Latest / In Wheel Time Podcast / Trifacta: 2024 F-150 Raptor R Review, States with the Highest Gas Prices, and the 2025 Buick Encore GX!

Transcript

Trifacta: 2024 F-150 Raptor R Review, States with the Highest Gas Prices, and the 2025 Buick Encore GX! · In Wheel Time Podcast

• 0:12
  Don Armstrong: all right time now for this hour's car review.
• 0:15
  Don Armstrong: Don armstrong had a chance to drive the 2024 F-150.
• 0:21
  Don Armstrong: Yeah, this is the V1.
• 0:25
  Don Armstrong: This is a truck that is a desert racer in street guys the Raptor R 4x4 Super Crew.
• 0:34
  Don Armstrong: Now it's classified as a regular pickup truck, not full size, but it's got a wider body and it's got Raptor styling front and rear.
• 0:44
  Don Armstrong: You can tell this is a lot different than a standard F-150.
• 0:49
  Don Armstrong: Seats 5 was revised in 2023.
• 0:55
  Don Armstrong: Exterior features Raptor-specific wide body panels.
• 0:58
  Don Armstrong: Grill, skid plate up front Wheel well extensions add to the great looking style that the vehicle exudes.
• 1:07
  Don Armstrong: Dual exhaust under bed spare tire.
• 1:11
  Don Armstrong: You don't see too many of those anymore Graphics.
• 1:13
  Don Armstrong: You can either have them put on there or not.
• 1:18
  Don Armstrong: What I liked about it the stance, those great, big, huge tires on the smaller wheels.
• 1:24
  Don Armstrong: Love that look.
• 1:25
  Don Armstrong: Uh, that's not outside of the wheel wells, uh, even like the raised hood treatment on this.
• 1:31
  Don Armstrong: I usually don't like these sort of things.
• 1:32
  Don Armstrong: It's huge.
• 1:33
  Don Armstrong: It's like driving a house.
• 1:36
  Don Armstrong: I mean, it takes up the entire.
• 1:38
  Don Armstrong: Takes up the entire lane on the freeway.
• 1:40
  Don Armstrong: Use all of it.
• 1:41
  Don Armstrong: It uses every inch.
• 1:42
  Don Armstrong: Interior highlights Raptor-specific seats with Raptor badging embroidered on there, great dash layout and two screens both for the driver and for the infotainment system.
• 1:55
  Don Armstrong: Huge center console that converts to a desktop, which is really a cool thing, and you have to go to a Ford dealer and see how that works.
• 2:03
  Don Armstrong: It's kind of hard to describe, but imagine that you got your center console and the lid on it as the armrest.
• 2:09
  Don Armstrong: Then take it from the back, fold it open and it folds into this great big writing pad if you want to call it that Desk Pretty much.
• 2:19
  Don Armstrong: Huge center console Again converts to the desktop.
• 2:24
  Don Armstrong: Lots of cubbies and storage areas throughout the cabin.
• 2:28
  Don Armstrong: What I liked about it easy to use infotainment system, very intuitive.
• 2:32
  Don Armstrong: I think you'll like it.
• 2:33
  Don Armstrong: Blue Cruise self-driving was pointed out to me by the guy that delivered the truck for me to test drive and I'll tell you it is really cool, the changes that they've made to the Blue Cruise and the Ford lineup.
• 2:46
  Don Armstrong: Man, that thing works great and I'm not really into all of that sort of stuff.
• 2:51
  Don Armstrong: I like driving.
• 2:52
  Michael Marrs: Right Hands on yeah.
• 2:54
  Don Armstrong: But you know, at 4 o'clock in the morning, driving to work, you hit the Blue Cruise on it.
• 2:58
  Don Armstrong: Man, the tollway is yours and it maintains the lane without rocking between the stripes.
• 3:04
  Don Armstrong: It's good.
• 3:04
  Don Armstrong: So here's the motivation behind the truck A 5.2 liter supercharged V8.
• 3:11
  Don Armstrong: Basically, what this is is the Ford Mustang GT500 engine that they've transplanted into it 720 horsepower and 640 pound-feet of torque.
• 3:23
  Don Armstrong: Gone is the V6 Raptor, glad to say.
• 3:27
  Don Armstrong: It just doesn't hold up to the image of the Raptor.
• 3:31
  Don Armstrong: Transmission 10-speed, automatic Tow rating 8,700 pounds, haul rating 1,400.
• 3:36
  Don Armstrong: 10 miles per gallon in the city and 15 on the highway, for a combined of 12.
• 3:41
  Don Armstrong: Well, there you have it, ladies and gentlemen.
• 3:43
  Don Armstrong: Open up that wallet at the gas pump.
• 3:45
  Don Armstrong: I got 12.4 miles per gallon over 317.9 miles.
• 3:51
  Don Armstrong: What I liked about it?
• 3:52
  Don Armstrong: Herculean power, oh man.
• 3:55
  Don Armstrong: Or could use improvement, duh mileage.
• 3:59
  Don Armstrong: But you know what?
• 3:59
  Don Armstrong: It is so much fun to drive with all that power.
• 4:03
  Don Armstrong: Right there at your right foot you go.
• 4:04
  Don Armstrong: Do I mash it just a little bit harder?
• 4:07
  Don Armstrong: I made the mistake.
• 4:09
  Don Armstrong: I don't it a kind of a mistake, I think, in the faux pas in the, in the bowels of my mind, it wasn't a mistake, but it's another story for another day.
• 4:20
  Don Armstrong: I let it downshift into second gear and broke the back tires loose.
• 4:26
  Don Armstrong: Golly, we'll have to edit that Ride and handling.
• 4:30
  Don Armstrong: Beadlock, capable wheels, 37-inch tires, rear springs, long travel, special shocks, smooths out all the sinkholes on the freeway.
• 4:42
  Don Armstrong: But I didn't take it off-road and I didn't do any jumps with it or anything crazy.
• 4:48
  Don Armstrong: But I can only imagine that's what it's built for.
• 4:50
  Don Armstrong: It does that sort of thing.
• 4:51
  Don Armstrong: Supercrew four-door wheelbase limits its rock climbing and crawling capability.
• 4:56
  Don Armstrong: You'll center stack it.
• 4:58
  Don Armstrong: You know what I'm saying?
• 4:59
  Don Armstrong: Right high, ride it, right in the middle.
• 5:01
  Don Armstrong: You don't want to do that.
• 5:02
  Don Armstrong: But it does have a very long wheelbase base.
• 5:04
  Don Armstrong: Trim price 77 980.
• 5:07
  Don Armstrong: Price is tested sitting still 113 640 that's the same mileage you got.
• 5:17
  Jeff Dziekan: You got that in the same mileage.
• 5:18
  Jeff Dziekan: Yeah, pretty much yeah 113,640.
• 5:23
  Don Armstrong: Base model price nobody cares.
• 5:25
  Don Armstrong: Competitors to this vehicle well, there aren't really any.
• 5:29
  Don Armstrong: Ram 1500 TRX that they don't make anymore had 702 horsepower.
• 5:34
  Don Armstrong: They've got this new six-cylinder that they're bragging about GMC Sierra AT4X.
• 5:40
  Don Armstrong: 6.2 liter, v8, 420 horsepower $81,000.
• 5:45
  Don Armstrong: Now, this kind of sits out there by itself and I got lots of thumbs up.
• 5:49
  Don Armstrong: So if you like thumbs up and the car you're driving, get that.
• 5:54
  Don Armstrong: Well, I rode with you in it for a short period of time.
• 5:56
  Don Armstrong: It is a nice truck.
• 5:57
  Don Armstrong: It's a b.
• 5:58
  Don Armstrong: Yeah, it's a very nice truck and it's also a beast.
• 6:00
  Don Armstrong: Hey, if you'd like to get in touch with us, shoot us an email, the address info at inwheeltimecom.
• 6:07
  Don Armstrong: Time now to open up your coin purse the top 10 states where the highest gasoline taxes reside you bet you.
• 6:13
  Jeff Dziekan: So the top 10 in this country.
• 6:16
  Jeff Dziekan: Number 10 is Oregon.
• 6:18
  Jeff Dziekan: Tax rate in Oregon is 40 cents per gallon, holy cow.
• 6:22
  Jeff Dziekan: Oregon is one of the most expensive states when it comes to the cost of gas due to its high gas tax.
• 6:28
  Jeff Dziekan: But you may want to review your tax bill if you live in the state, because a gallon of gas is taxed.
• 6:33
  Jeff Dziekan: But Oregon is only one of five states that does not have a sales tax, so that's part of it as well, so you could help save yourself some money.
• 6:42
  Jeff Dziekan: Number nine in this outfit is North Carolina, which is 40.65 cents per gallon.
• 6:48
  Jeff Dziekan: If you want to fill up before you go to North Carolina to save yourself some money, that's a good idea.
• 6:53
  Jeff Dziekan: States like Tennessee and South Carolina have lower taxes than North Carolina, while Virginia is at 39.1 cents per gallon, which makes it just barely out of the top 10.
• 7:04
  Jeff Dziekan: So number eight is New Jersey $42.35 per gallon.
• 7:10
  Jeff Dziekan: New Jersey is a unique law with making a gallon of gas more expensive than other states, and here's why, in addition to the high tax rate, the Garden State is also the only state in the US where you can't pump your own gas.
• 7:22
  Jeff Dziekan: They're all complete full-service stations, so you just can't whip up in there, throw $5 in and leave.
• 7:30
  Jeff Dziekan: You've got to wait in line and get everybody to come on out and do all that.
• 7:33
  Jeff Dziekan: Number seven is Maryland 47.19 cents per gallon.
• 7:38
  Jeff Dziekan: Maryland's gas tax fluctuates based on the inflation rate due to laws passed by the state legislature, go figure.
• 7:45
  Jeff Dziekan: So while the current tax rate may be high, it actually went down slightly in July compared to the sales tax rate of the previous year.
• 7:54
  Jeff Dziekan: Number six Michigan homegrown state 48 cents per gallon.
• 7:59
  Jeff Dziekan: Despite Michigan's gas tax rate, the state's cost for a gallon of gas is actually close to being in line with the national average.
• 8:06
  Jeff Dziekan: The national average for a gallon of gas is around 320, while a gallon of gas in Michigan is around 325.
• 8:12
  Jeff Dziekan: That's according to AAA.
• 8:13
  Jeff Dziekan: Now a lot of gas is around $3.20, while a gallon of gas in Michigan is around $3.25.
• 8:16
  Jeff Dziekan: That's according to AAA.
• 8:17
  Jeff Dziekan: Now, a lot of these things.
• 8:17
  Jeff Dziekan: This story actually comes to us from Jenny Cohen, part of that organization, jenny.
• 8:21
  Jeff Dziekan: Indiana is number five Tax rate.
• 8:23
  Jeff Dziekan: There is 51.7 cents per gallon.
• 8:25
  Jeff Dziekan: Indiana may be known for the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where cars drive fast, but you might be slowing down when you factor in the taxes on a gallon of gas in that state.
• 8:39
  Jeff Dziekan: But the good news is the cost of gas in Indiana is less than the national average, with drivers paying around $3 per gallon in the Hoosier state.
• 8:43
  Jeff Dziekan: Washington is number four on this list and it's 52.82 cents per gallon.
• 8:49
  Jeff Dziekan: Washington's tax rate is one of the reasons why it's so expensive to fill up your tank if you live in the Pacific Northwest.
• 8:56
  Jeff Dziekan: So you've got Oregon number 10, washington's 4.
• 8:58
  Jeff Dziekan: A gallon of gas average price is around $4.
• 9:02
  Jeff Dziekan: It makes only one of two states above it.
• 9:05
  Jeff Dziekan: When an average gallon of gas is that high, this makes Washington the second most expensive state for a gallon of gas, according again to AAA.
• 9:13
  Jeff Dziekan: Number three is Pennsylvania.
• 9:15
  Jeff Dziekan: There's a lot about Pennsylvania the past few weeks 58.7 cents per gallon.
• 9:19
  Jeff Dziekan: Pennsylvania is a big state so it could be difficult to fill up your tank before crossing over almost you know, 60 cents in gases or taxes for the gas.
• 9:29
  Jeff Dziekan: So it's going to be a long drive.
• 9:31
  Jeff Dziekan: Accordingly, you may also have to be a long drive.
• 9:33
  Jeff Dziekan: Accordingly, you may also have to pay additional money in the state's Pennsylvania Turnpike, which also includes parts of several major interstate roads.
• 9:39
  Jeff Dziekan: So you're getting double whack there.
• 9:42
  Jeff Dziekan: Illinois is number two 66.5 cents per gallon.
• 9:46
  Jeff Dziekan: Stock up your wallet with a lot of money because Illinois can be expensive in the state taxes on your gas.
• 9:52
  Jeff Dziekan: It also goes to the road taxes as well.
• 9:55
  Jeff Dziekan: The state has the second highest tax for gas in the country and you may want to be cautious if you take a road trip that goes through Illinois.
• 10:03
  Jeff Dziekan: It also has one of the highest state sales tax in the country, so you're getting double whammied there.
• 10:09
  Jeff Dziekan: Number one drum roll, don is California 68.1 cents per gallon in tax.
• 10:17
  Jeff Dziekan: California's tax rate contributes to the highest gas cost in the state, making it the most expensive state to a gallon of gas.
• 10:25
  Jeff Dziekan: The average price for a gallon of gas in California is $4.60, which is one of two states in the US.
• 10:31
  Jeff Dziekan: Washington is the other one which you have the highest.
• 10:33
  Jeff Dziekan: And this is all according to the AAA folks.
• 10:37
  Jeff Dziekan: Gee whiz, okay.
• 10:38
  Jeff Dziekan: Thank you, michael.
• 10:39
  Don Armstrong: All right Time now for this hour's car review.
• 10:40
  Don Armstrong: Mr Mars 2525.
• 10:42
  Don Armstrong: Oh what 25.
• 10:45
  Don Armstrong: In the year 2525.
• 10:48
  Michael Marrs: That's what I was thinking.
• 10:49
  Michael Marrs: I got you, yeah, yeah, 2025, 2025.
• 10:52
  Jeff Dziekan: That's what I was thinking I got you Buick Encore oh man.
• 10:52
  Jeff Dziekan: Another place and another time.
• 10:53
  Jeff Dziekan: I need everybody to go grab some refreshments, because this is going to be good.
• 10:57
  Jeff Dziekan: This is going to be good.
• 10:58
  Michael Marrs: Yes, the 2025 Buick Encore.
• 11:00
  Don Armstrong: You've got two minutes to do it.
• 11:02
  Don Armstrong: Oh boy.
• 11:03
  Michael Marrs: Sport Touring all-wheel drive.
• 11:05
  Michael Marrs: It comes in three packages.
• 11:06
  Michael Marrs: You can get the Preferred or the Avenir, which we had, the sport touring.
• 11:10
  Michael Marrs: Now this is a subcompact SUV.
• 11:12
  Michael Marrs: Buick calls it a small.
• 11:19
  Michael Marrs: First introduced in 2020, had a big update in 2024.
• 11:21
  Michael Marrs: So here we are, tweaking things a little bit.
• 11:22
  Michael Marrs: Has five passengers Outside.
• 11:23
  Michael Marrs: We've got some nice black trim pieces and LED external lighting, which is the headlights, taillights, the intelligent high beam headlights, daytime running lights, roof racks with side rails, the adjustable height lift gate and panoramic moonroof.
• 11:38
  Michael Marrs: Have you noticed that you get a panoramic moonroof?
• 11:41
  Michael Marrs: But the smaller the car is, the less size you get.
• 11:43
  Michael Marrs: So we also had the optional black 19-inch aluminum wheels.
• 11:46
  Michael Marrs: Now, one thing I wanted to note on this thing is it's pointed out on the monroney that for the tire pressure system, there's no tire monitoring on the spare tire.
• 11:55
  Michael Marrs: The other buick I have Doesn't point that out For some reason.
• 11:59
  Michael Marrs: That's different.
• 12:00
  Michael Marrs: That's what you got a tar gauge for Our best.
• 12:03
  Michael Marrs: So with these small cars Inside we had the synthetic leather seating, 60-40 fold-flat rear seat Not a third row, thank goodness.
• 12:11
  Michael Marrs: Diagonal 11-inch touchscreen, which worked really good.
• 12:14
  Michael Marrs: You're going to find all your convenience controls there.
• 12:16
  Michael Marrs: Apple Android Does not have the heated and ventilated front seats on it and you're going to find out here in a little bit how that helps out.
• 12:24
  Michael Marrs: 8-inch driver screen where you're going to find all your driver information, that you're going to need USB outlets front and rear.
• 12:31
  Michael Marrs: And it had the Buick quiet tuning with active noise cancellation and that really works.
• 12:37
  Michael Marrs: I'm going to tell you, because the one I'm driving now is a lot noisier.
• 12:43
  Michael Marrs: Now this is.
• 12:43
  Michael Marrs: It had the 1.3 turbo three-cylinder engine in it.
• 12:45
  Michael Marrs: It comes standard with a 1.2, but this had the 1.3.
• 12:48
  Michael Marrs: 155 horsepower, 174 pound-feet of torque, nine-speed automatic.
• 12:54
  Michael Marrs: This thing will tow 1,000 pounds, not a whole lot, but that's enough to get your jet ski, maybe a little small camper, a little trailer, to go to Lowe's or Home Depot.
• 13:01
  Michael Marrs: That's enough to get your jet ski, maybe a little small camper, a little trailer, to go to Lowe's or Home Depot.
• 13:04
  Michael Marrs: Epa says you should look for 26 in the city Highway should be 28 and combine 27 miles to the gallon.
• 13:09
  Michael Marrs: Now I drove 233 miles and I got 24.8 across that time.
• 13:14
  Michael Marrs: I was well pleased with what I got out of that, with the way I was driving it, because he had it nailed the entire time.
• 13:21
  Don Armstrong: It's beautiful?
• 13:23
  Michael Marrs: Yes, it's beautiful.
• 13:24
  Michael Marrs: Yes, it's got some easy steering.
• 13:25
  Michael Marrs: I mean, all the stuff has gone to electronic and I understand that.
• 13:27
  Michael Marrs: But it's easy the way they've got it set up.
• 13:29
  Michael Marrs: So city driving was really easy.
• 13:31
  Michael Marrs: You could kind of whip it around a little bit.
• 13:33
  Michael Marrs: What did Becky think?
• 13:34
  Michael Marrs: She didn't mind the way I was driving it.
• 13:37
  Michael Marrs: I didn't ask you that question.
• 13:40
  Michael Marrs: No, she liked it.
• 13:41
  Michael Marrs: You know it's not quite as big enough for her.
• 13:43
  Michael Marrs: She wants something a little bit bigger.
• 13:44
  Michael Marrs: She thinks she needs something a little bit bigger, but it works great because it zips around town.
• 13:48
  Michael Marrs: You get out on the highway It'll run highway speeds real easy.
• 13:52
  Michael Marrs: The only problem I had with it out on the highway at highway speeds if you decided you needed to make a high-speed maneuver like pass somebody, that nine-speed automatic you could tell.
• 14:02
  Michael Marrs: That's the only time I really noticed it had a 9-speed.
• 14:05
  Michael Marrs: Yeah, it took a little bit more for it to find where it was going Around town.
• 14:09
  Michael Marrs: That was not a problem.
• 14:11
  Michael Marrs: Now here's the thing I really liked about this thing Base model price on the Buick car Encore.
• 14:19
  Michael Marrs: Yeah, encore, I was looking for the GX and it's really not the gx I'm talking about.
• 14:23
  Michael Marrs: The base.
• 14:24
  Michael Marrs: Encore is really what I'm talking about.
• 14:25
  Michael Marrs: Twenty six thousand dollars okay, that'll put you in this car.
• 14:28
  Michael Marrs: Now the base trim price, which is the gx model.
• 14:31
  Michael Marrs: Then you're looking at 28.8 and the gx sport touring, all-wheel drive push it up at to 33 380 as tested.
• 14:39
  Michael Marrs: If you're looking for something else, it's kind of in that category you look look across at the Mazda CX-30 starts at $24,995.
• 14:46
  Michael Marrs: The Trailblazer at $23,000 and the Crosstek from Subaru at $27,000.
• 14:52
  Michael Marrs: So it's something you definitely need to look at.
• 14:54
  Michael Marrs: If you're looking at that small SUV-CUV package, I want to tell everybody