A Four-Door Mustang Walks Into A Dealership

Summer Day Trips Close By

Don Armstrong 0:06

Exactly. All right, uh time now for Mars Driving Destinations, and it's titled Summer.

Mike Marrs 0:13

Trying to make uh everybody's trying to make sure summer lasts a little bit longer because the Well, it's it's still summer, but the school's back and that's screwed everything up. Exactly, exactly. So you got to kind of look for something that's gonna kind of extend the summer feeling that's going on. Um, and one of those things is the Armand, if I'm saying that correctly, Bayou Nature Center down in Pasadena.

Don Armstrong 0:36

Now the idea Let's pass a get down, Dina, to everybody else.

Mike Marrs 0:40

Exactly. Now, this one uh again, this is Pasadena. It's basically all part of the Houston Metroplex. So you're getting out without getting out, and uh because there's plenty of wetlands down here, there's some prairie, there's forests along the bayou, that families can hike the trails, you can look for wildlife birds, got some educational programs that you can actually get involved with, and it gives a good contrast to going to an amusement park or video games or whatever else on a weekend. And uh, but the only thing you got to do is be sure to bring some water and some insect repellent this time of year. It's plenty hot out there and humid, and there's lots of little insects around there. The second one, everybody's heard about it, but I don't think about it very often, and that's the Houston Space Center down in Clear Lake. Now, the kids can actually you can take the kids down here, and there's a lot of interactive things uh for the whole family, actually. And it gives the kids and the adults something that they can do to get involved with, see the spacecraft, the astronaut history, a lot of hands-on visits and the tram uh that tour that takes you around. So you can kind of get the kids involved and start getting excited, maybe about going back to school, about learning some things at the same time. Get to go down and explore some of the things in the science world that's uh history-making, actually.

Jeff Dziekan 2:00

Real quick, Mike, while Kathy and I were there not very long ago, and those trams, there's different levels you can tour different things of the uh complex or the compound with different trams, they go different directions. But yes, kid-oriented, kid friendly. I was even impressed. Uh, I tried to join the astronaut team and they told me no.

Mike Marrs 2:16

Well, I think it was probably because of uh the glasses, I guess. You know, I wasn't tall enough or something, yeah. Yeah, something like that. I haven't been there in years, and and after I looked at this, I thought this would be pretty cool to go back to.

Jeff Dziekan 2:28

You should do it.

Mike Marrs 2:29

Uh the next one would be the Baytown Family Adventure. Now, this is actually uh a place to go exploring for the kids to get involved in exploring because it's a geo tour with across the wetlands, and it's down in Baytown, it's a little bit further away, maybe for some people, but you can also you can go in here and they've got the wetland center, which is actually the Eddie V. Gray Wetland Center, where you can see the wildlife and you can kind of get involved and learn some more about the Baytown Nature Center from there. And the history, the nature, and the actual going out and exploring things is what gets you involved in all this, and so it becomes part of a destination that you can go to and be involved in that destination. Again, learning, trying to get the kids back to school, but it's a family event, family fun event. Then we're gonna buzz up to Lake Conroe. You want to go out on the lake? There you go. It beats going to the beach sometimes where you go get into the sand. But let's suppose you don't have a boat. You can actually go to Lake Conroe and go up there for the day, and there are facilities up there that you can rent a boat. You can rent the water gear to go out play on God help us all. Exactly. So the family can go up there, go boating, they've got camping up there, of course. Around the edge of it, you've got a lot of restaurants and things.

SPEAKER_00 3:47

But again, it's basically boating, tubing, fishing, and swimming for the family. And uh again, if you don't have a boat, you don't want to haul your boat, you can take it. And uh the last thing we wanted to look at was Columbus.

Mike Marrs 3:59

Columbus is a couple hours away from us, and and it's a place you go through. I always go through there going wherever we're going, but there's a lot of things there, including the Colorado River runs through there. So there's parks, there's museums, there's a few quirky attractions to get around downtown, and you can actually spend the day there. Basically, like a little small Fredericksburg or or someplace that's not quite as crowded, not quite as so many people, but there's plenty of things to go and see and spend the day here without going off into another part of the world. It takes you all day just to get there. So that's just a few things you might can do to kind of extend the feeling that you're still in the summer vacation without going too far.

Don Armstrong 4:46

That piques

Four-Door Mustang Rumor Breakdown

Don Armstrong 4:47

your interest. Time now for Jeff's car culture. Four-door Mustangs. Uh-oh. Is it a station wagon?

Jeff Dziekan 4:52

I don't know, but we talked about the Camaro last week when we did the feature there, and then you had mentioned, hey, is a Mustang coming up. Well, here we go. So the number four might be Ford's new favorite number. Uh at the dealership last week, uh, they they Ford showed uh at a dealer event last week, Ford showed an early prototype of the Mustang, said Dan would have four doors. Hit 60 miles an hour in four seconds. It cost under $40,000, according to the reports of the Wall Street Journal they reported to you. Though the name hasn't been confirmed, Ford reportedly calling it the Mach 4, which would align with the trademark filed in 2025. The Mustang's current lineup is fairly robust with three engine options and the choice of a manual or automatic transmission in most trims. However, the Mustang only comes in a two-door setup. Its biggest competitor, the Dodge Charger, is offered as a two or four-door model, though it offers fewer engine options and does not come with a stake shift, so poo-poo. Uh Ford hasn't sold a sedans since it discontinued the fusion after the 20-20 mile year. Since then, the company has focused on the SUVs and trucks, according to the CEO Jim Farley. He hinted that bringing back sedans for a while back in June. He talked about it before. The current president, uh Andrew Flick, president of the Ford Blue and Model E, said the sedan rival was possible. A revival was possible. Fricks uh said in a said a sedan would make the most sense and fit with the existing model, adding that they would consider expanding the Mustang family in the future. It looks like the future may be closer than anticipated, though there's still plenty of time for the project to get scrapped or altered. The reports say that the sedan is expected to go on sale in 28 or 29, 2028, 2029. Two sources said that the sedan would feature a hybrid powertrain, and one mentioned a hybrid V8 engine. Attendees at the dealer event said that the prototype was roughly the same size and shape as the Porsche Panamera. Oh, that's a little bit longer vehicle. And executives reportedly said it would have more rear leg room than the Panamara. Uh Mustang, uh the Mustang has been continuous production since it launched in 1964. We all know that, making it the longest running muscle car in production. Its closest competitor, the Chevrolet Camaro, has been discontinued, while the Dodge Challenger was also killed off, essentially replacing by the two-door charger. Chevrolet, however, is reportedly reviving the Camaro. We talked about that as a four-door, which was rumored to go on sale in 29, so they're all kind of being competitive in the years of release. The Mustang expected release date would put it either ahead or in line with Chevy's debut. The sub-40,000 starting price would put it on more of an affordable side of the Mustang lineup with the V8 horsepower. They would likely be priced closer and in line with the V8 powered Mustang GT, which starts at just under 50K and the current Mustang's trim level lineup. Powertrain menu could uh mirror the Mustang, including the turbocharged 2.3 liter Eco Boost 4 cylinder and the naturally aspirated 5-liter Coyote V8, with room for a high output version. So oh yeah, tub it. Uh the bigger draw is the V8, which would be paired with the manual gearbox and genuine selling point of for the enthusiasts of that vehicle. Ford is not uh committed to a debut date for the Mach 4, but production should start sometime between 28-29. With any luck, the company would give us uh something to chew on early teasers and spy shots. That's all going to be available as they're released. So there you go. Who's next? That's what I got to say. Exactly.

2026 Lexus LX 700H Review

Don Armstrong 8:28

All right, uh time to all right. So I had an opportunity to drive the 2026 Lexus LX 700H. Now, we are familiar with all sorts of different Lexus models, and I had to really put on my thinking cap, which is almost worn out. I had to put that on and thinking, an LX. Now, this is not an LS. I'm familiar with the LS, the big sedan. LX. Hmm. Gotta be an SUV and wait at different number destination here of 700 with an H at the end of it. Well, it is a great big huge SUV. And the 700 doesn't mean anything other than the fact the H at the end, it is a hybrid. So there are seven trim levels of this car. Um, and the price ranges from $107,000 up to $143,000. It ain't cheap and it is real nice. Uh the review trim level is the hybrid over trail. It is a $117,000 trim package priced uh hybrid. Standard SUV, meaning that it is a body-on frame SUV with only two rows of seating in this one. Other trim levels you can get three rows of seating. This one is two. And um, I will tell you that the frame underneath it is semi-tundra truck. Okay, so keep that in mind. This is a very rugged SUV. Look at that beautiful interior. We're gonna get to that in a minute. This is fourth generation LX debuted in 2022. Hybrid began in 2024. Uh, exterior features include overpowering spindle grill. I think it detracts from uh its grill look. Uh it's just it overwhelms everything. Straight body lines um and bulging front fenders um add to the off-road appearance. Huge rear hatch swallows everything, probably a couch back there, uh, maybe even uh at least a fridge. Um rear valance and taillights add to the elegant touch of this. What I liked about it, I like the overall conservative styling. What could use improvement? The grill. Interior highlights. Depending on the trim level, the interior goes from mild to wild with colors. That one there is the F Sport, and you can see that it's got a really nice red interior. Don't understand dual screens for the HVAC and radio navigation. Um, that's something that uh puzzles me. Why? Why couldn't you just put it in one screen? But at least they have done away with the touch screen, the touch pad that you used to have to use your finger to actually put the cursor onto wherever it is that you're trying to go. Uh huge center console with optional cooling capabilities. Yes, cooling capabilities. So if you want to have your Coca-Cola's cooled, there's a place for that in the center console. Premium leather throughout the cabin, comfortable front seats. Uh without the third row, there's plenty of room for camping gear back there. What I did like about it, that Mark Levinson sound system with, I don't know, a hundred speakers in it is really nice. But could use improvement, again, kill the dual screens and make one big one. That would be my suggestion. But who am I? A 3.4-liter twin turbo V6 is under the hood with 457 horsepower. Yep, 457, 583 pound feet of torque through a 10-speed automatic transmission. Again, it is a hybrid. Its towing capability is up to four tons. That's 8,000 pounds for those that don't want me to do the math for you. Yeah, miles per gallon. Well, 19 city, 22 highway for combined to 20. Now, mind you, that this is one of those vehicles that used to be like 13 miles per gallon. So they've bumped up the the party. 600 twin turbo, yeah. Yeah. Uh I got 18.1 miles per gallon over 389 miles. This thing is heavy. It weighs almost three tons. So that kind of mileage um is impressive considering that it's gonna haul around all that way.

Jeff Dziekan 13:20

10-speed transmission, too.

Don Armstrong 13:21

Yeah. Uh what I liked about it, the horsepower. The V6 acts like a V8. You can't tell the difference, or at least I couldn't. Uh, what could use improvement? More mileage. Um, and I think that I think that this is a nice compromise. It's a V6 instead of a V8, and it's also a hybrid, so it does have a battery backup. You start adding batteries and making the mileage go up, then you got to deal with the weight. So it's a nice compromise in that area. Um, ride and handling. Air ride suspension absolutely nails it. Now, I don't know about you. Have you ever ridden in one with an air ride suspension? They're different, they feel different. You go over the the bumps and the the bruises on the freeway, and you go, that just felt different. Yeah. And uh boy, it absorbs those. Didn't feel it like uh the old GMC buses from the 1960s. It's nice, it's really nice. It acts like a luxury sedan from the 80s. It is smooth. Well, could use improvement again. The weight, uh, it feels heavy, and it is almost three tons. All right. So you want to know about the pricing. Well, I kind of gave you a tease, but here's the real thing. The base trim price is 115. Price is tested, 119,311. The base model price, gasoline version, is $108,000.500.

Jeff Dziekan 14:45

Yeah.

Don Armstrong 14:45

Uh competitors, Mercedes-Benz GLS, BMW X7, and the Infinity QX80. And uh next week I'm gonna review the Mazda CX5. And that's my review of the 2026 Lexus LX. Noticed about it. I don't like that grill.

Jeff Dziekan 15:02

The grill is too obtrusive. It's but it's overwhelming. It is, it takes up the entire front end of the post. I get it that it's a Lexus, but could you scale it back just a little bit? All the attaboys, that one old crap that wipes it all out. Yeah, to me. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 15:16

All right.

Don Armstrong 15:21

Great guy.

This Week In Auto History

Don Armstrong 15:22

All right. Time now for this week in auto history, Mr. Mars.

Mike Marrs 15:26

So a few things we found coming up this week in auto history that you can check into. Uh, 1994, and August the 15th, Ford began production of their contour and their Mercury Mystique. Now, basically, all this was was uh the European design Mondeo being brought into America because of their change the way they wanted to do or approach the mid-sized market in America. A lot of imports were coming in and they wanted to get in uh to that and change to a different style, doing away with the tempo and the topaz that were uh originally competing against the Japanese and European imports, so they've upgraded to this and uh made a big change in Ford's progress there. Then in 1906, August the 16th, the Mason Motor Car Company in Des Moines, Iowa, of all places. This is where the Deucemberg brothers built their first cars. This is what they did before they actually started building the Ducemberg vehicles, and uh it was a two-cylinder vehicle, and it had a lot of uh different implementations of that or technology of the particular time, and this is where they experimented with their their car building and what they decided on that eventually led them to build the the famous Deucemberg vehicles. Then on August the 17th in 1915, this is something that changed everything for all of us. If you've worked on cars and missing very long, you've got these.

Don Armstrong 16:57

Can you imagine without that?

Mike Marrs 17:00

I mean, I I I can't. I mean, uh it would not only was it a safety issue, people got hurt with the hand cranks and stuff, but you know, just this and the progression of it. I mean, how many times did you take a screwdriver and get down there on the solenoid to jump it because of the windings are shot?

Jeff Dziekan 17:14

Well, there should be a sticker that says hit it here. Or hit it here. That's right, with a broomstick.

Mike Marrs 17:19

Exactly. I mean, but it just so Cadillac did this and they set it up and they started in 1912, which I didn't really understand or know that it went back that far. But this was a Cadillac deal that changed everything for all the automobiles. So then on August 20th of 1960, this is this one kind of fabricasted me. You remember the Dodge Dart? This is the original Dodge Dart. What I remember was a little mid-size sedan or a coup. Uh, if you were lucky, it had a hot rod motor in it. But this is the Dodge Dart in 1960. And they started really seeing how things were going to go. They sold over 306,000 of these vehicles, and uh it actually helped them out through the 1957-58 Depression, and it gave them a stronger full-size offering at a time whenever they were everybody else was starting to cut back and the sales were getting weak. So, this is the original Dodge Dart. Even got a wagon for you, Jeff. I see that. I love it. August 20th, 1969. The Skyline, the Nissan Skyline that everybody sees is fantastic hot rod from the imports, Fast and Furious Mutis. This is the original Skyline that was built by the Prince Motor Company. Nissan took them over and eventually molded them into uh the Nissan performance packages and the vehicles that we know now. And the one on the bottom right, the red, was wasn't actually the last one that the Prince engineering, the Prince Motor Company engineering was all involved with. So it was started out as a modest four-door family design, and now it's ended up on a movie screen of hot rod that'll jump tall buildings and swim massive streams and go really fast.

Don Armstrong 19:05

So that's just a few of the Did you did you you you just did that to put make a little dig at me when talking about swimming again?

Jeff Dziekan 19:12

Did you write that?

Don Armstrong 19:18

Yeah, with a with a little shrug.

2026 Subaru Outback Wilderness Review

Don Armstrong 19:21

Well, you know, you got time now for the much delayed and much sought-after review of the Subaru Outback. And Mr. Mars, my apologies. I know that I skipped over you last hour, but we're gonna make up for it now.

Mike Marrs 19:40

We got plenty of time. We got plenty of time. So again, we're talking about the 2026 Subaru Outback. Now, this is all new design for 2026, so it's actually the seventh gen oration of this vehicle. Now, the final assembly location is in Ota, Guma, Japan, or something to that effect. It's available at six trim levels: the premium, the limited, the limited XT, the wilderness, the touring, and the touring XT. Now, I happen to be driving the wilderness for the review time. Now, the government says this is a small SUV. With it parked in the side in the driveway next to my wife's mid-size, I would think it's more of a mid-size, but being that what it may, seats five passengers. Now, new this year, it's got a taller roof line on it, so you've got a lot bigger windows, which improves the view outside of it. It's got plenty of black trim to give it that off-road look. Uh, it's got power heated side mirrors, got black uh roof rails on it. Up front, the LED lighting package goes all the way around it, but the front headlights are steering responsive headlights, which at night you got to kind of play with a little bit, but it's pretty cool to watch it. Uh, even got uh the daytime running lights and the fog lights are also LEDs. It's got a moon roof on it, again, the black roof racks, and it's rolling on some 17-inch black wheels. Now, this all works together to give it that rugged off-road look that they're looking for with the wilderness brand. But on the inside, we're gonna find black Napa leather. The front seats are heated and ventilated. The second row seats are also heated on the outboard seating positions. Got a 12.1 inch multimedia system right there in the middle of it. Big nice screen with navigation, got your surround view, hardened, Harmon card and speakers for the audio, kind of fill it up really nice. A 12.3 inch LCD instrument cluster gives you all the information the driver's gonna be looking for, and you can adjust it, of course, to whatever you want. Wireless charging for your phones, uh, it's got front and rear USB ports for everybody to have plenty of times to places to plug in their stuff. And the rear seat is a 6040 fold down, and it does have a cargo cover in the back, which a lot of people kind of eh, but that's really important, I think, because it keeps all your good stuff back there out of sight, out of mind, so people don't even think about trying to steal it. Now, the Outback can come with two different engines. The wilderness has the 2.4 liter turbo boxer. This has got 260 horsepower, 277-pound feet of torque on it. It's backed by a CVT, but you can put it into a manual mode which mimics an eight-speed transmission. The tow rating is 3,500, so that'll take care of your small boats, your kayaks, and maybe even a small pop-up camper. Now the EPA says you should be looking for about 21 miles to the gallon in the city, highway 27, combined 23. Now I got 21.8 across 292 miles. Most of my time was spent in town. Done a little bit out on the highway. So I was well pleased with what I got out of it because with the turbo, it's got a quick power. There's really not a turbo lag to it that I really felt was uh important to notice, but it was very quick and had plenty of power and very responsive steering. And the lane keeping system was really strong. In other words, it will you knew it had it. You could almost fight it if you wanted to change lanes without turning on the turn signal. It would let you know that you're doing it, and it would you'd have to kind of fight it a little bit. And I really liked driving it because I had a lot of glass, the big glass on it's got a lot of view. You can see outside real well, almost like driving a big bus.

Don Armstrong 23:20

That's for those people that are uh really getting bad at seeing things. Can you see over the steering wheel?

Mike Marrs 23:25

Exactly. But it was it was really cool like that. Now the base trim price on this is $44,995. Now the as tested price is $50,534.

Don Armstrong 23:37

Wow.

Mike Marrs 23:37

And a Subaru, yeah, uh mid-trim level Subaru. And the of course you can get a base model price at $34,995. So using that, went over and looked at the Chevrolet Blazer, $34,300 is the base model on it. The Mazda CX70, $42,750, and the Honda Passport is $44,950. And again, I thought that that's where it fit in better because it's a little bit bigger, it's square, it looks much more like a mid-size to me than the smaller ones, and these all seem like fairly comparable, other than the price. Subaru is definitely a better price in that range. So that's some of the things that I found on the 2026 Subaru Outback Wilderness package.

Don Armstrong 24:20

You know, I I will have to admit to you that I actually like the Subaru brand. Um, I think that uh it's a different way to build a car. I like the boxer engines, I like those a lot. They do a very good job with those. And you know, the CVT transmissions have actually been bumped up. They remember the original ones, God, they were just awful. You know, rev up to 6,000 RPM and sit there forever and ever and ever until you got it up to 60 miles an hour. They're not like that anymore.

SPEAKER_02 24:53

No.

Don Armstrong 24:53

Um, and Subaru has come miles and miles now with their new interiors. They've they've been working at it. And um, I think that they're doing a much better job than they used to. And for those that are in the market, I would definitely suggest that you at least give them a try. Shop it. You may not like it, but shop it because uh chances are you're gonna find something in there that you're gonna like. I just that that's me. Uh would I go out and buy one? I wouldn't, I'm not in the a new car buying mode, but uh I definitely would put it on my shopping list. Wouldn't you, Mr. Mars?

Mike Marrs 25:32

Particularly this Outback because of the size of it, this new generation of 2026 by it being new, the changes they've made, it's gone away from all that swoopy stuff that you used to see in the small ACT.

Don Armstrong 25:43

Well, and they all look like grown station wagons.

Mike Marrs 25:46

Yeah, and they've got to and this one is definitely, to me, looks better and more like that in what a lot of the bigger full.

Jeff Dziekan 25:52

Wheel trim packages and things is kind of hard to get used to for me.

Don Armstrong 25:55

Yeah, I think that they I think that they've come a long way. And uh they've allowed themselves to change it up and make the different models that people are actually looking for. I I I'm I'm kind of impressed with the Subaru. You know, it's the other Japanese automaker.

Mike Marrs 26:10

Right. I got a friend that he's on his second outback, and he he wouldn't drive anything else.

Don Armstrong 26:16

Yeah, yeah. And from what I understand, very reliable. They last a long time, and you rarely hear of one of those being recalled.

Jeff Dziekan 26:24

Well, yeah, my sister in law had one, and it she had an accident and that was the end of that car, but you had it for a long time. They loved it. Yeah.

Don Armstrong 26:30

Okay. Thank you, sir. Hey, if you'd like to get