sold for on Hemmings this week.
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: Also, I'll give you my thoughts on driving the 2025 Toyota Grand Highlander Hybrid, and Jeff has the Motor Minute in this segment of the In Real Time Car Talk Show.
• 0:27
  Speaker 1: Howdy Along with Mike.
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: Out of this world, mars, in Nederland, texas.
• 0:31
  Speaker 1: We always need more.
• 0:33
  Speaker 1: Jeff Zekin.
• 0:33
  Speaker 1: Chief Engineer David Ainsley.
• 0:35
  Speaker 1: I'm Don Armstrong.
• 0:36
  Speaker 1: Glad you could join us today.
• 0:37
  Speaker 1: Sorry for the glitch yeah, the glitch, if you want to call it that.
• 0:43
  Speaker 3: Oh, glitch.
• 0:43
  Speaker 3: Glitch is a good word to say in public.
• 0:45
  Speaker 1: Yeah, we're going to be getting a new computer, hopefully this week.
• 0:50
  Speaker 1: Maybe that will solve whatever issue we have.
• 0:53
  Speaker 2: In a hot tub Ew.
• 0:56
  Speaker 3: The computer is a hot tub.
• 0:58
  Speaker 2: It is a waterproof laptop.
• 1:00
  Speaker 1: I am not getting anywhere near you guys in any kind of a hot tub.
• 1:05
  Speaker 1: Did you ever see a hot tub time machine.
• 1:08
  Speaker 3: Yes, it reminds me of one of those trips we took to California Don.
• 1:13
  Speaker 1: No, no, it doesn't remind me of that at all.
• 1:16
  Speaker 1: Thank you, that's when you all went to San Francisco right.
• 1:20
  Speaker 3: I think it was just south of San Francisco, if I'm not mistaken.
• 1:22
  Speaker 3: Well, I'll tell you what.
• 1:25
  Speaker 1: You know we'll worry about that another day.
• 1:28
  Speaker 1: We can explain that to people, but I was not in any hot tub with any man in this room Other men, but not this.
• 1:41
  Speaker 3: All right, verification Got to be clear Got to be clear.
• 1:44
  Speaker 2: I actually wasn't in any hot tub, so remember info.
• 1:47
  Speaker 2: At In Wheel Time, send your pictures of your hot tub.
• 1:49
  Speaker 2: We'll put it here behind us.
• 1:50
  Speaker 1: No, yeah, Okay, let's do that.
• 1:52
  Speaker 1: All right, let's get on with the car show, shall we Our story of the week?
• 1:56
  Speaker 1: Automakers and suppliers urged the Trump administration to end unpredictable expansions of tariffs, saying they're making it harder to justify investments in the United States.
• 2:10
  Speaker 1: That's the message of a September 16th letter to the Trump administration from automotive trade groups and associations representing other industries.
• 2:16
  Speaker 1: The business groups criticized the recent expansion of steel and aluminum tariffs to cover more than 400 new products, including auto parts and industrial robots, saying it was implemented without adequate notice and creates more costs and uncertainty for US businesses.
• 2:34
  Speaker 1: At a time when many are dealing with fragile supply chains, global competition and inflationary pressures, this process creates additional uncertainty that risks slowing growth and deterring investment in the United States that, according to Jeffrey Kessler, the Undersecretary for Industry and Security at the Commerce Department, More than 40 business groups signed this letter, including those that represent automakers and their suppliers in the United States.
• 3:03
  Speaker 1: Among them are the American Automotive Policy Council, which speaks for the Detroit Three Autos Drive America International Automaker Association in the US, and MEMA, the auto supply chain trade group.
• 3:18
  Speaker 1: Importers need reasonable time to implement changes and clear guidance on how to comply, according to the group arguing that the tariff expansion undermined the predictability companies need to make investments and could cause significant harm to US employment.
• 3:36
  Speaker 1: I think that this is a learn-as-you-go kind of thing with the tariffs and everything that's going on with that.
• 3:41
  Speaker 1: The letter comes as the Trump administration appears poised to expand the number of vehicle parts subject to auto tariffs.
• 3:49
  Speaker 1: Commerce Department said September 16th that it would consider requests from companies for additional parts to be added to the list of components subject to tariffs.
• 3:58
  Speaker 1: The tariffs thing is a very complicated and involved deal when it comes to the automotive industry as well as others, clearly.
• 4:03
  Speaker 1: But it comes to the automotive industry as well as others, clearly, but we deal with the automotive aspect of it.
• 4:08
  Speaker 1: Tariffs expected to cost the auto industry $188 billion over three years, equating to about $4,600 per vehicle by year three, according to an estimate by the Center for Automotive Research.
• 4:26
  Speaker 1: By the way, today's average price of a new vehicle is almost $50,000, 49 some change.
• 4:33
  Speaker 1: It's a lot of money and if you're wanting to buy a new vehicle and let's just say that you want to buy one that's $40,000, Good luck in trying to find that that fits your needs.
• 4:45
  Speaker 1: How are you going to afford that payment?
• 4:49
  Speaker 1: You're going to stretch it out to seven years, and seven years by seven years.
• 4:56
  Speaker 1: You've driven that vehicle for seven years.
• 4:57
  Speaker 1: What do you got 120,000 miles on it, or more, or more yeah.
• 5:03
  Speaker 1: So it's a real catch-22.
• 5:06
  Speaker 2: In seven years it's not going to be really worth anything.
• 5:09
  Speaker 1: No.
• 5:10
  Speaker 2: You're going to get money out of it, but not what you expect, and depending on the condition of the car too.
• 5:16
  Speaker 1: Right now I'm dealing with Katie's 2007 Ford Focus that she doesn't want to get rid of.
• 5:22
  Speaker 1: It's in Colorado, where she is, and she wants to bring it down here, and I made the foolish mistake of saying, well, why don't you just bring it back down here and when you come to visit then you can use it here?
• 5:31
  Speaker 1: Well, okay, it's a $1,000 car at best $1,000.
• 5:37
  Speaker 1: Is it worth it?
• 5:38
  Speaker 1: Probably not, and I know that she's not listening to this program today, but I'm.
• 5:47
  Speaker 2: She's going to get the bad news that I don't think that I'm going to bring it down, and you know what.
• 5:50
  Speaker 2: So the car comes down here and then what is it going to cost to maintain it down?
• 5:53
  Speaker 1: well, yeah, and I know, make it and all that she's spent an enormous amount of money on getting it fixed up.
• 5:58
  Speaker 1: For me to drive back down here, it's a thousand mile trip.
• 6:01
  Speaker 1: She bought a new set of tires, in which I don't know how the tires lasted like they did, but they were cracked.
• 6:06
  Speaker 1: They had big chunks out of them.
• 6:08
  Speaker 1: Oh wow, it was scary.
• 6:09
  Speaker 1: And she's done some other things there.
• 6:12
  Speaker 1: So you know.
• 6:13
  Speaker 2: And how often does she come down to actually use the vehicle too?
• 6:15
  Speaker 2: Well, Three times a year maybe.
• 6:17
  Speaker 2: Well, it's more than that.
• 6:18
  Speaker 1: But you know, is it worth it?
• 6:20
  Speaker 1: And it worth it, um, and we're thinking, no, and where is she going to keep it?
• 6:28
  Speaker 1: I don't have the room here at the house to do it, and uh, so now we're going to have to spend money to store it.
• 6:31
  Speaker 1: So what do you do?
• 6:33
  Speaker 1: Probably cheaper to just rent a car while you're here.
• 6:37
  Speaker 3: Well, that, but is it that, or is it the sentimental value I mean?
• 6:41
  Speaker 3: Well, it's the sentimental value, and so much of her life.
• 6:44
  Speaker 1: I know she's had it since she was 16.
• 6:46
  Speaker 1: I gave it to her for her 16th birthday and it had 1,200 miles on it Right, and it now has 185,000 miles on it.
• 6:55
  Speaker 3: It's been coast to coast just about.
• 6:58
  Speaker 1: Every fender has been dented on it.
• 7:00
  Speaker 1: It probably weighs twice as much as it did when it was brand new, because of all the filler that's underneath the black paint.
• 7:07
  Speaker 3: So it's just yeah.
• 7:08
  Speaker 3: Yeah, that's kind of a tough one because of the sentimental value of it.
• 7:13
  Speaker 1: Yep, so I'm going to have to let her make that choice.
• 7:15
  Speaker 1: But anyway, back to the tariffs thing.
• 7:18
  Speaker 1: It's not just new cars, it's also the parts.
• 7:22
  Speaker 1: So if you have let's say you have a fender bender and you need a fender and the associated parts that go with the fender, because it's never just the fender what are you going to do?
• 7:32
  Speaker 1: How much is that going to cost you?
• 7:34
  Speaker 1: Because now there's a big tariff on that fender that was originally made in China or Korea or Canada or whatever.
• 7:43
  Speaker 1: So that fender that was originally made let's just say $500, that fender is probably going to cost you $750 just for the fender alone.
• 7:55
  Speaker 1: So there's a lot to be done here.
• 7:57
  Speaker 1: I know that there's a wait and see game.
• 7:59
  Speaker 1: Hey look, we're going to put the pressure on them.
• 8:01
  Speaker 1: Why isn't the auto industry putting pressure on their associated countries where they are?
• 8:07
  Speaker 1: That is causing all of this to continue on, and I think it's something that they need to look at within themselves and say you know, we really need to move on.
• 8:18
  Speaker 1: Let's get this tariff thing straightened out.
• 8:21
  Speaker 3: You know it's interesting you bring that up, don about buying a fender or something Next week.
• 8:24
  Speaker 3: We've got a guest coming on that's created an app that might actually help people at least go through that decision-making process, and of course, ai is involved in all that stuff, but it should be an interesting conversation that they have with auto-fix-it it's what it's called, but it relates exactly to what you're talking about.
• 8:45
  Speaker 3: The tariffs and stuff are going to make changes and this will give you an opportunity to make a little bit better decision related to some of those changes.
• 8:54
  Speaker 1: When is the last time that you or somebody that you knew went to a junkyard to pull a fender off of a car because it was cheaper?
• 9:01
  Speaker 1: Never, never, no, I never have done it.
• 9:04
  Speaker 1: Our parents did it.
• 9:05
  Speaker 1: My dad did it, right Back when I was building an old pickup truck.
• 9:08
  Speaker 1: I went there and took the steering column out of it because I needed a steering column.
• 9:13
  Speaker 2: I've never bought anything from a junkyard.
• 9:14
  Speaker 2: I've had buddies that have gone to the junkyard with a pickup part type thing, but I've never bought anything myself that I would buy.
• 9:21
  Speaker 1: Today there's a thing online that if you want to buy used, it's a whole network of junkyard parts.
• 9:29
  Speaker 1: They put the cars up there and the parts that are for sale and they'll ship them to you so general motorsport has the same thing.
• 9:35
  Speaker 2: They've got a network of suppliers that they do internally.
• 9:38
  Speaker 2: You know swaps, part swaps from dealer to dealer or however, but that's the same principle, yeah yeah, the old salvage yards.
• 9:44
  Speaker 3: You know, if you went in there they had kind of a an intercom between the different locations.
• 9:48
  Speaker 3: If you went in there looking for a particular part, they would put that out on the intercom and all the.
• 9:53
  Speaker 3: It's like a phone party line.
• 9:55
  Speaker 2: Yeah, oh, we connection is what the manufacturers use or the party.
• 9:57
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
• 9:58
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 9:58
  Speaker 1: Hello Sarah give me the diner.
• 10:03
  Speaker 3: Not quite like that, but I want too much, andy, andy.
• 10:05
  Speaker 3: Absolutely.
• 10:07
  Speaker 1: Hey Stellantis is recalling 53,849.1 vehicles in the US for a fuel pump issue that may lead to loss of drive power Pump quit Recall covers 2018 to 19 Alfa Romeo Stelvio.
• 10:21
  Speaker 1: 2017 to 19 Alfa Romeo Giulia.
• 10:24
  Speaker 1: About 1% of the recall population is expected to have the defect.
• 10:28
  Speaker 1: So if you own one of those, good luck.
• 10:33
  Speaker 1: Hands-free highway assist software may incorrectly identify other vehicles.
• 10:36
  Speaker 1: Uh-oh, wait a minute.
• 10:38
  Speaker 1: Wait a minute.
• 10:39
  Speaker 1: That's not a Rivian R1.
• 10:41
  Speaker 1: That's a Rivian R2.
• 10:43
  Speaker 1: Okay, because this is a recall for the Rivian R1S and the R1T for 2025.
• 10:53
  Speaker 2: Are you like me or are you?
• 10:54
  Speaker 1: not like me.
• 10:55
  Speaker 1: Loss of power steering assist, acura RDX 2025 being recalled, inoperative defrosting and defogging system, lexus, subaru and Toyota 23 to 25 model years, rz, solterra and BZ4X.
• 11:10
  Speaker 1: Well, here we go.
• 11:12
  Speaker 1: We can't have a week without a Ford game.
• 11:14
  Speaker 2: I was waiting on you to get there.
• 11:16
  Speaker 2: I was waiting.
• 11:17
  Speaker 1: Blank or distorted rear view camera image we made it last week.
• 11:20
  Speaker 1: This is another one.
• 11:21
  Speaker 1: Oh, ford Econoline Edge Expedition 250, 350, 450, 550, mustang Ranger Transit Transit Connect MKC and Navigator 450, 550, mustang Ranger Transit Transit Connect MKC and Navigator For every vehicle built since the Model A.
• 11:35
  Speaker 1: Let me have that because I'm going to read them next week too, okay.
• 11:38
  Speaker 2: Same ones are going next week.
• 11:40
  Speaker 1: Instrument panel display failure on the Subaru Solterra.
• 11:43
  Speaker 1: Inaccurate fuel gauge reading.
• 11:46
  Speaker 1: Martha, we ran out of gas but it says it's full.
• 11:50
  Speaker 1: Get out there and push Mazda CX-70, mazda CX-90, 24 to 25.
• 11:55
  Speaker 1: Those are the recalls, martha, I don't know why.
• 11:59
  Speaker 1: Martha, martha, where are the garden lanterns?
• 12:04
  Speaker 1: That's what that comes from, I know, I know.
• 12:07
  Speaker 3: Wasn't Martha on the streak, that song, the Streak?
• 12:10
  Speaker 3: Wasn't that Martha?
• 12:11
  Speaker 3: No, it wasn't Martha no it wasn't Martha.
• 12:14
  Speaker 1: I worked with a woman named Martha, martha Harvey.
• 12:17
  Speaker 1: Why don't we do the Sold Cars Roundup?
• 12:22
  Speaker 1: Okay, mars, are you able to look and see if Jeff and George are online with us?
• 12:30
  Speaker 3: Well, Jeff was here telling us about the audio issue.
• 12:33
  Speaker 3: George was here earlier.
• 12:37
  Speaker 1: Well, Jeff, is all about the you know, pointing bad things out for us.
• 12:43
  Speaker 2: But we already knew that he's our monitor.
• 12:45
  Speaker 1: Yeah, we already knew the bad things.
• 12:46
  Speaker 1: All right, so here's the Soul Cars Roundup.
• 12:48
  Speaker 1: Morris is no longer allowed to participate because he now knows the price, but we're going to try to fix that.
• 12:54
  Speaker 1: But in the meantime and in between time, on Hemmings the sold car this week, 69, Chevrolet Caprice.
• 13:01
  Speaker 1: It's a two-door and it's got red-striped tires and beauty rings on it.
• 13:07
  Speaker 1: So I would imagine 69.
• 13:09
  Speaker 1: So that would probably be a 427 car.
• 13:12
  Speaker 1: How much would that be?
• 13:13
  Speaker 1: 12,000.
• 13:13
  Speaker 1: 21,525.
• 13:16
  Speaker 1: Are you going to participate?
• 13:17
  Speaker 2: Yeah, perfect, because he was going to guess 21.
• 13:20
  Speaker 2: He was going to Well, he would have won it.
• 13:21
  Speaker 2: Yeah, he would have won it.
• 13:23
  Speaker 2: Okay, so David's here.
• 13:24
  Speaker 2: David won it, all right.
• 13:26
  Speaker 3: I haven't got anything from Heitzman yet.
• 13:28
  Speaker 3: Why?
• 13:29
  Speaker 1: not I.
• 13:29
  Speaker 1: I haven't got anything from Heitzman yet.
• 13:30
  Speaker 1: Why not, I don't know.
• 13:31
  Speaker 1: Well, I know that you don't have a microphone, but we can hear you here.
• 13:34
  Speaker 1: Here's one, a 1970 Buick Grand Sport.
• 13:38
  Speaker 1: Need to change that picture.
• 13:39
  Speaker 1: There it is Beauty car.
• 13:40
  Speaker 1: Look at that, golly.
• 13:41
  Speaker 2: I'd like to have that car.
• 13:42
  Speaker 1: It's a Buick, a 70 Buick.
• 13:46
  Speaker 2: Grand Sport.
• 13:47
  Speaker 2: I'm going to go 32.
• 13:48
  Speaker 2: 32.
• 13:49
  Speaker 2: Without even hearing it.
• 13:49
  Speaker 2: What would you say?
• 13:52
  Speaker 1: 36, 750.
• 13:54
  Speaker 1: It's got to be an all-original.
• 13:57
  Speaker 2: It looks really good.
• 13:58
  Speaker 2: Oh my goodness, that's nice.
• 13:59
  Speaker 1: Next up the 1967 Plymouth GTX.
• 14:06
  Speaker 2: Now this one at the Hemi Hideout was white, isn't it?
• 14:08
  Speaker 2: God your memory's better, he's got a white 67 out there.
• 14:12
  Speaker 3: I don't remember exactly what it is.
• 14:13
  Speaker 1: It's got a little 67 Plymouth GTX.
• 14:17
  Speaker 1: This is going to be an all-original car.
• 14:20
  Speaker 2: I'm going to go 27.
• 14:21
  Speaker 2: 35.
• 14:24
  Speaker 1: Well, david said 35.
• 14:25
  Speaker 1: It actually sold for $43,785.
• 14:29
  Speaker 1: Wow, that's some major dollars.
• 14:31
  Speaker 1: Wow, that's a major dollar.
• 14:32
  Speaker 1: That's a nice car, though it is a nice car Well it is.
• 14:34
  Speaker 1: This is for you, jeff, actually for your granddaughter, okay, so when she gets done with the SUV this is a 2014 Porsche Panamera.
• 14:46
  Speaker 1: She was accepted to Texas Tech.
• 14:48
  Speaker 2: Oh, wow.
• 14:49
  Speaker 3: Yeah, she needs a pickup truck.
• 14:51
  Speaker 3: She was accepted to Texas Tech oh wow, yeah, she needs a pickup truck.
• 14:52
  Speaker 2: She was accepted to Texas Tech, but she's going to where?
• 14:54
  Speaker 2: Oh, I don't know.
• 14:55
  Speaker 2: She's decided yet.
• 14:56
  Speaker 2: She's got several options.
• 14:58
  Speaker 1: Oh, okay, so 2014 Porsche Panamera 41.
• 15:02
  Speaker 1: David said 23.
• 15:07
  Speaker 1: Jeff said 41.
• 15:09
  Speaker 1: 41.
• 15:10
  Speaker 1: It went for 18, 375.
• 15:13
  Speaker 1: I don't know whether it's been ragged out, wrecked or what, oh I was thinking it was a blue one Anyway.
• 15:18
  Speaker 1: Next up.
• 15:20
  Speaker 1: This is for Mars.
• 15:22
  Speaker 1: Over there in Neederville, A 1989 Ford F-250.
• 15:27
  Speaker 3: See if she's going to Texas Tech.
• 15:29
  Speaker 3: That's what she needs.
• 15:30
  Speaker 3: Yeah, this one here, yeah.
• 15:30
  Speaker 2: Yeah, and if she's going to Texas Tech, that's what she needs this one here, yeah.
• 15:33
  Speaker 1: And look, it's an extended cab.
• 15:34
  Speaker 1: A long bed, too A long bed extended cab.
• 15:39
  Speaker 2: Wow, that thing's like 70 feet long.
• 15:40
  Speaker 2: Yeah, it is.
• 15:42
  Speaker 1: And it's got the bug catcher on the front Boy.
• 15:45
  Speaker 1: That is 1980s all the way.
• 15:46
  Speaker 2: This is an 89 Ford F-250.
• 15:49
  Speaker 1: How much?
• 15:49
  Speaker 1: $9,000.
• 15:50
  Speaker 1: $18,000.
• 15:53
  Speaker 1: David says $18,000.
• 15:55
  Speaker 1: It lost the video.
• 15:57
  Speaker 1: No, he didn't.
• 15:57
  Speaker 1: It went for $11,550.
• 16:01
  Speaker 1: That's a clean truck.
• 16:03
  Speaker 1: Yeah, george pops in for $89,999.
• 16:08
  Speaker 1: Close All right.
• 16:10
  Speaker 1: Next up, a 1939 Chevrolet Master.
• 16:16
  Speaker 1: God, that's ugly.
• 16:18
  Speaker 1: And it's big Bite your tongue 39 Chevy Master, them bulbous headlights.
• 16:24
  Speaker 1: Oh yeah, man, is it?
• 16:26
  Speaker 1: Yeah?
• 16:27
  Speaker 1: I could see you driving that back and forth, commuting in the car with that.
• 16:29
  Speaker 1: Your license plate would say mmm 39 Chevy Master, how much?
• 16:30
  Speaker 1: $21.
• 16:30
  Speaker 1: Is it?
• 16:30
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I could see you driving that back and forth, commuting in the car with that.
• 16:31
  Speaker 1: All right, your license plate would say mmm 39 Chevy Master, how much?
• 16:35
  Speaker 1: 21.
• 16:35
  Speaker 1: 21.
• 16:36
  Speaker 1: David says 25.
• 16:42
  Speaker 1: It went for $16,590.
• 16:45
  Speaker 1: Oh, wow, wow, that's pretty good yeah.
• 16:48
  Speaker 3: You'd buy it for that, you could get that much in scrap metal out of it Probably.
• 16:52
  Speaker 1: Wait.
• 16:53
  Speaker 1: Next up you can tell already there's a rust issue A 1970 Toyota Hilux A Hilux.
• 17:09
  Speaker 3: The door works Apparently the door.
• 17:11
  Speaker 1: You're talking about the lidux.
• 17:13
  Speaker 1: The door works, apparently the door.
• 17:14
  Speaker 1: You're talking about the.
• 17:15
  Speaker 1: The driver's door works the driver's door, oh, the driver's door.
• 17:16
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I think they bailed on it.
• 17:17
  Speaker 1: How much A 70 Toyota Hilux Four grand.
• 17:20
  Speaker 1: Of course they took this picture because they didn't want to see the rust through on the fenders.
• 17:24
  Speaker 1: $4,000.
• 17:25
  Speaker 1: $4,000.
• 17:26
  Speaker 2: $3,000 for David $4,000.
• 17:28
  Speaker 1: Yeah, three and four.
• 17:28
  Speaker 1: David said three grand, it was $4,000.
• 17:31
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I was right on, I was spot on.
• 17:33
  Speaker 1: Here's Jeff's car, I'll get it repeated A 1959 Mercury Monterey convertible.
• 17:41
  Speaker 2: Man Look at that thing $7 million, $7 million, I would say $27 million, $27 million, david what do you think?
• 17:56
  Speaker 1: $21,000.
• 17:58
  Speaker 1: That's a deal to me.
• 17:59
  Speaker 1: Well, I pay with the tax too.
• 18:03
  Speaker 1: And the last car of the day is the 2018 Factory 5 Cobra.
• 18:10
  Speaker 1: Now, this is a kit car.
• 18:11
  Speaker 1: You can order the bodies and all that.
• 18:13
  Speaker 1: 18 Factory 5 Cobra how much?
• 18:16
  Speaker 1: 21.
• 18:18
  Speaker 1: 17.
• 18:19
  Speaker 1: 35.7.
• 18:21
  Speaker 1: Well, it's probably got a hot rod motor, yeah.
• 18:25
  Speaker 3: It's bound to have.
• 18:26
  Speaker 1: Ford Cobras or something.
• 18:27
  Speaker 1: Hey, just ahead a review of Toyota's new Grand Highlander Hybrid and Jeff's Motor Minute, when the In Real Time Car Talk Show continues right after this.
• 18:37
  Speaker 1: You own a car you love.
• 18:43
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• 18:45
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• 18:54
  Speaker 1: Whether you're looking to massage your original paint to a like-new appearance, apply a ceramic coating, install a paint protection film, nano-ceramic window tint or new windshield protection called ExoShield, gulf Coast AutoShield is where Houston's car people go.
• 19:08
  Speaker 1: Curbed your wheels.
• 19:09
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• 19:12
  Speaker 1: How about a professionally installed radar detector?
• 19:14
  Speaker 1: Gulf Coast AutoShield does that too.
• 19:16
  Speaker 1: Get a peek inside the shop and look at the services offered by getting online and heading to gcautoshieldcom.
• 19:22
  Speaker 1: Better yet, stop by their facility at 11275 South Sam Houston Tollway, just south of the Southwest Freeway, and get a personal tour.
• 19:29
  Speaker 1: Gulf Coast Auto Shield is your place to go for all things exterior.
• 19:33
  Speaker 1: Call them today 832-930-5655, or gcautoshieldcom.
• 19:41
  Speaker 1: The award-winning In Wheel Time Car Talk Show now reaches 5.3 million folks each year.
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• 19:57
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• 20:07
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• 20:23
  Speaker 1: I just threw that in there.
• 20:25
  Speaker 1: Yeah, it is Time now for this hour's car review.
• 20:29
  Speaker 2: No, let's do the Motor Minute first.
• 20:30
  Speaker 2: Okay, motor Minute, real quick.
• 20:31
  Speaker 2: There was a race last week NHRA.
• 20:32
  Speaker 2: Tony Stewart confirms comeback after NHRA crash.
• 20:35
  Speaker 2: Big name driver NHRA hot rod driver was involved in a crash during the NHRA event last Sunday.
• 20:42
  Speaker 2: It was in the second round actually.
• 20:44
  Speaker 2: I saw it.
• 20:44
  Speaker 2: He and fellow competitor Doug Coletta collided at speeds of over 300 miles an hour just after the finish line.
• 20:49
  Speaker 2: Both drivers fortunately walked away.
• 20:51
  Speaker 2: Tony was a little shaken up.
• 20:52
  Speaker 2: Despite being rattled, he seemed to be okay after the ordeal but still said that he hit his head in the cockpit.
• 21:00
  Speaker 2: He actually lost consciousness for a little bit and did not remember the incident.
• 21:04
  Speaker 2: And what had happened was Coletta was in the right lane, they were across the finish line.
• 21:07
  Speaker 2: His left front wheel actually collapsed.
• 21:10
  Speaker 2: It didn't blow out, the whole mechanism collapsed.
• 21:12
  Speaker 2: He went in the left lane, hit Tony.
• 21:14
  Speaker 2: Tony kind of rolled a little bit, hit the wall and then they scratched their way down past the finish line.
• 21:19
  Speaker 2: But he's okay, he's going to be at the race this week.
• 21:22
  Speaker 2: He went through some testing and things cognitive testing and he seemed to be okay.
• 21:26
  Speaker 2: So he's back on the track.
• 21:27
  Speaker 2: So good for him.
• 21:29
  Speaker 2: Didn't want to see that, but things like that happen, and that's why you need a helmet.
• 21:35
  Speaker 1: That was an earlier feature.
• 21:36
  Speaker 1: All right Time now for this hour's car review.
• 21:38
  Speaker 1: Had a chance to drive the 2025 Toyota Grand Highlander.
• 21:42
  Speaker 1: Now the difference between the Grand Highlander.
• 21:45
  Speaker 1: Now the difference between the Grand Highlander and the Highlander.
• 21:49
  Speaker 1: Six inches of length.
• 21:52
  Speaker 1: At the back end of it that allows for a third row.
• 21:53
  Speaker 1: Final assembly location Princeton, indiana.
• 21:55
  Speaker 1: So it's built in the US of A Available trim levels the LE, the XLE, the Limited, the Nightshade, the Max Limited and the Max Platinum.
• 22:06
  Speaker 1: I had the Max Shade Hybrid Standard SUV seats, including the driver.
• 22:18
  Speaker 1: Seven Exterior changes from last model year was all new in 2024.
• 22:21
  Speaker 1: Best front fascia award for Toyota Looks really good.
• 22:23
  Speaker 1: Subtle sheet metal creases create a conservative look to it.
• 22:29
  Speaker 1: Rear hatch design allows for more interior room, yet still very attractive.
• 22:37
  Speaker 1: Love the fake dual exhaust tips for a four-banger engine.
• 22:41
  Speaker 1: What I liked?
• 22:43
  Speaker 1: One of the best-looking SUVs on the market, bar none.
• 22:47
  Speaker 1: What could use improvement?
• 22:48
  Speaker 1: Nothing.
• 22:49
  Speaker 1: Interior highlights one pod for the instruments and one separate infotainment screen for accessories.
• 22:58
  Speaker 1: Center console has a sliding door for the cover of the storage area, which is a good thing.
• 23:04
  Speaker 1: You don't have to open it up to the left or the right or the back or none of that stuff.
• 23:09
  Speaker 1: Yeah, that was good.
• 23:09
  Speaker 1: Seating is comfortable.
• 23:11
  Speaker 1: Consider captain's chairs in the second row if you're interested in buying one.
• 23:16
  Speaker 1: I think that that would probably be a good thing, unless you actually need the extra seat.
• 23:19
  Speaker 1: Third row actually has room for adults, thanks to that six-inch increase in the length of the overall.
• 23:26
  Speaker 2: I was in that car and, yes, it does.
• 23:28
  Speaker 2: It is roomy.
• 23:29
  Speaker 2: I made the comment when I was back there that, hey, you could actually fit back here.
• 23:32
  Speaker 2: I really like it.
• 23:33
  Speaker 1: Yeah, more room in the third row when the third row is up than most as far as cargo space is concerned.
• 23:40
  Speaker 1: But I like high marks for a well-thought-out interior.
• 23:44
  Speaker 1: What could use improvement?
• 23:45
  Speaker 1: Upscale models could use a bit more bling.
• 23:48
  Speaker 1: The $1,350 glass roof option is for northern states only, unless you want to cook.
• 23:56
  Speaker 1: Cell phone charger allows the phone to slide off of its charger pad.
• 24:02
  Speaker 1: Oh man, that was a little bit of an issue.
• 24:04
  Speaker 1: 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine in the hybrid.
• 24:07
  Speaker 1: It also has a max option for more power.
• 24:11
  Speaker 1: But then you use the fuel mileage and that's what this is all about.
• 24:15
  Speaker 1: It's a hybrid.
• 24:16
  Speaker 1: Horsepower 245 is what I had.
• 24:19
  Speaker 1: The max has 362 horsepower.
• 24:22
  Speaker 1: If you need all of that, okay, go for it.
• 24:25
  Speaker 1: But I like the mileage.
• 24:26
  Speaker 1: It has a CVT transmission.
• 24:28
  Speaker 1: Now the Max has an actual six-speed transmission.
• 24:34
  Speaker 1: Toe rating 3,500 pounds, all-wheel drive.
• 24:38
  Speaker 1: I got.
• 24:39
  Speaker 1: Well, it's rated at 36 miles per gallon on the highway 32, I'm sorry, 36 city 32, highway for a combined of 34.
• 24:49
  Speaker 1: I got 29.7 miles per gallon over 475 miles.
• 24:55
  Speaker 1: What I liked about it?
• 24:56
  Speaker 1: Clearly the mileage.
• 24:57
  Speaker 1: What could you use improvement?
• 25:00
  Speaker 1: Nothing.
• 25:00
  Speaker 1: Just get the base engine in it.
• 25:03
  Speaker 1: I think that you'll really be impressed.
• 25:04
  Speaker 1: Ride and handling, the smoothness.
• 25:08
  Speaker 1: It rides like a big car.
• 25:10
  Speaker 1: It's not stiff, it's not trying to pretend to be something else.
• 25:14
  Speaker 1: It will go off-road.
• 25:15
  Speaker 1: But let me ask you something Percentage-wise, how many SUVs actually go off-road?
• 25:22
  Speaker 1: Not many, my guess is less than 1% or 2%.
• 25:25
  Speaker 1: Yeah, not many.
• 25:26
  Speaker 1: That's not what you buy them for.
• 25:27
  Speaker 1: They're like a big station wagon.
• 25:29
  Speaker 1: Dirt road is furthest.
• 25:31
  Speaker 3: I go Really Gravel snow maybe yeah yeah, what could use improvement?
• 25:37
  Speaker 1: Nothing that I can think of.
• 25:38
  Speaker 1: Like I said here, who takes an SUV off-road these days?
• 25:41
  Speaker 1: Base trim price $52,610.
• 25:46
  Speaker 1: Price is tested $58,187.
• 25:49
  Speaker 1: Base model price $44,210.
• 25:53
  Speaker 1: Don't add too much to it.
• 25:55
  Speaker 1: Why Junk it all up with all the options when you can't.
• 25:59
  Speaker 1: That's an $8,000 savings.
• 26:03
  Speaker 1: Yeah, and the tendency for more stuff to break Competitors to this vehicle the Mazda CX-90 Hybrid plug-in they don't have a pure hybrid, but it's a plug-in $49,995.
• 26:14
  Speaker 1: Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid $37,800.
• 26:17
  Speaker 1: Kia Sorento Hybrid $38,690.
• 26:20
  Speaker 1: Next week going to review the 2025 Mazda Miata MX-5.
• 26:26
  Speaker 1: Beautiful, I can't wait, that's the.
• 26:33
  Speaker 3: That's a little two-seater sports car.
• 26:35
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I forgot that, you just had it.
• 26:37
  Speaker 2: Yes.
• 26:38
  Speaker 1: I just gave that up last Thursday.
• 26:42
  Speaker 2: It's the hot lights on my skull.
• 26:43
  Speaker 2: It's got the coolest convert on my skull.
• 26:46
  Speaker 1: It's got the coolest convertible top on it.
• 26:48
  Speaker 1: I'll tell you more about it next week.
• 26:49
  Speaker 1: Can you put it down?
• 26:51
  Speaker 1: No, not, and drove with it.
• 26:53
  Speaker 1: One hand, click, one hand up here, and you just take it and do this and it folds right down right behind you.
• 27:01
  Speaker 3: It's all manual.
• 27:03
  Speaker 1: Yes, there's no electric motor.
• 27:04
  Speaker 2: It's like an old TR6 from the 70s.
• 27:07
  Speaker 1: No, it's not, because, remember, you had to get out and push it all down and all this thing is the easiest operating thing you've ever seen in your entire life no button, there's no electric, no electric roof panel on it.
• 27:18
  Speaker 1: All right, we're going to take a quick break and if you'd like to get in touch with us, I'd like to remind you.
• 27:24
  Speaker 1: Send us an email.
• 27:25
  Speaker 1: The address is info at inwheeltimecom.
• 27:28
  Speaker 1: We're back after this quick break.
• 27:30
  Speaker 1: The Tex-Mex dining experience is defined by Loopy Tortilla, your destination for Texas's best beef fajitas and frozen margaritas.
• 27:40
  Speaker 1: Since 1983, loopy Tortilla has served authentic and time-tested recipes made with the freshest ingredients.
• 27:47
  Speaker 1: Atmosphere is part of the award-winning experience at Loopy Tortilla, all developed in a little house near Highway 6 and I-10 in West Houston.
• 27:54
  Speaker 1: Visit any of the Loopy Tortillas and you'll see the same attention to detail in each and every location.
• 28:00
  Speaker 1: Start your Loopy experience with queso flammeado and guacamole, along with a classic frozen margarita.
• 28:06
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  Speaker 1: The recipes are authentic and time tested, the ingredients always fresh.
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• 28:29
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• 28:41
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• 28:57
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• 29:01
  Speaker 1: That's it for this podcast episode of the In Wheel Time Car Show.
• 29:06
  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.
• 29:16
  Speaker 1: Podcasts are available on Apple Podcasts, spotify Stitcher, iheart Podcast, podcast Addict TuneIn, pandora and Amazon Music.
• 29:25
  Speaker 1: Keep listening and we'll see you soon.